Bharathathil Bandham
- Roshni Raju
e-mail: roshniraju.925@gmail.com

January 27, 2012

Deepa Mahadevan’s thematic presentation ‘Bharathathil Bandham’ for Brahma Gana Sabha, on January 19, 2012 was an interesting off beat performance set in the traditional margam format. The repertoire commenced with "Amma Kavithuvam" in ragam Karnaranjani set to thalam adi. The song glorified the virtues of a mother and Deepa’s portrayal justified the unconditional love of the mother for her child.  

This was followed by a varnam in ragam Abheri set to thalam adi. Here the nayika is kadnitha in nature, who seemed quite exasperated with Krishna as he is preoccupied with everyone except her. "Manai alandhai perum vinai alandhai endha penin manam ariyamal inal mega thandhal."  Deepa brought the inherent idea of this line with the episode of Vamana effectively. For an impressive and dignified performance the angika (dance movements - nirtta, nritya, and natya), aharya (colorful and correct costumes) and the vachika (vocal support plus apt choice of padams) aspects are absolutely essential. The recital scored well in all these areas.

The next piece was a padam “Ulla Kumaralgal” describing the feelings of a young girl who thinks the world does not seem to understand her. The lyrics were penned with a touch of humour and Deepa handled it skillfully. This was in Ragamalika, thalam adi. "Ariya paruvam endru" in ragam Mukari, adi thalam followed this item. This was a sentimental number where the mother advices her young daughter to choose the correct path in life and it moved the audience to tears both with its angika and vachika bhavams.

The concluding item was a thillana in ragam Madhuvanthi, adi thalam and was a fitting finale to the program. The sahithyam extolled the greatness of a guru and the devotion of the student.

Madhurai R Muralidharan, a versatile artist, lyricist, adept music composer and the author of all the numbers presented in ‘Bharathathil Bandham’ conducted the recital flawlessly. Kesavan’s mridangam, Kousik’s vocal, Sunil’s flute, VL Narayanam’s veena added luster to the energetic performance.