Anandhi Krishnamurthy's Patanjali Kalakshetra from Palghat presented a colourful Bharatanatyam recital led by her daughter Meenakshi Krishnamurthy as part of the Serene Utsav-2011 at Soundaryam, Coimbatore.
Among the others, ‘Lalithamba Avirbhavam,' a special item of the Utsav, stood out for its clean narration and appropriate enactment.
The choreography for the song in praise of layam, by Karaikkudi Mani, was appealing.
A disciple of T.R. Balamani and the late T.K. Govinda Rao, Usha Shankar presented a traditional vocal concert.
Her delineation of Mohanam (‘Raa Raa Raajeevalochana Rama') and Thodi (‘Pallavi Gopala Ayyar's ‘Amba Naadu Vinnapamuni') showed her grasp over the ragas.
After a lively niraval for ‘Vaaraahi Vaishnavi' and interesting swaraprastaras, Usha gave a pleasing finish to the major kriti.
Popular kritis such as ‘Venkatachala Nilayam,' ‘Sankara Sri Girinatha Prabho' and ‘Karpagame Kadaikkann Paaraai' were presented during the lighter session.
S.V. Guruvayoorappan's violin was smooth and melodious and Radhakrishnan's mridangam gave a solid support to Usha Shankar's presentation.
S.V. Subramaniam 's Carnatic concert on the electronic organ struck a chord with the senior citizens as he presented some of the easily recognisable kritis.
‘Maamavathu Sri Saraswathi' in Hindolam, ‘Annapoorne' in Sama and ‘Panchakshatpita Roopini' in Karnataka Devagandhari were some of the songs he played on the occasion.
The tail-end pieces, Kavadi Chindhu, Thiruppugazh and ‘Bhagyadalakshmi Baaramma' were well-received. The two songs ‘Malai Meedhu Vaazhum' and ‘Vishamakkaara Kannan,' sung by his daughter were enjoyable.
His brother Guruvayurappan on the violin and Radhakrishnan on the mridangam gave able support.
Treat in style
The admirers of Madurai Mani Iyer and T. S. Sankaranarayanan were in for a treat as R. Suryaprakash , disciple of the latter, sang the compositions popularised by those masters, in his own style.
There was a strong resemblance to the two, but Suryaprakash has succeeded in etching a style for himself.
He made an impressive beginning with ‘Sadhaanandha Thaandavam' in Bahudari by Achutha Dasar. Befitting the occasion of the Navaratri utsav, there were songs on all the three Devis – ‘Maamava Sadhaa Janani,' ‘Vellai Thaamaraippoovil Iruppaal' and ‘Mahalakshmi Jaganmata.'
The torrential flow of the swaras for ‘Paarkadal Tharum Kripaakari' elicited spontaneous applause. Within the given time of 90 minutes, he could accommodate an RTP in Hamsanandi, with the pallavi, ‘Neerajakshi Kamakshi Nikhila Loka Janani' followed by ragamalika swaras.
His Misra Pahadi Bhajan, ‘Aaj Aaye Shyam Mohan' and MKT's ‘Krishna, Mukundha, Muraare' in the same raga were absolutely charming.
He included a viruttam too and sang the thought-provoking song, ‘Naalai Endroru Naal Varumaa.' The concert came to an end with ‘Shanthi Nilava Vendum.'
S.P. Anantapadmanabha's raga delineations were steeped in melody.
Intricate laya phrases from Umayalpuram Mali's mridangam and Nerkunam Sankar's ganjira entertained the audience during the brief thani.
