Hyderabad: An evening with Pushkala, Jagannathan

The first concert was by Vembu Pushkala, a disciple of Dr Mridula Ashwin. Pushkala started with a Veena Varadayya Varnam in Nagaswarali. It was followed by a brief raga alapana in Kalyani which was neatly presented by both the vocalist and Vijay Balaji on the violin. She then sang the famous Thyagaraja krithi Amma Ravamma and chose Thamarasa Dalanethri for the swarakalpana.

Next to come was a rare krithi of Thyagaraja Kripalavala in Nada Varangini, a Ubhaya Vakra Audava Sampoorna Raga derived from 22^nd Mela Karaharapriya. After a brief ragam in Begada, she rendered Poochi Srinivasa Iyengar’s krithi Anudinamu.

The main item was a detailed Kharaharapriya Ragam which Pushkala excelled at the Thara Sthayi which was followed by Papanasam Sivan’s kriti, Janakipathe. Pushkala used Denna Jana Vana for neraval and Kalpana Swaram. Both Pushkala and Vijay Balaji presented a flawless manodharma which was well received by the audience.

M. Chandrakanth on the mridangam supported the vocalist and the violinist well and his Thana was impressive. Pushkala concluded the concert with a thillana in Niroshta, a composition of Madurai T.N. Seshagopalan and a krithi of Maharanyam H.H. Sri Sri Muralidhara Swamiji. Pushkala not only has good potential and a good voice but also laya and sruthi gnana to make a name for herself in the music arena. This is a good concert for a beginner.

The second concert was that of 13-year-old violinist Amatra Jagannathan from the US. Jagannathan has mastered the instrument so well that it sounded as if a seasoned artiste was playing.

Jagannathan held the attention of the audience throughout the concert by utilising the silky-smooth instrumental tone, the pellucid melody, the crispness of each movement and above all the perfection in the presentation of raga and kriti. Jagannathan started the concert with a brisk Varnam in Nattakurinji and later presented Mamava Gopala in Nalinakanthi composed by her guru Vidwan Ganesh Rajagopalan which was followed by a neat presentation in Sri of Muthuswami Dikshithar’s Sri Varalakshmi.

Jagannathan presented Sarasasamadhana before taking up the main item Pavana Rama in Amrutha Kalyani, a janya (origin) of Mechakalyani. The swaraprathara and vinyasam were so well-presented that they left the audience spell-bound. Jagannathan ended the concert with a thillana in Kamboji and a medley of 3 songs – Bhagyada, Harivarasanam and Nagumomu. Jannathan was accompanied on the mridangam by Krishna Sravan and M. Chandrakanth on the ghatam. All the three artistes showcased their talent in thani.

An evening well spent. It was pleasurable to see that young artists are taking Carnatic music seriously and presenting themselves at the concert platform at a time where they should be learning their initial lessons.