Review in The New Indian Express

An ode to motherhood


Jyothi Raghuram
First Published : 21 Oct 2009 04:32:00 AM IST
Last Updated : 21 Oct 2009 07:12:49 AM IST

A music CD such as ‘Avva’, with its tribute to maternal love, and with overtones of the folk genre, usually attracts few listeners. Yet if one moves out of such a mindset, and listens to the CD, one comes to appreciate it as a different kind of musical outing that has both emotional and aural appeal. Avva is not too rustic in approach, its lyrics are touching, and the background music has a beat and rhythm that is not incongruous with the theme or basic genre, but in fact has in it to lure a larger listenership.

The album tries to evoke a gamut of emotions including the tenderness and anxiety of a mother’s love, and the nostalgia of the days cocooned in the protection of maternal love. SR Ramakrishna’s music is a blend of tradition and modernity, so to say. What is essentially folksy is turned into a ubiquitous modern tune, without, however, losing its basic character. The rhythm and orchestral effects, coupled with the decipherable lyrics, make for the appeal of Avva.

‘Aparichita Daniyondu’, for instance, with its peppy western background slant, ‘Avva Nannavva’, with its toe-tapping percussion, and ‘Baala Daariyali’, with its tender lyrics, showcase the diversity of the album. The inaugural number, ‘Sappe Anabyaada’, with its homilies picked up from Padada Kempakka, a folk singer, sets the tone for the CD, whose many singers add to the variety. That the songs of Avva also remind one of ‘ranga geetheglu’, shows how Ramakrishna’s music defies categorization and has a wider musical base too.

Shankar Shanbhag, Nitin Raghuveer, Mangala, Vinay, Supriya Acharya, Vani, Jenny, Chintan Vikas, Sunita, Geetha Bhat, Mukesh, Ravi Murur, Nagachandrika, Ratna, and SR Ramakrishna have lent their voice to Avva, presented by The Music Mint, and distributed by Ragini Music. The CD is priced at Rs 75.

What's it about?

Avva is an album of songs celebrating mothers. Avva means mother in Kannada.

The lyrics are by Nagathihalli Ramesh, Mogalli Ganesh, Nataraj Budal, Ramalingappa T Begur, and Phoenix Ravi. The album begins with a song strung together from the wise utterances of Padada Kempakka, a folk singer who lives in Ooty.

The 13 tracks on Avva are sung by a talented group of singers: Supriya Acharya, Mangala, Ravi Murur, Jenny, Chintan, Vinay, Jogi Sunitha, Shankar Shanbhag, Nagachandrika, Madikeri Mukesh, Nitin Raghuveer and others. The music is by S R Ramakrishna.

The tunes are folksy, and the orchestra comprises well-known musicians N S Prasad (mandolin and banjo), Bapu Padmanabha (flute), and Nelson (violin).

Recorded and mixed at The Music Mint by Gokul Abhishek, the album is distributed by Ragini Music (094485 10428).

Supriya's eSnips song

Here's a link to a sample song.
http://www.esnips.com/doc/839ad178-4b82-432d-b3c1-ef56004a310d/avva--supriya-(acharya)-raghunandan

It's out!

Avva is an album of songs celebrating mothers. It's out in the stores now.

Aswath of Ragini Music is distributing it. It's available at PlanetM, Malleswaram and Indiranagar, and Calypso, Jayanagar.

The CD is priced at Rs 75.