Aruna Sairam at SIMA, Los Angeles 09/26/2015

[Sindhuja]

Mridangam: J. Vaidyanathan
Violin: Vittal Ramamurthy
List:
--
--
-Mamavatu shri saraswathi - Hindolam, Adi, Mysore Vasudevachar - S
-Bagayannaiya - Chandrajyoti, Deshadi, Thyagaraja
-Viruththam in Paras - Kallapizhaiyum by Pattinaththar, followed by Alavadennalo - Paras, Adi, Oothukadu Venkatakavi
-Vandanamu - Sahana, Adi, Thyagaraja
-Chakkani raja - Kharaharapriya, Adi, Thyagaraja - R, N&S at 'kantiki'
-Amba mohini - shloka by Adi Shankara in Nilambari followed by Amba Nilambari - Nilambari, Adi, Ponnaiah Pillai
-Venkataramanane baro - Saveri, Adi, Purandaradasa
-RTP - Shanmugapriya - Pallavi: (vadi)velai panivadhe en velai adhikaalai avan kaalai - Khanda Triputa (??) - Swarams in Shanmugapriya, Bowli, Revathi.
-Brindavana nilaye - Reethigowla, Oothukaadu Venkatakavi
-En pallikkondeer ayya - Mohanam & Kapi, Adi, Arunachala Kavi
-Bhakta jana vatsale - Madhmadh Sarang?, Purvi, Adi, Namdev
--
-- (fill in with maadu meikkum/ vishamakaara kannan...)

I haven't been particularly fond of Smt. Aruna Sairam's (AS) music but I must admit that I haven't heard her in much depth at all. In fact I don't think I'd heard her live ever, and so I was quite eager to go to this concert and vowed to go in with an open mind. Sadly I was late again (slowly learning to beat LA traffic, the hard way) and Vittal Ramamurthy (VR) was wrapping up the final swara in Hindolam for Mamavatu shri. Not a fan of Hindolam, so that was bit of a consolation, but I'm curious to know what she sang before that. If someone here attended and can fill in, that would be great.
She followed that with a sedate rendition of Bagayannaiya in Chandrajyoti. Although just a kriti rendition it was enjoyable, especially in the unhurried pace that she sang it. She then sang the Oothukadu composition in Paras (in the pancharatna kriti style of swaram-sahithyam) and preluded that with a short introduction about the piece saying that it had the names of all 63 nayanmars. (I see this song mentioned elsewhere on rasikas too, here for instance: http://www.rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=25998) The viruththam and the song were quite enjoyable and I particularly liked the mridangam accompaniment in this. Next was Vandanamu, again just the krithi. By this time I was itching to hear some ragam/ neraval/ swaram. Next came a detailed sketch of Kharaharapriya. She started with the typical pidis of the raga in the mid range (NDP...) and then went lower. She had some nice prayogams centering on the madhyamam - for instance, M.... RSNR NRGPM.... The alapana on the whole was very nice and we got our fill of a very traditional Kharaharapriya. VR's return was of course wonderful. I couldn't help notice a striking contrast in the quality of the music of AS and VR - it was interesting to see AS's "fierceness" (for lack of a better word) being nicely complemented by VR's very gentle playing. The neraval wasn't too long, but was nicely done - no kanakkus/ poruththams, still enjoyable.

The swaram section had a revelation in store for me - as she went through the kizh kalam and then the mel kalam - it occurred to me that there were some striking resemblances between her brand of music and Sanjay's! I don't know if anyone else has felt this way. Up to this point, the concert was quite good for me - no "AHA" moments, but I was enjoying it. And then in the swarams, started the Sanjay-esque mutilation of syllables (ri-ri-ri almost sounding like 'ru-ru-ru' and the like). And then slowly, I began seeing other similarities - voice is not a strength for both, both are extremely animated on stage with a lot of body movement, with both it looks like there's a lot of effort going into singing - they look visibly strained (which one might also interpret as being moved/deeply involved), both have great vidwat, and both are huge crowd-pullers. They're both *performers* in addition to being musicians. /Sigh, end digression/

