pantula rama@BVB on Dec 08th,2009

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 09 Dec 2009, 13:47

pantula rama@BVB on Dec 08th,2009
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Vocal : Dr Pantula ramA
Violin : MSN Murthy
Mrudangam : Tirupati Ramesh

1.??
2A.slokham??? ""
Late and only joined from 2B.

2B.neechitamu - dhanyAsi - T
3. padavini (S)- sAlakabhairavi - T
swaras for 2 mins

4. kAru vElpulu(R,S) - kalyANi - T
alAPanai of 11 mins, violin return for 5 mins
swaras fpr 9
5. nenaruncarA nApaini(N,S) - simhavAhini - T
neraval in "thyagarAja paripAla suguNasheela??" for 3 mins
2 mins swaras

6. RTP -nArayani
pallavi line was "ramA nee pai brOva vaiyA sadA vara lOsagi shree??"
8 mins alApanai and 6 mins violin return
6 mins tAnam and 8 mins pallavi rendition and swaras in nArayani
7. chelineenuntu sainanthuNE - ??? - ??

8A. slOkham vAmana dhastita jAnaki - chandrakowns??? + dwijAvanthi
8B. rAmachandruhitadu raghuveeruDu - dwijAvanthi?? - AC??
9. tAm thadan tirana theem ??? "Anantha natamAdum???... ponnambalam??" - Anandhabhairavi ?? - ???

pantula rama is a very accomplished musician , her mellifluous voice , touches of azhuttam like MLV is always there , well that was the impression I had in the last few years . I was late missing the first no and I think she sang few lines of slOkham and then moved into dhanyAsi to present neechitamu. nee chitamu was presented quite well with dhanyAsi poignancy coming out well. The popular salAkabhairavi was sung in the usual speed of a semmangudi patantaram from the anupallavi line , the finish was not that great also her swaras were too constrained.

The kalyAni rAga alapanai and the krithi was the pick of the day, the contours in the alApanai was more in the drowsy side of kalyANi , but this rare krithi of T kARuVElpulu is perhaps the fastest kalyAni krithi , she had nice control and brighas were in plenty , overall it was a satisfying one. She showed her class here.

The filler before main was the simhavAhini , in my opinion she did not sing it too well especially the neraval was half hearted perhaps the manOdharma quotient was not too high and the swaras were just ok. The pallavi was a rare rAga nArAyani, the rAga alApanai was done quite well if she had not mentioned the rAga I would have zoned in the crowded harikAmbOdhi cluster but certainly this rAga has not registered that well to me .

After a fairly good rAga presentation , tANam was madhyama kAlam centered and her voice was quite melliflous there , though I would have appreciated a much longer tAnam, a little high speed would have been great too .The pallavi was dwelt quite well(pallavi in language telugu , usually it is a monopoly of sanskrit and telugu) and the swaras were not to my satisfaction it was very fleeting , perhaps she could have gone for swara rAgamAliga that too considering this rAga nArayani is not as major as any of the big 5 or elaborate shanmughapriya , keeravani etc. To an extent the pallavi could have been delivered better.

A small tukkada chelineenuntu was very good (rAga slipped)and in the slokham the second half of dwijAvanthi was nice , the krithi of AC?? rAmachandruhitadu was quite folkish dwijAvanthi or very light in classical content but was appealing to the gallery. The thillAna was lost in lack of clarity of sahithyam it just passed .

The violinist MSN murthy played good most of the tine but the tone was not that great but overall he neither lifted nor dropped the concert quality. If I have a major crib in this concert , it is this mridangist play in the concert, I have not seen him before in any of the concerts . His play was fairly good play till the first half of the concert , I was disappointed with his play of pallavi , he was not showing much anticipation and rama's concert suffered because of that .

Overall I am hearing rAma for the last 4 to 5 years , every year there was some thing splendid like last year in tattvaloka she presented a beautiful single raga rtp in shankarabharanam , this concert she was caught up with law of average, the concert was not a very satisfying one .Also her voice was not as mellifluous as my previous concert experience, though she digging nArayani was very noteworthy .

Overall a good to very good concert for 2 hours and 5 minutes.

Prasanna Venkatesh · Post by **Prasanna Venkatesh** » 09 Dec 2009, 14:05

Pantula Rama started the cocnert with Gajavadanamashraye in Kedharam, a composition of Sri N.Ch. Krishnamacharyulu.

This was followed by a great Dhanyasi Alapana and a slokam, followed by Nee Chitamu.

Her voice and the span across all three octaves was just tremendous. Also, the Brigha's she uses are not the ones that we hear from GNB sir, Ramnad Krishnan Sir or TNS Sir's school .. It was handled more closer to the style of Voleti Sir. On top of it, she shows absolutely no strain while singing. Her voice has amazing reach, depth, stamina and renders brighas in different speeds - not just in one particular speed!! Also, the pattern singing in brigha - just not random notes.

The Pallavi words are set after Sri Thyagaraja's krithi "Rama neeve gAni".

Chelinenetlu is in Paras Raga.

Slokam - Vamanga sthitha - started with Sumanesaranjani and then followed by Dwijavanti.

I simply loved this concert. Kalyani Alapana was just out of the box . My only thought would be, do we need Chalaka Bhairavi when we have an RTP in Narayani?

ganeshkant · Post by **ganeshkant** » 09 Dec 2009, 15:10

The kalyani kriti was excellent.Most of the rasikas heard for the first time it seems.I agree with Prasanna on the necessity of Salakabhairavi when there is going to be a Narayani.I only wish the artists show some sensibility after decades of concert experience in choosing the items.

The plus point with Rama is that she ventures into on the spot ,extempore improvisations (this requires a lot of courage especially when you perform in an alien turf )though her brighas lack conviction and bit shaky while landing just like the ones yesterday.

