forumites at singapore

gobilalitha · Post by **gobilalitha** » 08 Aug 2009, 06:47

No replies from other forumites regarding gettogether except , bilahari and kamalamba , the proposer. gobillitha

jananee · Post by **jananee** » 08 Aug 2009, 21:46

HI everybody..sorry for the delayed response. Have not been following rasikas for a few days! Bilahari/Kamalamba: I am all game for a jam session..Our house is ready to welcome all of you especially with Balaji Sir also in town. I did hear abt Shankaranarayanans concert. The OVK concert is at the Krishnan temple. Also saw the message reg Neyvelis Santhanagopalans concert. Will be in touch!

kaapi · Post by **kaapi** » 09 Aug 2009, 16:34

Hi All,
It will be a nice idea to meet up again. Any weekend is fine.

bilahari · Post by **bilahari** » 09 Aug 2009, 17:28

Good to hear from you, jananee and kaapi. Anybody attending NSG's concert this Sun? I'll be there.

kamalamba · Post by **kamalamba** » 09 Aug 2009, 17:47

Unfortunately cannot attend NSG; leaving the same night for UK.
Will August 22 (saturday) or september 4 work for the get-together.
Kamalamba

bala747 · Post by **bala747** » 09 Aug 2009, 18:51

I agree 25 is a bit steep. 23rd I might make it and if I do I will write the review. Anyone went for the Unni concert a few weeks ago? If not I will put the review for that too, though its a bit dated.

bilahari · Post by **bilahari** » 10 Aug 2009, 05:34

Kamalamba, 22nd is a no for me, but sep 4th is good. Have a safe trip to UK.

Bala, please do put up the review for Unni (better late than...). Hope to see you on Sun.

jananee · Post by **jananee** » 10 Aug 2009, 08:19

I prefer 4th too...can we also get Balaji sir to join?

mridhangam · Post by **mridhangam** » 10 Aug 2009, 14:27

Will confirm once i land in Singapore and get to know properly my schedules.

J.Balaji

kaapi · Post by **kaapi** » 10 Aug 2009, 19:05

Hi jananee and Kamalamba,
4th is a Friday. so it has to be 5 th Sept.

jananee · Post by **jananee** » 10 Aug 2009, 21:02

I om ok fr 4th or 5th. I guess we will have to take in Balaji sirs convenience also and decide..

mridhangam · Post by **mridhangam** » 10 Aug 2009, 22:24

5th a concert has been slated at SIFAS - a major RTP concert. so it can be 4th ... i think even if late evening should be ok

J.Balaji

jananee · Post by **jananee** » 20 Aug 2009, 06:28

I understand that Balaji Sir is free on the 30th too. SO what do you say rasikas at SIngapore?

bilahari · Post by **bilahari** » 20 Aug 2009, 06:30

30th is OK for me too.

kamalamba · Post by **kamalamba** » 20 Aug 2009, 08:56

30 is OK for me; except 3:30-5:00 pm

mridhangam · Post by **mridhangam** » 20 Aug 2009, 12:57

Jananee madam it needs to be in consultation with Shankaranarayanan who is co-ordinating the whole tour. Please keep in touch with him for any arrangments so that there is no clash of dates while shankar arranging one concert on the vacant date and u doing the same thing for the same date. his email is [email protected].

Thanks for your understanding.

J.Balaji

jananee · Post by **jananee** » 20 Aug 2009, 16:22

Will do that Balaji Sir..

jananee · Post by **jananee** » 22 Aug 2009, 21:32

30th seems to be fine with Balaji Sir too..so what say the rest of you. Shall we meet at about 5.30 pm?

bilahari · Post by **bilahari** » 23 Aug 2009, 06:15

That will be fine for me.

kamalamba · Post by **kamalamba** » 23 Aug 2009, 09:10

Will work for me as well.
Mohan

jananee · Post by **jananee** » 23 Aug 2009, 19:23

Kaapi, bala 747???

gobilalitha · Post by **gobilalitha** » 24 Aug 2009, 20:08

what about krishnanrasika,das,vani,jayashreeand many others? gobilalitha

jananee · Post by **jananee** » 25 Aug 2009, 10:54

Have informed Krsihnanrasika mama. Vani, Jayasree and some others will join.

