Palghat Raghu

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

Post by prashant »

http://sangeethamshare.org/hariharan/Ne ... andari.mp3

Raghu Sir's accompaniment for the swarams is just awesome... Kulkarni has posted aparAdhamulanniyu from the same concert on another thread...

Nick H
Posts: 9379
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 02:03

Post by Nick H »

Kuchi and kappi are varieties of mridangam, involving a slight change in right-hand head. You would have to look very closely to see any difference, but there is a noticeable difference in sound, the kutchi mridangam having more vibration, and the kappi being closer to the sound of tabla.

Kutchi mridangam has small slivers of reed inserted radially under the top-most layer of skin. These give a slight snare effect, hence the vibration. Kappi has the two layers held slightly apart by tiny particles of grit.

bilahari
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Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 09:02

Post by bilahari »

Thanks nick. Do the majority of mrudangam artistes lean towards one or the other?

sankirnam
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Joined: 07 Sep 2006, 14:18

Post by sankirnam »

There is no majority, but each mrudangist will have their own individual preference. Raghu sir used to use kucchi in the 60's and 70's and switched to kappi sometime in the 80's. Palghat Mani Iyer only ever used kappi, as did Thanjavur Upendran sir. Karaikudi Mani also only uses kappi.
UKS sir used to use kappi, but now only uses kucchi. Sankaran has only used kucchi, as far as i know.

This should help get some orientation as to what kappi and kuchi mrudangams sound like.

vijay
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Joined: 27 Feb 2006, 16:06

Post by vijay »

I thought most mrudangists preferred Kuchi. Isn't that supposed to be easier to play? (not sure where I got that fomr though - probably some previous discussion)

cienu
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Joined: 04 Feb 2010, 11:40

Post by cienu »

sankirnam wrote:There is no majority, but each mrudangist will have their own individual preference. Raghu sir used to use kucchi in the 60's and 70's and switched to kappi sometime in the 80's. Palghat Mani Iyer only ever used kappi, as did Thanjavur Upendran sir. Karaikudi Mani also only uses kappi.
UKS sir used to use kappi, but now only uses kucchi. Sankaran has only used kucchi, as far as i know.

This should help get some orientation as to what kappi and kuchi mrudangams sound like.
Dr T K Murthy too uses Kappi only if I am not mistaken.
Last edited by cienu on 07 Dec 2008, 21:29, edited 1 time in total.

sankirnam
Posts: 374
Joined: 07 Sep 2006, 14:18

Post by sankirnam »

Yes, cienu you are right.

Vijay, most artists will take kuchi mrudangams with them when they come on foreign tours, since kuchi mrudangams are more forgiving to wear and tear on the valanthalai. If one or two pieces of the black "saadam" fall out, the overall nadam is not disturbed much. But in kappi, if one piece even starts vibrating a little bit, the nadam will be disturbed and extraneous noises will come (like a faint rattling or "ssssh" sound).

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

Post by pgaiyar »

8-Dec-8

Dear Mr. Coolkarni:

I listened to the RTP Thillai of SSI uploaded by you. In my view as someone who has followed Raghu for many years it is close to Raghu, but not him it seems. Sollus are sounding close, the nadham(Kattai) is also close but the fingering differs. The Korvai ignoramus talks about is played by many leave alone Raghu. By the way he is a genius and not an ignoramus. I request ignoramus to upload the SSI-TNK-Raghu-92-Navarathiri-AIR Excerpts if he has or anyone has. In my view SSI would not have relished Raghu as Raghu's talam keeping is deadly and the main artist has to sweat it out making it not comfortable. That is/was Raghu. Only musicians like KVN/DKJ/MDR/Ramnad Krishnan/S.Balachandar can gel with Raghu. Raghu's famed thani in 1967(KVN-MSG-Raghu-Bangalore Manjunath-MA) is Kuchi and only he can do such thrikalams. Any mridangam player is capable of thrikalams, but in the third speed/kalam it is Raghu who will show the way. God bless Raghu sir and all the members of this forum.

