Classical compositions ‘Maha Ganapathim’ and ‘Dheem thaka thiku’ seem to be all-time favourites for teams that compete in the Vrindavadyam contest.
Not many teams that participated in the competition in the higher secondary category on Tuesday missed either of these compositions though the styles and renditions differed.
The competition was a harmony of talents as most of the teams had at least one member who had excelled in the individual instrumental music competitions. The team of Carmel GHSS, Thiruvananthapuram, who has been the winner in Vrindavadyam for the past 11 years, was led by Haritha Raj, who won the Veena competition. In fact, she has been the topper for five years. BSS Gurukul HSS, Alathur, that won the second prize last year, was led by Biju Salin on violin, who bagged the second prize in the individual contest this year.
Other teams too had exceptional talents. The entire team of GHSS, Pookkottur, pinned its hopes on Vineeth and his keyboard. And there was Rebin Babu of Carmel School, Chalakkudy, a guitarist who also played Mridangam to perfection.
The competition was also an excellent opportunity for the contestants to exhibit their multi-tasking abilities. Many contestants, like Rebin Babu, played more than one instrument effortlessly.
Though most of the teams tried out semi-classical film songs in their own style, there were some that stuck to classical compositions while some of them had composed their own songs. The first team to perform rendered the popular ‘Oru murai vanthu pathaaya’ in style. Other movie songs popular in the circuit include ‘Kudajadriyil,’ ‘Aayiram kaatham,’ ‘Ennavale,’ ‘Chennai senthamil,’ ‘Maanam thelinje ninnal,’ and ‘Ye dosthi.’
One of the teams played a composition by Pandit Ravisankar while another had their own take on the popular patriotic song ‘Mile sur mera tumhara.’