Other than the strange pronunciations (especially in the tara sthayi) the swarams were quite nice - she briefly alternated between ri and da for the poruththams which was interesting. Somehow she also very much reminded me of MMI here - especially in a portion of her sarvalaghus when she stopped at ri-ri-ri in tara sthayi, and then alternated that with stopping at ri-ri-ri in the madhyama sthayi. Another interesting thing was that when VR played his round of swaras, she wouldn't completely stop singing - at least for a few seconds into his playing. She'd hold on to her last note and oscillate it to give a sense of continuum between the singing and the violin - I quite liked that. Throughout it was worth noting that she entirely capitalized on the strengths of voice - she didn't venture even a little bit beyond the tara gandharam, but effectively used her voice in the range that it is best in. The thani that followed was gripping and there were interesting tishram and khandam patterns. I should also say that I really enjoyed the sound (nadam) of the instrument.

The Neelambari was serene and beautifully rendered. I was excited to hear the Saveri piece - I learnt it as a kid and haven't heard it sung by anyone in all these years. We were a little less than 2 hours into the concert at this point and AS announced that she'd like to sing an RTP but make it short since people might also want abhangs etc.. (2nd slight cringe moment for me, but anyway.) The ragam opening in Shanmugapriya was a bit hurried and it sounded like she plunged into the alapana somewhere in the middle without a "build-up" - that was probably because as she said it was going to be short. Not much else to say about the RTP - it was good, but I'd have preferred a more sprightly raga after the likes of Kharaharapriya and Saveri. I felt that the ragamalika ragas also didn't help offer a contrast. Nevertheless, it had all the components for a good RTP - it was probably just me who didn't find it very appealing.

The "thukkadas" were standard fare. At the end of bhakta jana vatsale - about which, by the way, she shared an interesting piece of info: apprently Namdev sees the lord as his mother and hence uses the Stri-linga, vitthale, instead of the masculine vitthala - she broke into a nama-bhajana type chanting of "vitthale" and invited the audience to join her. People enthusiastically clapped their hands along and joined her. At the end of it she said that these - "folk and congregational music" - really are the roots of our music. She went on to say that although at some later point our music may have evolved into "art music" (yes, she used that term), it has its roots in congregational music. (Ahem...)

I had to leave at that point since I had a long drive ahead of me, but I heard her asking the audience if she could skip maadu meikkum and vishamakaara kannan, and not surprisingly, they responded with a resounding NO.

Overall, I want to like AS - I in fact really like many aspects of her music as I've said above - just wish they were given to us in larger doses.

[Sreeni Rajarao]

Thanks for the review!

I was happy to see this in the list! Venkataramanane baro - Saveri, Adi, Purandaradasa

Just recently I was wondering why I don't see this song featured in any concerts. I have an old audio tape (yes, audio cassette!) of BMK and that's where I heard this song first and liked it.

[priyaram78]

Thanks for the review ! I too am happy to see the list ! Oottukkadu Venkatakavi songs are always in Smt. Aruna Sairam's list. I attended her concert in Ragasudha hall and it was lively.

[rajeshnat]

RTP - Shanmugapriya - Pallavi: (vadi)velai panivadhe en velai adhikaalai avan kaalai - Khanda Triputa (??) - Swarams in Shanmugapriya, Bowli, Revathi.

......
Not much else to say about the RTP - it was good, but I'd have preferred a more sprightly raga after the likes of Kharaharapriya and Saveri. I felt that the ragamalika ragas also didn't help offer a contrast. Nevertheless, it had all the components for a good RTP - it was probably just me who didn't find it very appealing.

sindhuja
If shanmughapriya ragam is not sprightly raga , not sure how Aruna can help you with another sprightly ragam. Thanks for the review . How was the crowd? roughly in count.

NExt month i see in web on11th oct and 24th oct , you have trichur brothers and sangeetha swaminathan at LA. I am assuming you may have not heard sangeetha swaminathan, she is a terrific singer just like the preceding brothers. She sings vasanthabhairavi brilliantly with a s kalyanaraman effect - DONOT go LATE please.

