First we heard Pandit Bhajan Sapori playing the santoor on AIR 100.1FM Amruthavarshini. He plays with a real personality. He produces effects like a veena. Deep, accented, notes, not the mere trill of struck strings cascading like little unfragrant flowers, but like blooming lotuses and fragrant jasmine flowers like this one in our garden:
Then they played an album of VID. T. M. Krishna. They announced that the accompanists were Sri. M.S. Sundareshwaran and Sri. Mannargudi Eswaran.
There was this lovely Venuganaloluni. It seems to be from a different avatar of Krishna, full of devotion, to a Krishna who has been described so beautifully by the Bard. I was transported. Then came a Bhairavi. Lalithe Sri Pravriddhe. Sung with the verve of Semmangudi and the intonation of Bhagavatula. Excellent. Then came a Lailtha raga and Hiranmayeem. I cannot describe the singing. It was other-worldly. Krishna gave me one of the most cherished musical experiences of my life.
There was a lot of applause. Seems to have been a live recording. I think the tracks might have been complied from different sessions with different accompanists.
What would I be without the radio? In many ways, illiterate. What would I be without music? A famished bag of bones without any flesh and blood. What would I be without experiencing the bliss of this soul-stirring music, given to me generously, by so many great musicians? A mere creature, soul-less.