Cleveland Aradhana April, 2019

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 23 Apr 2019, 20:44

Sundara Rajan,
Yes, as you say, Deep Sand as he's known to us at Rasikas.org, gave a marvelous concert. In my short December sojourns in Chennai the past few years, I have missed his concerts. Have enjoyed hearing him on You Tube, but it gave me pleasure to hear him in person as it were at Cleveland. BanTu rIti was a pleasing curtain opener. KarNa ranjani from note one was ranjakam to the ear. HMB brings in the bhAva of the rAgA with the very first words--so moving, pleading it is, which Sandeep brought out with feeling. How his sense of bhAva has grown in the last few years! He sang the chittasvara beautifully. Tiruchy Sankaran's playing added grandeur to Sandeep's singing whose tani after an impressive SankarAbharaNam by Sandeep (enduku peddala) was simply great. Sandeep's nAdOpAsana made a big impression. Varunapriya kriti by Kotiswaraiyer was delightful to hear. His tODi , enduku daya rAdura had beautiful svarAs dripping with bhAva.
tani is always tani (a stand out) with Sri.Sankaran. Gopalakrishnan, as usual pleased us with his khanjira playing. Murari is a seasoned violin player, but this concert didn't bring out his merits that much, whereas the duet he played with his father later was delightful to the ear.
Sandeep's smara sundarAnguni sari evvarE had a second sangati which was so appealing...

Sundara Rajan · Post by **Sundara Rajan** » 24 Apr 2019, 02:10

I could hear Mridangam only of Bharat Sundar's concert now at 4:40 p.m. !!!

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 24 Apr 2019, 06:27

It came back soon after, didn't it? Only thing is, I could only hear part of the concert. How was the concert on the whole, from the one among a few front runners?

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 24 Apr 2019, 07:39

Ah, the kids! They gather at Cleveland from every part of North America after learning their songs at home with their assigned teachers, practice rigorously, come to the festival early, and spend many hours to meet and practice what they learnt at home, in order to present it together on stage in Sustainig Sampradaya. No mean feat, and how well they do perform! Without Cleveland, this wouldn't have happened.
Tyagaraja festival was started by a few south indian immigrants to keep the tradition going, in some cities, in a humble way. Also their wanting to listen to 'real' music in person and not on tape recorders alone was the beginning of it all. I don't think we ever dreamt that it would get to this point of becoming a flourishing musical culture where the future generations are also being drawn into it.
Sustaining Sampradaya is Cleveland phenomenon's darling child, and so, the best in the music business in India are asked to get involved in it. Then starts a rigorous exercise for the kids, their parents and teachers here and masters from India. So, Sustainng Sampradaya is no mean achievement...

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 24 Apr 2019, 08:05

The first segment was the concept of the inimitable NSG.
They opened with the kEdAragowLa varNam sAmi daya jUDa softly and flowingly. The mridangams were good, but a tad loud to start with (soon rectified). Then they sang kOri sEvimpa rArE in Kharaharapriya flowingly, flawlessly! In tODi, kali tIrka vandAi murugA by Kotisvaraiyer--a new one for me. Then Bilahari, all of them singing svarAs (toli janma). Then the heavy weight, kAru bAru in mukhAri, investing a lot of bhAva in it. Heartening to see the young mridangists do a very good job there! A pUrvi Kalyani song by SS(?), Sri Sankara guruvaram, enduku peddala and a great tani.. I had to leave post at that time, but the lovely but not easy pieces by any means that I heard made me proud and happy. More singing of choice pieces, I am sure...

Sundara Rajan · Post by **Sundara Rajan** » 24 Apr 2019, 09:32

April 22, 2019. Evening
Neyveli Santhanagopalan and party- MDR Remembrance Concert
1. Started with a Kedara rAga VarNam by MDR 8 min
2. Monday vAra Kriti of Dikshitar- Chandram Baja in raga asAvEri 8 min
I was shocked to note that NS needed to constantly look at the lap top for the lyrics for such a common place composition
3. Own composition, influenced by MDR's composition, in Hamsadwami - pAsabajanamE aruL pAvani & swaram 11 min
4. SarasAngi raga alApana for 7+3 min followed by PattaNam S. Iyer's "manavinchE konavayya"
neraval and swaram at last charaNam at Varada VenkatEsa 12 min
5.AtukAdara in Manoranjani- T's 4 min
6. One of GKB's pancharatnams in Sri rAgamm alApana 8+5 min maRavAmal eppadiyum ninai manamE. Very well presented with raga elaboration, neraval and kalpana swarams. Enjoyed very much- total 20 min.
6a.Thani Avarthanam for 23 min. dominated by two mridamgams (GuruvAyur & disciple)and Ghatam by Vaikom Gopalakrishnan. This song was new to me and I liked the presentation.
7. Slokam: mAtha maragathasyAma followed by MDR's thillana in Kapi raAga.
MangaLam

