The month of November can be dedicated to the legendary violinist Dwaram Venkataswamy Naidu (November 8, 1893 - November 25, 1964). Andhra Pradesh Creative and Literary department recently celebrated his 125th birth anniversary on the next day of Deepavali. Incidentally, November 8, 1893 coincided with Deepavali.
Dwaram Naidu, popularly known as ‘fidelu’ Naidu was the first person to bring violin to the forefront of Carnatic music. He performed his first solo in Vellore in 1938. As he mastered the nuances of soft bowing with firm fingering, Naidu made the technique appear to be simple. He infused the techniques of both western and Hindustani music into his playing without compromising on the Carnatic music tradition. His ‘Raghuvamsa Sudha’ in raga Kadanakutuhalam is a fine example.
The Creative and Cultural Department of Andhra Pradesh Government invited the family members of the legend and honoured them on all the four days of the celebrations. Senior artistes Annavarapu Ramaswamy, V. Kamalakara Rao and connoisseur and patron of music T.S. Ramachandra Rao remembered their association with Dwaram Naidu.
Effortless bowing
The first day featured the concert of noted violinist Avasarala Kanyakumari, ably assisted by her disciple L. Ramakrishna on the violin, D.S.R. Murthy on the mridangam and B.S. Purushottam on the ganjira.
A. Kanyakumari along with her student paid rich tribute to Dwaram Venkataswamy Naidu
Kanyakumari started with the Sri raga varnam and followed it up with ‘Vatapi Ganapatim’ in Hamsadhwani. She painted rich raga contours for her Ragam Tanam in Ragamalika and for ‘Enta Sowkhya.’ Her effortless bowing displayed her expertise.
She concluded her session with a quick presentation of the famous folk song ‘Appannatannamanna,’ which was first played by Dwaram Naidu on the violin, followed by ‘Venkatachala Nilayam’ and a few bhajans.
On the second day, Dwaram Satyanarayana and Dwaram Durga Prasadarao, who belong to the Dwaram lineage, performed. Mridanga vidwan V. Kamalakar Rao and M. Haribabu (ghatam) were the accompanists.
Dwaram Brothers paying musical tribute to Dwaram Venkataswamy Naidu
The duo began their concert with a Saveri Varnam. The next items were ‘Paraloka Bhayam’ in raga Mandari and ‘Mokshamu Galada’ in raga Saramati. With an elaborate raga alapana and swaraprasthara, the duo added grandeur to raga Sankarabharanam.The kriti was ‘Swara Raga Sudha.’
On the third day, T.K.V Ramanujacharyulu and N.C. Madhav from Tiruchi presented a violin concert. Sadguru Charan assisted them on the mridangam and N. Shankar on the ganjira. The first item presented was a varnam in Kedara Gowla. The duo then rendered ‘Atu Karada’ in raga Manoranjani followed by the Tyagaraja kriti ‘Tatvameruga Taramaa’ in Garudadhwani set to Rupaka tala.
The brisk swaras played by the artistes enhanced the rendition. Their fast-paced ‘Needu Mahima Pogada’ in Hamsanandi and ‘Paramatmudu Velige’ in Vagadheswari (Adi talam) were pure melody. They chose raga Kharaharapriya for Ragam Tanam Pallavi. It was a detailed and melodious presentation. Their expertise in presenting vibrant but soft notes on the violin won accolades.
They concluded the concert with Purandaradasa’s ‘Baro Krishnaiah.’ A special mention has to be made about N. Shankar on the ganjira, who along with Sadguru Charan presented a meticulous tani avartanam.
On the final day, Annavarapu Ramaswami, a non-agenarian, performed along with his disciples C. Nanda Kumar, B.V. Durga Bhavani and Hemadri Chandrakanth with percussion support by Subbaraya Phalgun (mridangam) and Bhusurapalli Venkateswarlu (ghatam).
Annavarapu Ramaswami, along with his disciples C. Nanda Kumar, B.V. Durga Bhavani and Hemadri Chandrakanth
He began his concert with ‘Vatapi Ganapatim’ and moved on to render ‘Entharo Mahanubhavulu.’ His line-up included kritis set in raga Bilahari and Shuddha Bangala and the famous ‘Raghuvamsa Sudha’ in Kathana Kuthuhalam, which was popularsied by Dwaram Naidu.
The concert ended with ‘Raghupati Raghava Rajaram’ and the Annamayya kriti, ‘Brahma Kadigina.’
On the last day of the event well-known violinist Dwaram Manga Tayaru, daughter of Dwaram Naidu, and her brother Dwaram Srinivasarao and his wife were felicitated by L. Subrahmanyam, chief secretary, Sports and Youth Department, and D. Vijaya Bhaskar, CEO, Andhra Pradesh Creative and Culture Department.
