An Evening of Immersive
Musical Conversations
At Specially Curated Experiential Space,
The ‘SoMa Unframed’
(District 150, Elixir Tower,
Knowledge City Road, Hyderabad)
Vanam Jwala Narasimha Rao (May
31, 2026)
I
had the privilege of attending an engaging musical evening curated by Soumya
Varanasi under her artistic initiative, Soma Unframed. Accompanied by my
wife Vijayalakshmi, daughter Prema Malini, and son-in-law Vijay Gopal. We spent
nearly ninety minutes immersed in a thoughtfully crafted musical experience.
More than a conventional concert, the programme unfolded as an intimate
artistic dialogue, creating a space where music, ideas, emotions, and diverse
creative influences converged in a spirit of exploration and shared discovery.
Conceived
as a collaborative platform, Soma Unframed brings together artists from
diverse disciplines while remaining anchored in the unifying language of music.
For its inaugural edition, Soumya collaborated with the versatile
percussionist, vocalist, and rhythm artist Charu Hariharan from Chennai. The
evening moved seamlessly between classical compositions, original works,
devotional music, rhythmic explorations, and personal reflections, creating a
Melodic Environment.
What
distinguished the programme was its exploration of music as combination of performance,
sound, conversation, inspiration, and a shared human experience. The evening
opened with a reflection on artistic openness. Soumya observed that a musician
need not be confined to a single tradition or form and spoke of the value of
collaboration across artistic boundaries. Her association with Charu Hariharan
was presented not as an experiment in fusion, but as a natural extension of a
shared commitment to music.
The
choice of the opening composition, Nada Tanumanisham, was therefore
especially apt. Celebrating Nada, the sacred principle of sound, the
work suggests that music itself can become a vehicle of transcendence. It
served as a thematic prelude to the entire concert, which repeatedly returned
to the idea that diverse musical expressions, whether through Sufi devotion,
the charm of the nottuswaram, the celebration of Sita Kalyana Vaibhogame,
or the meditative invocation of Shiva: ultimately arise from a common source.
Following
the opening invocation of Nada as the essence of music, Soumya reflected
on the personal experience of musical creation. She remarked that when she
begins with the note ‘SA’ music itself seems to respond and enter into
conversation with her. The musician’s journey, she suggested, is one of
continual discovery rather than repetition. This idea found expression in Chaya,
a composition associated with Charu Hariharan, which underscored the notion
that musical performance is not merely the rendering of a prepared piece, but
an ongoing dialogue between artist, sound, and imagination.
Having
explored music as a process of discovery, the concert then moved into a lighter
and more playful register with Kamala Nayane, presented in the
nottuswaram tradition. Unlike the more elaborate Carnatic kritis, the
nottuswaram is marked by melodic simplicity, accessibility, and rhythmic charm.
Invoking the ‘lotus-eyed one,’ the composition carried devotional overtones,
yet its musical character was distinguished by grace, spontaneity, and delight
rather than solemnity.
Kamala
Nayane
extended the conversation begun in Chaya. If the earlier composition
suggested that music speaks back to the musician, this piece demonstrated how
that dialogue can assume a playful form. It conveyed the impression of a
devotee approaching the divine not through awe alone, but through affection,
intimacy, and joy, reminding listeners that devotion can be expressed as much
through lightness and wonder as through introspection.
Soumya
next took up Khwaja Mere Khwaja from the film Jodhaa Akbar.
Before beginning the piece, she reflected on the idea of solitude in music,
suggesting that solitude is not merely the absence of company but the presence
of deeper listening. In such moments of inward quietude, music becomes a bridge
between the self, the world, and the transcendent. The reflection provided a
fitting introduction to a composition distinguished by both its contemplative
spirit and melodic beauty.
A
Sufi devotional hymn addressed to the revered saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, Khwaja
Mere Khwaja expresses humility, trust, and surrender. The recurring
invocation is less a plea for worldly favours than an act of remembrance,
seeking inner peace and closeness to the Divine. In Soumya’s rendering, the
composition invited the audience into a shared space of introspection, where
music became a medium for reflection rather than display.