I very much enjoyed this program except for my disappointment at the senior VidvAn's need to use a lap top for lyrics.

shripathi_g · Post by **shripathi_g** » 24 Apr 2019, 09:44

"4. SarasAngi raga alApana for 7+3 min followed by PattaNam S. Iyer's "manavinchE konavayya"
neraval and swaram at last charaNam at Varada VenkatEsa 12 min
5.AtukAdara in Manoranjani- T's 4 min
6. One of GKB's pancharatnams in Sri rAgamm alApana 8+5 min maRavAmal eppadiyum ninai manamE. Very well presented with raga elaboration, neraval and kalpana swarams. Enjoyed very much- total 20 min."

I don't get how this is a MDR remembrance concert. This is just a regular concert except maybe for the Sri elaboration. An MDR remembrance concert would have included some of his trademark krithis like Amba Kamakshi, Vanajasana, Kamalambam Bhajare, Giripai, etc or his favorite ragas - Yadukulakamboji, Sahana, etc. I'm sure the concert was a very good one other than the krithi selection.

Sundara Rajan · Post by **Sundara Rajan** » 24 Apr 2019, 09:57

April 23, 2019
BHARAT SUNDAR and Party
Initially there was no streaming available for a few minutes and then ONLY Mridangam was audible. later corrected. I must have missed the first song.
2. paripAlaymAm in reetigowLa of Swathi ThirunAL.
3. I lost my internet connection !
4. Thankfully my internet was restored at the end of previous song !
Bhairavi rAga alApana 11+8 min. followed by Syama sAstry's Bhairavi Swarajati KAmAkshi, ambA anudinamu----15 min of bliss !
neraval and swara at Amaba bhakthajana kalpalathikA for 6 min.
4A. Thani for 17 min.
5. ThuLasammA in dEvagAndhAri- T's 5 min
6. slokas and pAsurams karAravindEna padhAravindam--- Kapi
OOrilEn kANi illai--- Sindhu Bhairavi
pAchaimA malaipOl mEni----Bhimpalas (?)
followed by MDR's sAgara sayana vibhO in BAghEsri rAga total 16 min.
7. RamaNa maharshi's composition: appaLam ittuppAru- rAgamAlika 6 min
ThillAna- BrindAvani(?)

An excellent 2+ hour concert that I will remember for a long time .

Sundara Rajan · Post by **Sundara Rajan** » 24 Apr 2019, 18:33

April 23, 2019 Evening

SHERTALAI RANGANATHA SARMA, Nagai MuraLidaran, Murugaboopathi & Cleveland Balu

Program started ON Time !

1. VanajAksha, Behag VarNam 8 min
2. KaruNA nidhiyE kadaikkaN- karaharapriya-P.Sivan 11 min Heard after a long time
3. sAlakalla in Arabhi rAga- T's pancharatnam
4. HamsAnandhi rAga alApana & violin return 13 min followed by rare HMB composition "sAchAmara"
with neraval & swara at pallavi 15 min
5. Enthani nE ninnu Sabari bhAgyamu in mukhAri - T's 6 min
6.BEgada rAga alApana 10+6 min Dikshitar's composition that I had not heard before: Srimatha Sivabhava
neraval and swara at Sri chakra roopa thAdanghE for 45 min followed by Thani for 16 min.
7. nE mAru mE roopamE (?) a jAvaLi in sAvEri rAga 7 min
8. avathAram seidhiveerE of AruNAchala kavi in Jonpuri rAga 6 min
9. theruvil vArAnO- khamAs rAga padam of Muthu ThAndavar 4 min
10.Baja baja mAnasa in Sindhu Bhairavi

All in all a very good concert for exactly 2.5 hrs.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 24 Apr 2019, 19:17

Did he sing tsAla kallana or sAdhincanE? I was not around close enough to listen. I did hear the hamsAnandi of HMB which was new to me and sounded very good. Wish he had loosened up a bit more. I have heard him sing even better elsewhere. With Nagai by his side, it would have been even more appealing.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 24 Apr 2019, 19:29

It was Sri mAtE,?

