Unique effort

The three day festival featured compositions that exuded the Biblical spirit of devotional passion, set in Carnatic classical ragas.

A three-day festival of Purushottam Chowdhary’s compositions evoked warm response at Kalabharati Visakhapatnam. Set to tune in Carnatic classical ragas, the composition exuded the Biblical spirit of devotional passion holding up universal values. Purushotham Chowadhary, a pastor, led a life of a Good Samaritan. He had worked with spirit of altruism in the service of the poor and needy during the 19 century in the north coastal districts of Andhra and the neighbouring parts of Odisha. Though a Bengali by birth, he was proficient with Telugu language and its idiom to the extent that he had penned beautiful lyrics in praise of Jesus and Biblical teachings. Phrased in lucid idiom , each of the lyrics sprang from the bottom of his heart that unswervingly surrendered to the Lord. Imbued with devotional exuberance these lyrics cut across the religious barrier in their emotive appeal. This aspect stood afloat in each of the sessions during the three-day celebration.

The fest opened with the vocal concert of Hyderabad-based Rajkumar and Sudarshini. With a fair grasp of the Carnatic classical and concert format, their performance was remarkable for its uncluttered and tidy presentation. They complimented each other singing the lyrics alternatively and keeping the tempo intact. It was, in a way, a journey in cadenced melody. While Sudharshini sang in a self-forgetful mood, Rajkumar added a fairly good measure of classicality to his melodic rendition.

Sudarshini began the concert with

Neevu todai vunna chaalu Yesu nityamu naakade padivelu in raga Bilahari. Presented in seeping melody it set the tone for the rest. Brief but appealing swarakalpana further accentuated its emotive appeal.

Set to raga Dhanyasi

Erigi erigi chedipotivi manasa ‘ evoked warm response. Rajkumar brought out its inherent philosophical and spiritual verve in the composition. His raga essays are quite appealing demonstrating his remarkable grasp of the Carnatic classical idiom. Dharaniloni dahanamulella Dharanipalai povunu in raga Abheri, Sarvajaganiki in raga Sankarabharanam and other numbers delighted the audience. Vijayasri on violin and K Kamesh on mridangam lent admirable support. On the second-day M Sasirani and P Sruthi sang, while on the third day, T Sumati Prabhakar and A Satyanarayana rendered the chosen lyrics with aplomb. Purushotham Chowdhary Memorial Trust hosted the event. On this occasion, the trust founder N Jayakumar Rao was warmly felicitated.