Dikshitar Akandam on 8th February 2009

Miscellaneous topics on Carnatic music
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mridhangam
Posts: 981
Joined: 04 Dec 2006, 13:56

Post by mridhangam »

Dear Members

Given below is the invitation for the Dikshitar Akandam to be celebrated on 8th February.
Rasikas are requested to attend in large numbers and make the programme a grand success.
==================================================================
Bharatiya Sangeetha Vaibhavam Trust
proudly presents a grand Akhandam devoted to
the composer non-pareil Shri Muthuswamy Dikshitar
between 9 AM and 9 PM on Sunday, the 8th of February 2009
at the Sivagami Pettachi Auditorium, MCTM School, Alwarpet, Chennai.

Dr. Madhavan, Secretary, Sanskrit College, Chennai, inaugurates
Shri S.Rajam speaks (in the evening)

Sikkil Gurucharan, Sanjeev (Violin), Neyveli Skandasubramaniyam (Mridangam), B.S.Purushottam (Kanjira);

Seetha Rajan & Students, L.Ramakrishnan (Violin), Neyveli Skandasubramaniyam (Mridangam);

Amrutha Venkatesh, L.Ramakrishnan (Violin), S.J.Arjun Ganesh (Mridangam);

Swarna Rethas, S.P.Ananthapadmanabha (Violin), S.J.Arjun Ganesh (Mridangam);

Mohan Santhanam, S.P.Ananthapadmanabha (Violin), S.J.Arjun Ganesh (Mridangam);

Suguna Varadachary, V.V.S Murari (Violin), Neyveli Skandasubramaniyam (Mridangam);

Malladi Brothers, S.Varadarajan (Violin), Trichy Sankaran (Mridangam), S.Karthick (Ghatam);

Vijayalakshmy Subramaniam, V.V.S Murari (Violin), J.Balaji (Mridangam);

Gayathri Venkataraghavan, Akkarai Subhalakshmi (Violin), Neyveli Skandasubramaniyam (Mridangam);



Lunch / Beverages will be served

All are cordially welcome


================================================

saramati
Posts: 76
Joined: 28 Aug 2008, 13:29

Post by saramati »

many thanks for the information and invitation. Would it be possible to know at what time during the day is malladi brothers cutchery

mridhangam
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Joined: 04 Dec 2006, 13:56

Post by mridhangam »

Malladi brothers will be around 3.30 pm

J.balaji

PUNARVASU
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Joined: 06 Feb 2010, 05:42

Post by PUNARVASU »

A fitting homage.Thanks for the info.For those of us who can not attend, a write up about the function is welcome.

vijay
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Joined: 27 Feb 2006, 16:06

Post by vijay »

Wish I could have been there. All the best for the event

Shivadasan
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Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 07:52

Post by Shivadasan »

Wish the concerts are recorded and made available for those who could not attend.

gobilalitha
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Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 07:12

Post by gobilalitha »

T he chennai music lovers are very lucky, wish them all the best and blessings of Dikshitar. wish, kamalamba were there! Heartiest congrats to BharatheeyaSangeetha vaibhavam Trust members can such a function be held in Bangalore ?gobilalitha

rajeshnat
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Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 08:04

Post by rajeshnat »

mridhangam
WOuld it be possible for u to put timings for each of the concerts please, even rough would do if it is not accurate.

rshankar
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Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:26

Post by rshankar »

Wish the organizers the very best of Luck!!

arasi
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Joined: 22 Jun 2006, 09:30

Post by arasi »

Hope Chennai vAsis come in droves to attend such a mega music fare.

semmu86
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Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 09:39

Post by semmu86 »

wow.. wonderful event. hoping to be there

Arvind

mridhangam
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Joined: 04 Dec 2006, 13:56

Post by mridhangam »

All concerts are for 1 1/2 hours duration so you can easily calculate the timings from 9.30 onwards giving allowance for slight delays due to inauguration etc.

J.Balaji

Always_Evolving
Posts: 216
Joined: 16 Oct 2007, 08:33

Post by Always_Evolving »

But 1.5 hours each would imply that the concerts would go on until late 11 pm or more.. Then Malladis would not be until 6.30 pm whereas you indicated it would be around 3.30... Please clarify. Thanks

rajaglan
Posts: 709
Joined: 29 Dec 2006, 21:34

Post by rajaglan »

chennai'ites have overdose of everything in CM. A theme concert , on the great composer dikshitar and by great vidwans ....
Very fortunate people. You all must have turned mountains in your last birth.

