Soulful music

E R Sethuram, veteran journalist, has served in both Prajavani and Sudha for several decades. In his memory a music festival was held last week, under the aegis of the Hindustani Sangeeta Kalakara Mandali.
Pune- based Vijay Sardeshmukh, who gave the inaugural concert, is a disciple of Pandith Kumara Gandharva and has taught in Pune University. In the current concert Vijayasardeshmukh was accompanied on tabala by Udayraj Karpoor and on harmonium by Vyasamurthy Katti. His Thodi had much of the desired endearments to make for pleasant listening.

Comparatively Deshkar was brief but was good. Though not a very melodious voice, he rendered soulfully, with an aesthetic touch. The Brindavan Sarang was pleasing and the devotionals (Namdeva and Kabeer) were reposeful.

Good in parts

A three day cultural festival with music, dance and drama was held recently in memory of Prof M P L Sastry . The ‘Bharathanjali’ group performed a dance drama ‘Navarasa Karnataka’ under the direction of B Bhanumathi. The ‘Navarasa’ was portrayed through different episodes of historical importance. Muddana - Manorame, Rani Chennama, Kanaka Dasaru and Udupi Krishna, Tenali Rama, Kumara Rama, Onake Obavva etc were depicted by seasoned artists. Some of the sequences tended to be overly dramatic and the depiction fell short in its overall appeal. With some more editing it may become more impactful.

Sangeets surabhi

R K Srikantan, veteran musician, was felicitated by the Nadasurabhi Cultural Association, on the occasion of its 14th Anniversary. President of the Gayana Samaja H Kamalanath conferred the title ‘Sangeeta Surabhi’ on Srikantan, on behalf of the association. The felicitation function was followed by a vocal concert of Maharaja Puram Ramchandran, who hails from a famous family of musicians. A lesser known Varna (Sunada Vinodini) gave him a bright start. The popular Pada ‘Jaya Janakeekantha’ led him into the intended mood. The ‘Chalakallaladu’ a fine keerthana of Tyagaraja, stood out for his performing skill and musical perception. A detailed airing of ‘Amba Kamakshee’ proved to be a measure of his artistic insight as a seasoned musician. He was well supported by C N Chandrasekhar on violin, V Praveen on mridanga and Ullur Giridhar Uudupa on ghata.

Well-known swara

To celebrate the fifth Anniversary of the ‘Adwaitha Drive n Mall’ a special music concert was held on Wednesday. Padmabhushana T N Seshagopalan who gave a vocal recital, is a favourite musician of connoisseurs, all over. The familiar varna ‘Valachi’ gave T N S an impressive start. ‘Tulasee Jagajananee’ was a welcome change from the routine compositions and instead of the usual ‘Pancharathan Krithy’ , his choice of ‘Kanakanaruchira’ was welcomed by the gathering. Seshagopalan's concert always offers something to cogitate upon. With Alapana of good ‘ragabhava’, meaningful nerval and interestingly woven swara, the Krithi ‘Palinchu Kamakshee’ was delineated with aplomb. H K Venkataram, V Praveen and Ullur Giridhar Udupa accompanied on violin, mridanga and ghata respectively.