M.D. Ramanathan (MDR)

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 25 Feb 2006, 23:31

Of course meena has posted the lovely Ananda Ramayana shlokam in wonderful Anandabhairavi and truncated Yadukulakambodhi. Since your appetite is whetted now enjoy the versatile MDR with a superb sAveri,khamas and hamsanandi
http://rapidshare.de/files/14113008/07-slokam_1_.mp3

meena · Post by **meena** » 12 Mar 2006, 07:27

The next sree mdr comp. on my list, a master piece!!!

gajavadanA mAm pAhi. rAgam: hamsadhvani. tAlam: rUpaka.

P: gajavadanA mAm pAhi gauri tanaya satatam
A: aja rudra harIndrAdi akhila dEvatA pUjita
(ciTTasvara)
tAkiTa jham rI ga ri sa sA ri sA ni pA ni sa gA pa ga ni pa
ga pa ni sa ri ta dhIm kiNatom ta dhIm kiNatom
C: sakala vighna vAranA sAdhu jana pOshaNA
nikhila bhuvana pAlana nata varadadAsa vibhUshaNa

Again my thanks goes to Divakarji for providing me the text

hope u will all enjoy!

meena · Post by **meena** » 22 Mar 2006, 03:55

the next comp. of sree mdr is a slOkam:

subrahmaNya katAkshavIksha lahari (from shrI dIkshitar navamAlikA) ? rAgAmAlika (composed for shrI dIkshitar 's Bi-centenary -1975)

subrahmaNya katAkshavIksha lahari
sAmrajya samstApakam
subrahmaNya suvarcasAdi sahitam
sugnAna rUpam varam
sAkshAt srinagarEsu bhaktamamalam
saNgita sAmrAjyadam
satva gnAna samasta sadgruNayutam
srI dIkshitEndram bhajE

-(the info/Text was provided to me/divakaji by Sir Balaji (sree mdr son), thanku sir balaji.

meena · Post by **meena** » 25 Mar 2006, 06:47

lovely kApi kriti - vA vA murugA - kApi - MDR
I hope u will all enjoy!

i do not have the text, i hope someone here will help.

Lakshman · Post by **Lakshman** » 25 Mar 2006, 07:11

Here is the text but I don't think it is a composition of MDR.

vA vA murugA. rAgA: hindustAnikApi. cApu tALA.

P: vA vA vElavA vaLLi maNavALA
A: ven-tuyarAl nondu migha cintai kalakkam koNDEnE
C1: vIrargaL kaND-anjiDum sUrargaLai nAsham sheidu
dEvargaLum bhUsurarum kUvi malar tUvap-peTrAi
2: nAradar sholpunamE sErA vaLLaiyak-kaNDu
vEngai maramAi kizhavanAi mangaiyai mOsam sheidAi
3: endan cintai kuraiyai vandu udavuvAyenil
undan pazhani sannidhi vandu darishippEn ummai

meena · Post by **meena** » 25 Mar 2006, 07:24

Lji

thanku
on bboard sir balji and AKS had listed this kriti as mdr comp.

in ur records who's comp. is it?

Lakshman · Post by **Lakshman** » 25 Mar 2006, 07:30

Meena: There is no composer's name given in the book. MDR's kritis usually have the mudra "varadadasa". This may be an exception.

meena · Post by **meena** » 25 Mar 2006, 07:55

Lji

i've few kritis that he has not used his mudra.
i shall double check the kapi kriti.

Lakshman · Post by **Lakshman** » 25 Mar 2006, 23:43

Can you post a list of these please? Thanks.

meena · Post by **meena** » 26 Mar 2006, 02:12

Lji

comp. i came across and he has not used his mudra:

gajAnana - tODi
manamE rAmanai- sindhubhairavi
nIvale daivamu- yadukulakAmbhOji
nadridridhIm (tillAnA)-kadanakutUhalam
nAdhru dhImta dhira (thillana)- shankarAbharaNa
rAma rAma rAma rAma - nIlAmbari
vElavanE umakku-SahAnA

Lakshman · Post by **Lakshman** » 26 Mar 2006, 11:04

Thanks Meena.

meena · Post by **meena** » 27 Mar 2006, 00:34

SORRY MDR rasikas

i too have deleted all the rapidshare links!

is it adios amigos???

regards
kaputt mdr fan

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 27 Mar 2006, 01:14

LaissÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â© il y ait paix et silence!

mdrbalaji · Post by **mdrbalaji** » 25 Apr 2006, 01:11

With Chandru & T.K.Murthy

Thank You srkris,

Today is my father's thithi and i was happy to see this picture. If you have any other picture please do share with us.

