Concert Reviews and Other Important Posts that was Posted in sangeetham.com -2004 to 2006

[rajeshnat]

R Suryaprakash@NGS(Mini) on 27 AUgust 2005
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Accompanying were MA Krishnaswamy - Violin , Murugaboopathy -- Mridangam and Ghatam -???? . THe occassion was Gokulashtami , understandably the krithis were for that occassion


1. Deva Deva Kalyamithe (N,S) - MAyaMAlavaGowlai - Swathi Tirunal
2. Balakrishname BhavayAmi- Gopikavasantham - Dikshitar
3. Vasudevayani (RS) - KalyAni - Thyagaraja
4. Samiki Sari Yevere Krishna - KedAragowlai - Papanasam Sivan ???
5. Sri VenugopAla (R,S) - Durbar - Koteeswara Iyer
6. Kani Karam Gunanee (S) - Kaantamani- Dr Srivastava

7. Taaye Yasodhe (RNST) - Todi - OVK
8. RaajaGoplam Bhajeham- Mohanam - Dikshitar
9. "Aala Brindavanamum Atho En Ethirile"- SindhuBhairavi-???
10. Devaki Tan Kula Kuzhandai - AanandaBhairavi + Vasanta?? + Bhimplas + Pharaz??? + Neelambari
11.KrishnA Mukundha MurAre - ??? (mishrapahadi) -- ??
12.Mangalam


Suryaprakash started with a beautiful MayaMAlavGowlai , Neraval in the usual lines "JathaRoopa " and swarams were very good. Gopikavasantham was just good . Then gave a very good kalyAni alapanai . Looked to me that Suryprakash did try to bring his voice to form with 2 diagonally opposite approaches. One by attacking with racy MayAmalavagowlai and then settled for the shanta kalyAni(unless a singer tries how would they know which is fine) . Sarvalaghu downpour started with excellent swarams in Kalyaani. Post kalyAni his voice was in full form. The mani pravala krithi in KedAragowlai was just good

Liked the Darbar alapanai a lot with swarams being very good . His guru's(Dr Srivastava) Kaantamani was sung which I thought it would be a good filler . Surprisingly he came up with a very good swarams (never heard swarams in Kaantamani)

But the icing in the cake was his Taaye Yashoda in Todi .

<Someting unique and specical about the Neraval in the main krithi>
Little detour and a certain frame of reference from how we all hear a traditional neraval line in a main krithi will help. Atleast to most of us , taking a neraval line in a main krithi and in a pallavi line of RTP are equivalent.(Would like to hear if there is any difference ???). I know of atleast one illustrious Madurai mani who sings the Intha Sowkhya in kaapi as a main krithi ,where he always refreshes his memory by sequencing the swara-rAgamaliga and then ends up with the nearaval line in that raagam.Of course the line at the end of the swaram will just highlight the raagam that he handled before !!!

Suryaprakash took the long line "kAlinil shilambu konjak-kaivaLai kulunga muttu mAlaigaL asaiyat-teru vAsalil vandaan" for full close to 4 or 5 minutes in Todi(sounded a very good TOdi, but nothing unique and special).Then to my surprise he just <u>carried out the same Neraval linesin quick succession without losing the sarvalaghu style to Behaag , Kaapi and Malayaamarutham(each again for atleast 2 to 3 minutes)</u> . In each of the neraval lines, he took 2 words as a pivot . What I mean as a pivot if you listen to any one singing this popular neraval line (mmi is my frame of reference) one generally stays longer and brings the Todi rasam in just 2 words Kalanil Silambu !Here Suryaprakash took Malaigalai Asaiya as a pivot in Malayaamarutham . I cannot recollect what he did for the middle two as during this two it did not strike me . In short,he sang the neraval lines in all 4 ragams for full length and also as a pivot, without refreshing the memory with swarams. I am not sure if any one else has done that (Opening up as question, most of you know more???). This is an outstanding manodharmam to me .

After that he took the 4 ragams for a short swara pattern , 1/2 short swara pattern and finished with a long swarams in todi .

</Someting unique and specical about the Neraval in the main krithi>

THe mohanam Dikshitar krithi was very good . The Sindhu Bhairavi was excellent. On the flip side, I personally feel the ragamaligai tukkadas that Suryaprakash sings needs certain more alankarams . Aananda Bhairavi and Neelambari intrinsically accomodates more alankArams. Pharaz was something I identified at the end of the concert ..Krishna Mukunda Murari was a great finish to the concert .Some one told me it is MishraPahaadi , but for me it was quite close to KuntalavArali , though not kuntalaVArali.

Murugaboopathy was very good . I especially liked when he played during violin returns after allowing the ghatam artist to play for some time in the return. MA krishnaswamy definitely lifted the concert .He communicated and drew a clear raagam boundary , always presented with a jeeva swaram in all the raaga maligai teasers of Suryaprakash .

Overall an excellent concert , particularly Neraval manodharmam in an open throated Sarvalaghu of the main krithi was outstanding to me.

[rajeshnat]

Gayathri Venkataraghavan@SKGS on 01 September 2005
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Accompanying were Padma Shankar - Violin , Delhi Sayeeram -- Mridangam .

I was very late , missed the first 45 minutes(first 4 songs) of the 2 and 1/2 hour concert. I got the first 4 song list from a fellow rasika.
1. Karuminipa - SahAna - ???
2. Ninne Bhajana - Nattai - Thyagaraja
3. Ini Oru Kanam - Sriranjani - PapanAsam Sivan
4. NaradaMuni - Pantuvarali - Thyagaraja
5. Smara Sadha Manasa Gopalam (R,N,S) - Bilahari - Swati Tirunal
6. Ninnu Sevinchi (R,S) - Yadukula Kambodhi- Subbaraya Sastry
7. Sripathe Nee padhe - Naagaswarali - Thyagaraja
8. Upacharamoolanu (R,N,S and T) - Bhairavi- Thyagaraja
9. Varuvai Varuvai - Raagamaligai (Saaramathi + Tillang + Revati)-???
10.KrishnA Nee Begane - Yamuna Kalyaani - VyasavarAya
11.Jo BachudhAnanda Jo Jo Mukunda - KarnAtaka KApi?? - ????
12. Mangalam

The Bilahari alapanai was quite good . The Neraval was nice and the swarams were average to me . When she particularly sings a krithi in the raagams that have rich Bhaavam , I like a lot . YadukulaKambodhi raga alapanai and swarams were very moving and excellent.The popular Bhairavi krithi was presented in an immaculate fashion , particularly the Neraval "Kamitha Palamu" just suited her rich voice strength . Swarms were also good . In the ragamaligai , I particularly liked the tillang and Revati very much. The last in the karnataka kapi gave a good finish to the concert . NaagaswarAli and YamunaKalyAni were average to me !!!To whatever extent I listened ,She gave a very good concert.

Delhi Sayeeram(IIRC ,he is sishya of Tiruvarur Bhaktavatchalam )was very good,not overbanging at all . Padma Shankar gave a good support .

[rajeshnat]

Mambalam Sisters@NGS(Mini Hall) on 04 September 2005
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Accompanying were Hemlatha - Violin , Kallidakurichi Sivakumar -- Mridangam and Kanjira - KS Rangachari.

IMHO,THe best of excitements in carnatic music live concerts ,is when you hear new krithis for the first time . Also the excitement gets doubled , when you are little skeptic about the performers to start with. My skepticism was natural as this was my first concert experience of Mambalam Sisters.

This combo happened when Mambalam Sisters sang krithis which were composed by Swami Haridoss giri(I was assuming that Swami Haridoss Giri only sings Bhajans and there may not be much scope for pure carnatic classicism).