Sundara Rajan · Post by **Sundara Rajan** » 24 Apr 2019, 20:45

Arasi: He did sing tsAlakalana , but that was not one of the pancharatnas. I stand corrected.
The Begada composition of Diksitar was Sri mAtah Siva vamkE and not as I wrote. It is sometimes difficult for me to identify the exact lyrics from the vocalist's pronunciation.
I too expected a better selection of compositions &performance, based on prior experience.

Sundara Rajan · Post by **Sundara Rajan** » 24 Apr 2019, 22:32

!:02 p.m No video, Only audio !!

Sundara Rajan · Post by **Sundara Rajan** » 24 Apr 2019, 22:42

It is 1;12 First song is over Still no Video. What is the problem ?

Surya PrakAsh and party

After the first two songs, the video transmission started.

1. SeethApathy nA manasu in kamAs rAga, short neraval and swaram at "prEmasoochi nApai" 8 min
2. Evarani of Thyagaraja in dEvAmrutha varshini 6 min
Now the Video is on
3. alApana in a rAgam that he announced as "swarnAngi" 47 th mELam 4+2 min
"mahAraja rAjEswari pArvathi", swaram at mEru rAja 8 mn. Composer ?
4. Short alApana in dEvaghAndAri followed by 'nAmorAlakimpavE" of T 12 min
5.kA vA vA in varALi rAga of P.Sivan swaram at paZhani mali urayum 8 min
6. kAmbOdhi rAga alApana 8 min followed by GKB's "thiruvadi saraNam. neraval & swaram at the usual
aduthuvanda ennai 20 min.
When thani Avardanam started at 2:30 p.m., I could not control my after noon nap !

Other rasikas may fill up the thukkadas that followed he Thani for a few minutes.

Surya was in good from and gave a good presentation well supported by young female accompaniments.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 25 Apr 2019, 04:06

My day of other commitments, :(but I managed to hear bits and pieces, The rare mahA rAja Rajeswari, pArvathi in swarnangi is by Mayuram Viswanatha Shastry.
He sang krishnA nI bEganE bArO and parulanna mATa namma vaddu from the anu pallavi mOmu chinna pOyina maramEmirA before that...

RSR · Post by **RSR** » 25 Apr 2019, 13:11

Let us forget for a moment that the concerts are from Cleveland festival. and imagine that it is from a Chennai festival. If so, the programs leave much to be desired. and am not the only person who feels that way. ( fortunately). (1) Technology gitches (2) special concerts honouring the greats like Smt. DKP being allootted to a vocalist not singing any MD kritis. Could they not find a suitable disciple of Smt.DKP? Just 2 kritis by Thyagaraja . in a festival with priority to the saint. (3) M.D.Ramanathan memorial concert also has the same defect.
Sri.Sundararajan has rightly dismissed the 'thukkadas'. and criticized too many 'javaLis'.
Quite a few programs were devoted to Mrudhangam and Tavil. Layam experts like Sri.ShankaranK could have offered their impression.
The festival is nearing its end and it has been poorly organized.
I am looking forward to the report on program by Kalki's grand daughter Smt.Gowri.

RSR · Post by **RSR** » 25 Apr 2019, 13:30

shankarank wrote: ↑23 Apr 2019, 19:54
RSR wrote: ↑23 Apr 2019, 15:35 1) No need to bring innames here as if he is THE ULTIMATE AUTHORITY.
Not in the sense of authority. Big names who have dwelt as insiders already raised questions surrounding such things before.

RSR wrote: ↑23 Apr 2019, 15:35 padams and javaLis sometimes have racy tunes
Thought their tunes were slower than usual. Even if as a fast pace, their construction has such a viSrAnti in them. Why don't you for once treat the letters and words as music first? By saying vocal music, we have already privileged ourselves with our supposedly acclaimed intellect. You think a mother would pass this on to a daughter if it is against dharma? AvALA viDa namakku dharmam teriyumA?

The narrative that instruments try to mimic vocal in our music is an atrocious violence on Indian civilization. We ipso facto acknowledge the Western definition of music as fundamental and lose our senses.

