TMK at Bharath Kalachar on 19 Dec 2008

[bilahari]

Vocal: TM Krishna
Violin: Mysore Manjunath
Mrudangam: Kamalakara Rao
Khanjira: BS Purushothaman

Approximate Songlist:

01. teliyalEru rAma (S @ pallavi ) - dhEnuka - dEshAdi
02. bogIndra sAyinam - kuntalavarALi - khanda chApu
03. mInalOchanA (R, N @ kAmapAlinI bhavAnI, S) - dhanyAsi - mishra chApu
04. srI dakshinAmurthE - shankarAbharanam - mishra jhampa
05. EthAvunarA (R, N @ srI karudaku thyAgarAja chita, S, T) - kalyAni - Adi
06. pullAki pUnthAi (viruttam) - sahAna, hamIrkalyAni ?, kEdAragowLa, kApi, sAma
varuvAro varam tharuvAro - sAma - Adi
07. athuvum (?) solluvAL avaL anEkam - sowrAshtram ?
08. elArAdAyanE kAmini - bhairavi - Adi
09. santhatham banda - bEhAg - Adi
10. rAmachandrAya (mangalam) - kurinji - Adi

TMK presented a fairly good concert at YGP this evening. The concert started with a melodious teliyalEru, with a few good rounds of swaras to boot, where TMK produced a sublime gamaka on the gandharam in singing the phrase MDPG,,, when returning to the pallavi. He also used several janta sequences centered around the nishadam which were nice. Bogindra sAyinam was a surprise second piece and somehow felt rather light at the beginning of a concert. The sub-main, Dhanyasi, was overall above average. The ragam was definitely very standard and not very moving either, but TMK improved on it by singing a great krithi in the raga and doing an electric neraval (in two speeds) at kAmapAlini. In the midst of an extended high-speed neraval sequence, however, TMK seemed to completely throw the sahitya into the garbage and was pretty much just singing thagathagatha, thiguthigu, and other nonsensical syllables. I realise it's challenging to articulate the lyrics in a second-speed neraval but the speed of the neraval just cannot sacrifice sahitya. Then it may as well be called a metered thanam in the raga. The Dhanyasi once again went downhill with just a couple of rounds of swaras ending in each word chosen for the neraval. I'm biting my lip trying to avoid comparing this Dhanyasi to Vijay Siva's yesterday.

TMK's rendering of Sri Dakshinamurthe was probably the highlight of the concert for me. He sang it in vilamba kalam and brought out all the soft nuances of the raga in each sangathi, with an especially delicate progression from the madhyama to the panchamam in the pallavi. Surely it's weighty renditions like these that should bridge two heavy and elaborate items in a concert, and not 3-minute bullet trains that nobody even remembers half an hour after the concert?

The Kalyani rendition lasted an hour exactly, with fifteen minutes of ragam, ten minutes of neraval, ten minutes of swaras, and a fifteen minute thani. It was a very proportionate, controlled, and classical rendition of Kalyani (by TMK; we'll get to the violinist later). The highlights of the alapanai were TMK's long stop at the shadjam, well in shruti, with Manjunath mantaining a strong and fluid bow over both E and A strings. He used that long pause to step slightly into the nishadam, and it had a great effect. After the customary tara sthayi phrases and brigha phrases running up and down the octaves, TMK brought the alapanai to a great close dipping all the way to the mandra shadjam and even lower, and he even managed a gamaka or two in the anumandra/mandra sthayi boundaries, keeping the Kalyani in the exercise intact. The classic krithi was rendered excellently, and a very elaborate neraval was performed in two speeds here. The only elaborate swaraprastharam of the concert followed the thorough neraval and had some nice phrases avoiding the shadjam and in the tara sthayi.

I was third time unlucky and no RTP came after the main item, which was really disappointing because TMK sings thanam so well and in my carefully designed and calibrated concert schedule, I can only ration one concert for TMK. I guess the RTP must wait for next year. To make up for the disappointment, TMK rendered a really moving viruttam, with a particularly excellent sahana, followed by some rather nice numbers.

Mysore Manjunath lent very good support on the violin, though he may feel somewhat hard done by because TMK often didn't allow him a response after an extended neraval or swara sequence. Manjunath's Dhanyasi ragam was slightly better than TMK's effort, but his Kalyani was really quite imaginative, drawing often from the Yaman book of tricks but carefully not overstepping the accompanist's role and retaining the classical carnatic Kalyani sculpted by TMK. Manjunath earned applause by playing some fast sequences across the octaves culminating in a smooth glide from the shadjam to tara panchamam. His bowing was top-notch, especially in accompanying for neraval.

