Pantula Rama, M.S.N.Murthy, Ram Sriram - Atlanta 2010-11-14

[sramaswamy]

Vocal - Dr. Pantula Rama
Violin - Sri. M.S.N.Murthy
Mrudangam - Dr. Ram Sriram

Venue: Hindu Temple of Atlanta, Riverdale GA

Date - Nov. 14, 2010
Time - 4:20 - 7 pm

Songlist
-----------

* Sarasija (Varnam) - Arabhi - Adi - Pallavi Doraiswamy Iyer
* Sri Vignam Raja Baje - Gambheera Nattai -Khanda Chapu - Oothukadu Venkata Subbaiyer
* endu kaugalinturA - shuddhadEsi -- Thyagaraja
* Bhajare Re Manasa - Aabheri - Aadi - Mysore Vasudevacharya
* Raja Raja Rajithe - Niroshta - Rupakam - Harikesanallur Muthaiah Bhagavathar
* Anand Natamaduvar - Purvi Kalyani - Adi - Nilakanta Sivan
* Naan oru Vilayattu Bommaiya - Navarasa Kannada - Adi - Papanasam Sivan
* Venkatesa Ninnu - Madhyamavathi - Adi - Thyagaraja
* Govinda Hari - Annamacharya -(Set to turn by herself)
* BAyarAni - kApi jAvaLi - tirupati nArAyana swami NaiDu
* brahmam okatE
* Ehi murArE - pahadi -- Jayadeva
* bruhi Mukundeti
* Thillana
* Mangalam


The concert started well with the not so often taken up Arabhi varnam. After that, Aabheri was the first one for which Smt.Pantula Rama took up an alapana and executed very well the song as well. The niroshta song went at rocket speed and the swarams at the end must have been at 4th kalam but sounded in sruti. She took up two tamil songs. It was a surprise for me to hear her pronounce Tamil words so well. The madhyamavathi was the only one taken elaborately. There followed a number of tukkadas essentially to fill up time upto the 7 pm. Overall the concert started off very well, had a good representation of composers but ..... an elaborate main or an RTP was missing. It was more like a tv concert or one of 1 - 1.5 hour concert. In their defence, the team had arrived just before the concert from another location.

Aside from that peeve, Dr. Pantula Rama's vocal range and delivery was very impressive.

Sri. M.S.N Murthy played very well, when it was his turn. However, as an accompaniment, I found him to be slightly lacking in involvement. Dr. Ram Sriram is the local CAMAGA president and played thani after the Madhyamavathi. I do not have the knowledge or qualification to comment on Mrudangam.

And before I forget, let me add a small note on the sartorial scene on the stage. Dr. Pantuala Rama wore a very simple saree - not a shiny kanchipuram "pattu pudavai" as is usual on stage. Sri. M.S.N. Murthy was in a panchakacham (authentic not pseudo )

[ragam-talam]

s-r: thanks for the nice report. It's a shame she didn't sing an rtp, given that she is an expert in that dept.

* Endu Kaukalindura (?)

There is a Tyagaraja kriti 'endu kaugalinturA' in shuddhadEsi ragam (natabhairavi janyam, I believe).

[keerthi]

BAyarAni is a kApi jAvaLi of tirupati nArAyana swami NaiDu.

[rajeshnat]

Ehi murArE is by Jayadeva, rAgam is pahadi

[sramaswamy]

ragam-talam, keerthi and rajeshnat

Thanks for your notes. I have updated the original post accordingly.

[hamirkalyani123]

* bruhi Mukundeti is Sadasiva Brahmendra's composition, kurinji?

And, I belive the Thillana was in Brindavani of Dr. MBK's composition as per my sister who lives in Atlanta and is one of the organizers also.

Also, the item in Gambeer Nattai is Sri Vigna Rajam Bhaje (and not Vignam Raja), I think. I have listened to this item before. Hence suggesting correction.

Thanks for the post sramaswamy.

