Devotion through song

There he sits, clad all in white and sings, “Be a fire to the dry grass of bodily desires, think of Sri Hari, day and night” and “When you are in the company of truthful people, where is the need for holy water?” This music goes into your consciousness and makes you think. It makes you question yourself. It is best summed up in the words of Oliver Goldsmith: “Truth from his lips prevailed with double sway. And fools, who came to scoff, remained to pray.”

Such was the feeling at the Redgum Centre, Sydney on August 23, when Sri Vidiyabhushana performed at a concert, en route on his visit to Sydney and Melbourne. Those who know the Kannada language were twice blessed, and felt the full impact.

A very popular vocalist in the Carnatic music tradition, Sri Vidyabhushana chose mostly Devaranamas in Kannada for his rendition. Of course, there were one or two exceptions. What stood out was the message that these chosen items conveyed, and not just the music itself. In this sense, it is best to call it “devotional music”. Almost every item had an ugabhoga (rhythm free verse) at its beginning. Sri

Vidyabhushana was able to bring out the essence of it with his masterly voice and gestures. Kadu karuni neenendarithu, Manadi parama adaradi, Sathyavantara sanga viralu, Jagava suttiruvudu ninna maye and others almost pierced into the listener. The desperate cry in Dheena nanu reverberated through the auditorium, not to mention the bhakthi sway that the audience enjoyed when he finished off an item with the chant of “Vittala, Vittala”. His was clearly an expressive and preaching style of rendering. However, these comments should not lessen the value of Sri Vidyabhushana’s music which was very appreciable, although a bit rough at times. His majestic voice, clear cut diction and pronunciation were very evident. He brought out short alapanas, neruvals and swara prastharas for two or three items. The one in Hindola (Madhukara vrithi) was noteworthy, as one saw a clever mix of alapana and ugabhoga

Sri Vidyabhushana was accompanied by an ingenious team, beginning with Kanthi Krian Mudigunda, who was aptly able on the violin. The very popular Bala Shanakar was on mridanga, while Shiva Kumar Sethupathi performed on the khanjira, and both gave a very entertaining taniavartanam Thanks to the organisers who made it a ticketless concert, the audience of over 350 enjoyed the opportunity to absorb themselves in the music, and could say to themselves, “Idu bhagya, idu bhagya!” (This is fortune, this is fortune!).

Sydney Srinivas