Mridangam Arangetram of Karthik Iyer (for vocal of Kum. Sriranjani Santhanagopalan)

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bhavanig
Posts: 2
Joined: 23 Sep 2018, 18:26

Mridangam Arangetram of Karthik Iyer (for vocal of Kum. Sriranjani Santhanagopalan)

Post by bhavanig »

Mridangam Arangetram of Karthik Iyer, student of Sri Ramesh Srinivasan of Sarvalaghu Percussion Art Center held on July 2nd 2018 in Chennai.

The Mridangam Arangetram of Master. Karthik Iyer, student of Laya Kala Ratna Sri Ramesh Srinivasan of Sarvalaghu Percussion Art Center, was conducted on July 2nd 2018, at Tattvaloka Hall, Teynampet, Chennai.

Sri. Ramesh Srinivasan is the leading disciple of Mridangam Maestro Sangita Kalanidhi Shri Vellore G. Ramabhadran. Karthik, aged 13, is a 9th grader in, San Jose, California, USA and has been learning from Sri. Ramesh Srinivasan for over 5 years.


Concert set was as follows: Kum. Sriranjani Santhanagopalan (Vocal), Sri. B. Ananthakrishnan (Violin) and Sri. K.V. Gopalakrishnan (Kanjira). The event was presided over by Isai Peroli. Sri. Neyveli Santhanagopalan as the chief guest, Cleveland Sri V.V. Sundaram as the guest of honor and Santoor Maestro Tarun Bhattacharjee as a special invitee.


Stalwarts such as Vidwan Sri.Vikku Vinayakaram, Vidushi Smt. Charumathi Ramachandran, and upcoming artists like Smt. Vasudha Ravi and many others also graced the occasion and blessed Karthik.

Concert list as follows:
1- Nera Nammithi varnam, Kanada ragam, Ata thalam, Sri. Poochi Srinivasa Iyengar
2- Vatapi Ganpathim, Hamsadhwani ragam, Adi thalam, Sri. Muthuswamy Dikshitar
3- Nijamunnai Nambinen, Bilahari ragam, Kanda Chapu thalam, Sri. Papanasam Sivan
4- Pakkala Nilabadi, Karaharapriya ragam, Misra Chapu thalam, Saint. Thiagarajar
5- Raghuvamsa Sudha, Kanakakutoohala ragam, Adi thalam, Sri. Patnam Subramania Iyer
6- Main - Parama Pavana Rama, Poorvikalyani ragam, Adi thalam, Sri. Poochi Srinivasa Iyengar
7- Oru Pozhudhu (Thirupugazh), Begada ragam, Santha thalam, Saint. Arunagirinathar
8- RTP-Begada ragam, Santha Thalam
9- Chinnanchiru Kiliye, Ragamalika, Adi thalam, Mahakavi Bharathiar
10- Thillana, Desh ragam, Adi thalam, Sri. Lalgudi Jayaraman
11- Yeppadi Kettal, Bhimplas ragam, Adi thalam, Sri Sri Muralidhara Swamigal

Sharing a review received from an attendee:

The Kaanada ada thalam was just the start you need for a concert to portray a very serene mood. The varnam gets beautified with the Chapu of the Mridangam gracefully matching the Mel Sadjamam. Then followed a mellifluous rendition of the vibrant Vatapi Ganapathim. The whole rendition was at a steady pace and the Hamsadhwani raga soothed the nerves bringing serenity. The kalpanaswarams were elaborate and it was pleasing to hear the nadai changes to thisram for the korvais. Karthik sensed the Nadai changes keenly along with the Kanjira artist . Then the vocalist performed a crisp Nijammunnai Nambinnen set to Bilahari Ragam. It was an energetic song and the swarams on thisra nadai in kanda chapu was the highlight of the song.

Then came Karaharapriya with the soft flavor of the Raga accentuated by a beautiful Alapana which was not really long; perhaps, the vocalist understood the eagerness of the rasikas to witness the krithi. The phrases used by the violinist during alapana were elaborate asking for more of it. Krithis in ragas like Karaharapriya make one listen to them incessantly especially when the sahityam brings out the essence of the song. Pakkala Nilabadi, the krithi was sung to perfection. The manodharma in the Niraval part engendered the chemistry between the vocalist and violinist.The percussionists did justice in accompanying the song to keep the mood of the song intact. The thani started with two chathushra nadai korvais, followed by thrikalam korvai in chathushra nadai madhyama kalam, thisra nadai madhyama kalam and chatushra nadai mel kalam. This was followed by two-nadai korvai in which the first two repetitions were thisra nadai keel kalam and the third in chathushra nadai madhyama kalam.

