Dr. Pantula Rama @ Cleveland, april 9th

[kedharam]

Dr. pantula Rama @ Cleveland
Raga vistharam – devamanohari
Elucidator - Smt. Charumathi Ramachandran
Nadaswaram – Injikudi Sri. E.M Subramaniam

Dr. Pantula Rama
Sri. M.S.N. Murthy – violin
Kallidaikurichi Sri. S. Sivakumar
Dr. Ravi Balasubramaniam

Smt. Charumathi gave a brief glimpse of devamanohari and talked abt allied or mithra ragams. She demonstrated GNB’s composition in devamanohari, ‘Shankara maha devamanohri’ and GNB’s classic pallavi in adhi thalam, ‘ idhi manchi samayamu devamanohari’ followed by Sri. Injikudi Subramaniam’s interpretation of devamanohari thro nadaswara pidis…harimau would have loved it …

Neelambari – shringara lahari shrithajana shubakari, Lingaraj Urs
Shuba panthuvarali – srI satyanarayanam, R,, N, S
Jingla – anAthudanu gAnu
Shankarabaranam – manasu svAdhInamaina, R S
Thani
RTP
Devamanohari
Pallavi: Adi tala, dwi nadai, tisram and chatusram, eduppu after 3 aksharams
“devadi deva manohara mampahi”
Swararagamalika in gowrimanohari, rama manohari, saraswathi manohari
Started a padam in mohanam and I had to leave.

The concert started with the rhythmically animated composition ‘shringara lahari’ in neelambari – a toe tapping work with an affecting beauty and bold accents followed by lively Chittaswaram with an athletic precision and insistent swirls, meticulous in laya and melody…this neelambari was far from sedative…
srI satyanarayanam came out as a gentle melancholic melody with neraval at, ‘sarvam Vishnu mayam…’ brightening the reposeful madhyama kala krithi with a moment’s tentativeness before letting the music gently slip into high gear, gliding between the registers with a subdued tone conceptualizing the invisible beauty of the sahithyam’s sublimity…all one could hear from the listeners were soft ‘ch ch chs’…
RTP – devamanohari - In the raga-delineation with moments of tender sensitivity, moving about in a meandering gait the aesthetic demands of the tonal geometry of the notes were arresting. The systematic development in Tanam came in an austere style with in depth melodic nuances, preserving the sanctity of the syllables. Pallavi was an impressive balancing act between the free-flowing lyricism of the text, ‘devadi deva manohara mampahi’ and the taut structure of the dwi nadai thalam with melody adding an emphatic warmth and Sri. M.S.N. Murthy, Sri. Sivakumar and Dr. Ravi Balasubramaniam accompanied with such zest, with an equilateral bond they did strike a balance together…

[harimau]

Dr. pantulu Rama @ Cleveland
Raga vistharam – devamanohari
Elucidator - Smt. Charumathi Ramachandran
Nadaswaram – Injikudi Sri. E.M Subramaniam

Smt. Charumathi gave a brief glimpse of devamanohari and talked abt allied or mithra ragams. She demonstrated GNB’s composition in devamanohari, ‘Shankara maha devamanohri’ and GNB’s classic pallavi in adhi thalam, ‘ idhi manchi samayamu devamanohari’ followed by Sri. Injikudi Subramaniam’s interpretation of devamanohari thro nadaswara pidis…harimau would have loved it …

Neelambari – shringara lahari shrithajana shubakari, composer?

…

Sringara Lahari is a composition of Lingaraj Urs.

[Jigyaasa]

Jonpuri – anadudane garu

Are you by any chance referring to Thyagaraja's composition, anAthuDanu in the rAgA jingaLa? It seems odd that Jaunpuri figured in the middle of the concert as against in the post-tani section.

[kedharam]

jigyaasa, you are correct. i had written the composition as, "anAthudanu gAnu" . will edit. Thanks.
Thanks, harimau. I edited. Any info abt the composer?

[harimau]

Are you by any chance referring to Thyagaraja's composition, anAthuDanu in the rAgA jingaLa? It seems odd that Jaunpuri figured in the middle of the concert as against in the post-tani section.

Jingala has shades of Jonpuri for those unacquainted with it so that would be an honest mistake on Kedharam's part. Pantula Rama is known to throw in "Anathudanu gadu" in the middle of the concert as a quick filler.

If Varnams, Padams and Javalis can be touted as main pieces, there is no reason not to have Jonpuri in the middle of the concert. In fact I have heard Manda Sudharani sing an alapana of Gowdamalhar followed by "Sarasamukhi" as the third item in a concert.

[harimau]

Thanks, harimau. I edited. Any info abt the composer?

I have heard it said that he is famous for this composition and the krithi was very popular in the concert circuit in the early days. I have also heard it said that this is his only composition; that would seem a bit hard to believe.

[kedharam]

wow! it is hard to believe. such a lovely composition.

[Jigyaasa]

Jingala has shades of Jonpuri for those unacquainted with it so that would be an honest mistake on Kedharam's part.

If Varnams, Padams and Javalis can be touted as main pieces, there is no reason not to have Jonpuri in the middle of the concert.

I pretty much knew it must have been jingaLa... As you said, I've seen it in Smt Rama's concert song lists... It's just that I wanted to provide a "cushion" to the raga having been identified incorrectly by giving a plausible reason Once again, as you said, the shades of jaunpuri were what made me conclude that the kriti in question must indeed have been in jingaLa.
Indeed, nothing is "odd" any more... nothing at all!

[keerthi]

[quote=kedharam]Started a padam in mohanam and I had to leave.[/quote]

If it isn't too much trouble, kedharam, could you find out which one it was that she sang..?

There are three padams prevalent in mohana, all on the brink of extinction, and I applaud Dr.ramA's conservation effort in singing whichever one she did sing..

[kedharam]

keerthi, i am trying to get hold of the recording. Will let you know.