Review of G.V.Abhirami's Veena Arangetram

[skbala_bhu]

Kumari Abhirami. V. Gautham's Veena Arangetram took place on the 26th of June 2010, at Jubilee Hall, Raffles Hotel, Singapore.

Abhirami is the student of Karaikudi Sreemathi Veenai Jayalakshmi Sugumar, the grand-daughter of the legendary Karaikudi Sambasiva Iyer. The Guest of Honour for the event was Kalaimamani Veena. E. Gayathri. The accompanists for the event were Sri Ramesh Srinivasan, from Bay Area, San Jose, a student of Sri Vellur Ramabadran and Sri Akileshwar, student of Sri T.R.Sunderesan at the Singapore Indian Fine Arts Society.

Abhirami started her arangetram with 'Viribhoni', a Bhairavi Ada Tala Varnam. It was fabulous and denoted the exquisite Karaikudi Bani excellently. She executed the piece brilliantly, showcasing the Dasa Vitha Gamakas well. The varnam was followed by the popular 'Vathapi Ganapathim' which was a nice contrast to the heavy, more serious varnam.The Ragam Thanam Pallavi set in Shanmugapriya with a ragamalika of three other ragas, namely Malaya Marudam, Kambhoji and Gaulai was amazing and it is still vibrating in my ears. The thanam was especially wonderful, with each different raga elaborately explored. Abhirami's rendition of 'Chinnanjiru Kiliye' was sweet and melodious, and reminded me of Late Smt Rajeswari Padmanabhan's playing. Abhirami also sang the pieces, a trademark of the Karaikudi Bani, and that created a very unique experience for the audience. The accompanists provided excellent support throughout the concert and were very encouraging.

The credit goes to Abhirami's guru, Karaikudi Sreemathi Veenai Jayalakshmi Sugumar, for her excellent training. As the Guest of Honour mentioned on stage, 'The teachers soul was visible in Abhirami's playing'. Having Sreemathi Jayalakshmi Sugumar in Singapore is indeed a great gift.

The entire Arangetram was organised very well and it was an extremely memorable evening. It did not feel like an Arangetram at all, but rather, it felt like a full fledged concert by an experienced artiste. Kum. Abhirami has a great future in the Veena, and she is very fortunate to be part of the Karaikudi Bani family. I pray Guru Raghavendra that she should become like another Veena Gayathri.

[mahakavi]

Pl edit your post before you hit "submit" button.
A good recital can be spoiled by poor writing about it. There are several errors, too numerous to pinpoint. Sorry!

[skbala_bhu]

Thanks for the comments. I have corrected the errors.

[mahakavi]

Abhirami started her arangetram recital with Bhairavi aTa Tala Varnam. It was some thing fabulous and denote the renowned karaikudi pani well with the application of all the ten kamakas ????? . Ragam Thanam Pallavi in in shanmugapriya was amazing it is still vibrating in my ears. One cannot say this is arangetram .
it was a full fledged veena concert of an experienced artist. When she played malaya marudam in danam ---> tAnam? one can feel like floating in skheersag----> you mean kshIrasAgar ? hearing gAndarva ganam . sinnanj ciRu kiLiyE was extremely good and it reminds me of hearing Late Smt Rajeswari Padmanabhan. Ms Abhirami has a very good future and can add one more feather to karaikudi pani Can somebody add a feather to a pANi??. I pray Guru Ragavendra that this girl should come up as another Veena Gayatri.

Miridangam by Sri Ramesh Srinivasan from Bay Area, San Jose, was extremely good and encouraging for Kum G V Abhirami, and I have no words to praise him. Sri. Velur Ramabadran must be proud to have such a disciple.

Ms Abhirami was accompanied by Mr. Akilesh on ghatam. He also showed his talent very well.

My corrections are shown in red. I did not use the pen (that is a real taskmaster) that was given to me by my English teacher.

[bilahari]

'Reviews' should also be posted under the Kutcheri Reviews subforum. Good recitals can also be spoilt by excessive praise...sheesh.

[Nick H]

Everybody praises arangetrams, especially if they are family or friends. I have only seen one or two that I couldn't find a good word for!

And (that is an error; one should not begin a sentence, let alone a pargraph, with "and", but I regard forum posting as being colloquial) --- this is neither an English nor a Tamil exam ...or a spelling test!

[mahakavi]

>>> this is neither an English nor a Tamil exam ...or a spelling test!<<<

When 3 things are negated, should that be written as "neither....nor...or" or "neither....nor....nor"?

