a memorable concert kutchery review

[Ponbhairavi]

Concert of Nisha Rajagopal at Bhairavi music circle Pondicherry.




There was a concert by Nisha Rajagopal at the Bhairavi carnatic music circle pondicherry on Sunday the 16th may. The team:
Nisha Rajagopal-vocal
Padma shankar –violin
Trivandrum balaji- mrudangam.
The list of songs is given below:
1- Mahaganapathim-Naattai –Deekshithar
2- Sabhapathiku- R. S. — Abhogi- Gopalakrishna Bharathi
3- Naadha sudha-R.S. Aarabhi. T
4- Dhunmarga chara R. S. Ranjani- T
5- Velaiya Saaveri-Kotiswara iyer
6- Srirangapura vihara-brindhaavana Saaranga- D
7- Kalaya yeshodhe-Kedara gowla-Nerayana theerthar
8- Kaddana variki R.N. S Thodi- T- thani in aadhi thalam 2 kalai
9- Eppadipadinaro- Karnataka devagandhari-Suddhanandha bharathi(?)
10- Naanadinaku- Revathi- Annamacharya
11- Virutham(-shanmughapriya-atana- senchuritti)-
12- Kilikanni Vallikanavanperai.
A well balanced concert with judicious admixture of ragas composers and languages
The todi piece was a marvel. Nisha’s voice has a magnetic sweetness which takes her wherever her imagination goes.. She sings full throated. No crooning. Her stage presence shows a cool composure.
Padma shankar’s bowing was throughout melodious and embellished the concert.. Trivandrum Balaji’s playing was unobtrusive and supportive.
A very satisfying concert.

[rajeshnat]

Concert of Nisha Rajagopal at Bhairavi music circle Pondicherry.
10- Naanadinaku- Revathi- Annamacharya

Wow ponbhairavi , first time we are having review from pOndichery. Where was this concert held in Pondy?
nAnATi patuku nATakamu - revAthi- annamAchArya

[mahakavi]

eppadip pADinArO---composer: SuddAnanda Bharathi (yes)
Isn't Pondichery called PuduchEry now?

[sramaswamy]

Thanks for your list Ponbhairavi. Now for a question on the fourth song.

4- Dhunmarga chara R. S. Ranjani- T

I know it as Dhurmarga meaning bad path. And I have seen this Dhunmarga as well. Which is correct?

[rshankar]

Ponbhairavi - thanks for that review. Brings back many fond memories from the past. IIRC, the venues for these concerts were not fixed. Back in those days, one of the local schools used to be a favored venue.
By the way, shouldn't #10 be nAnATi baduku nATakamu?

[arasi]

ponbhairavi,
Thanks for the review from PuduchEri. Do we call you pudubhairavi, then?
I have heard Nisha just once, a few years ago and I liked her singing very much then.

[ragam-talam]

Sounds like an excellent kutcheri...
Nisha is a quality musician from the younger generation. For her age, she does have a lot of maturity and intelligence in her voice and rendition.
The accompanists for this concert are also very good. I find Padma Shankar has a certain quiet elegance in her violin playing that it enhances any concert. And Trivandrum Balaji does provide lovely accompaniment.

Was this concert recorded at all?

[Sundara Rajan]

sramaswamy, post # 4: Yes, durmArgachara is correct in Sanskrit. Most vocalists sing as dunmArgachara only. In Tamil dunmArgam is the opposite of sanmArgam (good pathway). I am not sure if it is so in Telugu also.

[Ponbhairavi]

Bhairavi is a small music circle of puduchery which is now running its 28th year though this is the first time that it has reached internet "connections".Bhairavimusiccircle.blogspot. com.is our humble attempt towards.this.It is quite well reputed among musicians. The concerts are held in a 100 years old school building which is a heritage monument and which has excellent acoustics.
Pondicherry has now become puducherry which ,in my opinion should further be revised as pudHucheRy.
Dhunmarga and dhurmarga are both correct and have the same meaning.
The correction in Annamacharyas's krithi is gratefully noted
Arasi, you are right in your guess.Bhairavi is Gold perhaps because of this ponbhairavi may continue

[rajeshnat]

Ponbhairavi,
Bhairavimusiccircle.blogspot.com is the url A space is there between the dot and the com, we are all out of dot com burst . Nice to hear that this place is holding concerts from 1982 onwards, also nice to see you are having monthly once concerts too. You have shri TVS lined up next month.

[rajeshnat]

By the way, shouldn't #10 be nAnATi baduku nATakamu?

ravi,
I am not sure which is right, the title says baTuku wheras the pallavi line says patuku
Refer http://www.karnatik.com/c1508.shtml. Could be a Telugu googly like how we have in thamizh k(g)Angeya in the tODi krithi of karthikeya . Perhaps some one well versed in telugu can comment.

[sridhar_ranga]

batuku it is!!! sometimes a more formal "bratuku" too, but definitely not baTuku

[Pratyaksham Bala]

Ponbhairavi's review is precise and sharp.
A detailed review, which usually appears in Realty monthly magazine, can be seen in bhairavimusiccircle.blogspot.com in the first week of June 2010.

[mahakavi]

ravi,
I am not sure which is right, the title says baTuku wheras the pallavi line says patuku
Refer http://www.karnatik.com/c1508.shtml. Could be a Telugu googly like how we have in thamizh k(g)Angeya in the tODi krithi of karthikeya . Perhaps some one well versed in telugu can comment.

Karnatik.com has lots of errors with respect to proper use of letters. It is a great resource but one has to be cautious in taking the fidelity of words therein seriously.
With respect to "k(g)AngEya" in Sivan's tODi kriti, one has to be careful too. There is a place called kAngeyam near Erode/tiruppur well known for butter/ghee. So it is tempting to pronounce the word as "kAngEya" in the kriti. However, the word is derived from ganga---> gAngEya (like kArtika -->kArtikEya) to denote Murugan. Since bhIshma was also ganga putra he is called gAngEya too. In Thamizh you cannot start a word with "g" sound. By the same token the "ka" sound cannot occur by itself in the middle of a word if it is not preceded by "k" consonant (say pakkam-- பக்கம்) . That is where the "g" sound will occur---such a sangam, sarugu, pagal --பகல் etc.
If it is an import word like ganga, garuDan, gAnam, gItam etc. the same letter "க" or " கா" is used but one has to recognize the sound from the origin of the word to pronounce it with the harsh "ka" or soft "ga" sound as the context calls for.

[Sundara Rajan]

mahAkavi: If my memory is correct, kangEyam was/is famous for its bulls and dArApuram in the area was/is famous for its ghee.

[venkatpv]

durmarga is correct, dunmarga isn't.

the anupallavi begins with "dharmaatmaka dhana". dharma rhymes with durmarga, not with dunmarga.

[mahakavi]

durmarga is correct, dunmarga isn't.

the anupallavi begins with "dharmaatmaka dhana". dharma rhymes with durmarga, not with dunmarga.

I concur. I don't think there is a prefix "dun" in Sanskrit to denote "bad". "dur" is the prefix widely used for negative connotation.

[mahakavi]

mahAkavi: If my memory is correct, kangEyam was/is famous for its bulls and dArApuram in the area was/is famous for its ghee.

gottillA swami nanagE cannAgi gottillA