As of now the get together is confirmed on 30th Aug at 5.30 pm. I have confirmed it with Balaji Sir also. Mr Shankaranarayanan n VV Ravi will join too. So it is going to be a big bonus for the Singapore rasikas! Looking forward to meeting all of you. We will miss u mama n mami!

gobilalitha · Post by **gobilalitha** » 25 Aug 2009, 19:53

wishing the function all success,expecing snaps and audios. I failed to mention ramarama .Let me thank in advance our honourable host venkat. I f only wishes had wings ,I will be there.
with the galaxy of stars present, it will be a feast not only for the ears but the tastebuds also gobilalitha

VK RAMAN · Post by **VK RAMAN** » 25 Aug 2009, 20:10

Wishes can be given a dreaming wing!

PUNARVASU · Post by **PUNARVASU** » 28 Aug 2009, 06:42

Have a wonderful 'get-to-gether';We have many reviewers to review this and post here.

jananee · Post by **jananee** » 28 Aug 2009, 21:35

Thanks Punarvasu!

For the ones in Singapore we meet on Sunday at 6 pm. Probably a max 2 hr session since Monday is a working day/ School day!

The address: 15, Mt Sinai Rise, Kalakaua Rise # 10 -03, Ridgewood, Singapore 276 906.
Tel : 6465 0591/ 9829 7282

Bilahari: Cna u please send me ur mobile no?

Kaapi/Bala747: Have not heard from you. Hope you are making it.

VK RAMAN · Post by **VK RAMAN** » 29 Aug 2009, 00:21

It is very interesting rasikas in Singapore regularly are taking initiative for rasikas get together over there and we do not hear similar such efforts in other parts of the World other than coolkarniji or at Cleveland Aradhana function. I am curious to know why we do not hear about rasikAs get together in other parts of the World?

cacm · Post by **cacm** » 29 Aug 2009, 01:08

I tried to arrange a meeting( based on various requests & suggestions) in this year's CLEVELAND FESTIVAL for which 35 persons promised to attend. VVS dropped several other things to make a presentation etc & have a get to gether. Actually 7 persons including VVS& me showed up. We knew the rest & so there was NO POINT in the get together. I decided these kinds of things are a WASTE OF TIME at least for me. Apparently many prefer to write unsubstantiated things as they can be anonymous but "chicken out" when asked to meet face to face to discuss their suggestions...VERY DISAPPOINTING. VKV( Member of the organising committee)

bilahari · Post by **bilahari** » 29 Aug 2009, 06:32

Jananee, I've sent you an e-mail.

Anybody attending the OVK krithis concert tonight at the Krishnar Temple? I'll be there.

jananee · Post by **jananee** » 29 Aug 2009, 10:58

I should be hopefully be there Bilahari..hope to see you.

kamalamba · Post by **kamalamba** » 29 Aug 2009, 12:49

I have to take my son to SIFAS for the annual day practice, so cannot make it.
Have fun Bilahari and Jananee and others as well..

bilahari · Post by **bilahari** » 29 Aug 2009, 15:09

Kamalamba, see you tomorrow!

kaapi · Post by **kaapi** » 29 Aug 2009, 19:49

Hi Jananee,
Something unexpected has cropped up. So I will not be able to make it tomorrow. Hope all of you have a nice time.

jananee · Post by **jananee** » 29 Aug 2009, 20:57

Suddenly a whole lot of drop outs...kamalamba you have to make it somehow....what time is the practise..there will be just me n bilahari then! Nazar lag gaya! Please get back with positive news tom.

jananee · Post by **jananee** » 29 Aug 2009, 21:04

Bilahari : Do you think we should look at another date? Of course we ahve to look at Mr Balajis convenience also . He leaves next Sunday. Looks like it is just you and me and a maybe a couple of others???

jananee · Post by **jananee** » 29 Aug 2009, 21:18

Sorry..I think i got it wrong! What Kamalamba meant was todays concert and i thought it was for tomorrows meet! So I guess the meet goes on! See you all tom

Bala 747 - any chances???

bilahari · Post by **bilahari** » 30 Aug 2009, 01:21

Jananee, tomorrow or any other weekend is good for me. If at least Kamalamba can make it, perhaps we can go on...

kamalamba · Post by **kamalamba** » 30 Aug 2009, 05:22

Hi all

I will be there for the meet today.

I meant I could not attend the concert on saturday, in response to Bilahari's post.

Apologies if I confused you all.
Kamalamba

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 30 Aug 2009, 21:00

Jananee/bilahari: Hope you had a great time! Expect to see a report, pictures, recordings etc...

bilahari · Post by **bilahari** » 30 Aug 2009, 21:07

Yes, Ravi--we all had a great time, and there was a very enlightening conversation with our own mridangam, Sri VV Ravi, and Sri V Shankaranarayanan. We were also treated to a mini concert by the trio... One of us will update in detail tomorrow. It was a great evening.

mridhangam · Post by **mridhangam** » 31 Aug 2009, 15:22

What an excellent dinner with Idli, Vadai and Mor Vadai .. with beautifully prepared Chakka Pradamai from kamalamba and man of the match sambar from jananee (vidya) .. superb evening .. more comments from Vidya and Bilahari will follow i think ..

