Ranjani Gayatri-Sharada Cultural Trust,Secunderabad-Jan 24

[revanthv552]

Among all the sabhas of the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad, Sharada Cultural Trust is undoubtedly the best one. In various aspects like the musicians they invite, the ambiance and the way they manage the proceedings keeps them different from other sabhas. They hold the segment of felicitations in the beginning of the concert so that the flow of the concert is not disrupted. The concerts go on for a good three hour duration. This year being the bicentennial year of Swathi Tirunal, the organizers are requesting the musicians to include at least one composition of his in their concerts. It is wonderful to experience all this in the city of Hyderabad. These concerts are also drawing large crowds which is evident from the fact that you wont find any seats at all after half an hour of the concert passes. The majority of the crowd does not get up during the concert and their is certain discipline. However, I wish the crowd realizes the value of silence. While few people talk, many others sing along with the artists in a loud voice. However, I observe that the crowd in Hyderabad is getting very receptive towards Carnatic music. A change that is definitely a cause of happiness.

Coming to the concert, Ranjani and Gayatri were accompanied on the violin by Charumathi Raghuraman, on the mridangam by Neyveli Skandasubramanian and on the Kanjira by Syam Kumar. Their concert is never a disappointment. Apart from their musical virtuoso, it is evident that they spend a decent amount of time planning about what to include and what not to. The chemistry they share on the stage, the mutual understanding, the healthy space they give each other for presenting individual creativity and the unbelievable synchronization are the many other factors that contribute to their concert's success.

The song list:
1. Nata Varnam
2. Ithara Devathala-Bahudari-Annamacharya[S]
3. Arula Vendum-Saramathi-Dandapani Desikar
4. Gjanamosagarada-Poorvikalyani-Tyagaraja[R,N,S]
5. Mahalakshmi-Madhavamanohari-Dikshitar
6. Kripaya Palaya-Charukesi-Swati Tirunal[R,S,T]
7. Mamava Sada Janani-Kanada-Swati Tirunal
8. Ragam Thanam Pallavi-Brindavana Saranga
Ragamalika Swarams in Poornachandrika,Lalitha,Sumanesaranjani,Maand
9. Virutham-Simhendra Madhyamam, Hindolam, Behag
10. Adum Chidambaramo-Behag-Gopalakrishna Bharati
11. Pag Ghungroo-Sudhdha Sarang-Meerabai
12. Mangalam-Sowrastram

What can be a better start to a concert than a bright Varnam in a raga like Nata. The varnam was beautifully presented in two speeds. Mentioning that they will be including a couple of Swati Tirunal compositions considering that it is his bicentennial, Gayatri said that they will sing this Varnam composed by him. Considering that there is a decent fraction of Telugu audience in the venue, choosing an Annamacharya composition for the next piece was a valid idea. The sisters alternated with each other and presented a decent swarakalpana. Most singers when they include Annamacharya keerthanams in the first half of the concert, just present it for the sake of it and never give proper attention to the pronunciation. But Ranjani and Gayatri made sure that they give the composition the respect it deserves and every word they uttered was perfectly understandable. A sedate Tamil krithi in the raga Saramathi showed up next. One must definitely appreciate the wonderful way the sangathis were presented. The bhavam of the krithi was evoked in a beautiful manner.

Then came a grand Poorvikalyani by Ranjani. The structure of the alapana was beautifully built. The delineation of raga and establishing the perfect mood for the song to come up was beautiful. Charumathi's presentation of the raga was perfectly in line with the way Ranjani sang. Now that does not mean she was just repeating what was sung. She demonstrated her ease in winning the hearts of the rasikas with the movement of her bow. She respected the vocalist's presentation and also presented her strength in diving deep into the beauty of the raga. She is a wonderful accompanying artist and her violin was a feast to ears. The sisters definitely excel in presenting this composition. The best part of the presentation was the neraval at the lines "Paramathmudu Jeevathmudu". The neraval was very detailed and went for a decent amount of time. The madhyamakalam while doing the neraval, Ranjani sang the lines "Paramathmudu Jeevathmudu" while Gayatri did neraval to "Padhunaalugu Lokamulu". The sisters presented each others mettle and creativity. It was an absolute treat. This was followed by swarakalpana in madhyamakalam. The kind of combinations they presented, the ease with which they shifted between the notes and the range they ascended with their voices was a strong factor in the successful impact this song created. The swarakalpana seemed like a slithering snake once and like a cascading waterfall another times. It reflected their depth in the musical form and definitely their individual capabilities.

After a beautiful rendition of Madhavamanohari, it was indeed a pleasant surprise to listen to Charukesi as the main piece. From the regular Kalyani and Kharaharapriya, it was definitely welcomed with happiness. This was evident from the exclamations of surprise and joy, a lot of "aaha"s and "shabhash"s that Gayatri's Charukesi Alapana earned. After a detail Charukesi, that evoked beautiful emotions, there was a decent thaniavarthanam. Before the Ragam Thanam Pallavi, they presented the composition of Maharaja Swati Tirunal in Kaanada upon request.

