Brinda & Muktha

Carnatic Musicians
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cienu
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Joined: 04 Feb 2010, 11:40

Post by cienu »

I have started a new topic on Brinda & Muktha (I personally would not like to seperate them)

I happened to come across this amazing recording on Youtube. (link attached below)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gYUmoGa ... playnext=1

Brinda and her daughter sing "Meru Samana" accompanied by Sri.T.Ranganathan (I think. Rasikas , can kindly correct me if I am wrong). There is no violin accompaniment. It is so wonderful to see Brindamma smile once at Ranganathan and once at the Tambura artiste (Looks like John Higgins ??)

Tape 2 and 3 are Brindamma and Vegavauhini playing the Veena. Truly sublime experience.
Last edited by cienu on 08 Feb 2008, 23:06, edited 1 time in total.

kannan1940
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Post by kannan1940 »

It is sad that Mrs Vegavauhini, who learnt the carnatic music from her mother, did not adopt the music as her career and in this we lost a lineage for Brindamma.

Sevel Krishnan.

Kailash
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Post by Kailash »

Iam not too sure about your comment, Smt Vegavauhini ( Vega) is an accomplished Performing Vocalist, and was giving regular concerts even till the mid '90's.
Her style is a blend the music of her mother Smt T Brinda & Shri Ramnad Krishnan ( She was a full time student of both ), with no compromise on Quality, Ghamakka & Laya.
She is known for her pallavi renering, Padams, Javalis , compositions of the Trinity & Rendering rare tagas & bringing out the essence with ease.

Kailash
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Post by Kailash »

Yes the Tambura Vidhwan is Higgins.....

rbharath
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Post by rbharath »

Smt. Vegavahini is defly an accomplished performing artist. i have recently heard her sing a thoroughly enjoyable concert.

only the subsequent generations have not taken to performing.


and the mridangist is T Ranganathan indeed.

bhaktha
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Post by bhaktha »

Sri Girish, grandson of Smt. Brinda is a vocalist. I have heard his name being mentioned in the past. Also, Smt. Brinda's legacy has been handed down to us through Ramnad Sri Krishnan, Smt. Nagamani Srinath (RK's disciple, another artiste who disappeared from the scene when she was at her peak) and of course Chitraveena Sri Ravikiran. As the others have pointed out, Smt. Veghavahini still performs.

Sreeni Rajarao
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Post by Sreeni Rajarao »

Smt. Nagamani Srinath has not disappeared from the scene. She is very much active and doing well with performances and CDs.

bhaktha
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Post by bhaktha »

I attended some of her concerts a few years ago and was totally floored by her vidwath. Of late, I don't remember seeing her name in the Madras concert circuits (Maybe because she performs in Bangalore most of the time?). But glad to know she is still performing.
Last edited by bhaktha on 15 Mar 2009, 01:14, edited 1 time in total.

musicfan_4201
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Post by musicfan_4201 »

Good artists outside Chennai music circles hardly find a place in Chennai (barring a few) :).
No offence meant against anyone.

Kailash
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Post by Kailash »

Other Dis. Of Smt T Brinda Include - Smt Rama Ravi, Smt Alamelu Mani, Smt Kalyani Sharma, Smt Aruna Sairam, Shri Ravikiran, Smt Kiranavalli . Various accomplished Vocalists in that era like Shri Semmangudi, Smt MS have learnt music from Brindamma.
When we talk about Brindamma's key lagacy handed down to us thru Shri Ramnad Krishnan's & His Students - One important performing Vocalist is Smt Ritha Rajan - Musicoligist & Rtd Head Of the Department Music from The Queen Marys College - Full time student of Shri Ramnad Krishnan. Recently she had performed at the IIT Music Club ( Reviews also are posted about the same )
Shri Ramnad Krishnan had nurtured his own stle of music, truley Ghamaka oriented, Kalapramana at its peak with no frills, Pallavi Rendering with complicated thala Patterns.
One must listen to his Sivaranjani, Kambodhi ( With no emphasis on GMPMG RGSRG !) , Kalyani, Kiravani, Kanada, Phalamanjari, Reethigowlai, Dharmavathi, Madhyamavathi, Begada, Sahana, Shankarabaranam, Bahudhari, Saveri, Bhairavi ............ And the list goes on.
each of the ragas would always be approached in a totally different way every time and when you compare 2 Sahanas by the same Musician its completely different!!! thats Ramnad Krishnan's Music.
Few recordings are available for listners in the market.