But is classical music only speed ? Time for her to introspect.

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 09 Dec 2009, 15:20

prasanna
Can you let me know the Mridangist name please?
Also can you find out the thillana composer please with rAga, was that anandhabhairavi???

Prasanna Venkatesh · Post by **Prasanna Venkatesh** » 09 Dec 2009, 15:40

Rajesh,
Yes, that was a Tillana in Ananda Bhairavi. Not sure about the composer. I'll try to find that out.

ganeshkant · Post by **ganeshkant** » 09 Dec 2009, 15:43

Rajesh,

His name is Tirupati Ramesh.He is a faculty in Tirupati music college.Sorry I left the hall after Narayani alapana.So,can't tell the thillana ragam.Prasanna will reply anyway.I am also quite eager to know.

karthikbala · Post by **karthikbala** » 09 Dec 2009, 16:34

ganeshkant wrote:The kalyani kriti was excellent.Most of the rasikas heard for the first time it seems.

There is a commercial recording of an Alatur bros. rendition of "karuvelpu" available. I think the album also has "etla dorikitivo" in vasanta.

Rishi Sharma · Post by **Rishi Sharma** » 09 Dec 2009, 17:10

I believe, the Anandabhairavi tillana is composed by Tanjavur Shankar Iyer.

According to an previous version of Lakshmanji's index that I have, there are only 3 tillanas in Anandabhairavi: Swati Tirunal, Lalgudi and Tanjavur Shankar Iyer.

The sahitya of the Lalgudi tillana is in telugu and there is no apparent sahitya for the Swati Tirunal tillana (only jatis are available). Therefore, by elimination, it has to be Tanjavur Shankar Iyer.

I have a 1971 MA concert where DKP / DKJ render this tillana beautifully.

If the author of the tillana is not Tanjavur Shankar Iyer, I will only be too happy to be corrected.

uma1973 · Post by **uma1973** » 09 Dec 2009, 17:27

". Also, the Brigha's she uses are not the ones that we hear from GNB sir, Ramnad Krishnan Sir or TNS Sir's school .. It was handled more closer to the style of Voleti Sir".

what prasanna venkatesh has said is obsolutely correct,

The concert was good, According to me, Rama incorporates more madhyamakala phrases these cant be considred as brigas, brigas are entirely different from madhyamakala phrases. GNB and TNS SIrs brighas are breathtaking amazing. These voices are natural and produce intricate speed phrases with utmost ease.

mokshamugalada · Post by **mokshamugalada** » 09 Dec 2009, 22:27

Kotipalli (Tirupati) Ramesh is the son of Late Shri. Kotipalli Suryaprakasha Rao - a noted musician himself and well known for his "Shatkala Pallavis".

Also - what was the tala in which she sang the pallavi?

Prasanna Venkatesh · Post by **Prasanna Venkatesh** » 10 Dec 2009, 09:53

Uma - Absolutely that's what I wanted to say - These phrases are different from Brighas.... I myself am from the great TNS sir's school and hence could identify the technique Rama handles.

Mokshamugalada - The pallavi was in Adi Talam 2 kalai (she announced it as a simple pallavi

) but it was set at 23/64.

Rengarajan · Post by **Rengarajan** » 10 Dec 2009, 10:08

Prasanna Venkatesh wrote:Pantula Rama started the cocnert with Gajavadanamashraye in Kedharam, a composition of Sri N.Ch. Krishnamacharyulu.

This was followed by a great Dhanyasi Alapana and a slokam, followed by Nee Chitamu.

Her voice and the span across all three octaves was just tremendous. Also, the Brigha's she uses are not the ones that we hear from GNB sir, Ramnad Krishnan Sir or TNS Sir's school .. It was handled more closer to the style of Voleti Sir. On top of it, she shows absolutely no strain while singing. Her voice has amazing reach, depth, stamina and renders brighas in different speeds - not just in one particular speed!! Also, the pattern singing in brigha - just not random notes.

The Pallavi words are set after Sri Thyagaraja's krithi "Rama neeve gAni".

Chelinenetlu is in Paras Raga.

Slokam - Vamanga sthitha - started with Sumanesaranjani and then followed by Dwijavanti.

I simply loved this concert. Kalyani Alapana was just out of the box . My only thought would be, do we need Chalaka Bhairavi when we have an RTP in Narayani?

The sloka preceding Gajavadana was from Guru Paduka Panchakam.
I have heard Karuvelpu sung by Mudikondan for a radio concert and was thrilled by the sangathis woven into presentation.
Pantula's manners was like an installation which is innocuous in presence but electrfying the the whole atmosphere

gavats · Post by **gavats** » 10 Dec 2009, 10:55

rajeshnat wrote:The pallavi was a rare rAga nArAyani, the rAga alApanai was done quite well if she had not mentioned the rAga I would have zoned in the crowded harikAmbOdhi cluster but certainly this rAga has not registered that well to me .

Raga Narayani
http://www.indiamusicinfo.com/raga_today/narayani.html

sureshvv · Post by **sureshvv** » 11 Dec 2009, 09:35

Rengarajan wrote: I have heard Karuvelpu sung by Mudikondan for a radio concert and was thrilled by the sangathis woven into presentation.

Do you have a recording that you will be able to share? Would love to hear this.

prashant · Post by **prashant** » 11 Dec 2009, 09:36

sureshvv wrote:
Rengarajan wrote: I have heard Karuvelpu sung by Mudikondan for a radio concert and was thrilled by the sangathis woven into presentation.
Do you have a recording that you will be able to share? Would love to hear this.

I would also love to hear this...

mokshamugalada · Post by **mokshamugalada** » 11 Dec 2009, 22:20

@Prasanna Venkatesh - Thank you very much sir.