TIRUPATI: Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) initiated the centenary celebrations of M.S. Subbulakshmi in the form of a four-day music festival at Mahati auditorium in Tirupati, one that ends on her birth anniversary (September 16).
As the asthana vidwan of Tirumala Srivari temple, M.S. Subbulakshmi’s cherished contribution to the propagation of Lord Venkateswara’s glory is matchless. Her rendition of Sri Venkateswara Suprabhatham’and Balaji Pancharatnamala, some 53 years ago, is a rage among classical cum devotional music lovers, while the cassettes and compact discs are still prized possessions.
The celebrations in Tirupati started with a nadaswaram performance by L. Kesaiah and a troupe of Kadapa, followed by a grand vocal recital by sisters B. Ranjani and B. Gayatri who paid a fitting tribute to MS through their concert. The event started with Purandaradasa’s Smaraneyondhey in Raga Malayamarutham and Adi Tala, followed by the verse Thoomani madathu from Andal’s ‘Tiruppavai’ in Raga Hamirkalyani and Adi Tala.
The other numbers were Yentharaani in Raga Harikambhoji and Adi Tala, Sri Satyanarayanam in Raga Subhapanthuvarali and Roopaka Tala, Alwar Pasurams in Virutham style, Ragamalika, Srinivasa Tiruvengadamudayaan in Raga Hamsanandi and Adi Tala (penned by Papanasam Sivan), Annamayya’s Bhavayami Gopalabalam in Raga Yaman Kalyan and Kandachapu Tala. The concert ended with a Marathi Abhang of Saint Tukaram. Ganesh Prasad and Delhi Sriram accompanied on violin and mridangam respectively.
TTD Executive Officer D. Sambasiva Rao extolled the contribution of “M.S. Amma” to the field of Carnatic music and recalled her landmark achievement in propagating devotional music and Bhakti culture. He appealed to the SVBC, Sri Venkateswara College of Music and Dance and other propagation arms of the TTD to help unearth talent and promote skilled exponents. He later felicitated the two sisters as well as L. Kesaiah.