The
placement of Khwaja Mere Khwaja within the concert was particularly
significant. If Kamala Nayane celebrated the playful and affectionate
dimensions of devotion, this Sufi hymn explored its contemplative and
meditative aspects. Together, they demonstrated how devotion can find
expression through diverse emotional registers, through joy and intimacy on the
one hand, and through silence, reverence, and surrender on the other. Rooted in
the inclusive ethos of the Sufi tradition, Khwaja Mere Khwaja carried a
universal message of grace and inner harmony, reaffirming music’s unique
ability to transcend cultural boundaries and connect the listener with
something larger than oneself.
Listening
to Sita Kalyaṇa Vaibhogame in a concert setting evokes a sense of
collective celebration rather than individual prayer. Recalling the wedding of
Sita and Rama, the composition symbolizes harmony, virtue, and the union of
ideals in the Indian imagination. Its appeal lies not only in its devotional
content but also in its ability to draw listeners into a shared cultural and
spiritual experience. More broadly, it underscored a recurring theme of the
evening: music's capacity to foster reflection, joy, and transcendence, serving
at once as a personal companion and a social bond that transforms collective
memory into living experience.
Soumya
then introduced ‘Shambho, Shambho, Shambho, Hara Hara Mahadeva Shambho’
by recalling her guru, D Raghava Chary, who would inwardly visualize Ammavaru
(the Divine Mother) before singing. This reflected a familiar idea in Indian
classical music: that music is not merely performance but an act of invocation,
with the mental image of the deity serving as a source of concentration,
humility, and inspiration. The composition transformed the concert space into
one of contemplation, where music became an offering rather than a display. The
sequence itself: remembrance of the Divine Mother followed by a hymn to Shiva, evoked
the traditional understanding of the inseparable unity of Shiva and Shakti,
affirming the belief that artistic inspiration is ultimately a form of divine
grace.
After
an interlude featuring younger voices, the concert returned to introspection
through an original composition by Soumya inspired by a phrase from a Tyagaraja
Kriti. Taking Sukhama, suggesting well-being, contentment, and inner
fulfilment, as her thematic anchor, she fashioned a musical meditation on the
interplay of Saukhyam and Shokam, joy and sorrow. The composition
suggested that music is not merely a celebration of happiness or a lament for
suffering, but a space where both emotions can be contemplated and reconciled.
In doing so, it demonstrated how the classical legacy of Tyagaraja continues to
inspire fresh and contemporary artistic expression.
The
concert then moved into a group Tillana led by Soumya, bringing a welcome shift
from introspection to exuberance. Built around the recurring Swara patterns of ‘Sa
Ri Ga Ma,’ the composition celebrated music in its most elemental form.
Drawing its vitality from the Swaras themselves, the fundamental building
blocks of Carnatic melody, the Tillana transformed simple notes into a vibrant
expression of rhythm, energy, and collective joy.
The
piece also served as a fitting culmination of the evening's themes. If the
preceding compositions explored sound, artistic inspiration, devotion, and
inner fulfilment, the Tillana revelled in the sheer delight of musical
movement. The recurring Sa Ri Ga Ma patterns brought the concert full
circle, returning to the foundational language of music while affirming its
power to unite performers and listeners in a shared experience of celebration.
As the programme
concluded, Soumya Varanasi delighted the audience with a much-appreciated
rendering of Kamakshi in her distinctive style. Soma Unframed
proved to be far more than a concert, and Soumya Varanasi and her team deserve
warm congratulations for conceiving and presenting a programme of such
imagination, depth, and artistic excellence.
పులిహోర లో బిరియాని కలిపినట్లు సంప్రదాయ సనాతన సంగీతం మధ్యలో ఆ సినిమా పాట పాడడం ఏమిటి ?
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