coolkarni
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Post by coolkarni »

..
Last edited by coolkarni on 28 Nov 2009, 22:06, edited 1 time in total.

cienu
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Post by cienu »

Kailash wrote:Other Dis. Of Smt T Brinda Include - Smt Rama Ravi, Smt Alamelu Mani, Smt Kalyani Sharma, Smt Aruna Sairam, Shri Ravikiran, Smt Kiranavalli . Various accomplished Vocalists in that era like Shri Semmangudi, Smt MS have learnt music from Brindamma.
One of the oldest & seniormost disciples of Smt Brinda is Smt Sundaram (or Sunda Mami as she is fondly called ) , who is now close to 80 years.

Indira Menon (yet another disciple of Smt.Brinda) recalls in her book "The Madras Quatret" that Brinda had great love for Sunda (though she had never expressed the same explicitly) but stopped teaching her when she learnt that Sunda was also taking classes from another great Vidwan of those times (I think GNB )
Last edited by cienu on 16 Mar 2009, 22:40, edited 1 time in total.

Kailash
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Post by Kailash »

yes............. I had missed Sunda mami................... One could see her at the Music acadamy and at the other chamber concerts ..........

Kailash
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Post by Kailash »

yes............. I had missed Sunda mami................... One could see her at the Music acadamy and at the other chamber concerts ..........

Ramaprasad
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Post by Ramaprasad »

I thought most of the rasikas here knew about the following site. We owe a lot to Prof. Robert Garfias for making this possible. Please go to the following site, scroll down to North Indian and South Indian music. Enjoy.
- Ramaprasad

https://eee.uci.edu/programs/rgarfias/films.html

rajumds
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Post by rajumds »

The realmedia links don't open. Any software required for opening them?

Ramaprasad
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Post by Ramaprasad »

Hi Rajumds,

I just checked. It works. I have Realplayer on my computer. That is what you need or anything equivalent. It is a free download.

Ramaprasad

ksrimech
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Post by ksrimech »

They are available on Youtube in kAmakOTiShankara's links.

karthikbala
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Post by karthikbala »

rbharath wrote:Smt. Vegavahini is defly an accomplished performing artist. i have recently heard her sing a thoroughly enjoyable concert.
Smt. Vegavahini is a long-time friend of my mother's. I remember listening to her concerts on AIR and DD during the 90's and less frequently since. They were always marked by the fidelity to the grand musical heritage of her family.

sudhakarks
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Post by sudhakarks »

A collection of T. Brinda's recordings are newly released by Swathi Sanskriti Series

Read the article about the release of these recordings at:
http://www.kutcheribuzz.com/decseason2008/news13.asp

"After an album of Ramnad Krishnan was released last year, Krishnan's son Ramanthan has been insisting us that Brindamma's music is also brought out to the audience," says Mala Mohan, product manager at Swathi Soft Solutions.

And now a set of six audio CDs of the legendary musician T. Brinda is released by Swathi Soft Solutions.

Brinda did not ecourage her concert recordings to be released commercially as long as she was alive but the rich music of Brinda and the authentic style of Vina Dhanammal need to be introduced to the younger generation and so this release say Swathi Soft solutions.


This set of audio album consists of the bests of T. Brinda's chamber concerts and a few recordings at private gatherings. "Vegavahini Vijayaraghavan, daughter and disciple of T. Brinda holds the copyright of all the recordings and she too wanted to give the recordings to Swathi after she heard the audio CDs of Ramnad Krishnan," says Mala. The audio quality of raw recordings were carefully enhanced retaining the original tone and brought out in the albums, she added.

