DR.PANTULA RAMA IN R.R.SABHA- 8/7/19

[CRama]

ACCOMPANISTS. M.S.N.MURHY- VIOLIIN.
N.C.BHARADWAJ- MRIDANGAM

List of songs.
• Viriboni- Varnam- Kedaragowla - Mishra Jhampa- Rudrapatnam Venkatagiriyappa
• Ninnu joochi- Sourashtram- PSI (R,S)
• Anuragamu leni- Saraswathi- T (R,N,S)
• Kanchadalaayathaakshi- Manohari- MD
• Akhilandeswari- Dwijavanti- MD
• Evari nee vedanu Evari nee pogadanu- Bilahari-MV (R,T,N,S)
• Thani
• Slokam- Soundaryalahari- Punnagavarali
• Kanakasailaviharini- Punnagavarali- SS
• Deemna tara tana dirana- Tillana- Hamsanandi
• Mangalam

Silken voice, Sruti sudham, Impeccable pronounciation because of Telugu mother tongue, astounding manodharmam, laya prowess- all the necessary elements are abundantly vested with Dr. Pantula Rama which makes her concert attain a different level in terms of aesthetics, creativity and craftsmanship. The present concert of Dr. Pantula Rama started with a rarely heard varnam in Kedaragowla set to Mishra Jhampa talam. Varnam in Mishra jhampa is also very rare. Pantula presented two ragams very elaborately- Saraswati and Bilahari and the choice of ragams were refreshing. But the alapana of Saraswati as well as the brief alapana of Sourashtram were misleading at the start. Later they settled and explored the breadth and depth of the ragam quite eloquently. The alapana of Dwijavanthi was very brief and one craved for more of this ragam- for it is very rarely heard in the concert platform today. For the kriti Anuragamu, neraval on the lines Sagunadhyanamu pai sowkhyamu and the following swaras had gusto and imagination.

The main kriti in Bilahari is an unheard one and the tanam was icing on the cake. The kriti is in Adi two kalai- in a leisurely tempo- a safe bet for the main suite. Neraval on the lines Syama Sundara gathra Sarasija dala nethra and the following swarams in two kalams were very intelligently presented without any compromise on aesthetics or Sangeetha bhavam.

The Violinist M.S.N. Murthy being her better half is a huge plus for Pantula Rama. His alapana of Bilahari deserve special mention for his manodharmam and admirable thick and thin shades. The swara and neraval returns were most appropriate. The young N.C.Bharadwaj has attained remarkable maturity in terms of his imagination, dexterity, understanding and anticipation. His volume was a tad low only . Still he did not have any complaint and contributed to the overall sowkhyam of the concert.

A sublime concert for two and half hours.

[thanjavooran]

As usual excellent review with your personal educative remarks. Thanks.
Thanjavuran
10 07 2019

[arasi]

Absolutely!
How you capture Rama -gAru's music in the opening lines! Yes, they both ARE equal halves, in bringing good music to us...
kanja dalAyadAkshi, I was under the impression was in kamala Manohari.

[CRama]

kanja dalAyadAkshi, I was under the impression was in kamala Manohari.

I have heard in sme lec dem that the raga name of Kanchadalayathakshi is Manohari. Hence I wrote like that.

[rshankar]

As I heard it, Sri MD, to commemorate one of the meanings of kAmAkshi (i.e., one with kA - sarasvati, and mA - lakshmi for eyes) composed 2 kRtis - the first 'sarasvati manohari Sankari' in the rAga called (then and now) sarasvati manOhari, and the second 'kanjadaLAyatAkshi kAmAkshI' in the rAga called manOhari (then), but as he used the rAga mudra in the phrase 'kamalA manOhari', the rAga is now called kamalAmanOhari......

[arasi]

Ravi,
Thanks for your post. I got the 'kanja' right but not dalAyatAkshi! Or does joining of the two words makes it sound like dalAyadAkshi?

[rshankar]

kanjadal(L)AyatAshI = one with elongated (Ayata) eyes like the petals (daLa) of the lotus.

[Lakshman]

crama: Isn't the composer of the kEdAragauLa varNa be Rudrapatnam Venkatramayya?

[Sivaramakrishnan]

A concert which I had decided not to miss!
(She gave a concert the previous day for 'Sangitanjali' - 89th birthday celebrations of M Balamuralikrishna - organised by Sarvani Sangita Sabha which I could not attend).

I can't help supplementing CRama's observation that the singer's alapana-s of Sourashtram and Saraswati were 'misleading at the start'. Well, for Sourashtram, she began with the phrase 'Sa Ni Dha Nee Dha Pa' which could suggest an avarohana phrase of Devagandhari also . And for Saraswati, didn't a 'casual' prayoga like Dha Sa Dha Pa (instead of Dha Sa Ni Dha Pa) cross the way?

Selection of Bilahari for main, the Taanam and the unheard kriti came in as 'pleasant surprises'. As Tyagaraja and Dikshitar kritis were already 'covered then far', a seasoned rasika sitting next to me who could probably 'read my mind' whispered in my ears - "Shyama Sastri has not composed in Bilahari, going by the published works at least''. That was quite a revelation to me!

RR Sabha, now refurbished and with a roof top restaurant to answer changing trends, is fast regaining its glory as a happening place for arts.

[CRama]

Lakshman Sir, You are right. The composer of the Kedaragowla Jhampa tala varnam is Rudrapatnam Venkatramayya. Thanks for correcting me.