A very elaborte concert by Sri. T.N.Seshagopalan. He did alapanai for almost all the songs except mOhanam and ragamAlika. Hamirkalyani was dwelt nicely. He took Kalyani on a very elaborate scale and I liked his swaram phase wherein he ended nicely on SRG covering several avartanams for nearly twenty minutes. By the time he finished a wonderful HamirkalyAni and elaborate swarams for kalyANi, it was already more than 2 and half hours. He asked the audience two three times that "it is already 7:40, do you want RTP or can I finish with some tukkadas". Luckily the crowd chose the former. A exquisite RTP that blended the three ragas followed. He moved seamlessly among the three ragas. He finished with a Tamil ragamalika and Harikesa Nallur's thillana.
Gokul and Ram Sriram from Atlanta provided the support.
Last edited by sramaswamy on 13 May 2010, 02:44, edited 1 time in total.
Frankly, it was a disappointing concert by the doyen. Yes, yet another disappointing one by him in Atlanta.
Sri TNS started off with a brisk darbAr varNam with a shaky voice. The swarams in the charaNam were very innovative and set the tone for what looked like would be a treat. Sriraghukula was a welcome hamsadhwani, with a trademark TNS AlApanam, and good swarams. In spite of clear lack of chemistry between the artist and violinist in the first ten minutes, so far, so good.
The HamIrkalyANI rAgam was extremely verbose with too many obtuse phrases that would just lose the rasika. It just appeared to be intense traverse all over the scale, with little regard for bhAva. atitArasthAyI escapades could have very well been avoided. It looked more like the artist wanted to prove a point - "Even I can sing up in the sky". To whom, though?
The vivAdi was welcome, and the rAgam was alright. The violinist complemented with some nice phrases. The song was well rendered. Swarams in the pallavi, toying with the svarasAhityam at "nee sari" became stale soon, again thanks to overdoing arithmetic with nI-sa-rI.
nannu kanna talli was a well chosen filler piece, and the rAgam and svarams were decent.
The kalyANi stood out at the most displeasing exercise of the evening. A very long AlApana with trademark TNS grahabhEdams was still decent. The violinist played his bit well. The song was well rendered. It was the swarams in kalyANi that went on and on and on, with extremely uninteresting, merely mathematical and utterly substanceless phrases. At a point of time, I was aching inside with TNS's "sa sa sA sa sA sa sA sa sa" type of swarams. I fail to realize what was trying to be achieved. This was clearly "Guinness" record material for the longest swaram! That particular swaram, I reckon went up to 20 minutes. The accompanists were lost, and they clearly looked to have given up, trying to play a million-and-a-half similar phrases. Sriram's tani was something that didn't even register to me, thanks to the relief of the swaras being over.
svAgatam krishna was well rendered.
The RTP was very well conceived, though the voice's hindrance didn't permit great execution. The rAgAlApana was again filled with unwanted excursions in painfully high octaves, with TNS losing control a few times trying to control the resisting screech of the voice that was commanded to reach the atitAraShaDjam. Again, I questioned myself why artistes choose to do this, when there's so much given to us in terms of tAra, madhya and mandra sthAyIs. The other end of the spectrum, aNumandram was equally painful to tolerate, and sudden, berserk transitions between these ends of the spectra could very well fatigue a listener. The tAnam was ordinary. "sOmasundarEshvara priya vAmabhAgE SrIranjanI mAtangi" went the pallavi. The tri-rAga combination of bAgEshrI, SrI, ranjanI saw TNS transitioning seamlessly like Tarzan, and his glorious days flashed in front of me.
But at this point, with close to 3.5 hours into the concert, and TNS consistently trying to overdo himself with his never-cooperative voice, lead to what was a very mediocre concert by his standards, and very unfortunately, by general standards too. I chose to head home at the end of the RTP.
The accompanists were ordinary too. They are both residents of Atlanta and I have seen them play better on other occasions, such as Smt. M.S.Sheela's concert in recent times. I would not blame them at all, given that the main artiste failed to keep them in the concert right from the first song. Visible lack of on-stage chemistry, tiring the accompanists through acutely painful arithmetic exercise probably failed to have them as engaged as what would be requisite for good teamwork.
In contrast to Sri Vijay Siva's concert last week, which was amongst the most brilliant concerts I've ever heard in life, and certainly the best vocal concert in Atlanta in recent times (read 2-3 years), Sri TNS failed to make much of a mark with me.
I went back home driving through a crowded Downtown, reminding myself of the sanskrit adage - 'ati sarvatra varjayEt', that grossly translates to "Never overdo anything".
More than the concert itself, I am disappointed reading this review by a fellow-rasika (named muvvagOpAla). I give utmost respect for his/her freedom to voice his personal opinions in a public forum; but would like to emphasis that such a criticism doesn't usually have any inherent value more than the personal satisfaction the rasika obtained by exhibiting his personal opinions.
For the same reason I have, over the time, inhibited myself from writing my personal opinions in public forums; but please excuse me with this one, since I feel that this review has been totally unscrupulous (unfortunately) for me to refrain from writing a reply.
First of all, it's a known fact that TNS has a non-cooperating voice (like many others like Semmangudi (nasal voice), Madurai Mani Iyer etc had had). And hence it is a meaningless exercise to comment on his voice. Sruthi and thalam were perfect; any other parameter doesn't have anything more than a subjective importance.
It looks as though the fellow rasika will appreciate only an artist who caters to his personal likings in music. Whether to be 'verbose' or 'obtuse', whether to sing 'atitArasthAyi' or not, whether to overdo or underdo the arithmetic , whether the artist wants to prove some point to himself or the audience or not ----- are all ultimately the artist's personal choice and freedom on the stage, dependent solely upon his musical capabilities and aesthetic perceptions; and not something pre-decided by the rasikas.
The fellow rasika seems to complement the violinist very well, while everyone among the audience clearly noticed how non-cooperative and impotent the violinist was, from the very beginning. Any rasika would have played the violin better had he/she just had the required instrumental virtuosity. It's really puzzling as to why the rasika has tried hard to appreciate the very minimal positivities of the violinist, while putting down TNS for very irrelevant issues !!
