pArasAla ponnammAl - nada inbam - 25 Dec 09

pattamaa · Post by **pattamaa** » 26 Dec 2009, 07:19

Vidushi Prof Parasala B Ponnamaal - vocal
Smt Bhamah krishnan - vocal support
Vid Vittal Ramamurthy - violin
Vid madhirimangalam swaminathan - mridhangam

1. varnam - navarasakAnadA - adi
2. sri mahaganapathi - gowlai - misra chapu - MD (S @ sri maha ganapathi)
3. sivanai ninaindhavar - hindolam - adi - PS (R, S @ sivanai)
4. samodam chintayami - suddha dhanyasi - misra chapu - ST (R, N & S at shyanandura nagari)
5. etavunara - kalyani - adi 2 k - thyagaraja (R, N & S at srikarudaku thyagaraja, Tani)
6. rave himagiri (swarajathi) - todi - adi 2k, shyamasastri
7. parvati nayakane - shanmukhapriya - adi - PS (alapana)
8. kanakamaya - huseni (brief sketch)
9. thillana - hamsanandi - adi - HMB
10. karpagame - madhyamavathi - adi - PS

Concert of vidushi started with a rare navarasakanada varnam. hindolam alapana was good. I liked suddha dhanyasi alapana more, particularly sancharams like nSGnS, nSGG, and karvais around gandharam. There is a nice sangathi (i think last one) in pallavi around saraseeruha nabham, that was great! The neraval and swaras were with 3 aksharam eduppu and it is quite tricky generally. I have seen few days ago in MMA that, some of the neraval lines (like in badari vana mula in akshayalinga vibho) were converted to 2 aksharam eduppu!!

Kalyani alapana was very good, but voice was very strained, she had great manodharma, but was limitted by voice. The karvais around Pa, and Ni were done to emphasis raga bhava, so is sangathi like gmr, sndmgr-- etc. There were some fast brigas too, and first round of alapana ended in tara shadjam. After violist turn, she sang again for about 4 minutes more, and ended at shadjam.

violin accompaniment was of high grade, and it was as if 2nd vocal support for vidhushi. Mridhangam planing was also very soft, and particularly i liked toppi playing during kalyani neraval.

All post tani pieces stood out, be it be todi swarajathi, or parvati nayakane. Huseni piece was even great, and her short sketch brought out raga bhava, and young learners can learn quite a lot about ragha swarupa. Concert ended with traditional thillana and madhyamavathi piece.

vmr · Post by **vmr** » 26 Dec 2009, 10:57

Defenitely excellent concert going by the list of krithis. I had the privilage to attend her concert at MA on 20.12.09. I could not attend this due to work commitment. Past 80 and going very strong.That's very phenomenal considering her age . Wishing her many more years in service of music.......!!!

bala747 · Post by **bala747** » 26 Dec 2009, 17:58

Are there any recordings of this grand old lady available anywhere? I found a few clips on youtube and since I am in India now I would love to hunt for her concerts/recordings.

uday_shankar · Post by **uday_shankar** » 26 Dec 2009, 18:21

pattamaa wrote:Kalyani alapana was very good

Indeed! That kind of kalyani alapana is worth dying for since it is a dying art form. Has anybody heard a kalyani alapana these days that has any resemblance to the trinity masterpiece that follows them ? I

Raave Himagiri is my kind of "thukada"

. All I can say is "kurai onrum illaye" as far as this concert was concerned !

ramanathan · Post by **ramanathan** » 26 Dec 2009, 18:21

Bala, you can pick up Carnatica's release of her live concert (Dec 2007) on Travancore Composers at our stall in the Music Academy lobby till Dec 31st. More info: http://carnatica.net/shopping/product_i ... ucts_id/64

srikant1987 · Post by **srikant1987** » 26 Dec 2009, 21:30

Has anybody heard a kalyani alapana these days that has any resemblance to the trinity masterpiece that follows them ? I

It may be rare, but it isn't unheard of. But I agree it's less common with kalyANi than with, say, kambhoji or even Sbharanam. Though many tODi AlApanais appeal more to me than some tODi songs like kaddana vAriki (where as rAvE himagirikumArI gulps down more or less any other tODi ever sung or played

).

bilahari · Post by **bilahari** » 26 Dec 2009, 22:32

Smt PP is excellent in tailoring alapanais to the pieces to follow. It is indeed rare to find that quality these days with most people possessing some uniform, pre-conceived template of ragas to dish out time and again with minor changes in the order of the phrases.

pattamaa · Post by **pattamaa** » 27 Dec 2009, 06:11

bala747 wrote:Are there any recordings of this grand old lady available anywhere? I found a few clips on youtube and since I am in India now I would love to hunt for her concerts/recordings.

