Kalasagaram featured Pantula Rama in its annual festival held last week at Keyes High School. She was accompanied by M.S.N. Murthy on violin, D.S.R. Murthy on mridangam and Nemani Somayajulu on ghatam.
Rama opened her concert with Mundu Venuka , Durbari, Aditalam of Thyagaraja and followed it with Sadachaleswaram in Bhoopalam of Dikshitar, with detailed raga and kalapanaswaras.
The violin support to this number was scintillating. Mamava in Shanmukhapriya of Swathi Tirunal was presented later. This was preceded with brief raga essay. The swarakalpana part was extensive and impressive.
This was followed by the concert’s first major number Enduku Peddala in Sankarabharanam in Aditalam of Thyagaraja.
The raga picture she gave in the opening of the number was brilliant with impressive variations in her approach. She built the raga mood in a way that sounded different from the routine. This was followed by catchy tanam. The kriti rendition was quite expressive with sahitya unravelling its beauty with meaningful expression. There was neraval too.
The swarakalpana was expansive, revealing her vocal verve and range. The tani avartanam that followed was a treat adding to the overall appeal of the number, with Murthy and Somayajulu excelling in all the avrutttas. M.S.N. Murthy’s violin support all through the numbers was complementary in structure, revealing his might aptly elevating each of Rama’s output in raga and swaras especially.
Later part of Rama’s concert had Yehi Murare in Pahadi and a number of Subramanya Bharati. She concluded her concert with a tillana Jhenjhuti.
