VOL. VIII
ISSUE 8
JANUARY 2006

radhanasri and Narayan in a delightful dance feature
Preksha Griha"held during Sadhana Sangama's
Mukula-Yugala" dance festival

An enthralling performance by a talentec

NRI disciple of renownec
Guru Dr.Vasundhara Doraswamy
Samyuktha Kemparaja Urs

Sindhu and Bindu Rao

M

N

A

M.G.Sindhu and S.Shwetha

in the traditional "SALANGAI POOJA”

Capturing the audience:
Guru Chethana Radhakrishna
and Megha B. Kakkilaya.

Mandya’s Gurudev Academy of Fine Arts' classical dance

festival "Narthana 2005" held. .

Prized disciples of Guru Chethana Radhakrishna making their first bow:

GUNAGRAHI/JANUARY-2006

an

mTinni

nrnmrn

(CA LENDAR OF EVENTST ftruthi Sindhura Academy of Music, Jan.22, 5.30 pin.

cal recital by maharajapuram Ramachandran acc.by dr.jyotsna srikanlh (violin), neyvcli venkatesh
(mridanga). N. Amruth (khanjira)and Prathap(ghata)at Ramakrislina Udyanavana.Girinagar.
Sri Rama Lalitliakala Mandira. 26th Jan. 10 am. Sri Thyauaraja & Sri Purandaradasa
Day celebrations in association with Devagiri Sri Venkatesh wara Trust at Sri Venkatcshwara
temple, Devagiri.

Mallcshwaram Sangeetha Sablia, 29tli Jan. 6 pm: vocal recital by Cliaitra Prasanna acc.
by T.S.Krishnamiirthy (violin), N.Nanjundamurthy (mridanga). R.Karthik (khanjari) at Ananya.
Sri 1 hyagara ja Gana Sablia Trust and Sri Mookambika Talavadya Sangeetha Shale,
15th Jan. vocal recital by Neela Ramgopal acc.by B.Raghuram (violin). Renukaprasad
(mridanga). M.A.Krishnamurthy (ghata) at Sri Vani Vidya Kendra, Rajaj inagar.

BTM Cultural Academy, 16th to 22nd Jan. 5.30 pm daily. 16th Jan. Geethanjali by dis
ciples of" T.S.Sathyavathi followed by vocal duel by P.Rama and R.Chandrika acc.by B.Raglui
ram ( violin). H.S.Sudheendra (mridanga), G.S.Ramanu jam (ghata). 1 7th Jan. Vocal by C arnatic
brothers K.N.Shashikiran and P.Ganesh. H.K. Venkataram (violin), V.Praveen ( mridanga) Kailhik
(ghata). 1 Sth Jan. vocal by Kovaishee Sisters. Jayashrec and Vijayashree. Charulatha (violin),
Cheluvaraj t mridanga). M.A.Krishnamurthy (ghata). I Oth Jan. vocal by Vishnubhalla Sisters.
Saraswathi and Krishna.veni. Lalgudi Rajalakshmi (violin), BVS Prasad (mridanga). B.N.
Chandramowli (khanjari). 20th Jan. Vocal by Trichur brothers, Srikrishna Mohan and Ramkumar
Mohan. M.S.Govindaswamy (violin). Trichur Mohan (mridanga). N. Amrurth (khanjari). 2 1st
Jan. vocal by Rudrapatnam Brothers, R.N.Thyagarajan and R.N.Taranathan. Mysore Nagaraj
(violin), A. V.Anand ( mridanga), Giridhar Udupa (ghata). 22nd Jan. 9.30 am. Pooja, grou|
songs. Goshligana.Mangalarathi, Guruseva concerts. Prasada viniyoga at Sri Ramana Maharishi
Academy for the Blind. J.P.Nugar.

M.A.Narasimhachar Music Foundation: 22nd Jan. 5.30 pm. vocal by kalavathi Avadhoot,
B.Raghuram (violin). K.U.Jayachandrarao (mridanga), Omkar (ghata) at the Indian Institureol
World Culture. Karnataka Gana Kala Parishath: 28th Jan. veena by 1 lema Ranganath.

Raaga Sudlialaya Charitable Trust, 28lh Jan. 6.30 pm, Sri Raamaamrutha, devotiona
songs on Lord Sri Rama by Rajasri School of Music. Direction: K.S.Manorama at BEL Sri

Ganapathy Temple. BEL Colony.

Drishti Dance Festival, 1 2th Jan. Chowdaiah Memorial 1 kill. Performances by Nirupama

and Rajcndra. Lakshmi Gopalaswamy. Anuradha Vikranth, Shama And Sanjay Shantaram.
ACADEMY OF MUSIC in association with ANANYA, ‘SANGEETHA SANDIIYA\an

evening of Music in aid of “Ananya Arogyadhara”: vocal recital by T.M. Krishna accompanied

by H.K. Venkataram (violin), Arjun Kumar (mridanga), Salhish (khanjira) followed by violin

duel by Mysore M. Nagaraj and Dr. Mysore Manjunath, accompanied by H.S.Sudheendra

(mridanga), K.U.Jayachandrarao (mridanga) at Chowdaiah Memorial hall, Jan 25, 5.30 pm.