[srikrishna]

These artists gave a concert in College Station the day before and it was an excellent one. From what I can recollect, here is the list:

1. Evari bodhana Varnam - Abhogi
2. Gajavadanamaasraye - Kedaram - N. C. Krishnamacharyulu - S
3. Evarito ne delpudu - Manavati - Tyagaraja - R, S
4. vina naaSakoni - Pratapavarali - Tyagaraja
5. Maamava Pattabhiraama - Manirangu - Deekshitar - R (and possible S, I do not remember)
6. SaraSara samaraika - Kuntalavarali- Tyagaraja
7. ?? - Kalyani - ?? - R, N, S, T
8. RTP - Narayani with Ragamalika swarams in Manoranjani, ...
9. Jayadeva's ashtapadi
10. Mand- the same song that she tuned - Annamacharya kriti
11. Brindavani - Tillana -
12. Mangalam

I may have missed a couple of songs at the end. Given the hectic schedule the artists had during that weekend, I think they have done a wonderful job. I could see that they were physically tired when they got on the stage.

Smt. Rama was on the stage with a simple saree here too and Sri M. S. N. Murty with an authentic panchakacham. Her voice was amazing and she made RTP look so easy. It was a very enjoyable 3 hour concert.

[ardentcmlover1]

Rel or not, have seen the "Simple Saree" issue being mentioned a couple of times.
Rama and Murthy relinquished Silk due to the himsa involved.

[reethigowla48]

Sri. M.S.N Murthy played very well, when it was his turn. However, as an accompaniment, I found him to be slightly lacking in involvement.

I agree with you here. I have high respects for MSN Murthy's vidvat and knowledge. But I think Pantula's Rama's and his styles don't match each other. His is not a briga laden, fast style and I am afraid that he may not be able to provide her with the best accompaniment. I heard his violin solo youtube, which was really great; which means that he has a unique style for himself, which is more mellowed and melodious, very much akin to L Subramaniam's. Just that it doesn't gel well with Rama's.

Dr. Ram Sriram is the local CAMAGA president and played thani after the Madhyamavathi. I do not have the knowledge or qualification to comment on Mrudangam

Your mentioning this explicitly, instigates me to express my opinion on it
In adherence with the objective spirit of calling the spade a 'spade', I would say that the mridangam accompaniment was just extremely bad. If we can say that MSN Murthy's violin was not upto Rama's music, then the mridangam was not even within the "seven neighborhoods". I just wonder why these kind of tragedies are planned to happen on the concert stage, fooling and underestimating the standard of the audience, who pay out of their pockets with the expectation of hearing good concerts from professional musicians accompanied by 'professional' accompanists. Why do these kind of mridangists come onto the stage, without putting in the minimal amounts of practice to keep their instrumental virtuosity in tact !

Throughout the concert the mridangam was so bland, both technically and aesthetically, without proper theermanams or mukthayis after the pallavi and anupallavi. The mridangist was almost impotent to cope up with the pace of Rama's weighty music which we know, is the most important aspect of her music. Hence the concert didn't reach anywhere. And the clarity of strokes was absolutely bad that the mridangam almost sounded like a Damaru, throughout !
I can go on endlessly listing down all the criticisms, which I shall but refrain from.

It is indeed unfortunate and grossly unjust that such incapable mridangists confidently assume (without any democratic consent from the rasikas) the right to accompany the touring artists and spoil the entire concert by making it purely un-listenable and failing to lift the concert to a better level and inspire the main artist to deliver his/her best. A general rasika may not be able to pin-point this defect in the concert, even though he/she might leave the hall with the feeling that something was wrong in the concert. A few of my friends opined the same with respect to this concert.
So I guess, knowledgeable people need to overcome their reservations and be vocal about their criticisms on amateurish accompaniment for professional music, so that it enables the rasikas to enjoy and appreciate concerts of superior standards. And such amateur accompanists need to do justice to their self-respect by thoroughly introspecting their instrumental and accompaniment skills and be ready to humbly acknowledge their weaknesses and refrain from accompanying the starlwarts. Instead they could arrange for better accompanists from other parts of US or spend slightly more to invite professional accompanists from India.
I know that this has been a long-standing problem with regard to the concerts of the musicians touring US. If there is a general will from the rasikas to experience good concerts, this problem can be easily solved.
Hence those who have felt the same, about this or other concerts, please speak up.

Rel or not, have seen the "Simple Saree" issue being mentioned a couple of times.
Rama and Murthy relinquished Silk due to the himsa involved.

That is simply wonderful. Silk is something which we usually don't perceive as an animal-derived product and conveniently forget the himsa hidden in it (unlike meat). I have seen her consistently in cotton sarees only and myself and my wife like her modern, simplistic sense of beauty. Hope this serves an eye opener for the silk-clad, cutting-edge women musicians from Chennai )