Each audio CD is priced at Rs. 150.

knandago2001
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Post by knandago2001 »

This is just a sampling from the recordings released by Swathi

Kedaragoula varnam
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Plik6a9 ... re=related

Nee bhajana gaana - Nayaki
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYOilhK_ ... re=related

Ittanaitulambaramai - Dhanyasi
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZ7ZqIwEUlk

Chinnanaadena - Kalanidhi
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOoIn-kc ... re=related

Melukovayya - Bowli
http://new.us.music.yahoo.com/t-brinda/

Smt. Ritha Rajan - "She enriched the Dhanammal legacy"
Last edited by knandago2001 on 30 Jul 2009, 11:13, edited 1 time in total.

knandago2001
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Post by knandago2001 »

parulanu vedanu - balahamsa
nenendu vedaguthura - harikamboji
emaanadicchevo - sahana
bhajana parula - surutti
aparadhamula norva - rasali
http://www.raagabox.com/search.php?m=1& ... inda+Mukta

Nee bhakti bhaagya sudha
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/fr/2002/0 ... 880400.htm

Recordings of Muktamma’s music - Akshayalinga vibho, Tygarajaaya namaste, Velavare, and others
http://beemp3.com/download.php?file=451 ... ankarAbara

A very interesting article
http://learningobjects.wesleyan.edu/wes ... indian.pdf
Last edited by knandago2001 on 06 Aug 2009, 11:57, edited 1 time in total.

knandago2001
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Post by knandago2001 »


srinivasrgvn
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Post by srinivasrgvn »

-
Last edited by srinivasrgvn on 28 Dec 2009, 08:43, edited 1 time in total.

keerthi
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Post by keerthi »

the salgeethapriya all Shastri concert(shAma + subbarAya) is very good, both in terms of structure, and recording quality..

However, it lacks both padam and rAgamAlika slokam, which were brinda's forte..

I think her 'vihAya kamalAlaya' slOkam is very good (should be available in s'priya)

knandago2001
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Post by knandago2001 »

The Swathi Sanskriti series of recordings include compositions such as the rarely heard nee chittamu (dhanyasi), manasu swaadheena maina (sankarabharanam) and yemaatalaadina (yadukulakamboji) that are not represented in the sangeethapriya collections. I am grateful to Smt. Vegavahini Vijayaraghavan for sharing these with us. A letter of invitation to soirees at Brindamma's home that I inherited from my grandparents http://www.mediafire.com/?jtmhm3wno5k
Last edited by knandago2001 on 12 Aug 2009, 17:41, edited 1 time in total.

keerthi
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Post by keerthi »

knandago2001 wrote:The Swathi Sanskriti series of recordings include compositions such as the rarely heard nee chittamu (dhanyasi), manasu swaadheena maina (sankarabharanam) and yemaatalaadina (yadukulakamboji) that are not represented in the sangeethapriya collections. I am grateful to Smt. Vegavahini Vijayaraghavan for sharing these with us.
Amen! a most welcome addition to what precious little of Vid.T.Brinda's music we have access to.. All our thanks along with yours..

knandago2001 wrote:A letter of invitation to soirees at Brindamma's home that I inherited from my grandparents http://www.mediafire.com/?jtmhm3wno5k
what a precious heirloom! i didn't even know that B had music soirees as her grandmother did..

cienu
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Post by cienu »

Great bit of history Nandagopal . Thank you for sharing.

knandago2001
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Post by knandago2001 »

cienu: here is another one for the records!! 1964 - The year they "gate-crashed"

cienu
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Post by cienu »

That is another historic event which however passed without much coverage. Almost like it was waiting to happen. Thank you once again Nanadagopal for your efforts in unearthing this gem :)

knandago2001
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Post by knandago2001 »

Photographs of Gokhale Hall (venue of carnatic music concerts in the hoary past), Veena Dhanammal’s home on Tambu Chetty Street and the home of Kovvuru Sundara Mudaliar who hosted Tyagaraja!
http://zweiundvierzig.blogspot.com/2005 ... day-2.html
Last edited by knandago2001 on 24 Aug 2009, 17:32, edited 1 time in total.