Sincerely,
Balaji Ramanathan

meena · Post by **meena** » 25 Apr 2006, 05:55

Hello Balaji
welcome back

(thanks to Kji)

coolkarni · Post by **coolkarni** » 25 Apr 2006, 21:28

i am closing my day with a Remembrance Day Track.

http://rapidshare.de/files/18905217/054 ... _.mp3.html

watch out for some fun at 26.00 mts or so when the audience thinks the rendering is over.
but MDR is in a mood for more.Wonderful 14 mts of swaras.

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 26 Apr 2006, 01:29

A relaxed performance. Just Wonderful. Thanks for pointing to the humor with the audience after the niraval. What does MDR actually say in between the first sequence of swaras, can anyone make out?

meena · Post by **meena** » 26 Apr 2006, 01:52

aah goosebumps every time i listen

VK
"joot epadi" (joot = hide and seek)

meena · Post by **meena** » 26 Apr 2006, 01:55

mdrbalaji · Post by **mdrbalaji** » 26 Apr 2006, 03:16

srkris · Post by **srkris** » 26 Apr 2006, 12:27

The photo of MDR with Tiger & Rukmini Devi is very interesting. Thanks.

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 26 Apr 2006, 12:36

aah goosebumps every time i listen

VK
"joot epadi" (joot = hide and seek)

Thanks Meena. So it is an intentional ploy? Cool.

mdrbalaji · Post by **mdrbalaji** » 26 Apr 2006, 16:51

The person next to Shri.Tiger is not my father. I am sure about this based on two reasons:

i) He never had that kind of hair style in his life.

ii) He was much taller than Shri. Tiger.

I am still searching for at least one picture of Tiger and my father together.

meena · Post by **meena** » 26 Apr 2006, 23:58

Oops!

Balaji

Have u checked kalakshetra? They should manage to find atleast one pic of them together.

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 27 Apr 2006, 02:40

Balaji
It will be great to have your picture with MDR! Pl post! Thanks.

mdrbalaji · Post by **mdrbalaji** » 27 Apr 2006, 03:36

There are a few in the webpage. http://mdramanathan.com/p_personal.htm

The last one was taken before his HMV release & is one of my personal favorites. There are some from my Upanayanam, but i haven't scanned those pictures.

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 27 Apr 2006, 05:21

Thanks Balaji!
You do look so cute! Can you share some interesting childhood moments with MDR?

mdrbalaji · Post by **mdrbalaji** » 27 Apr 2006, 20:11

Thanks cmlover,

He used to tell a lot of mythological stories and he was awesome in it. I remember one such story "Anna Gopala" and i used to ask him to repeat it many times.

He never forced music on me. However, when he felt i had some interest in it, he did take every effort to cultivate more interest in it. Whenever power went off in our house, we used to have a quiz competition between me and my mom, in our house. He will sing a ragam, & we are supposed to find the ragam.

As part of our school annual day function, i was part of a Dance Drama troop and the theme was "Bhavayami Raghuramam". As we had regular rehearsals, i learnt the whole kriti, with the chittaswarams and i sang before him one day. He was so thrilled and happy and made me sing the entire composition before many personalities, like Rukmini Devi and Travancore Maharani.

I had several personal favorites like his compositions Maname Ramanai in Sindhu Bhairavi or a Nanda Gopa in Kapi or Rama Rama in Neelambari. I used to pester him to sing these compositions in every concert(sometimes, even in the begining) & his only requirement was that if i behave well throughout the entire concert, then he will sing my favorite composition in the end.

I remember posting some of these incidents either in this BB or somewhere else. In case these are repetitive, kindly excuse me.

Balaji

drshrikaanth · Post by **drshrikaanth** » 27 Apr 2006, 20:44

Dear Balaji
No this idoes not seem repetitive at all. Please keep posting.