We seem to have bought into this "pure forms" of Plato - the ideal gas and a friction less plane, so goes pure music!

https://twitter.com/sanjeevsanyal/statu ... 8238868480

RSR wrote: ↑23 Apr 2019, 15:35 3) The craze for live or telecast 'kutchery' is totally misplaced and anachronism in modern world. If I want real classical music, whether vintage or middle age or modern , one can get everything in soundcloud and tube videos ( HD).
Hello!! Smt MSS's manavyALA still rings from a late night telecast when my mother played it from TiruvaiyAru, as we went to sleep. We wouldn't have known her otherwise.

RSR wrote: ↑23 Apr 2019, 15:35 LOOK
http://spokensanskrit.org/index.php?mod ... &direct=au
Yup! that damn dictionary finally! That you would resort to it at the end - Says it all!

Just a few years back, tirukkurAL was "set to music" and released with much fanfare in that very sabha. It would behove us to just a pay a bit of attention to what it says about language and music together!

And from Sanskrit and pANiNi - I find similar thoughts expressed:

https://twitter.com/avatans/status/1117042393021284352

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

Hello!! Smt MSS's manavyALA still rings from a late night telecast when my mother played it from TiruvaiyAru, as we went to sleep. We wouldn't have known her otherwise.

Unable to understand what you are trying to say! Would surely like to learn more! mention the year. and how your mother came to be present there, Was she a vocalist?

shankarank · Post by **shankarank** » 25 Apr 2019, 17:55

Obviously - it was a AIR relay from Tiruvaiyaru. And she was with us. She is no vocalist. Sometimes you have to read with context , not just with Wren and Martin and a dictionary!

RSR · Post by **RSR** » 25 Apr 2019, 19:04

shankarank wrote: ↑25 Apr 2019, 17:55 Obviously - it was a AIR relay from Tiruvaiyaru. And she was with us. She is no vocalist. Sometimes you have to read with context , not just with Wren and Martin and a dictionary!

M S Subbulakshmi - Nenarunchinaanu - Maalavi - Tyagaraja Swami .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtElqTEGscA
upload by V.Stinivasan. with the following note:

Smt M.S.Subbulakshmi and Smt Radha Viswanathan render a blitzkrieg version of Tyagaraja Swami's famous composition "Nenarunchinaanu annitiki" in Maalavi raga. The chittaswaras have been sung at an incredible speed! This song has been sourced from a live concert performed c. 1964

you mean to say that your mother was with you some place not in Thiruvaiyaru and was listening to the kriti mentioned by you ( by Smt.MS) (/manavyala' .
M. S. Subbulakshm - Manavyala - Nalinakanthi
Thiruvaiyaru Sri Thyagaraja Aradhana 1984https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaGSo7ZKSms
and she woke you up to listen to it. Am I right? "

otherwise, we would not have heard about her'

. Who is that 'her'? Smt.MS?
Rarely have I come across any of your posts which are coherant and related to the topic.
I had mentioned some wonderful Thyagaraja kritis sung by Smt.MS in the Thiruvaiyaaru Aradhana, -1978,in the hope that present-day musicians will emulate her. What struck me was that all the kritis are slow-paced unlike the one quoted by you. Thank you.

Sundara Rajan · Post by **Sundara Rajan** » 25 Apr 2019, 19:28

4-25-2019 Thursday
VeeNa, vENu, Violin concert

Pleased that the veeNa and Flute are loud and clear. Violin volume also is good, But When all three are played together the violin is completely drowned. Should it be raised a bit ?

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 25 Apr 2019, 19:50

Sundara Rajan,
Good that you are listening to this vibrant recital. Violin sound has been taken care of now. After the NATTaikuRinji varNam, I heard hamsdhvani at the end when the energy and abandon with which Nirmala Rajashekar was playing drew me in. What kriti did they play? Murari's rAga playing for dEva dEva kalayAmi was sweeter than ever. svarAs from all of them were crisp and appealing...

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 25 Apr 2019, 20:00

sorry, repeat post, and so deleted...

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 25 Apr 2019, 20:06

The katanakutUhalam of Poochi, I haven't heard before. Did you catch the words of it as Nirmala announced it?
Now they are playing Janani ninnuvinA which was picked up by more than one performer this year at Cleveland.Enough emotingin their playing it....

Sundara Rajan · Post by **Sundara Rajan** » 25 Apr 2019, 22:44

Arasi: That was Poochi's imitation of Patnam S Iyer's kathankuthookala. The name of that rAga is Swara Ranjani. The Hamsadwani piece was vAthApi Ganapthim bajEham. Kanyakumari plays Swara Ranjani often.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 25 Apr 2019, 23:37

Ah, so? But, Poochi needs to imitate?

