Palghat Raghu

Carnatic Musicians
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srkris
Site Admin
Posts: 3497
Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 03:34

Post by srkris »

Got some nice pictures of Palghat Sri R.Raghu and a few others, from his disciple and well known mridangist Trivandrum Sri V.Balaji and putting them here with his permission. My thanks to Balaji.

The photos were taken with his mobile phone, so may not be of the best quality. The captions to the photos are Balaji's. :)

Thalaivar
Image

Commander in Chief
Image

Dangerous
Image

Great team of 60s
Image

Legends
Image

Great
Image

Unpredictable
Image

Deadly
Image

To download bigger versions of all the above photos, just download and unzip the following file:
Click here to download RaghuAndCo.zip

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

Post by rshankar »

I love the captions...Oh and the picture too!

gsn
Posts: 81
Joined: 30 Oct 2005, 07:04

Post by gsn »

Venomous? lol.

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

Post by Radhakrishnan »

Commander in Chief

84 Kottakkal,Kerala.Lalgudi/GJR, Raghu.The concert started at 7PM and Lalgudi was in such a mood he continued playing even after 11.Raghu got tired and told Lalgudi…Podum! Then only Lalgudi checked the time and concluded the concert.

One concert of Vairamangalam with Raghu mridangam conducted by DKJ trust at Narada Gana Sabha mini hall.Vairamangalam was the first to arrive,he found the spot lights too glary,Vijay Siva was ready to switched it off.But Vairamangalam said…Raghu varattum,avar sollara madiri….Raghu arrived soon and said…dey,mudalle anta light off pannu!



Great

http://rapidshare.de/files/29929571/Raghu.mp3.html

coolkarni

Post by coolkarni »

Srkris.
Most members may not be aware of the funny streak in Balaji.Hope those captions are not misunderstood.
I once travelled with him to Kancheepuram for a concert engagement (he was accompanying my Friend Pavan ,who was to sing there) and i still have loads of belly-ache-memories.
Especially the story he narrates about the Vidwan who was promised a beer before the concert only to be told that it would be served after the concert.
No wonder the maestro sang the majorkrithi with his customary twang Beeyaranalvaralinchi ....!!
That is the way with Balaji.One never knows for sure if it was a real story.
that day he treated us to a majestic tapping(on the van seat) accompaniment to Parveens Hamsadwani tharana -which goes soaring unlike the refrain of vathapi or a lagee lagan.
That was one great trip !!

balaji also would be in line for the prize for fastest makeup change artist today.
One minute he is madrasi personified with veshti , vibhoothi et al on the stage and just as you are walking out after a concert say at mylapore fine arts , a bike will be honking at you and you get the feeling that you have seen the shah rukh khan-like rider with jeans and goggles , somewhere !!

treevandrum
Posts: 3
Joined: 11 Nov 2006, 21:51

Post by treevandrum »

hello all..

i am my self tree van drum balaji.. nice work by the admin or moderator....

by the way the captions i put is just my love and passion towards this great vidwans who inspired me all the way..... so hope every one understand the love and passion i have, towards this vidwans especially my god padmasree palghat raghu...

i am proud of my relationship with this great mastreo for past 14 yrs.. and i had an oppurtunity to be with him for about 6 yrs and learn the skills under gurukula system

its very difficult to explain the experience...... hope u all understnad what it is.. kudos to this great mastreo who was laways self less and did lot of contribution in laya aspects and till now he never claimed or even talks about this..

just thought of sharing my views with u all....


by the way nice work done by moderator and kudos to this site..

keep posting positive and nice views which appreciates music


by the way coolkurni sir.. wanna meet u for sure... i never knew that u came with me and u have noticed me this much.. nice meeting u here. will soon meet u in person... lol...:)=)
Last edited by treevandrum on 19 Aug 2006, 12:50, edited 1 time in total.

srkris
Site Admin
Posts: 3497
Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 03:34

Post by srkris »

:D ;)

coolkarni

Post by coolkarni »

Nice to see you too...
here is a toast to your Guru !!
:cool::cool:
kvn at academy-73-murughabhoopathy-raghu.mp3*

http://quickdump.com/files/273335586.html

Meena -I am trying to cut down on smileys , but this one reminded me of balaji very much..