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 27 Apr 2006, 21:04

Yes balaji
I don't remember reading these recollections anywhere. It is indeed nice to read about his family interactions. I can understand his thrills to hear you sing 'bhAvayaami' with the cittasvarams! How old were you then? Did he tell you about his gurukula with Tiger? How did he interact when there were very sparse attendance in his concerts. We know he gave a full concert when there were only four attending. He sang more from his heart than for any public recognition. Did he ever feel that he did not get the SK that he so richly deserved. There are all sorts of stories about that. Could you set the record straight? If you have any home recordings (especially without accompaniments) could you share with us?. I am sure there will be no copyrights issue here. You of course know the policy of this Forum!

drshrikaanth · Post by **drshrikaanth** » 27 Apr 2006, 21:24

----. Did he ever feel that he did not get the SK that he so richly deserved. There are all sorts of stories about that. Could you set the record straight?

May be this is asking for too much.

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 27 Apr 2006, 23:56

He will sing a ragam, & we are supposed to find the ragam.

That is so cool.

srkris · Post by **srkris** » 28 Apr 2006, 03:43

Meena, no harm in having 2 separate threads... here we focus on the man; there we focus on his music.

Real reason: Merge facility is not yet completely available

meena · Post by **meena** » 28 Apr 2006, 03:50

I know

Since most discussions on sree mdr and his music are on the previous thread, i thought it would to nice to have it ALL under 'one roof'. Will also help since i'm planning to put it on a dvd

mohan · Post by **mohan** » 28 Apr 2006, 05:17

On the MDR website, http://www.mdramanthan.com, it says

Apart from composing more than 300 kritis in carnatic music, he also composed operas like "Varada Bhaktha Vijayam", 'Sundara Ramayanam", and music for a Kalakshetra feature presentation "Buddha Avataram".

Have these operas been performed or recorded?

Did any of the disciples of Sri MDR gain popularity? I am sure he would have had many students at Kalakshetra but what about the private students?

abadri · Post by **abadri** » 28 Apr 2006, 08:08

Since we're going on a trip down memory lane here's some
nostalgia about Balaji himself

His son would show up for his concerts and share the stage -
at least in informal locations like Sastri Hall, Sringeri
Mandapam, in Madras. The kid was very young - 8 to 10, I would say
(circa 1980); and would constantly move around on stage and
reach for the kalkandu (sugar candy) that MDR kept in front of
himself. MDR would casually chide him or lightly slap his hand
from getting the sugar candy - all in the midst of his singing.

Balaji, hope you don't mind.

bala747 · Post by **bala747** » 03 May 2006, 10:25

Balaji, we share the same first name! I am the same Balaji who corresponded with you re: MDR a long time ago.

I was very glad to see the extent to which MDR's site has grown. Incidentally, I just finished hearing MDR's brilliant rendition of Devagandhari.

Just a request: Is it possible to put another concert in the concert corner? Something with his trademark Yadukula Kambhoji or Sankarabharanam in it?

Finally we can communicate on a BB.

meena · Post by **meena** » 03 May 2006, 12:48

20 years after M.D. Ramanathan
By Garimella Subramaniam

CHENNAI, AUG. 14. By the mid-20th century, the kutcheri was a buzzword among connoisseurs of the devotional songs in Carnatic music. The faster tempo in recitals had already assumed prominence among artistes and audiences.

At times concerts had the appearance of a string of songs delivered at breakneck speed. Even the aalapana and kalpanasvaram singing came under the influence. In substantive terms, the dhuritakaala facet of compositions was on the road to being vulgarised. Rasikas began hip-hopping between the mushrooming sabhas.

But there was one rock that withstood this onslaught, restoring meaning and perspective to many a clichÃ© and hackneyed phrase in the description of classical Carnatic music. This was the composer and vocalist Manjapara D. Ramanathan (1923-1984), third in the line of the direct disciples of saint Tyagaraja. (He died 20 years ago, on April 27.)

Ramanathan's power and appeal lay in his deep, resonant voice. It enveloped your conscious being even before you were aware of it. MDR, as he came to be known, introduced a new approach to singing, or perhaps revived one that was long lost.

