The five-day musical feast conducted by Sri Sadguru Sangeeta Sabha of Vijayawada at Sri Sivaramakrishna Kshetram attracted large crowds on all days despite the blistering heat and hot winds. The festival was held to mark the 249th Vardhanthi of Thyagaraja. The programme on the first day started with ‘abhishekam’ and ‘mantrapushpam’ to the idol of Thyagaraja followed by Nadaswaram by Gonuguntla brothers.
More than 50 artistes –both junior and senior musicians participated in the concerts, singing only Thyagaraja kritis including select ‘Divyanama kirtanas’ and ‘Utsava sampradaya kirtanas’ with devotional fervor. ‘Pancharatna kirtana goshti ganam’ was rendered by nearly 25 senior and junior musicians with perfect unison and devotional appeal. Some of the prominent vocalists that participated in the goshti ganam were Malladi Suribabu, Malladi Brothers Sriram Prasad and Ravikumar, Popuri Gowrinadh, Gayatri Gowrinadh, Anjana Sudhakar, N.Ch. Butchiahcharyulu and Charumati Pallavi. Violin support was provided by B.V. Durgabhavani and Subramanya Raju. P.S. Phalgun and N.S. Kalyanaraman supported on the mridangams.
Harikatha rendition
The highlight of the four-day treat was the superb Harikatha ganam on Thyagaraja Charitra by veteran Bhagavatar and erudite scholar in Telugu and Sanskrit Dhulipala Sivaramakrishna Sarma of Guntur. In his brilliant Kadhaganam the bhagavatar included parts of a large number of Thyagaraja’s compositions briefly singing some ragas with great musical depth. He mesmerised the audience for nearly two hours with his powerful narration and devotional involvement.