RaviSri
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Re: Brinda & Muktha

Post by RaviSri »

When they lived B-M got the least crowd for their concerts. Bala got the least crowds for her dance. That is why they were jealous of crowd pullers like MS and Kumari Kamala.
Absolutely baseless and blasphemous too. From where did you get this crazy idea archa? MS came to Madras when she was 13 or 14. She along with mother Shanmukhavadivu settled near Dhanammal's house. The mother learnt from Dhanammal and MS became friends with Brinda, Muktha and Bala. The four were separated by 2 years each with Brinda born in 1912 and Bala in 1918. This childhood friendship blossomed over the years and took deep bonds. MS learnt a lot of compositions from Brinda. She also made it a point to attend B-M concerts and Bala’s recitals regularly along with Sadasivan. In course of time Muktha became very close to MS with both of them becoming relatives too through Muktha’s daughter. If anything Muktha was happy that MS was popular and had lakhs of rasikas. There is no evidence to show that Bala was jealous of Kamala. Kamala herself was a diehard fan of Bala. At any rate Bala became famous for her abhinaya not only in India but in the US and Europe too. Muktha and MS remained close friends till MS died. Muktha was one of those who grieved much at MS’s passing away. I have written about all this in various fora as also in the ‘Sruti’ magazine.

When you allege something against someone see that you possess some evidence. As for your not liking their music, you are not alone. Let me assure you that you are in the company of several thousands of music rasikas.

archa
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Re: Brinda & Muktha

Post by archa »

I have heard from authentic sources that Brinda was jealous of MS and Bala was jealous of both MS and Kumari Kamala. When Kamala danced to a navagraha kriti of Dikshitar in the 1950s, Bala made a caustic comment that 'the career of some people was floundering, therefore they want to propitiate the grahas so that their dark patch may end'. Whose dark patch?, pray. This was when Kamala's career was at its peak and it was Bala's career that was in the doldrums forcing her to go to Tiruttani and dance surreptitiously before God so that He may help her career. Does this not show Bala's jealousy? When Brinda celebrated her 80th birthday, she neither acknowledged SSI or Kapila Vatsyayan (who flew down especially to attend and felicitate Brinda) or MS who gave a concert on the occasion with even a simple thanks. She perhaps thought that it was their duty to felicitate her and that it was a honour for them to sing her praise. When Viswa got the Flute Mali award from the Music Academy in 1999, he behaved arrogantly with the institution and with the prize giver too. He used to arrogantly say that it was he, not Mali who brought about the gamakam on the flute. Jealousy coupled with arrogance has been a trait with their family.
When you allege something against someone see that you possess some evidence.

Proof? All this has been documented in the 'Sruti' magazine. Read the issues.
As for your not liking their music, you are not alone. Let me assure you that you are in the company of several thousands of music rasikas.
Stop being a snob RaviSri. Tell me, apart from some forums like this and a few crazy people who still listen to B-M on tapes, do the vast majority of CM rasikas ever bother about Dhanammal and their heirs?

You may have your rasikas on this forum and you may be too hot headed to even listen to reason but isn't it time to stop exaggerating about their so-called great music? As I have posted in the thread on Karnataka Kapi (Raga and Alapana), stop exhibiting your ignorance of ragas and move forward to embrace the emerging great trends in modern CM by listening to the greats of today. In short, begin learning anew.

sureshvv
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Re: Brinda & Muktha

Post by sureshvv »

archa wrote: Stop being a snob RaviSri. Tell me, apart from some forums like this and a few crazy people who still listen to B-M on tapes, do the vast majority of CM rasikas ever bother about Dhanammal and their heirs?
You are the one being the rabid vandal here, so please desist. If you think those people are crazy and in the minority and the "vast majority" never bother with them, why are you so demonstrative? Seems like some sort of personal vendetta.

venkatakailasam
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Re: Brinda & Muktha

Post by venkatakailasam »

archa...

look at it from another angle..

Smt., MSS has learnt a number of songs from Smt.Brinda..
She happens to be one of her Gurus..
Smt MSS attending the 80th birthday celebrations is natural as by a sishya to her Guru..

Why do you expect a thanks from Smt Brinda to Smt MSS.. even she would not have expected it..
Will it amount to arrogance as you termed it..no ...certainly not...
We should not lose our coolness....in expressing things...

rbharath
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Re: Brinda & Muktha

Post by rbharath »

sureshvv wrote: You are the one being the rabid vandal here, so please desist. If you think those people are crazy and in the minority and the "vast majority" never bother with them, why are you so demonstrative? Seems like some sort of personal vendetta.
very true!
this id itself seems scandalous. I wonder if this is somebody 'ghost writing'

vasanthakokilam
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Re: Brinda & Muktha

