July 31, 2006

I attended the concert of Mani Sarma along with my family on Friday 28th July in Hayward, CA. First things first, there was a miscommunication about the venue and date of the event. Secondly the Friday night traffic in the Bay Area made it very difficult for many of my friends to get to the concert on time.

I always wondered why Mani never gave out interviews and felt that he is an introvert. But when I met him backstage I had to change my opinion. Mani is a very friendly and jovial person who spared time for every fan who went to talk to him. His humility and simplicity further increased our respect for him.

Mani’s lively concert lasted for around 3 hours and the audience enjoyed each and every minute of the event. The troupe consisted of Gangadhar, Mallikarjun, Vinod, Usha and Sunitha. The orchestra players were all professionals from Mani’s team. I have only one word to describe the concert, “terrific”. Mani with his folks swayed the audience.

The highlight of the evening was Usha rendering “Dole Dole” song from POKIRI. She stunned the entire audience with her rendition of the song. She started the song in a classical style. Mani Sarma and Usha then enacted a comedy skit where he asked her what song she was singing. He then asked the audience if they liked the classical version of the song. When the audience said they wanted the original version, Mani said he liked the classical version but he would respect the audience opinion. Usha then sang the original version of the song. This entire episode had the audience in laughter. During the song Mani Sarma met the audience and danced along with them. Usha’s performance in this concert is a new revelation to the audience about her versatility in singing various genres of songs.

Another highlight of the program was the anchoring of Gangadhar. He anchored in beautiful chaste Telugu and used quite often quotes of famous Telugu personalities. He rendered old time hits of Ghantasala. Mallikarjun and Upcoming singer Vinod Babu who played a dual role of a guitar player and singer performed very well and won applause from the audience. Well known dubbing artist and singer Sunitha sang “Joru Meedunnave Tummeda” song whose music was played by Mani Sarma’s father Sri. Naga Yagna Sarma garu who himself is a great musician.

Dancers from BATA danced to various songs from movies Indra and Okkadu. The whole event was a grand success with all the audience having a great time. However I wish that the event was advertised better. Lots of my friends at work felt they missed out on a great event and I have my sympathies for them.

Rama Kanth Chunduri

Also check out (2006 Summer musical nights by Telugu celebrities
• Mani Sharma's concert in Bloomington
• Sreekanth Devarakonda on Mani Sharma's concert in Chicago
• Padmaja B on Hema Chandra's musical night in Chicago
• Nagadurga Chinnapareddy on Mani Sharma musical night in VA
• Connoisseur on Karunya's musical night in Indianapolis