Category
Music
Artists
Supriya Raghunandan
Akshada Krishnan
S R Ramakrishna
Date
June 25th 2023.
Presented by Mantapa, a band comprising well-known film and stage singer Supriya Raghunandan, contemporary jazz pianist Akshada Krishnan and composer S R Ramakrishna on the harmonium.
The band presented a choice of Kannada poetry in a contemporary setting that combined the energy of folk music with the colour of jazz.
The vachana movement of the 12th century inspired a burst of creativity—people from all walks of life began to write about their experiences in a poetic form marked by brevity, freshness and a defiance of convention. Vachanakaras featured in the show included such greats as Basavanna, Allama Prabhu and Akka Mahadevi, whose wisdom and contemporary relevance can never be overstated. Some vachanas the band performed had never been set to music before. Mantapa also reimagined more recent poets, such as Kuvempu, and presented their classics in an experimental new style.