MEETINGS OF RASIKAS DURING THE SEASON

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 22 Dec 2008, 21:03

Here you go.

mohan · Post by **mohan** » 22 Dec 2008, 21:33

Can I suggest that we meet for a cup of coffee and snacks at New Woodlands at 3.30 pm on Wednesday 24th. This would allow time people to still go for evening concerts if they wish.

rajumds · Post by **rajumds** » 22 Dec 2008, 22:24

As kulkarni suggested, it would be better if we meet to spend an evening together which means sacrificing a concert to be with fellow rasikas. Ofcourse we can go to a concert together or have a jam session. But the meetup should be the first priority. It will not workout if we try to squeeze a meeting between concerts.

The other option is post your program in the twitter thread and meetup with rasikas who are planning to attend the same concert

Personally 24th at 3.30 pm is ruled out .(for that matter afternoon on any working day)

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 22 Dec 2008, 23:42

I think Vainika is planning a jam session on the 27th (??)...meanwhile I wonder if our walk on 24th is still on. The broad plan is to meet outside the Kapali temple at about 5.30, join a bhajan goshti (or have one of our own!), take a look at some musical landmarks around and end with breakfast at the NGS/Academy/MFAC.

If it is still on, I desperately need some help on the historical aspects since my sense of history is zero!

sagars · Post by **sagars** » 23 Dec 2008, 08:05

I wpild love to go to morning bhajan party with fellow rasikas. Ofcourse to Karpagambal mess too.

Even 4/5 of s are there we should meet.

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 23 Dec 2008, 08:11

I am certainly on for the 24th - as far as I am concerned, I will be trying to make as much of these opportunities as I can - rather like a camel storing up on water! So, count me in for any of these.

sagars · Post by **sagars** » 23 Dec 2008, 08:27

Vijay . Letus organise tomorrow morng meet at Kapali temple. My mobile no is 09313566942. Pl SMS your mobile no. Anybody else interested in coming mayalso kindly SMS their mobile no.

I also dontknow the historical places for walk. Let us find out. But I think mornign gathering will be good.
LET US MAKE IT.

arunk · Post by **arunk** » 23 Dec 2008, 08:52

24th morning is out (afternoon/evening is ok) for me. 27th is also out.

Arun

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 23 Dec 2008, 08:54

Guys have fun in the morning with Captain vijay. I cannot make it in mornings during weekdays.

bilahari · Post by **bilahari** » 23 Dec 2008, 08:59

What public transport is available so early in the morning for us to get to places? Your history sense may be zero but more dangerously my chennai sense is negative!

gobilalitha · Post by **gobilalitha** » 23 Dec 2008, 09:32

vijay, Rshankar, will you pl give your contact numbers? I am game for the meet, but exactly when and where ? BILAHARI ,AUTORICKSHAWS ARE AVAILABLE gobilalitha

sagars · Post by **sagars** » 23 Dec 2008, 10:48

oH Good We have already five people. Hope it goes toten atleast.

Bilahari. From which part of chennai it would be travelling. May somebody can meet enroute. Mornign autos are available.

tkb · Post by **tkb** » 23 Dec 2008, 10:56

Nice to know that few might meet tmrw morning and i am feeling sad that i will not be in a position to make it.

If it is possible for members, i invite you all to my house 23 /13 vasudevapuram westmamablam (near Rangarajapuram 5 lights) to meet between 10 - 12 noon. I can organise snacks / food depending on the no.of people who can attend. Pho: 42073403 and mob: + 91 94443 90193. If confirmed i can give exact location / direction for you all to come home. I forgot to say that it is for tmrw 24th Dec'08 or 26th Dec'08.

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 23 Dec 2008, 14:05

OK anyone who is interested can show up in front of Kapali main gopuram at 5.30 AM tomorrow and let us figure it out from there! We can end with Darshan and breakfast.

Bilahari you should be able to get an auto after 5 AM. Chennai wakes up early! Hope to see some of you there! Still looking for tips on places of interest.

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 23 Dec 2008, 14:06

We can plan another meeting on 27th afternoon - maybe meet at someone's place or just for lunch somewhere

bilahari · Post by **bilahari** » 23 Dec 2008, 15:59

Thanks for the info everyone. I'm coming from Velachery. My local contact number is 9884399853. Hope to see many of you tomorrow!

sagars · Post by **sagars** » 23 Dec 2008, 16:52

Great. We will meet at main gopuram.

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 23 Dec 2008, 18:07

Main gOpuram - perfect!

mohan · Post by **mohan** » 23 Dec 2008, 20:17

Sorry I have a planned trip to Vadapalani tomorrow morning so can't make it. Will catch up with some of you at my concert at Swamy's hall Mandaveli on Saturday 27th at 3pm

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 23 Dec 2008, 20:25

Would love to see pictures of Rasikas doing Bhajan in front of Kapali at Mylapore!
It will be a classic. Also post the song list!

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 23 Dec 2008, 21:02

5.30am?

No... sorry...