Regards

Guru

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

Post by ignoramus »

dear pgaiyer

can you elaborate on the fingering which makes you doubt it is not PR? it sounded pretty close to me. dont want to argue , but i have not heard too many people play the korvai which i mentioned. not sure whether it was the 2nd round, the final korvai too is almost closely his, especially the improvisations in the 2nd and 3rd repeats - just asking. by no means argumentative.

bilahari
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Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 09:02

Post by bilahari »

Yes, pgaiyer, KVN-PR and MDR-PR are both combinations to cherish!

sankirnam
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Joined: 07 Sep 2006, 14:18

Post by sankirnam »

115 and 117 are tough to identify because it is just playing for songs... but since 116 is a thani, it is very easy to tell... cleanly you can identify Raghu sir's playing at his peak. Kanjira is V. Nagarajan.

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

Post by ignoramus »

Sankeernam

Agree with you on the song support. But again, 117 seems PR from his way of playing to the song - maybe i am dead wrong. What is your call on 116? looked PR to me, pgaiyer says quite close - but no.

coolkarni
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Joined: 22 Nov 2007, 06:42

Post by coolkarni »

..
Last edited by coolkarni on 29 Nov 2009, 10:18, edited 1 time in total.

ignoramus
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Joined: 21 Aug 2006, 21:25

Post by ignoramus »

Coolji

we do have !!

sankirnam
Posts: 374
Joined: 07 Sep 2006, 14:18

Post by sankirnam »

Ignoramus, as far as I can tell, 116 is Raghu sir only, with V. Nagarajan playing kanjira. The mohara korvai is the giveaway.

And yes, Coolkarni, please keep them coming! :)

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

Post by pgaiyar »

Dear All Laya aficionados:

I listened to 116 and the Kanjira player could be the late V.Nagarajan sir. Again the treble/cut i.e., salangai nadham which was/is unique to VN is not there. VN's muthaipu/theermanam is legendary and it is also not there. I still am not sure whether the player is Raghu sir. Raghu's fingering is something different from the whole lot and the akshara suddham is also different. In mridangam parlance it is called adaichu vasikkaradhu, something Pazani Anna is/was famous for. Raghu's kalam is also legendary. If you listen to his playing for the Pallavis the way he play Tisram. The Thom of Raghu is also cast in the Pudukkottai school. In sum it could be Raghu sir but it may not be also. I have checked many times with PSN and he always opined Raghu sir's accompaniment to SSI????, well I don't recollect any of them. Only Raghu can identify. God bless you all.

Regards

Guru

coolkarni
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Joined: 22 Nov 2007, 06:42

Post by coolkarni »

..
Last edited by coolkarni on 29 Nov 2009, 10:17, edited 1 time in total.

ram
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Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:48

Post by ram »

:)

Coolji,

With your permission, I will come to your place when you are free and listen to it at leisure. I was just able to listen to it intermittently with you the other day and do not have access to rapidshare to download the clips you uploaded. Though it is difficult to sometimes distinguish the Tanjavur school maestros, especially during the early years of their playing, there are (almost always) places that reveal the identity of the player.

Thanks once again for sharing these gems with us. May your tribe grow by leaps and bounds.

Ram

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

Post by ignoramus »

Coolji

Anything for you, i will ask Rahu sir next week when i am on vacation, maybe we will go together

sankirnam
Posts: 374
Joined: 07 Sep 2006, 14:18

Post by sankirnam »

Like Ram says, it is usually the mohara korvai (the final korvai) of the thani that usually gives away the identity of the mrudangam artiste. Once you listen to enough thanis of the past masters you get familiar with the famous korvais and the ones that each artiste was comfortable playing.

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

Post by mahesh_narayan »

ignoramus, any inputs from Raghu Sir yet?