J.Balaji

gobilalitha · Post by **gobilalitha** » 31 Aug 2009, 19:28

It could not have been chakkapradhaman. must be durian pradhaman .A very strong smelling brother of jack fruit., a delicacy of that part of the world. gobilalitha

VK RAMAN · Post by **VK RAMAN** » 31 Aug 2009, 19:34

Although we could not participate, we would love to see the pictures of the sadhya items - seems like ONam sadhya

bilahari · Post by **bilahari** » 31 Aug 2009, 19:56

Not many of our local members turned up for this meet, but our disappointment was neutralised by the mini-concert offered by Sri V Shankaranarayanan, Sri VV Ravi, and our own mridangam, Sri J Balaji, and the subsequent lecdem covering a range of mostly laya-oriented issues. In fact, only mridangam, jananee, kamalamba, pallavi, and I were the attending members. The other participants in the meet were Sri VS's wife, Kamalamba's father-in-law, and Kamalamba's friend and collaborator--a physicist from Bangalore.

The evening started off with a brief introduction to the non-members about the nature of discussions on rasikas.org. Then, the three performing artistes launched into a small concert with sObillu sapthaswara, a tamizh krithi which slips my mind right now, and an elegant exposition of piravA varam, with ragam, neraval, swaras, and a mini-thani by Sri Balaji. The neraval was really lovely, with Sri VS and Sri VVR alternating (both were singing), and there was light moment when Sri VS sang a nice flourish in latAngi and Sri VVR immediately sang it in mandra sthayi exactly as he might repeat it on the violin. There was quite some kaNakku in the kalpana swaras, and the mini thani by Sri Balaji was very engaging, and it was exciting to watch his deft fingers at work from up-close.

After the concert, the artistes invited questions from us in the audience, and the issues that were discussed are:

1) What does the artiste do if there's someone in the front row keeping tala wrongly?
Ans: Tolerate them! It doesn't affect the mrudangam vidwan that much because the patterns they're playing in the thani have familiar stress points which they can keep track of. As such, they do not rely on others' tala keeping.
2) How does the main artiste know when to pick up the song/pallavi after the thani?
Ans: Watch for the repeating pattern of the mohra, which is played four times, followed by the final kOrvai which is played three times. The kOrvai might merely be repeated twice or different patterns may be introduced, but an observant main artiste can easily follow the logic of these new patterns. Sri Balaji played a mohra four times, and then a kOrvai, and simultaneously, he, Sri VV Ravi, and Sri VS explained the conclusion of the thani.
3) How does the mrudangam vidwan anticipate and play for kalpana swaras, neraval, and krithis he doesn't know?
Ans: The key is in being able to follow the logic of the patterns the main artiste is developing. If the mrudangam artiste understands the evolving pattern, he can adjust his strokes accordingly and improvise. However, if the main artiste's kalpana swaras aren't following an easily predictable pattern, it is significantly more difficult for the mrudangam vidwan to keep up and for the violinist to reproduce the swaras correctly. In neraval, there can be a lot of interdependence amongst the main artiste and mrudangam artiste because the main artiste can sometimes take a cue from the patterns being played by the mrudangam artiste, and follow those patterns.
4) What are the difficulties encountered by the violinist while accompanying?
Ans: The greatest difficulty is in playing swara returns, especially those involving mathematical patterns, because the violinist has very little time to process the patterns being sung by the main artiste before his turn comes. Once again, much depends on a clear logic behind the mathematical patterns sung by the main artiste, and also in the way these patterns are sung. For instance, some vocalists sing swaras in such a way that the accompanists cannot easily grasp the number of aksharas of each swaram. Playing a pallavi on the spot, and trikalam of the pallavi, are also highly challenging tasks, and a violinist's job is an unenviable one because he has to keep track of both raga bhavam and tala bhavam whereas the mrudangam vidwan just needs to be concerned about the layam. Related to this, the artistes also spoke about mathematical patterns in kalpanaswaras, and how the same pattern can be sung and played differently to introduce variety into the music. Sri VVR and Sri Balaji also spoke about singing patterns that not only follow a specific logic but have "poruttham" (i.e. that are appropriate) given the gait of the place in the composition/ pallavi where kalpanaswaras are taken up. I was a bit lost with the intricacies of the mathematics in a lot of these discussions but have a far better general understanding of these topics now, thanks to the artistes, and especially our mridangam who was very welcoming of questions, and could articulate his thoughts with great clarity (given his efforts in this forum, that is a given!).
5) What is the "arudi"?
Ans: It is what separates the purvangam and uttarangam of the pallavi, although it doesn't necessarily to have to be the half-way mark in the talam. There is almost always a kArvai at the arudi, and the pallavi portion subsequent to the arudi is generally more brisk, and exciting. VS sang a pallavi in sahAna to demonstrate this.
6) The difficulties of singing OVK krithis
The greatest difficulty is that OVK krithis are chock full of sAhityam, and it's very difficult for the singer to bring out the bhAvam of the sAhityam and rAgam when he has to be focused on getting it all out correctly (especially with all the mEl kAla passages), and it's difficult for the accompanists to play for these compositions as well because of all the sAhityam.