Karnataka’s only English International Journal on music and dance

IlllHiniiiiimiiiimiKiiim

\HI/JANUARY-2006

llllllllllllllllllllll

Sruthi The Sound of Silence

‘Garland’ N. Rajagopalan, IAS (retd.)

Poet Thomas Gray mentions ‘Solemn stillness holds’. In most of the villages that pre-
sented the galaxy of musicii ns, composers, litterateurs. 03 , ete., one could gather the experi-
ence ol ‘the eloquency of the speaking stillness of nights’ and ‘the universal drone in action’ It
is not the silence ol the graveyard. The humming sound of *OM \ nature’s drone, amidst the all-
embracing stillness, has been the source of boundless joy (to the galaxy) from which they drew
the requisite inspiration and message. If they excelled, it was because they were aware of the
message ol speaking sound ol silence that held out lessons to their receptive ears. In that divine
experience, their musical soul merged in the infinite naada and became one, the wholesome one.

I heii keen musical sense gathered inspiration, substance and momentum, developing them-
selves into musical reconnoiters’ (sancharas. sangalis, gamakas, birkas etc. |

Sruti is beautifully described as ‘Silence given Sound' -Nada. It is because the inherent
spirit and nature, innate features and qualities, content and scope of Classical Music, one con-
stant I v heai sol the Silence ol Music .This Isai Amaidi is often much more eloquent than
auditioned music. Some of the musicians reap a rich harvest of it. Dr. M S. Subbulakshmi and
m, my otheis have given credit to punctuated musical silence which brings out the eloquence of
sungiin. sahitva, bliava and art ha. Pairizia Norelli Rachelet, Director, Aeon Centre of Cosmol-
ogy presents his learned observations thus:

•Let us apply the principle that “From Fullness comes Fullness’’. We all know that the
music ol India (Classical, particularly Carnatic] has a cosmological basis. But similar to the lost
measuie ol the year, the precise knowledge ol the cosmic structure in large part is lost as well,
though it lives on in music in the same manner in which it lives on in Vedicchantingorel.se in the
worship ol many Gods and Goddesses of Hinduism, though their precise connection with the
cosmic changes they embody is now ignored by the populace. The key lies in the simplest and
perhaps most overlooked component of classical music — the Sruti.

‘Some Westeners arc apt to be disturbed by the relentless, ceaseless drone of the sruti.

I Ins is a pity because the sruti in Classical Music harks back to the same premise. Fullness and
not Emptiness. It is rendering in the language of music of the same Vedic precept that creation
and the universe do not arise from a void but rather from sacred Fullness.'

Thus, sruti is silence given sound so that never is there emptiness in the execution |
delineation | ol the raga. The raga |or silence given sound | which arises from that sound silence
anti dips back into it periodically is ever sustained by the sruti and never col lapses into a void,
into an emptiness or nothingness. It is the perception of Skambha, support of the worlds, even
as the sruti “supports" the raga. In classical Indian music, it is this seemingly insignificant drone

that preserves the most ancient truths of the Veda. The musical composition is never “void" but

(continued on page 6)

4

G IN AG RA 1 1 1/JAN UA RY-2006

From the Editor General

Fhe Expression

We are indeed proud lo boast of the rich, comprehen-
sive, scientific and humane miming tradition in the world that
we inherit. The present day intelligent young dancers have
been attracted towards its subtleties. Dance and music carry
with them an additional language, i.c.. music, melody and
rhythm.Classical dance is also different beacause of the hand
gesture language, for at the centre of the expressive dance is
the hand gesture. The hand gestures of Indian dance are a
veritable language that can translate almost any written poem
into gesture. Once the spectator gels to understand this vo-
cabulary of gestures. Indian dance will literally read like a
book.

It is worth to note that the super structure of Indian dance
is made of the Sangeetha Traya or a confluence of poetry,
music and dance. It is not surprising that a coming together
of three stylised idioms scare the modem sensibility brought
up on realistic art.

All classical aits have an impersonal isalion and sty I i sat ion
of form. Expressive techniques are not left to chance or ex-
perimentation but are rigorously learnt and mastered before
any attempt at creativity. The creative springs, therefore, are
not allowed to dry in search of form. The impersonalisalion
of form in the classical arts is a great advantage that facili-
tates expression. Such a conventional, stylised impersonal
language can only be, comprehended by the aesthete through
long exposure and understanding.

Repetitiveness of repertoire is the characteristic of classi-
cal arts. A composition by Thyagaraja, Siddendra Yogi or
Mozart is repeated by a serious artiste because of the rich-
ness of its form and content and not because of the paucity
of the performer’s imagination.

—Karnataka Kala Sri Dr. M. Surya Prasad.

5

i

(continued from page 4)

always “full” filled with the silence of sound, that
is the sruti, the inspired and revealed Word.’
— [TheHindu, November 7, 2000]

As pointed out by the eminent author-
ity in musicology, T .S. Pailhasaralhy during our
discussions, the learned Rachelet has brought
out just the lull implications of the ancient invo-
cation sloka with philosophical connotation in
Sukla Yajur veda Isavasya Upanisad, repro-
duced below:

Om Purnamadah. Purnamidam,
Purnat, Purnamudacchayate: Purnasya,
Purnamadhaya, Purnamevaavasishyate. [That
is Whole: this is Whole: from the Whole, the
Whole becomes manifest. From the Whole
when the Whole is negated, what remains is
again the Whole.]

|That -the invisible Absolute -is whole;
whole is this -the visible, phenomenal universe;
from the invisible whole comes forth the visible
whole. Though visible whole has come out from
the invisible whole, yet the whole remains unal-
tered.]

