As a part of the Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar Music Festival being held in KGS, the concert of Malladi Bros- Sri Ram Prasad and Ravikumar was held at 9.25 A.M slot on 1/9/16. They were accompanied on the Violin by Nagai Sriram and on the Mridangam by Tumkur Ravisankar and on the Ghatam by H.Sivaramakrishnan. The programme was scheduled to start at 9.00 A.M. But since the previous programme was extended, this programme started at 9.25 A.M. List of songs.
• Sadachaleswaram-Bhoopalam-MD (S)
• Sripapriya Sangeetopasana cheyave O manasa- Athana- T (R)
• Ranganathude-Sourashtram- Ponniah Pillai
• Palu vicharamulela- Shanmugapriya- A (R,N,S)
• Tani
• Dakshinamurthey-Sankarabharanam-MD (R)
• Sarvam Brahmamayam-Madhuvanti-Sadasiva Brahmendra.
A typical Malladi brand pristine classical concert without resorting to any gimmicks. The concert had a solemn start with the kriti in Bhoopalam but the spright swaras to the song brought the required virviruppu to the concert. Sripapriya is a very rare song you can hear only from the brothers. The song was preceded with a brief alapana of Athana. The brothers are famous for their authentic patantharam and immaculate diction of the songs which enchances the lyrical beauty in their concerts. Two alapanas were rendered elaborately. Alapana of Shanmugapriya by Sri Ram Prasad and Sankarabharanam by Ravikumar was on the traditional lines showcasing the characteristic features of the ragams through the choicest phrases and time tested sancharams. The kritis of Annamacharya find a special place in their concerts and we are happy to hear the authentic versions of these songs. This song in Shanmugapriya, I think is tuned by their Guru Nedunurigaru and he has sung in many concerts. Neraval on the lines Merago Sree Venkatesa ninnu golichiti nenu and the cascade of swarams with an interesting koraippu was delight of the day. A brief tani for five minutes by the percussion team was enjoyed by the discerning audience. When the alapana of Sankarabharanam started after the tani, I wondered whether it could be a pallavi. But time was a limiting factor. Most appropriately the song on the Guru Dakshinamurthy was presented in its purest form without any neraval or swaram. The concert concluded with the song made famous by Voletigaru in Madhuvanti.
Nagai Sriram excelled in his alapanas and violin returns. Tumkur Ravisankar and Sivaramakrishnan greatly embellished the kritis. Their tani was for only 5 minutes, but was energetic.
My crib. In this concert of one and half hours, the filler Ranganathude could have been avoided. Instead neraval/swaras could have been sung for Athana or Sankarabharanam. That would have added to the weight of the concert. An excellent concert.