Polished performances delight classical aficionados , .,,,!

: BY , CHITRA SUDARSHAN _,.__,.,

Bhairavi R am an 's solo violin concert on March 31 in the Ke! Watson Centre, was one of those rare disp lays of virtuos ity and mastery of Carnacic music from a young Melbourne artiste, that it felt one was attending a concert in Chennai She is the student of Murali Kumar, founderdirector of the Raaga Sudba School of MLL~ ic. To d1ose who have followed Bhiravi 's progress all these years, ic was always evident mat her talent was extraordinary, and chat she was among me select few who have that special somed1ing which makes their music come alive and shine.

Bhaitavi began w ith a Kaanatla vama111 which she handled defd y, go ing o n to a kriti in Naatai Sti Mahaga11ap"the which she delivered with consummate artistry She went on to a composition of Subbaraya

Shastri in Begatla. She rendered a meloclious rag" alq;,ma and followed it wid1 a superb rendering of d1e kriti. In a few adroit movements of the bow, she brought out me essence of d1e raga in ,ill its beauty.

TI1en came a composition of Swati Tirunal, Paramapurusha, in T/c1sa11!ha; followed by an unhurried Dikshitar kriti in Saveri Sri Rojagopala; Bhairavi then p layed a brisk 'Sarasasan1adana' in Kepi J"\l"mJ"ni before p laying a slow-paced kriti in Vi1rali She chose ]\lloha11rm1 as the mgam to elaborate cbac evening. her superb raga alt1pa11a bore all me hallmarks of a seasoned v iolinist. After a popular kriti in rasik.ap,'!J·a, she went on co do a ragan1- ranam -pallavi in Reva!)1ragam. Her raga alapana and ranam wafted across the auclitorium and she made it sound quite effortless. The pa!lavi in ragamalika was a polished gem and superlative, and sounded like a p iece from a maestro. She held her own tl1.rough almost 4 hours of non-s top music - an accomplishment of which she can very well be proud. During her debut solo concert, Bhairavi's violin oozed melody; there was accent in me right places; me timing of die pauses spot on; the tempo sometimes softer, and sometimes majestic, and sometimes emphatic - just as the mood de manded.

Full credit must also go to her guru

Anu Vat s held her solo Oclissi recital on Apri l 15 at the Darebin Arts Centre, Preston. She is a pupil of Chandrabhanu and his Bharatalaya Dance Schoo l.

A mother of two, Anu had learnt bharatanatyam from Chandrabhanu from the age of 5, and had her am11getra111 in 1988. She began learning Oclissi from 1992, and over d1e years had performed in major roles of the Bhararam Dance Company. Between pursuing her studies and raising children, Anu somehow found time to hone her Odissi dance skill s, and her first solo rec ital was a testan1ent to her skill, cornmi1n1enc and artistry.

Anu began confidently with a Mangala Charana111 in Pahari , moving o n to the pallavi, tl1e centrepiece of an Odissi recital. Her tribangi was perfect - the trademark of an Odissi dance. She wove intricate patterns in d1 is pure dance item, and did not put a foot wrong. The next item in m.isra bhairavi was devoted to tl1e Goddess, and sec to me popular shloka a)'igi,i Nandini. Ann's depiction of the slaying of tl1e demon Mahishasura was a delight to watch - intersperse d as it was wim me portrayal of the other qualities of d1e Goddess.

Sri Murali Kumar for training her so marvellously; he is also fortunate indeed to have a pupil such as Bhairavi who has done her guru proud.

Nanthesh Sivarajah on d1e mrudangam and Akshan Vasavan on the ghatam - two of Melbourne's own - and pupils of Balasri Rasiah, provided excellent support and complemented Bhaitavi's violin.

A.nu's recital picked up pace in d1e second half as she came into her own. The Geeta Govinda - a de rigueur in Odissi , gave Ann amp le scope to demonstrate her skills of expression In tl1e Panchakshara Stotra, she covered the stage from one end to anod1er as she portrayed die energetic dance of Shiva, punctuating her brisk and complex rhyd1ms wim leaps, jumps and statuesque poses

Finally, in the 'Moksha Nata' in bhairavi raag - a largely pure dance item - her fast, yet controlled footwork and bod y movements were superb. Noc o n ly did she do justice to the excellent choreography of Chandrabhanu , her depiction of the goddess in me Dev i Mahatmyan1 sh loka was superlative.

The orchestra consisted of Chandrabhanu and Ambika Docherty doing the bols and the manjira; the eminent vocalist Krushna Chandra Roy's voice and harmonium fiHed me auclitoriLrn1 wid1 some sonoro u s music - some of which were his own creations; Dibakar Parida on the pakhawaj was simply excellent; Jeeban Prakash Das on th e sitar, Sotm1ya Ranjan Jos hi on the Aute and Agnimitra Behera on the violin all contributed to a wonderful musical e.'<perience.

Kee rth a n a Mu sic Sch ool 's Seventh Annual School Concert was held at the Chandler Community Centre in Keysborough o n April 21. In the short time d1ac the school has been nmning under Smt Uthra Vijayraghavan, its students have matured and reached a stage where they confidently disp lay their musical skills - indeed even mascery over "manodharma" - many improvising and showing their extemporaneous skills The \vhole evening was weU organised wid1 students demonstrating a good collection of ragas, talas and compositions.