The sloka in toto applies to naada -
music. ‘The sruti is the minutest pleasing
microtone, audible pitch, a fraction of a
semitone. It is the foundation of music. A group
of srutis presents the swara and a group of
swaras lead to a raga | melody frame or pat-
tern] with an independent, singular raga
swaroopa and gunas.

Srunte iti smtayah: i.e., sruti is the pitch
that pleases the ear. Indian music has the sruti
alignment as the basic and the system has been
in vogue so long and so profoundly in continu-
ous play that the slightest slip is alerted, is

frowned upon and jars the ears of even the lay.
It is derailment from the appointed, ordained
divine track. The adhara shadja presents an
assurance of safety, well being and perfection
while the tara sthayi shadja instills confidence
of technical and salutary harmony and accu-
racy. The musician enjoys an undeniable plea-
sure [atma tripti] as and when he reaches these
two stages and draws self-satisfaction and self-
assurance of being on firm ground. This is in-
deed an assuring bonus to the musician. Sangita
Kalanidhi Madurai Mani Ayyar would fondly
take the drone on his lap and heartily embrac-
ing it enjoy the absolute integrity, fullness of sruti
suddham. One could see the absolute surren-
der of his identity in the humming of the drone.
Malta Vaidyanatha Ayyar would have the drone
[tambura sruti] kept humming while he retired
for a short while to do his evening ritual —
sandhyavandan. The humming sruti would en-
velop the hall all while retaining the aura and
aroma of divine musical presence. The general
view from the days of Bharata is that there arc
22 srutis to an octave distributed among the
seven swaras, though there are contra views
that the number is 24 (Abraham Pandilhar.etc.)
In Indian concerts, the artiste adopts that pitch
developed from the chosen adhara sruti which
suits his voice best and adheres to it throughout
the performance. The accompanying instruments
too are adjusted and tuned to that same pitch.
Sruti Suddha perfection in absolute iden-

tity w ith the adopted pitch and the further ap-
propriate swara notes in arohana and avarohana
relevant to the specific raga chosen, constitute
the basic frame, the sine qua non to rendition.

CZ5

6

.R. E. V. I. E. W. S.

Dr.A.H.Ramarao & Sudha Kao page

Successful Arudra-2005

Seasoned and fine
Bharatanatya dancer Ranjani
Ramesh Ganeshan and her par-
ents deserve to be commended

“Kanakasabha sadane”,an eu-
logy to Lord Shiva was fully
explored by Ranajani and
Malavika and Shiva leelas were
neatly depicted. Purandara
dasas “Entha sannavane ninna
maga” was sought to focus on

‘Hariharaardha Murthy”, which
canned the message of indistin-
guishability of Hari and Hara or
Shaiva and Vaishnava concept
was a welcome item. The leelas
and traits of Shiva and Vishnu
were enunciated on the basis of

for their untiling efforts in hold-
ing the “Arudra dance Festival”
every year. For the ninth con-
secutive year was successfully
held at Subhash Bhavan in
Rajarajeshwarinagar for two
days. Group presentations
marked the festival.

It was most reassuring to
see how Ranjani Ramesh
Ganeshan has kept up her
shape and form. She led a trio
performance with her sister-
actress Malavika Avinash and
little daughter Daksha Ramesh.
Her bodily dexterity was amaz-
ing as was evident from the
double speed jathis in the nritta
portions. While Malavika was
extremely good in her
abhinaya, Daksha was justice
to the role made for her. The
opening Mallari, an essentially
nagaswara item, had a variety
in terms of solkattus and
aduvus. The Shivashtapadi

Daksha. And Daksha did ex-
tremely well as Bala Krishna.
Malavika and Ranjani as
Yashoda and Gopika became
one with their characters. The
rasikas could visualize the leelas
like Kalinga mardana,
brail manda darshana and so
on. Both graceful and vigorous
movements abounded
‘ A rd h a n aeers h wara slot ra” .
The trio concluded with another
Dasa-pada “Tamboori

meetidava”.

#

The group Kathak by
Omkar Creations led by Suina
Vijay yielded mixed results. The
long-drawn speech on Kathak
for Bangalore rasikas seemed
to be too taxing. Explication of
a Purandaradasa pada with a
Sanskrit shloka and the por-
trayal of Dashavatara by Suma,
Tushar Bhat and V.Bharathi
was a good idea and the ex-
ecution was just simple.

the ascending notes — sa, ri, ga.
ma, pa, da, ni — of the raga.
Joined by Nagaraj, the above
trio went through the phases of
the portrayal with ease.
Ofcourse, Nagraj’s approach
seemed a bit exaggerated.

