The Saralaya Sisters from Bangalore - Kavita and Triveni - are two young budding artists taking to both Carnatic music and Bharatanatyam dance with a rare dedication. Their performance for Kala Sagaram delighted connoisseurs, for they chose all popular songs of Bala Murali Krishna and M S Subba Lakshmi. Interestingly, the sisters have imbibed almost all the compositions of Bala Murali under his own guidance. And so their training and rendering showed a blend of the swift spirit of Bala Murali's style and that rare reverence of M S Subba Lakshmi's.
Apart from these brilliant songs, the vocalists also rendered songs of Thyagaraja - "Teratiyyaga Rada" in Goulipantu and "Chaala Kallaladukonna" in Arabhi - and one of Shyama Sastry, "Mayammayani Ne Pilachite" in Aahiri. The earlier songs showed the ritual mood of Bhakthi music, while the latter carried a poignant picture of devotees of the Mother Goddess.
A unique aspect of this melody 'Aahiri' according to myth is that if one renders the Aahiri Raga incorrect, he would be deprived of food! So many musicians just do not attempt to learn the raga! But, these sisters effortlessly carried the melody with an effect.
Violinist Kokonda Subramanya Sarma, percussionist Nemani Somayajulu and Kanjeera artist K Shyam Kumar provided the musical support. These supporting artists also individually rendered their music intermittently in the recital, which was another lively facet of the program.