Newspaper reviews

blackadder · Post by **blackadder** » 07 Jan 2009, 14:52

I am sure this topic has been discussed before and it has had its share of controversies. I could not find the thread and so I started this.

I read a few reviews in The Hindu (a newspaper which, like many of us, I have been reading for decades) and was appalled.

Samples: "Janani ninnu vina" in Reetigowla is attributed to Shyama Shastri. In another review, there is mention of a monumental Kalyani followed by a Thyagaraja krithi but no mention of the krithi at all. Of course, one might ask what purpose it would serve to know it. I would argue that it is not very different from reading a review of a concert, anyway. There have been many others like it over the past few weeks.

This is not the norm in The Hindu, I know (at least, I hope not). However, howlers like these should not be allowed to creep in. If I still continue to read the newspaper it is because of its overall balance and quality of writing. These irritants, though, make me wonder what proof-reading goes on there.

I wrote to the editor already, in case someone suggests that I do that first.

Moderator: If there is another thread for this, please move the post there. Thanks.

coolkarni · Post by **coolkarni** » 07 Jan 2009, 15:38

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 07 Jan 2009, 16:32

Plus there is ample scope for corrections/clarifications. The Hindu provides space for corrections/feedback too but this is rarely used...

shankarabharanam · Post by **shankarabharanam** » 08 Jan 2009, 11:40

I completely agree with Vijay...There have been other instances where they have also gone wrong in thalam and couple of musicians also pointed that out, not in the paper though

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 08 Jan 2009, 11:53

I am not a great reader of reviews, but I do notice that many of the ones that I look at are regurgitations of the same few phrases and sentiments. They could be picked at random by a computer (or by hand from a hat).

ganeshkant · Post by **ganeshkant** » 08 Jan 2009, 12:08

In a recent review they had written Karpaka Manohara a kriti of Papanasam Sivan in Malayamarutham as Valaji.I don't think all their critics are qualified ones in music.SVK,Lalitha Krishnan & Gowri Ramanarayanan really give good reviews IMO.Others...

rbharath · Post by **rbharath** » 08 Jan 2009, 12:45

these errors are very common these days.

calling nArayaNa gauLa as kApi nArAyaNi.. mentioning that neraval was done, while it wasnt. not naming the kriti but telling about it. there are lots of such instances. however, the blame doesnt really lie on the writer of the article alone. The editorial work also causes many such errors at times.

however, it is true that the group needs to do a better job and avoid mistakes...

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 08 Jan 2009, 13:25

SVK??? Not in my books...Gowri Ramnarayan writes well and appears to be sensitive to good art but is short on technical details. PS Krishnamurthy's reviews are quite insightful without being offensive. V Subramanian's reviews would be great if he could put across his points in a less strident manner - technically they do offer some good insights

While there is considerable room for improvement, let us also give credit where it is due. The Hindu has managed to put together a team which is by and large quite knowledgeable. They have also dedicated a lot of print space to covering concerts both on and off the season. I can't think of any other newspaper which has done so much to promote/cover the arts - at least not in India.

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 08 Jan 2009, 13:33

swaminAthan is the top pick to me in the hindu

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 08 Jan 2009, 13:45

Good point, vijay. Let us be glad of The Hindu's strong support of these arts.

rbharath · Post by **rbharath** » 08 Jan 2009, 21:28

true. The Hindu does yeomen service to carnatic music by writing so many many reviews and having special supplements and having tonnes of space for music, art and culture. there is no denying that and they are given all the credits they deserve for doing it.

however, they could be a little more cautious in avoiding some blatant errors.

Ragjay · Post by **Ragjay** » 09 Jan 2009, 20:53

I do not know why some have a prejudice against SVK. He is assigned to review concerts even at the age of 85 by the Hindu. The recent book release function had very senior musicians praising his knowledge of music.and his critical reviews. It was informed that one of the violinist of the current generation had in response to a critical review, telephoned him and asked him what he knew about music. He replied that this question should be asked of the Hindu and not him. His reviews are always confined to the performance and no personal references of the artists are made.His command over the language is superb and this is because of his having discharged editorial responsibilities for a very long time.The problem lies in our expecting reviews to reflect our views. earlier there were debates on whether their personal experience of the concert should reflect in their review. By very nature our music offers to affect us at a personal level. This is likely to be reflected in their reviews. I also do not agree with all his reviews but we cannot come to the conclusion that he has no musical knowledge. amongst the current list of reviewers he is the most competent musically, according to senior artists like TNK Sir UKS Sir VVS Sir and a host of senior artists Bye Ragjay

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 09 Jan 2009, 22:33

Hi Ragjay - I think we have had this discussion before - you have a right to your views and I, to mine. I acknowledge that Sri SVK has his share of admirers - I have no grudge against them but some of the irksome points in his reviews include:

Very little technical details - hardly anything on the rhythm section, nadais, nothing on raga lakshanas It may be OK as a casual opinion on a forum like this but not when someone is supposed to be an expert - especially when the critic does not mince his words himself.