» i

^ *"» #T»

The jugal bandhi of
Odissi (Vani Madhav) and
Bharatanatya (Suhasini
Krishnamurthy) left an indelible
impact on the lovers of dance.
Vani Madav’s direction, chore-
ography and execution was
good in parts. All the good ef-
fects of hard and perfect re-
hearsals were conspicuous.
Petite Suhasini also rose to the
occasion in the realization of the
dance-imagination. Vani and
Suhasini opened with a
Mangalacharan (Pahadi and
Ahirbhairav) and Pushpanjali.
It was good to see Vani per-
forming Bhoo vandana and
Suhasini translating Odissi-

7

IT

(,l \ \(,R\II|/I \\l \R\ ’011(1

rumm

jathis intoBharatanatya move-
ments. In the Krishna stuti
“Phulandi varakanti”. Vani
Madhav and Suhasini
Krishnamurthy described the
splendour of Lord Krishna in
their own mediums.

Suhasini’s abhinaya of
a Devi stuti in Keeravani ra°a

c

was commendable. The “Shiva
Panchaskshari” provided the
lyrical support for them to enu-
merate Lord Shiva’s greatness.

Vani’s control over the
dynamics of movement and
dance profile while sketching
the Dashavataras (Kalyani,
ektal) left me astonished. And
no matter, what the speed and
tempo the perfection of line
never faltered.

Thejugalbandhi ended with
aMangalam in Bharatanatya
style and Moksha in Odissi
style juxtaposed together and
choreographed by Vani
Madhav specially for that
evening's performance.

It was a pleasant experi-
ence to listen to the vocal mu-
sic by talented Heggar Ananth
Hegde. His recital was held in
connection with the release of
his CD at the Nayana Audito-
rium. The specialty of the CD
is that the meritorious vocalist
has cleverly picked up a few

old film songs tuned in
Hindusthani classical ragas and
rendered them in an appealing
manner. He set a lively ambi-
ence with his live concert sup-
ported ably by Umakanth
Puranik and Rajendra Nakod
on the harmonium and the tabla
respectively.

Rendition of a
sandhya prahar raga (a raga to
be sung in the twilight) Pooriya
Kalyan which resembles the
Poorvi Kalyani of Carnatic
music and singing of “Aaj
sukhana” (vilambit ek tal) and
“Bahut din” (dmt teental) pro-
claimed singer Ananth Hegde’s
solid musicianship. With a
strong voice well aligned to
shruti he gave an excellent ac-
count of the raga. From the
way, he laid out the exposition,
he appeared to be firm in his
ideas and ideals not certainly
the musical medley seen at the
hands of a few other vidwans.
Three factors were notewor-
thy brevity, a clear idea of

raga swaroopa and crisp ren-
dition. Purandaradasa’s “Alii
nodalu Rama” (Khamach) and
an old-time composition
“Sham naa maano”(Bhairavi)
were notable for clear enun-
ciation of the sahilya and the

rasa bhaava without distortion.

8

His real asset is his voice. It has
an inherent strength that makes
his interpretations weighty.

Listening to Sharada
Bharath Vadavatti, the daugh-
ter-disciple of the renowned
clarionet artiste Pt.
Narasimhalu Vadavatti, at the
Yavanika in the EFCEP series,
I noticed that she was keen
and well trained. She proved
to be a genuine heir to her
father's tradition and lineage of
music too. The poise with
which she presented her mu-
sic was admirable. And that
poise was possible because her
voice was smooth and pre-
sented no problems in any of
the three octaves. It was very
pleasant too but the effect pro-
duced by it was of a “melodic
drugging” character. This could
easily be changed to the more
desirable melodic tonic effect
if the young singer goes in for
a slightly higher pitch and also
cultivates a more intense
Hindusthani tension in her
voice.

The content of her re-
cital was also fetching. When I
entered the hall, the aura of
Shyam Kalyan (“Nand
bulavath”, drut teental) had
moved the rasikas. The bols.

DO

m

nwmTTTr

Turn

1

I

bol-taans and a couple of
sargams were attractive. The
singing of Basaveshwara
vachanas and keerthanas by
Haridasas was another high
point of her recital. “Kaage
ondagalu” (Bhatiyar), “Kalla
naagara” (Yaman),” “Summane
dorakuvude” (Keeravani),
“Gehi gehi” (Sant Tukaram’s
Marathi Abhang, Bheempalas)
followed by the concluding
“Math jaa math jaa jogi”
(Meerabai. Bhairavi) were im-
press ive. Shravanakuinar
(harmonium) and Keshava
Joshi (labia) did an excellent

job of efficient accompanists.

* * * *

The importance of a
jathiswara in a Bharatanatya is
immense. It lubricates the limbs
of the dancer and enables the
negotiation of more compli-
cated aspects of nritta in the
ensuing varna. Lean and tall
Praneetha Kamalh handled
well the Vasantha jathiswara
(mishra chapu) in her
Bharatanatya recital held at
Ravindra Kalakshetra and de-
lineated the famous varna
“Roopamu joochi” (Todi, ad-
dressed to Lord Shiva) with
artistic ease. She did her Guru
Vandya Srinath of the
Bhramara School of dance.

proud by rendering the nritta,
nrithya and abhinaya studded
on to the varna with full involve-
ment.

Praneetha sketched
neatly a few episodes of
Mahabharatha during the
course of her enactment of a
Dasara-pada “Yamanelli
kaananendu” (Shivaranjini).
She was appropriately backed
up by her Guru Vandya Srinath
(nattuvanga), Balasubramanya
Sharma (vocal), Madhusudan
(violin), Chandrasekhar
(mridanga) and Prasannakumar
(khanjira).

