Prince Rama Varma at Dubai 1st June 2018 - Annamacharya Aradhana

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

Prince Rama Varma at Dubai 1st June 2018 - Annamacharya Aradhana

Post by nsridhar22 »

Prince Rama Varma gave a concert at Dubai after a workshop of 3 days. It was billed as Annamacharya Aradhana and he rendered few less heard krithis (by me) of Annamacharya. His concert was very nice with a short explanation of each krithi and it meaning which enhanced the listener experience. List of krithis and details will follow.

Prince Rama Varma - Vocal
Avaneeswaran Vinu - Violin
Dr G Babu - Mridangam
Amrith Kumar N - Morsing

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

Re: Prince Rama Varma at Dubai 1st June 2018 - Annamacharya Aradhana

Post by nsridhar22 »

Annamacharya Aradhana

Prince Rama Varma - Vocal
Avaneeswaran Vinu - Violin
Dr G Babu - Mridangam
Amrith Kumar N - Morsing

1. Indhariki abhayamu - Harikambodhi
2. Maaya Mohamu - Asaveri tuned by Dr M Balamuralikrishna
3. Jayalakshmi Varalakshmi - Kamavardhini tuned by Smt Sarala m/o dancer Swapnasundari S@pallavi
4. Veggalimtha vriddha vriddha - Nagavarali tuned by Dr M Balamuralikrishna
5. Narayana They Namo Namo - Behag Raga tuned by Dr M Balamuralikrishna, alapana, swaras and thani
6. Ekkadi manusha janmam - ?? - Pedda Thirumalacharya
7. Rama Rama ena Radha - Sindhu Bhairavi - Prayaga Ramadasa, grandfather of Dr M Balamuralikrishna
8. Thillana - Ahir Bhairavi - Dr M Balamuralikrishna
9. Sri Rama Nee Namamu - Shankarabharanam - Kaiwara Amara Nareyana tuned by Dr M Balamuralikrishna


The concert was held at Indian Consulate, Dubai and was presented by Music India, Dubai. This program was preceded by performances by local artists and the program could commence only by around 7.45 pm. I learnt later that this program was conclusion after a 3 day workshop which was conducted by Prince Rama Varma at Dubai.

This was the first live concert of Prince Rama Varma for me even though I have heard his recordings on Youtube and also some of the Navaratri Mandapam concerts by him. Prince Rama Varma briefly explained about the history of Annamacharya krithis and explained that they were first discovered on copper plates in the 1940's at Tirupati. Prince Rama Varma made it clear that he would like to explain the meanings of the lyrics which was a nice gesture by him. Each song was preceded by his explanation of the krithi and this explanation truly enhanced the listening experience to appreciate the krithi more than just the music. The concert had krithis predominantly of Annamacharya and one krithi of Annamacharya's son Pedda Thirumalacharya. The last 3 krithis were rendered with a very active participation by the audience which consisted of the people who attended the 3 day workshop earlier and these krithis were taught by Prince Rama Varma during the workshop. The active participation by the audience made a huge impact and created an entirely different atmosphere in the auditorium.

1. The first krithi taken up was Indhariki Abhyamu which Prince Rama Varma explained contains the description of all the 10 Avatars of Lord Vishnu. But the song is quite short and in simple lines Annamacharya gives out the details of all the 10 Avataras. This was set to a folk tune based on Harikambodhi raga.

2. Maaya Mohamu in Asaveri ragam was the second krithi taken up which has a philophical meaning. This krithi was set to tune by Prince Rama Varma's guru Dr M Balamuralikrishna.

3. Next krithi taken up was Jayalakshmi Varalakshmi in Kamavardhini (Pantuvarali). Prince Rama Varma explained that this song has been set to tune by Smt Sarala, the mother of the famous dancer Swapnasundari. Elaborate Swarams were rendered at the Pallavi phrase of Jayalakshmi Varalakshmi by Prince Rama Varma especially a few swaras going into Thara Sthayi. Avaneeswaran Vinu reproduced the swaras rendered. At the end of this Prince Rama Varma recalled an anecdote of his grandmother's guru Sri Harikeshanallur Muthaiah Bhagavathar (who did not know english) reproducing a page of english which was read by a couple of Brithishers on the train. He remarked that in his young age he could not believe that such a feat was possible. He said that with his experience with Avaneeswaran Vinu, he now knows that it is possible as Avaneeswaran Vinu generally reproduces whatever the singer renders. He said it was only with support with such artists, it was possible for him to present such thematic concerts.