I don't intend to criticize the person who played the violin, but the least, would like to call a 'spade' a spade. The violinist needs to learn where to play and where not to; where to give plain shruthi and where not to. I think this was what pissed off TNS .The violinist later grew awfully passive. The entire Kalyani alapana of TNS was complemented by Panchama sruthi alone, on the violin ! At several instances TNS gave the violinist some chances to improvise and compensate, while he was even not bothering to concentrate or cooperate.
The swaraprastharam for the main krithi in misra chaapu had several tough phrases. But they were all just usual TNS stuff ! And it's not his mistake if the accompanists were not able to catch up.
Of course, I am personally against a fight among the artists on the stage. But I uphold with no reservations, TNS's right to sing what he can/feels like, so as to do justice to his standard. It should be remembered that he is one of the greatest living music geniuses and to supply him with clearly incompetent accompanying artists doesn't mean that he should intentionally deteriorate his own music for protecting their faces ! On a humane perspective, I too am vehemently empathetic over the drudgery, the (rather amateur) accompanists underwent on the stage (and that has been the reason for my disappointment, that I mentioned in the beginning); but not to substantiate them fully, on their confident venture to accompany such a stalwart.
In short : Music is none's property. Leave the artist free on the stage and if you have any personal likes/dislikes or complains on him/her try the best to, keep them within yourselves, as the artists are never actually influenced by our critiques. And also; have the heart to call the spade a spade.
Let me throw another opinion into the mix. The vidwat of TNS is in no doubt. That is why there was so much more crowd than for the earlier concerts. While in other concerts, the hall was just one fourth or one fifth full, this time the hall was almost full. I also came expecting to hear all the “kanakku†and other aspects TNS is known for. One may like it and another one may not. That is a personal preference. And I agree with each of you as each of you is entitled to your own opinion. For me, there was no regret on that aspect as there were plenty of good moments I really enjoyed.
But …….. While TNS is a stalwart no doubt, on the stage we had three people. The whole concert is a team effort. The cooperation of all the three on the stage is necessary to produce a great experience. TNS, accompanists and everybody else I am sure was fully aware of the capacity and talent of the people on the stage. I was sitting in the very first row and I could see the interactions. It is not true that the accompanists were not cooperative. The disconnect started after a while into the concert and then unfortunately never picked up. I would have been happier if TNS adjusted and actively encouraged given that that is the team in front of the audience. Ah... Well...
This reminds me of the BMK concert I attended last year. The violinist was arranged by the organiser and was someone who possibly never played for BMK previously or maybe did once over 20/25 years ago. For the first 45 minutes the discord was very obvious and at one point, BMK told her something in Telugu which could possibly translate to "mella vaasingo" (I dont know Telugu). However, it was pretty obvious to some of us what was being communicated. The lady was sensitive enough to take the hint and from that point onwards the concert took off really well. BMK was quite encouraging and showed his appreciation of her play at differents parts of the concert.
(i) Shruti and talam are the only parameters? I somehow mistook bhavam to be one too. May be I am/was wrong. Anyway, to each, his/her own.
(ii) Calling a spade a spade - exactly what I thought I did. May be you got confused between a spade and a heart? Or may be I got confused between a spade and a club?
Anyway, not a forum for mutual disagreement. You're a rasika, you've your opinion. I'm a rasika, I've my opinion. I'm sure you respect mine as much as I respect yours.
On the concert platform TNS is always in his own world. He is not too bothered about the accompanying artists or even the audience. He is not a TVS or Maharajapuram Santhanam who take special pains to improve the "team effect". TNS however tries to give his best every time. He is not one who keeps looking at the violinist keenly and keep encouraging with sabhash or bale. On special occasions when the accompanist gives a special touch, the compliments emerge spontaneously. He is very clear that it is for the accompanying artist to play 'for him' and not him to sing for them. If you see a TNS-MC- Dorai concert you will not complain about cooperation, coordination or encouragement. They fall in place automatically. To accompany TNS successfully, you definitely need a class. I am not blaming the local artists. They must definitely have done their best. But that is probably not enough.
With all the reviews, I realize that Atlanta has quite a few rasikAs/reviewers. Please report on all the concerts which take place there. Atlanta vAsis (atlantans? I don't know) have a keen sense of humor too, I gather! Spade, heart, spade club et al!
Atlanta is the home of the "Braves". On top of it all, Atlantans have good hearts, heavy clubs, and strong spades. However, whoever has the ace of spades wins the game.
Hi kssr,
You put it very succinct and clear, what I tried to explain about TNS with respect to this concert. thank you !!
This character of his makes me admire TNS more than many others. Many among the good contemporary musicians solely aim to make their concerts a 'success'. Then it becomes necessary for them to surrender to tactics, especially with respect to the accompanists. Some choose very mild and passive accompanists, so that their music is not hindered and their vocals only is actually heard and appreciated by the audience ! Some others set up everything before the concert so as to make it a very well rehearsed and perfect concert with ensuing success.
It needs lot of guts, courage and faith in one's genius, to think beyond these myopic desires. TNS possesses that, undoubtedly.
I thought member muvvagopala's review was well-balanced. He clearly showed his appreciation where he felt it was required, and critiqued the artiste where, again, he felt he needed to. Tell me, if we can't do this in a forum for rasikas, where can we?
The tone of the review was full of deference for the maestro, yet critical where it needed to be.
Would people prefer empty encomiums instead of an honest review like this one?
Personally, I too find it a bit sad when great maestros resort to gimmickry to prove a point, whatever that is. A vidwan of TNS's calibre, who has achieved the highest in musical peaks in terms of awards, does need to mature and mellow into the role of a senior vidwan, who can encourage pakkams of all calibre, and present overall soukhyam in his concerts.
Again, all this in the opinion of this rasika who is an ardent admirer of Shri TNS and his music.
reethigowla48 wrote:Hi kssr,
You put it very succinct and clear, what I tried to explain about TNS with respect to this concert. thank you !!
