Ramnad Krishnan

Carnatic Musicians
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Radhakrishnan
Posts: 287
Joined: 16 Jan 2006, 10:09

Post by Radhakrishnan »

Somebody known as 'Vidwan of Vidwans' naturally finds a place here at vidwan section!
He was born at Alappuzha,Kerala in 1918.Learnt music from Subramania iyer,Somu bhagavathar,Ramnad Sankarasivam and Brinda Muktha.
Taught at Central college Chennai for nearly 5 years and was visiting prof. at Wesleyan college.
His style was unique,known for rendition of complex pallavis.
He was a good teacher also.Ritha Rajan,Nagamani Srinath,Neyyattinkara Vasudevan are some of his students.Sri.Vasudevan,though known as disciple of Semmangudi,learnt under Ramnad in 1967 for an year and whenever Vasudevan gives performance in Chennai, Ramnad Krishnan's sons used to attend the concert.
Never bothered about fame and popularity,this musician passed away in 1973 at the age of 55.
There are some commercial recordings available.Rasikas are welcome to comment on his music.Anbody having non commercial concerts,pl u/l.Thank you.

Mahesh
Posts: 62
Joined: 06 Jul 2005, 17:07

Post by Mahesh »

Two things about the maestro comes to mind.

One - Akshyalingavibho, his rendition of the MD masterpiece has been acknowledged as one of the best.

Two - He once asked Papanasam Sivan to sing a Thygaraja swami krithi in Navarasa Kanada and Sivan on the spot composed "Naan oru vilayattu bommaya" and sang it.

I have a concert of Ramnad Krishanan - Lalgudi - Mani Iyer with Akshyalingavibho as the main piece, I can upload it if anyone is interested. The concert list is as follos.

Thulasidhala - Mayamalavagowla
Smarane sugamu - Janaranjani
Raghuvara - Panthuvarali
Raghupathaye - Sahana
Nee bhajana - Nayaki
Akshyalingavibho - Shankarabaranam
Lavanya Rama - Poorna Shadjam
Thulasamma - Devagandhari
Modi- Khamas
Smarasundara - Paras
Slokam - Ragamalika

Radhakrishnan
Posts: 287
Joined: 16 Jan 2006, 10:09

Post by Radhakrishnan »

Mahesh,if it is a non commercial recording,please go ahead;with Lalgudi/Mani Iyer,that too akshaya linga vibho as main,should be a treat.

Mahesh
Posts: 62
Joined: 06 Jul 2005, 17:07

Post by Mahesh »

I am not sure whether this is a commercial recording or not to be honest. Can someone please confirm? If it isn't then I will upload it shortly. I haven't heard this concert in a *long* time, just to make sure, I'm hearing it now. Will let you know my thoughts on the concert as well.

venravi
Posts: 58
Joined: 26 Oct 2005, 18:12

Post by venravi »

I have a Recording of Ramnad Krishnan with lagudi and Sivaraman.(AIR Concert). I will upload sometime this weekend.

coolkarni

Post by coolkarni »

An artist whose concert recordings are very difficult to get :cry: :cry:

Whatever is in circulation moves around a small bunch of ragas / krithis .
janaranjini , varali , sahana , reethigowla , harikhamboji ,madhyamavathi all get a fine lustre in his renderings

Here is a slightly different concert .With Papa Venkatramiah / Pazhani Subr Pillay
The first half of the concert

http://rapidshare.de/files/20090925/01- ... a.mp3.html
http://rapidshare.de/files/20091572/02- ... u.mp3.html
http://rapidshare.de/files/20092139/03- ... m.mp3.html
http://rapidshare.de/files/20092779/04- ... m.mp3.html
http://rapidshare.de/files/20093859/05- ... am.mp3.htm

Will post the second half (with marivere gathi,kamalambam -in a breathtaking kalyani,nennerunchi,pakkala nilabadi,etc) tomorrow.

I have another concert with T Viswanathan on the flute.A very relaxed , slow moving concert.Can post it later if anyone wants it.

