T M Krishna at Shree Kapaleeswarar Temple, Mylapore, Chennai - 17/4/2017

[yeshprabhu]

T M Krishna at Shree Kapaleeswarar Temple, Mylapore, Chennai - 17/4/2017

Dr R Hemalatha: Violin; Mr. Manoj Siva: Mridangam; Alathur Rajaganesh: Kanjira

When I arrived for the concert, there was a huge crowd outside the temple, trying to enter the courtyard already packed with rasikas. I was sitting near a giant screen, on the granite floor, waiting for the concert to begin, when an elderly man who saw me, came to escort me to a chair in the second row! I took that as a good omen. I have heard Sri T M Krishna singing Deekshitar's Bhoopala raga kriti Sadachaleshwaram aashraye at several concerts before, but the way he started the kriti this time, a bit slower than his usual slow tempo, sounded so wonderful and divine, and brimming with bhaava. They say that the name Brindamma is synonymous with singing pleasantly with sowkhya bhaava; I think the same is true for TMK: his name is synonymous with singing pleasantly with sowkhya bhaava. Next he chose Tanjavur Sri Ponnaiah Pillai's padavarnam in Bhairavi raga: Mohamana en meedhu in madhyama kala. He sang an elaborate Bhairavi alapana in unhurried manner, using lavish gamakas, the way my Sangeetha Acharya, Sri T N Bala used to sing Bhairavi. Bhairavi is a majestic raga. Sri TMK's Bhairavi alapanas are always full of surprises: Like a deep water diver searching for pearl-bearing clams at the bottom of rivers and seas, he dives deep into the the very soul of Bhairavi raga and brings out exquisitely beautiful prayogas and sangathis. This time, however, he inserted short, melodious, phrases of Kalyani, Mohana, and Kambodhi in his Bhairavi alapana: I suppose he took artist's liberty to sing the alapana the way he wanted. Sri TMK is one of very few Carnatic vocalists who sing in such a way as to calm rasikas' mind. It is as if he had heard the Mahaperiyava of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham, Shree Chandrashekharendra Saraswathi, talking to Sri Madurai Mani Iyer about the purpose of Carnatic music: That the purpose of Carnatic music is to give an opportunity to human mind to experience Ananda, which is presesnt in our jeeva (our scriptures and Vedantha say that our jeeva is Sat Chit Ananda: Sacchidaananda); and that Ananda can be experienced only when the mind is calm, and never when the mind is excited, or thrilled, or full of thoughts. When one's mind is thrilled, what one feels is mere joy, or happiness, not Ananda. Ananda is a special kind of spiritual, divine joy. Happiness and joy do not last very long, but Ananda lasts for ever in our jeeva. I had felt my mind becoming calm when he sang the Bhoopalam raga krithi; but his celestial Bhairavi calmed my mind further, until it reached the thresh hold or critical degree of calmness needed to experience ananda, and my mind got a glimpse of the true nature of my jeeva, which is Ananda. I experienced Ananda, and I burst into tears. I must say that this happens very rarely to me these days because most vocalists sing in such a way as to bring excitement to the concert. They wish to thrill the rasikas and, in exchange they get huge applause. Sri TMK does quite the opposite: He tries to calm the mind. Sri Thyagaraja said in his Poornachandrika raga krithi, Telisi Rama chintanato : "Talapulu anni nilipi nimisha maina" : Get rid of the thought waves (talapulu) from your mind for a minute, and calm the mind, and experience the divinity within you. Next he sang a lovely Behag alapana, followed by Sri Gopalakrishna Bharathi's famous kriti, Irakkam varama enna kaaranam. He seems to be very fond of Sri Bharathi's compositions. It would not have astonished me if the carved stone idols of Tamil Saints adorning the hallways of the temple had melted upon hearing him sing this kriti. Sri Harikeshanallur Muthiah Bhagavathar's daru varna, in Kamach raga, Mathe malayadhwaja Pandya sanjathe, was next. I enjoyed it immensely. (Shree Muthiah Bhagavathar was my teacher's teacher's teacher.) The main kriti of the concert was a vruttam in Tamil, in Atana raga. After a very nice alapana, he sang "Thaiyum illai, thandai illai" Tiruvottiyur Sri Thyagarajan composition. Thani Avarthanam followed the vruttam. TMK asked the violinist to play a Manji alapana, and he sang Sri Gopalakrishna Bharathi's Varugalamo Iyya, in ati-vilamba kaala. It is only when he sings in ati-vilamba kaala that one realizes that singing at a slow tempo is much harder than singing at fast tempo, and singing at ati-vilamba kala is even harder. It is very difficult to maintain perfect kaalapramaana at that speed. All the accompanists played very well indeed and contributed to the success of the concert. Sri TMK never fails to give adequate opportunity to his accompanying artists to display their talent. An altogether extra ordinary concert that I will remember and cherish for a very long time indeed. They say that if one experiences ananda at a concert one never forgets that concert. If one does not feel ananda at a concert, that concert, no matter how wonderful, you will eventually forget over time. Ananda, once experienced, one never forgets, and craves for more.
Yesh Prabhu, Mylapore, Chennai

[sankark]

mohamAna en mIdhil https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aq4166iOMk

[Sivaramakrishnan]

Shree Muthiah Bhagavathar was my teacher's teacher's teacher.