Pepped up by your kind words, I will write a few more comments about TNS concerts. In my earlier post I had mentioned that he is in his own world on stage and does not bother about accompanying artists or audience. I have had occasions in his concerts when he would continue to sing for more than 4 hours late at night when the audience would really have thinned to some 30 odd people. But he will keep on singing quite oblivious of that. He somehow wants to give 100% without compromising anything. On another occasion, he had asked TNS Krishna who was accompanying him to sing an alapana which he did well. But somehow TNS was not too happy. He started again and elaborated the raga for another 10 minutes!! A one-in-a- generation artist.
ragam-talam wrote: A vidwan of TNS's calibre, who has achieved the highest in musical peaks in terms of awards, does need to mature and mellow into the role of a senior vidwan, who can encourage pakkams of all calibre, and present overall soukhyam in his concerts.
In TNS's concerts he neither encourages nor discourages artists. He also never demands for particular accompanying artists. He will perform with any pakka vadhyam. As he tells the organisers "Nalla pakkavadhyam potteLna kacheri nanna amayum" and that is it. It is very true, too. If you give him top accompanying artists- MC and UKS, etc., there is a different level to which the concert will go. We can just take it as TNS baaNi. He does not believe in the concept and process of "encouraging" accompanyists during concert, as if it is one of the "jobs" of the main artist.
I agree with you all when you say he gives his 100% on stage and sings oblivious of the crowd, a trait rarely found nowadays, save in a few top artistes. My concern is more about how some concerts crumble without team work. Also, if senior vidwans don't encourage upcoming artistes, then who will? I am sure that the pakkavadya artistes will feel gratified with a few words of encouragement too. Notwithstanding an artiste's calibre and genius, I think, being a team player at times, makes the carnatic concert stage, a better forum for all to do well and flourish, rather than it being a one man show. Just a personal opinion, which in no way is saying anything disrespectful about Sri TNS. I do adore and respect the stalwart, but don't fully concur with his ideas sometimes .
Mohan,
Yes.
We all know of and acknowledgeTNS's brilliance. However, when it is a full-fledged concert in a hall (and not a house concert), why would a doyen settle for less experienced players? Please note that this is not a criticism about the accompanists.They are growing musicians and cannot easily match TNS's imagination and cope with it, however much they would want to and strive to.
In instances when sabhas in India go ahead and choose the accompanists themselves, a performer cannot help it. However, when a super vidvAn like TNS comes abroad (mainly for the Cleveland festival but stays on for a tour of different cities), more experienced accompanists are suitable to make it worthwhile for the artiste and to the audience. After all, Atlanta is not a small town in the boondoggles.
I was not there to see the rapport or lack of it to know if those on stage had synergy--which when it happens, is a gift to the listeners.
I have been to a few concerts where the following has happened:
The big star performer( or accompanist) carries on as if it is a
one-man show, its not being a 'con' cert but a 'cert' (assert?)! A pity, because it is a humbling experience to the rest of them on the stage. It intimidates them and stops them from interacting and so disappoints the audience too. Once they are on stage, whatever their levels of proficiency, the ideal thing for the performers to do is to think of what is to be presented as a unified effort. If not, the result is a lesser concert.
I have also seen a few instances where they cannot help it, highly professional artistes overcome these odds, and struggle to give a good performance.
VKR - the concert organisers have to pay for the accompanists just as they do for most concerts.
Arasi - well put. Even the top accompanists in India can struggle to keep up with the likes of TNS and hence it is not fair on the local US-based accompanists or the rasikas to have him perform without professional accompanists.
I was not there at the Atlanta concert of TNS. However, I have observed on more than one occasion when TNS was LOST in the swara labyrinth that he built up and struggled for well over half an hour to get uut of it ! Yes, most often he sings for his own pleasure (?) and leaves the accompanists and the audience alike behind ! Is it a desirable quality for a concert artist? Incidentally, I have attended more than a dozen of his concerts here in the U.S and in India and I cannot remember ONE occasion when he showed up on time for the concert !
[quote="Sundara Rajan"].... I have observed on more than one occasion when TNS was LOST in the swara labyrinth that he built up and struggled for well over half an hour to get uut of it ! Yes, most often he sings for his own pleasure (?) and leaves the accompanists and the audience alike behind ! Is it a desirable quality for a concert artist? [quote]
If a musician sings for himself it is better that he does it at home in private. If he does not include the accompanists in his concert, then he should come and sing by himself without the accompanists. If he does not include the audience, then the audience should not be there. Clear and simple.
All this does not in any way take away any credit from the excellent multi-talented musician that is TNS.
mahakavi wrote:
If he does not include the accompanists in his concert, then he should come and sing by himself without the accompanists. If he does not include the audience, then the audience should not be there. Clear and simple.
All this does not in any way take away any credit from the excellent multi-talented musician that is TNS.
Thinking of "including the accompanists", I am reminded of an old movie where comedian NS Krishnan, sings "Rama Nee Samaanam Evarura". He is unfortunately given a drummer, who normally plays for (death) processions. He keeps playing the same "Dandanakkum Nakku Nakkum- Dandanakkum Nakku Nakkum". NSK slowly starts "including" him and finally ends up with his song in the drummer's beat "Ramaneesamaanamevaru-Ramaneesamaanamevaru- Ramaneesamaanamevaru" !!
It is the job of the accompanying artists to follow the main artist, even in case of a junior main artist, without overshadowing him or becoming subservient to him and not the other way. That is the correct way.
Coming to "including" the audience, in the case of TNS, most of his thousands of rasikas would prefer that he sings for himself because that is when he gives his best. No one has any complaint about not being included- at least those who like his method of singing. The same specification cannot of course be used for all artists, because in most of the cases, if they do not take special efforts to
please (include) the audience, the concert becomes a disappointment.
To quote KSSR
" In the case of TNS, most of his thousands of rasikas would prefer that he sings for himself, because that is when he gives his best" .
" The same specification cannot of course be used for all artists, because in most cases, if they do not take special efforts to please (include) the audience, the concert becomes a disappointment"
In other words, do you mean that what applies to most other artists does not apply to TNS ? Who does he think he is, MDR ? No way !!
TNS might not have thought anybody other than himself; and, MDR, definitely, could not have thought that he was TNS... No way.. Each of them have their own ways . Anyhow this is not your way. know your way.