1. Vigna Rajam Bhoopasmaye - Begada
2. Gnana Skandam Bhavaye (S) - Reetigowlai
3. Namami Gnana Nanda Gurum (R N S) - Todi
4. Gowri Manohari Kaamakshi - GowriManohari ???
5. Sree Jagadheeswari Raja Raajeshwari - Hindolam
6. Sree Maha Tripura Sundari (R S) - KalyAni
7. Saradha Peeta Nilayam - Sindhu Bhairavi

The singers looked very very promising. The Neraval in Todi was in the lines "Pinakini Nadhi Teera Vaasam". As the concert was just for 1 and 1/2 hours,let me be a plain rasika and reserve the comments for future longer concerts. Incidentally the kanjira artist is their father and the violinst is their sister.

[rajeshnat]

Vijaysiva@Bangalore (Indranagar) on November 09th 2005
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Acccompanied by RK ShriramKumar- Violin, Mannargudi Easwaran- Mridangam and Ghatam - young lad Giri Udhappa????

I had a long standing wish to hear a live concert outside Madras that too in bangalore , I had a chance to try in Bangalore. This was my first experience of also hearing VijayaSiva in a live concert outside of madras.

1. ElaNeepai - Todi - PSI??
2. Vidhulaku Brokeda(N,S)- MayamAlavaGowlai - Thyagaraja
3. Birana Varalicchi(R, N and S) - KalyAni - ShyamaSastri
4. Nee Dayache Rama - yadhukulaKAmbodhi - Thyagaraja
5. Pari Pahimam Para Vasudevam - Jaganmohini - Mysore Vasudevacharya
6. Nadachi Nadachi(R ,S and T) - Kharaharapriya - Thyagaraja
7. Purahara Nandana - HameerKalyAni- Dikshitar
8. RTP- Nattaikurinji
9. Mathada Paredheno Ma Ramaa - Khamas -???
10. Suvakshongham Kumbham(almost every few lines had a Bhaje Sharadham line ) - Raagamaligai -???
11.Vetta Veli Thannil -?? - ??
12. Thillana - Bilahari ??? - ???
13. Tiruppagazh- Hamsanandi
14. Pavamana Mangalam with a small slokham at the end

All songs were little more than good , only Hamsanandhi was below average to me .The excellent piece was the Neraval line in "Kamalagowri Vaageshwari"of Mayamalavagowlai. The Raga alapanai of Kharaharapriya and NattaiKurinji was outstanding . The Nattai Kurinji tanam and Swarams of Kharaharapriya were excellent. IMHO,Particularly the pallavi line of "Sathyananda SaAnanda Nithyananda Govinda" was a carefully taken by Vijayashiva so that every word stayed within Nattaikurinji(try humming).

On the flip side , looked like Vijayashiva should have avoided singing a Jaganmohini as it is so much overlap with MM Gowlai.RKSK faithfully avoided over performing , but just occassional more manodharmam than the singer was just a teaser to inculcate more beauty to the ragam. The ghatam artist a local lad played very well , looked certainly not as a stop gap for a ghatam artist who did not turn up from Madras. Mridangist as usual callibrated well , but today I felt his tani was in little excess to the concert.

If I am a performer , this is what I would learn from this concert

Coming from a lowest to highest

Diction was perfect , which I think almost most would know as he is a student of DKJ.

No sabhash and no bale , just 3 or 4 when exactly the violinist or percussionist deserved , that too at the end .

All the thalams and counts were not loud thumping in his thighs

Perhaps the most important to me,he kept the mike atleast 45 cms away from his mouth.

About the sabha:
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IndiraNagar Sangeetha Sabha was nightmarish for me to find , as there was no address mentioned in the newspaper , but certainly it is a top class sabha .Neatly shaped , excellent acoustics .The soundman was outstanding , he was as faithful as the tambura artist. He never moved out of his seat.

[rajeshnat]

Mambalam Sisters@SKGS on Sept 8th,2005
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Hearing them for the second time . As usual they were accompanied by her sister and father on Violin and Kanjira respectively. Donot know the Mridangist . The krithis they rendered were

1. Mohanam varnam (I was just late)
2. Tulasi Dala Moolache (N S)- Maayamalavagowlai - Thyagaraja
3. Dasaratha Nandana - Asaaveri - Thyagaraja
4. Sesha Chala Nayakam (R N S)- Varaali - Dikshitar
5. Narasimmudu Udaya - KamalaManohari - Mysore Sadashiva Rao
6. Durga Devi - Navarasa Kannada ??? - HMB
7. Elera Sree Krishna (R S T) - Kambodhi - Thyagaraja
8. RTP in SuddaDhanyAsi with raagamaligai swarams
9. VaamaniyamChalitha Virokhya ??? - Bhageshwri - Jayadev
10. MuttuKrishna Me Mudam - Shenjurruthi - OVK
11. Slokham - Mishra Sivaranjani - Tukkaram
12. Mangalam

All krithis were good with only the Durga Devi being very average . The Highlight to me was an RTP in suddhadhanyaasi. The pallavi line of RTP was "Govardhana Giri Dhari Murari Ma Pahi" . The Raga alapanai and the swarams in SuddaDhanyaasi and Mohanakalyani swarams were outstanding. However maybe due to my ignorance ,their Bahudaari swaram ended up in my ears as little Hindolamish .The HamsaNandi was average . Also nice to hear few rare ragams like KamalaManohari and rare krithis like Elera Sree Krishna in Kambodhi . Their finish in Shenjurruthi and Mishra Sivaranjani was grand.

One Critical Feedback:
Standard disclaimers apply!!! If a solo carnatic vocalist sings let us assume the average accepted sound of all rasikas is 1X . If two share a platform I would be a fool to expect the same 1X as they both have to sing and not murmur (In tamil they sing Munagardhu). The sisters were consistently 2 X . Though Krishna Ghana sabha has to take a lot of blame , but still for me not just the mm gowlai , even asaveri sounded too loud . That to me looks like there is an excess vocal amplification. Somewhere close to 1.5 X is great to me. But nevertheless a very good concert and a selection of fairly not that easily heard krithis is very much appreciated !!!

Has anyone heard an RTP in SuddhaDhanyaasi???

[rajeshnat]

Sudha Raghunathan@SKGS on Sept 18th,2005
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She was accompanied by Raghavendra Rao - Violin, SkandaSubramaniam ???- Mridangam && Raman - Morsing

1. vanajakshi(Varnam) - Kalyani -Pallavi Gopala Iyer??
2. Mahaganapathim (S)- Nattai - Dikshitar
3. Mariyada Gataya -Bhairavam - Thyagaraja
4. Dinamani Vamsa (R S)- HariKAmbodhi - Thyagaraja
5. Ma Ramanan - Hindolam - PapanAsam Sivan
6. Shree Vishwanatham Bhajeham - Ragamaligai - Dikshitar
7. Bantureeti Koluvu (NS) - HamsaNAdam - Thyagaraja
8. BalaGopala (R N S T) - Bhairavi - Dikshitar
9. Sinamadayate SeeriVizhade - Bahudaari - Dandapani Desigar
10.RTP - Mohanam
11.Slokham "Jayutu Jayutu Dhevo" - Yamuna KalyAni - ??
12.followed by Bhavayami GopalaBaalam - Yamuna KalyAni - Annamacharya
13.Venkata Chala Nilayam - Sindhu Bhairavi - Purandaradasar
14.Kurai Onrum Illai - Sivaranjani - Rajaji
15.Thillana in Surutti
16. Mangalam

Sudha started with Vanajakshi Varnam which was just ok . Nattai followed with the popular krithi and swarams were done quite well. Bhairavam was average . Harikambodhi alapana was only identifiable when the violinist played , but when sudha sang it appeared to swing from Sankarabharanam to Kambodhi and back(ignorance if any regretted). Swarams was just good and the Hindolam krithi was quite good .Suddha till now was not in best of form and her voice was not shaping at her best

But what came from sudha from the megaragamaligai was stunning. Excellently presented this complex krithi. The brief neraval and quick swaram in Hamsanadam was very good . The Bhairavi alapanai was excellent . An excellent Neraval in Neela Neeradha Shareera" brimmed with lot of bhaavam. The swarams was very good but certainly not as great as neraval.