CSS
Posts: 32
Joined: 17 Aug 2006, 22:28

Post by CSS »

Coolkarniji,
CSM and Raghu as accompaniments ? Just a check before downloading :rolleyes:
Last edited by CSS on 19 Aug 2006, 22:03, edited 1 time in total.

treevandrum
Posts: 3
Joined: 11 Nov 2006, 21:51

Post by treevandrum »

thanks cool karni...anyway u posted wrong mmurugabhoopathy was mridangist may be thats msg am i right????

CSS
Posts: 32
Joined: 17 Aug 2006, 22:28

Post by CSS »

Coolkarniji,
Just listening to the KVN cutcheri - Voilinist seems to Sri Sethuramaih. I may wrong - can some one comment ?

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

Post by mahesh3 »

The violinist is not MSG, I dont think. Thaye TripuraSundari in Suddha Saveri is the krithi rendered, with a thani to follow in characteristic P. Raghu style.

In the amazing Sriranjani krithi of Semmangudi IyervAl I am posting, see if you can guess who the accompanying mridangist is. All the artists are clearly at their peak. This is one of my most favorite reneditions, enjoy.

Edited: Link Removed

coolkarni

Post by coolkarni »

violinist is Sethuramiah.
somehow i cannot explain the names of Murughabhoopathy and Raghu in the concert labelling I received.
Anyway i will now change the label to - KVN-Sethuramiah-Raghu .

thathwamasi
Posts: 274
Joined: 12 Aug 2006, 01:15

Post by thathwamasi »

Its fantastic to see a forum for Raghu mama...or commander in cheif, a how Baluveeru has mentioned. I have been one of his cheif admirers....He probably the mridangist with the highest aesthetic sense. He just plays what needs to be played and when it has to be played. Raghu is the best mix of Palghat and Pazhani school of playing. He had the best valam-idam serkai(balance of left and right) on mridangam.

One more important aspect of Raghu mama was his sruthi sutham. He is always on the note. Thats why KVN-Raghu is an immortal combination as I don't have to elaborate on KVN's sruthi sutham. Its so refreshing to think of endaro mahanubhavulu sung by KVN and accompanied by raghu. I think its 1967 academy. I can't forget Raghu's playing for Evarani and mokshamu galada in that concert, not to mention his vibrant playing for 'tholinenu je'.

CSS
Posts: 32
Joined: 17 Aug 2006, 22:28

Post by CSS »

I think he has not got the recognition that he deserves.

The good thing about today's musical system is that we have more kutcheris, more public sponsorship and greater chances to get recognition than in the past.

He shares the distinction of not being a SK, along with other luminaries such as LGJ, RK, MDR....

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

Post by Mahesh »

CSS, we can hope that he gets it next year!

CSS
Posts: 32
Joined: 17 Aug 2006, 22:28

Post by CSS »

I hope I am not stirring a hornet's nest but I sincerely admire Shri LGJ for declining to join that Club. When the 'powers that be' scan the field for deserving artistes, are they so myopic to miss some very great artistes ? If yes, then such an award gets devalued, not the artiste. By ignoring artistes of Sri PR's stature ( and many such others) for such a long time, the Academy and it's awards, in my personal view, have lost their stature.

ignoramus
Posts: 197
Joined: 21 Aug 2006, 21:25

Post by ignoramus »

can we get an analysis of the style of playing of Raghu sir? I have been seeing such write ups on other artistes. it would help a lot if we get an idea of what are the salient features of his playing, his uniqueness etc?

mahesh_narayan
Posts: 228
Joined: 22 Aug 2006, 20:51

Post by mahesh_narayan »

Does anyone have recordings of Lalgudi-Raghu or Sanjay-Raghu concerts? If so, please do upload a few pieces. Thanks.

meena
Posts: 3326
Joined: 21 May 2005, 13:57

Post by meena »

Does anyone have recordings of Lalgudi-Raghu or Sanjay-Raghu concerts? If so, please do upload a few pieces.
Sorry :( due to copyright issues, current artist- Sanjay-Raghu cannot be u/l here.
http://rasikas.org/misc.php?action=rules

mahesh_narayan
Posts: 228
Joined: 22 Aug 2006, 20:51

Post by mahesh_narayan »

For me the biggest attraction towards Raghu Sir is his Kriti Gnyanam and anticipation during kritis and swara prastara. There are a lot of giants in mridangam playing, but none to match his anticipation.

