Young Kumari Amrutha Venkatesh presented an impressive concert at the BTM Cultural Academy on Saturday, 22nd October 2011. The concert was a thematic one consisting only of compositions on Devi- the Goddess. Often referred to as The Golden Girl by virtue of the 9 gold medals that she won during the Bangalore University Convocation last year, Amrutha also showed that she is a girl with a golden voice.
Commencing her concert with the melodious Gambiranattai varnam, a composition of Dr.M.Balamurali Krishna, Amrutha went on to sing the popular Maamava Sada Janani in Kaanada raga, a composition of Maharaja Swathi Thirunal. A nice set of kalpanaswaras followed. The next was the Thyagaraja kriti in Saveri- Parasakthi. Once again a compact swaraprsthaara was done for saveri.
The first raga taken up for elaboration this evening was Amirthavarshini. Between the two popular Devi kritis in the raga, Amrutha chose Sudhamayi, a composition of Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavatar. Kalpana swaras brought out the natural beauty of the raga with its characteristic catch phrases. The next raga Reethigowlai came with majestic and deep poise and the composition Janani Ninnuvina, a masterpiece of Subbaraya Sastri was presented with all grace and grandeur.
The filler was a Bahudari song by G.N.Balasubramanian Unnadiye Gathi. Being a not-so-popular number, it did not catch the attention of anyone but passed peacefully. The main item of the evening was the Magnum Opus of Muthuswamy Dikshitar, Meenakshi Memudam in Poorvikalyani. This song is perhaps one of the most sung carnatic songs on stage. It has been presented in grand style by all great artists down the ages. It is an ever green star. Amrutha's presentation is easily comparable to the best of the lot. She knows how to draw out the beauty of this bhava laden raga from the various niches and crevices during raga singing. The song itself was sung with perfection, providing the necessary gaps at the appropriate places for the effect to sink in. The neraval was at the usual Madhurapuri Nilaye - mostly in the slow tempo and just one avarthanam at the second speed. The swaraprasthara that followed had just a single string in the first kaalam and the rest at the faster pace. It was a delightful experience. She had certain surprise unusual swara sequences timed appropriately to fit the overall structure of the raga. As she was systematically building up in speed and pitch, one expected that she would linger on with longer sancharas on the higher octave. This technique would normally result in an applause! But Amrutha decided to have a smooth flow without disturbing the natural mood of the composition.
After tani avarthanam the tail pieces included the Bhimsen Joshi style Bhagyatha Lakshmi Bhaaramma (Revagupti) and a thillana by M.D.Ramanathan. in Kapi. Mangalam too did not deviate from the Devi theme. Accompanying violinist Anand Viswanathan was fully understandaing and supportive and deserves much more of concert opportunities. Percussionists B.C. Manjunath and Omkar Rao had good anticipation and made the concert very enjoyable.
Overall, the concert was excellent and there is no doubt that this Bangalore girl will reach great heights in Carnatic music.
