Meghana Yadavalli’s Arangetram

BY A STAFF WRITER

CHICAGO — The Arangetram–debut on-stage performance–of young and talented danseuse Meghana Yadavalli was held recently in The Hindu Temple Of Greater Chicago, Lemont.

Dr.Jaishree Prasad , director of Pallavi Music Academy, and well-known performing Veena artiste in the US and India and Guru of Meghana, explained to the audience how the concert/katcheri pattern of rendering (singing or playing) Karnatak Classical Music on musical instruments was first introduced and popularised by the great Maestro Sri Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar in the early 1920s.

She said that her student (sishya) Meghana had been learning vocal music from her for the past few years and was later trained for the debut concert by regularly having music practice for more than three hours a day.

Meghana began her debut concert with a Slokam on Saraswathi continuing with an Attatala Varnam “Neranammiti ”in Kaanada Raga composed by Poochi Sreenivasa Iyengar. It was followed by the famous krithi on Ganesha “Vatapi Ganapathim Bhajeham”composed by one of the great Trinity “Sri Muttuswamy Dixitar”.

The next piece was a masterpiece “Sri Rangapura Vihara” made very famous by one of our legendary Bharatha Ratna M. S. Subbalaksmi amma and composed by Sri Muttuswamy Dixitar. The song demonstrates the beauty and devotion for Lord Sriranganatha Swamy.

Meghana presented a very popular krithi “Nidhichala Sukhama” in Kalyani Raga composed by Sri Tyagaraja Swamy, with a detailed Raga alapana, Neraval and Swara kalpana. With her youthful and melodious voice, she explored the raga bhava, unraveling the Neraval and Kalpana swaras enhancing the philosophical meaning of the Lyrics.

The experienced senior artists Jaishankar Balan on the violin, Ravishankar Subramanyam on the mridangam and Balaji Chandran on the ghatam gave all the support and encouragemnent Meghana needed for the success of the concert.

Sowbhagya Rao, MC for the day, conducted the program very well. The power-point presentation by Preethi Prasad and Venkatesh was an added attraction as it enforced the emotions of the songs through visual representation.

Dr.Sudhakar Rao, grand-uncle of Meghana and a scholar and professor in several languages, spoke about Meghana’s talents since her childhood and how she developed into a promising artiste today.

Meghana concluded the concert with a few devotional songs and a Tillana composed by one of the great violin maestros late Sri Lalgudi Jayaraman, followed by Mangalam on Lord Sri Rama.

Shankar and Lakshmi Yadavalli felicitated all the artistes on the stage and Dr. Prasad presented Meghana with a beautiful brass idol of Goddess Saraswathi and a certificate of graduation.