Hey Prashant, is last October's Nedunuri-Raghu Chembur concert available for purchase through FAS? I heard you can't record Raghu Sir's concerts?

Trivandrum Balaji Sir - Congratulations on being his shishya !!! Could you upload some of your own recordings? I have never heard you so far and would like to indulge in the pleasure of doing so.

Thanks.
Mahesh.

prashant
Posts: 1658
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 09:01

Post by prashant »

Hey Prashant, is last October's Nedunuri-Raghu Chembur concert available for purchase through FAS? I heard you can't record Raghu Sir's concerts?
I am not aware whether or not it is available, Mahesh. Sorry!

inconsequential
Posts: 124
Joined: 22 Mar 2005, 00:10

Post by inconsequential »

Dear all,

Great to see this thread on Raghu sir. Many here may have already read these articles. Just to place them under the same title, here are the links

http://www.hindu.com/ms/2004/12/01/stor ... 340200.htm
http://www.geocities.com/nand12/news.html <-- (choose the link for an article by Janani Srinivasan)

Regards

avichinnu
Posts: 47
Joined: 28 Jan 2006, 21:07

Post by avichinnu »

FROM RAW SOUND TO STRUCTURED PATTERNS -On Palghat Raghu
by N.Manu chakravarthy


Eliot's comment that "Expression is altered only by a man of genius", far from being a tribute to the individual, is actually a vital insight into the nature of a serious and profound relationship between an artist and his medium.
A rigorous analysis attempting to highlight the significant aspects of an art form will inevitably have to underline several phases as crucial junctures when the genius of a single individual transformed its entire conception and structure. Such an endeavor does not merely draw attention to the genius of an outstanding artist, but, quite appropriately, offers new perspectives that question outmoded conceptions, and more importantly, generate fresh ideas by which new modes of understanding come into being.
It was Palghat Mani Iyer who brought about such a tremendous transformation in Karnatic music. The amazing genius of Mani Iyer pushed the Mridangam to the foreground, offering laya as a great structural dimension, not just as a time-marking measure, with patterns as significant as those of the main performer. The Mridangam at the hands of Mani Iyer, was not an instrument that would just mark time through the Jatis, but an indispensable ally that enhanced the beauty of the fabric of the main piece and, at the same time, a challenge that, if accepted would carry the main performer to extraordinary heights that he could never have reached on his own.
This only meant that it became impossible to dissociate the main performer and his music from the mridangam and its structures. After Mani Iyer it was not just the position of the mridangam and the aspirations of the main performer that had changed, but also the expectations of the listener-at least the sensitive one- who began to demand a high combination of raga and laya. It would not be wrong to say that Mani Iyer's greatest achievement was in the perfect fusion he brought about between raga and laya on the concert platform that mridangists earlier had not been able to. The change was, essentially, creative and not theoretical, its value greater in imaginative than in intellectual terms.
The second phase of this transformation is equally noteworthy. If Mani Iyer unleashed new structures forcefully, and at times wildly, it was Palghat Raghu's genius that ordered, shaped and beautified them.
It was through Raghu that the imaginative and creative aspects of Mani Iyer's vision became crystallized into highly contemplative, deeply thought out and very finely chiseled images. Mani Iyer's profusion of ideas, uncontrollable and raging at times, had to necessarily evolve further in terms of acquiring balance, restraint and architectural order and beauty.
The mridangam gained all these through Palghat Raghu who furthered -both on intellectual and aesthetic planes-the dimensions opened up by his great teacher. The mridangam in Karnatic music thus further entrenched his position. The great master's vision gained a new dimension, as it needed to, through his greatest disciple.
The manner in which Palghat Raghu achieved this is revealing. Raghu introduced into Mani Iyer's massive and expansive structures, at times rhetorical and merely dazzling, little strokes that etched the sound more deeply and closely, eliminating strokes that were superfluous and even out of place.
A close study of Mani Iyer and Raghu would certainly establish the fact that Raghu's "texts" are more intricately knit, highly sophisticated in texture and weave a pattern where the selection of strokes is strictly determined by principles of structural order and cohesion. Mani Iyer's bani, however, drew more from the power of the sound than from a notion of structural unity.
