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Classic grace
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Neela Ramgopal’s concert reflected great scholarship
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RIVETTING Leela Ramgopal had the listeners glued to the tunes
Neela Ramgopal sang under the auspices of Nadabrahma Sangeetha Sabha at Vasudevacharya Bhavana, accompanied by R. Dayakar (violin), G.S. Ramanujan (mridanga) and M.R. Manjunath (ghata).
Veena Kuppayyar’s “Vanajaksha ninnne” (Varna) exemplified her mature voice and appreciable range, fortified with classicism and tradition. The perfect entry into the rhythm cycle by the percussionists, and continuation of the same grit provided the necessary impetus to the overall drive.
Such zeal and commitment on the part of the veteran to uphold the dignity of a refined music strengthened both the ragas and the sahithyas; the listeners stayed glued to the tunes.
Fertile imagination beautified the composition of Jayachamaraja Wodeyar “Mahaganapathim bhajeham” (Vegavahini). Besides charging the Sanskrit lyrics with devotion and emotions, she appropriately reinforced it with strains of kalpanaswaras.
Though in general the concert reflected scholarship, a few airs of tangled sancharas hindered a smooth and continuous flow of experience. For this reason, alapana in Kamboji (“Mari mari vachuna manava janmamu” - Vasudevacharya) suffered a marginal set back. The appealing neraval at “Ramuni mahima” combined with strains of thanas followed by swarakalpanas paved the way for an absorbing thaniyavarthana. Similar were the observations pertaining to alapana in Rishabhapriya (“Dasharathi ninnukori” - Bidaram Krishnappa).
Raga- thaana -pallavi (Kandanadi) in Ragamalika (Bahudari, Vasanthabhairavi and so on) was another highlight. The concert included “Kshirasagara shayana” (Devagandhari - Thyagaraja), “Ni paadame gati” (Nalinakanti- GNB) and a tillana (Madhuvanti - Lalgudi Jayaraman).
*** Shri Lalithakala Academi Foundation presented Natyanjali-2007, a three-day national- level dance festival, at Karnataka Kala Mandira. The academy honoured eminent personalities: H.R. Nagendra (Vice-Chancellor, SVYASA), V. Balasubramanyam (founder, Jayamangala Inc. USA), Padmashree Ileana Citaristi (director, Art Vision, Orissa) and S.R. Krishna Murthy (art critic, Mysore).
On the inaugural day, Revathi Ramachandran presented “Ashta Lakshmi vaibhava”. The main theme commenced with “Samudra manthana” followed by various manifestations of Goddess Lakshmi (Ashtalakshmi Stotra- Ragamalika).
The choreographer had put her genuine efforts to enliven the characters. The young accompanying dancers too had honestly employed themselves in materialising the concept.
Yet, the program fell short of the desired impact. The learned choreographer seemed to have not explored her potential, repertoire and the artistry to the best of her capacity. Making the goddess dance without sufficient thematic grounds undermined the character under portrayal. The artistes assumed stable and accurate postures, but the vinyasas needed to be graceful and fluent.
Appropriate and liberal employment of sanchari bhaavas focused around relevant stories would have definitely created more interest and attraction.
V. NAGARAJ
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Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
|