THe Bahudaari krithi was presented quite well(hearing for the first time) . The best was her RTP in Mohanam . Raga alapanai and Taanam was outstanding . The swarams in mohanam was just very good. However other two ragamaligai swarams in Hamsanandhi (Outstanding) and NattaiKurinji lifted to great heights. The RTP pallavi line was "Madhava Kesava Govinda Hare Narayana Ma Pahi Krishna"

Tukkadas were all good . Started with a slokham "Jayutu Jayutu" in Yamuna KalyAni,ended predictably with Bhavayaami. Sindhu Bhairavi was very good . The popular Rajaji's Kurai Onrum Illai is almost becoming a newly found penultimate mangalam for almost all musicians nowadays. Surutti Tillana was average.

Violin by Raghavendra Rao was very subtle and he played very well, though not sure if he had used the male side of violin as much as female side. Mridangist stroking was good and little feeble till the first half . I especially liked his taanam playing . To give an opinion about Morsing is just above my head!!

OVerall I always like 3 hour + concerts not just for offering more scope to sing , but also provides musicians enough time to recuperate if needed .

The MLV in Sudha is always stunning, especially in her stamina and more importantly her outstanding mega ragamaligai dikshitar Krithi all the way from sreeragam to bhoopalam and back.

[rajeshnat]

Sangeetha Sivakumar@SKGS on Sept 19th,2005
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She was accompanied by ??? - Violin, Nellai Balaji ???- Mridangam

1. Chalamelara(Varnam) - NattaiKurinji-??
2. NinnuJoochi Dhanu Daiti (S)- Sowrashtram - Patnam Subramania Iyer?
3. Devi Brova Samayimidhe - chintamani - ShyamaSastri
4. Nadupai Palikeru (R N S)- Madhyamavati - Thyagaraja
5. Evari Mata (R N S T) - Kambodhi - Thyagaraja
6. Sevikka Vendumayya - Andholika - GopalakrishnaBharathi
7. RTP - MAyaMAlavaGowlai?(may be Jaganmohini) + swaraRagamaligai
8. Hari Tumaro Hara - Darbari KAnada ??
9. Venu Nathava Maadu followed by Yathava Raya(popularized by MLV ) - Basanth Bahaar??? - ???
10. Mangalam

I heard her a month ago in FM radio and was very impressed with her classicism and so I went to hear her for the first time.
She started with the popular NattaiKurinji Varnam(good) and followed with a beautiful sowrashtram piece . The Swarams of Sowrashtram was fast and very nice . She took a Devi Brova Samayamidhe to cool down her pace which was just ok.

An outstanding submain Madhyamavathi Raga alapanai followed and the Neraval in the lines "Ajanu Bhagu Yutha" was fantastic . swarams in Madhyamavathi was just good . The constraint of performing a short concert made her to race immediatly to main krithi, as I assume she also planned to sing a RTP . It was refreshing for me to hear Evari Mata than other krithis of Kambodhi. An excellent Kambodhi alapanai was superb and Neraval in the lines "Bhaktha ParAdhi" was also nice . Swarams in Kambodhi was not that great .

The surprise to me was she singing an RTP in MAyaMAlavaGowlai . The raga bhavam (assuming I have understood Bhavam completely) of MM Gowlai was superb. Taanam was quite short but very comforting to nerves .The Pallavi line "MAya Deetha Swaroopini Nannu Brovave Amba" was superb winding with swarams in KalyAni + Vasantha (lovely) and KarnaRanjani??? . I liked the fact that at the end she did not rush with gallery tukkadas . Both were good,especially the popular MLV's Kanada Krithi was a nice climax .

I would like to hear more to pass a firm opinion , but certainly she has the laya sense and her voice does not appear to shriek as quite a few female voices. I am assuming SKGS double standard of not giving much time to weekday performer as compared to weekend performer was overcome very well by Sangeetha with a richness of carnatic classicism. Mridangist was good , violinist madam was average.

Has anyone heard an RTP in MAyaMAlavagowlai

[melam72]

Has anyone heard an RTP in MAyaMAlavagowlai

TK Rangachari has sung an RTP in Mayamalavagowla, as has Komanduri Seshadri (in an all-Gowla raga concert). Both are available in Sangeethapriya.

Even Abhishek has sung one in MMG, though I don't know if a recording exists.

[Gadolinium]

Smt. MSS has rendered a RTP in mayamalavagowla with a beautiful pallavi line "Mal Marugane Murugane Guhane Umayaal Magane Arul Thiru"

It used to be available in Sangeethapriya, not sure if it still is.

[parivadini]

There is one by S.Rajam too.

[rajeshnat]

Pantula Rama@IITM on Sept 27th,2005
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She was accompanied by MSN Moorthy - Violin, Malekaveri Balaji - Mridangam

1. Vathapi Ganapathim (S) -Hamsadhwani- Dikshitar
2. Naada Loludai (R)- KalyAna Vasantham - Thyagaraja
3. Raaja Raaje Rajithe - niRoshTa -HMB
4. MarivErE dikke Varayya (R N S)- Shanmughapriya - PSI
5. Paluke VEmiNa - Poornachandrika - Thyagaraja
6. Mohana Rama (RST) - Mohanam - Thyagaraja
7. Naan Oru Vilayatu - Navarasa Kannada - Papanasam Sivan
8. Tillana (Geethu Dhurithu) - Dhanashree - Darbari KAnada
9. Mangalam

Went to hear pantula Ramaa for the first time . She sang a good Vathapi Ganapathim with very good swarams . Outstanding KalyAnaVasantham alapanai , with a very good and short krithi followup . Felt she could have gone with swarams also . The popular HMB NiRoshTa was sung very well with a very racy swarams at the end . Overall till this point I thought she had the ability to control and sing quite well restraining from shouting .

IMHO,that restraint did make me feel that she did not go enough to upper sthayi for a ragam like Shanmughapriya (apologies if I am incorrect) . Nevertheless the swarams in Shanmughapriya and the neraval in the lines "Sannutanga Shree Venketeasa " was quite good . Poornachandrika was average to me . Mohanam ragam and the song rendition was very good . However her swarams in Mohanam was just ok to good . Certainly did not dwell on the entire beauty of Mohanam and there was little restraint here too . Sivan's Naan Oru Vilayatu was ok . Dhanashreee tillana provided a small shock to me (hey, the concert was only for 1 hour and 45 minutes) . So that shock made me focus very little away from the dhanashree tillana .

OVerall her voice is rich and there were quite lovely brighas especially in niRoshta and Hamsadhwani . It reminded me a lot of MLV amma . Violin was very good , though it was little scratchy in mohanam return . Balaji is one Mridangist who is improving a lot . His use of both hands in the percussion support was excellent in all songs and lifted the concert. Top class auditorium.

One thing I did not like:
The concert was scheduled to start at 7:15 pm . Instead it started at 7:40 pm . The concert ended at 9:25pm . When I walked out of the concert hall asked one guy why was the concert short , that guy replied that she is going to Madurai . I cannot validate any of that statement, but always would be nice if Pantula Ramaa had explained why she is either late or leaving early to the audience (I am assuming the concert was not scheduled for 1hour and 45 mins, may be some organizer in IIT can clarify on that).