One thing that I love about their concerts is, the grand Ragam Thanam Pallavis they make sure to include in every concert. For this evening, the sisters chose the beautiful Brindavana Saranga. When Ranjani began the alapana, the raga sounded immensely beautiful in her voice. Some ragas sound really beautiful in some voices. It was a delight to listen to this raga from them. Gayatri later took up the alapana and her alapana explored the hindusthani shades balancing the presentation in every aspect. The capacity of their voices was very evident when this presentation commenced. The sisters presented the raga at great length and then moved to the thanam in two speeds. They explored the heights and depths of the raga beautifully in the thanam which made the piece very substantial. They announced that the pallavi is set to Kanda Triputa taalam and they will also present it in Tisra Triputa Talam in Tisra Nadai eventually. The pallavi was "Brindavana Ganalola Muralidhara Gopala Mam Palaya". After presenting the pallavi, the sisters did a round of kalpana swarams which reflected their ease in amazing people. The swarakalpana had a ragamalika that consisted of Poornachandrika, Lalitha, Sumanesaranjani and Maand. Unlike the general ragamalika swarakalpana for the RTP which comes and goes in a jiffy, the sisters spent a decent amount of time on each of the ragas. The first two reflected their depth of knowledge in Carnatic ragas, while the latter ones reflected their strengths in the ragas with the Hindustani shade. The entire RTP was a perfectly presented and was totally balanced in every aspect making it the super-hit for the evening. A beautiful Virutham and the bhajan, which were sung on the request of the audience was absolutely wonderful. The Meera bhajan had a wonderful treatment they gave at the lines "Meera Nachi Re!" which simply superb.

The artists really deserve appreciation in a multitude of aspects. Their concerts are perfectly planned and efficiently executed. The choices of the ragas they chose and the wide range of composers they cover is definitely appreciable. The right placement of the songs and the detail treatment they give to the planned items, the way their individual musical capabilities compliment and complement, the way the enjoy their performance, the way they encourage the accompanying artists, the way the catch the pulse of the audience and proceed accordingly are all some things I observed that makes their concert successful. The sisters give each other the required space when the manodharma sangeetham is being presented and they harmonize and sing as 'one' when presenting the krithis . This is a feature that makes them trendsetters in style of duet singing. While rendering the krithis, there is absolutely no confusion in their presentation. There is no disharmony in sangathis, there is no messing up of lyrics. This reflects their commitment and seriousness towards the art and shows the respect they give to the stage and the rasikas. These factors contribute to making every concert of theirs successful. To sum up, the concert was perfect in all aspects and was a thorough entertainment from the Varnam to Mangalam.

[rajeshnat]

Revanthv552
Lovely review , the prelude in explaining about the sabha , then the list and a lovely capture of what you enjoyed. Do know you are young and I am not sure if you have finished college - this is just wonderful writing. Bale bale revanthv :ymapplause:

[revanthv552]

rajeshnat.
Thank you so much for those wonderful words.
I just finished college last July and now I work for a Software Company here in Hyderabad
I owe my writing style to this forum. I was following this forum from the time I was 16 and I learnt writing about concerts from all the wonderful people here.

[arasi]

Hey Revanth,
Thanks for an excellent review of a concert which obviously was a very good one.

I am very happy to know that you aren't a student anymore, but an employed young man!
Hope Sivakami chimes in too.

So, CM is alive and well--seeing a brighter future even in the twin city where concerts have been scarce, and rasikAs thirst for more!

[rshankar]

Revanth, a beautiful review, as always! Thank you.

A few more concerts like this, sans abhang, makes me wonder how some of the discerning amongst us will refer to them - there may be no dueling left either.....I also noticed that there's no tillAnA either....

[arasi]

Ravi,
I thought so too.
And, is ST guilty of composing any of them?

Does your 'discerning' also mean picky? Do I hear a growl already?!

[saverilover]

That was a wonderful review, Revanth! Mamava Sada is one of my fav Sawthi Kriti. I also heard Sanjay Subrahmanian was to perform today at Hyderabad. Wonder if anybody has a review of that.

[rshankar]

Does your 'discerning' also mean picky? Do I hear a growl already?!

Arasi, I'm going to plead the fifth!

[revanthv552]

I also heard Sanjay Subrahmanian was to perform today at Hyderabad. Wonder if anybody has a review of that.

Unfortunately, I could not attend this concert. But from a friend I heard that he began the concert with Sahana Ata Tala Varnam and then sang Tulasidalamulache. He also sang Anandabhairavi, Kharaharapriya, Kambhoji, Hamir Kalyani and Revathi (RTP). I really wish I was there for this concert. I hope someone else who attended the concert will post the whole list

[malavi]

Hello revanthy,
I had attended the first day function of Sarada cultural trust and was very much impressed.in addition to conducting music concerts they also do a number of charity works.i could gather this from the secretary s speech.on that day my tiruppugazh guru smt.saraswaty subrahmanyam was honoured by the trust.the function was very well conducted and they were punctual.the chief guest was a lady scientist and gave avery good speech.
after that there was aflute concert and itwas also good.we admire the good work done by SARADA CULTURAL TRUST

[revanthv552]

Hey Revanth,
Thanks for an excellent review of a concert which obviously was a very good one.

I am very happy to know that you aren't a student anymore, but an employed young man!
Hope Sivakami chimes in too.

So, CM is alive and well--seeing a brighter future even in the twin city where concerts have been scarce, and rasikAs thirst for more!

Thank you so much for your kind words arasi
Yes, the Carnatic music scene is getting brighter in the city which is really evident from the crowd that is turning up to concerts. Looks like tastes of the listeners have revived too. There is a huge yes to variety and also there has been a significant raise in the number of concerts happening. Wish we get to hear more and more artists. There is another music festival starting from tomorrow and will go on for five days. This Jan-Feb season is a mini music season for Hyderabad