Bala - swathi samskruthi series has brought out two albums - one exclusive swathi keerthanas, and another one with keerthanas like mantrinim in hemavathi, and dayapayonidhe in jaganmohini. There is charsur release of swathi sangeethothsavam too.

Last year she performed in carnatica - siva mahima, and this year devi mahima. Hope carnatica brings out video albums of these concerts in near future.

laks1972 · Post by **laks1972** » 27 Dec 2009, 06:23

I saw someone recording the concert with camcorder. hope that person shares it with others

laks1972 · Post by **laks1972** » 27 Dec 2009, 06:27

I loved the post-main "thukkadas" that she sang.

When the performers of today go into "super light" mode with maadu meikkum kanna and other such nonsense, it was enjoyable to listen to such "thukkadas"

srkris · Post by **srkris** » 27 Dec 2009, 15:07

laks1972 wrote:When the performers of today go into "super light" mode with maadu meikkum kanna and other such nonsense, it was enjoyable to listen to such "thukkadas"

I listened to maadu meikkum on youtube now after reading your comment. Here it is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAvNsc1HcWs

What a contrast it is to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Of52RllSWUM

Watching one after the other again and again reinforces that contrast even more. The new vs. the old! The ??? vs the sublime!

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 27 Dec 2009, 20:53

Yes! It is like chendil vs NSK!

rajaglan · Post by **rajaglan** » 27 Dec 2009, 21:34

srkris wrote:
laks1972 wrote:When the performers of today go into "super light" mode with maadu meikkum kanna and other such nonsense, it was enjoyable to listen to such "thukkadas"
I listened to maadu meikkum on youtube now after reading your comment. Here it is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAvNsc1HcWs

What a contrast it is to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Of52RllSWUM

Watching one after the other again and again reinforces that contrast even more. The new vs. the old! The ??? vs the sublime!

1. Despite not understanding Tamil, I thoroughly enjoy this singing! I sincerely hope our generation listens more to classical music than contemporary noise.

2. nice lyrics and nice expressions by arunasairam and everybody.

3. u are rite...lakshmi...even i was in tears.....joyful tears aftere listening to this song!!

4. beautifully described....... the conversation between mother yasodha and lord krsna.....this song touched my heart so deep that i was in tears..

5. A wonderful song which is sung very expressively. I could just visualise Krishna and yashoda conversing.

6. simply awesome. I heard this song for the first time in New Zealand and have been enthralled ever since. We are are fortunate to have heard this divine singer live in NZ.

.
.
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You cannot miss "some of these comments out there" in the comments about Aruna concert.

It is a folk song and I guess it fits the tukkada section.

A swarajathi like Shyama's Rave is a heavy piece for post thani. May be if it is a submain or main, then ok.
Or you may call it an equivalent to RTP section, then may be it is fine.

The controversy about aruna are about the lighter version of first part of the concert, and a long tukkada duration
and I guess her tukkada section itself is one of her USP and a hit.

srkris · Post by **srkris** » 28 Dec 2009, 05:22

Rajaglan, I only wish I got tears "of joy" at that "divine" song once it "touches my heart"... till then...

I did read all the comments on that Maadu meikkara song. It provided me nutritious doses of humour for one day.

I just mentioned about those two videos to show the contrast. Needless to say, the PP video is something I would die for (to be able to sing with a similar effect). The Aruna video would however, make me die (red faced).

music_is_life · Post by **music_is_life** » 17 Jan 2010, 10:41

This is one of the best concerts I attended during the season. My 80 year old mother is a big fan of PP and unfortunately the recording I did that day for her did not come out well.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 17 Jan 2010, 11:45

srkris,
It was like a transition from a glitzy Kollywood flick to a black and white Satyajit Ray film. The climax scene in the latter? Ponnamma sings the neraval and on hearing the pujAri's bell, puts her hands together as she looks at the sanctum and offers her prayers to the deity...

srkris · Post by **srkris** » 18 Jan 2010, 03:10

Folk songs are mere distractions in a classical concert, not that they should not be sung or anything, but a classical stage is not the place for them.

Everything has its own place and time. We don't brush our teeth when we are sitting with clients in a meeting do we?

Those who expect folk songs in a classical concert are not serious about classical music.