[rajeshnat]

Gayatri Girish@Freedom Hall on Oct 2nd,2005
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She was accompanied by Sanjeev - Violin, Tiruvarur Vaidyanathan- Mridangam and Anirudh Athreya - Kanjira

The theme of the Mudra concert "One Raga , One Krithi and Tukkadas". The raga elaborated was KalyAni.
1. Gnana Nanda Mayam - short slokham in KalyAni
2. Raaga Alapanai in KalyAni for 40 minutes
3. Violin Return for 12 minutes
4. KamalAmbAm Bhajare -(N, S, T) - Dikshitar
5. Tani

Tukkadas were
6. Payumoli Nee Enakku - Raagamaligai- Subramania Bharathi
7. Irakkam Varamal - BehAg- Gopalakrishan Bharathi
8. Bhajan (Vasemera Mainame Nandlala???) - Raagavardhini ??- ???
9. Ponnar Meniyane - Senjurruti - Sundarar
10.Tillana "RanganAtha Bhavani Seivai" - Candrakowns -???
11.PavamAna

About her Kalyani :
Gayathri Girish started a very brief slokham and continued with her clear,non repetitive KalyAni alapanai . She definitely gave a superb alApanai . Violin return was just ok . I have a liking to this ragam depending on the krithi that is handled . The best to me is VasudevayAni and the other side of the spectrum to me is krithi like Endukku Nee Manasu . But nevertheless KamalAmbAm Bhajare stays more towards VasudevayAni , so my mood was more receptive.

She presented this krithi with a clear rendition of the sAhithyam , also my first experience of hearing the neraval in the lines "MAnasa KamalAmbAm Bhajare" was very good . The swarams were quite good to start , but just when I thought she was ending the swarams with not much detail , she gave a superb surprise of taking the rudra chakra and detailing swarams in all the other 5 melakartha ragas of that chakram. Her rishabapriya , lathaangi and CitrAmbari(very short) were very good, but her VachAspathi and Kaantamani were average . Her swaram went back to a more detailed kalyAni , but there was little excessive Kanakku which IMHO , played little spoilsport to her overall KalyANi . Nevertheless after her kanakku, she did give a good finish to kalyAni.

About her Tukkadas :
Her payumoli started with Mishra Kamaas , KalyAna Vasantham, AmirthavarShini and SindhuBhairavi,but however her manodharmam did take a little beat during the transition as she was referring the notes . BehAg and Senjurruthi was good . Her Bhajan was just ok . The best tukkada to me was her Tillana in Candrakowns.

About the Accompanist
The tonal quality of violin was significantly poor, possibly he only had a main KalyANi to adjust and I am assuming it was not done on time . Mridangist was quite supportive with clear strokes and did guide the young lad on Kanjira , but somewhere in the middle of the concert ,one audience suggested little excess volume to the mridangist and that did partially negated the the concert as a whole. Tani was just average.

About Mudhra
As I walked out , I could hear the singer thanking Mudhra for providing a platfrom for detailing the raga . Just one vent , they should also publish the rAgam in newspaper prior to the concert. Overall a very good kalyAni and an average tukkada concert.

[rajeshnat]

Due to paucity of time earlier in July could not post . Will continue from now on.

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TN Seshagopalan@SringeriTemple(Madras) on Oct 11,2005
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Whenever I hear TNS , I always have one uncertainity and one certainity in my mind. The uncertainity is whether his voice would be in form and the certainity is his encyclopediac vidwat will give me an experience of a brand new krithi (in a live concert) or an unknown raga. His voice was in great form and he was accompanied by V L Kumar on Violin and Mridangam by MS Varadhan. All the songs were based on the presiding deity.


1.Sri Raja Mathangi Chamundeshwari - SuddaDhanyAsi-- HMB
2.Short Slokham followed by Sree Shankara Guru Varamu (S)- NagAswaravali ? -- ??
3.Mathe Maragada (RS)- KhamAs- HMB
4.Mamava Sada Janani (RNS)- KAnadA - SwatiTirunal
5.Sarasa Dhala Nayane Sharadha Amba- Saramati - HMB
6.Akhilandeshwari (RST) - Jujavanthi - Dikshitar
7.Devi Unnai Saran Adaindhen- SindhuBhairavi - ?
8.Slokham ending with Sarva Mangala Mangalye - Raagamaligai ending with Madhyamavati

TNS gave a great start with the SuddaDhanyAsi varnam, especially his voice in the higher speed was perfect . A short slokham praising Shankaracharya was followed by an excellent krithi . Though I was mistaken NagAswaravali raga for BahudAri (not that used to Nagaswaravali), for a significant portion of the krithi, the swarams were very good . KhamAs alapana was just elaborated in correct measure and the krithi was also good . The swarams in KhamAs were just good.

The best piece was his KAnadA . Alapana and Swarams were outstanding , a perfect blend of melody with exceptional classical purity. The Neraval was in the lines "Amba SAma Ghana??" was very good. Saramati is a usually forgotten raga did turn out to be a good filler . ANother downpour of excellence started with his jujavanthi raga alapana, TNS superbly explored this raga. Swarams was another stellar effort . Sindhu Bhairavi tukkada was very good . The ending slokham was very emotive in appeal.

Violinist was average till KhamAS , but picked up very well from KAnadA . The Mridangist MS Varadhan did give very good support . His Tani was just good. 3 out of 8 were very new krithis to me (KhamAs, Nagaswaravali and Saramati). Looks like I will remember this KAnadA and jujavanthi for a long time. An excellent concert overall.

[rajeshnat]

R Suryaprakash @SringeriTemple(Madras) on Oct 12,2005
=================================================

Accompanied by MA Sundereswaran - Violin , Srimushnam Raja Rao- Mridangam and Vaikkom Gopalakrishnan - Ghatam. As it was heavily raining Had to choose to sit in my house before the idiot box or to goto a concert as it appeared as a great ensemble . Did choose the later,though little dissapointed as the concert started 45 minutes late as the Mridangist was not on time (understandtably may or maynot be due to rain ???)

1.slokham (Thirumalin Sodhari) - Keeravani --
2.Devi Neeye Thunai Then Madhurai (S)- Keeravani - PapanAsam Sivan
3.SArasaMukhi- GowdaMalhar- HMB
4.Pahi Mam Sree RAja RAjeshwari (RS)- Janaranjani - MAha Vaidhyanatha Iyer
5.Vijayambike (RNS) - VijayaNAgari - HMB
6.Raagam Taaanam and Main Krithi "Maragatha Vallim" (RST)- KAmbodhi - Dikshitar
7.Sringeri Matha Sree Matha - Durga - ?
8.Slokham "Vande Matharam Bhagavathim"- Raagamaligai (BehAg + Darbari KAnadA + Ranjani + SindhuBhairavi + Madhyamavati)
9.Karpagame - Madhyamavati - PapanAsam Sivan

Suryaprakash started with a brief high pitched , open throated slokham . Followed with the popular Sivan Krithi with swarams being excellent . The excellence of the ensembled team was evident from the first krithi. MMI - TVS Baani was very much evident in the populat GowdaMalhar Krithi . A detailed alapana in Janaranjani followed , i could not get that as possibly due to my ignorance of not hearing a alapana of Janaranjani. The Swarams of Janaranjani were just ok.

The best piece was the VijayaNAgari, excellent alapanai and simply stunning return by the violinist . The neraval in the lines "SangIta rUpiNi gaurI " and swarams was outstanding , particularly the gamakam glides by MAS in Parur style did lift the concert . A detailed Kambodhi alapana was followed by Taanam in 3 ragas with superb touches of layam by Srimushnam. Taanam ragas were in Kambodhi (very good)+ Kaapi (outstanding) + PoorviKalyAni (average).When I was expecting Pallavi , Suryaprakash surprised me with a detailed Maragatha Vallim as a main krithi. The swarams was again in the sarvalaghu MMI bAni was very good,though I have heard a better one of Suryaprakash before.