Post by vasanthakokilam »

archa: Your posts in this thread and other threads all have a common theme and you know what it is and everyone who have read all this know what it is. So, please do not engage in such wars. If you have axe to grind against any artists, please take it elsewhere. Change your tone at the minimum. Otherwise, the mods will be forced to wield the moderating axe. We typically do not get involved in content moderation but you are tempting me.

archa
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Re: Brinda & Muktha

Post by archa »

I think too much is being made of my opinions. I am not being abusive. I am only expressing my views. And rbharath, if you think this ID is scandalous, it means you have a problem. Ghost writing? For whom and by whom? People seem to be going over the top here, not able to withstand genuine criticism of their idols. vasantakokilam, it will be most unfortunate if you curtail my freedom of speech. Axe indeed! Intolerance should not be a policy with a forum like this. I am expressing my views decently, I am not using any bad words. Why this kind of intolerance towards a different kind of opinion?

rajeshnat
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Re: Brinda & Muktha

Post by rajeshnat »

ravisri,
Two weeks before i read in the hindu Brinda Muktha are well known to render swarasahithyam or sahithyaswaram, where in one sister renders sahithyam and at the same time the other sister renders swaras . is there any youtube reference for the same if not any recordings u can pass. can u throw some light on this?

sureshvv
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Re: Brinda & Muktha

Post by sureshvv »

archa wrote:I think too much is being made of my opinions. I am not being abusive. I am only expressing my views.
Thank you for toning down your stridency. Calling people names like "snobs" and "crazy" without explicit provocation is abusive. Making judgmental remarks about people who are long gone like "behaved arrogantly", "was jealous" etc. without explicit substantiation ("Go read back issues of sruti magazine" is not enough. You have to provide explicit reference. Issue number and page number etc. Just so we make sure it is not a subjective comment of some disgruntled reader).
I am expressing my views decently, I am not using any bad words.
Thank you for that :-)

vasanthakokilam
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Re: Brinda & Muktha

Post by vasanthakokilam »

Thanks Suresh. I was going to say something like that but you have stated it better than I.

kamavardhani
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Re: Brinda & Muktha

Post by kamavardhani »


Proof? All this has been documented in the 'Sruti' magazine. Read the issues.
So Sruti magazine is the gold standard for authentcity? :lol:
It was a thinly disguised tattler in its heyday. Now it's degenerated into a mouthpiece for one of today's loudmouthed vocalists!

anandmurty
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Re: Brinda & Muktha

Post by anandmurty »

Rajeshnat,

Sangeethapriya had quite a few recordings of B-M, featuring, among others, an exquisite Anandabhairavi (marivErE gatI if I remember correctly) where one sister sings the sahitya and the other sings the swara simultaneously.

I'll leave it to those who are well versed in music to comment on the technical aspects, but as a rasika, I can tell you that it sounds absolutely incredible. What's also clearly evident is the kind of penomenal concentration it takes not to veer off into the sahitya or the swara when one hears the other while singing at the same time.

There's much to discover about tandem singing by simply hearing B-M perform, in my opinion.

venkatakailasam
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Re: Brinda & Muktha

Post by venkatakailasam »

Is this what you are referring to...

E SWARA-001-Smt.T.Brida Smt.T Mukta- MarivEre Gati EvarammA-Anandabhairavi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdWXD3EC9dc

anandmurty
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Re: Brinda & Muktha

Post by anandmurty »

Is this what you are referring to...

E SWARA-001-Smt.T.Brida Smt.T Mukta- MarivEre Gati EvarammA-Anandabhairavi
Was referring to the same recording venkatakailasam - joy!

Shivadasan
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Re: Brinda & Muktha

Post by Shivadasan »

It is unfortunate that the musical tradition that was acclaimed as the best in Carnatic music by top performers like Musiri, Semmangudi MSS and others and which was considered by them as being beyond their capacity is being denigrated by some members.

In my younger days I was attending almost every concert in Madras and have heard almost all top musicians of the day. I was a great fan of great artists like MSS, GNB, Semmangudi etc. and enjoying their music. It was then in Music Academy my friend Kalki Sama casually remarked to me that there is some thing greater than this music elsewhere. When I pursued the matter further he took me to K.Chandrasekaran, a respected connoisseur of Carnatic Music who explained me the subtleness in the music of Dhanamma school. It was a great realization for me that there was so much in CM that I have missed so many years. This awareness made me rethink deeply about the aesthetics of CM. I realized that the top musicians I had admired were not aware of ( or chose to avoid) the intricate subtlety. Whenever I heard their music I felt that they were singing for the galleries and not for the pure Carnatic idiom. I have heard them take liberties with the krithis and the tempo in which they should be sung. Before my eyes CM has slowly and steadily lost a large share of the subtle beauty it had displayed in the previous generations.

