V.V. S. Bhargava, disciple of Malladi Suribabu, is a promising Carnatic vocalists of the city. He won a gold medal in his post-graduation in music from Telugu University and is also a graded artiste of AIR. His vocal culture is laudable with a good range and melodic lilt. He was presented by Sujanaranjani in a concert, held last week at Saptaparni, in the company of O. Rajasekhar on violin and Kalivaraprasad on mridangam.
Bhargava began his recital with Saveri varnam Sarasuda that he presented in two speeds. It was embellished with lively swara matrices with the Pallavi ending in a flawless swarakalpana with an accurate and sonorous rendition. Gajananayutham in Vegavauhini, also known as Chakravakam, was presented with brief swarakalpana. He later sang Tyagaraja's popular Panchartna kirtana Endaro Mahanubhavulu in Srirangam, as an obeisance to the learned audience.
Poovikalyani was thefirst important raga that Bhargava presented in the concert. It was punctuated with melodic phrases that shaped the essay into a satisfying rendition. Rajasekhar, a much sought after violinist, replied with a sweet and soft delineation of the raga. Bhargava was successful in evoking the mood of the raga when he sang at a medium tempo and also made good effort to replicate the effect at higher speed.
Gjnanamosagarada the number he chose to present in this raga was a sweet and appealing rendition heightened with nereval at Paramatmudu Jeevatmudu Padunalugu Lokamulaku .
After the expressive rendition of Govardhana Girisam in Hindolam of Muthuswami Dikshitar, Bhargava chose Sankarabharanam to fill the slot for a major raga essay, giving it an elaborate account as he ascended to higher octave rounding it off well. Swara Raga Sudharasa was his choice number in this raga. Bhargava concentrated on its sahitya bhava and rendered each charanam with good expression andclarity. He also added a bit of sahitya prasthara to enhance its lyrical appeal. Violinist Rajasekhar also contributed in elevating its appeal.
The tani avartanam by Kalivaraprasad was in a measured tone with soft touches keeping it mellow at some stages . The latter part of the concert had some impressive numbers like Bhavamulona Bahyamunanduna in Suddha Dhanyasi, Madhava Mamava Deva a Tarangam in Neelambari and a popular Ramadasu kirtana Ramajogi Mandugonare .
