Another snippet from Sruthi Blog

Miscellaneous topics on Carnatic music
shankarank
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Joined: 15 Jun 2009, 07:16

Re: Another snippet from Sruthi Blog

Post by shankarank »

Even as Ravi Shankar was taking in a hefty sum for events as early as 1960s - MSG was requesting a van that could seat him and his party comfortably to take him from Peoria IL, as recently as early 2000s, to his next stop, from the organizer and the organizer even would remember that to tell me later on!

A colleague of mine seated two seats away - attends the replica Mylapore Ghetto concerts of Dallas and I mentioned about this thread and debate and MSG - he asked is that the versatile artiste that does all 3 - violin/Mridangam/vocal? - obviously he knew andhi mazhai TVG not MSG. This person lived in Alwarpet as he grew up and rode bikes up and down Kutchery road where Arkay now sits! - he is a persona replica from the Ghetto to boot! And he is not all that ignorant - knows all the household names, ARI, GNB, MMI, SSI etc, I mean beyond MSS! and has heard CM played next door on the radio since child hood!

So we got work do inside the Ghettos - before we can dream about outside!

And Ghetto-ish members on this forum complain when Dr Narmadha plays popular numbers with Tavil/Tabla - hmm...

melam72
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Joined: 02 Nov 2016, 16:12

Re: Another snippet from Sruthi Blog

Post by melam72 »

shankarank wrote: 27 Apr 2017, 09:28 And Ghetto-ish members on this forum complain when Dr Narmadha plays popular numbers with Tavil/Tabla - hmm...
If I recall correctly, Narmada Garu stated explicitly that this was no 'normal' concert. Hence, the rabble-rouser's point was moot. Sadly, few realized this inherent contradiction...

melam72
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Joined: 02 Nov 2016, 16:12

Re: Another snippet from Sruthi Blog

Post by melam72 »

shankarank wrote: 27 Apr 2017, 09:28 So we got work do inside the Ghettos - before we can dream about outside!
This is exactly what TMK is doing. Was doing, that is, before His Royal Highness decided performing in the Season was beneath him...

shankarank
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Joined: 15 Jun 2009, 07:16

Re: Another snippet from Sruthi Blog

Post by shankarank »

Except that TMK is assisting with 3rd generation atrocity literature on the Indian cultural mileu. First generation was damning of the then custodians of music - British co-opting their loyal subjects! Second generation was the damning of the brahmin community - alleging sanskritization - caused by Aryan-Dravidian discourse, now third generation on the Bhakti seekers who not exposed to the art due to its tough periods during late 70s, 80s may have a way to connect with the art!

All with the west's definition of "art" as the basis!

sureshvv
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Joined: 05 Jul 2007, 18:17

Re: Another snippet from Sruthi Blog

Post by sureshvv »

shankarank wrote: 05 May 2017, 06:42 Except that TMK is assisting with 3rd generation atrocity literature on the Indian cultural mileu.
Typical self-hating Brahmin behavior which seems to have become fashionable of late.

shankarank
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Joined: 15 Jun 2009, 07:16

Re: Another snippet from Sruthi Blog

Post by shankarank »

Onto some non controversial controversies. Another Sruti Blog:

http://srutimag.blogspot.com/2017/04/sh ... evate.html

a snippet quote:
What some of these expert listeners however seem to lack is the ability to discriminate between good and bad music, between a proper voice and crooning, and vocal mannerisms over-dependent on the microphone. They are often guilty of lack of interest in visranti, mesmerised as they are by pyrotechnics and the more complex permutational swara expertise they look for in vidwans and vidushis
Not sure in what sense the term viSranti is used - is it only unhurried slow paced sedate music? viSranti exists in somewhat hurried music esp. late period javaLis like parulanna mATa.

https://youtu.be/W6A5ucXApKc?t=6315 - look at that grand entry - for a 3 mAtra offset. The composition is so weighty as well and has that flow so a mridangist as exhuberant he is , is able to see structures.

Same experience was there in SSI javaLi with CSM for the javaLi smara sundarAnguni ( concert with ganajanayutam, kana kana rucira, gajavadana, dakshinNamUrte).

Another one with TNS/TS 1970s - akshaya linga vibhO - sAdhu janO pEta - Trichy Sankaran does a signature mEl kalam with no sense of hurry in it!.

So irrespective of pace viSranti manifests itself as a self similar artifact. All this is an achievement of the system as a whole and the abilities of artistes is just a necessity to get there. They themselves are powerless without such a handout and powerless ( or turn powerful whichever way you look at) once handed out!

For reference on this - please see : https://youtu.be/4ZkNnR--tMY?t=594

sankark
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Joined: 16 Dec 2008, 09:10

Re: Another snippet from Sruthi Blog

Post by sankark »

Apropos nothing to the overall content/flow of this thread except branching from the mention of Trichy Sankaran to mridangam playing here is an exhilarating mridangam accompaniment for the varNam opener https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHt_CqQbd3g One doesn't (I didn't) play attention at the start but then it pulled you in to pay attention.

shankarank
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Joined: 15 Jun 2009, 07:16

Re: Another snippet from Sruthi Blog

Post by shankarank »

kAraikuDi bAni has its own chiselled approach not surprising the way he reacts to the twists and turns. Vid. Ramesh is an able representative of that school, but tends to rely on certain sollus too often - for e.g: kiTA,ta-kiTakiTA,ta-tom. Heard a term for that punrAvRtti dOSham recently in a lecdem. If he diversifies his expressions he will have more appeal.

shankarank
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Joined: 15 Jun 2009, 07:16

Re: Another snippet from Sruthi Blog

Post by shankarank »

https://youtu.be/_lT2g2--Izo?t=517 is another good one. V. Sankaranarayan takes full advantage of the pause resume and good effect on tiSram too!

shankarank
Posts: 4042
Joined: 15 Jun 2009, 07:16

Re: Another snippet from Sruthi Blog

Post by shankarank »

https://youtu.be/ZdpPrRfwFus?t=328 - so many varieties in the flow for siddhi vinayakam. Left / right balance is optimum level!

shankarank
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Joined: 15 Jun 2009, 07:16

Re: Another snippet from Sruthi Blog

Post by shankarank »

Another one : Great start & 4 speed execution : https://youtu.be/eFOcv-l5GRA?t=112. Mridangist seems to have good hands - leftists on Mridangam seem to be doing good :lol:

shankarank
Posts: 4042
Joined: 15 Jun 2009, 07:16

Re: Another snippet from Sruthi Blog

Post by shankarank »

This is from another organization in Philadelphia called Sruti - not the Sruti magazine.

http://www.sruti.org/library/Sruti%20Ra ... i_2012.pdf

S. Sowmya at Swarthmore College
Report by Professor Steven P. Hopkins

Page 40:
Though Carnatic songs range widely in genre, from the praise of kings to secular romances, much of this repertoire is
in the service of a form of religious devotion that seeks to open up the human heart to floods of divine grace and divine
beauty, to spontaneous love of god – objective and subjective genitive – a refined art of religious emotion.
A google on Secular romance leads to results of non-secular ones ;) and reading thru them will reveal the palpable tension within!

shankarank
Posts: 4042
Joined: 15 Jun 2009, 07:16

Re: Another snippet from Sruthi Blog

Post by shankarank »

From the same link above:
Steven P. Hopkins is a Professor of South Asian and Comparative Religion at Swarthmore College, Swarthmore,
Pennsylvania.
What is all this South Asian? I found a good question that someone asked in forums. Did Christopher Columbus look for South Asians when he set out to discover India? Did he call the natives Red Skinned South Asians? :twisted:

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