Flute Ramani RIP

Remembering musicians of the recent past
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uday_shankar
Posts: 1467
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 08:37

Re: Flute Shri N Ramani passes away

Post by uday_shankar »

Another mahavidvan of our times passes on :(. Glad to have been able to drink out of that elixir for several decades. Had the privilege of ferrying him around in Cleveland often, sometimes with precise directions from Ramani sir himself..."Nee Euclid la right thirumbi, East 22nd la left thirumbi, Chester verikkum poyittu left eduthundu thiruppi East 21st kulla thurumbidu".

His great gnyanam in all aspects of CM...shruti, laya, raga, kriti rendition, etc is well known but perhaps not so well-articulated is his sustainable technique.

Sustainable Technique Apart from his sweet and unmistakable blowing style, Ramani sir evolved one of the most sustainable flute playing styles of the south Indian flute. It is not normal to speak of "sustainability" when speaking of instrument playing technique but it is an important aspect. The technique is sustainable if the player can sustain it for the later decades of his/her life without any strain and is able to transmit the technique faithfully to generations of musicians. Ramani Sir shone brilliantly in both aspects. He played superbly till his very end and has gazzillion brilliant disciples and grand disciples to carry his forward legacy, ( i.e., in this context, playing style). Not to rake up any controversy, but neither the MSG nor Lalgudi violin playing style is as sustainable as the TNK style.

Unique Technique While most other south Indian flutists play certain gamakas with a shake of the head for precise articulation (for example sadharana gandhara in many ragas), Ramani sir evolved an extremely subtle technique of blowing/fingering combined with proper flute selection (perhaps choosing one with a slightly sharper antara gandhara when blown by non-Ramani school flautists) wherein these gamakas can be created perfectly with the head held still. Keeping the head steady like this is a great advantage in maintaining shruti shuddham since the angle of the embouchure is directly related to the pitch.

He will be missed around the world.

varsha
Posts: 1978
Joined: 24 Aug 2011, 15:06

Re: Flute Shri N Ramani passes away

Post by varsha »

Probably that is why it is so easy to spot a Lalgudi or MSG in uncataloged concerts :D
Speaking with experience of declassifying over a thousand raw nameless concerts over two decades .
Awe inspiring yes perhaps. Sustainable ? . A difficult concept to accept as a criterion.But them I am just a listener. :evil:

varsha
Posts: 1978
Joined: 24 Aug 2011, 15:06

Re: Flute Shri N Ramani passes away

Post by varsha »

Well N Ramani once narrated a story that I later confirmed with Panit Janardhan.
Ravisankar , during one of his concerts in Chennai asks his Chennai based disciple Janardhan, to fetch N Ramani for a meeting. He has heard N Ramani on radio and is so impressed that he wants to suggest a duet with Chaurasia.With little time left Janardhan goes to NR's home only to find it locked. The concert time approaches and still no sight . Janardhan gets worked up but he cant go back without an answer . And so decides to wait, Cursing his luck since he has missed the concert . Late in the night NR returns and when Janardhan breathlessly asks, where have you been ?
NR replies
I was at Pandit Ravisankars concert. And a glorious one it was !!!!

varsha
Posts: 1978
Joined: 24 Aug 2011, 15:06

Re: Flute Ramani RIP

Post by varsha »

To my mind , N Ramanis contribution shall always remain in locating , defining , displaying the GOLDEN MEAN of the many atrributes to Flute playing in CM.
To appreciate artists like Mali or , MDR one needs to plug into special ear plugs . There is something extraordinary on show but at the cost of something , when seen from the Mean.
Whether it was Alapanas , or neravals , or laya acrobtics that flautists engage in , or concert listings , choice of tukkadas ... you name it , he had the measure of what proportions to serve .
For a disciple of Mali , it was noteworthy he chose not to mimic but display only what he had picked up .
Over the hundreds of hours I have listened to this Maestro I have never come across something that was unpalatable

http://www.mediafire.com/listen/mdp0zhu ... garAja.mp3
And on days like these , he had the measure of the ultimate high point . That he would not choose it to do very often , gives a glimpse of what he thought about the issue of whether it is all matter of technique serving a higher purpose in music . Or technique for techinques sake .

I felt like crying hearing his slurred speech at Tyagara Vidwath Samajam recently . My prayerful condolences.
An endearing Artist
http://www.mediafire.com/watch/drz2aey8 ... ure%5E.wmv

ajit
Posts: 149
Joined: 06 Jul 2005, 02:42

Re: Flute Ramani RIP

Post by ajit »

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cpblog
Posts: 233
Joined: 07 Jul 2009, 22:01

Re: Flute Ramani RIP

Post by cpblog »

From the house of 'Sankalpa' 'Parvathi', Mysore, we join in with all of you, in treasured memories of this great artist and a very refined personality.

