Vidya and Vinaya’s musical ode to Chennai
The Hindu
Vinaya and Vidya came up with an impressive line up of Tamil songs for their Chennai Day concert
On Chennai Day, a thematic concert was presented by Vinaya Karthik Rajan and Vidya Kalyanaraman under the aegis of Hamsadhwani in association with CII (Confederation of Indian Industry) and Sri Krishna Sweets at the Youth Hostel, Adyar. R. Sundar, secretary, Hamsadhwani, spoke about what makes Chennai unique, highlighting how the city patronises and promotes classical arts.
Vinaya-Vidya’s concert featured Tamil songs that paid a tribute to the city. The duo, blessed with a pleasant voice, came up with a brief preface to each song.
The concert began with the shloka ‘Gajananam’, an invocation piece by Vinaya followed by Agathiyar’s ‘Prabho Ganapathey’ in raga Tilang, and ‘Eppadi padinaro’ in raga Bhimplas, a composition by Suddhananda Bharati, and popularised by D.K. Pattammal.
Since the singing of Thiruppavai and Thiruvempavai hymns are an integral part of the Margazhi Music Season, Chennai’s landmark annual event, the duo also included verses from each in their repertoire. They sang ‘Oruthi maganai pirandu’, (Behag), Thiruppavai, and a Thiruvempavai verse in raga Khamas. Periyasami Thooran’s popular kriti ‘Thaye tripurasundari’ in Suddha Saveri, in praise of the Thiruvanmiyur temple deity, came up next.
Following the concert format, Vinaya elaborated Latangi raga in the madhyama and lower range, and Vidya presented the tara sthayi sancharas eloquently. The raga treatise was impressive as the forays were meticulously handled by both the singers.
When a concert features exclusive Tamil kritis, can one forget Papanasam Sivan, who is known for his Tamil compositions? The duo sang ‘Pirava varam tharum’. There were brisk swara sallies on the pallavi. Karaikkal Venkatasubramanian lent able support on the violin.
A precise tani avartanam was executed by Ganapathy, who was on the percussion. Ramalinga Adigalar’s ‘Orumaiyudan ninathu thirumalaradi’, which has reference to Kandakottam, in raga Hindolam, was followed by ‘Karpagavalli nin porpadhangal’, the popular song in praise of goddess Karpagambal of Mylapore, composed by Veeramani in ragamalika. Thiruvallikeni, the birthplace of Mahakavi Bharatiyar, was their next stopover. The duo remembered the poet with his song ‘Theeradha vilayattu pillai’.
Demanding State and Union governments to release Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu and to open Mettur dam on June 12, members of Tamizhaga Cauvery Vivasayigal Sangam, headed by its general secretary P.R. Pandian, started a two day protest march to Mettur dam from Poompuhar, one of the prominent tail end part of the Cauvery, on Monday
The Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL), Mysuru on Monday hosted a three-day National Conference on Classical Languages of India, with the objective of encouraging the development of language, linguistics, and literature by researching, and promoting the rich heritage of classical languages in view of NEP-2020.
Actor and Hindupur MLA Nandamuri Balakrishna relaunched the Anna Canteen and NTR Arogya Ratham here on Monday amidst much fanfare. The twin occasions marked Mr. Balakrishna’s 64th birthday celebrations. Speaking to the media, Mr. Balakrishna said that the people of Andhra Pradesh had given a historic verdict to the NDA, and “I shall tirelessly work to fulfil all the promises made to them.”
A delegation of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) led by its Polit Bureau member Varla Ramaiah has lodged a complaint with Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) Superintendent of Police (SP) U. Ravi Prakash, alleging that former Minister Botcha Satyanarayana, his personal assistant and some officers had taken bribes from teachers for transferring them to the places of their choice.