Just catching up with the kids singing (tAnam) at Gowri's program.

shankarank · Post by **shankarank** » 26 Apr 2019, 09:35

RSR wrote: ↑25 Apr 2019, 19:04 Thiruvaiyaru Sri Thyagaraja Aradhana 1984https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaGSo7ZKSms

Here is a better recording of the 1984 one. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yObHAh_PFHs

Likely that one - may be it was around 9:30 - 10 PM. Unless it was delayed recording broadcast and it happened earlier. The Kodaikanal TV Relay wasn't until 1987.

RSR wrote: ↑25 Apr 2019, 19:04 I had mentioned some wonderful Thyagaraja kritis sung by Smt.MS in the Thiruvaiyaaru Aradhana, -1978,in the hope that present-day musicians will emulate her.

I don't know how present day musicians are not emulating her. Does the latter mean they have to be literally like that. Thiruvaiyaru is a specific religious celebration. Also why should they not sing any kriti, and padams and javaLis? Why should not scores of people who throng it from around Tanjore villages get to hear all of these? This may be their only live event.

RasikasModerator1 · Post by **RasikasModerator1** » 27 Apr 2019, 06:33

shankarank, RSR: avoid personal attacks and Inflammatory remarks, innuendos or otherwise. We have cleaned up the three posts. Carry on with the discussion ( and don’t discuss this side track )

Sundara Rajan · Post by **Sundara Rajan** » 27 Apr 2019, 18:02

Let me resume my reporting on the concerts of the past few days:

April24, 2019

Akshay Padmanaban

1.BMK's ThOdi varNam SraguNa kAvumu 5 min
2.T's RaghupathE rAma in sahAna 7 min
3. Good alApana of Bhairavi rAga for 15+3 min followed by MD's bAla gOpAla pAla yAthu mAm with very good extensive
nreaval and kalpana swaram at usual neela---for 11 min. I liked his rendering of this piece
3a. short Thani for 2 min
4. He completed his presentation with P. Thooran's muraLidara gOpAla in rAga mAnd

Sundara Rajan · Post by **Sundara Rajan** » 27 Apr 2019, 18:24

April 24, 2019 evening

Sikkil Gurucharan, Delhi Sundarajan , Tanjavur Murugaboopathy

1. Started the program with a varNam in nAtta (?). I missed the beginning words
2. Parvatha rAja kumAri - raga sriranjani MD's 12 min this composition first time for me
3. endukku Chapalamu in PanthuvarALI (?) 6+4 alApana , song, neraval and swara 18 min
4.T's sAnthamulEka sowkyamu lEthu in sAma raga sowkyamAna presentation ! 8 min
5. T's lAvaNya rAma in poorNashadjam 5 min
6. kAmbOdhi rAga alapana 13+9 min followed by veeNai kuppaier's koniyAdina nApai 14 min, neraval & swara at deivamu lEkani for 12 min. Very well presented with good accompaniments
6a. Thani for 13 min
7. Tamil virutham followed by P.Sivan's kaRpakAmbikai neeyallavO in raga BehAg 5. min
8 MD's mAmava pattAbhirAma in maNiranghu 5 min.
9. ThillanA in Sindhubhairavi (?) 6 min
MangaLam.
Well rendered concert accompanied well by Delhi Sundara Rajan & Murugabhoopathy

Sundara Rajan · Post by **Sundara Rajan** » 27 Apr 2019, 18:53

April 25, 2019

VeeNA, vENU, Violin concert by Nirmala RajasEkar, Sikkil mAla & VVS MurAri

mAla commenced the program with a slOkam on the flute
1. nAttakurinchi pada varNam as announced. I didn't get the name of the composition 3 min
2. M.D's vAthApi gaNapathim in Hamsdwani 11.min. swaram successively by the three individually for 5 min. Quite enjoyable rendering !
3. Swathi ThirunAL's master piece in mAyAmALava gowLa Deva dEva kalayAmi. alApana in violin for 3 min. Song and then swram at jAtaroopa in succession by the three instrumentalists delightfully rendered for a total of 15 min
4. short but sweet Swararnjani composition of Ramanathapuram S. Iyengar for 6 min
5. reethigowLa alApana in veeNa followed by SubbarAya sAstri's master piece Janani ninnuvinA for a total of 15 min
6. kalyANi rAga alApana in flute-- thAnam in veeNa followed by violin- "nithi sAla sukamA" of thyagarAja and swaram in rAgamAlika by the three instruments ending in kApi rAga for a total of 33 min of BLISS !
7.mahAkavi bhArathi's nenjukku neethi in sindhubhairavi 4 min
8. ended with maithreem bhajatha