This pallavi is TRS mama creation. Once I have heard this pallavi in nattaikurinji when vidushi raji gopalakrishnan sang in adyar.

[rajeshnat]

-En pallikkondeer ayya - Mohanam & Kapi, Adi, Arunachala Kavi
.

During mohanam en palli , did you go out and have a coffee. WHere did the kApi come in sindhuja?

[sureshvv]

Rajesh.. It is a ragamalika. At least in the NCV album where I hear it. You probably dozed off after the 1st charanam and could have used some coffee

[HarishankarK]

Somewhere I read that Aruna Sairam and Sanjay Subramaniam have the same Guru for advanced lessons - Nadaswaram maestro Sembanarkoil SRD Vaidyanathan. Maybe that's why you feel their style is similar.
But Aruna Sairam does less mannerisms and dance than Sanjay Subramaniam - not to mention his completely drenching himself in sweat and wiping himself after every song. As if carnatic music were some marathon. AS is fresh and presentable even at the end of her concert.

I have mixed feelings about Aruna Sairam - I like her renditions of dikshitar, oothukaddu krithis and tamil thukkadas (the emotive tearjerker songs like Enna Kavi, Enadu Uyir Nee, Karuththil Niraindaai etc.) But I wouldn't call her music as pure classical music. Not much sangatis and not much clarity in sangatis in her renditions. But still good.

[rajeshnat]

Rajesh.. It is a ragamalika. At least in the NCV album where I hear it. You probably dozed off after the 1st charanam and could have used some coffee

The first time I heard is from maharajapuram santhanam. TO the best of my knowledge santhanam has not rendered the kapi stanza. I just googled to find aruna has sung even the kapi charanam . I am not aware of this stanza in kapi where aruna sings from the 08:35 timeline in kapi.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6CtnHbn46A

wrong kapi break - sindhuja.

[Sindhuja]

Yes, all the renditions of En pallikkondeer that I've heard are in Mohanam and Kapi in the "maduraiyile" stanza.
To me Shanmugapriya is more solemn and deep than sprightly... I do like the raga, was just talking about placement - and as I said it probably worked for others. Not sure about numbers, but it was an almost full auditorium at Cabrillo.
Harishankar: interesting snippet! I was in fact wondering if they'd had a common Guru.

[mahavishnu]

Thanks for your lovely and thoughtful review, Sindhuja. I agree with a lot of what you said.

I attended her concert in the Bay area yesterday. Very similar fare. In fact I think there were a number of repeats (Paras including the virutham, Bagayanaiyya, Venkatramana Baro + ALL the tukkadas).

She has such an amazing stage presence and command over her space, voice and the audience. But the music, alas, has gone beyond the point of pandering to the gallery. There were so many moments where she could have gone the cerebral way, but instead consciously chose not to. Interpreted charitably, I could say that the music has a natural syncretic and spontaneous quality to it. But each time she sustained a crescendo to hold it in anticipation of applause, I felt that the theatrical aspects certainly took primacy over the raw/emotional aspects of the music.

I also strongly feel that "art" music shares very little with congregational music; even the shared origin theory is a bit dubious. There is a way to present the bhakti bhavam, the groove and the trance-like quality of CM in a way that is accessible to regular folk. Aruna's strategy for achieving this is not my cup of tea. I just feel that she could do so much more with her talent. That said, if this is her performance niche, there are few that can do what she does. This is the kind of showpersonship that so many Carnatic musicians can only dream of having.

The last time I heard her live was in the mid 1980s in the afternoon slot at the Music Academy. I remember my parents commenting on how much her sahana sounded like Ramnad Krishnan and about the high-quality Dhanammal school sangatis that she had internalized in her kriti presentations. It is very sad to see that she has given a lot of that up to be where she is today. And she absolutely didn't have to...

In the words of the bard of puduvai, "nalladOr veenai seidhu..."