I know posting here on colloquial basis is OK. But when so many spelling errors are found in a small paragraph, even people who are good in spelling will be misled. Not a good practice! If you are not sure about proper spelling use a simpler word than the one which carries a misspelling.

[Nick H]

When 3 things are negated, should that be written as "neither....nor...or" or "neither....nor....nor"?

You noticed my uncertainty!

I think that neither/nor and either/or always go with two things, and that for more than two, I should not have used "neither" at all. My "...or" was a feeble attempt to hide that in an afterthought.

Well spotted!

[Bairavi]

Please stop discussing about the spelling errors, the post has already been editted. Thank You.

[Ragapriyamurthy]

I am sorry , I do not agree with bilahari's comments. Without witnessing the veena arangetram , it is not right to say "it is "excessive praise" It is better to remember thirukkural :
Though things diverse from divers sages’ lips we learn,
’Tis wisdom’s part in each the true thing to discern.
( Kural No : 423 )

Kural Explanation: To discern the truth in every thing, by whomsoever spoken, is wisdom.
It is not good to make comments for sake of making comments. Thanks.
Ragapriyamurthy

[Ragapriyamurthy]

HI, I am giving the same kural in Tamil for your easy refernce and understanding.

குறள்: 423


எப்பொருள் யார்யார்வாய்க் கேட்பினும் அப்பொருள்
மெய்ப்பொருள் காண்ப தறிவு.

விளக்கம்: எப்பொருளை எத்தகையோர் சொல்லக் கேட்டாலும்
அப்பொருளின் உண்மைப் பொருளைக் காண்பதுதான் அறிவாகும்.

நன்றி.

ரசிகப்பிரியமூர்த்தி

Thanks for your understanding

[Pratyaksham Bala]

There is nothing to get offended.

For serious rasikas, 'fabulous', 'exquisite', 'brilliant', 'amazing' and 'wonderful' used in the review of the arangetram might sound as excessive praise. Because, even seasoned artistes may not earn so many lofty words of appreciation in a single review.

Best wishes to the young veena artiste for a bright future.

[bilahari]

Best wishes to Abhirami - may she climb greater heights!

[Kalaichelvi]

Abhirami's playing was simply superb! There is no second opinion in that. In fact, many shared the feeling that it was hard to believe it as an 'Arangetram'. She played in such a calibre. The guest-of-honour herself expressed it from the bottom of her heart.
Four things made it a memorable evening:

1. Abhirami is gifted with such motivating, loving and caring parents. As Thiruvalluvar quoted, they succeeded in "Abhiramiyai AVAYATHU MUNDHI IRUPPA SEYAL". Hearty wishes to them.

2. Abhirami repaid it in a wonderful way. "Ival petror en notraar kol enum sol "- paravalaaga kettadhu andru!. May she be blessed with all the best things in the world.

3. The guest-of-honour, Veenai Gayathri expressed her feelings wholeheartedly. She acknowledged the Guru for making this arangetram a great success. In today's world, people are really 'stingy' to appreciate others even if they realise their potential. Through her words, Mdm Gayathri acquired a higher place in our hearts that evening.

4. The Guru ! Even after Veenai Gayathri's praising, Mrs Jayalakshmi Sugumar, the Guru, said it was because of Abhirami's hard work and grasping power.

Veenai Gayathri and the Guru - "Maen makkal maen makkale".

[kssr]

Kalaichelvi and others: In what way are you related to Abhirami?

How many attended the concert?

Marketing beyond a particular level can be counter productive to the young dubutant and repulsive to others.

There are 10 kurals also on a topic called "Naduvu nilamai" . I recommend you people to read, understand and implement it.

Best wishes to Abhirami. Eager to listen to the recording.

[Pratyaksham Bala]

Of course, friends and relatives clap enthusiastically to encourage a new artiste.

But, one gets a feeling that it is a bit noisy in this case.

[mahakavi]

>>> this is neither an English nor a Tamil exam ...or a spelling test!<<<

When 3 things are negated, should that be written as "neither....nor...or" or "neither....nor....nor"?

.

Nick H:
Here is a quotation from Bertrand Russel to clarify the usage.
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Neither a man nor a crowd nor a nation can be trusted to act humanely or to think sanely under the influence of a great fear. -Bertrand Russell, philosopher, mathematician, author, Nobel laureate (1872-1970)
Here is another.
“Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet, nor hail shall keep the postmen from their appointed rounds.”
--US Postal Service motto.

So you can use more than two items to negate in the same sentence. I'd presume the same goes for "either...or...or..."

