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Metro cultural round-up
Amidst the suffocating environs of ever increasing 'phoren craze', including the cultural ethos, especially the western in the name of modernity, the vocal concert by L. Vijaya Reddy, an NRI from the US, came as refreshing as a cool shower in mid-summer. He sang in the Dwaram Venkataswamy Naidu Kalakshetram Auditorium under the aegis of the institute.
Born in 1938 to Doraiswamy Reddy, a graded vocalist of AIR at Madras, and Savitramma, Vijay started learning music under the tutelage of his father. A master's degree holder in surgery, he joined the Andhra Medical College as assistant professor and continued music with a penchant under the guidance of Vidwan Komanduri Krishnamachari, to become a graded ariste of AIR, Vijayawada, and sang for many established sangitha sabhas in the State. He went to the US in 1975 for advanced training in urology and settled there. Hearteningly, the fact that he still soulfully continues to caress his first love, the classical music, amply got reflected every moment of his recent recital. Not only that, himself along with his wife, Vasantha, being the major contributors for the construction of the auditorium for the Kalakshetra, stood symbolic of the love in general of the NRIs for their motherland.
Be it the rendition of the kriti or the ragalaapana, neravu or swaram, it was all glimpses of the time tested quality in the tradition set by the elders of the yore. The main choice for the evening, besides the Begada varnam, 'Sogasugamridanga talamu' (Sri Ranjani), 'Raanidiraadu' (Manirangu) and 'Tulisamma Maayinta' (Devagandhari) of Thyagaraja, 'Sri Subrahmanyaya' (Kambhoji) and 'Kamalambike' (Todi) of Muthuswami Dikshitar. His revered guru, Komanduri, while was an asset on the violin, the in-charge principal of the Kalakshetra, G. Venkata Rao, lent excellent support on the mridangam.
Earlier in the evening, the young pupils of the institute, Prasanna, Sahiti and Sravya (vocal), Vani, Praveena and Pavani (veena), Goutham and Sumathi (violin) while pleasingly rendered a few kritis, Ahuth, Dayal, Saideep, Mahadev and Mani came out with an engaging mridanga layavinyasam. The members of the managing committee of the Kalakshetram felicitated Vijaya Reddy on the occasion.
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A recital of devotional songs by Mani Raamji Y., Rama Rao V., Sastry S.V.S. and his wife Ratna turned out to be a soulful musical tribute to the memory of S. Balarama Murty who recently died of a heart attack. It was part of the condolence meeting jointly organised by a host of cultural and welfare bodies under the aegis of the Gaayatri Welfare Society founded by Murty. Many an elite, P. Gopalakrishna Murty and Y. Srirama Murty, Fareed Ahmed, Boddu Ramayya, Cheruvu Anjaneyulu, Y. Ramji and the likes participated in it, held in the premises of Meena Bala Vihar in Dabagardens. They recapitulated the stupendous contribution in kind and deed rendered by the late Murty for the successful conduct of events like the Viprotsavams in 1991 and 1999, Brahmana Yuvajanotsavam in 1992, besides the Sanatana Vindu in which people from all walks of life irrespective of caste and creed participate and have become an anual feature for more than two decades by now in the city. A true crusader of all welfare and cultural activities, Murty shunned publicity and position they said and resolved to go on with the Sanatana Vindu as a tribute to his memory.
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Spandana, a noted literary and welfare association, felicitated the senior journalist, G.S.N. Murty, at a special function held in Hotel Daspalla. 'Naa Gnapakaalu and Vyaapakaalu', a book comprising his reminiscenes of some historial events like the visits of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and the likes on one hand, and his personal association with some eminent personalities of his early days in Visakhapatnam, including Kalaaprapurna D.Y. Sampath Kumar who won the first prize for his dance ballet in the Kalidasa Samaroh and so on, authored by Murty was released by the Visakhapatnam Port Trust Chairman, S.R. Rao. The District Collector, Sunil Sharma, the VUDA Vice-Chairman, S.G.K. Kishore, the Commissioner of Police, B. Prasada Rao, the Director of the Tourism Development Corporation, Muppana Venkata Rao, and the director of Sri Kanakamahalakshmi Cooperative Bank, Moturi Srirama Krishna, were guests of honour. They were all praise for the qualities of sustained zeal and ever cheerful tenacity of Murty even at the age past 80 and opined that the book could be an inspiring part of history of the port city for the future. P. Rajendra Prasad was the master of ceremony.
A. RAMALINGA SASTRY
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