Hi Kssr,
Thanks again for your post. "Dandanakkum nakku nakkum" is really a hilarious analogy.
Following might be a more general post.
I think these are all clear manifestations of the current consumerist culture infesting Carnatic music, as well.
The CM has undoubtedly attained much consumerist appeal over the past few years (may be good in some ways, and bad in some other). Today when the media and the private companies put in all kinds of efforts to keep the consumers feel much self-importance for themselves, a similar trend has developed among the CM rasikas, many among them who sincerely believe that artists should perform for the rasikas's sake and not an iota for themselves ! This has been the problem with most of the CM critics too. They are in this superficial halo that artists have to perform according to some random standards they have set in their mind.
What I quoted earlier was actually MDR's words in between a concert, that music is none's property. Music is solely upon the discretion of the artist who performs it, rather, practices it. Before music reaches the ears of the rasikas -- some among them dissect and rationalize it while some others perceive it as a show or a teamwork which should enthrall and entertain them-- it should satisfy the artist himself and this indeed is the First law of any music or art form man has ever practiced. Rasikas feel dejected when their wishes are not satisfied; their standards not met; or their pre-conceptions about how a concert should be are not fulfilled, which leaves them dissatisfied and they vent their emotions out in public forums (like writing product reviews in Amazon!). The artist may lose several SMS votes , but nothing really bad happens to his own art/music, as far as he is serious about it. And this is the reason why people like MDR, (and many others in the past) and TNS** (and a few others now,) performed and still perform without any individuality crises. I recall Palghat Mani Iyer emphasizing in a speech (that too, on the occasion of Padmasri felicitation of MDR) not to play for the rasikas and instead make them hear what you play. Of course, there are several others today who because of this very same individuality, never end up traveling to the West for concerts or get broadcasted in youtube !
One (so does this apply to myself!) should seriously pursue learning and performing music to appreciate the importance of individuality so that we also have more number of musicians and
lesser number of critics !I think the most important quality of Indian music is its individuality and let us not plunge that charisma into the cesspool of consumerist rhetoric. Let me reinstate this, not solely as my personal opinion, rather, as for something that should preserve our music, that TNS need not encourage or co-operate with accompanists clearly not of his standards, since he is simply not obligated to do it (Not for the reason to insult the accompanists, but just to show justice to his conception of music). People who literally perceive CM as a cricket game falls into this, not necessarily true, conclusion that an artist performing for himself hampers the team-work while the necessary condition for the possibility of a team-work itself is a 'reasonable' comparability of the standards between the main musician and the accompanists.
I agree the first law of music has to comply with the inner satisfaction of the musician himself/herself. But that is not the only law. At least one other law (let us call it the second law) is that the audience ( a majority of them at least) has to be in sync with the musician. If the musician dwells in the stratosphere while the audience is in the ground that resembles a situation where the audience is lost and the musician could very well sing in his own home in such a situation. I know I am talking about an extreme situation but it has to be kept in mind in a concert.
mahakavi wrote:I agree the first law of music has to comply with the inner satisfaction of the musician himself/herself. But that is not the only law. At least one other law (let us call it the second law) is that the audience ( a majority of them at least) has to be in sync with the musician. If the musician dwells in the stratosphere while the audience is in the ground that resembles a situation where the audience is lost and the musician could very well sing in his own home in such a situation. I know I am talking about an extreme situation but it has to be kept in mind in a concert.
This very well complies with what I conjectured in my previous post, about the consumerist attitude prevalent in contemporary CM scene. If rasikas don’t want TNS to sing on concert platforms, he will happily sing at his home and his admirers (ie the rasikas who can synchronize with him) who want to listen to his real music will go to his home and hear it happily ! This is so simple. And I have done this personally with respect to some artists who don’t perform or are not invited to perform much in public, for very obvious reasons. Frankly, the concerts are just millionth a fraction of what the artists sing at home ! This proves that the proposed second law just appears to be conditionally true, that too for the limited case in which Carnatic music is viewed only in connection with concert performances involving a large audience.
While concerts evolved just for the practical convenience of listening to the music by an artist, now it is totally mistaken to be some sort of a reality show where the artist is pre-defined to be obligated to satisfy the rasikas by singing ‘for’ them. The above rasika is talking about ‘the majority of the audience’ who should be in synchronization and thus certifying the musician, while it should be remembered that this democratic spirit need not apply in all walks of life, especially in art and music, where individuality matters much more than anything !
Bottomline: It is not the musician's fault if the accompanists/rasikas are not qualified to play/listen to his music.
>> it should be remembered that this democratic spirit need not apply in all walks of life, especially in art and music, where individuality matters much more than anything !<<
Maybe, but only in the private quarters. Not in a public forum. While the musician generally sings what he intends to do in advance, he has to choose them in such a way that the audience likes it. That is because the musician does not do it gratis. There won't be a gate collection (for the musician to take home) if the audience does not like the music. Even in the old days the musician sang to please the king or the zamindar who sponsored the musician. I am not saying the musician must sing items demanded by the audience. But the musician cannot "lose" the audience in his lone journey, be it fantastic voyage or maverick meandering. Only a few rasikas may put up with it.
True. Unless the singers love singing and get their listeners involved in a performance and are fully aware that however big they are, they are team players too.The accompanists on their part want to play well and are eager to be of support to the vocalist.
As for the rasikAs? We have to stop comparing one artiste with another. Since individuality in performers is a great thing, we appreciate them and are thankful that they all don't sound like carnatic clones. Vive la difference!
The Atlanta concert of Sri TNS on May 9, 2010 was spell-binding—oru unnathamana kutcheri. His choice of raghas, krithis and niravals was superb. Krithis were rendered with clarity and crispness, soaked in bhava and gamakas, and adorned by sangathis,karvais and brighas that are unique hallmarks of TNS. The niravals and swara prastharas that followed brought out the essence of the raghas in a cascade of colors and forays into laya of a laser precision.
