The birth centenary of Sripada Pinakapani was celebrated with a violin recital by Vinjamuri Kamal Kiran
Classical music enthusiasts celebrated the birth centenary of Padma Bhushan 'Sangeetha Kalanidhi' Sripada Pinakapani at a programme organised at Annamacharya Kalamandiram in Tirupati last week.
The programme was conducted under the joint aegis of the TTD’s Sri Annamacharya Project and Hyderabad-based Swara Bharathi.
A violin concert by young Vinjamuri Kamal Kiran of USA turned out to be the highlight of the day. Son of Vinjamuri Srinivasa Subhash and a disciple of violin exponent Kanya Kumari, Kiran enthralled the audience with impressive Swarakalpana.
Following the ‘Nava Ragamalika Varnam’, the interesting compositions rendered by him were Muthuswamy Deekshitar’s Gajananayutham, Thyagaraja’s Makelara Vicharamu, Naradamuni Vedalina, Naadhupai Balikeru, Muddugare, Venkatachala Nilayam etc.
The number Chakkani Rajamargamu’in Karaharapriya was well received, while the Govinda Namalu composed by her mentor A.Kanyakumari in seven Ragas turned out to be a highlight. Parupalli Balasubrahmanyam on Mridangam and B.M. Raghuram on Ghatam provided effective accompaniment.
Guest of honour Vidwan Pullela Peri Somayajulu hailed ‘Pani’ (as the 'Living Legend' is fondly referred to in the music circles) as ‘Bhishmacharya’ of Carnatic music.
Noted vocalist Garimella Balakrishna Prasad and Swara Bharathi’s founder chief Komanduri Seshadri also narrated the glory of Pani as a musician, musicologist, performer and composer, all rolled into one. They also recalled how the work Sangeetha Sourabham edited by Pani and published by the TTD in four volumes in the early ‘90sstill remains a ready-reckoner for classical music.
Keywords: Sripada Pinakapani
