I had posted this on the rasikapriya yahoogroup as a reflection on sharing concerts, so I thought I would post it here as well. It is a review of sorts of the strangest concert recording I heard.
Some of you know I have a few granduncles who are a bit eccentric about music (and most of them are hardcore GNB fans). I have mentioned one of them often in my posts on Sangeetham and here but he is the harmless one (now recuperating from an operation). Allow me to tell you all a story about another one. This happened quite some time back so I might have got some of the pieces wrong.
I had asked one of them for a GNB concert which he said I ought to hear (I mean I like GNB's music but am certainly not a die hard fan like my relatives, and he said that this concert I must hear). Fine, I gave him 3 90 minute tapes. A few weeks later I got them back, two of them filled and one returned empty. I should have smelt a rat. GNB almost never sings less than 3 hours in any concert. But anyway, on the outside and inside of the cassette sleeve AND the cassettes itself of the two filled ones the silly old man had scribbled in BIG BOLD marker pen: NO COPYING ALLOWED. I couldn't resist laughing at that but I was a bit irritated. Now I can't write the damn songlist on the cassette and must put it in a piece of paper and glue it on. Oh well, a bit troublesome but it's a small price to pay right? It gets better.
I played the first track, Varnam in Abhogi IIRC. No problems there. The first major alapana was Panthuvarali and from that I identify the violin as Lalgudi, but within thirty seconds into his violin GNB suddenly starts "Paripalaya saraseeruha". The granduncle had cut off the violin alapana. I find this very irritating but I hope to goodness he had the sense to not do this for the whole concert. At least he left the neraval and swaram intact (thus enabling me to confirm the violinist)!
The next main item was Kambhoji and GNB's elaborate alapana came to a grand finish. Ah he hadn't cut the track of the violin this time but wait a minute! It sounds like TN Krishnan! Whoever this violinist was it was CERTAINLY not the same violinist as before. Although it was a great violinist it was NOT LGJ for sure and 99% sure it was TNK.
I was left wondering, why on earth would anyone want to do this?!
It gets better.
So the concert plays on, with the immortal Sri subramanyaya namaste brought to a grand finish and it was time for the RTP. Ah, the RTP was in Sanmukhapriya. LGJ who seemed to have gone off for a cup of coffee during the Kambhoji seems to have returned at the helm by the master's side. It's probably TNK's turn this time to patronise the Shanmukhananda Sabha canteen (if there was one).
Now GNB's alapanas in RTP's progress through three or four stages. So he sings the alapana for about 30 minutes in 6 minute segments interspersed with violin. I mention this to mention the next funny thing about this "concert". Lalgudi it seems didn't want to play at all (maybe the coffee was having adverse reactions in him, I don't know) so all I hear once GNB finishes each of his segment is a higher Sa and suddenly a lower Sa by Lalgudi. Dammit, the silly old sod has cut off the violin alapanas again!
The alapanas concluded. I mean I can appreciate GNB's music but hearing an alapana nonstop for about 30 minutes with jerky parts where the violin has been cut off is too much for even my patience, but I bear it. The last line of the alapana was sung with a flourish and the applause dies down to wait for the thanam. GNB clears his throat, there is a pause and suddenly he starts "Ganalola karunaya" in Tisra Triputa. Wha..!? What the hell happened to the thanam?! The old man had cut that out too! The whole thing!
Wearily I plug on, hoping to at least hear a decent RTP, and as far as RTP's go it was not too bad but the mood of appreciation was just gone. So GNB starts on the ragamalika swarams and the usual Sahana, Bouli, surutti and Behaug comes up (With Lalgudi's efforts getting huge applause) as the applause dies down GNB probably is feeling
hungry (or LGJ/TNK came back with fantastic reports of the canteen vadais, I don't know what it was) because the applause suddenly was cut midway and GNB starts to sing "pavamaana.. "! The mangalam?! without even a thani? What the hell is going on?! The man left the damned FELICITATION speech in before the RTP but took out such huge chunks of music! (who gives a crap about those?! Some octogenarian rambling about some sabha's future events in 19 bloody 63! I was fuming at this point)
I mean I had given the man enough cassettes to do the recording with, and all he had to do was just press record and go about his day. Instead he actually sat in front of his recording units, and meticulously cut out parts of the concert to give me something that was the musical equivalent of the Frankenstein monster. That takes a particularly diabolical and evil genius. Either that or someone gave him the concert like this and he was none the wiser (this I seriously doubt. He knows of every GNB concert sung in Bombay to a fine detail). I asked my other (harmless) eccentric granduncle and he said that it was probably because the old man did not like the original main item of the concert and just stuck in another one that
he liked more. It is obvious therefore that I am not the first.
I marvelled at his audacity to think that he can actually trick me into this. Either he thinks I know squat about music or he went to such great lengths just to ensure I would not get the complete concert.
It's a good thing he so strongly put on the cassette tape "NO COPYING"! Who on earth would want to hear such a horrid item?
He did the same thing with my brother for an LGJ concert but that's another story.