We are at a loss of words to add anything more, here, to all that has been spoken by the Rasikas in their cherish of him.

As we remember him in his countless performances in the house and of him, walking, talking, sleeping, practicing, relishing the 'sambar' and 'idly' and sometimes spending serene moments in solitude enjoying the garden around him, we can but only request that you join in with us once again through his collected music of the past, in the blog at http://chowdaiahandparvati.blogspot.com ... .%20Ramani.

With prayers and in solace to his family,

CPBlog Team

bombal
Posts: 110
Joined: 21 Sep 2014, 22:54

Re: Flute Ramani RIP

Post by bombal »

We had the honour of hosting Ramani Sir in Muscat, when he came for a concert with Hari ji, Subhankar and myself...A great human being and a truly blessed soul...

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CRama
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Joined: 18 Nov 2009, 16:58

Re: Flute Ramani RIP

Post by CRama »

Thank you for the nice pictures Balaji.

Ramasubramanian M.K
Posts: 1226
Joined: 05 May 2009, 08:33

Re: Flute Ramani RIP

Post by Ramasubramanian M.K »

Uday/Varsha very astute and technical analysis. To myself and my family it is a great personal loss.
We have known him for the last 60 years since he "burst" into the scene in the midst of Mali Sir's popularity and held his own.
I would not get into his Vidwath or techniques because Uday and Varsha have covered it succinctly. To succeed with his own style and still 'flashing" the Mali Sir's genius(without the 'antics") shows tremendous sense of proportion and originality. The relationship between the two given the 8/9years difference in age(which in those days was considered short!!) was exemplary.Mali Sir's pedagogy methods were unorthodox(no regular sitting sessions--"pick-up-as-you-go") and as such Ramani Sir had to supplement and broaden his repertoire thro the help of KVN,Lalgudi.
He told me this himself when he was on the 1971 V 3 trio(Violin/Veena/Venu) tour. An inconsequential/trivial anecdote on this tour:

When the trio landed in in 1971 in JFK(VKV was the architect behind the idea and the tour!!),I had gone along with VKV and his cohorts on the East West orgn. When they got out of the customs,I saw Ramani walking with lot of discomfort. After the obligatory greeting he pulls me aside and asks me to remove my shoes(we did this in the men's room--because he did not want others to worry about it)--He had just bought new shoes on the eve of his trip and had not had time to "Break-it-in" --apparently throughout the plane trip it was bothering him. Fortunately our shoe sizes were the same and mine had been broken-in--although by no means New--I was a student!!). He promised that when they return via JFK we could do the switch which he did--he told me that the shoes were very comfortable. I had the "privilege" of protecting his shoes(as a student I was wearing sneakers mostly so that there was not much wear and tear) although the similarity ended there!!!!!
He was a very humble,gracious person with an "impish" sense of humor revealed only to people close to him.an anecdote told to me by Ramani:
Once Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer(in the late Forties) was "obliged" to attend a concert by "then-famous" flautist(who had seen better performance days before!!!)--he comes out half way into the concert--it was held in the Rasika Ranjani Sabha premises in Mylapore--one of the "flautist's" sycophants follows him outside the Hall and enquires how did MV enjoy the concert and "gushes" in admiration saying in Tamil "Rayarwal katru( euphemism for the blow) pramadam Illaya Anna--to which MV replies if I merely wanted Katru(wind) in Mylapore Why should I come to RR Sabha when a mile away I can get all the katru from the santhome beach!!!!For those of you who are not familiar with the RR Sabha acoustics/--it had an asbestos roofing in those days which used to get very hot especially during Summers--so they had lots of ceiling fans in that hall. MV is supposed to have suggested to "switch off" all the fans because the "flautist" was blowing hot air anyway!!!!

MV could be vicious in his humor!!!

During the Cleveland festivals-- in which he was a regular performer--we had enjoyed several one-on-one sessions regaling us all with anecdotes and mali Sir's "nicknames" for various artistes--all in good humor--absolutely no malice. He enjoyed the HIGHEST regard amongst musicians spanning several generations. To top it all he has trained hordes of disciples all over the World and the disciples hold him in high regard.