I have heard of swarna rethas and mohan santhanam but never heard them sing. This is a good oppurtuniy. Hope artists
can check their list before the concerts so that repetitions are minimised.

I am going to miss Venaktesa Girisam, Subranmanyaya namaste and Meenkashi memudam, ...

vainika
Posts: 435
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 11:32

Post by vainika »

Nice! I wish, though, that they had included someone from the DKJ/DKP school - given their marvelous repertoire and solid pAThAntara; and, further, given the vaiNika-gAyaka context, at least one Veena concert.
Last edited by vainika on 07 Feb 2009, 08:08, edited 1 time in total.

gobilalitha
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Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 07:12

Post by gobilalitha »

My son Mohan(kamalamba) used to mention about a Dikshitar kriti in raaga paras,I forgot the words, nor do I have a reference book.I wish somebody posts it . gobilalitha

Sathej
Posts: 586
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 00:23

Post by Sathej »

There are quite a few Krithis by Dikshithar in Paras actually. The Navagraha Krithi Shri Shukra and Chinthaye Mahalinga come to mind readily.

Sathej

rbharath
Posts: 2333
Joined: 05 Feb 2010, 10:50

Post by rbharath »

There are 4 Dikshitar kritis in paras according to Dr. VV Srivatsa

srI sukhra bhagavantam
cintayE mahAlinga mUrtim
mahAlingEsvaram
madurAmbA jayati

mridhangam
Posts: 981
Joined: 04 Dec 2006, 13:56

Post by mridhangam »

Ha i waited for someone to write a review about vijayalakshmi subramaniam and Gayatri Venkatraghavan who sang after Malladi Brothers. May be the rasikas left after listening to Malladi.

After Malladi Brothers Shri S.Rajam spoke at length about Dikshitar Kritis.

Mrs. Vijayalakshmi Subramaniam is really endowed with a melodious voice sang beautiful kritis of Dikshitar in an appealing way.

The song list goes :

Sri Maha Ganapathi-Gowla-Misra Chaapu
Varadarajam Upaasmahe-Saaranga-Rupakam
Ekambresha Naayike-Shudha Saaveri-Adi
Hariyuvathi Haimavathi-Haimavathi
Kamalamba Samrakshathumam-Ananda Bhairavi-Misra Chaapu
Gunijanathi nutha-Gurjari-Adi
Somasundareswaram-Shudha Vasantha-Adi
Seshachala-Varali-Rupakam
Santatam Pahimam-Rupakam

Her song list and the renditions were impressive in the fact that she chose difficult kritis like Ekambresha Nayike, Gunijanathinutha and Somasundareswaram.
She explained about Gurjari in detail about the shruti beda variations in SA and Ri which was informative and educative. For an Akhandam of such magnitude Vijayalakshmi did full justice by bringing in rare kritis mixing with the popular ones thus making the concert really enjoyable.

While vijayalakshmi was enjoyable and melodious Gayatri Venkatraghavan was very emotional and sensitive. I am not trying to make a comparison just giving the rasikas the different shades that the artistes evoked. Vijayalakshmi was intellectual and sophisticated renditions coupled with melodious appeal.

Gayathri Venkatraghavan was bhava laden which was appealing to the emotions and she sang the following with equal poise and aplomb.
Tharakeshwara Dayanide-Shankarabharanam
Senapathe Palayamam-Pantuvarali
Thyagarajaya-Sri
SantanaGopala-Khamas
Mahalakshmi-Madhava Manohari
Sri subramanyo-Thodi
Ramachandrasya-Hemavathi ?
Govindarajaya-Surati

Most of the kritis sung by these two artistes showed their real hardwork, dedication and sincerity. They had pathanthara shudha as well as renditional poise.

Vijayalakshmi Was accompanied on the violin by Shri V.V.S.Murari and Gayatri Was accompanied by Akkarai Subbulakshmi.

for both the above concerts i accompanied them on the mridangam

The crowd turnout was impressive and sat till the end of the concerts which finished at 9 pm.