Any more SSI-Raghu tracks, please share (tani would be awesome !!!).

ignoramus
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Joined: 21 Aug 2006, 21:25

Post by ignoramus »

not yet, i shall try for the next weekend. on vacation as of now.

ksrimech
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Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 04:25

Post by ksrimech »

May be this is question late by a year or so? I didn't know if you have seen it.
Did anyone see the Palghat Raghu Documentary released after the music season of 2007-08? It has videos (yes videos) of chembai vaidyanAta bhagavathar with MTC and MMI (video from the 40s, I guess), KVN with MC and PR (video from the 80s) and g nA bAlasubrahmaniam with LGJ and PR (video from the 60s). Amazing stuff. LGJ looks very handsome .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQ4NiMWAWzc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Mm6dHgY ... re=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsDD_I8g ... re=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzZorUCb ... re=related

bilahari
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Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 09:02

Post by bilahari »

Thanks for the link, ksrimech. Very good, interesting documentary about PRR. Didn't know about his association with Alla Rakha till now, nor his accompaniment to Ravi Shankar. And those vintage video clips were really nice as well. Particularly enjoyed Chembai. Do his grandsons perform regularly?

ksrimech
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Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 04:25

Post by ksrimech »

bilahari wrote:Particularly enjoyed Chembai. Do his grandsons perform regularly?
Chembai: Along with ARI (still haven't seen a video of him) were the two artistes, whom I wanted to see (& listen) him sing. :). I love the kuDumi of chembai mAmA.

abhIshEk raghurAman performs often! I don't know about the mridangist grandson, ananta R. kRSNan.

divakar
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Joined: 26 May 2005, 06:06

Post by divakar »

It was nice to see Chembai, GNB in a video clipping. Was wondering if ARI and MVI were also video taped while in a concert.
hope we get to see them in action through some benefactor.

ksrimech
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Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 04:25

Post by ksrimech »

We could approach the Madras Music Academy (if somebody has the "guts" :P). There may be some video recording of ARI, MVI and MMI.

mohan
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Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 16:52

Post by mohan »

New website about Sri Palghat Raghu at http://www.palghatraghu.org/

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

Post by mahesh_narayan »

The problem with all these websites is they never get updated. Once would expect newer audio clips to be added, or some videos. It could be that the creators do not get the time to keep revisiting and adding content. But the site started with a big bang and got me all excited, and then kinda tapered off and became dormant with no activity. Raghu Sir is a scarce commodity when it comes to digital listening !!!.

kamesh
Posts: 3
Joined: 04 May 2009, 18:04

Post by kamesh »

Hello all I am a new member .I am mridangam artist and in particular I am a fan of raghu sir.I like his unique style of accomplishing.I have some of his concerts,but I don't have some of his old recordings with chembai,GNBariyakudi,pattamal etc can anyone can help me by uploading such concerts

Ragjay
Posts: 208
Joined: 12 Oct 2006, 17:10

Post by Ragjay »

There is a concert of SSI with MSG and Palghat Raghu wherein I think that the pallavi sang is in the ragam Khamboji. Bye Ragjay

yogeeshk
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Joined: 10 May 2009, 21:54

Post by yogeeshk »

hello to all fans of SRI RAGHU SIR,
iam hearing raghu sir since 35 years. His accompaniment is superb especially to varnams. FOR swara prastharams in keerthanas his anticipassion is something special.especially for KVn s vocal his accompaniment is excellent
.
ABout 10 years back i heard a concert may be at krishnaganasabha where KVn sang with CHandru sir on violin and raghu sir on mridangam.The concert statrts with begada varnam ,Seshachala nayakam, Samajavarada submain is Prakkal nilabadi and the main item is Amba nannu brova ve in Todi if any one is having that great concert please please upload.

ignoramus
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Joined: 21 Aug 2006, 21:25

Post by ignoramus »

Yogeesh
I think this has come as a commercial release.

semmu86
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Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 09:39

Post by semmu86 »

yogeesh , i dont think it was as recent as 10 years ago. it was way back in 1982 if am not wrong.

Arvind

yogeeshk
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Joined: 10 May 2009, 21:54

Post by yogeeshk »

ignoramus
thanQ. As i stay in ANdhra uam ot able to get the commercial version. Can u tell,e who released it so that i cn get it in my next visit to chennai.

