Philosophy and melody had a field day under the sun (not literally, though) - the expostulation of a lesser known faith, harmonies that were drawn from it and a book and cassette release made this a consummate affair. This evening saw Radha Padmanabhan sing philosophical and devotional songs for a recital arranged by the 'Annamacharya Mission' (it was established by the former director of the Annamacharya Recording Project of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam).
From verses in admiration of the Vaishnava God to the thoughtful compositions of Sriman Vedantha Desika, she did cover a vast range. Sriman Vedantha Desika was a great philosopher and writer on 'Vishistadvaitha', and a prime disciple of Srimadh Ramanujacharya, who founded this particular faith. The present recital comprised these philosophical verses set to solicitous harmonies.
The singer also included some verses of Annamacharya from his compositions based on 'Adhyatma Sankirtanas' (philosophical poetry) - "Vinudide" in Sankarabharanam, "Srimadyakara" set to Sahana, "Rajeevanetraya" in Kanada, "Ide Venkatagiri" set to a string of melodies, Ragamalika, "Ananda Nilaya" in Madhyamavati, "Keheetabdhi Kanyakaku" and so on.
In brief, the recital was one of those that highlight the spiritual values, humane and divine relationships and beliefs. Radha was accompanied with equal commitment by violinist Anantha Krishna and percussionist Srinivasa Gopalan.
The recital was followed by a book release program, which was presided over by K V Raghavacharya, an expert on the exposition of the 'Vishistadvaitha' philosophy. The book, titled "Sri Mahaveera Vaibhavan" (Raghuveera Gadyam), authored by Vedanta Desika and interspersed with Telugu commentary by Jillamoodi Venkataramana Doss, was introduced by Raghavacharya. The text highlights the preachings of great philosophers, with a comparative study and their ultimate observations on 'Dharma'. A cassette of Annamacharya Kritis, rendered by Radha Padmanabhan, was also released on the occasion.