Wonderful concert that I enjoyed immensely. Perhaps the best I liked this season.

sahasraa · Post by **sahasraa** » 28 Apr 2019, 04:34

Sundara Rajan wrote: ↑27 Apr 2019, 18:24
3. endukku Chapalamu in PanthuvarALI (?) 6+4 alApana , song, neraval and swara 18 min
Sundara Rajan Ji - I guess it’s Mandari.

gajamukhu · Post by **gajamukhu** » 28 Apr 2019, 09:34

Could someone post a song list/review of Smt. Rama Ravi’s concert?

Sundara Rajan · Post by **Sundara Rajan** » 28 Apr 2019, 18:43

Here is the APRIL 27, 2019 afternoon program of

Rama Ravi & Nandita Ravi

The program started, as has become the norm now, late at 5:17 p.m.

1. sAmi ninnE kOri- Sri rAga varNam of Garbapuri vAsar 4 min
2. Vidulukku mrokkada- mayamALava gowLa-T's 6 min
3. TholijEsina pujApalamu-suddha BangaLa- T's 4 min. Swaram alternated between the two vocalists for 5 min. quite enjoyable
4. SatilEni-poorvikalyANi-Ponniah Pillai's-extended neraval & swaram at kOti manmatha for a total of 21 min
5. a Tamil composition of Ramaswami Sivan: ekkAlathilum maRavEnE- in nAttakurinchi rAga- 15 min
6. Krupachootaku vELarA Rama- ChAyAtharangini- T's-4 min
7. ThOdi rAga alApana-including violin return for 12 min followed by MD's Sri SubrammanyO mAm rkashthu

This main item must have been followed by Thani Avarthanam and one or two thukkadas, but I had to leave for an appointment.
Overall a very good concert.

Sundara Rajan · Post by **Sundara Rajan** » 29 Apr 2019, 01:35

Friends: I am unable to access the "On-demand" recordings of icarnatic Aradhana concerts, although I have paid $100 for it. Is any one else able to access the "On-demand" programs ?

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 29 Apr 2019, 08:15

This year, I don't think I heard any concert from the beginning to the end. Life has been busy.
Heard a bit of Bharath Sundar. Kamala Kiran, Vinod Seetharaman and K.V. Gopalakrishnan accompanied him. I caught him singing paripAlayamAm in rITigowLa (Swathi Tirunal). Next, the malayamArutham AlApana was detailed and appealing. Kamalakiran's was an impressive reply. DhanyuDevvaDO followed--such clean singing of the kriti..He also chose an agreeable line for neraval: vara maddaLa, tAlAdi...

Sundara Rajan · Post by **Sundara Rajan** » 29 Apr 2019, 19:37

Do any of the rasikas get the "On-demand" webcast of the Aradhana/Cleveland from icarnatic ? I am not able to access the on-demand webcast as of today.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 29 Apr 2019, 21:03

If I recollect, in previous years, they offered the facility a bit later. Now, they would have wound up at Cleveland and will let us know when the on-facility will be ready.

Sundara Rajan · Post by **Sundara Rajan** » 30 Apr 2019, 02:14

Thanks for the information, Arasi. I just had a response from iCarnatic that they will start the "on-demand" webcast from tonight. We can then catch up on what we missed and listen again the ones we liked.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 30 Apr 2019, 20:36

Sundara Rajan,
Did Gurucharan sing koniyADe or Sri subhrahmaNyAya namastE? In the limited time that I watched, one thing I noticed was that there wasn't much of an interaction among those on stage. Was it because Gurucharan sings with his eyes closed half the time? Also recall a beautiful return by NAgai for one of the AlApanAs. Which one?