Language can be very abrasive at times - I remember TNS' concert once being compared to street theatre. Then Aruna Sairam got pulled up for "Rakshasa Abhinaya" or some such"¦to my mind these are personal and wholly avoidable comments.

In many cases it is quite obvious that the entire concert has not been attended. I canÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢t accept the excuse that a couple of pieces are enough to pass judgment, having sat through several concerts which come alive only towards the Pallavi or the main piece.

I am posting some links below to compare Sri SVK's reviews against what I consider a good review.

http://www.hindu.com/fr/2009/01/09/stor ... 270800.htm
(SVK on TM Krishna and S Gayathri) - any person who has been attending concerts for 3-4 years and has a basic grasp of ragas can come up with this. Moreover Krishna comes in for a lot of criticism which is not backed by anything other than adjective-ridden generalities.

http://www.hindu.com/ms/2009/01/07/stor ... 050300.htm
(PS Krishnamurthy on MS Sheela) - I am reproducing some sections that offer technical insights:

It did credit to Nalina Mohan that even on ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‹Å“High TensionÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢, with the strings pulled taut to match the singerÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s high scale (nearly six), the violin did not protest, but let her work on the musical angles without concern (shows that he is familiar with the challenges of playing the instrument)

In her deliberated alapana of raga Begada, laden with the essence of the ragaÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s stresses and curves, Sheela emphasised the kakili nishada in sanchara ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‹Å“Sa-ni-dha-pa-maÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢ while using the lower kaisiki or higher nishada in the ascending prayoga ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‹Å“ga-ma-pa-dha-nee"¦dha-pa.ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢ (it is the same Begada that SVK talks about - but this is what I would call a technical review)

One would think that bowing the lower shadja string simultaneously with other, at the higher sancharas, now and then ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Â

rbharath · Post by **rbharath** » 09 Jan 2009, 22:51

As an aside, I have a good friend, who writes a blog in which he translates Sri SVK's reviews from SVK english to normal english and would update it every week.

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 09 Jan 2009, 22:54

BHarath - I have heard about this - could you post the link?

rbharath · Post by **rbharath** » 09 Jan 2009, 22:54

well, he has presently made his blog private. once he puts back on public domain, i'll pass the links.

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 09 Jan 2009, 22:58

Ok no problem

bilahari · Post by **bilahari** » 10 Jan 2009, 06:12

Something few people would deny is the entertainment factor in SVK's reviews. Where else would you see lines like "more importantly, the sahitya was well-enunciated and mild-mannered"? And the repeated references to the chiselled phrases and enchanting edifices?

cmrasika · Post by **cmrasika** » 10 Jan 2009, 11:00

I think vijay has enough evidences to prove his point(regarding SVK's reviews)!!!
By the way, I stumbled upon this blog some time back and if i'm not mistaken, i think this is the one rbharat was referring to:

http://209.85.175.104/search?q=cache:l9 ... cd=2&gl=in

rbharath · Post by **rbharath** » 10 Jan 2009, 11:04

yes. its the same!

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 10 Jan 2009, 12:34

Thanks for the link CMRasika.

Bilahari, yeah - SVK never fails to entertain! There's always a gem or two in his posts! One thing I will say for him though is that he is consistent in his musical values (Ariyakuddi/MS style) and does not hesitate to pick on his favourite artistes once in a while (TMK used to be SVK's favourite back in those days when he was the mainstay of the Hindu's reviews)

blackadder · Post by **blackadder** » 12 Jan 2009, 19:11

http://www.hindu.com/ms/2009/01/07/stor "¦ 050300.htm
(PS Krishnamurthy on MS Sheela) - I am reproducing some sections that offer technical insights:

vijai, I agree that PSK is way better than SVK. I stopped reading SVK's reviews a long time ago. In this review, however, PSK mentions the main Kalyani but what did Sheela sing in the raga?

blackadder · Post by **blackadder** » 12 Jan 2009, 19:12

SVK has an alliterative streak that surfaces every third sentence. Never mind that it usually means nothing. I am reminded of this from a Wodehouse book:

...is like Shakespeare. It all sounds very good but doesn't mean a thing in the end.