In the late Sixties my brother has accompanied him in concerts in Bombay and Chennai and my brother used to tell me his Layam was impeccable and one could easily get tripped if one is not watchful. He had high regard for my brother and my late father.

In Feb this year I had gone to attend a concert in raga Sudha hall--I was sitting in the back rows--Ramani Sir was seated in the first row(he was ailing but still made it to the concert)--he spotted me and asked me to come forward and sit next to him.I reminded him of a funny-but embarrassing incident involving both of us--he promptly slapped me on my thigh laughing much to my embarassment--I managed to get up and go to my seat to avoid more "guffaws". One-on-one as a conversationalist (without malice or prejudice)he was non-pareil.

He pursued the profession with dignity,conducted himself with aplomb and grace.
I truly mourn the loss of a good friend whom I could confide in without hesitation.

GNB_LGJ_PR
Posts: 55
Joined: 09 Sep 2011, 22:38

Re: Flute Ramani RIP

Post by GNB_LGJ_PR »

Great Maestro!!! Great Music!!!
What a loss!!!

RIP Ramani Sir

An anecdote that shows Ramani Sir's humility and greatness (as narrated by a Khanjira artiste to me)

In one of the concerts, Ramani Sir wanted to start with LGJ sir's Valaji varnam
So he started P G S; gsndnGS........ The violinist did not hear the Pa and he thought it was the Natakurinji Varnam
and he played M G S; gsndn S....... . In the next avartham, Ramani sir stressed on Pa but the violinist failed to pick the cue
and played M G S; yet again. In the next avartham, Ramani sir gave up and joined the violinist into the Natakurniji varnam.

cacm
Posts: 2212
Joined: 08 Apr 2010, 00:07

Re: Flute Ramani RIP

Post by cacm »

I am reproducing here a spontaneous remembrance page my wife wrote on hearing about "Venu Ganam" Sr. N.Ramani's passing away. LGJ always introduyced him as yen (mine) Ramani!....I am reproducing it here as MANY have asked me to.....VKV (I gave him this name & in Cleveland he mentioned it last year making me very proud!)
Ramani A Rare And An Affectionate Artist
Yesterday October 9th, 2015 we heard the very sad and shocking news of our revered Ramani’s Passing away due to a massive heart attack through Cleveland Sundaram. First thoughts as a wife, I felt was about his dear wife Kamakshi. I knew Sri Ramani how much he cared for his wife is when he said in 2004 to Vkv “Kamakshi is here this year for the Cleveland Festival, so we would like you and Selvi to take us to Grand Canyon.” We thought we can meet them at Phoenix, Arizona (Ramani, got his Honorary Doctorate certificate from Arizona) and show them the Grand Canyon; due to the lack of time because of Sri Ramani’s schedule in giving concerts. But Sri Ramani said, “NO, we can’t do that without visiting Vkv and Selvi’s home in Los Alamos, New Mexico. So Vkv planned a 4 day trip. We took them thru’ Meteor Crater where the Astronauts trained for the trip to the moon and in the museum they had the actual Apollo mission Capsule that returned the astronauts from the moon and vkv explained the process and the instrumentation he had designed which was in it!
It is very fortunate Sri Ramani and Kamakshi arrived on April 30th that was coincidentally Vkv’s 70 years Birthday. Vkv and I went to Albq. to receive them (100 miles drive each way). Their plane came around lunch time, so I took Lemon rice and Curd rice. WE received them at the airport and then tried to find a park to have our picnic. It was not as easy we thought but managed to find a place. WE drove home. That evening Hari came to our home to meet Sri Ramani. First visit of Ramani was at our home in New City, NY was when Hari was 2 weeks old. Also the first concert we took Hari 6 weeks old to Yale University New Haven Connecticut was Lagudi Jayaraman -Ramani Jugal Bandhi concert. Then when Hari was 3 year old, he wanted Vkv as soon as he came from work to play the audio tape ‘Thapi Thapi (Vatapi Ganapathi) a fabulous, an excellent recording of Jugal Bandhi concert song that was in 1971 in New York City. Sri. Ramani knew about this and he played it at our prayer room in our Home at Srinivas for Hari the song Vatapi. It was a beautiful gesture. Then Ramani presented a very nice picture frame for Vkv’s birthday. Ramani also attended Hari’s first Birthday at Tambaram home and we have this picture with Hari in our Music room. (Vkv framed this picture in this frame). Sri Ramani who attended Hari’s first Birthday also gave a concert with his son at Hari and Gowri wedding reception at Woodlands on July 5th 2004.VKV met Gowri at Cleveland at Ramani’s concert (another interesting story unto itself!).
Our Grand Canyon trip went very well. We drove in our car Subaru, not very comfortable but the company was great. This is the time I came to know more about Kamakshi well. I realized how much an artist’s wife has to handle at home when her husband is away.
There are other very touching moments for me when I was reminiscing yesterday.
1. Vkv and I attended the wedding of Sri Ramani’s daughter. When we entered the Kalyana Mandapam I was surprised to see Sri Ramani noticing us and he came from the Kalayana Mandapam Manai to greet us personally.
2. Vkv and I were going to Chennai regularly from 1995 to avoid winter here for four months. Once we were invited for lunch. So we went. Kamakshi, smiling while serving the delicious food specially the vegetables said :
“Today Sri Ramani went himself to buy the vegetables which he never did before. He wanted to get the vegetables which we do not get in USA” This really touched my heart, his affection for us.
Sri Ramani is a great exponent in playing Krishna’s instrument, the Flute. I remember in Cleveland Festival Ramani was honored with a Golden Flute that is similar to the flute in a temple in India.
I had a couple of minute’s conversation in 2013 when I saw him in the elevator around 3pm. He said he was going to judge the competitions and he never missed any program; Especially this festival had so many. He is going to be missed a lot for sure.
For me his affection and sincerity was what made him a Rare Gem. Still in our music room one of the flutes he played with during his 1971 concerts during the North American trip with Lalgudi JayaRaman, Tiruchi Sankaran and Ramnad Raghavan is displayed very fondly. Like Neil Armstrong the first man on the Moon (VKV worked with him on the Moon Landing) who asked us to smile thinking of him when we look at the Moon, we will always think of him whenever we enter our music room. He played a concert for VKV (on his 70th birthday he spontaneously played a concert for just 4 persons there! Selvi Viswanathan, Los Alamos, NM, USA. OCT 10, 2016