The importance of a
jathiswara in a Bharatanatya is
immense. It lubricates the limbs
of the dancer and enables the
negotiation of more compli-
cated aspects of nritta in the
ensuing varna. Lean and tall
Praneetha Kamath handled
well the Vasantha jathiswara
(mishra chapu) in her
Bharatanatya recital held at
Ravindra Kalakshetra and de-
lineated the famous varna
“Roopamu joochi” (Todi, ad-
dressed to Lord Shiva) with
artistic ease. She did her Guru
Vandya Srinath of the
Bhramara School of dance,
proud by rendering the nritta,

nrithya and abhinaya studded

9

on to the varna with full involve-
ment.

Praneetha sketched
neatly a few episodes of
Mahabharatha during the
course of her enactment of a
Dasara-pada “Yamanelli
kaananendu” (Shivaranjini).
She was appropriately backed
up by her Gum Vandya Srinath
(nattuvanga), Balasubramanya
Sharma (vocal), Madhusudan
(violin), Chandrasekhar
(mridanga) and Prasannakumar
(khanjira).

Delightful Deepotsava

The eight-day
“Deepotsava” music festival at
the Ananya auditorium was
evoking. There were some sur-
prising programmes too. The
festival began with a vocal re-
cital by veteran vocalist
T.S.Vasanthamadhavi.

On day 2, though
seemed fatigued, Kashi
Vishalakshi provided good fare
on her veena. Suitably accom-
panied by Vasudevarao
(mridanga ) and R.Ramesh
(ghata) she had Todi varna and
Dikshitar’s “Swaminatha” (with
chittaiswaras) as her standard
preludes to her solo recital.
“ Nad a t an u m an i s h am ” ,
“Maayamma” (Ahiri, Shyama
Sastry) and Nagaswaravali

(with alapana and Maha
Vaidyanatha Iyer’s “Sri
Shankaraguruvaram”) captured
the beauty of the veena play.
The daatuswaras in the
swaraprastara were a delight.

Varali (“Maamava
Meenakshi”), Devagandhari
(“Ksheerasagara shayana”)
and Prabhupriya (Veene
Venkatagiriyappa’s “Sri Raja
Rajeswari”) ragas and the re-
spective krithis could have
been more energetic and en-
riching. But the raga, tana and
Pallavi (“Kailasapathe
Pashpathe Umapathe
namostute”) in Begade tagged
with a ragamalika
swaraprastara (comprising
Shanmukhapriya, Revathi,
Shahana and Saveri) seemed to
provide the missing links.

yp *1*

«,»

Day 3 featured a sea-
soned violinist M.S.Govinda
swamy’s solo violin recital.
With his seasoned and excel-
lent concert-craft and high stan-
dard of playing he held the au-
dience under his spell and there
were some fine musical cre-
ations. The way he look along
with him his able accompanists
B.Dhruvaraj (mridanga) and
Dayananda Mohite (ghata) was
admirable. And hence, he could

break the monotony that could
creep into the concert. Without
yielding to the instrumental
jugglery and gimmicks he
sketched the natural beauty of
the ragas like Hamsadhwani
(“Vatapi”) and Ganamoorthe
(“Gaana moorthe”). There was
a notable consistency in his ap-
proach throughout the concert.
This got reflected in Bilahari
(“Paridaana michchithe”) and
Abheri (“Bhaja re manasa”). It
was surprising to note that there
was no neraval in the whole of
the concert.

The Doctor sings

I was taken aback at
the sincere, dedicated and in-
volved vocal recital by Dr. B.R.
Padmanabharao. A eye spe-
cialist by profession and a vo-
calist by vocation was the star
of the fourth evening. Listening
to Padmanabharao, one no-
ticed that he was keen and well
trained for vocal performance.
If the recital was “not satisfac-
tory” for himself (as he vented
out his feelings after the con-
cert), it was not because of any
lack of competence but an ac-
count of the absence of tonal
finesse here and there.

But the fare he offered

was valuable and the singer

10

should prove artistically more
thrustful when his voice acquires
seasoned quality. He scored
predictably in his praiseworthy
krithi renditions. They were all
disciplined patas with clean
sangathi sequences and the Dr.
Rao sang them with sincerely
synchronized effort. There was
commendable effectiveness in
his phraseology. Begade vama,
“Bhavaye Ganapathim”
(Simhendramadhyama),
“Goverdhana Gireesham”
(Hindola, with raga and
swaravistaras), “Deva Deva”
(Mayainalavagowla) were
among the impressive song ren-
ditions. The Kalgada raga com-
position “Parvathi ninnu
neranammithi” (Shyama Sastry)
was interesting. T.S. Krishna
muitliy (violin), Jayachandrarao
(mridanga) and Srishyla (ghata)
added lustre to the recital.
Bhavanotsava 2005
The annual Bhavanotsava-
2005 coincided with the inau-
guration of the South Centre of
the Bangalore Bharatiya Vidya
Bhavana situated on the main
road of the Basavanagudi. The
music fare in that connection
was held at the new premises.
Veteran veena artiste
Rajalakshmi Tirunarayanan’s
performance should have given

(J IN A( , RAH I/. | AM A RY-2006

immense satisfaction both to
herself and the rasikas of the
Bhavana.

