Dwaram VKG Thyagaraj has lineage, guidance and talent to get noticed as a vocalist of substance. He seems mindful of his background and never lets it down on any count during a performance. His rendition along with a host of his students at Kalabharati Visakhapatnam provided ample proof of this. This ‘Ramadasu, Annamayya Sankeerthana Sourabham’ under the aegis of Visakha Music and Dance Academy truly wafted the fragrance of the saint composers’ abiding works.
Imbued with devotional passion, the works of both Annamayya and Ramadasu are a class apart. Subtle shades of poetic charms, inimitable turn of phrase and superlative expression of unbounded devotional spirit in its myriad hues... all render those works immortal. They are not just simple in idiom but simply superb in their appeal.
In an attempt to give multi-dimensional picture of those great works, the team sought to present an assortment of kritis in a wide range of emotive elements. That he makes a sincere effort to deliver the chosen piece in its right trajectory of raga and tala is evident all through. It is one thing sing and quite another to train the budding voices to sync in perfect sruthi alignment in a group performance, Thyagaraj excelled on that count well.
The session began with Gurusthuti in Chakravakam. In the choice of Annamayya compositions, the team rendered mostly the tunes of Nedunuri Krishnamurthy and Garimella Balakrishna Prasad.
With an accent on essential phrase and its inherent charms, the raga essays, though brief, were done in neat and shipshape way. The focus was rather pointed on the quintessence of the raga than in its structural build up which made the performance palpably pleasant.
In the segment for elaboration, among other compositions of Annamayya for this occasion he chose raga Kharaharapriya for Okaparikokapari , raga Aarabhi for Anjaneya anilaja and raga misra Sivaranjani for Ennadu Vignanamika Naku . Invested with neraval and swarakalpana in a succinct measure, these aspects in rendition testified his sound grasp of concert format.
Among the Ramadas compositions, the notables were Takkuvemi Manaku in raga Sourashtra, Saranagatarakshna in Yaumnakalyani, Bhalira Vairagyamentho in Kalavati, Yeteerugananu in Nadanamakriya, Aanabettithi in Kambhoji and Paluke Bangaramayena in Anandabhairavi. He deftly handled the different moods of these compositions throughout.
Mavuduri Satyanarayana Sarma (violin), Dhanawada Dharmarao (mridangam) and Talada Chaitanya (morsing) lent competent support.
