The word Ghantasala spells magic for Telugu cine music buffs. That the legendary singer continues to be a household name even nearly four decades after his demise is evidence of the depth and reach of his distinct voice beyond time and space. Inimitable was the way he mixed melody and melancholy in his sonorous voice with an endearing appeal.
Also, Ghantasala was a music director of a high order. Besides a vast body of songs, he had lent his inimitable touch in rendition of Telugu metrical verses that redefined the contours of Padya pathana reethi , the style of rendering Telugu metrical verses. Ghantasala Padya Sangeetha Vibhavari held under the baton of renowned keyboard player V Seetharamaiah treated music lovers to a memorable fare at Kalabharati Visakhapatnam.
The nite commenced with Girija Kalyanam from the 1967 chart buster Rahasyam and what followed was an aural treat of Telugu padyalu interspersed with some haunting golden oldies that took the audience a journey down memory lane. ‘Kanchanamaya Vedika’ (from the film Nartanasaala ), ‘Nava Kala Samithi’ ( Appuchesi Pappu Koodu ), ‘Dharuni Rajyasampada’ ( Pandava Vanavasam ), ‘Aryan/Koduka/ Kabolu’ ( Satya Harischandra ) besides Rayabaram padyalu such as ‘Cheliyo chellako’, ‘Jendapai Kapiraju’, ‘Alugutaye’ were that mesmerized the audience. Immortal tunes composed by greats like Ghantasala, Pendyala, Susarla, Adinarayanarao, Saluri, TV Raju and others came alive to delight the audience.
Singers VA Lakshmi, Sasirani, Jayalakshmi, Ganti Usha, YR Sastry, Bala Kameswararao, Muralidhar, Ch Suresh, Peetar, Ramakrishna, Satyanarayana and Rajendraprasad took part. Seetharamaiah on keyboard, Ravikiron on guitar, Mallesh on flute, Kamesh on mridangam, Srinivasaraon on pads, Anand and Kishore on tabla lent orchestral support. Earlier, renowned music director Patrayani Sangeetha Rao who had been an associate of Ghantasala, was felicitated.