From the way she ren-
dered alapana, krithis and
swaras, she appeared to be
firm in her ideals, not certainly
the musical medley seen at the
hands of senior instrumental-
ists. Brevity, a clear idea of
raga swaroopa and crisp ren-
dering of keerthanas enunciat-
ing the sahitya without distor-
tion, were the three factors that
caught my attention. Sri
J a y a c h a m arajendr a
Wodeyar’s Athana krilhi “Sri
Maha Ganapalhim" provided
a befitting prelude to the re-
cital. A crisp Bahudari for
“Brova bhaarama" and
Pu ra n d a rad asa ' s m a j e s t i c
“Krishnamurthy kanna munde”

( Kambhoj i ) gu ided the path to
an audio delight.
Simhendramadhyama was
sketched with tana in
S i m h e n d r a m a d y a m a ,
Shahana, Saraswathi, Arablii,
Khamach and Hindusthani
Kapi. Vasudevucharya’s grand
krithi “Ninne nammitinayya"
was adorned with a neat and
tidy swaraprastara. Her play
liigh I ighted the niceties of
Mysore bani. “I lari chitta
sathya” ( Purandaradasa,

Jonpuri) and “Kadagola
tarenna” (Yaman) had a delight-
ful tempo. Rajalakshmi’s veena
recital appropriately accompa-
nied by her sister Rathnaprabha
Krishnan (second veena) and
V.S. Rajagopal (mridanga)
concluded with a tillana in

Jhinjhoti raga.

%!•

^

The “Deepotsava” se-
ries under the aegis of Ananya
ended witli a leisurely vocal re-
cital by S.Shankar. As usual the
veteran singer's real asset was
his voice. It had an inherent
strength that makes his interpre-
tations weighty. It has sufficient
akaara felicity, which he used
in his alapana tagged on to
shruti-aligned karvais. He
struck the identity of the ragas

he sung Kedaragowla

(varna), Mayamalavagowla
(“Amina raavamma
Tulasamma”with neraval and
swaras) and Manji (Shyama
Sastry's demanding krithi
“Brovavamma taamasame”) in
the initial sancharas itself. He
never indulged in unnecessary
embroidering of raga
alapamanas making them gar-
ish. Economy of sancharas
emphasizing the vital phrases
made his presentation of
Keeravani (“Amba Vani

1 1

nannadarimpave” with sahitya
and swara vistara) tellingly im-
pressive. Shankar was usefully
supported by his vocalist son
Ramani. Chandrasekhar ( vio-
lin), B.K.Chandramowli
(mridanga) and Ramesh (ghata)
contributed well for the success
of the recital.

A CD “Laya Vrishti”,
a percussion ensemble, di-
rected and presented by vet-
eran percussionist B.K.
Chandramowli was released
before the start of the vocal re-
cital.

The thematic calendar-
2006 annually published by the
Ananya was released at a
colourful function held at the
Bangalore Gayana Samaja by
S. Rajaram, the former
prinicipal of the Kala-
kshetra,Chennai in the presence
of artist Raghavendrarao,
dancer-G u ru B . B han u math i ,
Dr. R. V.Raghavendra and a re-
ceptive audience. The calendar
has various Bharatanatya
Mudras printed elegantly in
black and white. One wished
the names of those Mudras loo
printed along with them. It is a
noteworthy feature that all the
proceeds of the calendar would
be pooled into the most ambi-
tious project “Ananya

CUN AC; RAH l/J AN U A R Y-2006

Arogyadhara” of Ananya,
which aims ai the free medical
aid to the ailing musicians.

The morn ins

programme began with a de-
lightful group flute-perfomiance
by Amith Nadig, Rajkamal.
Narasi mhamurthy and
A.P.Sarvotham appropriately
accompanied by Renuka
Prasad (mridanga) and
Narayanamurthy (ghata).
Young Suchethan sang the
krithis in between and in pieces
which did not contribute well to
the wholcsomeness of the
group performance. But on the
otherside, the young flautists
displayed their prowess and
artistry neatly. Thanks to the
director of the ensemble, there
was a fine coordination among
the artistes. There was cohe-
siveness between the medium
and the message.

K u n t a I a v a r a I i
(“Bhogeendra shaayinam”),
Hindola (“Govardhana
Gireesham” with beautifully
shared alapana) and the major
item of the programme, an ex-
pansive treatment of Kalyani
for Patnam’s “Nija dasa
varada” ornamented with
neraval and kalpanaswaras cli-
maxing with a meticulously
worked artistic teermana.

Pu.Thi.Na’s “Krishnanaa
kolalina kaie" (Sindhubhairavi)

sounded well in flutes.

^

Though seeming to be
fatigued here and there young
dancer Anuradha Vikranth was
at home in her Bharatanatya
recital. Dancing to a recorded
music, she rendered

Pushpanjali and a krithi
“Ranajani mrudu Pankaja
lochani” in a chain of ragas suf-
fixed with “Ranjani”. dlie man-
ner in which she sketched
Durga, Lakshmi and

Saraswathi was commendable.