Curiosity kills me. Say who you are, your teacher and teacher's teacher!

[Vocalist]

The latter two questions are answered in a post in another thread:

Sri Mani Iyer later told the Mahaperiyava's words to his senior shishya, Sri T N Bala, who was my Sangeetha acharya for thirthy years.

[yeshprabhu]

Hi Sivaramakrishnan.
To answer your question and satisfy your curiosity: Sri Muthiah Bhagavathar's shishya, Sangeetha Kalanidi Shree Madurai Mani Iyyer, was the teacher of my Sangeetha Acharya, composer-vocalist-mridangist Shree T N Bala. In Chennai, very few have heard of Shree Bala. That is because he immigrated to the US in the late 1950's and settled in Pennsylvania for more than 60 years. Sri Bala was my Sangeetha acharya for thirty years until he passed away after a long illness. He was a great vocalist and had composed more than 400 krithis on Shree Subhramanya. You can hear him on YouTube: he sang a few of his compositions with no accompanists, and just one tambura. When Sangeetha Kalanidhi Shree Maharajapuram Santhanam came to the US on a concert tour, he visited Sri Bala and requested him to sing a few of his compositions. Bala sang his kriti Vilaiyada idu nerama? in Shanmukhapriya raga. Shree Santhanam liked it so much that he asked Sri Bala to teach him that krithi. When Shree Santanam returned to Chennai, he decided to sing that kriti at his concert, and people loved it very much. And since then they had been asking him, by sending him requests, to sing that krithi at each one of his concerts. That's how it became so very famous. Shree Santhanam's sons Sri Ramachandran and Sri Sreenivasan also sing that krithi in their concerts, and they told me that it has now become their family tradition to sing that krithi at their concerts. The rather unusual views I have about Carnatic music I acquired by talking with Sri Bala who used to tell me what he had heard about Mahaperiyava Shree Chandrashekharendra Saraswathi's views on Carnatic music were. Shree Mani Iyyer revered the Mahaperiyava, and used to tell Bala what the Mahaswami had told him. Even though I have learnt Carnatic vocal for thirty years from Bala, and four years from Shree Flute Gopalakrishnan of Kalanikethana, Mangalore, (Sangeetha acharya of Shree Kadri Gopalnath) I am not a professional singer. That's because I have not practiced as much as I should have. I read a lot, and sing very little. I give cocerts very rarely; I have given only three concerts at two sabhas in Chennai, so far (at Raga Sudha and Arkay Convention Center). Sri R K Sriramkumar played violin for me at all the three concerts, and Shree Arun Prakash, Shree Guruvayur Dorai and Shree Akshay Ananthapadmanabhan played mridangam at the three concerts. Karnatic music is just my passion and hobby. I will be giving a concert before I return to the US, at the Raga Sudha Hall next month, on May 13, Saturday, at 6.15 pm. I am 73 years old now, and losing my voice slowly, and so I wanted to record a few krithis before I lose my voice completely, so that I could tell myself that there was a time when I, too, used to sing!
Yesh Prabhu, Mylapore, Chennai

[Sivaramakrishnan]

Thank you so much Shri Yesh Prabhu ji!
Kindly accept my Anekanamaskarams.
The story of your lineage is certainly great and touching. Yes, I have been seeking information about the unique composition 'Vilaiyaada idhuneramaa' popularised by Sri Maharajapuram and glad to have the details. Indeed happy to note that you are part of a legacy.
The forum looks forward to your concert on 13 May .
Regards.

[parivadini]

Yes, I have been seeking information about the unique composition 'Vilaiyaada idhuneramaa' popularised by Sri Maharajapuram and glad to have the details.
Regards.

There used to be Trichur Ramachandran recording of the song "Kuralinai tharuvaai Gurunatha". I recently came to know that this song too is a composition of Shri. Bala. Vid. Seetha Narayanan had sung this in her academy concert last December. She said she learnt this and a few other songs from the composer himself.

Perhaps Shri. Yesh Prabhu can throw light on more songs of the composer.

