HYDERABAD: Sumptuous vocal and instrumental music featured in a three day music festival organized by Mummaneni Subbarao Sidhardha Kala Peetham, a cultural wing of Sidhardha Academy of Education, at the Kala Peetham’s Sidhardha Kala Kshetram auditorium.
On the first day a fine vocal concert was presented by Sowmya Sridhar of Hyderabad, a worthy disciple of noted singing duo Lalita and Haripriya. The young singer sports a melodious voice with ample range and good command on all the manodharmam aspects. Purely traditional style and perfect diction are her assets.
Sowmya started with Sri Mahaganapath ’ of Dikshitar in Gowla and followed with a brief and attractive alapana of Sriranjani preceding the kirtana of Thyagaraja Bhuvini Dasudani and Kshitijaramana in Devagandhari. Amritavarshini was enchantingly delineated by Sowmya before she rendered Tripurasundari napai which was finished with good kalpana swaras. Next came a fine presentation of Evarikai Avataramettitivo in Devamanohari. Following this Sowmya Sridhar took up Todi for the main item. The exhaustive and bhava filled raga version, fine neraval and swarakalpana complimented amply the Thyagaraja kirtana Kaddanu variki . Good violin support came from B.V.Durgabhavani whose solo versions of Amritavarshini and Todi were pleasing. Mridangam support by K. Sadgurucharan and Ghatam by S. Hanumanta Rao gave laudable support for Sowmya. The attractive concert came to a close with an Annamacharya kirtana Nagavulu Nijamani in Yamunakalyani.
On the second day Jayaprada Ramamurthy presented an enchanting and melodious flute concert that pleased the audience immensely. Her wise selection of items was received well by the audience that gathered at the Kala Kshetram. She started the concert with Vatapi Ganapathim Bhajeham in Hamsadhvani and followed with Raghunadha a rare kirtana in the rare raga Swararanjani. Samajavaragamana of Thyagaraja came next, adorned with superb raga delineation and sparkling kalpana swaras. This was followed by an Annamacharya kirtana Kanti Sukravaramu in Anandabhairavi. For the main item Jayaprada chose the popular Abheri kirtana Nagumomu ganaleni of Thyagaraja and finished it with attractive swara kalpana. She had fine support on the violin by V.Krishnaveni, also an A-Top grade artiste of Akashvani and violin lecturer in the Government College of Music. Her Abheri and Hindola solo versions were pleasing. P.S.Phalgun, lecturer in Government Music College and vidwan with vast experience gave Jayaprada admirable support on the mridangam. Jayaprada closed her tuneful and melodious concert with an Annamacharya kirtana. It was a nice gesture of Jayaprada Ramamurthy in paying a touching tribute to reputed mridanga vidwan M.Lakshmi Narayana Raju who passed away recently. She said that for many of her concerts all over the country Laksmi Narayana Raju, (mridangam Raju or just Raju to admirers and friends) accompanied on mridangam. It was indeed a touching tribute to late M.L.N.Raju from a senior artiste like Jayaprada.
A good gesture of the Sidhardha Kala Peetham was providing the stage to three local teenaged talents namely Darbha Mriduravali, Uppuluri Satwika and Modumudi Srutiranjani.
The first concert was that of Darbha Mriduravali, a disciple of late vidwan Ampolu Muralikrishna and Chennai-based Sabita Narasimhan. Mriduravali gave a fine account of herself starting the concert with Sarasiruhasanapriye in Nata, a composition of Puliyur Doraiswamy Iyer and followed it with an appealing rendition of Himachala Tanaya in Anandabhairavi which was adorned with fine raga and kalpana swaras. The highlight in Mriduravali’s concert was the excellent presentation of Mamava Meenakshi of Dikshitar in Varali. While concluding the concert, Mriduravali sang a lively Annamayya kirtana in Janjhooti. She had able support on the violin by Hemadri Chandrakant who gave violin support to the other two singer also. K.Anil Kumar was good on the mridangam.
The second recital was presented by Uppuluri Satwika. Satwika is also a violinist learning the art from her mother. She started her concert with Rama Ramana in Vasantabhairavi following it with a pleasing and efficient raga version of Nasikabhushani, a vivadi raga in which she rendered Maravairi Ramani of Thyagaraja. Swathi Thirunal’s Hindola composition Padmanabha Pahi was appealingly sung by Satwika with attractive raga version and fine kalpana swaras. Satwika showed admirable manodharma gnanam promising a bright future for herself. Towards the close of her concert she sang a Javali Bayarani , a seldom heard javali of Tirupathi Narayana Swami in Kafi and a lively Tamil kirtana Vishamakara Kannan in Kuranji. K Arvind provided admirable mridangam support.
Finally Modumudi Srutiranjani’s concert gave an excellent finish to the three day enjoyable musical fete. Srutiranjani started the concert with a fine rendition of Annamacharya’s Vade Venkatadri Meeda in Vasanta and followed it with Sasivadana of Thyagaraja in Chandrajyothi. As the main item of the concert Srutiranjani presented the ever popular Nagumomu ganaleni of Thyagaraja in Abheri preceding the kirtana with an appealing raga version. She gave a good finish to her concert with a pleasing rendition of an Annamacharya kirtana. Good mridangam support was given by K.Anil Kumar.
Immensely pleased by the talent shown by the three young vocalists, the organizers of the Kala Peetham requested the three artistes to sing a devotional item together. The three vocalists readily obliged and sang Muddugare Yasoda of Annamacharya in Kuranji to the delight of the audience and the organizers. The three day musical event was efficiently conducted by Ch.Suderarama Sarma and Manmadha Rao.