The advance made by Raghu over Mani Iyer is remarkable and it must be acknowledged unequivocally, has been possible only because of Mani Iyer's astounding supporting base.
An important aspect of Raghu's genius that must be mentioned is that one discovers in it the vision to integrate Mani Iyer's breath taking sweep with the gentler but deeper touches of Palani Subramaniam Pillai which issue out a resonance and subtlety that establish a perfect concord between power and restraint. The most outstanding "texts" of Raghu interthread Mani Iyer and Palani Subramania Pillai to create a combination that a man of lesser genius would never be able to dream of, let alone produce.
It is only an intensive study of Raghu's playing during the neraval , the kalpana swaras and the rendering of the anuloma, viloma and pratiloma of the pallavi that would bring all these to light.
The other great measure of Raghu's genius is the thani avarthanam which is an outstanding representation of all the
shades of feeling and thought of the main piece. Raghu's thani avarthanams are, essentially, perfect objective correlatives of those images produced by the main performer.
All these are possible only because Raghu produces swaras and not lifeless jathis on the instrument that measure upto, and on occasion even go beyond, the patterns of the main artiste.
It is again only a deep study that helps one comprehend the truth that Raghu does not accompany passively, but literally moves with the artiste at the center in great unison, creating patterns of great tonal variety, effecting the subtle shifts between the left hand side and the right, projecting a mosaic that is a perfect whole unifying a variety of combinations of richness and depth, punctuated throughout by wonderful variations, in the nadai.
Serious listeners of Karnatic music, who are conversant with the nuances introduced by the great mridangam players, would not hesitate to state that it achieves its greatness only through performers who blend the fine aspects of laya with their conception of the raga. It is an imperative in Karnatic music to unfold the range and depth of a raga not just through the rendering of alapana but, more importantly, in discovering its infinite possibilities in the combinations created through the neraval, the swaras and of course, in the rendering of the pallavi.
The form of Karnatic music, so different from Hindusthani music in organization and movement, where the role of the percussionist is essentially secondary in nature makes it virtually impossible for one to create a great piece without depending heavily on the laya scheme.
When the Sruti Foundation launched the Ragam Tanam Pallavi series some years age, K.V.Narayanaswamy, in the inaugural concert, was paired with Raghu.KVN took up a piece in Todi with a take-off point that was quite complex. In the course of his delineation, at the momentous part, KVN could not reach the sama correctly even after three or four attempts.
The rendering thereafter gained substance and solidity only when Raghu took over and guided KVN-a fact KVN himself acknowledged later on elsewhere. The magnificent manner in which laya operated throughout the rendering was a great tribute to Raghu and a clear demonstration of the value of laya in Karnatic music.
A couple of months ago, at a chamber concert, T.K.Govinda Rao went through a similar experience while singing a kriti- and it was the mridangam that eventually balanced him out. Govinda Rao acknowledged this debt to Raghu at the end of the concert. These are not isolated incidents that draw attention to themselves, but on the contrary, support the position that as far as the scheme of Karnatic music is concerned, laya is the determining base.
Karnatic music is perhaps at its lowest point now. The greatest indication of this is the fact that even big names prefer mridangam players who churn out convenient inane sarvalaghu patterns that have neither substance nor meaning. The presence of a great artiste like Raghu, however, assures us that all is not hopelessly lost and gone forever. It is only in bringing the soul of laya back to the center that we can restore the vibrant vitality of Karnatic music. It must be recognized by those who still care for Karnatic music that they cannot talk of its greatness if it sacrifices its most vital component-laya.
The future of Karnatic music is in a very big sense, wholly dependent on what the present does with the genius of men like Palghat Mani Iyer,Palani Subramania Pillai and Palghat Raghu.