The Durga was a good filler and was just ok. The last slokham was a great finish particularly in DarbariKAnadA. Srimushnam was outstanding , superb sense of anticipation and his Tani was very high in manodharmam . Vaikkom played an excellent tani ,though during the krithi his support was just good. Unfortunately his mike was replaced late. Overall an excellent team effort.

Quick Question
In today's concert , it was a surprise to hear a Taanam followed by Main Krithi . I did ask one of my elderly relative to clarify on this as I was not sure whether the sequence is correct within the tradition of the concert . He said that Semmangudi has even done once for Dakshinamurthe where he preceded with Taanam in five pancharathna krithi ragas and is especially done in Navarathri concerts in Kerala . Is that correct ?

[rajeshnat]

PadmaSeshadri Sisters@TTD,Temple on Oct 18,2005
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Hearing these sisters (Ranjani and Randhini) for the first time. They were accompanied by Melakaveri Krishnamurthy - Violin and Nellai Balaji - Mridangam. Most of the numbers that they sang were new to me

1. ??? - I was Late
2. PranamAmyaham Sri Gowri Sutham (S) - Gowlai - ?
3. Venkata Mudayanai - Bilahari - Nadopasana Sreenivasan(Big surprise to me)
4. Thiru Veetula Mirasi Deva Devudu (RNS) - SuddaDhanyAsi - AnnamAcharya
5. Neekena Daya Raghurama Chandra - KathanaKuthoohalam ??- Mysore Vasudevacharya
6. Kai Kooda Venume Kanda (RNS) - LathAngi - KoteeswaraIyer
7. MayAmma - Ahiri - ShyamaSastri
8. EvarUrA ninnu Vina (RST)- Mohanam - Thyagaraja
9. Narahari Bhesha NarayanA- Soorya ?? - Rukmini Ramani ???
10.BhavayAmi Gopalam - yamunaKalyAni - Annamacharya
11.Tillana - KarnaRanjani - KS Raghunathan . Had lines "Sree Kanchi Kamakshi Madurai Aalum"
12.Mangalam

The best was their Sudda DhanyAsi and Mayamma was at other extreme. The sisters synchronize quite well when it is a fast krithi (KathanaKuthoohalam?? and Gowlai), but if the krithis require more alankaram and bhAvam ,they are average (Ahiri and YamunaKalyAni). Lathangi was sung quite well with a good neraval , but the main Mohanam did turn out average .

I appreciate that they took less popular krithis for ragas like suddaDhanyAsi, Mohanam and Lathangi and also composers like Nadopasana Sreenivasan (average Bilahari) ,Rukmini Ramani(Soorya was quite good) and KS Raghunathan (In the tukkadas liked the karnaranjani tillana a lot).Violinist was less than average. Nellai Balaji played quite well for the song , but Tani was average. Overall average concert , but very good in taking rare kriths and composers . Shri TRS , their Guru did bless them in their concert.

On a side note , one singer was singing alapana like ta dA ri na and not ta da ri na, which was quite strange to me.

[rajeshnat]

Smt Vedavalli @NGS (Mini) on Oct 30,2005
----------------------------------------------------

She was accompanied by RK ShriramKumar - Violin and Vellore Ramabadhran - Mridangam. The occassion being described as a Muthuswami Dikshitar Day , predictably all krithis were of of Dikshitar

1. Vathapi Ganapathim (NS)- Hamsadhwani
2. Sri Nathadi Guruguho Jayati (NS) - MaayaMAlavaGowlai
3. Sri Kalahasti (RS) - Huseni
4. SriVidya RAja Gopalam - Jaganmohanam
5. Subramanyena (RS) - SuddaDhanyAsi
6. Ehi Annapoorne- PunnagaVarAli
7. ?SriVamshavathi Sivajuvathi?- ??
8. Raagam Taanam in Shanmughapriya
9. EkAmesha (N,S) - Shanmughapriya
10.PranAthARthi HarAya- SAmanta
11.Slokham in the lines "Naagamithanam Naajatyan Yogam???" - SAveri +SahAna + VarAli +KAnadA + ShreerAgam
12 Shree Abhayamba - ShreeRAgam

Overall the concert was just good . Nice to hear some very rare ragas like Jaganmohanam + Samanta . Perhaps the best to me was that I heard the first live Abhayamba krithi of Dikshitar. Interestingly the Abhayamba Krithi was in manipravalam. All krithis were measured . The swarams of MM Gowlai , rAga alapana of Huseni and the neraval and swarams of Shanmughapriya were little above good .

Shriram kumar provided a very good support , definitely helped the singer at the right time and provided a very soothing support . Vellore Ramabadhran was quite good till first half , but certainly Tani was less than average . Overall this concert was like a smooth sail to me. On a side note , prior to the concert Shri krishnaswamy of NGS talked quite well about Dikshitar .

[vijay.siddharth]

Vamsavathi Shivayuvathi is in the ragam Vamshavathi - the 50th raganga ragam, IIRC

[rajeshnat]

Gayatri Girish @NGS on Nov 15,2005
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She was accompanied by Smt ???(The board mentioned no name) - Violin and Tiruvarur Vaidhyanathan - Mridangam and Umashankar - Ghatam. The occasion was a homage to Harikesanallur Muthiah BhagAvathar by the harikesa trust started by the disciple parambaras of HMB, fittingly all krithis were of of HMB.

1. Gnana Nanda Mayam- Brief Slokham in SuddaDhanyAsi
2. Sri RAja MAthangi- SuddaDhanyAsi
3. Siddi Vinayakam Sevakam - MohanaKalyAni
4. Sharanam VijayaSaraswati (RS) - VijayaSarAswati
5. Giripriyam Gangadharam - Kathana Kuthoohalam
6. Sarasa Dhala Nayane - SAramati
7. Manamu Kavalenu Thalli (RS)- SahAna
8. sharavaNabhavA samayamidirA - Pasupathipriya
9. Meenalochani AmbA - Todi
10.MoovAsai Konda Tirumal (RNST)- Kharaharapriya
11.Raaja Raaja Rajithe - Niroshta
12 Tillana - had lines "Padmanabha DhAsa" - HamsAnandi
13. Mangalam Bhava Tude - PantuvarAli

Yesterday's concert , Gayatri to me showcased of how much she has picked up HMB krithis after undergoing tutelege with Shri TNS. Her Sruthi and layam was little off with this great sudda DhanyAsi piece, made me just feel she is sometimes like TNS , just give her 2 krithis to settle . MohanaKalyAni was quite short but definitely took her to the right shruti track.

The next VijayaSarAswati (created by HMB), was very good, though simply could not notice any difference between SimhendraMadhyamam vs VijayaSarAswati, only because this rAgam was completely new to me . During the swarams , I just felt there was a little tinge of SubhaPantuvarali . Her next Kathana Kuthoohalam was fast , just enough for me to know that there is another krithi other than RaghuvamsaSudha in this rAgam.

SAramati was average . SahAna rAga alapanai was good , but however the krithi and swarams were below average and certainly did not bring the entire charm of SahAna. Pasupathipriya was fast and nice . Her Todi filler was just ok , possibly because it always needs more time .

If the concert's success is generally measured with the main krithi , then she was very good . The alApana was superb covering the entire beauty . Neraval in the lines "Mukundan Ennum Tirumal Munivar Thozhum" was dealt very well with excellent manodharmam. Swarams was quite good , though not completely as detailed as rAga alApanai. Niroshta was nice . I liked the tillana very much and the last krithi in Pantuvarali was quite good .

