Aishwarya Vidya Raghunath @ BTM Academy on 16th Jan 2018

[kssr]

Aishwarya Vidya Raghunath- Apoorva Krishna - Vinod Shyam Anoor - Anil Parashara - Bhagyalakshmi Krishna

Theme: Thyagaraja Kritis

Song List:
1. Slokam on Thyagaraja by his Disciple followed by Graha palamemi- Revagupti?. Swaram @ Pallavi
2. Yagnadulu sukhamanu - Jayamanohari (announced). S @ pallavi
3. Thodi-sub main Ragam- Raju Vedala. N @ Kaveri Theeramunannu and S at Kaveri
4. Yedukulakambodhi Ragam - Hechcherigaga
5. Vaachama gochalame - Kaikavasi -Quick filler
6. Begada main- Naadopaasana - N,S @ tantri laya swara
7.Thani
8. Thavatha sogam x3 daasarathe
9. Mangalam

Comments:
1. This was part of the 26th annual Sapthaha of BTM Cultural Academy. Organisation is headed by an octogenarian Sri. Anantharamiah who is a role model for many a music sabha. Absolutely robust in physical and mental abilities, he almost single handedly is steering this sabha in a commendable way. My first salutations to him and his team.
2. A brilliant concert by the young artist. Very supportive high quality accompaniments.
3. Right from the word GO, Aishwarya stamped her authority , impressing every one that it is a concert by a seasoned artist and not by a novice.
4. Swarams for almost all the songs is an indication of her self confidence. She pulled it off wonderfully.
5. As I always say,the make or break of any concert, primarily depends on the song selection and their sequencing. Here was a good one. Almost all numbers (except the opening piece) were familiar ones (even to me!!) which enables the audience to relate to the programme instead of making it some kind of a research project.
6. Also, I liked making Thodi sub main, where the requirement is to give adequate but not excessive elaboration. Also simple Raju vedala. Good idea. Thodi as main with a one hour treatment, if not handled with care, can be terribly boring and tiring.
7. IMO, the best was the Yedukula kambodhi in toto. Perfection within the framework, melody and beauty of the ragam and kriti were brought out beautifully.
8. You can always find fault in anything. But that is not my intention here. When you try to achieve things which are very difficult to achieve, there is always a chance of a slip here and there. As TiruvaLLuvar says, it is better to try to shoot an elephant and fail than to try and shoot a rabbit successfully !!! (eg: Neraval for Kaaveri at super-sonic pitch made it a bit unpleasant for the listener?!! But definitely a good attempt)
9. Apoorva has really blossomed as a very good artist. Right from the time she was a small girl, her bowing technique has been excellent. She has maintained it till date and her gnaanam has grown many fold and also overall talent. She matched up very well with AVR. Although I am sure that technically she would have been perfect, for an old-fashioned lay listener like me, it felt that her alapanais in Yedulula kambodhi and Begade had futuristic neo-classical touches here and there. However, it was very nice on the ears. Our very best wishes to her for continued growth in the field.
10.Vinod Shyam gave a very supportive accompaniment,never over shooting the main artist (similar to dad!). Very nice. Also, Parashar gave a subdued support. Bhagyalakshmi is my all time favourite. What kinds of sounds she can produce on the tiny instrument !! AVR along with the audience could not control their laughter in great appreciation of her superb talent.
11. Total duration of concert got restricted due to a delay in the start plus initial hiccups in the sound system. Also in the first two songs vocal sound was too low and could not be heard well. They could have given an additional 30minutes. Felt that the concert didnt run its full length. A few more thukkadas were definitely missed by everybody.
12. Once again thanks to the artists and organisers for giving a wonderful musical experience. Wish the artists a great musical future in the new year as well as the coming years.

[kvchellappa]

Thava daso'ham : I am your servant'.

[Sachi_R]

Heard it was a very good concert. Missed it on Shaale.
Anyone has a recording, please? Seems AVR also performed in the RKS Trust function on 14th.

[kssr]

I understand that she has been a star performer during Chennai season as well.