mri_fan
Posts: 382
Joined: 15 Aug 2006, 22:12

Post by mri_fan »

mahesh3 wrote:The violinist is not MSG, I dont think. Thaye TripuraSundari in Suddha Saveri is the krithi rendered, with a thani to follow in characteristic P. Raghu style.

In the amazing Sriranjani krithi of Semmangudi IyervAl I am posting, see if you can guess who the accompanying mridangist is. All the artists are clearly at their peak. This is one of my most favorite reneditions, enjoy.

Edited: Link Removed
This is Guruvayoor Dorai.

This is probably also a good time to mention that its a commercial recording and that it should be deleted.

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

Post by mahesh3 »

Sorry abt that...What is the commercial release?

I was given that concert a long time ago by a veteran musician to convert into mp3....from tape. I was told it was a PMI concert.....yet, I knew it was not PMI. Figured it was Palghat Raghu..Ow well...

coolkarni

Post by coolkarni »

mahesh
this is a problem with which we all have to deal with.Some of us who have been collecting for over three decades WILL STILL HAVE TO CROSS VERIFY IF THE SUBSEQUENT COMMERCIAL RELEASES ARE THE SAME AS THE ONES WE HAVE BEFORE WE UPLOAD.

a difficult task , but one that we have to learn to do.

mri_fan
Posts: 382
Joined: 15 Aug 2006, 22:12

Post by mri_fan »

i think i made a mistake in who is playing...it is Mani sir...I don't have the tape with me current, but I know I've heard it. I think the violin is a young L. Subramanian or L. Shankar.

I think the tape/CD list is the following:

Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer 61

Vallabha Nayaka - Begada - Thyagaraja
Janani Ninuvina - Reethigowlai - Subbaraya Sastry
Sri Sathyanarayanam - Subapanthuvarali - Dikshithar
Brocheva revare - Sriranjani - Thyagaraja
Dhivakara Thanujam - Yadhukulakambodhi - Dikshithar
Amba Kamakshi - Bairavi - Dikshithar
Amba Kamakshi - Bairavi - Dikshithar


In addition the high sound quality can only mean that this was done in a studio....hence it would be commercial. At that time period, no concerts could be recorded at such high quality sound levels, and it sounds very much like a studio recording

mahesh_narayan
Posts: 228
Joined: 22 Aug 2006, 20:51

Post by mahesh_narayan »

Hi,
Today 9th Jan is the birthday of the great maestro. Wishing him a very happy birthday and lots of good health. May rasikas have the good fortune of hearing his magic for long!!!

ignoramus
Posts: 197
Joined: 21 Aug 2006, 21:25

Post by ignoramus »

i too join in wishing raghu sir good health and a happy birthyday.

coolkarni

Post by coolkarni »


gsn
Posts: 81
Joined: 30 Oct 2005, 07:04

Post by gsn »

Happy birthday, Raghu sir!

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

Post by jayaram »

Pranams to the great maestro on his puranda-nAL.

pgaiyar
Posts: 113
Joined: 27 Jan 2007, 07:59

Post by pgaiyar »

Dear Mr. Coolkarni: Is it possible for you to repeat the KVN-Sethuramaiah-Raghu-MA-73 concert?.

P. G. Aiyar

mahesh_narayan
Posts: 228
Joined: 22 Aug 2006, 20:51

Post by mahesh_narayan »

Just read on Orkut that Raghu Sir will be awarded the SK this year. Many congratulations to the great vidwan !!!. The SK list would have been so incomplete without him.

