Mesmerising Varali at Yuva Sangeetha Sambhrama

By Vijayamala K. Saralaya

The seventh and eighth online concerts under the series ‘Yuva Sangeetha Sambhrama – 2020’ of Sri Thyagaraja Sangeetha Sabha Charitable Trust, Mysuru, were premièred on their YouTube channel on Dec. 19 and 26, 2020.

Vidu. Medha Manjunath presented the seventh concert accompanied by Vid. Keshav Mohankumar, Vid. Pavan Madhav Masur and Vid. Srinidhi R. Koundinya on violin, mridanga and ghata respectively.

Medha, a disciple of senior musician Vidu. Dr. Sukanya Prabhakar, is an upcoming talent of Mysuru, known to the music-lovers through her performances.

Medha opened her concert with an attractive Daru Varna of Muthiah Bhagavathar, “Sri Raja Rajeshwari”, in raga Kapi and tala Mishrachapu. The next one was Puliyur Doreswamy Iyer’s “Saraseeruhasana Priye” (Nata, Adi), which was rendered with attractive kalpanaswaras showcasing the beauty of Nata raga refreshingly.

Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar’s “Brahmanda Valaye”, (Mand, Adi) was rendered in fast tempo, followed by “Mamava Meenakshi”, a composition of Muthuswami Dikshitar in raga Varali and tala Mishrachapu, which was selected for detailed rendition. The brilliant ragalapana by the vocalist was equally well-followed in violin by Keshav. After rendering the kriti confidently, Medha took up the lines “Shyame Shankari Digvijaya Prathapini” of the charana sahitya, for neraval, which was beautifully presented, followed by kalpanaswaras in artistically designed patterns.

The concert concluded with the Devaranama “Jaganmathe” (Ahirbhairav, Adi), a composition by Prasanna Theertharu. The talented duo, Pavan and Shrinidhi complimented the concert with their percussion skills.

The eighth concert was presented by Vidu. Archana L. Rao, accompanied by Prithvi Bhaskar on violin, Vid. M.S. Jayaram on mridanga and Vid. Raghunandan Rao on ghata.

Classical music is inherent by birth to Archana, who is a disciple of both her grandfather and music scholar, Vid. Kovilady K. Rangarajan of Srirangam and mother, senior musician, Vidu. Koviladi R. Kala.

Archana gave a majestic start to her concert with the composition, “Abhimanamennadu”, (Begade, Adi) of Patnam Subrahmanya Iyer, decked up aptly with short and sweet kalpanaswaras. The next item was the popular kriti, “Eti Janmamidi Ha” of Thyagaraja, in raga Varali and tala Mishrachapu.  While the karunarasa of the raga flowed throughout the ragalapana, bhaktirasa was evident in the rendering of the kriti.

The last composition of the concert was Thyagaraja’s “Intha Soukhyamunine” (Kapi, Adi). Kapi is one of the most appealing rakthi (charming) ragas, wherein Archana excelled in her ragalapana, filled with intense emotions. In the presentation of the kriti, one could see the soothing blend of the moods of the raga and the sahithya.

The splendid manodharma of the singer was perceivable in neraval and swaraprastara for both the kritis. Archana’s sincere involvement in her singing succeeded in bringing soukhya to the listeners and proved her prowess in classical music.

The instrumental supports from the accompanying artistes, Prithvi Bhaskar, M.S. Jayaram and Raghunandan Rao were remarkable, which contributed greatly to the success of the concert.