Sriram Sastry makes it to the final

He is a student ofR.N. Tyagarajan,the older of the Rudrapatnam brothers

November 06, 2016 12:00 am | Updated December 02, 2016 01:44 pm IST - Bengaluru:

Man of the moment:(Clockwise from left) Sriram Sastry performing; Abhirama G. Bode, Shreya Kolathaya N., Swetha Sriram, and Surabhi Pusthakam congratulating the winner, and judges K. Krishnakumar, S. Rajeshwari, and Srimushnam V. Raja Rao, at Gandhi Bhavan in Bengaluru on Saturday.— photos: K. MURALI KUMAR

Man of the moment:(Clockwise from left) Sriram Sastry performing; Abhirama G. Bode, Shreya Kolathaya N., Swetha Sriram, and Surabhi Pusthakam congratulating the winner, and judges K. Krishnakumar, S. Rajeshwari, and Srimushnam V. Raja Rao, at Gandhi Bhavan in Bengaluru on Saturday.— photos: K. MURALI KUMAR

There was pin drop silence in the Gandhi Bhavan auditorium on Saturday during 25-year-old Sriram Sastry’s rendition of the Saraswati Namostute’ in Saraswati raga. It was no surprise when the engineering student won the fifth edition of the Karnataka Regional Final of the M.S. Subbulakshmi Award 2016, a contest organised by The Hindu in association with Sa Re Ga Ma.

Sastry is a student of R.N. Tyagarajan, the older of the Rudrapatnam brothers. “I owe this to my guru Mr. Tyagarajan for his unstinting guidance throughout,” said Mr. Sastry, who has been learning Carnatic music from the veteran for 10 years.

Apart from the ‘Saraswati Namostute’ of G.N. Balasubramaniam, he also sang ‘Kashi Vishalakshi’ in Gamakakriya raga (a composition of Dikshitar) and a bhajan by Swati Tirunal in Brindavani. He competed with four other talented singers for a place in the final.

“I am truly elated to be judged the winner here, and I am waiting to be a part of the five finalists at the competition in Chennai,” he said.

The regional competition was judged by noted musicians mridangist Srimushnam V. Raja Rao; guru and vocalist S. Rajeshwari, who retired from the Tamil Nadu College of Music; and vocalist and composer Dr. K. Krishnakumar.

“Sriram Sastry’s command over the grammar and aesthetics of the classical genre, his relaxed flow and grip over the raga was impressive,” said Srimushnam Raja Rao. Ms. Rajeswari and Mr. Krishnakumar were impressed by his focus on all aspects. Twenty-five minutes were allotted to each contestant to perform a short kriti, raga delineation followed by a kriti with swara prastara and a light tail-ender. They were accompanied by M.R. Srinidhi on the violin and R. Adamya on the mridanga.

The other contestants were Swetha Sriram (a student of Carnatic vocalist Satyamurthy), Abhirama G. Bode (student of vocalist R.A. Ramamani) Shreya Kolathaya N. (a student of G. Ravikiran) and Surabhi Pusthakam who learnt from Amrutha Venkatesh.

The M.S. Subbulakshmi Award is in memory of the queen of Carnatic Music. “The award is presented to young and promising Carnatic vocalists. It is not just an annual event, but a momentum that has gained rhythm over the years. It gains more significance this year as the nation celebrates M.S Subbulakshmi’s birth centenary,” said T. A. Venkateshwaran, aka Isaikavi, Ramanan who compèred the event. Similar regional events for nearly 150 contestants are being held in Hyderabad, Kochi, Mumbai and Chennai. Sastry will compete with other regional winners in the final in Chennai on November 13 at the Music Academy. “The winner will be crowned ‘Classical Voice of the Year 2016’ and will be awarded a trophy and a chance to record an album with Sa Re Ga MA,” said T. Anand, Chief Manager-Content (South), Sa Re Ga MA India.

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