Sensational Sakthi makes the grade S

akthi Ravitharan’s Carnatic vocal arangetram was held at the George Wood Performing Arts Centre on January 30. She is a sishya of Guru Smt Shobha Shekar, a renowned carnatic vocalist based in Melbourne, whose music school Kalakruthi has presented some very good music programmes over the years. This was a special occasion because it was Kalakruti’s maiden arangetram

Music arangetrams are not commonplace in India – indeed in Chennai, arangetrams are largely restricted to dance; the mettle of a musician is tested in the crucible of the Sabha circuits of South India. It is a long distance race in which the musician must persevere through each performance, enduring near-empty halls and keep singing even if the audience rudely walks out after a couple of items; or receives indifferent reviews. Somewhere along the way, if one is really good, he or she will win recognition, and the audience will begin to grow. Away from India, in the diaspora, the arangetram has assumed a cult status, and an objective strived for by many.

Mastering Indian classical music in distant shores is the most difficult thing – and a vocal arangetram is quite simply the hardest debut solo performance – as the element of manodharma, or the creative and imaginative aspect of music, is very difficult to come to grips with in the best of surroundings, leave alone an

What’s On

Indian community consultation

23 February, 7pm-8.30pm at Treasury

Theatre, Ground Level, 1 Macarthur Street, Melbourne. The Victorian Multicultural Commission is hosting a community consultation to discuss topics relevant to Victoria’s Indian community. Free entry. Call (03) 9651 0678 or email: info@vmc.vic.gov.au

Mysore Brothers music concert

28 February, 4 pm onwards at BMW

Edge, Federation Square, Melbourne

Range. Mysore Brothers’ performance of Indian classical music. Range of ticket options including group and concessions. Contact email: enquiries@inconcertmusic. com.au; Phone: 0411 44 99 86 or visit www.inconcertmusic.com.au

VHP Children’s Fun Day

6 March from 9am – 4:30pm at Syndal South Primary School, 14 Montgomery Avenue, Mount Waverley 3149 (Mel Ref 70H2). VHP Melbourne organised camp for children aged 5 to 15 years. Prayers, story telling, carnatic music, etc. For details email: Smt Geeta Devi vhpvic@ gmail.com or call Geeta on 95610913 / 0423297666 Abijith Bede 95127800 / 0402081193. www.vhp.org.au

Kabbadi Cup 2010

7 March from 8 am at the Meadowglen alien environment. One needs to be quite devoted to it, and imbibe the nuances, the aesthetics such as the brigas and the bhavas in dribs and drabs by a process of osmosis. In the last 10 years this reviewer has witnessed 2 Carnatic vocal arangetrams that have made the grade in Melbourne: Sakthi’s may be counted as the third.

Sakthi began with a Kannada varnam on a confident note, and despite a starstudded orchestra of accompanying artistes from India, she held her own and remained focussed. This was followed by a kriti in praise of Ganapathy in the rare raga Hruthkamali, and Sakthi prefaced it with a viruttam in Tamil. Vancha Thonu Na in Karna Ranjani was next, and it was delivered competently. Sakthi came into her own in the rendering of the major kamboji kriti Oh Rangasayee, giving it the full monty. She began with a raga alapana, threw in a small viruttam in Sanskrit before delivering the kriti in all its beauty, laced with a niraval and kalpana swaras. The young vocalist was able to evoke the bhakti bhava in this classic Tyagaraja composition, in which the great saint called out with all his heart, the Lord in Srirangam. This solid, long item was deftly followed by a light Subramanya Bharati composition in Jonpuri (Asai Mugam).

The Ragam-tanam-pallavi, the centrepiece of the evening – the main section in Shanmukhapriya - was a superb composition by her guru Smt Shobha Shekar, incorporating Tiruppugazh interwoven with lyrics by Rani Tangarajah in ragamalika, that sang the praise of 6 important temples in Tamil Nadu devoted to Lord Muruga. It was set to a tough tala cycle quite demanding of any vocal recital –leave alone a debut solo performance – and Sakthi pulled it off with aplomb, gliding seamlessly from one raga to another without a hitch. Sakthi was particularly confident and strong in the rendering of kalpana swaras, weaving patterns and regaling the audience with a cascade of swaras.

The second half of the programme included popular pieces such as Teerada Vilayattu Pillai by Subramanya Bharati, and a couple of other popular numbers, ending with Oothakadu’s Kalinga Nardhana Tillana in Gambira Nattai made popular by Aruna Sairam.

On the violin was one of the best contemporary musicians in carnatic music, Embar Kannan; on the mrudangam J Vaidhyanathan; on the ghatam S V Ramani; and R Thiagarajan on the Kanjira.

International Athletics Stadium, McDonald’s Road, Melway 182 J10. The Panjab Warriors invite you to the 3rd Melbourne Kabbadi Cup. Free entry. For more details contact Jagjit Singh (President) on 0413276715 or Amarjot Singh on 0411034733.

FCF Multicultural Evening

7 March, 6:30pm to midnight at Box Hill Town Hall 1022 Whitehorse Road Box Hill, VIC 3128. Friends of Children Foundation Multicultural evening with dinner and dance in aid of the annual Royal Children’s Hospital Good Friday Appeal. Contact Shashi Kochhar 9564 8228 or 0418 390 423 Inderjeet (Indy) 9803 0421 or 0418 872 614 or visit www. friendsofthechildren.net

Hindi News on SBS

11-11:30am, Monday to Saturday on SBS -1; 11-11:30am, Sunday on SBS -2; 5:20-5:50pm, Monday to Saturday repeat on SBS-2. SBS TV, in a tie up with Doordarshan India, has now started broadcasting Hindi News Bulletins.

International Student Care Services (ISCS)

Level 1, 19-21Argyle Place, South Carlton, Victoria 3053. ISCS provides a whole range of free and confidential services, advice, support on legal, health, social, etc., issues. Contact 1800 056 449. info@iscs.vic or gov.au/iscs or multicultural.vic,gov.u/iscs