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

Post by ignoramus »

let me check that out. looks like kosmic or something to me. i thought i had two volumes

yogeeshk
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Joined: 10 May 2009, 21:54

Post by yogeeshk »

ignoramus.
Thank you very much for the information. I got the recording from my friend who is chennai. It is an marvelous accompaniment by Sri Raghu sir, EVen the thani is thrilling covering almost all ythe gathis in Adi talam. Thank you very much. One more request I already have one cd of lalgudi garu'ssolo along with raghu sir, In which Kapali is mail item can anyone has another kutcheri with lalgudi garu's solo concert.If yes please upload the same
yogeesh

ignoramus
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Joined: 21 Aug 2006, 21:25

Post by ignoramus »

Yogeeshk

not aware of the lalgudi solo which you mention with Raghu Sir. is that a commercial releasE?

inconsequential
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Joined: 22 Mar 2005, 00:10

Post by inconsequential »

Ignoramus, yes it is a commercial release. But somehow, I felt it was not the maestros at their best. Probably, when lgj's style was seeking a different kind of laya support. lgj-krm seems to be the dream combination. There is another concert of lgj with PR and GH - starts with asAvEri varNam and has EtAvunnarA - kalyANi.

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

Post by ignoramus »

Hi Inconsequential

Thanks, will search that out. Do you know the recording company by any chance? I am yet to hear any of the LGJ-KRM combos, will look forward to it. I do have some old LGJ PMI combo clips, they too look good I feel.

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

Post by inconsequential »

ignoramus wrote: Do you know the recording company by any chance?
I will look at the tape and let you know. Forgotten. It is a 3-tape release
I am yet to hear any of the LGJ-KRM combos, will look forward to it.
When you listen to them, you will know what you have been missing. There are any no: of tapes in the stores. There was a series of (4 or 5) tapes of lgj's with KRM and THV. One of them having simhEndramadhyamam rtp. There is another tape with only a nATTaikkurinji rtp.

vganesh
Posts: 263
Joined: 04 Feb 2010, 16:25

Post by vganesh »

If you have DTH or if you can listen to AIR Ragam channel, they play some old collections. Few days back I heard Shri.Palghat Raghu's Thani (exclusive not with any vocal). It was in Rupaka thala and was wonderful.

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

Post by pgaiyar »

Dear All:

Thanks. It has been a good experience to me. As I need to work and earn a living I will not be having time. All faults may kindly be pardoned. Yeah, I am leaving.

May the Almighty bless you all.

Regards

Guru aka P.G. Aiyar

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

Post by inconsequential »

ignoramus wrote: Do you know the recording company by any chance?
sorry for the late reply. forgot to do it during the weekend. It is Kosmic - masterpiece (3 vols). Live concert at SKGS, Dec 1984.

coolkarni
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Joined: 22 Nov 2007, 06:42

Post by coolkarni »

..
Last edited by coolkarni on 25 Nov 2009, 07:31, edited 1 time in total.

ignoramus
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Joined: 21 Aug 2006, 21:25

Post by ignoramus »

Miserable way to start the day and 2009 looks gloomy,as Cool just said. May his soul rest in peace. Cant forget the 2 hours i spent at his house, just before his 80th birthday.

VK RAMAN
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Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 00:29

Post by VK RAMAN »

Mods - There is another post; we may like to merge these two.

mohan
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Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 16:52

Post by mohan »

A detailed article on Sri Raghu is available at http://www.vijayalakshmysubramaniam.com ... traghu.htm
I think this appeared in Sruti and is written by Dr Vijayalakshmi Subramaniam.

kamesh
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Joined: 04 May 2009, 18:04

Post by kamesh »

oh no!we lost a great maestro.There is no substitute for him.May his soul rest in peace ! !
Last edited by kamesh on 02 Jun 2009, 15:33, edited 1 time in total.

SSK
Posts: 119
Joined: 24 Oct 2006, 04:18

Post by SSK »

Another great loss of mridangam maestro and great vidwan, who represented the past generation and was known for training current generation mridangam vidwans. An unassuming vidwan for all his years of service. He will always be remembered for his style, his gentle strokes, that tocuhed many souls. He was an ideal accompanist and every senior musician that I know had high regards for him. May his soul rest in peace. May his teachings and his style will live for ever.

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