:fc

Snehasri, Josephine,
Geetha, Anupama, Geetha,
Nagabrinda, Ranjani, Savitha
and Veena, the talented dis-
ciples of B.Bhanumathi of
“Bharathanjali” troupe covered
the entire stage of the Gayana
Samaja and filled it with their
mercurial movements to
present their Guru’s artistic,
aesthetic and attractive choreo-
graphic items. Those align-
ments-realignments, geometri-
cal patterns, freezes, sculptur-
esque poses et al were of a
high class and captivated the
lovers of dance. Thyagaraja’s
“Vidulaku” (Mayamalava-
gowla), L.R. Laksh mi’s Tamil

12

composition on Shanmugha
(ragamalika, Shanmukhapriya,
Saranga, Hindola and
Madhyamavathi) vouched for
the dancing skills of the danc-
ers.

Sharmila’s fine odissi

A talented Odissi
dancer that she is, Sharmila
Mukcrji impressed the audi-
ence at the Yavanika with her
artistic Odissi performance in
the Every Friday Cultural
Evening Programme series.
Her postures and expressions
were noteworthy. Striking win-
some smiles, captivating pos-
tures and expressive abhinaya,
she presented the items in a
tellingly poignant fashion doing
justice to the dance of the
‘tribhanga’ as she maintained
the strict postures of the three
body parts without ever losing
the grace. Each movement of
hers seemed to be pre-or-
dained. However, thechowkas
were conspicuous with their
absence. She began with
Mangaiacharan (Megha and
Kedar) marked by the neat
trikhandi pranam. If in the
Arabhi Pallavi (ek tali),
Sharmila could stick to the es-
sence of Odissi, which is said
to be akin to the blooming of a
bud, as the dance form bios-

somed into its entirety through
paced motion. Her depiction of
Saalbaig’s “Ahe neel shaikf (on
Lord Vishnu ) was pleasing But
the repetition of Arahhi was not
relishable. The abhinaya for a
bhajan “Suno mana Hari ka
naam" was to the mark. She
concluded with a traditional
Moksha. The performance by
her disciples Swathi.

Nagabhushan (nattuvanga),
Nandakumar (vocal),

Madluisudan (violin) and
Tulasiram ( mridanga),
Keerlhikumar began his dance
recital with a traditional Nata
Pushpanjali. Muthuswamy
Dikshitar's “Siddhi

Vinayakam” (Shanmukha-
priya) was utilized to depict the
traits of the Lord of Obstacles.

under the joint aegis of the In-
ternational Dance Alliance,
Chennai and its Bangalore
Chapter led by Guru Padmini
Muruli of Padmalaya Centre for
Performing Arts. Though the
theme was specified earlier, it
was intriguing to see the per-
formers either adhering to it in
parts or totally ignoring it.

In a grand dance cho-

Arzoo.Divya and Sanjana dur-
ing the elaboration of Basanth
Pallavi yielded mixed results.
Absence of the inevitable
Ashtapadi was striking.

Ganesh Desai (vocal),
Sowmya Mohanti (pakhawaj),
Sridhar ( violin )'s good pcrl'or-

Some of his freezes and the reography. Mangalore's
adjoining nritta were neatly met Lakshmi Gururaj and her mem-
with. In the Ramayana Shabda, bers of the troupe excelled in
familiar episodes from highlighting the virtues of both
Ramayana beautifully got en- the theme and medium. The
acted by Keerthikumar. The Bhartatanatya vocabulary
Bhairavi varna addressed to shone lorth at every stage of the

Lord Krishna

(“Nanda dance feature. With mercurial

mance was marred by high
decibel. Was there a need for
sitar (Shmthi Kamath) accom-
paniment at all?

Notable male dancer

Bharalanalya performer
Keerthikumar *s youthful glow

Gopalanai, Sakhi, Vara
cholladi") was delineated with
confidence and conviction. The
depiction of the Vamana
avatara, in particular, was note-
worthy.

Likewise, the dancer

movements the dancers cov-
ered the stage and the theme
of Krishna's birth and His shift-
ing toGokula was excellently
unfolded. Aided by a strong
musical ensemble led by Sudhir
Rao, the dancers including

c

and ti im figured elegance caught showed glimpses of his under- Lakshmi Gururaj enthralled the

the attention of the rasikas as
the Nayana auditorium and he
had the requisite credentials for
his performance during the LA-

standing of salwikaabhinaya in
rendering a well known

Kanakadasa pada “Baagilanu
leredu". Brindavani ti liana was

audience.

* *

Pooja and group in
their Kathak mode tried to

ery Wednesday Cultural
Evening Programme. His hard
work and uood training under

w c.

the concluding item of his re-
cital.

his Guru V.Nagabhushan was
evident and rewarding too.

Aptly accompanied by

A one-day dance fes-
tival with Krishna as theme was
held at ADA Rangamandira

sketch Holi, Krishna's dalliance
with Gopis and attributes of
youthful Krishna. The long-
drawn sequences of Ched
cliaad and Raas could have
been avoided.