As i couldnt attend the programmes in the mornings due to other commitments i have requested the organiser to give me the complete list of compositions rendered by different artistes.

Mannarkoil J Balaji

rshankar
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Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:26

Post by rshankar »

Thanks, Sri Balaji.

Suji Ram
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Joined: 09 Feb 2006, 00:04

Post by Suji Ram »

Ramachandrasya-Hemavathi ?

Isn't this one in dharmAvati ?

mridhangam
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Joined: 04 Dec 2006, 13:56

Post by mridhangam »

Suji Ram

That is y i have also put the question. I could have asked Gayatri herself. Let me enquire and tell. May be someone else also could help me. My knowledge of Ragas is very limited and also i am very poor at dissecting subtle differences.
Sorry.

J.Balaji

prashant
Posts: 1658
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 09:01

Post by prashant »

rAmaCandrasya dAsOham is in dharmavati.

The shri rAgA krithi is the magnum opus tyAgarAja mahadhvajArOha.

vijisubra
Posts: 31
Joined: 13 Jan 2009, 10:21

Post by vijisubra »

Thankyou balaji... didn't know you wrote so well :D
It has been a great experience participating in the Akhandam. Its organised wonderfully. They discuss with the artists the possible song lists-- to include rare songs and avoid any repetition. And the ambience is so conducive to giving your best... Their aim is to document all the available compositions of MD.

sureshvv
Posts: 5542
Joined: 05 Jul 2007, 18:17

Post by sureshvv »

Kudos to the organizers for conceiving and presenting this event. It was a phenomenal success and people arrived in droves especially for the last 3 concerts of the day. From the song lists which I do not have at the moment, it seems that full justice was done to the intent of the event - which is to popularize some of the still rare kritis of Dikshitar.

PS: The lunch was also excellent. Congratulations to the caterers.

ganeshkant
Posts: 963
Joined: 05 Feb 2010, 11:59

Post by ganeshkant »

Is not 'Ekambreshanayakeem' is in Karnataka Shuddha Saveri,a janyam of MMG which is called "Gunkali"in HM ? It is maentioned as SS in this column.

prashant
Posts: 1658
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 09:01

Post by prashant »

ekAmrEsha nAyikE is the krithi in suddha sAvEri - http://www.medieval.org/music/world/car ... shive.html
eKAmrEsha nAyakIm IshvarIm is the krithi in CAmaram - http://www.medieval.org/music/world/car ... varim.html

HR
Posts: 197
Joined: 12 Feb 2009, 09:53

Post by HR »

Just thought I will share my experience about the Akhandam that happened on Sunday... about which we already have an active thread :)

February 8, 2009 was a very memorable day in the calendar of Bharatiya Sangeetha Vaibhavam, for it was the fourth consecutive year that the trust hosted with pride, the Dikshathar Akhandam - a humble and sincere effort to pay homage to one of Carnatic music’s greatest Composers - Sri Muthuswami Dikshathar.

The 12 hour long event held at the Sivakami Pethachi Auditorium, on one of the most auspicious days in the Tamil almanac - Thai Poosam, was off to a musical inauguration with an invocation in Ragam Naatai by young Shankari Subramaniam, daughter and disciple of my Guru, carnatic vocalist Smt. Vijayalaksmy Subramaniam. Being a first timer at the Akhandam, I was not sure what was in store at the day long festival, but at many instances during the memorable day, I felt sad for not being witness to this wonderful event in the last three years. The prayer was followed by a brief introduction to the day’s proceedings, and then came a very educative speech about the great composer, by Dr. Madhavan, Secretary, Sanskrit College, who is also a Carnatic music enthusiast and keen follower of Dikshathar’s compositions. In his interesting account of the greatness of Dikshathar kritis, Sri Madhavan brought out that there are two kinds of compositions - those that have be studied to be understood completely and those that can learnt in the musical form directly. Dikshathar’s compositions which are a combination of rich language, meaning and spirituality, fall in the former category, the Kamalamba Navavarnams standing testimony to the same. Shri. Madhavan’s talk was followed by a heartfelt and appreciative speech about the event, in chaste Tamil, by Cleveland Sri V.V Sundaram, one of the forerunners in upholding the Carnatic music tradition in the USA.

