Under the aegis of The Kalapremi Foundation, Roopa Sridhar held a five-day workshop on the compositions of Papanasam Sivan. In a pre-concert presentation, the kritis taught were rendered by those who attended the workshop and it was followed by a thematic concert of exclusive Papanasam Sivan compositions by the mother-daughter duo, Vidushi Roopa Sridhar and Dr. Madhuvanti at Seva Sadan Auditorium, Malleswaram.
With titles such as Sangita Kala Bhushani, Gaana Kala Kasturi, Sangita Choodamani conferred on her, Roopa Sridhar is known as a wonderful guru, and a musicologist. With rich experience of performing Eka Vaggeyakara concerts, Dr. Maduvanthi, like her mother is A graded artist of AIR. She is the founder of Chittaranjani Centre for Music. The students who learnt around eight to 10 kritis in the workshop, presented them to the audience in a well-coordinated manner. To mention a few, “Saamagaana Lolane” in Hindola, “Unnai allal” in Kalyani, “Tarunam Idaiyya” in Shivaranjani etc. Nagaraj Mandya on the violin and Satyakumar on mridangam gave the percussion support.
Roopa Sridhar and Madhuvanti opened their concert with “Gajavadana Karuna Sadana” in Sriranjani - beginning with the auspicious sloka, ode to Lord Ganapati, “ Vakratunda Mahakaaya’. The bhakti emotion flowed through every intonation of raga Sriranjani more particularly as they stressed and repeated the line ‘ Pankaja Charana sharanam’.
The next one ‘Kaapaali’ in Mohana showed the duo in full flourish with extended elaboration and swara prasthara. The aesthetics they showed was highly appreciable. The classical flavour of ‘Paraathpara Parameshwara’ in Vachaspati was well received by the audience. They concluded their rendition with a soothing song ‘Yenna tavam sheydanai’ in Kaapi. The rooted yet resilient handling of the compositions by the mother-daughter duo was beautiful.
The lyrical beauty and the import of the compositions were conveyed with melliflous and tender rendition by Roopa Sridhar and Dr. Madhuvanti. With the creative exposition required to bring out the subtleties and nuances of Papanasam Sivan’s compositions and offering interesting perspectives they deserve, the mother-daughter duo succeeded in presenting a mellifluous fare. Vidwan Anooru Dattatreya Sharma on the mridangam, Nagaraj Mandya on Violin and Satyakumar on ghatam gave great support to the vocalists. By conducting workshops and giving eka Vaggeyakara concerts like this, the endeavour to pass on to the younger generations the wealth of compositions by each individual composer will become fruitful.
