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| G Ravikiran with his accompanists | |
On the 31st of March 2012, businessmen and accountants all over India, were poring into their books till late at night to evaluate the profits and success of FY 2011-12. During the same evening a group of ladies and gentlemen decided to just relax and spend time with Indian classical music. Just a short period before that, the idea of having a new music entity had dawned in the minds of a few young people in Bangalore. Christened Ranjani Fine Arts, this new organisation had planned their inaugural concert on that day. The venue was deeply embedded in a winding road housing many of Shoba complexes A to Z. This hall was located at the very end - Shobha Z.
When my wife and I entered the beautifully flower decked entrance of the brand new hall, the inaugural function had just got concluded and the concert itself was about to begin. Interestingly the noise from the ground floor swimming pool did not enter the hall designated for the purpose. Veteran vocalist Sri. RK Padmanabha was present and I was given to understand that he inaugurated Ranjani Fine Arts.
The main artist of the day was young Bangalore based Carnatic vocalist G.Ravikiran, a disciple of popular artist Vidwan TM Krishna of Chennai. The concert started with the Natakurinji varnam, Chalamela. This is being recognised more and more as a winning starting number in concerts. This was followed by a brief sketch of Mayamalavagowla and the ever green Deva Deva Kalayami. Neraval and swarams were presented at Buvanatraya nayaka. It was indeed very impressive and an instant audience rapport was established. A straight Reethigowla song Chera rava demi raa was a filler . The sub-main piece was an excellent Shanmukhapriya. The popular Mari vere dikkevvaru with neraval and swaram at Sannuthanga sri was rendered with authority. The brisk and flawless swara prastharam pushed him to the league of well established vidwans in the field. Ksheeraa Saagara Sayana which is normally rendered in a leisurely style was given a different colour by Ravikiran through his quick presentation . Kunthalavarali piece Bhogindra Saayinam just filled the space before he commenced his main piece in Begada. The raga was given elaborate treatment. The young violinist Vittala rangan who accompanied did not seem to have much variety to present this raga as extensively, although his following was otherwise flawless.The song selected in Begada was Naadopaasana. Neraval and swarams were satisfactory.
The thani avarthanam of the percussionists was exemplary. Sri. Mannargudi Balaji on Mridangam and Guruprasanna on Khanjira made an electrifying combination. It was well appreciated by the knowledgeable audience. The closing pieces were a devarnaama in Tilang, a Tamil song of Gopalakrishna Bharathi in Behag and a Ramayana piece Shaapasya Kausalya in Jonpuri which brought us to the end of a very nice evening.
We wish the new music sabha a great success in the years and decades to come!