Taking in too much music coupled with memory retention rate of octogenarians is possibly it. How I wish some from the younger set had joined us in reporting!It's not late.
Yes, the venu, veena, violin program was so very pleasing to the ears. Mala's playing brings back memories of her mother and aunt, of course. By the way, two Sikkils in a row at Cleveland--nephew and aunt. They would have heard each other (doesn't happen often under the same aegis). Murari's violin sounded sweet. What also pleased and surprised me was the veena. What liveliness! Just as we appreciate various voices and styles in vocal singing, there is room for appreciating different styles in the playing of the ancient instrument. Purists, don't frown. There is room for all. Isn't variety is the spice of life? Of course, it doesn't mean bringing down the quality of the music. They were excellent, pooling together their talents in playing dEva dEva deliciously (which I heard fully).

I have heard quite a bit about Akshay Padmanabhan, but listened only to a little bit of his singing. Too little to have a good idea about his singing...

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 30 Apr 2019, 21:06

Nagai Muralidharan and Raghavendra Rao's violin duet was as good as I expected it to be. Nagai's sweetness of sound, and the quality of his art need no introduction. It's the first time that they have played together, is my guess. Nonetheless, it was a very satisfying experience, listening to them. Nagai was the main man, but Raghavendra Rao had a solid presence. Bhakthavatsalam and Vaikkom enhanced the concert. Bhaktavatsalam without excessive sound is an asset.

The concert started with mAkElarA vicAramu in Ravichandrika and set us up for a rich musical fare. Then came rAgAlApana in ritigowla, one of the popular rAgAs this year at Cleveland among todi and Kalyani. nannu viDaci was the kriti. Ahiri rAga and challarE was a pleasant surprise. Saraswathi rAgA and saraswathi namOStutE with ciTTasvaram was next. Sri rAmam in Narayana gawla, then Kotiswaraiyer's kalangAdE manamE in ragavardhini.

Kharaharapriya rAgA I heard, but couldn't be back until they were playing behag rAga. samayamidE rA rA was played.
What was the KP main song?
All of it, sweet to the ears and pleasing to the mind....

Sundara Rajan · Post by **Sundara Rajan** » 01 May 2019, 02:58

Arasi: You could enjoy listening to Sikkil Gurucharan again soon ( since the "on-demand" webcast has started) rendering KoniyAdina nApai of veeNai Kuppaier in kAmbhOdhi. He was accompanied on the violin by Delhi Sunderrajan and not MuraLidharan. I had enjoyed DKP's exquisite rendition of this song many times in the past.

I missed the early part of the violin duet of MuraLidharan & RAghavEndra Rao at my "nap" and caught up with their Chakkani rAjam mArgamu in karahapriya, if I remember correctly. Because of the heavy load of concerts in a short time senior rasiksas like us had trouble remembering everything, I guess !

I was looking forward to an Akshay PadmanAban's performance, after I heard his "ThiruvAchagam" : pAl kAttum oLivaNNa spatika maNi malarE ----thithikkum pazhamE-" in sAma rAga years ago. He did not disappoint me in Cleveland. He did an excellent rendering of bAla gOpAla of MD in Bhairavi .He had less than one hour to prove himself on his first visit !

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 01 May 2019, 04:32

Yes, I MEANT Delhi Sunderrajan but typed Nagai--because I was writing about him also at that time! So, you have heard Gurucharan again. On second hearing, the same rendition at times gains more credit, if it is, what Johnny Carson used to exclaim as "good stuff!"

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 01 May 2019, 07:48

Sundara Rajan wrote: ↑01 May 2019, 02:58 I missed the early part of the violin duet of MuraLidharan & RAghavEndra Rao at my "nap" and caught up with their Chakkani rAjam mArgamu in karahapriya, if I remember correctly. Because of the heavy load of concerts in a short time senior rasiksas like us had trouble remembering everything, I guess !

Sundararajan Sir,
For every post that you shared I used to think ada cha kambodhi kalyani todi ya main Just when you took a nap

you got your favourite kharaharapriya

with the flagship krithi chakkani rAja mArgamu. Also I am assuming your review is a function of just not how the performer sang/played but also the intrinsic dynamic neelambari that you have at that time.

Thank you , it is sure joy for me and many here here to hear music through your continued resilient post after post with vagayekkara Arasi.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 03 May 2019, 20:26

Rajesh,
How I wish some younger folks than ourselves reported on what they heard (saw) at Cleveland! Not through streaming alone but by really being there! Our enthusiasm does not now match our capabilities in bringing the mega-happening to other rasikAs who have no access to it.
How active we ourselves were a mere five years ago! I do hope others join us in doing justice to an year after year, caringly and impressively organized ten day long event like this. Even the cheerful pictures which added another dimension to the festival were not forthcoming because of their being trashed by some, making this thread sweet illAda virundu sAPPADu (a feast without dessert).