But I'm sure you'll all have a magic time

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 23 Dec 2008, 23:17

Well as of now it is Sagar, Ravi, Gobilalitha and husband (!!), Bilahari + self. As above we will meet in front of the Gopuram at 5.30, make a round of the temple, have darshan and have breakfast...I will be heading to the Academy for the morning lecdem afterwards

jananee · Post by **jananee** » 23 Dec 2008, 23:26

Vijay: Hopefully I shud make it alongwith jeyaar another forumite. My tel nos 98413 26895.

tkb · Post by **tkb** » 24 Dec 2008, 08:04

Hope today's morning meeting would have been a nice one with good dharshan, breakfast and more importantly knowing each other.

prashant · Post by **prashant** » 24 Dec 2008, 09:05

Humming karuNakaranE shivashankaranE gati vEr illai IshA kapAli and wishing I were there with you all. Hope the temple visit was great!

PUNARVASU · Post by **PUNARVASU** » 24 Dec 2008, 09:26

I was mentally present in front of the kapAlIswarar temple this morning at 5.Hope you all had a great time.

gobilalitha · Post by **gobilalitha** » 24 Dec 2008, 10:02

vijay, thank you for your early morning phonecall. I could not make it due to want of escort, as mrs had other commitments.Even though I venture to go out alone , I am not allowed due to failing eyesight,short of hearing and crippling knee problem.Iam sure all the participants had a wonderful time, leaving for bangalore on the a/n of 26th. For the past 5 days ,Mohan took me tosome performances. the last one being jugalbandhi by SriRam and Anu. our best wishes to all the members.gobilalitha

sagars · Post by **sagars** » 24 Dec 2008, 10:34

Hello Friends. Yes we had a good morng meeting. six of us as per the above list except Gobilalitha.

We went around with the Haridoss giri troup and then listened to Rukmini Ramani troup for sometime.

Happy to listen to Parvathi Nayagane by Haridoss group and Ravi was also happy to listen Karpagame by Rukmini Ramani.

We had breakfast at MA then left to each others next destination.

Hope to meet more rasikamites during the the next two or three days.

Personally thank Vijay, Ravi, Bilahari and Jananee for making it. Enjoyed every momemt of it. Look forward for more such meetings.

Next year I think we can plan it and have a RASIKAS day during season on a Sunday to facilitate office goers in the City.

bilahari · Post by **bilahari** » 24 Dec 2008, 10:45

Yes, I had a great time. Parvathi Nayagane was very good. Was nice meeting jananee again, great to meet sagars and two forum veterans, rshankar and vijay! Maybe a more leisurely meet next time at a more earthly hour as well! Balu mama, we missed you and family. Was fully counting on the Singapore ring-leader making it this morning.

jananee · Post by **jananee** » 24 Dec 2008, 11:06

Oh yes..me and jeyaar enjoyed every minute of the morning meet! The ambience was lovely and it was great catching up with some more forumites..Met vijay for the first time and it was nice meeting bilahari after some time. Pity that we had to rush off a little early. Did manage to catch Rukmani Ramani /darshan at the temple and a cup of coffee before we rushed off. Shud do this in a bigger scale next year!

sagars · Post by **sagars** » 24 Dec 2008, 11:28

TKB- Thanks for the invitation. I think Foramites are busy attending concert. We will make it someother time. We hope to see you one of the concerts.

tkb · Post by **tkb** » 24 Dec 2008, 14:51

sagars,

Nice to know from all your posts that tha morning meet went well, sadly i could not make it. I understandall are busy and thank you for acknowledging my invite. Hope to catch up with you all in a cocnert this season.

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 24 Dec 2008, 15:26

The whole experience was awesome! Thanks to Vijay for suggesting this in the first place. Having spent many a childhood hour at the kapAlISvarar temple, this mArgazhi bhajanai was a first experience for me. The groups were awesome. I do have a recording of the bhajans sung by the Haridoss Giri group, and of Smt. Rukmini Ramani singing karpagamE - I can post them if there is any interest.

The rasikas group consisted of Vijay, Sagar, Jananee, Jeeyar, Bilahari, and yours truly. It was really great to meet Sagar, Bilahari, and Jeeyar for the first time! I second the idea that this is an experience to be repeated - the pre-dawn ambience is simply awesome.

As I arrived at the main entrance (tEraDi vAsal) to the strains of Sri TMS crooning 'par palarum pOTrum pati mayilApuriyil Sirpam nirainda uyar SingAra kOvil koNDa' I knew that the omens portended a great time! As Sagar and I waited for the others, Bilahari came with the location of the Haridoss Giri group, with whom we caught up shortly, and walked all around the tank (mADa vIdi) listening to the songs rendered with such devotion, so early in the morning! I particularly enjoyed the abandon (but with perfect tALam, I suppose) the participants wielded the cappLAkaTTai and the jAlrA. This group used a harmonium to great effect, and sang songs in kannaDa in addition to tamizh. They rendered a nice ugabhOga, and several viruttams as well. The gait was as follows: They would stop to sing a viruttam followed by a song, after which they would chant as they walked to the next spot to stop at.