Same words hold good prevailed could have been seemed to be more focused on
with regard to the performance checked. body language the intensity of

by Pavithra Reddy and other ***** abhinaya was at a discount,

dancers from Nrithyagram. Though fine angikas *****

Mamtaining the concert pattern and the grandeur of nritta was The dedicated perfor-

n! Odissi dance tecital like the mainstay of the performance mances by Pratibha

Moffieic they"did full justte J>y Ajay Vishwanath and group. Ramaswamy Deepa and
to the technique of Odissi But ie P orlra y u * Sundanyon ke Sushma could have glowed with
the maimer in which the assigned san g”« "Do mataonki mamatha”, a more inspiring musical support,
theme was dealt with yielded Adharam Madhuram” did not However, Thyagaraja’s krithi
mixed results. The confusion and measure upto the required ex- “Baagaayanayya” (Bindu-
unnecessary dragging which cellence. The concentration malini) was relieving.

f Nadajyothi Sri Thyagaraja Swamy Khajana Sabha Trust >>

41st Anniversary celebrations, daily 6.30 p.m.

21.1.2006 Saturday Saxophone recital by Sridhar Sagar and party

22.1.2006 Sunday Pancharathna Keerthana, Goshti Gayana

23.1.2006 Monday Jugalbandhi flute: M.K.Pranesh and Praveen Godkhindi

24.1.2006 Tuesday Vocal recital by Sikkil Gurucharan and party

25.1.2006 Wednesday Violin recital by Basavangudi G. Nataraj and party

26.1.2006 Thursday 10 a.m: Presentation of “Kalajyothi” award to

*.>

V

Dr. Padma Murthy

(Vocal)

and “Nadajyothi Puraskara” to:

* Art*

I*

- S

Basavangudi
Nataraj (violin)

: ;X

is? 1 * • ''fMp

irky

C.G.A nanthaswainy
(Hindusthani harmonium)

M.K. Pranesh (tlute)

Evening at 6.30 p.m. Vocal by Modumudi Sudhakar and party

27.1.2006 Friday Vocal recital by Dr. Padnia Murthy and party

28.1.2006 Saturday Vocal duet by Mambalani Sisters

29.1.2006 Sunday Hindusthani Vocal recital by Susheela Mehtlia

^ at Sri Kanyakaparameshwari Temple, 8th cross, Malleshwaram, Bangalore-3

14

[Hill GUNAGRAHi/JANlARY-2006 ||||H|I1

L.E.I.S.U.R.E.

>HOTO QUIZ

i.K.Lakshminarayana (Babu) Pag e

QUIZ OF FINE ARTS....40

1. Wliai is Absolute Dance?

2. It is same as

3. What is Aeharya Mudra?

4. Wluil do von know about it?

5. ( iive an example lor it.
b. What is Adbluiiu?

7. This is one of the .

K. is its stlrayi hhaava.

4. What do you know about Ara Jliampa?
!(). Why is it called so?

FINE

'Ruunujf n.iy pr>||tto oq oi ouiiid
si(|] u?p?i udiimql A.iuu jp.to nip jo onp:\ otp
l|i:t| -si ii:i| i c si ndimu||- » : 'V |o

IM.IUAU III? JO 0I1|I?\ t?p?l!>J l?.ll?l|S' v |l? 0l|| OOlllv; •()]

•(v+-) t?! 1 ?) iidt?tpnpiii?i|s| oiji jo oLiiiiu
.n?|iklod otp si slip :t?duii!t|f jp?t| A||rjoir | -g

tAi?uis;/\

SUOIlOtllP 011(11 Jo SI?S1?.I l?AI?|Sj • i_
■joptio w.ioosi.id.ins jo iuiipnj oq | g

l?ol?.l l?ll?fsj

in j?.iiH|pui?.nu|p i?A*p( \iunn:ij„ uipooi ) oqj
•( lumj) i?A.u?ipy s[i| jo muni mp •uotiis
-odittoo mp jo t?Ai|qt?s mp 111 soiitotpui 000 id
oqi jo.iosodiuoo oip uio.ioq w osnnnsi siqj -p

’SUOjllSoduiOO |t?0jSnill ill olll
-mm I su.ipnui josoiiouiia mp joouosi )| •£

■uiiUMx
mninpojnd si?

A'ldiius pmiuoj.iml pm? posoduioo omii?p y • 1

Whal do you

%

know about
this veteran
artiste?

SOLUTION TO PHOTO QUIZ

'1SI|(OOA Sujj|dsuj UR SR () ,

JJUR JRIIR.V ll))RU JJOdxa UR SR l|J()l| S|0
0|| 'RA)RUR)R.IRl|}I J<> lU.lUOdxO URJ0J.1A pia
snouiuj oqi ‘URiuqs>jir| .iRApy iuu;> si .111

ANNOUNCEMENT

♦ Artistes, Authors and publishers are wel
:ome to send two copies of their books/cas-
;ettes/CDs on Indian music (Kamatak
lindusthani, Sugama Sangeetha, folk music etc;
ind Indian dance (classical and folk) t
'UNAGRAHI for review. While every effoi
411 be made to acknowledge receipt of the
;ame under “New Arrivals”, the decision to re-|

iew a book/cassette/CD rests entirely with the
loumal.

♦ The Sabhas, Organisations, Institutions
md organisers are hereby requested to send the
letails of their forthcoming activities,
irogrammes as also the events held to get them
^listed in the current issue of GUNAGRAHi
»y post and/or through e-mail on or before 8th|
>f every month.

SUBSCRIBE TO ‘ GUNAGRAHI 7