Mahesh
Posts: 62
Joined: 06 Jul 2005, 17:07

Post by Mahesh »

Coolkarni sir, *how* can we ever thank you for the services to CM? You said you wanted some some movies from here, I'm eagerly waiting so that I, atleast, can do something personally to your generosity! My Dad says you are ace!!!!!!!!

Can't wait for the Kamalambam upload!

Thank you, thank you and thank you.

coolkarni

Post by coolkarni »

Mahesh.
I owe a visit to your Dad.I am still basking in the wonderful experience of my last visit .I am beginning to believe in miracles now .More in email.

Movies ..i have troubled DRS already..

even before we get to kamlambam and pakkala let me know about janaranjini :) :)

kiransurya
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Joined: 13 Dec 2005, 15:58

Post by kiransurya »

Thanks coolkarni


Mahesh
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Joined: 06 Jul 2005, 17:07

Post by Mahesh »


Mahesh
Posts: 62
Joined: 06 Jul 2005, 17:07

Post by Mahesh »

There is another concert up in Rasikapriya. You can download it from here.

http://www.sangeethapriya.org/Downloads/rnk/rnk.html

mahesh3
Posts: 584
Joined: 06 Feb 2010, 21:32

Post by mahesh3 »

Beautiful Kalyani...As for Akshaya Linga Vibho, haven't heard anybody render this as well as Sri KVN, but this one was a fantastic renedition by RK. Nice, Nice, Nice!

Thanks K-ji/Mahesh for the goodwork.


vs_manjunath
Posts: 1466
Joined: 29 Sep 2006, 19:37

Post by vs_manjunath »

Mr.Mahesh/Mr.Radhakrishnan/Mr.Coolkarni
I have joined rasikas.org recently ( of course very late! ), thereby I have lost a treasure of downloads. Since, past five(5) decades i was looking for Sri Ramnad Krishnan's concerts. As a new member when i visited this thread, i felt very sad that I am unable to download any of the Ramnad Krishnan concerts mentioned in this thread. I request, the concert with "Akshaya Linga Vibho" as well as the concert with Papa Venkataramiah etc as the accompanists for a reload please. Many many thanks in advance.

jayaram
Posts: 1317
Joined: 30 Jun 2006, 03:08

Post by jayaram »

Ditto to vs_manjunath's request. I am very interested in the concert that Coolkarni-ji had uploaded a while back. C-ji, please do oblige!

Ramnad Krishnan...what a great artiste! It is when I listen to musicians like him that I wish I had belonged to the previous generation. How lucky they were, our parents, to listen live to all the 'golden age' singers! My father used to tell me about the 6-hour Madurai Mani Iyer kutcheris or a whole night of nadaswaram by the great Rajaratnam Pillai (where they would go round the temple, stopping at each corner, and TNR would belt out a Todi or Kambhoji for hours!) - and I would get goosebumps just listening to my father's narration.

Those were the days, my friend...

hareesh_panicker
Posts: 7
Joined: 13 Oct 2006, 10:42

Post by hareesh_panicker »

I think he has beautifully sung nejesina(poornachandrika
),kavava(varali),and especially palinchu kamakshi(madhyamavadhi).His laya is exceptional.

rc
Posts: 2
Joined: 21 Dec 2006, 15:23

Post by rc »

could you pls upload kirshnaiyer's concert with Vishwa on the flute... would love to hear ....

jayaram
Posts: 1317
Joined: 30 Jun 2006, 03:08

Post by jayaram »

Ramnad Krishnan - V. Thyagarajan - V. Nagarajan - Palghat Raghu:
Image



http://www.sendspace.com/file/3p9jjh
RNK/TNK/Raghu: Sari Evvare Maa Jaanaki - Sahana - Adi - Tirupati Narayanasvami
- great rendition by the maestro -
Last edited by jayaram on 22 Feb 2007, 15:06, edited 1 time in total.

mahavishnu
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Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 21:56

Post by mahavishnu »

There is also the late V. Nagarajan on the kanjira. Great picture, Jayaram!
Do you know where/when this photo is from?

