G. Ravikiran at Ragamalika, Abu Dhabi

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nsridhar22
Posts: 39
Joined: 28 Nov 2017, 18:36

G. Ravikiran at Ragamalika, Abu Dhabi

Post by nsridhar22 »

Pradosham, Abu Dhabi and its cultural wing Ragamalika organised its annual music festival Swara Raga Sudha 2018 on 3rd and 4th May 2018 at Abu Dhabi.

G Ravikiran performed the second major concert, on 4th May morning. Concert details are

Vocal - G. Ravikiran
Violin - HN Bhaskar
Mridangam - NC Bharadwaj
Ghatam - S Krishna

Krithis rendered were:

1. Valachi Vachi - Navaragamalika - Patnam Subramania Iyer
2. Srikanthanee - Bhavapriya - Thyagaraja
3. Sri Mathrubhutham - Kaanada - Muthuswamy Dikshitar
4. Paripalaya Maam - Reethigowla - Swathi Thirunal
5. Vachama Gocharame - Kaikavashi - Thyagaraja
6. Sri Vishwanatham Bhajeham - Chathurdasha Ragamalika - Muthuswamy Dikshitar
7. Nenarunchi Naanu - Malavi - Thyagaraja
8. Kamalambam Bhajare - Kalyani - Muthuswamy Dikshitar
9. Chinnanchiru Kuyile - Ragamalika - Subramanya Bharathi
10. Muddugare Yashoda - Kurinji - Annamacharya
11. Jagadhodharana - Kapi - Purandaradasa
12. Mangalam

G Ravikiran started off superbly with the Navaragamalika Varnam followed by a brisk Srikanthanee in Bhavapriya ragam. Then came the krithi of Muthuswamy Dikshitar rendered in Chowka Kaalam Sri Mathrubhutham on the deity of Lord Shiva at Malaikkottai in Tiruchirapalli. Ravikiran then rendered an elaborate Reethigowla raga with lot of feelings and took up Maharaja Swathi Thirunal's Paripalaya Maam for a detailed rendition. Once could see glimpses of GNB in Ravikiran's rendition of this krithi which was also one of the favorite krithis of GNB. Ravikiran next rendered Thyagaraja's Kaikavashi krithi Vachama Gocharame. This is a krithi that is rarely heard in the concert circuits and the recording that I have is only of Veena Doreswamy Iyengar's rendition.

Ravikiran then took up the challenging Chathurdasha Ragamalika krithi of Muthuswamy Dikshitar, Sri Vishwanatham Bhajeham and his Vidwat was completely visible in the easy way he rendered this difficult krithi. The main piece for the morning was Kalyani and Ravikiran explored the Kalyani ragam in detail. Being a friday, a day special for the worship of Ambal and a Dikshitar devotee, Ravikiran took up the grand Navavarna krithi Kamalambam Bhajare. Rendering of Muthuswamy Dikshitar's krithis and his Navavarna krithi in particular puts a lot of demand on the artist as his krithis are all quite long. Ravikiran did full justice to the Navavarna krithi and expounded with Neraval and kalpana swaras. This was followed by Thani Avarthanam and a some popular krithis of Subrahmanya Bharati, Annamacharya and Purandaradasa were rendered. The Gopalakrishna Bharathi krithi was again one of the rarely heard songs.

HN Bhaskar's accompaniment on the violin elevated the concert to a different level. The percussion accompaniment by NC Bharadwaj on Mridangam S Krishna (Kudumi Krishna) on Ghatam was outstanding as they were not very aggressive in their playing and followed the mood of the krithis being rendered. The Thani Avarthanam by these artists was quite energetic and the response they got from the audience indicated their level of performance.

Personally, I was very happy with the way Ravikiran planned his concert with a mix of krithis from various composers, for a very traditional/sampradayam concert and especially for his rendition of the Chathurdasha Ragamalika and the Navavarna Krithi. I hold a special respect for Muthuswamy Dikshitar's Navavarna Krithi and was very happy when Ravikiran accepted my request to render a Navavarna krithi and did full justice to this krithi.

HarishankarK
Posts: 2216
Joined: 27 Oct 2007, 11:55

Re: G. Ravikiran at Ragamalika, Abu Dhabi

Post by HarishankarK »

Thanks for review

Kaikavasi - MSS version and plenty other versions are avlbl in google/youtube including the great Sandhyavandanam Srinivasa Rao himself

HarishankarK
Posts: 2216
Joined: 27 Oct 2007, 11:55

Re: G. Ravikiran at Ragamalika, Abu Dhabi

Post by HarishankarK »

Chinnanchiru kiliye not kuyile

HarishankarK
Posts: 2216
Joined: 27 Oct 2007, 11:55

Re: G. Ravikiran at Ragamalika, Abu Dhabi

Post by HarishankarK »

Which Song of Gopalakrishna Bharati?

HarishankarK
Posts: 2216
Joined: 27 Oct 2007, 11:55

Re: G. Ravikiran at Ragamalika, Abu Dhabi

Post by HarishankarK »

Did this concert happen at the Sudanese Social Club auditorium??

nsridhar22
Posts: 39
Joined: 28 Nov 2017, 18:36

Re: G. Ravikiran at Ragamalika, Abu Dhabi

Post by nsridhar22 »

Sorry, had missed out the Gopalakrishna Bharati song in the listing. It was Irakkam Varamal Ponathenna karanamo - Behag - Gopalakrishna Bharathi and was rendered after the Annamacharya krithi. Rare song as mentioned pertains to my listening which is quite limited.

Yes, the concert happended at the Sudanese Social Club auditorium.

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