revanthv552 · Post by **revanthv552** » 12 Jan 2009, 22:48

Here in hyderabad... the reviews given in the newspaper are really sick...
since 2006 i had been reading friday review regularly.. and i always find a mistake... The Hindu edition once mentioned that in the concert of Priya sisters[22-1-2007] they rendered a invocation on loard ganesha in hindolam whereas the invocation was in hamsadwani,.. they make valajis as malayamaruthams and anandabhairavi's as reethigowlas... In 2007 in the february edition, Smt.Gayatri Girish's concert review was published and there in place of Gayatri girish the singer was called Geetha Ganeshan... In this way there are innumerbale mistakes here in hyderbad editions... There was a critic Sri B R C Iyengar whose reviews were the once which always used to satisfy me and now last week he expired..and thus the friday review is going to be completely crap.... I saw that Krishna nee begane was printed as purandaradasar composition in the entire paper last week.....

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 12 Jan 2009, 22:50

Blackadder, the krithi was Thyagaraja's rarely heard gem, Karu Velpulu. It would be well worth the effort to pick the piece up from Sangeethapriya.

As for Shakespeare, I must disagree with PGW most vehemently...nothing/no one comes close to him AFAIC, least of all SVK!

rbharath · Post by **rbharath** » 12 Jan 2009, 23:15

revanth, is this the same BRC Iyengar who also was a expert in yoga?

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 12 Jan 2009, 23:27

IIRC that was BKS Iyengar

rbharath · Post by **rbharath** » 12 Jan 2009, 23:31

vijay wrote:IIRC that was BKS Iyengar

ok. i guess i got confused! sorry!

Always_Evolving · Post by **Always_Evolving** » 12 Jan 2009, 23:55

Can't find the link now but I distinctly recall a PS Krishnamurthy howler in his review of Parassala Ponnammal's Academy concert, which appeard in the Hindu last week: Gajavadana (todi) was referred to as a Muttuswami Diskhitar masterpiece.

Svaapana · Post by **Svaapana** » 13 Jan 2009, 09:20

revanthv552,

I am very sad to know that Sri BRC Iyengar is no more. He was highly sought after speaker during major concerts and he spoke with aplomb. Himself an accomplished vocalist (turned critic) and an erudite scholor his comments were looked forward to.
CM lovers in Hyderabad will certainly miss him

rbharath · Post by **rbharath** » 16 Jan 2009, 11:14

here are the original links to those SVK related articles that were put.

http://www.nonoscience.info/arts/svk-an ... swing.html
http://www.nonoscience.info/arts/identi ... f-svk.html
http://www.nonoscience.info/arts/what-a-waste.html
http://www.nonoscience.info/arts/i-bow-to-thee-svk.html
http://www.nonoscience.info/arts/when-p ... ities.html
http://www.nonoscience.info/2008/11/16/ ... s-lecture/

malavi · Post by **malavi** » 17 Jan 2009, 17:28

In The Hindu dated 16th jan.the kriti Teradeeyakarada in raga gaulipantu sung by young Vijay Narayan in Hamsadhwani NRI Music Festival is supposed to be composed by Maharaja Swatitirunal.....

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 17 Jan 2009, 20:45

I am glad it didn't say it was sung in Hamsadhvani

Ragjay · Post by **Ragjay** » 20 Jan 2009, 07:33

My.. my ..all are after the reviews of SVK. I shudder to think what would happen if you read the reviews of Subbudu who also made personal remarks .Bharaths link provide the perception of the person who reviewed the review. It is not necessary that others will arrive at the same conclusion That reviews of SVK are not palatable to some is evident and the fact that some of us may not perceive what he intends to convey in his reviews and jump to conclusion of our own is also not correct. Regarding errors creeping I was informed that the reviews are handed in ,but the paper schedules their printing. In the process the reviewer has no opportunity to see the proof of his review and this is done by others , hence the chances of errors creeping in is evident and this is not attributable to the reviewer.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 20 Jan 2009, 09:46

Ragjay,
As someone who has also felt helpless about printer's devils, I do agree with you. I quipped merely because the sabha's name is also the name of a rAgam.

