The two-day Vinjamuri Memorial concerts by Sica saw vocalists Manda Sudha Rani and Manasi Prasad give us a glimpse into their repertoire, but surprisingly to dwindling audience.
Manda Sudha Rani was all ‘vidwat' the scholarliness writ large in her recital. Her varnam in Sahana Karunimpa .. said it all. She was adept at handling literally everything she presented. The ragas were not the run-of-the-mill either like Hamsanandam in which Kalyana Rama Raghurama … rose to astounding heights with her neraval and improvisation as she wound her way through the three cycles with felicity. Her command over the medium was very obvious. She displayed her expertise in tala and laya with Dikshitar's kriti Dakshayani rakshamaam .. in Naganandini. Her impromptu swarakalpana was excellent. The kriti in Reethigowla Janani ninu vina …. with the chittaswaram delivered with a flair here as well as in the duritha kalai kriti in Poornachandrika Telisi Rama tho … The ragam, tanam, pallavi in Thodi where she dwelt extensively on the raga in its entirety and then moved on to tanam with an air of confidence. Despite such erudite rendition the recital did not touch the heart since it fell short of ‘bhaavam' (emotive quality) except perhaps Chinnanade naa cheyyibattitivi …. in Kalanidhi (Desadi) where the lyrics were such that it necessitated toning down the technicalities which in turn brought the feeling to the fore. Dinakar on the violin complimented the vocalist in all aspects rising to the occasion during intricate improvisations. Nemani's mridangam was up to the mark.
Ata tala varnam in Bhairavi was the opening note of Manasi Prasad's vocal recital on the second day. The Dikshitar kriti in vilamba kalam Soundara rajam ashraye … in Nandanandana ragam with the mitram in madyamakalam and Manasuloni marmamunu telusuko … in Brindavanasaranga and the main piece in Poorvikalyani ( Paramapavana Rama ..) were nevertheless rendered in the traditional style with all the frills but the vocalist's alapana as well as her rendition lacked the classical depth. Her swarakalpanas , though reeled out in full strength were not all that commanding. The tonal quality was melodic but leaning towards a lighter vein. Dwaram Satyanarayana on the violin, Jayabhaskar on the mridangam and Janardhana on the ghatam were their best.
Though no comparison in terms of experience or age, Kalyan Vasanth's vocal preceding Manasi Prasad's was wonderful. Shambho Mahadeva in Panthuvarali (Thyagaraja's Koovur Pancharatna kriti) and Prananatha … in Sulini with a fairly long alapana and the neraval following the lines, tinnaga velayu …encircling it with swaraprastharam was impressive. The taniavarthanam by young Jayadev was superb. He proved to be an expert on the percussion on both days. The tarangam rounded off Sica's ‘Young artists promotional concert'. Kalyan Vasanth was able to balance both the technically classical as well as the creative aspects and what more the emotive aspect in its full depth making for a lively recital. Gyandev's violin rendition on the previous day under the same aegis was a diligent attempt at pure classicality. For an instrumentalist and young generation artist, it would have been thoughtful if he could brief about the ragam and talam as he wound through the kritis . Traditional music needs to be spread through youngsters among their peer group and the educative aspect at each concert should not be overlooked. Ravindra Bharati played host to the Sica concerts.