Violinist madam was average till Kharaharapriya , played quite well for Kharaharapriya. The Mridngist was quite good when the song requires extensive korvai , but particularly during SahAna and SAramati that he was playing little excessively and did suppress the singer's gamakam. A case of what Shri UKS says "Not graduating from Taalam to Krithi to Singer" The Ghatam artist was today just good , most of the times was overshadowed by the mridangist. Tani was quite good .

Overall it was just a ok to good concert in presentation , but certainly to me a nice song list , popularizing many krithis which are generally taken up only during these occasions!!

[rajeshnat]

Suryaprakash@MFAC on Dec 17th,2005
-----------------------------------------------
He was accompanied by Pakkala Ramadass - Violin and Melakaveri Balaji - Mridangam and Umashankar - Ghatam.

I have been attending atleast 2 concerts a week for the last 2 years, but alas the work played a spoil sport for me from Nov 15th forcing me to work in all days till I had a break to what I enjoy the most.Listening live Vocal Carnatic Music

Listening to Suryaprakash always reminds me of only Sarvalaghu and MMI/TVS . But today he gave a different color with a Brindavana Saranga as a main krithi and a Nattaikurinji RTP.

1. Anudinamulanu - Begada - ???
2. SadaNanda Tandavam (R,S) - BahudAri - Achutadasar
3. Amma Ravamma (N) - KalyAni - Thyagarajar
4. Saravana Bhava Guhane -Kannada - ??
5. Soundarajam Asraye (RS) - Brindavana Saranga - Dikshitar
6. ManavyAlakim (S) - Nalinakanthi - Thyagaraja
7. RTP - Nattaikurinji - "Engalathu Nattai Kurinji Enbar"
8. Tani
9. Short Viruttam - Sindhu Bhairavi
9. Sivaperuman Kripai Vendum - Surutti - Papanasam Sivan??
10.Vishweshwaru - SindhuBhairavi - Swathi Tirunal

I was late just to hear the closing lines of Begada . BahudAri raga alapanai was lovely with a characteristic and clear start in the distinct phrase of BahudAri . Krithi was executed in the grand sarvalaghu style with superb kalpana swarams. The Amma Ravamma krithi was quite good with Suryaprakash trying with a very good neraval . Interestingly the Neraval was very elaborate and had some contours of a kalpanaswarams.

The next kannada served as a good filler . Suryaprakash taking Brindavana Saranga was quite a welcome change atleast personally to me. The raga Br Saranga was elaborated in a grand style with a very good krithi and swarams . Nalinakanthi was sung very well with a very nice sarvalaghu swarams

The presssure of a 2 hour concert with the singer deciding to sing an RTP is quite difficult to handle .Suryaprakash handled very well in the raagam , though I felt his taanam could have been little slower . The pallavi line was executed excellently with very good swarams in NattaiKurinji. Just when I was expecting Nattai and Kurinji as the next ragamaligai swarams , the swarams in HameerkalyAni (outstanding) and Surutti (very good) kept me in ecstasy for a while . His customary finish of taking a popular old tamil legendary melody went just ok with me . The viruttam in Sindhu bhairavi went well and the popular ST krithi was a good finish to the concert. Suryaprakash always exhibits very high manodharmam and looks to me as most of his krithi selection and pallavi swarams in RTP are onspot decision.

The violinist Pakkala ramadass was just average to me. The mridangist Balaji was excellent all thru the concert ,excellent usage of both sides of mridangam. The Ghatam artist was just good .

[rajeshnat]

Malladi Brothers@BGS on Dec 17th,2005
-------------------------------------------------

Malladi Brothers was accompanied by Mysore Manjunath- Violin , Mri - Trichy Sankaran and Ghatam -Suresh
Till about last year , I did not care to have any preference on the percussionist when attending any concerts . But of late with a feeling that 50s and 60s is a special era of CM having crept in , longing to listen to Trichy Sankaran in a live concert was the main pull for me to go to this concert .

1. Era Napai - Todi -PSI
2 VAta Venkatatimata Varan Dhaivamu (S)??? - Vasantha ?? - Annamacharya??
3. evarikai avatAram ettitivO (R,S)- devA manOhari - Thyagaraja
4. Ninnu Vina Gatina - bAlahamsa - Mysore Sadhasiva Rao
5. Arunachala NAdan ?? - SAranga -???
6. Ksheenamai Tiruga (R N S T) - MukhAri - Thyagaraja
7. Idhadhu PAdam Thooki - KhamAs - Papanasam Sivan ??
8. Slokham "Sree RAghavan Dasarathmajam" - KApi
9. Janaki Ramana - kApi - VanamAlai Jeeyar
10. Sarvam Brahmam Mayam (R) - Madhuvanti -???
11. Mukthi Mukhundhedhi ??? -Senjurutti - NArayana Theerthar

The concert started with an excellent todi piece . The swarams in the Vasanta was lively with both brothers , even though I found the krithi very average . The rAga alapani of devamanohari was nice though had a lot of traces of MadhyamAvati . The swarams for this krithi were again nice with traces of madhyamAvati. The balahamsa krithi dipped the concert quality a little . SAranga was quite nice , but felt it could have been elaborated little more


The best piece of the concert was the MukhAri . The alapana was lovely with no traces of bhairavi . The icing in the cake was the neraval and the first half of the swara prasthanam . It looked to me these brothers had a game plan to use the laya brilliance of Sri Trichy Sankaran . This particular krithi with Trichy Sankaran just reminded me of the famous SSI 1960 concert.

What followed after MukhAri was tukkadas which appeareed to me more like I have another kutcheri tomorrow , i have to wrap it up soon . Having got a prime evening slot with time at their disposal ,I felt the brothers could have given an RTP or an elaborate viruttam. Their Madhuvanti was lovely though it looks like their krithi Sarvam Brahmam Mayam is too repetitive (in the last 3 years , almost all concerts I hear the same krithi)

Mysore Manjunath played quite well , expecially in Mukhari. The day's best was sri Trichy Sankaran's layam . Fantastic Tani with so much of imagination and almost no repetition . His play during the Neraval of Mukhari kept me so engaged and to me he was subtlely pushing brothers to deliver more and more neraval and swara prasthanam. If excellence breeds excellence , than to me Ghatam Suresh fitted very well .

[rajeshnat]

I also made this post some time during end of 2006 in some other thread - Just recycling that part alone

----------------------------------------------------------------------

I dont remember hearing trichy sankaran in a live concert in 80's and 90's till I went to Malladi Brothers(Trichy Sankaran was the mridangist) concert on Dec 17th,2005.I posted the concert review in sangeetham.com. One interesting incident involving Trichy Sankaran(I did not post in sangeetham then)...

The concert was held in sivagami petachi auditorium in alwarpet. I had a good feeling of sound adjustment, certainly it was little loud as Malladi brothers + Trichy Sankaran + Ghatam Suresh , all are good aggressive artists. Some time during the end of third krithi evari kai in devamanOhari , one gentleman ( Television personality who is known to give good voice to lot of documentaries )walked all the way from the center to the dias and said " Sahitya is completely supressed by pakkavadhyam."

The malladi brothers tried to call the soundman who came down from the first floor (where I was sitting) to the dias and did some adjustments. Totally 10 to 15 minutes lost , felt like Trichy Sankaran was unnecessarily redcarded .

Trichy Sankaran face was furious , he did not utter a word and let Malladi Brothers handle it . For the next 2 songs (balahamsa + saranga), the tiger(Trichy Sankaran) was little less aggressive. I felt "O My God , I came to hear Trichy Sankaran(India's top mridangist brain drained to North America ). Another rasika who had his private reason went like Sankharabharanam Somayajulu "Sharadha" and killed my expectation."