Anchored in his individuality, he rendered kritis in a style that was simple, direct and elegant. Singing in a slow and leisurely pace, he beckoned audiences to mull over each syllable. It was as though music had rediscovered its eternal value all over again in his recitals. MDR's crusade against the tide of time was rooted in context.

The vilambita kaala gaanam during Kathakali dance performances influenced his delivery of Carnatic songs, he once acknowledged. His voice and style were noticed even during student days in Palakkad. His singing in the lower register was ridiculed as "paatala sruti." "Manushya Drohi" is how the residents of Taracaud Agraharam in Palakkad described him on hearing his early morning saadhana.

This sarcasm probably strengthened MDR's resolve to eschew the straitjacket in music as well as in life generally. He earned a bachelor's in Physics from the Government Victoria College in Palakkad. Not heeding his father's counsel to take up employment, he enrolled for the Sangeetha Shironmani course at the Madras Kalakshetra. MDR then served as a Professor and rose to become its Principal. His guru, the legendary Tiger Varadhachariyar, had enormous regard for the young MDR's originality and individuality. MDR appended the signature "Varada dasa" to his more than 300 compositions in Sanskrit, Tamil and Telugu â€” thus immortalising the guru-sishya relationship.

MDR's legacy is alive through a modest number of albums and private recordings. A collection of tributes, in Malayalam, is M.D. Ramanathan, A Unique Octave in Music, edited by Dr. Madhu Vasudevan (2003).

mdrbalaji · Post by **mdrbalaji** » 04 May 2006, 02:24

Hello all,

It's been quite busy here, hence didn't get any chance to post any replies to all the posts.

cmlover sir,
I am not sure i will be able to answer any of your questions based on my personal interactions with my dad, however based on what i have heard from my mom and his close friends, he never aspired for any specific recognition nor was he worried about crowd's strength in his concerts.

I have listened to a lec-dem on Tiger's Varnams in Kalakshetra in which he mentions how Tiger composed his varnams, like for e.g. Vachaspati Varnam was composed on Smt.Rukmini Devi's birthday and it seems Tiger selected Vachaspati as RD was a great orator.
In the same lec, he mentions about how there are complains that MDR sings less, or MDR sings more or MDR comes late so on and so forth. But MDR like his Guru is not affected by these accusations.

But, from a rational standpoint, i am not able to convince myself that his concerts were always poorly attended. Because, if that's the case, then how would he have managed to maintain a career out of music and sing in the prime slot in Academy every year, since 1950 till 1982. Also, he has toured throughout India during his career and had several opportunities to come abroad, but didn't as he was not too keen travelling overseas. Also, when one looks at the amount of his live performances in circulation, anyone would be surprised to hear that his concerts had few audiences.

bala747,

I have been extremely busy the last few months & i am guilty for not being able to update the web page. I have some more materials ready and i will try and upload them as early as possible. i appreciate all your support and patience in this regard.

bala747 · Post by **bala747** » 04 May 2006, 09:21

My granduncle would always say that MDR had a core of diehard fans in most places he sang (he was one of them). He would say this:

If at the start of the concert there were a hundred people listening, about 50 would walk out after the first two songs, but the remaining would listen until the mangalam was sung (This was in Bombay and Calcutta). I would have told the 50 who left to save their money and not even turn up because they seem to have turned up just to be seen as music connoisseurs (but I digress).

I recall one viruttam of his (ratnakarosti sadhanam) in Thodi in which he gives a beautiful explanation to the meaning. But what I can still recall about that viruttam is the way he handled thodi. It sounds deceptively simple until one tries to sing it.

Anyway I found the lyrics to this after much googling in an older thread of this site I think (Saw CML's name there somewhere):

ratnAkarO'sti sadanam gRhiNI ca lakShmI.h
kim dEyam asti bhavatE jagad-IshvarAya |
rAdhA-grihIta-manasE' (a)manasE ca tubhyam
dattam madIya *manasam* tadidam gRihANa ||

meena · Post by **meena** » 04 May 2006, 10:16

bala the viruttam was not u/l on this forum.

ratnAkara OShadhi sadanam g^RihaNI ca lakshmi
kimdEya asti bhavatE jagadIswarAyA
Radha grihIta manasE manasE ca thubhyam
dattam madIya manasA tad idam kritAnAm

Sree MDRÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚Â¢s interpretation of the slokam :

Sree MDR says: ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã¢â‚¬Å“The meaning of this is simple, yet beautiful, and represents the thoughts and prayers of a devotee of Lord KrishnaÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â

meena · Post by **meena** » 12 May 2006, 21:52

An event to mark M.D. Ramanathan Rememberance Day will be held on May 20, 2006 at Rukmini Ramakrishna Kalyanamandapam, Tripunithura, Kochi, Kerala.

