Pleasing persona
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Vasantha Madhavi had an unaffected style and there was an adherence to tradition
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GETTING IT RIGHT The concert was a judicious blend of melody and virtuosity
The Every Friday Cultural Evening Programme staged a Bharatanatya performance by Sindhu Surendran at Yavanika on July 4, supported by her guru Nagalakshmi K. (nattuvanga), Bharathi Venugopal (vocal), Venugopal (flute), and Purushottham (mridanga).
The todayam and pushpanjali – followed by the well-known jatiswara in Kalyani and the shabdam in ragamalika – were elegantly executed, accentuated by good synchronisation with the orchestra and tuneful accompaniment from the vocalist. “Adidano Ranga” by Purandara Dasa set to Arabhi and aditala was a skilfully choreographed piece with interesting interludes of pure dance, as was the perennial favourite “Bhagyada Lakshmibaramma”. “Rara Rajeevalochana” by Mysore Vasudevacharya in Mohanam featured some expansion at “Dasamukhaadi Sakalaripuganaharana” in the charana, and was succeeded by Kanakadasa “Baro Krishnayya” in ragamalika. The Swati Tirunal tillana in Dhanashri was the concluding item.
Sindhu Surendran’s pleasing stage persona and fluidity of movement and the blend of rhythm and melody in the popular items presented, enabled her to sustain audience interest and maintain a uniform animated pace throughout the performance. Having traversed the conventional path of the margam in the first part of the recital, a major item such as the varnam, with a more evocative exposition of the nritta and nritya elements of the genre would have further enriched the performance, and as such, no heights of emotive intensity were scaled during the course of the recital. Nevertheless, the sound training and experience of the artiste ensured that the audience enjoyed a pleasant evening of dance.
T.S. Vasantha Madhavi, accompanied by B. Raghuram (violin), T.S. Chandrasekhar (mridanga), and S.N. Narayana Murthy (ghata) presented a vocal concert at the Sri Rama Lalitha Kala Mandira on July 5.
The artiste’s adherence to tradition and unaffected style were manifest throughout the concert, beginning with the rarely heard varnam in Goula and “Vandenishamaham” in Hamsadhwani. The systematic alapana of Hindolam with rests at the madhya sthayi shadja, madhyama, dhaivatha, nishada and on to the tara shadja, gandhara and madhyama invoked a complete picture of the raga, which the violin replicated, and was followed by Deekshithar’s “Govardhana Greesham”.
The Poorvikalyani suite incorporated a meticulous alapana, Mysore Vasudevacharya’s composition “Bhavayachyutham” in aditala and full complement of neraval, kalpana swaras and tani avartana.
The piece de resistance of the evening was the ragam-tanam-pallavi in Bilahari, with the sahitya beginning “Trishulini Bhavani Katyayani” set to chaturashra jati matthya tala. The alapana was notable for its meditative exploration of the mandra sthayi, graduating to a full expansion in the higher octaves. Subdued percussion imparted colour and verve to the tanam of both vocalist and violinist. The pallavi incorporating the requisite rhythmic diversifications and the kalpana swaras, especially the many avarthanas halting at the dhaivatha, attested to the calibre of the main artiste. Though her voice did not appear to be at its best in the concert, it remained flexible and regained strength during the main item. Interspersed with a few smaller kritis, the concert was a judicious blend of melody and virtuosity based on classicism.
MADHAVI RAMKUMAR
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