Anitha To Release Devotional
Album
By Our Staff Reporter
The place ‑Cochin, India. The year‑1980. The
occasion was a momentous one. The legendary singer late M.L.Vasanthakumari,
popularly known as MLV in musical circles, was to perform.
The program began with a prayer song from a
nine‑year old. The auditorium resonated with the child's melodious voice,
rendered in Ananda Bairavi and the audience became spell bound. MLV was all
praise for the young prodigy, Anitha and rewarded her with a pat on the
back.
Recognizing her inherent musical talents,
Anitha's parents put her under the tutelage of Ochira Balakrishnan, who was a
well known professor at the Tripunithara Music College and who himself was a
disciple of the renowned Bhismapithamahan of Indian music Semmangudi Srinivasa
Iyer.
Thus began Anitha's tryst with classical music.
Her musical talents blossomed under the able guidance of her guru. She went on
to win numerous awards in prestigious competitions both in the regional and
national levels, including the All India Inter University competition three
times in a row and All India Radio competition. She continued to give
performances all over India and was honored with titles from well‑known sabhas.
Family commitments and marriage forced her into
hibernation for a while. It also brought her to the United States in 1993. Her
musical prowess, however, continued to grow with the support of her encouraging
husband. She participated in the now popular Cleveland Music competition in 1994
and won the first prize, drawing acclaim from stalwarts like Lalgudi Jayaraman,
N.Ramani, Palaghat Raghu and Charumathi Ramachandran who were among the panel of
judges.
Anitha's unique distinction is her ability to
captivate audiences both in classical and light music concerts. She has endeared
to Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu and Hindi music lovers in light music concerts all
over the United States.
She is one of the lead singers in her troupe,
SaReGaMa, the orchestra that strikes the chords and boasts of top musicians who
have rubbed shoulders with legends. Her highest honor, however, came when she
had the privilege of accompanying Dr. Yesudas in a light music concert in New
York.
Anitha's latest offering is the release of her
debut album aptly titled "Samarpanam"‑ an offering of twelve light devotional
songs in Tamil tuned by well known composer New York Raja and penned by Kavi
Varman. The album was a dream project inspired by the Maha Vallabha Ganapathi
deity at Flushing and is a collection of songs on different Hindu deities. The
album is to released on Tamil New Year's day at a function to be organized by
New Jersey Tamil Sangam April 15 at Somerville High School, New
Jersey.