Visakha Music Academy on the third evening of its seven day festival of music and dance held on last Sunday featured the renowned mandolin maestro, U. Srinivas, Gurivilli Durga Rao from Chidambaram on thavil and B.S. Sundar Kumar from Chennai on kanjira.
He tunefully got off to a start by playing the Charukesi varnam of Lalgudi G. Jayaraman. His exposition of Dikshitar's composition in Gowla was similar, Sri Mahaganapathim concluded with scintillating swaram which invigorated the sageetha and sahitya bhavas.
Empathetic exposition of the Pancharatnakriti in Sree, Endaro Mahanubhavulu , next turned out to be a pious picturisation of the attributes of the devoutpersons to whom Tyagaraja offered his salutations. The expansive expatiation of Maravairi Ramani Manju Bhashini (70th Melakartha – Naasikabhooshini) followed by the rendering of the Sama Keerthana, Annapoorne Visalakshi , left an impression of being a successful effort and expounded figures of classicism contained in the raga and sahitya bhavas.
The main part of the concert was a Triraga (Todi, Amrithavarshini and Madhyamavathi) ragam thanam and trikala pallavi set in Aaditalam. The rendering of the three ragas and the first part of the pallavi in the first raga in the Laghuvu, the second in the first and the third in the second Dhruthams, the three Angas (constituents) of the Aaditalam and suffixed with a delightfully exciting swaram in the three tempos was done with amazing profundity, dexterity and felicitous charm. It sounded like a concordant flow of a mix of symphonic euphony and erudition of a rare genius and seemed to be a further fortification of his being a legend of Carnatic music on mandolin.
The accompanists, Durga Rao in particular seemed to be eruditely and amiably vying with the main artiste, himself proved to be a thavil maestro. While following and executing scintillating thani along with the equally good Kumar on kanjira, he enhanced the overall splendour of the concert. Similar was the case with Peri Srirama Murty following on violin and playing his turns.