[Kalaichelvi]

I attended the concert.

I assure that I'm not a marketing executive.

I wrote about the Guru and the Guest-of-honour too. So am I related to them also?

If something is good , nothing wrong in expressing it.

[Nick H]

Thank you, mahakavi.

It is a good quote, too. Not that I have any pretence (or desire even!) to Bertrand Russell's intellect, but, on a smaller scale, I recently advised that the last thing that someone could expect of their relative in an emotional crisis was reasonability!

Kalaichelvi, yes, of course you are right.

[arasi]

Youngsters choosing to play the vINA--that's to be appreciated.
That she went through all those years of training to do an arangEtram is again to her credit.
To learn from the kAraikkuDi school is another asset.
Hyperbole or not, to get good report about her playing is yet another plus point (agreed--family and friens get carried away. So would I, if any youngster did a very good job. Bilahari is encouraging too He was commenting on a review rather than on the young performer.
All the best to Abhirami! She has taken up an instrument which not many youngters are interested in. May Sarasvati, vINAdhAriNi bless her so that she continues to play the vINA!

MK,
You would have been an outstanding student in your english (grammar included, of course) class that the teacher gifted you with a fountain pen which you still use! Yes, it will come in handy in the Languages Section. If used in other places, including the Reviews spot, let alone the superlative-filled ones, even others would slowly start disappearing, with the prized pen looming large in the minds of the reviewers! :envy: hasn't appealed to me at all to adopt it, but I was dying to use the emoticon once. So, here's envy (not really :$ ) for the pen--but not for all your achievements in your field (s).
This is all in good humor and I'm sure you are not going to use this in your post in response ]

[mahakavi]

arasi:
While I take your "admonition" in the right spirit, I must, however, take exception to the message. I don't know whether you had a chance to read the first review. It is not my intention to use my "corrective" pen in the reviews section. In this instance, the review was so poorly written (in terms of spelling and grammar) that it diluted the content enormously. If the cover of a book is not appealing the appeal for the contents of the book is diminihsed (although people say not to judge the book by its cover). Here the review rife with so many errors distracted the reader. Mind you, I did not take exception to the qualitative content of the review (with the superlatives about the performance) as some others did. As you are aware the writer edited his/her review after my corrections. The new review read much better. My intent was just that.

[arasi]

I did not know about it. My apologies

[rajeshnat]

I did read the review before and after the corrections.Yes mahAkavi was right to point out and it was well accepted by OP in the #3rd post.

[sramesh]

[quote="mahakavi"]Pl edit your post before you hit "submit" button.
A good recital can be spoiled by poor writing about it. There are several errors, too numerous to pinpoint. Sorry![/quotsomebody is having supiriority complex if he wants to teach let him take english language class but do not blame others

[mahakavi]

sramesh:

Why are you in this thread? kollan paTTaraiyil "e"kku enna vElai?
Let me tell you, you are incorrigible.

[sramesh]

arasi:
While I take your "admonition" in the right spirit, I must, however, take exception to the message. I don't know whether you had a chance to read the first review. It is not my intention to use my "corrective" pen in the reviews section. In this instance, the review was so poorly written (in terms of spelling and grammar) that it diluted the content enormously. If the cover of a book is not appealing the appeal for the contents of the book is diminihsed (although people say not to judge the book by its cover). Here the review rife with so many errors distracted the reader. Mind you, I did not take exception to the qualitative content of the review (with the superlatives about the performance) as some others did. As you are aware the writer edited his/her review after my corrections. The new review read much better. My intent was just that.

I will be always there where the solidarity of nagging scribblers appear.

[mahakavi]

sramesh:
You are getting better. I am going to promote you to 10th grade. But you still have to grow up more. My motto is:
paritrANAya sAdhUnAm vinAsAyaca dhushkritAm
dharma samstApanArtAya sambhavAmi yugE yugE

[Ragapriyamurthy]

Dear All

Ref: Abhirami's Veena Arangetram on 26-6-2010


I request all of you to see the article written by Veenai Mrs.E.Gayathri about Ms.Abhirami's veena arangetram, under the heading of Vaineeka Music on 17-11-2010 , in her blog. www.egayahri.blogspot.com.

Thanks

With best wishes
Ragapriyamurthy
07-12-2010

[Ragapriyamurthy]

Pl raed as www.egayathri.blogspot.com

Ragapriyamurthy
07-12-2010

[Pratyaksham Bala]

.
Best wishes to Kumari G.V.Abhirami!