Hyderabad-based vocalist Jonnalagadda Sriram presented an impressive concert at Lalitha Peetham, Visakhapantam. Endowed with a pliable voice that can traverse the chosen octave with ease, Sriram was at his energetic best all through.
A disciple of Akella Mallikarjuna Sarma, he made a spirited presentation of chosen kritis. However, a streak of his mentor’s style remained noticeable for the discernible audience. His music is a robust blend melody and rhythm. It’s heartening that this vocalist of promise took up music as a profession. His passion for music was evident in his performance.
He began with Viriboni , a Kedaragourla varnam and then proceeded to pick up raga Nagaswarali for Sri Sankara guruvaram of Mahavydhyanath Iyer. A succinct alapana and swarakalpana augured it well to a good finish. He chose not to merely present the kriti but decorated almost every piece with raga essay or swara which, being a youngster, would surely make him gain grip over its intricacies.
His accent on sahithya bhava made it a judicious blend of sangeetham and sahithyam in good proportion. The innate sparkle of his artistic facility came to fore in his commendable exposition of raga Mayamalava Goula and the kriti for this was Rakshimpave , a rarely heard composition of Thyagaraja.
Preceding the mainstay, raga Suddha Dhanyasi for Enthanerichina , again of Thyagaraja, was another brilliant presentation in the concert. His choice for the mainstay was raga Purvikalyani. The kriti for this was Meenakshi memudam of Muttuswamy Dikshitar. With a fluent neravu at Madhurapurinilaye and adorned with nifty swara and appealing raga essay, it was a treat to the ears. He capped the session with tillana of Balamuralikrishna.
H. Ramcharan on violin and Mehar Sagar on mridangam lent good support. Vijaya Thyagaraja Sangeetha Sabha hosted the concert.