The ragha alapanas of TNS are spontaneous, subtle and very original, with HamirKalyani no exception. His outlines, brighas, and gamakas are invariably refreshing and enthralling. His GangeyaBhooshani, a Vivadhi melakartha ragha, was so precise and mesmerizing that one needs to hear it to believe it. His handling of the anupallavi in Sari Evvare krithi with a downpour of brighas and karvais enhancing the bhava and sahithya would have made the great Thyagaraja proud of him. I have heard this krithi sung elaborately 3 times in my life—once by T.N. Rajaratnam (TNR) in KallidaiKurichi (when I was a teenager), second time by BalamuraliKrishna (BMK) in Madras during early sixties, and third time by TNS now—TNR’s full of ‘viraladis’ and brighas , BMK’s full of karvais and bhavas, and TNS’s now flooded with bhava, gamakas and brighas studded with swara korvais ending at sa ri and ni sari with adorable combinations of wit , wisdom and swaraksharas. This krithi alone is a clear testimony to TNS’s unequaled genius, unswerving shraddha , untiring sadhana and unbroken anubhavaa on the concert platform. I am still awed that someone can sing this vivadhi ragha krithi so elaborately and so beautifully.
The Kalyani ragha alapana and niraval that followed was a confluence of GNB, TNR, Ariyakudi, Kanchi Nayana, and Ramnad Krshnan styles of singing and still distinctly orginal TNS! How is this possible? The same way as you see multiple colors from different angles in a single specimen of a freshly cut diamond! Graha Bedha or Sruthi Bedha into Sudhdhadanyasi (nrgmdn in the karma sampurna murchana of Kalyani) was a special feature effortlessly interweaving into Kalyani at various sthayis. The (ati)tara sthayi and (anu)manthara sthayi sancharas added to the depth and grandeur of the alapana, befitting a sarva swara gamaka varika rakthi ragha. Thalli Ninnu Nera was sung so well that for hours after the concert I could not help believing that I may have finally gotten a sample of how Syama Sastri would have sung this one. TNS’s nada upasana flowed profusely here. The swara niraval at the line ‘Syama Krishna paripalini soolini’ was outstanding. While singing sasasasasasa within misra chapu tala, he performed nadai bhetha or gathi bhetha . In every avarthana of misra chapu consisting of 7 aksharas he was packing 4 equispaced swaras or 6 equispaced swaras or 8 equispaced swaras in the karvai and niraval mode. This was not idle permutation/ combination of swaras, but an intricate laya vinyasa in the tradition handed down to us by Tanjore Tavil and Nagaswaram Vidwans of yester years—the likes of Needamangalathar, ThiruvidaiMaruthoor Veeruswamy Pillai, Pudukkottai Dakshina Moorthia Pillai, Manpoondia Pillai, and lately mrdangam wizards Palghat Mani Iyer , Palani Subramania Pillai et al. The added challenge to the vocal musician here is to adhere to the ragha bhava while doing this nadai bhetha, and TNS is adept at this as his execution that night clearly indicated. (e.g., In the Tamil Isai Sangham concert of Karukurichi Arunachalam in the early sixties, the laya vinyasa by Needamangalam Shanmugavadivel and Yazhpanam Dkshinamoorthy was replete with Nadai Bhetha –pancha nadai niraval within Adi Tala—and was broadcast by AIR till midnight overriding their published Vanoli Schedule breaking with the AIR tradition. I have heard this feat performed on two different occasions—once in 1968 in the sAral mahanadu in Courtallam by Thiruvidaimaruthoor Veeruswamy Pillai on a Khanda Nadai RTP and another time by Harikesanallur Mookkanna Kambar, a senior disciple of Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavathar, in Rengasamudram on Vyasa Pooja day at the Amrita Ashram in 1970, this time pancha nadai niraval on the nagaswaram). It was awesome to hear nadai bhetham done so well by TNS after a gap of 40 years! I believe that anyone who inadvertently criticises TNS for using up 20 minutes singing sasasasasasa obviously does not fully comprehend what TNS was doing—it was technical virtuosity at its best in that concert! Nothing more needs to be said.
The RTP was in tri-raghamalika. His choice of raghas was thought ful—a ghanapanchaka ragha (Sri) in the middle, with a suddha madhyama ragha( Baghe Sri) in the front and a pradhi madhyama ragha (Ranjani) at the end , in the sahithya ( Somasundaraeshwara priya vama bhage Sri, Ranjani mathangi) itself, with an auspicious aruthi at Sri. With ¾ ida atheetha eduppu, Khanda jathi Triputa fitted the sahithya nicely. All three ragha were seamlessly elaborated with rich bhavas and gamakas, with each ragha outshining the other. The thanam was again rendered in all three raghas, again with smooth transitions, down to the traditional last phrase done in all three raghas in quick succession with marvelous timing . The alapana, anuloma , prathiloma , niraval , kuraippu and thirmanams , all done in the three raghas were of the highest order, adhering to the finest traditions of pallavi singing.
Guruvayur Dorai, the veteran percussion dean, once told me, in the presence of TNS, that anyone who plays for TNS has to be somewhat cautious (‘ivarukku vasikkirava koncham echcharikkaiyave irukkanum. Eppo enna varumennu solla mudiathu’). Given this constraint, the accompanists Papanasam Gokul Kumar ( a grandson of the legendary Papanasam Sivan) on the violin, and Ram Sriram ( a disciple of TVG and Raja Rao) on the mrdangam played as well as they could. Gokul has a quick grasp of laya and gamakas , and a sweet sound on the violin, and kept up with TNS tirelessly—a feat in itself. He exudes shraddha towards the art and the main artist, a quality that is getting rare these days, and will be a heavy duty violinist in the future bringing credit to his lineage. SriRam has deft hands and his thani was brief but effective. TNS’s body language with his pleasant countenance and approving demeanour towards the accompanists throughout the concert was an unmistakable indicator of his encouragement .
In summary, the Atlanta concert of TNS, which lasted nearly 4 hours, was a resounding success par excellence, to be cherished in memory for a long time to come.