[Nick H]

To answer your question and satisfy your curiosity ... ... ...

It is very nice to see your "introduction." Perhaps you would also post it to our New Members thread, as TMK threads here may have a limited audience.

[yeshprabhu]

Hi Sri Sivaramakrishnan,
Almost everyone by now knows that it was Maharajapuram Shree Santhanam who made the krithi Vilaiyada idu nerama famous and very popular. Because of your interest in this krithi, I will tell you exactly how it became so famous. After learning the krithi from Sri Bala in Pennsylvania, when Sri Santhanam returned to Chennai, he decided to sing something new at his next kutcheri, and on an impulse chose Vilaiyada idu nerama. He was about to sing it at the very end of the concert, when he saw an extremely fat woman entering the hall. She had come to the concert very late. She was dressed in Kanchipuram silk sari, and wore lots of gold ornaments, and jasmine flowers in her hair, and wore a very big red dot on her forehead. She was so obese that she had problem walking, and the rolls of fat on her thighs, arms, and buttocks, and round her waist wobbled as she walked very slowly towards the stage. Sri Santhanam felt distracted, and decided to wait for her to occupy a seat. She took her time, however, and to his great surprise she walked to the front row and sat down. He started to sing, "Vilaiyada idu nerama?" he said, and paused. Because no one in the audience had ever heard that krithi before, at first they thought he was asking that woman a question in Shanmukhapriya raga(!), and many laughed loudly. Sri Santhanam was astonished, and when he continued to sing, they understood that he was not asking her a question, but actually was singing a new composition. All the rasikas not only liked the krithi, they loved it. They gave him huge applause, and at the end of the concert asked him whose composition it was, and how did he happen to learn it. And after that the rasikas sent him requests on a piece of paper to sing that krithi at every one of his concerts. His sons learnt that krithi also, and they, too, sing it at their concerts. Last year I asked both Sri Ramachandran and Sri Srinivasan whether they knew how that krithi became so famous; they said they did not know.
Regards,
Yesh Prabhu

[yeshprabhu]

Yes, I have been seeking information about the unique composition 'Vilaiyaada idhuneramaa' popularised by Sri Maharajapuram and glad to have the details.
Regards.

There used to be Trichur Ramachandran recording of the song "Kuralinai tharuvaai Gurunatha". I recently came to know that this song too is a composition of Shri. Bala. Vid. Seetha Narayanan had sung this in her academy concert last December. She said she learnt this and a few other songs from the composer himself.

Perhaps Shri. Yesh Prabhu can throw light on more songs of the composer.

Hi Parivadini, The recording of that krithi, Kuralinai tharuvaai Gurunatha, in Shivaranjani raga, sung by Sangeetha Kalanidhi Sri T R Ramachandran, is available to viewers on YouTube: Video, v=4jW7mIvgryE&t=2574s Sri Bala has played bridangam for Sri Ramachandran at concerts both in India and the USA. Sri T R Ramachandran, too, liked Sri Bala's Vilaiyada Idu nerama, and has recorded it, even though commercially it is not available for some reason unknown to me. Sri Bala has composed some 420 krithis, in Tamil, on Shree Subhramanya. He has also composed few krithis in Sanskrit on other Deities, such as Ganesha and Krishna. His Muruga Pancharatna krithis, based on Sri Thyagaraja's Pancharatna kritis, are well known. Only the sahityam is different from Thyagaraja's sahityam; the swaras are the same. I have heard that these five krithis have been taught to students at the Madras Music College. Also, Sri Bala himself had come to Chennai a few years ago, after the death of his wife Smt Susheela Bala, and stayed in Chennai for three months. During this period he taught a group of girls his Pancharatna krithis, and also a few of his other compositions. A CD of their singing these krithis in a limited numbers, and a thin book of some 25 of his krithis, in Tamil, were also released at a function honoring Sri Bala. Sri Bala has taught some six or seven of his krithis to two groups of students, the Long Island Group, and the New Jersey Group, (I was in the New Jersey group), and in addition, he taught me five more krithis at my individual lessons. From my house in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, I used to drive to his home, more than a hundred miles away, in Havertown, Pennsylvania. This I did, week after week, for thirty years, without missing a single class. Even in blizards I have driven to his home, in order to not miss a class. I think I have driven more than 290,000 miles for my classes, equivalent to driving around the world 12 times! This doesn't even include the number of miles I have driven for my group lessons for about 10 years.