Sorry for posting here. Did not see the postings in the General Discussions section.
Last edited by mahesh_narayan on 15 May 2007, 23:10, edited 1 time in total.

mahesh_narayan
Posts: 228
Joined: 22 Aug 2006, 20:51

Post by mahesh_narayan »

Here is an interview of Raghu Sir that appeared in the Hindu today:
http://www.hindu.com/fr/2007/09/07/stor ... 170200.htm.

What dignity even in speech !!!
If anyone gets to know his concert schedule for the coming months, please post here.

Thanks.
Last edited by mahesh_narayan on 07 Sep 2007, 22:30, edited 1 time in total.

rajeshnat
Posts: 9906
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 08:04

Post by rajeshnat »

http://www.hindu.com/fr/2007/09/07/stor ... 170200.htm
is the url, mahesh_narayan's url has a dot at the end.

ars
Posts: 15
Joined: 22 Feb 2007, 02:16

Post by ars »

The Music Academy website has details of concerts starting from the mid 1930s. In the 1973 season, KVN was accompanied by C.R.Mani Iyer on the violin, Palghat Raghu on the Mridangam and C.K.Syamsunder on the Ganjira (based on that documentation).

shadjam
Posts: 202
Joined: 06 Apr 2007, 05:45

Post by shadjam »

ars wrote:In the 1973 season, KVN was accompanied by C.R.Mani Iyer on the violin, Palghat Raghu on the Mridangam and C.K.Syamsunder on the Ganjira (based on that documentation).
ars, What is special about this concert?

ars
Posts: 15
Joined: 22 Feb 2007, 02:16

Post by ars »

shadjam,
Nothing special. I was responding to the earlier comments from coolkarni, pgaiyer and others who had murugaboopathy listed as one of the accompanists. I believe the academy listing clarifies this.

shadjam
Posts: 202
Joined: 06 Apr 2007, 05:45

Post by shadjam »

ars,

I should have read the previous posts more carefully. Thanks.

raghavt
Posts: 224
Joined: 10 Jun 2007, 11:56

Post by raghavt »

We are missing a Great Tiger. Click here:

http://ring.uvic.ca/00may05/Sankaran_edged.JPG

thathwamasi
Posts: 274
Joined: 12 Aug 2006, 01:15

Post by thathwamasi »

My blog about Raghu Mama.

To begin with let me congratulate Palghat Shri Raghu for being awarded the Sangeetha Kalanidhi atlast. Something that he should have been given alongside T N Krishnan in the early eighties. But may be his seniority was an issue for Music Academy management. Palghat Raghu, took the music world by storm only during late 50's when he became a regular accompaniment for Shri GNB.

Palghat Raghu is a phenomenon by himself. There are only two kind of rasikas. Ones who love Raghu and ones who don't. And the ones who love him will say he is unparellaled and the others will often have a set of criticisms. Lets take sometime to look back at this great musician. Let me make it clear at this junction that I belong to the first category who feels Raghu Mama is a phenomenon unparellaled. Let it be the Keezhkalam that he plays for rendu kalai chavukka keerthanais or the misra nadai he used to play for some keerthanais anupallavi or the theermanam that he has when he begins a thani avartanam. Raghu Mama's mridangam is something that I have grown up with.

Once a friend of mine commented that Palghat Mani Iyer is Don Bradman (the best right hander) and Palani Subramaniam is David Gower(best left hander). Though I laughed at the comparison, something left me thinking about the whole thing. Raghu mama is the best mix of these two pillars of mridangam. Let it be the weight of the Thoppi or the majesty of his playing. He has made a brilliant blend of the greatness of both the schools which created a niche for himself. He is an artiste who is completely aware of his strengths and weaknesses. He for one understood the fact that he is not someone he is not. He never tried imitating Mani Iyer or Palani blindly (like most others of his generation). And he is also the master strategist in my opinion. When he began his career playing for the likes of GNB he was playing in the resonant Kuchi mridangam. That was the time when Palani died an untimely death and Palghat Mani Iyer was at his best. Palghat Mani iyer of the fifties probably the closest we can find to percussion perfection. So Raghu Mama never tried reminding anyone of his guru. He started playing in the Kuchi Mridangam and started filling the void that palani's demise left. Many accuse raghu mama of not having a great sound. I request all of them to listen to GNB's 1957 Music Academy concert. Raghu mama would have been 29 at that time. He had mastered what is called as the "Idam - valam cherkai" or the balance of the bass and treble of the mridangam. His gumukki was virtually singing Darini thelusu konti along with GNB. For the majority of his career, this had been his forte and he continued playing Kuchi mridangam.When Palghat Mani Iyer slowly started to take the back seat, our man shifted to Kappi Mridangam. And he made the transition unbelievably smooth.

