The young and seasoned vocalist-brothers Sriramprasad and Ravikumar who have shot to fame as Malladi Brothers are known for their innate understanding of their musical context. Each of them proves to be the ideal partner for the reflective. Their duets soar with their intertwining voices, identical manodharmas and delivery, topped by an astonishing hold over laya. A sum of all these added up to a wholesome recital held at Unnathi, under Sri Rama Bhajana Sabha Trust, last week.
Their performance was well-rounded, rich and resonant, with reliable intonation. The voices were supple with a rare sweetness, coupled with classicism and tradition. The presentations were both interesting and challenging.
The Brothers are also noted for their brilliance and flexibility in the highest tessitura of the male voice.
They sounded joyous in the above concert. In the more attractive and rare selections, their voices took on a poignant quality, with a graceful approach to phrasing, a seamless Carnatic palette of subtle vocal colourings. In addition, they had a singing personality which matched the repertoire they dealt with: Masculine, aggressive and full of bravura and vitality. Hence the music was warm, round and evenly produced.
The melody part was taken care of with a sense of perfection by the accompanists H K Venkatram (violin), Mannargudi Easwaran (mridanga) and Chandrasekhara Sharma (ghata), and whose calculations during the many rounds were matched by the main performers at every beat. The orchestral team was highly supportive of the main artistes and elevated the overall show.
The vocal duet was launched with a varna in Kedaragowla raga (Saami daya jooda). Narayana Teertha’s Jaya Jaya Swamin (Nata) was studded with scholarly swaras. A majestic krithi Subrahamanyena rakshitoham (Shuddha Dhanyasi) was sung with dignity. A rarely heard Thyagaraja krithi O Rajeevaksha (Arabhi) was made more appealing with ragaalapana, neraval at Mavara suguna followed by a leisurely Mokshamugalada (Saramati). Neelotpalaambikaayaam bhakthim karomi in Poorvigowla and Thyagaraja’s yet another quaint krithi Enduku nee manusu, in a refined manner with neraval and swaraprastara at Thyagaraja hrudaya sadaya followed.
Malladi Brothers presented a steady and sedate concert. The emphasis was on compositions, and they sang quite a few. The Shuddha Dhanyasi and Arabhi kriti at the start were nice. Thyagaraja’s musical excellence was once again asserted with another Kalyani krithi. They sang it very well.
Eloquent Bharatanatya
Lakhs of devotees invoked the blessings of Lord Shiva in different ways on the Maha Shivarathri day. Abhishekas, decorations, music and dance renderings among others had one engrossed in the thought of the Lord Shiva who is also the King of Dance (Nataraja). Hence a good number of dance recitals were held at different venues.
Ishwarya Nithyananda, trained under Guru Radha Sridhar, gave an eloquent recital at Sri Jayaramaseva Mandali on the evening of Shivarathri. She once again proved that she is a pretty, vivacious performer ideally suited for Bharatanatya.
The solo dance feature on Lord Shiva, based on the Bharatanatya vocabulary and rendered by her, gave a fair impression of her considerable communicative powers. It also showed her to be a flexible interpreter. As she began the first song, it was instantly evident that she is a bright and powerful dancer. Ishwarya evoked all sides of the composition from the gentler, the severe and to the more dramatic. She was her best in all the three aspects of Bharatanatya, that is, nritta, nrithya and abhinaya.
Her interpretations were beautifully characterised and nuanced. Similar qualities were observed in all the five compositions which included passionate accounts of the traits of the King of Dance (Nataraja). She danced with a combination of gracefulness and energy that got to the core of the lyrics of the songs she offered. She successfully used the intimacy of the setting to create finely calibrated characterisations.
Her hard work and seasoned artistry showed an even range, and she had no problem with transitioning from one mood to the other or one character to the other. Ishwarya’s costume and its colours were traditionally aesthetic too. Her Bharathanatya performance was effervescent right from the start with the popular Tanjavur Shankaraiyer’s krithi Mahadeva Shiva Shambho in Revathi raga. Her abhinaya was evocative. The episode of the descent of the holy river Ganga to the Earth and Lord Shiva locking her in his hair was delineated in detail. Adi Jagadguru Sri Shankaracharya in his Ardhanareeshwara stotra explicates the greatness and grandeur of the combination of Lord Shiva (right side) and Parvathi (left side) and pays obeisance to them. The dancer’s enactment was full of impact. Her passion for the art was evident in all her presentations.
Ishwarya showcased her versatility in them. The concept of male and female and tandava and lasya was neatly visualised. Her countenance was able to express emotions vividly as was evidenced in the piece. The varying jathi patterns had foot work that were recognisable for their quality in their execution. Pallavi Doreswamy Iyer’s Aadenamma (Pharaz raga, aditala) was yet another tribute to Lord Shiva in which her excellent abhinaya shone forth.
Purandaradasa’s Chandrachooda Shivashankara is familiar to dancers. The ragamalika composition brings forth the glory of Lord Shiva in a lucid manner. Ishwarya took us by surprise and delighted us with her selection and subtle execution of a rare krithi by Jayachamaraja Wodeyar Shiva Shiva Shiva bho set to Nadanamakriya raga. The introduction of every item had lucid briefings that helped the lay rasikas connect better with the artiste’s performance. The mood remained euphoric till the end.
Sri Maha yaaga kshetra Sri Gayathri temple, Yashwanthapura hosted short duration dance and music recitals in connection with Maha Shivarathri. Veteran exponent of Bharatanatya Guru Rajalakshmi presented her prize-disciples in a rewarding programme. The young students rendered Deepanjali holding lamps in their hands with lot of enthusiasm. They created beautiful patterns, winning the applause of the rasikas. A pushpanjali was followed by Devi stuti.
Talented dancer Anupama brought credit to her Guru Rajalakshmi. She presented Devi stuti with ease and poise. Dancing to recorded music, she covered the entire stage and very confidently struck the varied forms of Devi. She also described Ardhanareeshwara with some fine, graceful and vigorous nritta, nrithya and abhinaya.
Blossoming dancer
Another blossoming Bharatanatya dancer, Rishya Parashivamurthy regaled the audience at Nayana Auditorium while performing under the Every Wednesday Evening Cultural programme series. She had an energetic start with a Pushpanjali (Nata, ekatala).
Krishna’s childhood pranks and the annihilation of the Kaliya Serpent were beautifully portrayed in her abhinaya on the basis of Purandaradasa’s Aadidano Ranga (Arabhi, aditala). Dancing with confidence and conviction, Rishya was able to convey the imports of the composition to the lovers of dance.
Next, she chose a Mysore Vasudevacharya’s masterpiece, Raara Rajivalochana, set to Mohana raga. This is a very lively krithi in which the devotee sings praises of Lord Rama and pursues him to protect him. Dancing to this krithi in a controlled pace lent her scope for exploiting it to the maximum.
The varied sancharis of the devotee cajoling the Lord, the anguish and agony of separation from the Lord, the wonder visualising his grandeur combined with grace in movement and nadais, cast a spotlight on her depth and talent.
She continued with the same spirit and picturised Natanam aadinar (Vasantha, Gopalakrishna Bharathi) and a complex Muthuswamy Dikshitar’s krithi Pannaga shayana (Madhyamavathi). The Brindavani tillana was a vibrant finale. Her recital wound up with a Mangala by Purandaradasa in Madhyamavathi raga.
Guru Nagabhushan wielded the cymbals and also lent useful vocal support. Narasimhamurthy and S V Giridhar on flute and mridanga reacted well to enrich the dance.
