A tribute to Annamacharya

Thyagaraja Sangeetha Vidwat Samjam located in Thygarajapuram in Mylapore has a Thyagaraja sannidhi in its main hall.  The occasion was Annamacharya Day. Geetha Rajasekar presented an all Annamacharaya concert with a classically imbued devotion.  Her opening raga was Hamsadhwani, the composition  being Vandeham in Kandachapu.  That Geeta should use the unobtrusive Suddhadhanyasi was quite appropriate. With  the song Bhavamulona in Adi talam,  Geeta created an Annamacharya ambience.Shanmughapriya is not only melodic but also weighty in classical structure.  With an alapana to delineate the Shanmugapriya structure, Geetha rendered the song with her characteristic style and verve. Bhimplas is a raga that evokes a plaintive  mood and Geetha chose the song Palukuthe in Kandachapu. She was able to show the subdued colours of the raga as a quiet understatement. The concert had a fresh musical intensity when Geetha chose Hindolam.  The song Gardagamana in rupakam was a uniquely Annamacharya and Geetha gave the lyrics its devotional feeling.  With the next piece in  Kurinji, the  concert reached a slowing grace.  The song was Muddugare yashoda in Adi talam.In selecting Kharakharapriya, Geetha showed that intense devotion can be combined with  musical weight.  Her treatment was careful and slow to give a clear tonality of this intensely melodic raga. Throughout the song Geetha was fully charged and quietly elegant in the musical sense.  So it was a memorable Kharakhara priya in the words of Annamacharaya. Last song in Yamunakalynai is always meant for the soul.  This, Geetha achieved  with her unhurried style and full attention to the lyrics and raga essence.As a concert in tribute to classical Telugu composer Annamacharya, Geetha provided rich fare in terms of ragas and talas. In spite of the difficult location the hall was full which indicted Geetha’s pull for rasikas.  Her guru DK Pattammal has a similar devoted fan following. The current generation that has not heard Pattammal directly should be thankful to Geetha for maintaining her Guru’s high classical standards.MA Krishnaswamy was the true embodiment of Parur style with a bowing that imparts a lingering feel to violin playing.