Sikkil Gurucharan @ Queens, NY - 5/17/09

newyorker · Post by **newyorker** » 18 May 2009, 12:41

Vocal: Sikkil Gurucharan
Violin: Nagai Sriram
Mridangam: Tiruvarur Vaidyanathan

1. Valacchi - Varnam - Navaragamalikai - Adi - Patnam Subramaniam Iyer
2. Shree Mahaganapathe - Abhogi - Khanda Chapu - N.S. Ramachandran (S)
3. Raghuvara - Pantuvarali - Adi - Tyagaraja (N)
4. Nadalodudai - Kalyana Vasantham - Rupakam - Tyagaraja (A,S)
5. Brova vamma bangaru - Neelambari - Misra Chapu - Shyama Sastry
6. Shree Krishnam Bhaja - Thodi - Adi (2-kalai) - Dikshithar (ANST)
7. Sogasujuda - Kannada Gowla - Rupakam - Tyagaraja
8. RTP - Shuddh Sarang - Khanda Jaathi Triputa
"SAmagAna mridanga nAdha priye, venu veena sangeetha"

If the mind was aflutter with fears about the now rampant swine flu in New York, with as many as six inner city schools closed, it was put to ease with the lilting strains of kedaram that heralded the familiar Navaragamalikai varnam ... Whoa, whoa, nice try Hemmingway! Music might be the proverbial food for the soul but I am willing to bet it makes a poor adversary for the H1N1, and Sikkil Gurucharan's pleasing concert notwithstanding, the prudence of staging/attending the concert at an elementary school auditorium was dubious, if not downright ill-advised.

Porcine virus paranoia aside, Gurucharan proceeded to sing a crisp round of swarams for the Abhogi piece @ "Taamarasa ..." Nothing adds pep to the early part of a concert like a few quick rounds of neraval and Gurucharan readily obliged at the usual "Manasuna ..." in the all too familiar Pantuvarali piece. An elaborate exposition of Kalyana Vasantham proved to be the first major piece of the evening followed by the token Shyama Sastry composition in Neelambari.

Gurucharan took up Thodi for the main ragam where the violinist Nagai Sriram stole the show with a fantastic alapana, exhibiting exemplary bow control to pull off some breathtaking nadhaswaram-like passages. Gurucharan had earlier explored Hindolam in an exercise in sruthi bedham using Thodi's M1 as the tonic, and Sriram reproduced this on the violin. He also made a fleeting foray into one other raga which I wasn't quick enough to grasp. Gurucharan and Sriram revelled in the neraval and swarams @ "Pankajasa ..." and explored several beautiful swara patterns here.

Gurucharan pleasantly surprised everyone with the choice of the Hindustani Shuddh Sarang for the pallavi. The presence of the two madhyamams, so characteristic of so many North Indian imports in Carnatic music, makes for a charming raga and Gurucharan presented a short but nice pallavi. He sang a ragamalikai thanam in varali, abheri and suddh sarang. He also performed anulomam in the pallavi at 1/2, 2 and 11/2 the speeds. I invite some of the enlightened members of this forum to pan Gurucharan's choice of ragam for the RTP and provide some entertaining invective on why Hindustani ragams are intrinsically inferior to their Carnatic cousins.

Overall, the concert was enjoyable and I was really impressed with Nagai Sriram's violin. Tiruvarur Vaidyanathan also embellished the concert with his anticipatory accompaniment.

I will let someone who was present for the post-pallavi pieces complete the song list.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 19 May 2009, 03:01

Newyorker,
Nice to get a review from you. A bit of a mini Talk of the Town of the Rasikas kind...

ksrimech · Post by **ksrimech** » 19 May 2009, 03:52

newyorker wrote:
5. Brova vamma bangaru - Neelambari - Misra Chapu - Shyama Sastry

Is this "Hero" the first one to sing this krti? Is there somebody else's recording available? I can't check in sangIthapriya's SyAmA SAStri's list since the site is down.

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 19 May 2009, 05:40

Krishna, why 'hero'?

mahavishnu · Post by **mahavishnu** » 19 May 2009, 07:29

Gurucharan has sung the same shuddh sarang RTP (same pallavi line & talam) on a number of previous occasions.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 19 May 2009, 08:04

mahavishnu,
Krishna means SS's nIlambari kruti brOvavammA

ksrimech · Post by **ksrimech** » 19 May 2009, 08:46

rshankar wrote:Krishna, why 'hero'?

Doesn't he look like one?

anandabhairavi · Post by **anandabhairavi** » 19 May 2009, 09:39

I agree Ksrimech he looks like hero!!

karthikbala · Post by **karthikbala** » 19 May 2009, 12:59

ksrimech wrote:
newyorker wrote:
5. Brova vamma bangaru - Neelambari - Misra Chapu - Shyama Sastry

Is there somebody else's recording available?

A recording by Charulatha Mani from the 2004 music season is available:
http://charulathamani.com/clips/brovava ... ambari.mp3

Incidentally, the page also has "Brovu Brovu" in Kiravani, which while including Shyama Sastry mudra, is of disputed authorship. Eminently listenable nevertheless IMHO:
http://charulathamani.com/clips/brovu.mp3

ksrimech · Post by **ksrimech** » 20 May 2009, 10:44

Thank you Karthik. I found that SrImati sugandhA kALamEgham has also sung this song. The recording is available on the Sangeethapriya Tribute Page for SrI SyAmA SAStri gAru.

ShrutiLaya · Post by **ShrutiLaya** » 22 May 2009, 19:17

The remaining songs were

9. Vanchatonunaa, Karnaranjani, Harikeshanallur Muthiah Bhagavatar
10. Dikkuteriyaada Kattil, Ragamalika, Subrahmanya Bharati
11. Niraimadi mugamenum (Thiruppugazh), Hamsanandi, Arunagirinathar
12. Maitrim Bhajata Ragamalika, Chandrasekhara Saraswathi
13. Pavamana suthudu, Mangalam

- Sreenadh Jonnavithula