After this excellent and enlightening discussion, we all had a wonderful dinner, as described by mridangam above (my favourite was the erisEri). Thank you to jananee for hosting us and to kamalamba, pallavi, and jananee for the wonderful food. Of course, it was our good fortune that Sri VS, Sri VVR, and Sri Balaji could join us, and it was especially great to have an extended interaction with the very affable Balaji Sir.

To the members who didn't or couldn't join us last evening, you should be feeling very bad because you missed a great evening of music and discussion about music!

jananee · Post by **jananee** » 31 Aug 2009, 21:17

Thanks Bilahari for that wonderful write up! Wanted to write and upload the snaps but got a little busy today.

Anyway it was a wonderful evening yesterday. The totally informal way it started off and gradually shifted to a musical atmosphere and you slowly started seeing people slide from the sofas on to the floor and before we knew there was a mini concert in progress. And being able to observe them at close quarters was a treat!

The Tamil krithi was Tunai prurindarul. The highlight was Latangi with Sri VVR and VS alternating. It was free flowing music and so spontaneous.

And yes our own Mridhangam who so patiently answered all the questions we asked..and yes the maths part still baffles me. ..I seem to have missed out the part on difficulties of singing OVK krithis while heating up the dinner! I think it was our fortune to have him n VVR with us and of course VS for joining the group. I particularly liked the discussion where the 3 of them presented their points of view on how to manage in a concert when it comes to singing neraval and swaras. Hearing the 3 views staright from them was very enlightening. Mridangam was all ready to answer whatever questions we had and it was a unique experience watching him in action so close up.

We ended with a nice dinner..thanks Kamalamba for the wonderful eriseri n chakka prathaman.. I had it today too and Pallavi for the very nice bondas.

In all it was a very cozy evening. Though not a big crowd it was a very informative evening both in terms of music and discussions and a big thanks to Mridhangam for having taken the effort to contact me and suggest a get together and make it a very special one. Thanks to all the others who made it. ANd yes for those who did not make it it was indeed a big loss!

PUNARVASU · Post by **PUNARVASU** » 31 Aug 2009, 22:34

Seems to have been
A lovely/lively,informal/informative,
Ear filling/stomch filling sessions.
Blessed and Blissfull are those that attended
Less blessed and sighful are those that did not.

Suji Ram · Post by **Suji Ram** » 31 Aug 2009, 22:58

Wow! Interesting lecdem. I too wonder about the question 3 quite often. It shows what it takes to become a good mridangist. What an opportunity for you folks in singapore!

Ramasubramanian M.K · Post by **Ramasubramanian M.K** » 01 Sep 2009, 05:20

Re:Bilahari's post-excellent account. A question was raised as to what do when one person in the front row puts thalam wrongly. Flute Mali solved this problem beautifully. There was one gentleman in Bombay during a concert at Shanmukhananda Sabha in the fifties who always displayed his layam prowess by loud gesturing and posturing putting Thalam and some times made the singer or the accompaniment look bad when they had not made a mistake but he had!!
So Mali one day requested this gentleman to put Thalam saying he has difficulty turning around to see his sishya putting the Thalam. THis gentleman flattered as he was,took the "bait" and Mali proceeded to start his acrobatics-- right from the Viribhoni varnam with Tisrams and Vakra eduppu and id everything he could to trip this person who ofcourse could not keep pace and flubbed certain beats and Mali laughed loudly almost pointing to the gentleman like a school kid laughing over somebody tripping over a Banana peel!! The gentleman from that point onwards not only stopped putting for Mali but for other artistes as well much to the delight of the artistes and the audience!!

Ofcourse Mali could get away with such pranks!!

thanjavooran · Post by **thanjavooran** » 01 Sep 2009, 05:57

shri Bilahari avl,
Excellent write up. Very informative.
Thanjavooran