4. Veggalimtha Vriddha Vriddha in Nagavarali which is a krithi again tuned by Dr M Balamuralikrishna was rendered next. Prince Rama Varma explained beautifully the raga swarupa of this raga by comparing it to Thodi ragam without Gamakas. He repeated the name of raga like Dr M Balamuralikrishna would do. He also explained that in the lyrics when it talks of the increase, the swaras are in ascending order and when it talks of decrease, the swaras are in descending order.

5. Prince Rama next took up the main piece in raga Behag the krithi Narayana They Namo Namo which was one of the first krithis of Annamacharya tuned by Dr M Balamuralikrishna. Prince Rama Varma pointed out an incredible feature of this krithi. He said even though Annamacharya krithis were discovered in 1940's only and then popularised, this particular krithis were being rendered at the Navaratri Mandapam (Where only Maharaja Swathi Thirunal krithis are rendered) as a part of the Thodaya Mangalam by the Mullamoodu Bhagavathar (in a different raga) for the past 200 years. One additional information that I can add is that this krithi is part of the Thodaya Mangalam of the Bhajana paddhati also. Raga alapana was rendered with swaras and followed by an excellent round of Thani Avarthanam by Dr Babu on Mridangam with local Morsing artist Amrith Kumar N.

6. The next krithi taken up was Ekkadi manusha janmamu. Prince Rama Varma mentioned that even though this krithi is credited to Annamacharya, actually the krithi was by Annamacharya's elder son, Pedda Thirumalacharya. I do not know the raga of this song (Bhowli??), but the song sounded similar to the popular version of Bhagyada Lakshmi Baramma rendered by Pandit Bhimsen Joshi.

7. The last 3 krithis presented were covered by Prince Rama Varma in his 3 day workshop and the audience which consisted of the participants from this workshop enthusiastically participated and it was a group singing of these 3 krithis. The group singing created an entirely different atmosphere and transformed the whole mood in the auditorium.

Overall an excellent performance by Prince Rama Varma with quite a lot of rare krithis of Annamacharya (at least for me). His explanation of the krithi at the beginning before the rendition of the krithis was really superb. He came across as a very simple person and has a technique of putting people at ease with his humour which came across clearly during his explanation of the krithis. Excellent support was provided by Avaneeswaran Vinu, Dr Babu and the local artist Amrith Kumar N on the Morsing. Even though the violin and mridangam artists are regular accompaniments to Prince Rama Varma in many concerts, the combination with the local Dubai Morsing artist was very good.

It was worth spending the time to drive down from Abu Dhabi to Dubai to listen to this concert

rajeshnat
Posts: 9907
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 08:04

Re: Prince Rama Varma at Dubai 1st June 2018 - Annamacharya Aradhana

Post by rajeshnat »

How long was this concert , thanks for your review nsridhar22. Please do cover more from that belt.

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

Re: Prince Rama Varma at Dubai 1st June 2018 - Annamacharya Aradhana

Post by nsridhar22 »

Thanks for the reply Rajeshnat. It was approx 2 hours. It started only around 7.45 pm and went upto 9.50 pm. From 6 pm onwards it was local group of artists performing krithis of Annamacharya and by the time the main concert started it was 7.45 pm. I had reached by 7 pm.

The organisers announced that they would be uploading some clips on YouTube. Will share the link if I get them. Prince Rama Varma personally requested someone to record the last 3 songs which the audience joined with him and has promised to upload these 3 songs on his YouTube link also.

Though I was aware of rasikas.org and had been a member since more than 13 years, I was not at all visiting the site and forgot my old login. I created a new login in April and am savouring the reviews posted in this forum and have heard 3 to 4 concerts which have been reviewed here. I am also planning to listen to quite a few of the concerts reviewed here.

Will try my best to cover the concerts in Dubai/Abu Dhabi that I attend based on my limited knowledge.


Sivaramakrishnan
Posts: 1582
Joined: 02 Jan 2010, 08:29

Re: Prince Rama Varma at Dubai 1st June 2018 - Annamacharya Aradhana

Post by Sivaramakrishnan »

Thanks sridhar for the nice, sincere review.
Sri Varma is undoubtedly one of those very few artists who could take the audience along - from start to finish, not to say of thematic concerts which are his forte. His enviable grip over the various genres of music and command over many languages makes him a true descendant of the Swati Tirunal parampara.
I would however reiterate my request to the Prince to promote Veena music too, utilising his proficiency in the art.

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