Connoisseurs of classical music from the city had a rare opportunity to watch the prestigious ‘Akashvani Sangeeth Sammelan-2014’ live, as Kakinada is one of the 44 cities being chosen by the All India Radio to conduct the 60th edition of its national music event. Suryakala Mandiram remained the perfect auditorium to host the event that was recorded by both the AIR and the Doordarshan for the scheduled airing.
Under the aegis of the AIR, Visakhapatnam Kendra, the three-hour long programme was divided into two concerts.
The voyage into the world of classical music began with Kasi Visalakshi of Bangalore’s veena recital with instrumental support from B.C. Manjunath on mridangam and Sukanya Ramgopal on ghatam.
The concert began with Sadguru Thyagaraja kirtana Vachamagocharame in the raga Kaikavasi, which was followed by Srinivas Aiyengar’s Anudinamunu in Begada.
After performing Swathi Thirunal’s Vihara Manasa Rame in Kaapi, and Thyagaraja’s Ethavunaraa in Kalyani, Kasi Visalakshi concluded her recital with Purandara Dasa’s Innu Dayabarave in Kalyana Vasantha raga.
Immediately after this breathtaking performance, Carnatic vocalist Sumithra Vasudev of Chennai appeared on the dais with her supporting team consisting of Sandhya Srinath on violin, T.R. Sundaresan on mridangam and M. Venkataramani on Kanjira. Beginning her concert with Patnam Subrahmanya Iyer’s varnam in ‘Asaaveri, Sumithra recited Muthuswamy Dikshitar’s Sri Gananadham in Isa Manohari, Arunachala Kavi’s Kanden Kanden in Vasantha and many more.
Curtains downed for the Sammelanam with Sadasiva Brahmendra’s Sarvam Brahmamayam in Madhuvanthi. Station Director A. Naga Malleswara Rao informed the audience that Kasi Visalakshi’s concert would be aired from 10 p.m. on November 13, while Sumithra Vasudev’s performance could be heard from 10 p.m. on December 5 in the AIR’s national broadcast.