arasi
Posts: 16774
Joined: 22 Jun 2006, 09:30

Post by arasi »

Are you sure it is TNK? No glasses, and the profile--at least in this picture--does not look like him to me...

vijay
Posts: 2522
Joined: 27 Feb 2006, 16:06

Post by vijay »

arasi wrote:Are you sure it is TNK? No glasses, and the profile--at least in this picture--does not look like him to me...
Yes, I would imagine that TNK would be a strapping, handsome young man around the time this photo was taken! Somehow the gentleman in the photo doesn't come across as such...

coolkarni

Post by coolkarni »

that slight tilt towards the left is more indicative of V Thyagarajan

jayaram
Posts: 1317
Joined: 30 Jun 2006, 03:08

Post by jayaram »

My apologies for creating any confusion - the photo and the kutcheri recording are not related.
The violinist for sure is not TNK.

sirsub11
Posts: 87
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 22:51

Post by sirsub11 »

Coolkarni is on the button. The violinist in the picture is V. Thyagarajan. He and his brother V. Nagarajan spent a great deal of time with Ramnad Krishnan in the USA.

jayaram
Posts: 1317
Joined: 30 Jun 2006, 03:08

Post by jayaram »

Thanks for the clarifications. I have updated the picture title accordingly.

Now if only we can get a recording from this kutcheri...

coolkarni

Post by coolkarni »

http://www.badongo.com/file/2288436
Enduku-Harikhamboji
Not from this concert.But another one which evokes a mood very similar to the one in this Black and White Photograph.

Some soulful Flute , too.By T Viswanathan.

If this Comml by any chance, someone please alert me.I will withdraw it.I have this from a long long time - from a rare follower of Ramnad Krishnans Music living in Adyar..

true_rasika
Posts: 20
Joined: 06 May 2007, 18:49

Post by true_rasika »

Coolkarni Sir:

I have had the misfortune of learning about this forum rather late - resulting in my missing several precious downloads, particularly those of UKS (as mentioned in my recent post in the other thread on UKS) and the ones in this thread that were posted around a year earlier. Is there a remote chance that you can upload those old recording of RNK again?

BTW, I have excerpts of an RNK+MSG+Sankaran concert (probably dating back to the sixties). Starts off with MAkElarA, followed byIllallO PraNathArthiharA, then a Saveri (lyrics not very clear). A splendid concert with some outstanding accompaniment by MSG and Sankaran (in particular). The Saveri must rank as one of the very best I have heard, with a great Neraval and KalpanAswaram. This is followed by a sedate SahAnA (Giripai) and an elaborate, masterly Akshaya linga vibhO. A thani follows this and unfortunately the concert gets truncated after a few minutes into the Thani. Sankaran's following right thru is ultimate "sukham" and majestic... This is a "MUST listen" for RNK fans AND Sankaran fans...

My son and I have listened to this concert so many times - I have lost track of the number and also lost some of the tracks....what I meant was that the CD has developed scratches resulting in distorted audio...I am trying to get another copy of the same somehow and will upload a copy as soon as possible...

Coolkarni Sir....do you live in the US? As mentioned in the UKS thread, I live in NJ...

A general question to the members of this forum: How do we exchange contact information with individual members?

coolkarni

Post by coolkarni »

true rasika
One of the most satisfying aspects of a forum like this (that has been around for quite some time ) is its ability to attract serious rasikas and who can enjoy and , and in the process add value to the proceedings.
It is quite possible that new entrants may feel missed out , but the best way is to open up-like you have done- and travel further.
Not necessarily for tracks alone , since you will observe that there are many more dimensions , to the proceedings here.
So please feel Welcome and try to catch up with whatever interests you.
We will do our best to bring back the expired tracks.
Ramnad Krishnan- Yes I will try and see what can be done.These days I wait for a few days to give Thanjavur ,ample time,to help us all with his links and then sit to work on stuff that may not be covered there.
You can exchange information by clicking on the profile of the member and getting the email ID from there.
And Yes.I live in Chennai.