[rshankar]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6CtnHbn46A

Rajesh - rAmAvatAram in mOhanam, and kRshNAvatAram in kApi. There is yet another caraNam - which is beautiful, but unfortunately, never sung - see this link for the whole kRti

[pvs]

has anyone ever sung the third charanam of Yen palli kondeer? I would love to hear it done once!

Also I find that the second line of the second charanam has been twisted out of any meaning ("Mudalai vai magalaittarum kalaiyo?")
It should be " Madalai vai mazhalai tarum kalaiyo?" just a couple of letters changed and it makes perfect sense...

[rshankar]

I was under the impression that it referred to kRshNA's rescue of a child from the jaws of a crocodile, and hence, mudalai vAi .... is indeed correct.

Can I ask what your reference is?

[rajeshnat]

Rajesh - rAmAvatAram in mOhanam, and kRshNAvatAram in kApi. There is yet another caraNam - which is beautiful, but unfortunately, never sung - see this link for the whole kRti

What is the third raga after mohanam and kapi? Has anyone heard that last charanam?

[Sindhuja]

Thanks, Ramesh. Couldn't agree more, especially on your point about art music.

[pvs]

I was under the impression that it referred to kRshNA's rescue of a child from the jaws of a crocodile, and hence, mudalai vAi .... is indeed correct.

Can I ask what your reference is?

Sorry, I do not have any references as this is only my opinion. This is one of my most favourite compositions (just the expanse of the canvas is breathtaking) but this line never sounded agreeable. Also there is no reference to a crocodile-child episode in the Bhagavata (to my knowledge). I embarked upon hunting down words that are one-two syllables apart a while ago and arrived at this. (mudalai- madhalai; magalai- mazhalai)
Madalai vaai mazhalai tarum kaliyo?
Did it tire you to speak as an infant? makes sense in the chronology of the lines too.
More knowledgeable rasikas may weigh in kindly.

[kvchellappa]

http://www.karnatik.com/c1474.shtml gives as 'mudalai vAi magaLaittarum kaLaiyO?'

[sureshvv]

I also strongly feel that "art" music shares very little with congregational music; even the shared origin theory is a bit dubious.

If "congregrational" music includes Namasankeerthanam, then I think you are wrong. A lot of techniques in singing and percussion
have been developed and carried over from Namasankeerthanam. Mainly because of availability of time.
Namasankeerthanam is a day long event and with food provided etc. which allows much more experimentation
and spontaneous expositions. I have heard this from several practitioners.

[Jigyaasa]

This is one of my most favourite compositions (just the expanse of the canvas is breathtaking)

I just came across this song being discussed in this recent video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPz6nzYTZS4 starting at 1 hour 35 minutes

[rammynampati]

Sindhuja:
Thank you for a very nice review. I attended (and enjoyed) the concert and can relate to the review, especially the bit about Sanjay.

Just a few comments and additions:

"for Mamavatu shri. ......, but I'm curious to know what she sang before that"
That was the first piece. There was a slokam "sarva mangaLa mAngalyE" and the hindOLam piece. So you did not miss much in spite of the horrendous LA traffic.

She also sang a beautiful "venkaTAchala kavacham" by a contemporary composer based in Chennai, Ramamurthy Rao after "vishamakara kannna", which I had not heard her sing before.

Given that Swami Dayananda Saraswati passed away a few days back, she chose to end the concert, instead of the traditional mangaLam, with a dEsh composition of the Swamiji, "bhArata dEsha hitAya" which I thought was a very nice gesture.

Rajesh:
I would put the attendance at around 350 to 400 which was pretty good considering that there was another conflicting engagement at the same time.


Ram

[rajeshnat]

Rajesh:
I would put the attendance at around 350 to 400 which was pretty good considering that there was another conflicting engagement at the same time.

Ram,
What was the conflicting engagement ?

[Sindhuja]

Ram: thanks for filling me in. Glad I didn't miss much in the beginning.

[rammynampati]

Rajesh:
I would put the attendance at around 350 to 400 which was pretty good considering that there was another conflicting engagement at the same time.

Ram,
What was the conflicting engagement ?

Rajesh:
Apparently there was a dance Arangetram around the same time and I heard that many people that would have come to the concert ended up going to the Arangetram.