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

Re: Flute Ramani RIP

Post by rajeshnat »

vkv sir
Looks your family and shri ramani family have a special mutual affection . Nicely written by your wife. It was very thoughtful for your family to keep the flute that too he played with LGJ and team in your pooja room.

Sri Ramani playing vathapi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8avlqFY4fs

cacm
Posts: 2212
Joined: 08 Apr 2010, 00:07

Re: Flute Ramani RIP

Post by cacm »

Dear R, OUR FRIENDSHIP STARTED IN 1949!...Surprisingly thats when I met MALI TOO!...GREAT TIMES & GREATER MEMORIES...VKV

rshankar
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Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:26

Re: Flute Ramani RIP

Post by rshankar »

Beautiful writing by Smt. VKV!

cacm
Posts: 2212
Joined: 08 Apr 2010, 00:07

Re: Flute Ramani RIP

Post by cacm »

Dear r shankar,
MY heart felt thanks. I will convey your observations to her. VKV

arasi
Posts: 16774
Joined: 22 Jun 2006, 09:30

Re: Flute Ramani RIP

Post by arasi »

Selvi's tribute adds to all others in a special way--of telling us about the artiste as a friend, and of he and his wife being gracious hosts.

Thanks VKV for sharing it with us.

cacm
Posts: 2212
Joined: 08 Apr 2010, 00:07

Re: Flute Ramani RIP

Post by cacm »

Dear A, Selvi & I thank you for your kind words.Means a lot to both of us.VKV

ajit
Posts: 149
Joined: 06 Jul 2005, 02:42

Re: Flute Ramani RIP

Post by ajit »

VKV Sir,
The nicely written tribute from your wife was passed around to some people who attended the 13th day.

ajit

cacm
Posts: 2212
Joined: 08 Apr 2010, 00:07

Re: Flute Ramani RIP

Post by cacm »

Ajit, THANKS. VKV

ajit
Posts: 149
Joined: 06 Jul 2005, 02:42

Re: Flute Ramani RIP

Post by ajit »

Image

Probably 1971 US tour - May be VKV Sir can confirm!!

ajit

cacm
Posts: 2212
Joined: 08 Apr 2010, 00:07

Re: Flute Ramani RIP

Post by cacm »

YES thats me on the right! Reminds me of Sesame street section where three images are shown & viewer is asked which one does not belong!
Do you know who the two on the left are? VKV

Ramasubramanian M.K
Posts: 1226
Joined: 05 May 2009, 08:33

Re: Flute Ramani RIP

Post by Ramasubramanian M.K »