On you tube we can hear him singing seven of his compositions, with no accompanists. We can hear only the tambura or the shruti box: Brindavana saarangan marugane, in Brindavanasaranga raga; Kalitheerka varuvai, Sahana Raga; Shanmuga natha, Shekarachandrika raga; Mohana kalyana gunakkadalai, in Mohanakalyani raga; Palvadium in Kharaharapriya raga; and Panneeru kangalil, Tilang raga; and one can find a few more on Internet, if one searches for them, I suppose: On Sangeethapriya website, for example. I have sung two of his compositions, one in Sanskrit and one in Tamil: Mahaganapathim manasa smarami, in Panthuvarali raga, and Tankai valarum Muruga, in Poorvikalyani raga, at all the three of my concerts in Chennai. Sri R K Sriramkumar played violin for me, and Sri Akshay Anathapadmanabhan (and Sri Arun Prakash, also, at another concert) played bridangam for me. The clippings are available on YouTube. I am not a Tamilian, and so I am not quite comfortable singing his krithis for fear of mispronouncing the words. Vocalist Smt Sudha Raghunathan had requested Bala for a few of his compositions, and he had sent her seven clips in a CD. She recorded them and sent him a copy. He was very happy, even though he told me that she had not sung the krithis exactly the way he had sung them. Of these seven krithis, she has sung Panneer Kangalil in Tilang raga at a couple of her concerts. It was his wish to hear good professional vocalists singing a few of his compositions at their concerts. He liked Smt. Ranjani's and Smt. Gayathri's voice, and when he heard that they were singing at Blue Bell, Pennsylvania for the Sruti organization, he asked me to convey to them that he would be happy to teach them a few of his compositions. When I told them of his wish to teach them, they were totally shocked. They did not say anything, they looked at each other, and then glared at me with horror in their eyes. Even though they were silent, the way they glared at me spoke volumes. It was as if they were asking me,"Who is this guy Bala, who dared to volunteer to teach us a couple of his krithis?" Even though I was surprised at their reaction, I was not upset, because I ascribed their response to their being uninformed, and unaware of, regarding who Balamama was. Perhaps they did not know that Sangeetha Kalanidhis D K Jayaraman, Maharajapuram Santhanam, T R Ramachandran, Rajam Iyyer, Sudha Raghunathan, and several others, had learnt krithis from him. (98% of rasikas in Chennai, and many violinists and musicians who play his Shanmukhapriya krithi, also do not know who Bala was, so the RG sisters were with the majority.) Shree Bala could sing and teach more than 400 compositions, and alapanas in all the 72 Melakartha ragas, in addition to alapanas in at least 100 ragas (I do not know the exact number because I never asked.) When he passed away, he took with him every thing he knew, leaving a great void in my Carnatic music heart. Life is short; and it is good to remember that nothing lasts for ever. And as I was writing these words, I suddenly thought of a very good female vocalist, whose casette: a wonderful recording of Sri Thyagaraja's Mayamalavagowla raga krithi, Merusamana, I cherish to this day. Four years ago at the Music Academy, there were about 300 rasikas at her concert. A pretty good number, considering that only a handful of star vocalists have the power and followers to fill the hall. Then two years ago in a hall I saw only 12 rasikas at her concert; and a few days later there were only 8 rasikas - I counted them - in the huge Bharathiya Vidyabhavan Hall. This year I did not see her at any of the major sabhas. So, I know that rasikas are notoriously fickle. They will adore you today and, only a few months later they will abandon you in their search for the next star to adore and follow. The stars of today should not forget that.
Yesh Prabhu, Mylapore, Chennai

[narayara000]

Do you have recordings of these Murugan Pancharatnams?

[narayara000]

Or lyrics

[yeshprabhu]

Do you have recordings of these Murugan Pancharatnams?

Hi Narayara,
I think I have CD of the Muruga Pancharathnam sung by a group of women from Chennai. It is somewhere among all my tapes and CDs in Bushkill, Pennsylvania. I remember that a thin booklet of his compositions was also printed. I will look for them and next year when I come to Chennai, I will bring them with me. They learnt the krithis from Bala himself when he stayed in Chennai for 3 months a few years ago. Also, why don't you visit the Music College in Chennai? They might have a copy of it in their library. I know that they teach these Pancharathnams to students there.
Yesh Prabhu

[yeshprabhu]

To answer your question and satisfy your curiosity ... ... ...

It is very nice to see your "introduction." Perhaps you would also post it to our New Members thread, as TMK threads here may have a limited audience.

Thank you very much, Mr Nick H. I took your good suggestion and posted what I wrote as an answer to Mr. Sivaramakrishnan's query, as an introduction to me, at the New Members thread.
Yesh Prabhu

[parivadini]

Dear Shri. Yesh Prabhu, thanks for providing more information on Shri. T.N.Bala. I'll send you an email with more questions.