Ram

[Ponbhairavi]

Post no16.
Pvs: I am of the same opinion as rshanker.Krishna saved the son of Santipani ( his guru ) from the jaws of a crocodile.the wording could be
maganaittarum and not magaLaittarum

[vasanthakokilam]

I normally would not dare get into lyrical issues, but this song is set in simpler Tamil and hence my hesitant entrance into that domain.

While Pvs's hypothesis sounds a bit stretched in its own right in his attempt to fix what is perceived to be an issue, the question in my mind is 'Which is the key word that denotes 'save' or 'rescue'?' Is 'tarum' in 'magan(L)aittarum' the one? I am having difficulty relating that to 'save'. Can one of you suggest another usage where tarum means that? If no one said anything else to me, I would interpret that as 'give'.. but to stretch it to 'save/rescue' I need to add the real word 'mIttu' to make it 'mIttutharum'. Even if we assume mIttu is assumed, '(mIttu)tarum kaLaiyo' does not sound right either. (mIttu)tanda kaLayiyo makes sense but then it may not fit in poetically. There is probably a better explanation that resolves cleanly both the meaning and poetical usages which is what I am seeking.

[arasi]

Kokilam,
I am glad you made me think again about it.The uneasiness shared in this thread with the lines is understandable (include me). So, I went through the lines again. This is old tamizh, and that means certain usages aren't familiar to us anymore. This is drama music, so it had to have even more impact on the audience--and it's an epic! So, the endless feats of rAmA and Krishna too in these lines which list all their marvelous acts.

I noticed that they are chronicled in past tense before. Coming to this verse, not 'tanda' but 'tarum'. Why this? Of course to go with 'varum' and all other 'um' words which are in this verse! So, grammar is overlooked?

'taruvadu' can also mean to grant. Then, I see no problem. The meaning is intact, though the words still don't sit right with us.

Then the age old question again. Was the line heard that way and was written down that way? Or, did printer's devil have a hand in it? At the moment, I cannot think of a better word Aru Kavi might have used.

[Ponbhairavi]

vk post 25 how about this explanation.?
As different from Gajendra whom krishna delivered from the jaws, the son of Santipani was swallowed by the croc long time back and he was dead and gone.To pay gurudakshina krishna had to undertake a longjourney to various devalokas to find him and give him back to his guru. In this context the translation could be:
" Is it because of the tiredness (caused by your exploit)to give back the boy whowas swallowed by the croc ( to his father )
Tamil has a particular verbal form common for past, present and future. ( vinaithogai ?)
Ex: ViLaiyAttu tharum kaLaippil . nanrAga thoogalAm

[pvs]

Thanks to forumites for the interesting discussion. I was not aware of the crocodile swallowing Santipani's son. The version I have read is of a demon living in a conch. If the crocodile version is authentic, agree that rescuing the guru's son from the dead is more of an exhausting exploit...
The chronology of events is also jumbled, poetic freedom to blame.

[vasanthakokilam]

Ponbhairavi, Arasi: Ok, they fill up some of the holes and get us to a resolution. Regarding Vinaithogai, I remember the canonical example of that is UrukAi. ( Uriya, Uruginra, UrappOgum.. all three tenses are supposed to be represented there.. ). I actually like your example. ViLaiyAttu tanda, taurginra, tarappOgum etc, can all be captured in tarum. The usage is when you want to capture a universality over time. One typically would not use a Vinaiththogai to refer to just a past incident. But of course, one can interpret that in the divine context that such folk stories are not bound by time, it is universal with respect to time and hence Vinaiththogai is an appropriate use. That can work.

[Ponbhairavi]

We may keep in mind that Arunachala kavi's work is called Rama NATAKA Keerthanaigal.he has no pretension to call it a kAVyam to stand full grammatical scrutiny. As in a nataka, he gave priority to listing a succession of visual presentations of various deeds of krishna not narrating the full instances ,but quoting only some key words.As keerthanaigal they are meant to be sung.with that n view the author seems to have taken many liberties.
The hypothesis of pvs is also very interesting. But in my opinion if the author wanted tp praise the mouth (vAi mazhalai ) of the lord maybe he might have preferred the maNNai unda vAyan episode for its visual effect.