The music session started off with Sri. Sikkil Gurucharan’s concert. One of the unique features of the Akhandam was that each artiste’s song list comprised a combination of popular, not-so-popular and rare compositions of Dikshathar. Most of the not-so-popular and rare compositions, being set in rare ragams, it was a truly educative experience for both the artiste as well as the listener, to say the least. Gurucharan was followed by Smt. Seetha Rajan and her disciples in a group concert. The short introduction by Smt. Seetha Rajan about the significance of each song was a fitting prelude to the rendering of the composition.


The afternoon saw host to the performances of the younger generation torch bearers of carnatic music- Kum. Amrutha Venkatesh , Sri Swarna Rethas and Sri Mohan Santhanam. The evening session started with Smt. Suguna Varadhachari’s concert, followed by the lively Malladi Brothers. This was followed by an emotional speech on the greatness and uniqueness of Dikshathar compositions by renowned Carnatic music exponent, Sangita Kala Acharya Sri S.Rajam.

Next on the agenda was something I was really looking forward to - my Guru Smt. Vijalayalakshmy Subramaniam’s concert. The highlight of the concert was the Graha Swarams in the Chittai Swaram of the rare composition Guni Janaadhi in Ragam Gurjari. A Graha Swaram is the starting note of a composition or piece. In this song, the Chittai Swaram is rendered with the starting note as ‘Sa’. This is followed by another round of the Chittai swaram by changing the Graha Swaram ‘Sa’ as ‘Ri’.

My Guru’s concert was followed by the final concert by Smt Gayathri Venkatraghavan. The accompanists for the concerts were an equal mix of veteran performers and young artistes, thus making interesting combinations.

The hospitality extended by the trust in terms of arranging for lunch and beverages through the day added additional flavour to the event. True to its word, the Akhandam proved to be boundless in both the educative as well as the musical experience.
Last edited by HR on 17 Aug 2009, 18:39, edited 1 time in total.

mridhangam
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Joined: 04 Dec 2006, 13:56

Post by mridhangam »

Mr.Ganeshkant sir

I heard this song first sung by Dr.S.Ramanathan way back about 25 years ago. Then DKJ sir used to sing in a soulful manner in most of his concerts. Dr.S.R. used to refer to this as Karnataka Shuddha Saaveri. That day Vijayalakshmi announced it as Shuddha Saaveri so i have just repeated for the sake of consistency. Though i dont know the difference.

Mannarkoil J Balaji

arasi
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Joined: 22 Jun 2006, 09:30

Post by arasi »

vijisub,
Good to have you on board. Welcome! We look forward to your educative posts. Nothing better for us than having more performers on RasikAs. As you say, the organizers have done a very good job in coordinating the event well.

Balaji,
Thanks for your input. As you know, your 'stage side' reviews are special to us.

malavi
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Joined: 06 Feb 2010, 14:47

Post by malavi »

Is not Ekamresanayike karnataka suddhasaveri ?

arasi
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Joined: 22 Jun 2006, 09:30

Post by arasi »

HR,
Not only did you you get to listen to the rich treasures of MD's krutis from senior and junior musicians, you also shared your experience with us. Yes, day long celebrations add a special atmosphere to such events...

rshankar
Posts: 13754
Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:26

Post by rshankar »

vijisubra wrote:Thankyou balaji... didn't know you wrote so well :D
Viji,

He has been treating us to these inimitable 'ring-side' views of concerts (with a dash of his peronal brand of humor) for quite some time now!!

Great to hear that the experience was enjoyable for the artists and to see the 'planning' that goes behind these programs.

Ravi Shankar

vijay
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Joined: 27 Feb 2006, 16:06

Post by vijay »

Welcome on board madam!

vijisubra
Posts: 31
Joined: 13 Jan 2009, 10:21

Post by vijisubra »

Thankyou. I am overwhelmed by this welcome:) Maybe I can contribute to more 'ringside' views too!
Pl do lets meet when you are at my concert... always nice to have a face behind a name:)

vijisubra
Posts: 31
Joined: 13 Jan 2009, 10:21

Post by vijisubra »