Next song was the peppy Raghuvamsa Sudha which raised the energy levels of the concert with its youthful tune rendered with ease by the vocalist. The percussionists adapted to the modulations of the singer by playing with alacrity.

The main song, Parama Pavana Rama started with an elaborate alapana bringing out the essence and aesthetic beauty of the ragam with the violin accompaniment doing justice to the vocalists’ rendition. The manodharmam was rendered with high caliber and quality. The neraval at “kanakambara” was soulfully rendered with the percussionists enhancing the melody appropriately.The thani by the percussionist started with chathushra nadai korvai followed by panchakala korvai (chathushra nadai keel kalam, thisra nadai keel kalam, chathushra nadai madhayama kalam, thisra nadai madhyama kalam and cathushra nadai mel kalam). This was followed by a kanda nadai korvai and misra nadai korvai as well as sankeerna nadai korvai and konnakkol.

The Thiruppugazh was so beautifully sung with very precise pronunciations of the sahitya and brought out a devotional ambience.

The RTP composed in santha thalam was rendered very well by the vocalist with the violinist providing wonderful accompaniment. The vocalist interspersed swarams at varying speeds for an intricate thalam that were aptly handled by the percussionists. The thani rendered for the RTP along with the konnakkol was pleasing.

An artist is a satisfied person if his/her work is rendered by the team in a manner that brings out the essence of the song. The rendition of Bharathiyar’s chinanchiru kiliye was a testimony to this assertion. It was performed to perfection by the musicians with each stanza providing the appropriate mood. Karthik’s accompaniment for this song showed that he understood its meaning by playing with correct sound levels to accentuate the composition.

The desh thillana, as we all know, is such a beautiful thillana and the vocalist sang it with the right oscillations with a spectacular echoing from the violinist. The part where Kanjira alone accompanied the piece kept the audience spellbound and exemplified the mastery of the artist. The song composed by Sri Sri Muralidhara Swamigal about Lord Krishna being invited was a fitting composition to the finale.I think this happened because of the efforts of the musicians on the stage who wholesomely rendered the compositions sincerely and received the blessings of Lord Krishna. This piece transitioned to the Mangalam ending the concert where Karthik and the Kanjira vidwan gave an apt teermanam.

Karthik’s performance, his style of accompaniment following along the close heels of his Guru Sri. Ramesh Srinivasan, and the steady build-up to the momentum of the concert were lauded by the chief guest Sri. Neyveli Santhanagopalan. Sri. Vikku Vinayakram praised Karthik for playing very well to the swarams and being in sync with the mellifluous rendition of the vocalist at all times. Sri. Sundaram praised Karthik for an outstanding performance, for handling the complexities thrown at him with poise and for playing three thanis in his debut concert. All the honorable guests were in praise of Guru Sri. Ramesh Srinivasan for bearing the torch of Sri. Vellore Ramabhadran and for spreading the art of layam to the students in USA. Karthik had an enriching experience in exhibiting his talents and he was blessed to accompany the musical stalwarts Kum. Sriranjani, Sri. Ananthakrishnan, and Sri. K.V. Gopalakrishnan in the august assembly of musical veterans and connoisseurs.

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

Re: Mridangam Arangetram of Karthik Iyer (for vocal of Kum. Sriranjani Santhanagopalan)

Post by HarishankarK »

Bilahari tune is same as Paridanamichite. Amazing composition from PS

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

Re: Mridangam Arangetram of Karthik Iyer (for vocal of Kum. Sriranjani Santhanagopalan)

Post by rajeshnat »

Bhavanig
Thank you for your great review . May i get the pallavi line of the begada rtp. Not many would get a RTP in an arangetram and begada is a tough rtp raga too . I also see for a change begada thirruppugazh followed by begada pallavi- assuming sriranjani just needs that kudos and appreciation. Kudos to Karthik Iyer , may he become as great and be as sought out as his lovely paramaguru nadabadran. Kudos to Ramesh Srinivasan in training 13 year olds and make them concert ready .

bhavanig
Posts: 2
Joined: 23 Sep 2018, 18:26

Re: Mridangam Arangetram of Karthik Iyer (for vocal of Kum. Sriranjani Santhanagopalan)

Post by bhavanig »

Thank you @rajeshnat and @HarishankarK for your kind responses.

Thank you @rajeshnat for your blessings.

The pallavi line for the begada RTP is

"oru dharam Shiva Chidambaram endru sonnal podhum"

I have also provided the YouTube link below.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... 5WFjR8FAxg

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

Re: Mridangam Arangetram of Karthik Iyer (for vocal of Kum. Sriranjani Santhanagopalan)

Post by HarishankarK »

Tiruppugazh is not in begada - it is in Chakravagam raga
Thanks for sharing youtube link
Great concert except that vocalist shortened the alapanais which was disappointing for me because she sings v well

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