So far CM is concerned the concert trend has veered away from the tradition. There is no point in treating the successful concert artist’s music as the best standard for CM. I have heard the exposition of krithis by Tiruppamburam Swaminatha Pilai ( a great artist ignored by the public) and I found the subtlety he brought about in his rendering of the krithis were amazing.

Those who underrate the music of Dhanmma school cannot be blamed because they are just as ignorant as I was. Unless they take the trouble to understand the subtlety and complexities that had come down to us as treasure from the great masters of the previous generations they would miss the world of great beauty deeply buried in CM.

anandmurty
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Re: Brinda & Muktha

Post by anandmurty »

I find it interesting when terms such as 'weeping', 'lack of audience/empty halls', 'not contemporary' etc. are bandied about so easily in the present day and age.

If one reads the body of work by ethnomusicologists from Amanda Weidmann to Lakshmi Subramaniam, one recognizes that these terms were a part of the larger narrative to slot musicians who hailed from a certain performing tradition as a 'minority' in the lead-up to India's Independence. The 'majority' were invariably men who belonged to a higher class/caste and hence wielded the power to alter notions of 'tradition' and ultimately, the manner in which music was performed and the criteria for it to be dubbed 'classical'.

Padams were either relegated to tail-end pieces or worse, purged entirely from a concert list. The tradition to which the Dhanammal family belonged represented a time when artistes exchanged views with one another freely - read about Abdul Karim Khan & Gauhar Jaan visiting, staying and exchanging music - performed, rather than talked music and were liberal in the true sense of the term. We owe it to families like the Dhanammal family who sought out compositions from a spectrum of composers, retained their structure over years with mind-boggling fidelity - even if the raga didn't fit into the 'text-book' definition - and polished a song's musicality without judging it as devotional or erotic.

Shivadasan is so right when he says this music reveals so much about the Carnatic aesthetic. Sowmya & Aruna Sairam mention, respectively, in the Brinda DVD aspects of interspersing plain notes in between deep gamakas and how an alapana would have a "sense of time" rather than time itself (i.e. covering an entire canvass of say Kalyani in 5 minutes flat vs. a 2 hour exposition).

Further, the perceived rigidity of the family in sticking to versions of songs isn't rigidity but integrity of the highest order. It allows us to see how Carnatic music has changed over the years - how ragas took on different contours, how they sounded very different as recently as 75 years back! We can begin constructing a history and probing deeper into our music rather than dwelling in the superficial myths that are casually thrown about.

It's all of this and more that has been called the 'mystique of the Dhanam style' and as a quote in the DVD went, "the secret behind the mystique is probably the fact that Brinda (and others in the family) didn't attempt to put a stamp on the art but chose to be a slave to it instead".

Surely, so many years later, with the advantage of perspective and information, we can't continue to be blind and wallow in ignorance and marginalize the Dhanammal clan. It would be nothing short of tragedy repeating.

Rsachi
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Re: Brinda & Muktha

Post by Rsachi »

Dear sirs,
Thanks to this thread, I am now listening to the many B-M tracks archived at S'Priya. Would someone kindly lead me to any of their renderings of Begada?
Many thanks!
Sachi

venkatakailasam
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Re: Brinda & Muktha

Post by venkatakailasam »

This one is begada...Smt. T Brinda-Sri-Thyagarajaya-Namasthe-Begada


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mi1da9bqLM0

tyagarajadasa
Posts: 154
Joined: 01 Jan 2008, 09:17

Re: Brinda & Muktha

Post by tyagarajadasa »

Dear Rsachi,

Please find a rendition of yAla padarE, a padam by Kshetragna here:

http://mio.to/#/artist/10-Classical_Car ... _Muktha_T/

There are recordings of them singing tyAgarAjAya namastE in s'priya (Please search for "thyagarajaya" and the search will give you links for the same)

Regards,

Gokul

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