On the last day of the Ramotsava series of Ramabhyudhaya Sabha at Smt. Alammana Choultry in Srirampet, mass Vishnu Sahasranama recital was organised by the Sabha, in which more than 200 devotees participated. Prior to the recital, a lecture on the significance of Vishnu Sahasranama was given by city’s well-known Sanskrit scholar Dr. H.V. Nagaraja Rao.

Popular singer Vidyabhushana gave a vocal recital at 7 pm.  He was accompanied on violin by young Pradeshachar, on mridanga by H.L. Shivashankar Swamy and on ghata by M.R. Manjunath.

The other attraction of the concert was Ganjifa Art by artist Ganjifa Raghupathi Bhat, who created beautiful art according to the theme of the songs chosen.

When you think of Kannada devotional music, the first name that comes to your mind is Vidyabhushana. An accomplished singer who gives regular  concerts, Vidyabhushana is one of the most sought-after singers of Haridasa compositions.

His performances and recordings have garnered wide spread acclaim and he is a beloved figure in the world of Kannada devotional music. The present concert which lasted for two hours, was, like his many later concerts, a combination of classical kritis and devotional songs.

The artiste commenced his concert with ‘Daya MAdo Ranga Daya mAdo’ in Kalyani composed by Purandaradasaru. ‘RAmachandram bhAvayAmi’  by Muthuswami Dikshitar was the next piece in Vasanta set to Rupaka tala, rendered in totally classical style as the composition demands, with also swarakalpana developed for the pallavi. During the singing of this composition, a beautiful sketch of Rama’s battle with Indrajit was created with also a vanara trying to throw a rock at Indrajit. Rama’s posture of raising his bow in the battle was extraordinary. A shloka ‘ShrigAra sindhum’ on Swami Ranganatha followed by the composition ‘Raksha mAm rangEsha ravikOtisankAsham’ by Sripadarajaru tuned in Shuddha Dhanyasi and also the next composition ‘Ishtu dina vaikunta eshtu dooravO enutalidde’ by Kanakadasaru also on Lord Ranganatha were steeped in bhakti.

During this rendition Ganjifa Raghupathi Bhat brought into being Lord Ranganatha’s reclining position, which was greatly applauded by the main artiste on the stage and all the audience. A short ragalapana of Mohana led to Gopaladasaru’s ‘Pore emma swami jagadantaryami’, during the rendition of which the vocalist also developed neraval at ‘marajanaka ninna kOri bandeno’, and after this tani was allowed.

Shivashankar Swamy and M.R. Manjunath combined well to present a tani replete with interesting rhythms.

The next song on Krishna by Bannanje Govindacharya also in Mohana had  interesting lyrics.  ‘Navilugari baNNa, iva namma kaNNa, kottudanu uNNa,mukkuvanu manna, tereyisalu namma kaNNa’ was received with smiles. Purandara Dasaru’s ‘RAmanAmava nuDi nuDi kAmakrOdhagaLa biDi biDi’ in Yaman kalyani was prefixed by a shloka on Rama – ‘Sri RAma RAmaRAmEti’ from Vishnu sahasranama. Ugaboga ‘hari sulabhano tannavaranu aregaLige biTTagalano’ and ‘Malagi pADidare kuLitu kELvano’ in Hindola led to ‘madhukara vrutti ennadu’ by Purandaradasaru popularised by Vidyabhushana himself, which was rendered with vigour.

What makes Vidyabhushana’s concerts interesting is the fact that he always brings in unheard compositions of Haridasas in unforgettable tunes and his clarity of diction is amazing. He pronounces the words with utmost clarity, splitting them where they properly need to, without losing the musical fervour. ‘Maneyinda santosha kelavarige lokadoLu dhandinda santosha kelavarige’ in Shuddha Saveri by Sripadarajaru was followed by another composition of Purandaradasaru ‘Sundara mUruti namma mukhyaprANa banda namma manege’ in Amrutavarshni. The concluding devaranama was a popular one of Vidyabhushana ‘Eshtu SAhasavanta neenE balavanta ishta mUruti namma bhaLire Hanumanta’ on Lord Hanuman, during the singing of which a rather angry painting of Hanuman was created by  Ganjifa Raghupathi Bhat.

Pradeshachar’s strong grooming let him unleash a variety of bowing and fingering techniques. His vast concert experience with Vidyabhushana has helped him to provide the filling gaps complementing the compositions. Shivashankar Swamy made up for the main artiste’s voice issue with his bold strokes.

The Ramotsava music series of Ramabhyudaya sabha 2024 concluded with this concert.

—Dr. Padmavathi Narasimhan