VKV: Nice heart-warming story!! That tour of 1971 is etched in my minds--for the single-minded commitment to an untried concept--and that too in a foreign land with absolutely no support from the so-called Indian "big-wigs" in those days--YOU and SELVI did yeoman service to CM.Playing host to musicians sans domestic help as in India and that too when the US was going thro one of the worst economic recessions,to pull off something like the tour criss-crossing the Country with all the inter-city travel constraints ,the lack of institutions (like we have today) to sponsor the concerts,most of the Indians being recent immigrants and not well-established financially --amidst all these constraints the tour was a resounding success. The camarederie that existed between the hosts and the artistes(LGJ/Ramani/Venkatraman) and their willingness to "pare" down their remuneration expectations-- is in SHARP CONTRAST to the "demands" of some of today's leading luminaries--especially the ladies--wanting to be housed in only 4star or 5 star hotels in cities like NY .
Sorry for being nostalgic in this thread because it is about Ramani Sir but the pics took me down memory lane.

Younger forumites living in North America--trying to arrange concerts of these luminaries in the US--I can empathise with your plight in dealing with the prima donnas!!!!
ANDA NAALUM VANDHIDADO--Will those Golden days ever return!!!

cacm
Posts: 2212
Joined: 08 Apr 2010, 00:07

Re: Flute Ramani RIP

Post by cacm »

I ECHO YOUR SENTIMENTS....VKV

ajit
Posts: 149
Joined: 06 Jul 2005, 02:42

Re: Flute Ramani RIP

Post by ajit »

VKV Sir,
I don't remember asking Ramani Sir about the other two in the picture.

Just one clarification - the 1971 tour was not a VVV tour - Sri Venkataraman was not part of it - Am I right?
From my conversations with Ramani Sir, I don't remember him mentioning a VVV concert happening in US. I might be wrong. Please clarify.

MKR sir,
I have some more nice pictures taken on this 1971 tour.

ajit

cacm
Posts: 2212
Joined: 08 Apr 2010, 00:07

Re: Flute Ramani RIP

Post by cacm »

"ajit"] VKV Sir,
I don't remember asking Ramani Sir about the other two in the picture.
Just one clarification - the 1971 tour was not a VVV tour - Sri Venkataraman was not part of it - Am I right?
From my conversations with Ramani Sir, I don't remember him mentioning a VVV concert happening in US. I might be wrong. Please clarify.
Dear Ajit,
YOU ARE RIGHT. The OFFICIAL TOUR was LGJ-N.R.-R.R. with T.S ADDED IN CANADA & FINAL FAREWELL CONCERT IN NYC as he showed up without informing the others including the organisers that he was coming to York U & Jon Higgins exerted continuous pressure on me to make T.S. the mridangist!...VVV WITH THOSE DID NOT HAPPEN IN USA.
THE WHOLE IDEA WAS DIFFERENT. The FORMAT WAS: The concert started w/ljg solo for half an hour, followed by n.r. solo for roughly 3/4 hour(w/thani & the rest was when lgj& n.r. played together as EQUALS loosely called "JUGULBANDHI" symbolically. Also it was structured (PROGRAMS WERE PRINTED & DISTRIBUTED in ADVANCE & the artists in addition briefly explained & demostrated what they played. There were NO SPEECHES or VOTE OF THANKS ETC BY ANY ONE ELSE SOME EXCEPT SOME PROFESSORS SPOKE ABOUT THE ARTISTS IN THEIR UNIVERSITIES. The CONCERTS were in the following fashion: lgj started w/his Varnam, R.T.P.(MANDATORY-WAS MAIN PIECE IN TERMS OF TIME)had LGJ'S Pallavi w/ragamalikai swarams W/LGJ&NR ALTERNATINGand ended w/lgj thillana. I wanted to present LGJ AS A COMPOSER ALSO. The only exception was an "unofficial" UNAUTHORIZEDconcert in CHICAGO WHERE THEY WERE PRESSURED to play a "botched" together type concert which created a HUGE MESS & THE FINAL FAREWELL CONCERET IN NYC WERE THEY PLAYED AS EQUALS FOR THE ENTIRE concert. KEY WAS THEY PLAYED LIKE "REGULAR" CONCERTS WE WERE USED TO IN CONVENTIONAL ARI FORMAT THO' AN ABBREVIATED VERSION.......BOTH WERE VERY PARTICULAR AS WELL AS THE EAST-WEST EXCHANGE about this as at that time there was UNIVERSAL AGREEMENT ABOUT WHAT A CLASSICAL CARNATIC MUSIC CONCERT WAS supposed to be esp. as it was considered representative! VKV

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