Wrapped in a cool breeze, Annamayya Mandapam on the beach road at Visakhapatnam reverberated with devotional vibes as Chaganti Sandhya Sundar and Somayajula Indira Bharadwaj sang a string of Annamayya padams with gusto. Duets always have a special appeal in the realm of music because the tone, timber and texture of two voices coming alive in perfect sync enhances its musical appeal and this duo is no exception. With sound grounding in musical aspects of rendition, besides a remarkable grasp of lyrical nuances of the composition being sung, the duo brought out the quintessential bhakthi bhava inherent in the compositions of Annamayya vividly. Chaganti Soma Sundar Rao presented a detailed commentary explaining the lyrical, devotional and spiritual aspects of each of compositions before it was sung, to facilitate better understanding of varied dimensions of those compositions. The duo chose a variety of compositions ranging from devotion to romantic and spiritual significance in their theme and treatment.
They began it with ‘Govinda Melukonavayya’ in raga Sama. The duo sang mostly the tunes composed by Parupalli Ranganath. An accent on melody enhanced the appeal of their rendition. Be it a Sanskrit composition ‘Te saranamaham’ in raga Mand or popular ‘Tanadanana’ in raga Bouli, they essayed well to bring out its musical and lyrical beauty in an appealing manner. With compositions in ragas like Abheri, Anandabhairavi, Hindola, Reethigoula, Aarabhi, Desh, Dhanyasi, Mayamalavagoula and Madhyamavathi glowing in their melodic shades, it was a treat in devotional genre. A Sathya Vishal on violin and Kalyan Abhijit on mridangam lent good support.