In this context, I want to say that TNS is a creative genius, with impeccable sruthi and laya sense, with a fidelity and resilience of voice and a superb manodharma virtually unequalled among his peers . He is in a class by himself . Even the ones who may inadvertently (i.e.,without full comprehension of what he does) criticize him unreservedly acknowledge his rightful rank and stature among the stalwarts of yester years. I personally believe that he is a phenomenon that happens perhaps once in a millennium. But India does not treat its rare sons right—for example the honors he is getting conferred now, e.g Sangeetha Kalanidhi, Padma Bhooshan et al, should have been accorded to him almost 25 years ago. The Indian mind set is not like what happens in the West , where people receive even Nobel prizes when they are in their 30’s, needless to say professional and
unprecedented financial rewards even at their teens. It is still not too late for the Indian establishments to establish an institution with him as the head, with ample and commensurate financial reward worthy of him and his unequalled status in music, if only to archive every one of his musical accomplishments down to every one of his musical phrases bhavaful ragha alapanas, krithis and thillanas, his swara prastharas replete with laya vinyasas, his Harikathas et al . We did not have the technology or resources to archive the artistry of the Trinities or the other giants of music (vocal and instrumental) and percussion that had contributed so much to nurture our music and our talented youth in the near past. Now we have the technology, but need to find the resources. NRI’s , especially take note that now is the time to do this, if governments can not do this.
(By the way, if overseas rasikas want TNS to bring senior accompanists with him, allow me to suggest a formula: arrange him for 25 concerts for an 8 to 10 week tour for a fee in the range of $75K to $100K. This is highly feasible, for after all 120 to 160 people attending each concert at $25 per person will be the break-even point ( 120x25x25=75000; 160x25x25 = 100000) , and if you do better than the break-even point, keep 25% of the surplus for local expenses and hospitality, and 75% as an additional honorarium to him to do what he likes with it. This is a simple way to honor him and our tradition. Two sayings here come to my mind ‘Put your money where your mouth is’ and ‘you get what you pay for’, and bear with me for including these).
-------------Dr. S. Manickam
mnkm wrote:
But India does not treat its rare sons right—for example the honors he is getting conferred now, e.g Sangeetha Kalanidhi, Padma Bhooshan et al, should have been accorded to him almost 25 years ago. The Indian mind set is not like what happens in the West , where people receive even Nobel prizes when they are in their 30’s, needless to say professional and
unprecedented financial rewards even at their teens. .
-------------Dr. S. Manickam
Mnkm
Thanks for your review. If shri TNS had got 25 years before the SK, in 1985 say, he should have got it even before KVN, MVS, Nedunuri and DKJ etal. Shri TNS got at the age of 58 which is more towards the young side , a very great achievement .
The problem is that we tend to review a review. Why additional comments after the review?? as long as we can keep the review to the music and not on the person then we are fine.
The problem starts when you start analysing the person and not his music.
I agree that TNS is one of a kind. I have heard a few concerts which has transported me to another world. Mylapore 2007 dec season was one of them. Very few musicians can do this.
The concerts where he has shruthi are simply amazing. Noone can take you to a different world like him........
The problem with an extremely creative person like TNS is that it is difficult to predict how the concert will turn out ..... Hence We need to give some leeway.
I understand reviews have to be honest but it is pointless trying to anlayse TNS. He is beyond analysis ....truly great. Recently I read a review of his parthasarthy gana sabha concert after he returned from the US. Apparently it was a mind boggling concert.
Hi Dr Manickam,
Thank you for your review. You have got a very elaborate experience in hearing concerts and I am awed at the number of great yesteryear starlwarts you have heard to and cited here.
Yet I would like to share with you a few observations that sprang up in my mind. The mood of your review is very exaggerative at several places and tends to obscure some truths with respect to this concert; which was actually the topic of discussion in all the previous posts here.
1. The Kalyani ragha alapana and niraval that followed was a confluence of GNB, TNR, Ariyakudi, Kanchi Nayana, and Ramnad Krshnan styles of singing and still distinctly orginal TNS! How is this possible?
How is it possible; is my question too. Your analogy doesnt serve to give the right answer. I am very perplexed about how a single ragalapana lasting for some 15-20 minutes could resemble that of 5 other vidwans. First of all, should such a comparison need be made? Wouldn’t it be more appropriate to say that his Kalyani was very much like Kalyani alone, more than like the Kalyani of 5 different people? It is fair to say that TNS’s kalyani was like CS Sankarasivam’s or Harikeshanallur Muthiah Bhagavathar’s or even of someone else’s totally unrelated to his Guru lineage. But to appropriate TNS’s kalyani to the Kalyani’s of five different starlwarts from different schools, looks very unscrupulous. It sounds more like an illusion of yours precipitated from your past experiences.
2. Thalli Ninnu Nera was sung so well that for hours after the concert I could not help believing that I may have finally gotten a sample of how Syama Sastri would have sung this one
I think, TNS’s rendition of the Krithi as such was just normal (of course the neraval and swaraprastharams were unique and great), like that of any other vidwans from Tamil Nadu we have known of. This comment would have been much more meaningful for say, MDR’s version of the krithi, who would have sung it with the full awareness of the lyrical meaning and emotional mood of the krithi, amplifying the meaning using his own grammatical innovations (as he was a scholar in Telugu); and thus would have helped us get a glimpse of how Syama Sastri would have sung it !
3. In every avarthana of misra chapu consisting of 7 aksharas he was packing 4 equispaced swaras or 6 equispaced swaras or 8 equispaced swaras in the karvai and niraval mode
This is very unclear. In technical words, what TNS did was singing thisram in Misrachapu. He also did a couple of rounds with Misra nadai in Misra chaapu (that is; doing the 7+7 splitting, instead of the 6+4+4 splitting). I am not able to correlate what you have written, with my observation. Anyone can please help us here?
[b]4. This was not idle permutation/ combination of swaras, but an intricate laya vinyasa in the tradition handed down to us by Tanjore Tavil and Nagaswaram Vidwans of yester years—the likes of Needamangalathar, ThiruvidaiMaruthoor Veeruswamy Pillai, Pudukkottai Dakshina Moorthia Pillai, Manpoondia Pillai, and lately mrdangam wizards Palghat Mani Iyer , Palani Subramania Pillai et al.
I think it is important to exert care while comparing some style with several others, that too from thoroughly different schools of percussion here.