108talas
Posts: 120
Joined: 02 Nov 2006, 17:19

Post by 108talas »

Yesterday (6/5/07) All India Radio, Chennai-A broadcast a concert in the morning (8.45 am to 9.45 am) From the voice, I thought I was hearing OST. It was ditto OST style in many places. But, normally AIR Chennai broadcasts concert of yesteryears. It made me think twice. The name was announced as Ramnad Krishnan. Then I thought I have heard more of OST than RNK.

coolkarni

Post by coolkarni »

http://www.sendspace.com/file/8vt1ug

a short and sizzling Vasantha

ts
Posts: 18
Joined: 06 Feb 2006, 16:00

Post by ts »

Guys,
I am trying to trace one concert of his where he had sung Ramakrishnena in Sahana. Any one heard it? as it??

Thanks & Regards
TS

VISHNURAMPRASAD
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Joined: 08 Jul 2005, 11:52

Post by VISHNURAMPRASAD »

Shri. Ramnad Krishnan - 1954

Image

ragam-talam
Posts: 1896
Joined: 28 Sep 2006, 02:15

Post by ragam-talam »

A rarely heard bAle bAlEndu - Ritigowla ragam
http://www.sendspace.com/file/xlffju

(there's mention of rAma's sister in this kriti - pardon my ignorance, who is she?)

arasi
Posts: 16774
Joined: 22 Jun 2006, 09:30

Post by arasi »

ragam-talam,
Thank you for the lovely piece on krishna (rAma) sOdari. What accompanists too!
It is always nice to hear the AIR clips with an intro and the names of accompanists...

rshankar
Posts: 13754
Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:26

Post by rshankar »

ragam-talam wrote:(there's mention of rAma's sister in this kriti - pardon my ignorance, who is she?)
ragam-taLam:

vishNu s(ah)OdarI - vishNU's sister - pArvatI/yOgamAyA

And that is why, in mInAkSi tirukalyANam, since her father (maladhwaja pANDiyan) was no more, her brother, vishNu gives her away.

The motif occurs in several compositions - starting with ANDAL's dream about her wedding where she says 'maNamAlai andari SUTTa kanA kaNDEn tOzhi nAn' - traditionally, the to-be sister-in-law performs this.

pArvatI is referred to as rAma sahOdari/krishNa sahOdari as they are but different forms of vishNu. SyAmA SAstri uses it cleverly with his mudra in many compositions - SyAma krishNa s(ah)Odari to refer to pArvatI.

ragam-talam
Posts: 1896
Joined: 28 Sep 2006, 02:15

Post by ragam-talam »

rshankar, thank you.
Is this the link betwen Saivism and Vaishnavism? :)

Does Rama's sister make an appearance in Ramayana?

rshankar
Posts: 13754
Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:26

Post by rshankar »

ragam-talam wrote:rshankar, thank you.
Is this the link betwen Saivism and Vaishnavism? :) Does Rama's sister make an appearance in Ramayana?
Not in the rAmAyaNa - in krishNAvatAram, pArvatI is born as yOgamAyA - the girl born to yaSOdA - the baby that is switched for krishNa, and flies out of kamsa's hands when he tries to do away with 'dEvakI's 8th child' even it is a girl.

PUNARVASU
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Joined: 06 Feb 2010, 05:42

Post by PUNARVASU »

In the song 'Himagirtanaye' also Parvati is referred to as 'Rama sahodari'. I suppose depending on the praasam or rhyme she is referred to as Ramasahodari or Krishnasahodari ; in this particular song the earlier word is Rajarajeshwari.

arasi
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Joined: 22 Jun 2006, 09:30

Post by arasi »

Exactly!

ragam-talam
Posts: 1896
Joined: 28 Sep 2006, 02:15

Post by ragam-talam »

Recently I watched a video documentary on Ramnad Krishnan. It's very well put together. There are musings by various artistes, e.g. U.Sivaraman, N.Ramani, etc. In one place Lalgudi Jayaraman (speaking through his daughter) says how Ramnad Krishnan once named him 'Jaalgudi Layaraman' in praise of LGJ's control over laya.
Touching moment indeed, one maestro recognizing the greatness of another.