[shankar vaidyanathan]

http://www.tamilheritage.org/old/text/e ... ntro10.jpg

மதுரையிலே வரும் களையோ? முதலை வாய் மகளைத் தரும் களையோ?
எதிர் எருதை பெருங்களையோ கன்றை எடுத்தெறிந்த பெருங்களையோ?

Above reference from a old text gives the lyric as முதலை வாய் மகளைத் தரும் களையோ?

As Arasi Madam said, தரும் might contextually mean give or grant as in giving or granting one's wish as குரு தட்சிணை or வரம் தரும் or வரவித்து தரும் (retrieving what was long ago lost) as in magic மந்திரத்தில் வருவித்து தருதல், and it rhymes with the வரும் that was in the previous line மதுரையிலே வரும் களையோ? and the பெருங்களை in the next line எதிர் எருதை பெருங்களையோ கன்றை எடுத்தெறிந்த பெருங்களையோ? We also believe that our children (மகளைத்தரும்) are God Almighty's blessings (வரம்.)

Ponbhairavi Sir: other texts I have referred also shows மகள் not மகன். Might there be another Krishna legend that we don't know about?

[pvs]

Thank you for the reference. With all due respect, I wonder how many of the texts we have today are independent of each other. My opinion is that most are drawing from the same common older text with misprints. The next line is a case in point. "edhir erudhai perunkalaiyo" doesn't sound right and should likely be "edhir erudhai porumkalaiyo". Just one or two letters here and there make a huge difference (at least to nitpickers like me:))
Unlike law, in literature we have the freedom to preserve the spirit rather than the letter!

[shankar vaidyanathan]

@pvs: I see what you are saying. I need time to think பெரும் vs. பொரும். The reason is the choice of எதிர்...which already means opposite or in front of...so not sure why it will be பொரும். Also that பொரும் does not "sit" with the flow of poetry and seems like an odd choice to me.

On மகனை vs. மகளை: in olden days printing technology, the metal type face was hand composed...look at how many times ளை (in older style) appears in that one page...it may be that the printer just inserted the same ளை instead of னை as Arasi Madam and you say. This would then align with Ponbhairavi Sir's explanation.

[arasi]

And for a proof reader (they were serious about their work, I know) who needed new reading glasses, both letters looked alike?

PVS,
I know exactly how you feel--words do matter a lot, and how we wish folks were as particular as we are!
Of course, I'm still finding my own shortcomings in not paying attention to some finer (obvious too?) points in compositions.

Just this morning I was singing kArtikEya! gAngEya gowri tanaya, and wondered how many singers realize that there is that meaningful pause (!) in addressing him, so that we do not muddle up relationships

[pvs]

@shankar vaidhyanathan: Agree with your view about compositing. I had the pleasure of learning (or attempting to) it in the early 90s in high school with lead type. All I'm saying is that minor errors come to be set in stone
for the perum vs porum: perum would mean receiving (passively) the charging bull while porum hints at actively bearing the onslaught (and hence the kaLai). yes, very subtle I agree. since the next line has a perum (substantial), porum would avoid repetition of the same word and still maintain the prasa.

@arasi: agree completely again. At times I wonder if being a stickler to sahitya (to OCD levels sometimes) robs me of the pleasure of otherwise excellent raga bhavam. As for the pregnant pauses in lines such as your example, there is no time for the listener to deliver the meaning sahitya bhavam is aborted. My graduate supervisor often said "when everything else fails, lower your standards". I'm still to learn that...

[shankar vaidyanathan]

@pvs: I thought long and hard about perum vs. porum. At the risk of misinterpreting the poet's idea, may I suggest peRum as a potential word play alternative originally intended as in:

எதிர் எருதை பெறும் களையோ
கன்றை எடுத்தெறிந்த பெருங்களையோ

I am not suggesting above is correct but offering it as one way of looking at it.