Palghat Mani Iyer and Palani were from Tanjore and Pudukottai schools of mridangam respectively and definitely there are several stylistic and conceptual differences in their approach to nadais and korvais. PMI ‘s nadais were mostly based on Kerala’s Chenda rhythms ; quite unlike what TNS sang. TNS’s way of doing thisram in misram is very impossible to be done in thaniavarthanams. Hence this comparison look very doubtful.
Again Manpoondia pillai and Dakshinamoorthy pillai were the successive founders/proponents of Pudukottai school and can’t be generalized as Tanjore Thavil vidwans.
These comparisons are absolutely vague, without an iota of doubt. It looks akin to including several great names in a review with the intension to give it an appeal of authenticity.
5. Given this constraint, the accompanists Papanasam Gokul Kumar ( a grandson of the legendary Papanasam Sivan) on the violin, and Ram Sriram ( a disciple of TVG and Raja Rao) on the mrdangam played as well as they could. Gokul has a quick grasp of laya and gamakas , and a sweet sound on the violin, and kept up with TNS tirelessly—a feat in itself. He exudes shraddha towards the art and the main artist, a quality that is getting rare these days, and will be a heavy duty violinist in the future bringing credit to his lineage. SriRam has deft hands and his thani was brief but effective. TNS’s body language with his pleasant countenance and approving demeanour towards the accompanists throughout the concert was an unmistakable indicator of his encouragement .
This is absolutely wrong; looks like a joke. Perhaps you might have tried to appear very positive and diplomatic. I have no problems with that, but it should not be done to the extent that it obscures the truth. Please go through several previous posts to look at what rasikas felt about the TNS’s rapport with the accompanists. Let me refrain from making any more comments concerning this.
I thank you again for sharing your long-term concert-listening experience with respect to this TNS concert. I wish to meet you some time and know more about these great starlwarts from your first hand experiences.
The fact that "Dr. Manickam" registered perhaps for the sake of wiritng this highly exaggerated review makes me wonder if he is for real or a ghost writer for a "chEla" of TNS. TNS himself could not have written such a reivew of his own performance ! I too have listened live to all the past greats he has referred to, but would not compare TNS with all of them in one stretch of imagination !
The type of concert described by dr. m can be compared to putting all possible fruits in a mixie, throw in a few carrots, cucumber and tomato (to substitute for nadaswara vidwans) grind with some salt, pepper, sugar and tamarind and serve it in america! What a delectable beverage it must be.
Even hardcore TNS fans like me will be disgusted with this kind of flattery. The pretense of sangeetha gnana is an added insult to the genuine rasika who is trying hard to grasp the basics of CM by participating in this esteemed forum.
Dr. Manickam's view has been misunderstood, I feel. what he says probably is that he was reminded of the yesteryear greats when he heard glimpses of them in TNS' rendition of Kalyani Raga. The other points posted by reethigowla are greek and latin to me, so I will not comment on them.
Sundara Rajan wrote:The fact that "Dr. Manickam" registered perhaps for the sake of wiritng this highly exaggerated review makes me wonder if he is for real or a ghost writer for a "chEla" of TNS. TNS himself could not have written such a reivew of his own performance ! I too have listened live to all the past greats he has referred to, but would not compare TNS with all of them in one stretch of imagination !
Sundarrajan would not, but Manickam would Each one has a different taste when it comes to relishing music. TNS will be bothered to sing well alone and would be the least interested whether he is being discussed in this forum or elsewhere.The kind of music that he has been giving for the past so many years is ample proof of his genius. Let us allow fellow forumites to express their view too.
Every performing musician has his/her positives and negatives. One who has minimized the negatives and accentuated the positives over time will gain more attention and popularity. I remember, in the not-too-distant past, TNS was criticized in this very forum for his lack of sruti. Now nobody hears about it after he received his SK award. Did he gain in the sruti department overnight? I think not. Similarly the current furor too (undue praise or undue excoriation) is a little out of place. TNS has proved himslef in several disciplines of CM and achieved umpteen laurels. So he does not have to prove himself anymore. However, he can set some examples by including his accompanists in his glory rather than trying to go solo, if that is still a valid complaint.
Tharangam wrote:Each one has a different taste when it comes to relishing music. TNS will be bothered to sing well alone and would be the least interested whether he is being discussed in this forum or elsewhere.The kind of music that he has been giving for the past so many years is ample proof of his genius. Let us allow fellow forumites to express their view too.
When a musician is a novice, everyone feels (s)he is one of them and feels free to share their thoughts about him -- should do this, shouldn't do that, etc. When a musician becomes moderately popular, he is revered and not criticized too much or even at all. When a musician becomes extremely popular so as to become legend, he becomes "public property" and everyone feels free to criticize him once again.
As a listener it does not take years of listening or even bearing witness to the shades of the past to feel that TNS’s imagination and perception of music is but a derivation of a greater element which has sprouted the evolution of carnatic music. All it takes is a mere 10 minutes or even lesser to witness something of true majesty yet bearing the chastest of olympian nectar. To simply put, his music is something of the order of a natural phenomenon. We don’t behold the grandeur of the ocean or the Himalayas with the intention of enjoying its beauty knowing or not knowing the source of its creation or physical dimension. The simple captivation that engulfs our emotions and senses when we witness these phenomena is the experience one relates to when listening to TNS perform, whatever the occasion whatever the platform.
Dr. Manickam’s impression is that of a listener who has witnessed the yester years as well. He is nothing but a strong and dangerous side effect of the understanding that comes with the willing surrender to the art as it is. Anyone of that effect would most definitely not seek to add names with empty value simply for wall post decoration. Such a comment is what is obscure.
That said as a person who has witnessed a good part of the names he has used, IMHO is probably the most qualified of any of us internet educated rasikas, on judging the influence and source of TNS’s musical inspiration.
Taking your words, TNS is indeed very scholarly in telegu. Anyone who has heard his depictions of Tyagaraja Ramayanam, during his several Harikatha performances would not have fathomed such an image. His further exercise of drawing parallels between Tyagaraja’s messages in his krithis and Valmiki/Kamba Ramayanam only take the extent of his knowledge beyond.