Dhanavendra · Post by **Dhanavendra** » 20 Jan 2009, 10:21

It is sad to know that B.R.C. Iyengar is no more. He is the best critic ever. Technically sound, no bombastic English and sans bias much unlike many critics in Chennai. I pray for his family.
In Chennai some critics don't attend some concerts because they don't like the Guru of the performer be it vocal, instrument or percussion. They are good at creating a hype of artists they personally like for whatever reason be it due to cult affinity, status affinity, family affinity, creed affinity etc. and manage to get big photos of such artists to be published. Some critics are very naive about nuances of music and get the list of songs and ragas from the artist themselves. Some of them are excellent but are prejudiced and again don't attend concerts of artists whom they personally don't like due to various reasons. But the cut above the rest is the set of critics who make it a point to prickle top artists in the hope of getting popular themselves. Again there are critics who dislike the bani and negatively criticise artists of such bani but due to strange reasons completely change their opinion and pour nectar on their review before going to press soon after a very recent bad review. Despite all these, the Hindu Reviews are the best because of the design, content, aesthetic taste, print fonts and quality of print, sharp photographs and creative Editors and sub-editors of Friday Review Section. Moreover they come up with a regret on the next occasion itself if there is a mistake.
Recently in the Times of India, during the music season, Gayatri Venkataraghavan and troupe's photo appeared and the review was about Gayatri Girish. But I didn't notice a regret column the next day implying they might not have noticed the goof up. Well well. It is easy to do arm chair criticism of critics. But from the critic's viewpoint, their assignment especially during music season might be awful because of the sound system, repetition of ragas by artists, afternoon 'siesta restraint' and lack of company from rasikas who think it is beyond their dignity to attend afternoon concerts. Thus all said and done, critics do a wonderful job during music season. But only people who have adequate technical knowledge, patience, health, flair for music, no person bias and willing to withstand the long hours of work because of their passion for music must choose the field. Others may please leave the field to such persons at least during the music season.

Anusha · Post by **Anusha** » 20 Jan 2009, 10:50

rbharath,

Thanks for posting the links to the re-reviews! Very apt indeed.

Ragjay · Post by **Ragjay** » 20 Jan 2009, 20:27

Hi There have been instances of artist who refuse to perform if critic x or y are present in the audience. If an artist gives a public concert then he has no business to suggest . who should attend the concert If the concert is ticketed then it amounts to a tort. Years back one of the sabhas faced with such a problem asked the performer to carry on with the performance or else decided to cancel the same and inform the reason for such a cancellation the concerned news paper also backed the reviewer to the hilt.There have been instances of artists ringing up the reviewer and venting their anger on the critic for his review of his performance.This is also a bad precedent. Also ciritcs have a duty to present a proper review and they should be technically sound and not commit such obvious errors that even lay rasikas can pinpoint. Bye Ragjay

Ragjay · Post by **Ragjay** » 20 Jan 2009, 20:31

Arasi my remark was not intended in any way to counter what you said It is indeed true what you have said in lighter vein is likely to happen or has happened already please do not take anything amiss. Bye Ragjay

Sathej · Post by **Sathej** » 20 Jan 2009, 20:47

Well, there is this recent article in Sruti by Shri BRC Iyengar (stated that it was his last article). Quite a few glaring mistakes. It says Mayamma Yani Ne in Manji! And one more such error that I can't remember now. I guess something like Telisi Rama in Ravichandrika!

Sathej

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 20 Jan 2009, 23:55

That may be so, Sathej, but at this point in time it may be better to reflect on the man's many contributions to music.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 21 Jan 2009, 00:41

Anusha,
Good to see your post. Haven't seen you in any concerts recently. Are you in town?

Sathej · Post by **Sathej** » 21 Jan 2009, 08:11

Agreed Vijay. But a reputed magazine such as Sruti could have done a better editorial job.
Sathej

Anusha · Post by **Anusha** » 21 Jan 2009, 15:41

Arasi-ji,

I have moved to Chennai, stay at Avadi. Attended quite a few concerts during the season. Commuting was tiring, somehow couldn't make it to rasika meetings.

It was a privilege to be part of many wonderful moments - Suguna Purushottaman's elaborate Janaki Ramana (alapana, neraval, swarams) at MFAC, TS Satyavathi's Sujana Jeevana at the academy, Chitravina Ravikiran's Todi RTP at academy, Carnatica brothers singing Angarakam ashryami following a serene Surati alapana by Ganesh, and many others. I liked Sriranjani's concert at NGS. She sang freely, enjoying the music. Listened to Pantula Rama twice, both were very good. Attending S. Girish's (Brindamma's grandson) concert was a very different experience. There were barely 4 people in the audience at Tattvaloka when it started and 10 by the end. When he sang a detailed Endukku Nirdaya with neraval, I found it quite apt! He sang Vinathasutha vahana, Chinnanadena, Nidhi Chala Sukhama as the main song, the mukhari padam Ososi, and a few others.