The serene ambience of Lalitha Peetham at Lalithanagar Visakhapatnam reverberated with melodic notes as young vocalist Kasthuri (Vempati) Kamala Deepthi sang her way into the hearts of music lovers.
Kasthuri Kamala Deepthi from Visakhapatnam enthralled rasikas with her pliable voice and effortless singing...Her rendering of the kriti 'Pahijagadjanani' and the swara patterns were a testimony of the style inherited from her mentor, Madurai Seshagopalan.
Kamala Deepti is gifted with a rich and resonant voice of considerable range that she revealed right in the first two numbers - varnam Intha Chaala in Begada with swarakalpana and the kirtana Sri Mahaganapathe in Malahari, both of Muthaiah Bhagavatar...They revealed her sense for sahitya and neat musical setting for raga and swara presentation.
Renditions of Maanamu Kavalenu Talli in Sahana and Brovavamma in Maanji of Syama Sastry led her to elaborate Kalyani for Etavunara popular number of Thyagaraja was her choice. Both the raga essay and swarakalpana enlivened the spirit of composition.
With an in-depth grasp of the nitty-gritty of Carnatic classical idiom, she scaled its rich and varied nuances with gusto. Her penchant for alapana made the chosen ragas softly meander letting their abiding charms unfold in full bloom.
Continuing to eruditely expounding expression of Manodharma by way of expansively expatiating Ninne Namminanu of Syamasastry (Todi in Misrachapu), Kasturi Kamala Deepthi, systematically developed alapana, neravu and swaram in particular in both the tempos.
She has already, at the age of 22, received many awards and accolades from several sabhas in the country...The raga delineation was exhaustive. The niraval and swaras were also brilliantly rendered.
Marked with an aesthetic effort it fulfilled all norms of exposition of carnatic music in all its richness and attracted applause from all sections of the audience including the critics.
No fuss, no frills. This initial impression on listening to Kasthuri Kamala Deepthi, a young vocalist from Vizag, deepened to a further sense of relief as the artiste allowed her natural instincts to take over rather than succumb to the prevalent tendency to adopt an applause-driven format.
Singing for the well-noted sabha, Visakha Music Academy as a last minute substitute for the slated artiste who could not make it, Deepthi inspite of being in the midst of attending the final Intermediate examination, not only filled the gap but also seemed to have utilised the opportunity to the hilt.