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 03 May 2019, 21:03

Cleveland Tyagaraja Festival will be a historic happening in CM history in the future. To me, it can be summed up as something which thrives on two essential factors. 1: the spirit and might of volunteering. 2: the deep-rooted desire among the organizers to make it a transfer from generation to generation phenomenon.
The epic choir which I wrote about earlier was an example for the second factor. Next came Mylai to KAnchi--a presentation by the children which featured kritis by Papanasam Sivan and Syama Sastry, linking the two temple towns of Mylapore and Kanchipuram. Ashok Ramani, who for the past several years has lovingly orchestratedseveral torchbearers' concert is to be commended for his work. It goes without saying that the teachers here who are part of it all, spend energy and time for the whole thing to be pulled off.

Year after year, the youngsters prove themselves to be pros. They started the program with karuNAnidiyE tAyE in bowLi, one of my favorite songs of Sivan. Then came pAlaya sumAm paradEvata in Arabhi by SS. HimAdri sutE pAhimAm by Sivan, himAchala tanayE next. Sivan's Kamakshi Gowri in sAvEri which they sang with azhuttam (depth), keeping the rAga bhAva intact. kAkka unakkirakkam illaiyA?-came afterwards. How well they sang Kharaharapriya rAgA!Sivan would have been mighty pleased, listening to it. Raghavendra Rao's playing added to the mood they created. You realized what a good sense of the rAgA the kids had.
Where else can you find senior artistes playing for fledglings and young talents playing for top-ranking artistes! The confluence of volunteerism at its best and the zeal for the burgeoning of young talents makes it happen. No room there for egos and their demands, because music and children learning it are the center of motivation...

RSR · Post by **RSR** » 04 May 2019, 12:44

1) I may be wrong but there dont seem to be many in this forum who subscribed to the streaming and followed all the programs..
2) I wonder if the event was attended by rasikas there ( excluding the relatives and friends of the performing youngsters and accompanyting artists). Did they telecast the audience?
3) rasikas has a facebook and all the photos ( any number) can be posted there by those who are interested. After all Facebook is meant for photos and videos. rather than text.
4) rasikas pages are mostly 'pure text' and that is one redeeming feature. as it loads very fast.
5) As I said in an earlier post, if we just forget that the event tookplace in Cleveland, there is absolutely nothing special , to mention all those performers' names, kritis , ragams etc, Right now, so many concerts are going on in Bangalore and is there any detailed review in this forum, which I am missing? I dont think so.
6) This is a forum for classical carnatic music where there is no need for 'visuals.', I may cite an example of how veterans commemorated the great performances of giants like Madurai Mani Iyer. ( by simply playing the rare audio tapes to select invitess) and accompanied by precious reminiscences. The entire thread on MMI is testimony to that.
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I may also add, that the event is reduced to just one week and scheduled NOT to overlap with the period of Good Friday and Easter

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 04 May 2019, 17:49

RSR
When you donot like anything say Visuals , you can scroll down irrespective of age it does not take energy. While Facebook and Whatsapp is indeed sucking lot of content from PHP bulletin board like rasikas, I am also in favour of more texts , but give that space to others to communicate with lot of text and few visuals. Also for your information even visuals are loaded we are only sharing a link the space is taken by some other site.

@meena
I saw some link where you were taking photos , do share the link of photos as before please.

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 04 May 2019, 23:05

@meena
Please post pics/links to the gorgeous pictures I’m sure you’ve clicked away. Will be a great supplement to word pictures we’ve had so far.
Except for uncivil posts, AFAIK, nothing is discouraged. Links, videos, pictures, and images that are relevant are not verboten, but are actually welcomed, as are (useful) texts.
And finally: कुछ तो लोग कहेंगे, लोगों का काम है कहना!

RSR · Post by **RSR** » 05 May 2019, 12:09

rajeshnat
Sir,
Uploading the photos to rasikas( facebook) and sharing the link only here, with a brief description of what is presented in the link, may be the best solution. I am sure that all the rasikas have a facebook account though they may not use it much

RSR · Post by **RSR** » 05 May 2019, 12:12

Why not have a separate thread 'photos of cleveland festival 2019'?
People not interested in visuals can skip it.
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On second thoughts, a better option will be to have the thread 'photos of Cleveland Aradhana' -2019 .....in MEMBERS' LOUNGE section