Kamalakara Rao, the senior most disciple of PMI, was extraordinary on the mrudangam. The sheer clarity and azhuttham of his strokes was enough to awe, and he supplemented technique with good aesthetic sense, providing soft strokes and silence in slower renditions, and unabated enthusiasm for faster numbers. Listening to him was definitely a highlight of the concert. The thani he and Purushothaman played was very exciting. Purushothaman was not cowed by Kamalakara Rao, and played excellent returns with the violin, full of azuttham, and with wonderful anticipation.

Side Note:
BEWARE: PREPOSTEROUS CONTENT FOLLOWS.

The speech giving lady started off her you're-so-great-and-so-are-you-and-you're-a-genius speech quoting the Devil's Advocate dialogue from The Hindu, saying how TMK had demonstrated you didn't need bhakthi to make good music, and TMK stepped in immediately and said, "No, no, I didn't say no bhakthi, I asked bhakthi for what (to what end)!" And she said, "yes, bhakthi to the raga," and he nodded. Make of the exchange what you will.

[vasanthakokilam]

Bilahari: Good review. Thanks.

On the prepostrous side note, I think TMK is consistent there. He did make that point about, even if tangentially, bhakthi for the raga.

[jananee]

Bilahari : enjoyed your review. Hope we get to meet this season....

[rajaglan]

Bilahari, Nice review . It is quite sometime (in bangalore) we have heard TMK giving RTP.
Why compare Vijay Siva and TMK? Vijay Siva is in to two decades of experience in CM and they both belong to different school.
On their best days, I like both.

I am sure TMK in this season will have some surprise package in MA just like last year's 'mari mari-kamboji' .

[Jigyaasa]

06. pullAki pUnthAi (viruttam) - sahAna, hamIrkalyAni ?

Yes, it was hamIrkalyANi. N I'm curious as to why after kApi, there was a prolonged gap, when it appeared as if the violinist was trying to "fill in"...

07. athuvum (?) solluvAL avaL anEkam - sowrAshtram ?

Yes, sowrAshTram... Strange lyrics in this one... Don't know enuf abt Tamil to appreciate the piece but really couldn't figure out much of it...

an electric neraval (in two speeds) at kAmapAlini. In the midst of an extended high-speed neraval sequence, however, TMK seemed to completely throw the sahitya into the garbage...

I have noticed this pretty much in all his neravals at the faster speed... The very meaning of neraval seems lost n it's just like swara patterns where instead of the swaras themselves, "nonsensical syllables" are sung. What's the idea behind rushing thru a neraval like that when the import of the words isn't conveyed? Anyway, there are kalpanaswaras at breakneck speed.

I was third time unlucky and no RTP came after the main item, which was really disappointing because TMK sings thanam so well and in my carefully designed and calibrated concert schedule, I can only ration one concert for TMK.

Musica Academy, Mylapore Fine Arts, Kalarasana and Brahma Gana Sabha in that order are the best choices in case u'd like to hear an RTP by any artist, the latter three because the concerts usually span approx three hours in these venues.

... TMK stepped in immediately and said, "No, no, I didn't say no bhakthi, I asked bhakthi for what (to what end)!" And she said, "yes, bhakthi to the raga,"

U missed the "whatever" that she said dismissively after his retort. I guess it got eaten up in the chuckles and other random noises at this point

[bilahari]

Jigyaasa, I don't understand much lyrical Tamil but this sowrashtram one had pretty understandable lyrics. I too didn't have a clue what it was getting at! And yes, I completely missed the "whatever" she said after TMK rather rudely stepped on her tail just as she was priming herself for an exuberant commendation of his music! I returned to YGP this year after Sanjay, in the 2.5 hour slot allotted to him last year at the same venue produced a remarkable Shubhapanthuvarali RTP. I guess I thought it was a norm at this sabha as well. I've expected RTPs at KGS as well, largely due to the great LGJ concerts from this venue decades ago! That's a lot of miscalculations on my part.

Rajaglan, I had no intention of comparing both as artistes, but only their specific renditions of the raga. It is but a natural human tendency (however flawed), right?! But you're right, on their day, both can be exceedingly good.

VK, I thought TMK was being consistent as well. I guess this is the way to market yourself, by playing Devil's Advocate in the media all the time. Everybody at YGP must've read that article because the moment the speech lady mentioned it, everybody started chuckling and making noise.

Jananee, do hope to catch up with you as well!

[keerthi]

The mangalam that begins 'RamachandrAya ' is in Navaroj; often sung in Sankarabharanam . Was it rendered in kurinji here ??

[bilahari]

Keerthi, not sure of the raga though it's a common piece. It's the one by Badrachala Ramadas right?

[shreyas]

This is a commercial album too. It's amazing!