Pleasing music
Bhavadharini Anantharaman’s recent vocal concert under the aegis of Tirumala-Tirupati Devasthanam’s Information Centre (Sravanam - Tyagaraja Sangeetha Mahotsavam series) in Chennai was most pleasing.
Presently one of the senior disciples of ‘DKP’, this 24-year-old microbiology researcher has grown up in ‘sound’ environs, hailing from the family of Mayuram Vishwanatha Sastry, the great composer and musician of yesteryear.
Well-supported by Akkarai Swarnalatha on the violin and Umayalapuram Sivaraman’s disciple Koneirajapuram Varadarajan on the mridangam, Bhavadharini rendered about a dozen compositions of 10 composers, with Tyagaraja’s ‘Venkatesa Ninnu’ (Madhyamavathi) as the main piece. This was performed with praiseworthy finesse, grace and elegance, as also very elaborately. Her particular strength is her fine voice, ‘accompanied’ by exuberance and verve. DKP’s training was well-evidenced in her alapanas, swara passages and manodharmic music.
Patnam Subramania Iyer’s ‘Evari Bodhana’ (Varnam: Abhogi), Oothukkadu Venkatasubbier’s ‘Sri Vigna Rajam’ (Gambheeranaattai), Tyagiah’s ‘Thera Theeyaga Radha’ (Gowlipanthu), Dikshitar’s Purnachandrika ‘Sankachakram’, Swati Tirunal’s ‘Deva Deva’ (Mayamalavagowla), Sivan’s ‘Maa Ramanan’ (Hindolam), ‘Srinivasa’ (Hamsanandhi), preceded by the Divya Prabandham pasuram ‘Pachai maa malai pol meni’, Annamayya’s ‘Alarulu Kuriyaga’ (Sankarabharanam), Purandara Dasa’s ‘Paraakumadathey’ (Peelu) and T K Govinda Rao’s Sindhu Bhairavi Thillana (Tisra Nadai), revealed judicious choice from her extensive repertoire.
Special mention must be made of her Ragam-Thanam-Pallavi ‘Sri Tirumala Venkataramana’ (Karharapriya-Kandajaathi Triputa) which version she essayed with appreciable, professional competence. However, one feels that an RTP immediately after an elaborate main piece tends to be rather ‘heavy’. All the same, Bhavadharini managed to have the audience focused.
Akkarai Swarnalatha’s bowing quite often showed her elder sister Akkarai Subbulakshmi’s expertise. Varadarajan’s thani (Madhyamavathi) could and should have been more elaborate. That it was not so, was disappointing and showed lack of enthusiasm. Well, instrumentalists, like vocalists, do have off-days.
Bhavadharini is academically well-qualified in music too. She is currently pursuing an M.Phil in music at Mother Theresa University, after completing her M.A. in music from the same institution. She has already won many distinctions, prizes and scholarships.