Then Malladi Brothers then sang Ksheenamai as a main krithi . The Laya specailist must have felt a SSI experience and gave a scintallating support for the main krithi and Tani and was ably supported by Ghatam Suresh. At the end of the concert(too much rain outside), I overheard Trichy Sankaran telling I have a duty to duly support the singers , even though I was angry I had to keep calm.

[rajeshnat]

Saketraman@SKGS on Dec 18th,2005
---------------------------------------------

Accompanied by Mridangist- Trivandrum Balaji and Violin - Satishkumar

Heard for the first time Saketraman in a live concert .
1. Arunodayame Anbin (RS, S)- Bowli - ???
2. Orajoopachu (RS,S) - kannadagowlai - Thyagaraja
3. Kandan Seval Anro (R)- Nattaikurinji - LGJ
4. Manasuloni (R,S)- Hindolam - Thyagaraja
5. Paramukhamelera ?? - Surutti - Thyagaraja ??
6. Yetaunara (RNST) - KalyAni - Thyagaraja
7. Viruttam(Divyaprabhandam??) "Agalu Kille" - Kedaragowlai + Desh + HamsAnandi
8. Srinivasa Tiruvenkata - Hamsanandi - P Sivan

A 1 hour 50 minute concert by Sakethraman was overall excellent . Even though it may be not be fully correct to pass the judgement after hearing only once ,his plus points appear to be his sruthi Suddham . I did not find any deviation in any raga in its pure sense and He appears to me as someone who has immense potential . His best to me was his kalyani alapanai , hindolam swaram and Desh portion of viruttam. Also hearing LGJ krithi was a new experience to me.

Trivandrum Balaji was very good , really adjusting the layam to the singer . Satishkumar got caught up with law of average.

[rajeshnat]

VijayaShiva@MA on Dec 24th,2005
-------------------------------------------
Accompanied by Violin - Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi and Mridangist- P.SathishKumar

1. Viriboni Varnam - Bhairavi- Pachimariyam
2. Sri Nathadi (N,S) - MaayamAlavagowlai - Dikshitar
3. Nee Vada Ravi Kula (RS)- Begada - Thyagaraja
4. O Jagadamba - AanandaBhairavi - ShyamaSastri
5. BrovaBarama(RN) - BahudAri - Thyagaraja
6. KamalAmba(RNST)preceded by a slokham - Todi - Dikshitar
7. RTP - Poorvikalyani "Parama PAvana RAma pApa Vimochana RAma"
8. Viruttam had lines "Sivaperumane Yaan Unai Thodarnthu" - SahAna + DhanyAsi ?? + KAmbodhi
9. Arumarundhu Thani Marundhu Ambalattil Kandane - Kambodhi - ???
10. MAle Manivanna - KuntalaVarAli - ThirupAvai
11. Poovel ???? - Madhyamavathi ??? - ????
12. PavamAna

A very good 2 and 1/2 hour concert.. The elaborate Raaga alapanai of Begada and the MMGowlai bearing DKJ school stamp were easily the best. Todi Alapanai was elaborate but felt the swaraprastharam and Neraval was just good.Having only 1/2 an hour at the end of Tani , the rush of RTP and viuttam within that time did take a certain dip in the overall quality (Looks like this is inevitable for any artist)

Critical comments:
Felt VijayaShiva could have kept the mike little closer .Also today's musician should strive to sing a submain with R, N and S . Having split a submain as two krithis with RS and RN (in today's case Begada and Bahudari) instead of one RNS takes certain extra time which automatically reflects in the reduced time of RTP and viruttam.The accompanist were average!!

[rajeshnat]

TN Seshagopalan@Music Academy on DEC 25,2005
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Accompanied by M.Chandrasekaran- Violin Mridangam -- TK Murthy Ghatam-- TV Vasan

Shri TNS is always a learning musician who tries new krithis and always willing to experiment . Even though I am not sure if he is singing them for the first time , 3 were brand new to me . They were Emani maaTaaDitivO a thyagaraja krithi in TOdi, an RTP in hameerkalyani , and an yadhukulakambodhi krithi which I have not heard

1.Inthachalamu - Begada Varnam
2.Marivere Gati(RS) - Aananda Bhairavi- ShyamaSastri
3.Yevvare RamaiyA- GangeyaBhoosani- Thyagaraja
4.Namoraya Venkataramana ????? - YadhukulaKambodhi - Annamacharya ???
5.Emani maaTaaDitivO (RNST)- Todi - Thyagaraja
6.RTP in HameerkalyAni with raagamaligai swaram
Pallavi line "MAmAyan Madhavan Vaikunthan Sriman Narayanan" was from Tiruppavai
7.Slokham Sayankale ManaAnthe - Raagamaligai in about 7 ragas
8. Tillana - SindhuBhairavi - OVK
9. Pavamana

A typical TNS start with a significant voice problems in Begada . The kutcheri got set with his lovely Aananda Bhairavi , with a very different swarapatterns that I have not heard before. Gangeyabhoosani being rare,I enjoyed that too . YK kambodhi brought in little serene mood to me .

Todi AlApanai was fantastic ,he traversed pretty well in all octaves. Particularly he sang the alapanai in full throated , closed mouth bringing in different contours of the majestic Todi (there were atleast 3 rounds of applauses from crowd). Just when I was expecting a Dikshitar krithi , he sang this krithi Emani maaTaaDitivo which did drive some crowd away, but not the majority who stayed . His Neraval in the line "rAja Virajulu Surulu" was excellent . HOwever excess kanakkus and with Shri TKMurhty struggling to handle the swarams in Todi was not good at all.

The best piece was a HameerkalyAni Taanam , particularly when he sang the second half of Taanam in such great speed , I enjoyed the best. The pallavi was nice with raagamaligai swarams in Subhapantuvarali + ??? + Gowlipantu.

The slokham Sayankale was started in VarAli and when the line "Navarasa Bharathaiyee" was sung , shri TNS showed again his vidwat in quickly singing in atleast eight raagas (Mohanam,Mukhari, KuntalaVarAli, neelambari,Bowli, Bilahari, kaapi and SindhuBhairavi).This exercise in quick succession was well appreciated by the crowd . OVK-Tillana was average.

Tani was ok ,but overall felt the percussionists could have done a better job. Shri MC played very well , though it was little scratchy

2 quick questions:
I am told by an elderly gentleman that the todi krithi was first sung by embar vijayaraghavachariar, someone can clarify.

Has anyone attempted a RTP in hameerkalyAni

[rajeshnat]

Carnatica@ MA on Dec31st 2005/Jan1st 2006
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I was there from 11:05 pm to 1:45 AM, I will be brief in time chronological order. All were roughly 10 to 15 minutes

1. TN Krishnan- his son- UKS -"Swara RAga sudha"-- very average
2. Ramani - Flute - "Dharini Telusokonti"- Very good . Appreciate his sense of urgency in playing quickly , not taking too much time to settle.
3. RK Srikanthan - "Paraloka Sadkarane Manasa"??- PantuvarAli ?? -quite good
4. Bombay Sisters - "Arul Purivay Karunai Kadale"- Hamsadhwani - less than average .
5. OS Arun - "Shyama Shyama Aach Aaye Shyama "- Bhajan - just ok
6. Stroke of midnight- All the musicians assembled and sang "Entharo Mahanu"- pancharatna SrirAgam krithi - It was nice

After this,there was less music and more of a "I am a musician , give me a chance as I have joined"

7. Surprising Rev Jasper Raj - was praying for 10 full minutes . "Let there be peace , no war , no hatred" . I was confused whether I came for music or am I attending a Santhome church mass !!!