Paatu gyanam was another big strength of Raghu Mama. He knew every varnam and every keerthanai thats sung on a stage. Or atleast he makes it sound like that. Listen to how he plays for the chittai swarams of Seethamma mayamma or thaye thripurasundari. As I am writing this blog, I am listening to him playing for KVN's seethamma mayamma. His skill is at its own class when he plays for keerthanais. And he takes it to another level when he plays for kalpanai swaram. He simply catches the karpanai of the main artist with his brilliant anticipation skills.

KVN and Raghu mama are the Arjuna and Krishna of the modern music era. Such is the aura when KVN sings Endaro Mahanubavulu with Raghu mama playing the keerthanai on the mridangam along. Time and again, this has been repeated for the Srinivasa thava charanams, Samaja Varadas and the ra ra maintis.

As a finishing note, I have a request for the current generation mridangists who admire Raghu mama. Please understand that Raghu mama himself never tried imitating anyone. So try to get the essence of his music in your playing rather than imitating him. Even if you imitate him, please imitate him of the sixties and seventies and not the 90's when he didn't have the luxury of the main artists he had during 60s and 70s.

Hearty Congratulations to Shri Raghu Mama and I am proud to have been associated with this great man musically.

Alternatively my link is

http://klimkaaran.blogspot.com/2007/11/ ... raghu.html

mahesh_narayan
Posts: 228
Joined: 22 Aug 2006, 20:51

Post by mahesh_narayan »

Do you have Raghu Sir's concert schedule for this season?. Please share if you do. As of now, I only know that he is performing with Malladi Brothers at MA on 20th Dec 2007 @ 7 PM.

Thanks.
Mahesh.

sbala
Posts: 629
Joined: 30 Jul 2006, 08:56

Post by sbala »

He is accompanyting Ravikiran also somewhere. Ram's blog has all the details.

mahesh_narayan
Posts: 228
Joined: 22 Aug 2006, 20:51

Post by mahesh_narayan »

Today is Raghu Sir's 80th birthday. I convey my birthday wishes to him and wish him many more years of good health. May he keep performing and enrapturing all of us.

thanjavooran
Posts: 2972
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 04:44

Post by thanjavooran »

While wishing him very many more happy returns, seek his blessings too to listen more quality concerts in years to come.

pgaiyar
Posts: 113
Joined: 27 Jan 2007, 07:59

Post by pgaiyar »

To : Thathwamasi

Dear Sir:

Please post the GNB-57-MA-Live concert with Raghu sir. Also kindly consider posting a few thanis of Raghu sir here. God bless you with health 'n' happiness.

Regards

Guru
11-Jan-08

srkris
Site Admin
Posts: 3497
Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 03:34

Post by srkris »

These two photos are from our friend Pyarilal of carnaticsangeetham.com, with whose permission they are finding a place for our members here :-)

Sri Narayanamurthy with Sri Raghu:

Image

Image

He also wanted me to share this information about PS Sabha
www.parthasarathysabha.com

sabha's inauguration and morning session lec-dem avilable there.....soon we will be update 12 days lec-dem....:)

Inauguration - video
leg-dem - audio version

cienu
Posts: 2387
Joined: 04 Feb 2010, 11:40

Post by cienu »

Thanks Srkris,

What a lovely pair of photographs!

The Wizard of IT taking the blessings of the Wizard of Laya. The humility of Narayanamurthy is deeply touching.

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