I would highly recommend this DVD - must be available in one of the music stores in Madras. I hope to get it next time I am there.

And here is a vintage picture of the two maestros:
Image
Last edited by ragam-talam on 13 May 2008, 02:26, edited 1 time in total.

rshankar
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Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:26

Post by rshankar »

ragam-talam wrote:A rarely heard bAle bAlEndu - Ritigowla ragam
http://www.sendspace.com/file/xlffju

(there's mention of rAma's sister in this kriti - pardon my ignorance, who is she?)
In this version of 'bAlE bAlEndu bhUSaNI', I did have some issues with the splitting in the AP 'phAla lOcanI SrI dhamrasamvardhini sakala lOka jananI' where Sri Krishnan splits it as 'phAla lOcani dharmasam.....vardhini sakala lOka jananI' and a few sangatIs are sung for the bolded part - almost suggesting 'some dharma':P

Vijayalakshmi Subramaniam's and Nityashri's versions of this composition split the AP after 'dharmasamvardhini'...and sound 'more intact' to me.

ragam-talam
Posts: 1896
Joined: 28 Sep 2006, 02:15

Post by ragam-talam »

I didn't find the padachhEdam that much of an issue.
But then, I am not much of a stickler for purity in sahityam.

arasi
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Joined: 22 Jun 2006, 09:30

Post by arasi »

The way I see it--and I care a great deal about sAhityam as Ravi does--is that when the music is great, I pay less attention to padach chEdams and mispronunciations, provided there are just a few in the entire concert. When the music isn't that good, I notice them more, and what do you know? The mistakes are not that rare in those concerts!

Gamakam
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Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 23:04

Post by Gamakam »

My review of the DVD on Legendary Ramnad Krishnan: http://carnaticmusicreview.wordpress.co ... -krishnan/

Jim
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Joined: 08 Nov 2009, 04:00

Post by Jim »

Sirsub11 is right about the picture. All four of the musicians are identified correctly. What they have in common is being visiting artists at Wesleyan University in late 1960's. Ramnad Krishnan was there briefly, arriving in the fall of 1967 but returning to Madras in December.

Ramasubramanian M.K
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Joined: 05 May 2009, 08:33

Post by Ramasubramanian M.K »

A Great Musician--there was a Jilu Jiluppu in his Shaareeram(voice).Very friendly and overtly diffident at times about his abilities and need for recognition.An incident.
Once in Bombay my father had arranged under the auspices of the Sabha,a concert by Ramnad Krishnan(I am quoting from my Father's book Musings on Music and Musicians) and arranged Palghat Mani Iyer to accompany him to give Ramnad Krishnan the "boost" he richly deserved . On the day of the concert Ramnad Krishnan(who I think was hosted at the Concerns Hotel in Matunga)came to see Mani Iyer.After the initial namaskaram Sri Krishnan's opening gambit for conversation was the statement--I quote verbatim from my father's book -

"-this evening I propose to sing Pallavi that I have prepared--" Mani Iyer at once cut in with the query "Have you sung it before? to which Krishnan replies NO--Out shot Mani Iyer's response: "Vishapareekshai Vendam"--you choose any one of the numerous pallavis especially of Mazhavarayanendal Subbarama Bhagavathar you are known for. After the remark there was a terrible stillness in the atmosphere.I could see that Krishna Iyer was crestfallen.He probably had expected that Mani Iyer would hear the Pallavi and compliment him.

The story does not end there.The concert later at the Podar hall was not acclaimed a success by the public.Later in the evening I ventured to Mani Iyer my impression that the concert was not a success,to which he shot out a striking comment "Sri Krishna Iyer was all the time obsessed with my presence. He should instead have gone about his business and sung according to his best lights leaving me to do my job :.