8.Malladi Brothers - "AvatAra Raghupathi"- KamAs -ok

9 . Manakkal Rangarajan - "O rangasayee"-KAmbodhi . I wish some one told that he has only 10 minutes and he cannot make it with this long krithi

10. Sikkil Sisters - They took full 5 minutes to set the sruthi . A krithi in the ragam ShyAma was played -- not good at all .

11. Musical Mimicry -- good , appeared far better than the last two .though I wished Carnatica stayed with CM.

12. R Suryaprakash - Good classical carnatic music after about 45 minutes . He sang the popular ragamaligai viruttam "Kodaiyille of sgkittappa" and sang the jonpuri krithi Sattva Guna Bodhan

13. Felt drowsy . I thought Saindhavi was a carnatic singer . Surprising there was no percussionists/ violinist and sang "Mannavan Vandanadi "- old tamil song . perplexed again as to why this song was sung.

.....

Overall Impression as Of Oct 12,2017
-----------------------------------
I wrote another 20 lines way back in Jan 2006 after the above 13 points . I have decided not to post that subjective review of post .

What I wrote then was nothing uncivil , but this thread of mine had so much heat generated then . I recollect few young performing parents came on me , few more musicians also came upon me- this thread turned too uncarnatic .I have also saved in my notepad lot of replies that i did for sashikiran , manakkal sriram , few parents and few other musicians with anonymous ids too , but I guess the artists took it way too personally and just MAY BE MAY BE I should have not written atleast 2 or 4 lines out of these 80 lines .

When you boil the ocean in one post with many artists , you end up having more unimaginable heat .

Thinking about it now on Oct 12 2017
--------------------------------------
Carnatica is still holding now this New Year Mela and If i recollect it right this was held in Music Academy way back in 2006. Now they are holding it in vani mahal. Sashikiran carnatic landscape has changed a lot in these 11 years from 2006 to 2017 , Now Sashi can hold it in vanimahal calling all artists , that performing community is so huge now.He need not have mannavan vandanadi in kalyani he can call one upcoming singer and even ask them to sing kamalAmbam bhajarE , but which artist he has to pickup for kamalAmbAM bhajarE is his problem (As they say for every solution there is a new problem )

[rajeshnat]

Happy 2006 New year to Carnatica and Sashikiran team .

[rajeshnat]

This below post of mine then can be considered equivalent to best of concert season 2005
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TNS:
Attended one MA . Felt always captivated by his music in terms of Vidwat,but in general I find there was little more excess kanakkus which I did not like.

Sikkil Gurucharan:
Attended one MA . I was delighted to hear a Manirangu Aalapanai , but his main KalyAni(IIRC) left me with an impression that there was not much depth in the main krithi

R SuryaPrakash:
Incidently had 2 chances to see his concert . One at MFAC and the other at MA . Both were poles apart, I agree with one of the posts that his accompaniments @ MA did let him down

Aruna Sayeeram:
I attended one at SKGS and other at NCA . Her tukkadas are clearly encroaching the main classical part . I just wish she brings more focus to pure classical music than going with the gallery

Malladi Brothers
Had attended only one at Sivagami auditorium .Usually they balance very well, but that day I did not feel the same

VijayaSiva:
Liked his music at MA a lot . He looked more classical than others atleast for me

Sakethraman (my first concert of him)
Just one at SKGS . He is very good in my opinion and he is excellent in his srutthi suddham.

Overall my workplace moved 2 kms away from the sabhas when compared to last year , A small 2kms is a giant leap for me that forced me to miss a lot of concerts,as traffic jam encroached not just the MM Gowlais and NAttai , but went upto PantuvarAli and sometimes made me land in Tani .

[rajeshnat]

KJ Yesudas@NGS(Abbas Prabhat) on Jan 14th,2006
---------------------------------------------------------------
Accompanied by MahadevaSharma - Violin , HariKumar - Mridangam and Vaikkom Gopalakrishnan - Ghatam.
It looked like Saturday , Jan 14th was a rest day for almost all musicians@chennai. with Only KJ Yesudas singing , the curiosity to hear him after a long time pulled me to the concert.

1. Missed that ??
2. Sri Mahaganapathe Ravatuma (R,N,S)- Gowlai - Dikshitar
3. Pavana Guru - Hamsanandi - LalithaDasar
4. Manavini Vinuma (R,S) - JayanArayani -Thyagaraja
5. Mamavatu Sri Saraswati - Hindolam - Mysore Vasudevacharya
6. ApparadhaMula (R,S)-Lathangi - PSI
7. Sri Ranga Pura Vihara (R, S)- Br Saranga - Dikshitar
8. Kanna Thanri NAppai - Devamanohari - Thyagaraja
9. Muddu Momu Yena (R N S T)- Sooryakantham - Thyagaraja

and

10. Sabari Malayil - AnandaBhairavi - ???
11. Enna Solli Devan Anbai (christian devotion) - ???
12. AlaiPAyudhe - KAnada - OVK
13. Enna Varam Ketpen NAne - ???
14. Amaidhiyai Taruvai Andavane - Aahir Bhairav ???
15. Hariharasanam - Madhyamavathi
16. Surprisingly Pramadhavanam Vendum -- From the film "His Highness Abdullah"
17. Gangaiyil Pirankinradhu Himayamalai , Pambaiyal Pirankinrathu Sabarimalai-- ???
18. Slokham - Kaapi + ???- ???
19. Pavamana

Pluses of the concert:
1. I liked shri KJY trying some rare ragas like JayanArayani.
2. I have never had a chance to hear a main krithi in the raagam Sooryakantham.
3. The percussionist HariKumar was very good.
4. The Violinist and Ghatam artist provided average support.


Negatives of the concert:
1. His Neraval in both Gowlai and Sooryakantham had very little shade of the respective ragams.
2. His Swara patterns were very difficult to comprehend and map it to the original rAgam .It was a mixed veg soup.
3. Just because of one rasika walking and asking a film song "Pramadhavanam Vendum (a lovely song though)", should KJY sing in a cm concert.
4. KJY does have a habit of talking during concert .The first was ok which was delivered at the end of Hindolam .He said he sang this krithi in 1957 to get a gold medal and he attributes all his success to his dad who wanted to him fight and learn CM, despite his religion .He also attributed that Guru Bhakthi is important and thanked chembai, SSI and Kumaraswamy.

THe second interruption was his justification of him using a device resembling laptop to render krithis at the end of Brindavana Saranga .He was honest to accept that he was more comfortable singing with the device , than being stumped without. But if the justification was for just few songs it was ok, to refer every song and every sangathi was not right at all.

[rajeshnat]

TM Krishna@Ramana Kendra on 15th Jan 2006
--------------------------------------------------------
Accompanying Krishna were Varadarajan- Violin , Guruvayoor Dorai--- Mridangam and BS Purushotaman--Kanjira

1. Sarasijaksha Ninne Kori - NAyaki - ?
2. Sri Mathrubootham (R S)- Kannada- Dikshitar
3. DalachinaVAru - Dhanyasi - SubbarayaSastri
4. Dinamani Vamsa (RS)- HariKambodhi - Thyagaraja
5. Vinave O Manasa - Vivardhini - Thyagaraja
6. PankajaLochana(RNST) - KalyAni - SwatiTirunal
7. Namo Ramanayave - Mukhari - ???
8. Mangalam

Update as of Oct 25,2017
------------------------------
I did not save the review then in my notepad, only have the song list . All i recollect now was there was a speech by Doordarshan Natarajan prior to the start of the concert .He praised TMK particularly for dalachina vAru in dhanyasi . Possibly TMK sang that number after doordarshan natarajan spoke .Incidentally the combination of S varadarajan and TMK has gone out of circulation .