Furthermore, he employs a unique style to represent a bava laden version of the krithi devoid of any sort of melodrama. These are not my words, but open confessions made by many of his senior accompanists during concerts.
TNS’s guru, Ramanathapuram Sankarasivam comes from Mamoondia pillai of Pudukottai lineage. It is said that Dakshinmurthy Pillai, Pazhani Muthiah Pillai and Ramanathapuram Chithsabai Servai (father of Ramanathapuram Sankarasivam) observed gurukulavasam under Mamoondia Pillai at about the same time period in history. Ramanathapuram Sankarasivam’s brother was none other than the mridangam legend Ramanathapuram CS Murugabhoopathy. Thus Sankarasivam’s family essentially forms the second wing of the Pudukottai school. I feel that there is no more necessity to augment the ideological relationship between TNS’s laya exploration and the Pudukottai School.
Furthermore, the Pudukottai School is considered the architect of such laya explorations, which had pleasant merge with the rudimentary formations and patterns of the Thanjavur Thavil system (common knowledge, if not here it is>> Muthiah Pillai was a thavil vidwan before taking up mridangam). Thus making the further link between TNS and the Pudukottai/Thanjavur styles even more obvious.
There have been many common factors between the 2 schools and were very versatile in their own styles. Even though PMI may appear to have adopted a chendai style of sollukattu, especially when handling misram related patterns, his is style was the resultant of his gurukulavasam with Tanjavur Vadiyanatha Iyer and the impressions he discovered from Pudukottai Dakshinamurthy Pillai during his associations with him on the concert platform. PMI on several occasions can be heard mentioning this fact in recordings of his lec dems. Therefore I think we can now safely conclude that PMI’s mridangam is an assimilation of (1)the Framework of the Thanjavur style, (2)Impressions of Dakshinamurthy Pillai and (3)traces of chendai fingering patterns. Tagging his style as a purely chendai impression is a very naive assumption.
As far as the misra chapu amathal is concerned. TNS involved in an “amathal†or placing every nadai in chathusram spacing. That is presenting the nadai number in the space of another nadai (in this case chathusram spacing), some refer to this as leveling. For example with swaras starting from nadais coined by 7 through 14. To common knowledge Yazhpanam Dakshinamurthy (thavil) has involved in such vyavaharam including fixing 11 in 8. Even the Pudukottai school style involves amathal patterns that fix 15 in 8 or even kanda nadai in misrachapu. Such expositions have also been a very common aspect of Pazhani Subramania Pillai’s early thanis. Thus in utmost fairness we can say that TNS vyavaharam is a very strict derivation of the various concepts and ideologies presented by these laya exponents.
The reason why, mridangam vidwans these days have not chosen to involve in this vyavahara very frequently is because of the modern concert pattern and the time constraints placed on the thaniavarthanam. During the period of the laya giants like Pudukottai Dakshinamurthy Pillai, Needamangalam Shanmugavadivel, Yazhapanam Dakshinamurthy, Raghava Pillai and even until Pazhani Subramania Pillai concerts used to be organized just to listen to them play, under which circumstances they have explored several ideas along the above discussed patterns.
Such expositions take time and are dependent on the tala capabilities of the main artist. Those days’ thavil vidwans and mridangists had well equipped sishyas or specific people to talam for such occasions. More often than not any errors on their (tala person) part were punished in a timely fashion. TNS has the comfort and convenience of his own commonly accepted strong talam to follow. Disclaimer: the intention is not to take a jab at any main artist but the matter is simply difficult to put talam for, unless one can anticipate to the dot or just know the material beforehand. This is the only way they can prepare themselves for the same. That said, abstract versions of the above discussed expositions, namely fixing chathusram in kandam or keezh kalam misram or even keezh kala thisram for misra chapu are commonly in practice at their respective levels.
On many occasions top rank mridangists have developed on such patterns or pallavi structures presented by TNS in their thani. Vice versa is also true, TNS has sung korraipu structures and even the intricate korvais that mridangists have played and merged in the third round when it was played after the mohra during the thaniavarthanam.
What TNS involves in; is for the art and the tradition. There is a difference between being good and being great. He is a “margadarshi†a trend setter, a scholar and most of all a creative genius. It is his duty to give without restriction and it is up to us to accept what our capabilities permit. Doesn’t change the fact that he is great. The majority of us settle for good and keep demanding/expecting it. Think about all the great people and what if they had settled for one less. I would like to think of witnessing a genius like TNS, as an opportunity to elevate ourselves to higher standards in the hope of one day at least being able to appreciate with an open mind those aspects that we were once awestruck by. Think about it….
‘I would like to think of witnessing a genius like TNS, as an opportunity to elevate ourselves to higher standards in the hope of one day at least being able to appreciate with an open mind those aspects that we were once awestruck by…’
Despite the facts that Sri. TNS rarely starts his concerts on time, takes a while to settle down with his voice, sruthi…yada …yada…his fans including myself are clinging to this hope so eloquently put forth by Ethuku…well, at least I have been holding on to it dearly for 30 or so years…:)
Last edited by kedharam on 26 May 2010, 21:46, edited 1 time in total.
In a way, these extreme views give the rest of us a chance to see the master in a better light. It's like watching the pendulum swing (and how it swings!) and at some point, see it stop again. At that very moment, we see the brilliance of TNS, no matter what the 'extremists' or we ourselves feel or say. It's also nice to read metaphor-brimming laudatory words about him every now and then--now that a former forumite whose reviews I used to enjoy reading are not forthcoming. Since she had requested that her name need not be mentioned on the forum, my lips are sealed.
Even so, what is wrong with admiring one person forever?
It is after all the individual's right so long as that individual does not "impose" that condition on others.
mahakavi, nothing wrong in admiring one person’s MUSIC for ever. The problem is I admire more than one person’s music…some of them are having a ball in heaven with RTPs and a few of them are with us :):)
Each one has a different taste when it comes to relishing music. TNS will be bothered to sing well alone and would be the least interested whether he is being discussed in this forum or elsewhere.The kind of music that he has been giving for the past so many years is ample proof of his genius. Let us allow fellow forumites to express their view too.