Tirupati-based flautist Manda Anantha Krishna presented a melodic concert at Kalabharati Visakhapatnam recently. Known for his succulent presentation, he lived up to expectation and rendered the chosen fare in a petite and elegant way. He seems to have come a long way from the shades of his father and mentor Manda Balarama Sarma, a noted flautist of yesteryears. His music combines plain and pure melody and rhythmic flow in optimum measure exuding a soothing effect. That he accorded due importance to sahithya bhava is a noteworthy aspect of his presentation.
He opened the session with Omkara swarupa, a varnam of MBK in raga Shanmukhapriya. He then picked up Devamritavarshini raga; the Krithi for this was Evarani of Thyagaraja. He mostly chose the compositions of Thyagaraja and essayed well in bringing out the inherent devotional content of the compositions in an appealing musical presentation. After a neat presentation of Varanarada in raga Vijayasree, he opted for the exposition of raga Abhogi for Manasu nilpa . Laced with good swarakalpana, it sailed smooth paving the way for the next piece in Purvikalyani. The composition for this was Kasi Visaklakshi of Muttuswamy Dikshitar. It came out well with a precise aalapana and swarakalpana. In both these he displayed fairly good grip over technicalities that reached a crescendo in his exploration of Bhairavi swarajathi of Shyama Sastry, which was the mainstay of the evening. Fluent neraval at the line ‘ Shyamakrishna sahodari’ and flowing swarakalpana further enhanced its appeal. He seems to have a penchant for swarakalpana and does very well on every turn of it . Niravadhi Sukhada of Thyagaraja in raga Ravichandrika was well-received and his presentation of Vaishnava Janatho in Yeman deserves a mention. He concluded with Adideva of Annamayya tuned in raga Sindhubhairavi by Nedunuri.
Mavuduri Sathyanarayana Sarma on violin, Parupalli Phalgun on mridangam and Mavuduri Surya Prasad on ghatam lent good support. Visakha Music Academy hosted it in its monthly schedule.
