There was never a dull moment in the vocal concert delivered by reputed Malladi Brothers — Sriram Prasad and Ravi Kumar — under the banner of Swara Tarangini Sabha at Sri Sivaramakrishna Kshetram, Vijayawada. Synchronised voices, shrewd planning of the items, energetic presentation and above all, crystal clear diction which conveyed the sahitya to the audience with bhava, made their concert immensely enjoyable. The manodharma aspects were in proper ratio making the concert a memorable one.
Veteran artiste Embar S. Kannan’s skill on the violin and ace mridangam artiste K.S. Prasad’s brilliance on the instrument elevated the effect of the concert to great heights.
Malladis began the concert with Bhairavi Ata tala varnam sung in two speeds giving the concert a fitting start. This was followed by a rich delineation of Darbar by Sriram Prasad the elder of the two before the brothers rendered Thyagaraja’s majestic composition Mundu venuka in it. Next came another Thyagaraja composition Ika kavalasinademi in Balahamsa adorning the kirtana with beautiful kalpanaswaras shared by both. Balahamsa, a raga with a tricky murchana was commandingly elaborated by Sriram Prasad. The sub main item in the concert was Dikshitar’s Ramanadham Bhajeham in Pantuvarali. This time it was Ravikumar the younger of the two who brilliantly elaborated the raga, often singing some superb phrases omitting Shadja and panchama characteristic of Late Voleti Venkateswarlu who used to excel in such prayogas .The bhava-laden neraval at Kumara Guruguha Vinutam was spellbinding.
Before the brothers embarked on the main item there was a fine kriti Kamadhenu in Dhenuka written by Yanamandra Srinivasa Sarma and tuned by vidwan Malladi Suribabu, father of Malladi brothers. In the main item sumptuous Sankarabharanam was shared by the brothers who travelling through the slow bhava-filled phrases reached gradually to a crescendo. Melodious solo treats of Balahamsa, Pantuvarali and Sankarabharanam came from seasoned violinist Embar Kannan. Veteran S.K. Prasad’s silken touch on the mridangam was soothing and his erudite scholarship in laya intricacies came amply to fore in the tani he, along with ghatam player M. Haribabu, played at the end of the Sankarabharanam kirtana of Syama Sastri Sarojadalanetri . The brothers closed the concert with an Annamacharya kirtana Antarangamella in Mukhari, Govinda Sundara a Ramadasu kirtana in Dwijawanti beautifully tuned by late Voleti and a tarangam Jaya Jaya Durge in raga Durga.