A vocal concert features Sanjay Subrahmanyam. A book titled 'Kedaram' by R.K.Moorthy on the life of MDR, will be released by Sri Sanjay Subrahmaniam.

The event is being organised by R.K.Moorthy.

meena · Post by **meena** » 15 May 2006, 12:47

For details abt sre MDR day Pl check:

DELETED

bala747 · Post by **bala747** » 20 May 2006, 17:17

Balaji and Site Admin permitting, I would like to post the A/M viruttam and a few other compositions sung by this great man.

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 20 May 2006, 21:41

Dear Bala
As long as it is not part of a commercial piece there is no objection. Balaji is with us only to enhance our appreciation of this great man and not for snooping or to find fault. Do post and discuss the highlights as you see and we will join in!

bala747 · Post by **bala747** » 21 May 2006, 08:45

The viruttam is in another computer. Here are his renditions of a few of his own compositions.

http://rapidshare.de/files/20923119/09_ ... gEshrI.mp3

Sagara Shayana vibho in Bhagesri, a moving composition rendered by MDR. Accompanists are L Subramaniam and Ramabhadran.

One reason why I love VR's mridangam is the way he enhances the piece without being too obtrusive. This krithi is a case in point. His playing is subdued and adds ghumkis at the right spots without interfering with the mood of the rendition.

http://rapidshare.de/files/20982335/Sri ... i-_MDR.mp3

(not to be confused with the Sri chamundeshwari Palayamam by Mysore Vasudevachariar, in fact the AIR announcer announces the composer as "Varadadasar"!). This is from an AIR Concert with TNK and CS (?) Murugabhoopathy.

A less heard composition, in Bilahari. Beautiful but the recording suffers from "jumps".

http://rapidshare.de/files/20982498/Thy ... am-MDR.mp3

Another AIR rendition, this time with V Thyagarajan, and P Raghu. It's no wonder he is called "King of Kedaram"! A very beatiful composition on Saint Thyagaraja.

I don't like VT's violin. The nadam is atrocious and his handling of swaras seem like he is not sure of himself.
I first heard this piece sung by KVN in an AIR concert and I had no idea then who "Varadadasar" was when the composer was announced (they seem to have MDR's name as "Varadadasar" on file.

kaapi · Post by **kaapi** » 22 May 2006, 21:25

(they seem to have MDR's name as "Varadadasar" on file.

Bala747
I think MDR preferred it that way. MDR had sung his compositions in MA way back in the sixties. The programme sheet used to indicate VaradadAsar as the composer and not MDR.

meena · Post by **meena** » 22 May 2006, 21:40

kaapi

If u have saved the programme sheets, can u PLEASE scan and email them to me. thanks

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 22 May 2006, 21:41

It is indeed his dedication of his compositions to his guru "Tiger varadachariaar'.

bala747 · Post by **bala747** » 23 May 2006, 08:12

Folks,

http://rapidshare.de/files/21144285/08_ ... ADANAM.MP3

Here it is, the viruttam. Spellbinding thodi. After his explanation of the viruttam (which meena had posted earlier), someone remarks "your explanation is as simple as your thodi sir".

IIRC the violinist is Chandrasekharan but I could be wrong.

Also, one of my personal favourites:

http://rapidshare.de/files/19531184/03_ ... alyANi.mp3

A Navarathri Mandapam rendition of ST's Deva deva jagadiswara.
Beautiful rendition in the mandapam. I have been trying to get my hands on the rest of this concert but so far no luck.

Finally, a great Devagandhari

http://rapidshare.de/files/7212922/04._Ksheera.mp3

I think the accompanists are Pappa Venkatramiah and Ramabhadran but I could be wrong.