By Sujana Mulukutla, Wexford, PA Â Â Â Â e-mail: Â sujana_m@hotmail.com
Sia Iyer, a rising 7th grader, had her vocal Karnatic arangetram at Upper St Clair High School on July 8th, 2017. All of twelve years of age with a tiny presence on stage, but what a presence it was! She displayed her mastery over sruti, ragam, talam and kaala-pramanam and kept her audience spell-bound for a good two-and-a-half hours.
Just as a diamond needs to be polished and chiseled to radiate its shine and luster, so too Sia is lucky to have her guru, Smt. Vijayalakshmy Subrahmaniam (Chennai), who worked tirelessly to bring out Sia’s best.
Sia opened with the challenging Ata Tala Varnam in Todi and rendered it well. The majestic Vallabha in Begada followed with crisp sangatis and kalpana swarams executed with ease. A short raga alapana in Malayamarutam with lovely sancharas was followed by Dhanyudevvado, a Patnam Subramanya Iyer’s krti. Sia then took on Janani Ninnuvina, which she delivered with finesse. Sia then elaborated a detailed Kambhoji raagam (Evari Mata) with the hallmark sangatis of her guru.
A short and sweet Ragam-Taanam-Pallavi in Ranjani followed, which Sia topped off with smooth and seamless transitions into Janaranjani, Sriranjani, and Shivaranjani. The Abhang, Sakha mazha moved many members in the audience to tears with Sia’s soulful rendition. Sia concluded the concert with a melodious but challenging tillana in Sindhu Bhairavi.
Vidwan L. Ramakrishnan did an amazing job in executing silken strokes on the violin, while Vidwan Vinod Seetharaman excelled in mridangam accompaniment. Both gave the young Sia encouraging nods of approval. Samyukta Sreeram, a high-schooler, nicely complemented Vinod on the Ghatam. Pallavi Muluk was on the tambura.
Sia, you’re a young talent with great potential. Remember, this is just a beginning in your journey in music. In the years ahead, you should strive for perfection. That will ensure you will be the best you can be.