Smt. Valli Bhamidipati’s music school conducted its annual ‘Guru Sishya Recital’ at Sri Sai Baba temple in Chelmsford on Sunday June 9th, 2013. It was a beautiful sunny day, and the melodious music by her students only made the day more beautiful. In the presence of Sadguru Sri Sai Baba, the children enthralled the gathering with an eclectic collection of Kritis. Sri Shridhar Mysore accompanied the students on Mrudangam, and his support throughout the concert further enhanced the presentation and made the evening a more enjoyable one.   

The event started off with prayer to Lord Ganesha in the form of “Ganesha Pancharatnam stotram”, a ragamalika, composed by Sri Aadi Sankaracharya which infused with divine power and blessings. The younger student group comprised of ages 7 to 12 gave a spirited performance and thrilled the audience by infusing a great deal of enthusiasm and energy into this stotram. This was followed by multiple performances by students from various age groups. Prathyusha Mulpur, Anshu Punreddy, Anuraag Amaravadi, and Vyshnavi Gudala rendered a Varnam “Evvari bodhana”, composed by Sri Patnam Subramanya Iyer (Abhogi ragam), followed by Kritis “Brova bharama” (Bahudaari ragam), and “Marugelara” (Jayanthasri ragam) composed by Saint Thyagaraja. The children brought out the devotion, meaning and beauty of these kritis along with kalpana swarams by their excellent rendition.

Next Anish Guggilam, Nithya Sunkarapally, and Keerthana Gangireddy entertained the audience with the ever popular keertanas “Paluke Bangaramayena” by Sri Bhadrachala Ramadasu and “Paripalaya, composed by Saint Thyagaraja (Reethi GowLa). Manognya Sripathi, Trisha Musku, Eesha Macha, Charitha Badhvelu presented 2 more musical gems, “Ramabhadra ra ra”, composed by Sri Bhadrachala Ramadasu (Sankarabharanam) and “Rama Bhaktha Hanuman”, composed by Suguna Purushothaman (Jonpuri)  in their soft mellifluous voices.  The melody and meaning of these wonderful kritis, delivered in the little children’s sweet voices had a calming and soothing effect on the audience.

Then, Uday Prakhya, who has a keen interest for music, has rendered the kriti “Mee Valla Guna Doshamemi (Kaapi)” beautifully. Sri Tyagaraja states that man cannot blame the Lord for one’s commissions and omissions either in this birth or earlier. Next, he rendered prayer to Maata Lalitha in “Himagiri Tanaye Hemalathe” (Suddha Dhanyasi), composed by G.N. Muthayya Bhagavathar. Uday showed his skill and proved nothing is unattainable with determination.

Vyas Sai Balabhadrapatruni, performed next and enthralled the audience with his delivery of “Naada Thanumanisam” (Chitta Ranjani) by Saint Thyagaraja. This is an apt kriti to remind everyone that when one sings the praises of God, they must present the naada with both mind and body. Sai did ample justice to this song by his excellent rendition with his rich voice. His next presentation, the famous kriti, “Kurai ondrum Illai” (Ragamalika), composed by Shri Rajagopalachari, brought exceptional joy to the audience.

Next, Nayanika Kotagiri, and Spoorthi Jonnalagadda have enchanted the audience with their enchanting performance. Both have been learning classical music for several years and have participated in various musical presentations in the greater Boston Area. They started off with a Varnam in KedaragowLa, followed by “Gnanamosaga Raada” (Poorvi Kalyani), composed by Saint Thyagaraja, who is requesting Lord Rama to grant him wisdom. A very rare piece by Saint Tyagaraja, “Maa Jaanaki” (Kambhoji raagam) is rendered next, where in Tyagaraja is praising Goddess Sita, and telling Rama that he became famous after he clasped the hand of Janaki in wedlock. This is followed by “Bhavamu lona” (Suddha Dhanyasi), composed by Sri Annamacharya. Both girls rendered these krithis beautifully and melodiously with appropriate ragams and kalpanaswarams and charmed the audience. Through these kids’ performances, one could clearly see the demonstration of the skills and techniques they have been learning from Smt. Valli and the meticulous way Valli has been shaping their musical journey.

Then, Smt. Valli’s performance at the conclusion of this event took the program to new levels. The beautiful ragas rolled off her tongue and showered the audience with melodious tunes. She sang a couple of Tyagaraja kritis, “Raama nee samaanamevaru” (Kharahari Priya) and “Teliyaleru Raama” (Dhenuka), followed by few more gems “Kailasa Naadena” (Kambhoji) by Muthuswami Dikshitar, “Narayana Ninna Naamada” by Saint Purandara Das, and Sai bhajan “Narayana Roopa Naama”. The audience got totally absorbed in this mesmerizing showcase of skill, talent, melody, and soul stirring music. The event reached a crescendo with the highly energetic “Dhanasri Tillana”, by Sri Swathi Thirunaal, performed by both Guru and Sishya together. It was a spell bounding performance that completely entranced the gathering. There was perfect co-ordination between all the singers and they weaved their voices very comfortably. The program concluded with a Madhyamavati raagam “Vinayakuni Vale” and a Mangalam kriti “Pavamaana”. On the whole,
it was an evening to sit back, relax and get raptured with beautiful music.

New England Shirdi Sai Parivar generously provided the venue for this recital. Sudha and Arun Mulpur acted as master of ceremonies for the event, and gave wonderful commentary for each and every kirtana and made the event even more enjoyable.

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