The group with Smt. Rukmini Ramani used a taMbUrA, and was generally much smaller and not as loud as the other group. By the time both groups got back to the temple, dawn had broken and the day had started in earnest. As an aside, I was amazed at the number of people that Sagar knew/met during our perambulation!

As an appropriate conclusion to this experience, we decided to seek the blessings of karpagAmbikA samEta kapAlISvarar. I was disappointed to note that the temple no longer has an enclosure housing their trademark peacocks and peahens.

We saw some more groups on our way out. The breakfast at MA was nice, and it allowed us to catch up a bit socially as well. And as I said earlier, the experience is worth repeating annually.

Sri TKB, we will try to catch up at a concert as Sagar says!

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 24 Dec 2008, 19:22

Thanks Shankar!
Now let us see it and hear it!

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 24 Dec 2008, 19:37

Truly makes me wish I was a morning bird instead of a night owl.

gobilalitha · Post by **gobilalitha** » 24 Dec 2008, 21:58

jingle bells jingle bells , jingle all the way. Is it mohanam? the taste of cakes still linger . at a christmas eve celebration at BPCL OFFICERS CLUB GOBILALITHA

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 24 Dec 2008, 22:06

GBL/and bhajana goShTi
have a look at my XMAS composition
http://rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic.php? ... earth.html
Will it ever be sung at any Bhajan-get-together

(Am I crazy? Secularism in CM is nice to talk about! Not in practice

)

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 24 Dec 2008, 23:46

I enjoyed it too although last time I had started earlier and there was very little traffic. Anyway the company more than made up for it. TKB sir, sorry for not being able to make it for lunch. I desperately needed to sleep after the visit and morning sessions at the Academy!

tkb · Post by **tkb** » 25 Dec 2008, 08:05

vijay,

I can understand and looks like you all had a great day which i missed very much.

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 25 Dec 2008, 14:42

Here is a link to 'tirumaiyilai karpagamE' from Smt. Rukmini Ramani and party.

http://rapidshare.com/files/176598827/m ... ajanai.mp3

Couple of things:

1) Due to the poor quality of the recording, I think the best setting is to use 'vocal booster' on the iTunes equalizer, with maximum pre-amplification.

2) If there are any objections to sharing the recording, please let me know and I will delete it.

Please note that at the end, the group offers salutations to Sri tyAgarAja mUrti and Sri pApanAsa Sivan mUrti! None of the other composers are mentioned. I wonder why.

The other file (recording of the Haridoss Giri group) is much larger and will take me a LONG time to upload with my current connection. I think I will upload that after I return home.

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 25 Dec 2008, 20:26

Thanks Shankar
In fact the audio is good even without any boosting. The ambience indeed gives the illusion of being among the bhajan ghoShtTi. In fact the coherence in the group is much better than the Thyagaraja Aradhanai group

Do u/l the rest too as well as any pictures. Lucky we do not have to get up by 5.00AM to participate in the bhajan group (by your courtesy!)

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 25 Dec 2008, 23:15

Junta, impromptu meeting planned based on Kamalamba's suggestion (whom I bumped into at Malavika's dance). Broad plan is to meet around the Academy for lunch. Woodlands may be the best bet and I will have to really squueze it between Prasanna's and Krishna's concerts at the Academy - both of whom I am very keen to listen to.

So that's roughly between 1.15 and 2. Anyone wishing to join is welcome. I will be at the Academy...

semmu86 · Post by **semmu86** » 26 Dec 2008, 14:07

anything planned this sunday(28th??)

cienu · Post by **cienu** » 26 Dec 2008, 14:15

semmu86 wrote:anything planned this sunday(28th??)

http://rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic.php? ... 09-p4.html

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 26 Dec 2008, 15:27

Meeting details, with time and place, roundup, please?

vainika · Post by **vainika** » 26 Dec 2008, 17:42

Dear rasikas, I'm writing to let people know a jam session will be happening on Sunday 28th Dec, from 1-3 pm. It will be at the home of the Rams, friends who reside on Radhakrishnan Salai, near Citi Center. Please RSVP on this board as I'm trying to get a head count. If you need to contact me offlist for details, I can be reached at [email protected] or 98414-76101.

jayaram · Post by **jayaram** » 26 Dec 2008, 19:58

Dear friends,
unfortunately I won't be able to meet up with you all this season...
my mother passed away recently and I have been busy with the family functions.

Hopefully we can meet up next season.

warm regards to all,
Jayaram
(currently in Bangalore, leaving for London in 2 days' time)

PUNARVASU · Post by **PUNARVASU** » 26 Dec 2008, 20:15

jayaram,
hearfelt condolences from a forumite who suffered a similar loss recently.It is so difficult to come to terms with it.Loss of a parent makes one realise all of a sudden that there is no more the blessing hand above ones head. Time probably is the best healer. I hope she did not suffer and had a peaceful end.

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 26 Dec 2008, 20:59

Jayaram
Very sorry to hear about your mother's demise. May her soul rest in peace!

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 26 Dec 2008, 21:17

jayaram
I was thinking about you for quite some time ,very sorry to hear the news. May her soul Rest in peace.