Ganeshkant/malawi
The raga is mentioned as Suddha Saveri only. Maybe karnataka was added later to distinguish from the regular SS (Thyagaraja/Devakriya) version. Its interesting to see it mentioned in SSP that 'these days some find it fashionable to sing it with elevated ri and Da'!!
It is mentioned as a janya of mela 1 in SSP. But it could be a janya of MMG going by the notes.... Gunkali is sampoorna in one version and takes the notes of mela 29 in another-- no equivalent with any Carnatic raga, I think.

rajeshnat
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Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 08:04

Post by rajeshnat »

Warm welcome smt viji sub,
I have so far heard you singing just three songs in one concert during the last 2008 kutcheri season(in german hall IFA) , IIRC it was a bantureeti in hamsanAdam and pakkala nilapadi in kharaharapriya as a main . To me more than this two , I liked your IIRC yAgapriyA dikshitar krithi that you sang before.
Last edited by rajeshnat on 12 Feb 2009, 22:31, edited 1 time in total.

rshankar
Posts: 13754
Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:26

Post by rshankar »

I forgot to welcome Dr. Vijayalakshmi before my post - apologies - comes from having corresponded with her earlier! A warm welcome to you!

We would LOVE to hear not just your ring-side views, but your views in general.

jagan
Posts: 157
Joined: 23 Dec 2006, 18:31

Post by jagan »

Thanks Balaji for filling up the void.

It was heartening to listen to the magnificient creation Thyagaraja Mahadhwaja sung by Gayathri Venkataraghavan. Her elaboration of Sri Raga was gloriously facile. The tranquility she invoked in singing this demanding masterpiece of Dikshithar with clear enunciation of the sahitya was something remarkable.

A memorable experience.
Last edited by jagan on 13 Feb 2009, 09:36, edited 1 time in total.

mridhangam
Posts: 981
Joined: 04 Dec 2006, 13:56

Post by mridhangam »

vijisubra wrote:Thankyou. I am overwhelmed by this welcome:) Maybe I can contribute to more 'ringside' views too!
Pl do lets meet when you are at my concert... always nice to have a face behind a name:)
We require the vocalist's ring side view of the accompaniment aspects also. Welcome aboard.

J.balaji

sbopparaju
Posts: 24
Joined: 29 Feb 2008, 10:49

Post by sbopparaju »

Hi Folks!
This is Suresh - Managing Trustee of Bharatiya Sangeetha Vaibhavam (BSV)! I'm delighted to be onboard this forum!
Am glad to note that our recent Akhandam has generated a decent amount of discussion. This on top of the excellent participation we saw at the event itself! I look forward to organizing more such events devoted to the phenomenal Dikshitar!

[email protected]
Posts: 78
Joined: 23 Dec 2007, 21:25

Post by [email protected] »

CONGRATULATIONS ON THE AKHANDAM SUCCESS. MAY THE SUCCESS ALSO BE AKHANDAM!.sent me reminising of GURUGUHANJALI by DR.SRIVATSA

vganesh
Posts: 263
Joined: 04 Feb 2010, 16:25

Post by vganesh »

I feel very guilty of missing this being in Chennai :| Hope to be there from next time. Congrats on sucess. Balaji Sir, I keep reading your posts. If you people are giving ring side view then we are like outer-outer ring side (just like bangalore ring roads :) )

arasi
Posts: 16873
Joined: 22 Jun 2006, 09:30

Post by arasi »

Jagan,
If Gayatri Venkataraghavan (one of our fellow members) does not mind, can we get to hear that beautiful kruti here?

jagan
Posts: 157
Joined: 23 Dec 2006, 18:31

Post by jagan »

Arasi,

Sorry. I do not have any recording of the concert or the krithi.

I learn that the Organisers of the event, Bharathiya Sangitha Vaibhavam Trust have had the entire series of concerts on that day recorded.

gowri narayanan
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Joined: 25 Dec 2006, 14:14

Post by gowri narayanan »

did anyone attend seeta rajan and students' concert?

sureshvv
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Joined: 05 Jul 2007, 18:17

Post by sureshvv »

I did.

Unfortunately I do not have the song list.

Rest assured that there were quite a few rare kritis and they were all rendered very nicely.

PUNARVASU
Posts: 2498
Joined: 06 Feb 2010, 05:42

Post by PUNARVASU »

The 'Friday ' review in The Hindu spoke highly of the concert.

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