Class will always tell, rather, sing. The vocal recital of V Deepika, disciple of Sudha Ragunathan, at the Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanams' Sravanamandiram Hall, T Nagar, recently, proved to be just that - a very pleasing, 'classy' concert.
Her style of rendition, strikingly rich and melodious voice and sahitya bhava bore ample testimony to this teen girl's growing stature as a musician of abundant promise and high potential. What is more, her confidence on stage is yet another asset.
She took off with a Lalgudi Charukesi Varnam in progressive style, followed by Tyagaraja's 'Ninne Bhajanaseyu' (Nattai) and Subbaraya Sastri's 'Janani Ninnuvina' (Reetigoula) in appealing harmony.
The four Annamacharya compositions 'Sriman Narayana' (Bowli), 'Paramapurusha' in Shanmukhapriya - the main raga for the concert, the folksy 'Brahmamokkate' in Misra Bowli and 'Bhavayami' (Yemen Kalyani) need special appreciative mention. 'Paramapurusha' was replete with mature play of swara patterns and authentic movement. The divine ambience of the TTD-Annamayya combine lent further emphatic support to this particular composition that earned audience acclaim uniformly.
The folksy 'Brahmamokkate', the differently rendered Ragamalika ' Thaaye Yasoda' (beginning with Kuntalavarali) of Utthukkadu Venkata Kavi (the rendition reminded the rasika of the lilting 'Kilikanni'), 'Rukminipathe' (Priyadarshini - Guru Surajananda ), Dikshitar's ' Sri Parthasarathe' (Suddhadhanyasi - sub main ragam ) and ' Sri Venkata Girisam' (Surutti ), along with GNB's ' Vunnadiye' (Bahudaari ), and the ever popular ' Alai Paayudhe' (Oothukkadu - Kaanada) were the other competently rendered repertoire items.
Deepika's 'Kurai Ondrum Illai' (Rajaji - Ragamalika) underscored the quality of the TTD concert that evening - 'Kurai Ondrum
Illai', of course!
Ambika Prasad (violin), Swaminathan (mridangam) and Hariharasubramanian (ghatam) were highly appreciative supports.
Deepika, it may be pertinently pointed out, is a tele-star, a 'model', a dubbing artiste and has also acted and sung in about 40 movies in five languages. She has produced many devotional albums. This versatile Padma Seshadri student is well set on her way to true stardom.
Deepika's versatile concert