I think this line sums it up well: chakkani rAja mArgamu lunDaga sandula dUranela O manasA!

I should add that PP video above to my list of goosebump songs.

mahesh3 · Post by **mahesh3** » 18 Jan 2010, 05:27

satyajit ray...ugh!

anandmurty · Post by **anandmurty** » 18 Jan 2010, 09:44

Sheesh Kebab! This cow/buffalo song continues to generate discussions with seemingly never waning enthusiasm!

I do agree that PP makes music that is almost "other-worldly". There is clarity, continuity and such perfectly honed melody that forget goosebumps - the entire house seems to resonate when she sings that Narasimha MAmava!

But I also feel that these constant references to Aruna/any other so-to-speak-"sandula" artistes speaks of a certain high handedness we tend to display. Who are we to mandate what is and isn't allowed in a "Classical" music concert? Why should I accept someone else's judgement that I am/am not "serious" about classical music?

May all possible approaches flourish I say! The only result is that our music will progress through the years richer, stronger and firmly in tune.

And it would be nice to stick to PP's music. As an aside - my Nepali maid listens to Hindi film songs and those lovely "dohori" songs in Nepali. I don't think she's ever heard much Carnatic music. One morning, as she was dusting around, I found her standing in front of the computer screen. Frozen - listening intently to PP sing Narasimha MAmava at the Navarathri Mantapam. And when the grand lady went..."parama mangala shobha pankajanabha..", an "AhA" escaped her lips.

More power to PP! May she continue to melt hearts with her music for years to come.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 18 Jan 2010, 13:33

Ha! Goes to prove music has no boundaries. So too other arts. Ponnamma and Satyajit Ray shed their geographic boundaries

srkris · Post by **srkris** » 18 Jan 2010, 16:51

Anand I still stand by my opinion that there is a proper time and place for everything. In a classical concert, a folk piece is (atleast for me) an unwanted distraction.

anandmurty · Post by **anandmurty** » 18 Jan 2010, 18:14

Srkris - I totally understand your point of view. Personally, it's a little bewildering that given the exceptionally wide repertoire of classical material available, certain artistes still choose pieces that only make one wince. A pet peeve is the utter neglect reserved for Padams and Javalis. I hate calling them "thukkadas" in fact!

But the bottom line is, there are many rasikas out there who find a mAdu song heavenly. There are hundreds who'd rather go ga ga over "bolAvA vitthala" vs. a "purandara vitthala". And that's a wave certain artistes choose to ride.

You know, I was one of those folk-enthusiasts not so long ago! I thought a bhajan was part and parcel of a Carnatic concert. But curiosity and ceaseless listening over a decade made me choose music that some people call "heavy, classical, pure" etc etc. I still can't identify one note from another - but I respond in exactly the same manner to "chandrashekharAya" in that immortal nIlAmbarI song as an instrumentalist friend does.

Long post this - perhaps it's easy for me to ramble! All I'm saying is, I'm convinced that we needn't split our collective hairs over a buffalo song. I'm convinced that there are a thousand more anandmurty's out there who might start off with a mAdu or kAkA but will ultimately wind their way to a bAla vinavE or neyyamuna.

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 19 Jan 2010, 11:56

What makes them folk songs and thus not appropriate in a classical concert, I wonder. I agree that the way Aruna Sairam sings this particular song, it does not seem to go with the rest of the classical ambience. Is there a way to sing the same song in a more classical manner in the post-main section. It is an OVK composition after all (right?)

But she has sung 'Valli KaNavan Perai' which sounded appropriate to me. HM artists play a thumri at the end of a classical concert. In one concert, the artist announced a song sung by camel riding Rajasthani rural people for centuries. It had a lot of Sindu Bhairavi flavor. Quite folkish.

Mali used to play a tune that sounded folkish, based on a bhairavi/mukhari aesthetic and he beautifully captures the rural atmosphere of a laborer working in a field calling out for someone at a distance. And not to forget his magudi song which is sandwiched between the catchy 'nandavanathil Or Andi'. That sounds fine to me and fits the post-main type songs.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 19 Jan 2010, 12:39

A song in HusEni can sound folk song like, yet is very pleasing to hear in a concert. I associate it with nATTu pADal and its name happens to be husENi, as if it were an import from the north. Have no clue how it came about. I can fabricate a story, though. A legendary ustAd from the north called Manzoor Hussein Khan fell in love with it when he heard it from ChennaiyUr bAgavatar and couldn't stop singing it, and in honor of his love for it, it was renamed. What was the original name, again?