The first of the two pieces presented in this video so well is in the raaga Begada, one of my two most favourite raagas.
The song is in praise of the Guru.
The Guru tattva is intrinsic to our Sanatana Dharma. It is the Guru who gives us the right vision to see the beauty of creation. And awakens the strength in us to rise to our fullness of being.
The song in raaga Begada made a deep impact on me. Because Begada also combines infinite beauty with infinite strength. I have always imagined the sea shore with the energetic and beautiful waves rising and coming again and again to strike the strong rock on which I am standing. As I hear Begada the waves are making beautiful surf and splash and sprinkle, receding only to come back again. I am on the solid rock witnessing this exquisite beautiful moment.
Begada is not sung so often because it makes demands on the singer. The two - strength and beauty are the warp and woof of this raaga. Especially, I have found lady singers stay away from Begada. But not Kruthi Bhat here. She has such amazing grace in her voice and presentation. Her manodharma and little filigreed touches enhance Begada impeccably. She is singing with obvious devotion to the Swamiji and the sentiment of Gurubhakti. The deft violin touches by Vittal and the deep mridangam strokes of Sumesh add great joy to the experience. Thank the lockdown for making them go the extra length to create such a lovely offering.
All in all a class act. God bless these musicians. Kruthi Bhat is making rapid progress!
PS: The second piece is by Kruthi's guru and the famous Vittal Ramamurthy a worthy disciple of Lalgudi Jayaraman. The violins, mridangam and voice meld very sweetly.