Now fifty years later in my mind when I revisit the scene,how many of the younger musicians including KVN were simply over-awed by Mani Iyer's stature that it affected their performing when it should have been the other way around. Also younger forumites who may not have had a chance to see Mani Iyer play in person might think he was against improvisation and innovation from the stage.(based on the remark Visha Pareekshai vendam).Nothing could be farther from the truth so far as PMI is concerned. PMI believed in not experimenting in front of an audience and had too much respect for the audience although many in the audience in those days may not have been sophisticated enough to note the infractions.
Back to Ramnad Krishnan--his stint at Wesleyan was short-lived because he became "home-sick" like a little kid(he was 50 years old at that time) and despite pleadings by Flute T Viswa,he did not complete his contract with Wesleyan and returned post hastily. This was his bane. While the Brindamma influence helped him in his repertoire and style and presentation,he used to be the "butt-end' of jokes by her about his perennial hasty reactions and speedy responses without thinking things thro.

While he happened to be not far behind in age with the stalwarts at that time--this inhibited his chances of coming up as the former were dominatiing the scene and Ramnad Krishnan was equally ambivalent about whether he should stick to his GNB style Brikas or the sedate style of the Dhanammal School. My personal opinion-- he was a great artist who died early before the previous stalwarts decided to hang up their boots and that would have opened up doors for him as it did for KVN,TMT,MDR et al.

For trivia buffs, Ramnad Krishnan taught Dancer Kumari Kamala(Kamala Lakshminarayana) vocal music!!!

cacm
Posts: 2212
Joined: 08 Apr 2010, 00:07

Post by cacm »

Ramnad K just wanted to leave after 2 weeks because of VethaLai-Btel nut etc was not available then & to him life was not worth it without such things! I used to pick him up at weslyan & drop him off after EVERY weekend. He literally begged me to send him back to Chenaai with some one who would take care of him in the plane and pretty much moved in with me!Finally Air India Ramachandran arranged the seat next to Rubin Mama & we dropped himm off at JFK!.....The interesting part was T.Viswa had the ideal car- a 50 dollar bomb- which I drove to JFK- IT Would only last 10 mins & stop. We had to wait till it cooled- I was in Manhattan & did not have my own!-; Viswa asked me to ABANDON the car in the Parking Lot but just remove the License Plates as it was legally needed by him. I managed to remove them pretty much removing them with my bare hands almost as no tools were available; In the meanwhile R.K. was delighting us with his fantastic Sahana. After I removed them & we were ready to leave there was a Flash light & a person flashed the F.B.I. Badge & told me "You are under Arrest"! Those were simpler days & after I showed NASA BADGE& came up with a plausible explanation he let us poff & all of us returned to my apt. in the Bomb taking 3 hours to do so!.......The only regret is R.K. offered to sing everything he knew & said I could record them for helping him! Sadly I
did not have a tape trecorder then & also not the time as I was mostly out of town on the Moon Project! VKV
Last edited by cacm on 12 Nov 2009, 04:10, edited 1 time in total.

Ramasubramanian M.K
Posts: 1226
Joined: 05 May 2009, 08:33

Post by Ramasubramanian M.K »

VKV: Great story! Is it not amazing how crazy YOU must have been about Music(and literally starving for it in the late sixties when there was hardly an opportunity to listen to artistes because there was no institution nor a rich patron who could sponsor a trip!!

I can picture the scene(although I was not present in 1967 during MS/TS trip to UN Concert) you lugging TKM's Mridangam,or Vinayakaram's Ghatam from the car to the venue(double parking with its hazards with the musicians merrily walking away unmindful of your predicament ,with the late CVN playing the courtly diplomat's role!!--living on a shoestring budget and still finding the ways and means to host artists and "spin them" around the City.

Wow!! Won't the forumites love to read a blow-by-blow account of those epoch-making events!! You be the narrator and I will put some 'masala' into it!!!

DEAL?

cacm
Posts: 2212
Joined: 08 Apr 2010, 00:07

Post by cacm »

I can recall these but YOU are there to REGALE US as well as EDUCATE US. VKV
Last edited by cacm on 12 Nov 2009, 07:39, edited 1 time in total.

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