Carnatic Music Idols (2011)- JAYA TV Programme

Shyamala Rangarajan · Post by **Shyamala Rangarajan** » 31 Jan 2011, 21:20

The programme "Carnatic Music Idols - 2011" is being telecast by JAYA TV for five days starting from Monday (31st Jan), at 07-30 AM and again at 05-30 PM.

Shyamala Rangarajan

venkatakailasam · Post by **venkatakailasam** » 31 Jan 2011, 21:32

This I hope to upload at You Tube daily

Today's Introduction is being uploaded and can be seen after some time.

venkatakailasam

suma · Post by **suma** » 31 Jan 2011, 22:16

venkatakailasam wrote:This I hope to upload at You Tube daily

venkatakailasam

Looking forward and thanks for the service.

venkatakailasam · Post by **venkatakailasam** » 01 Feb 2011, 09:29

Uploaded posts can be seen at my channel at:

http://www.youtube.com/user/vkailasam

(Click on "all uploads" )

venkatakailasam

thanjavooran · Post by **thanjavooran** » 01 Feb 2011, 16:02

Many thanx shri Venkatakailasam for the link. Sowmya keeps the contestants in a very soft homely mood to extract best out of them.
Thanjavooran 01 02 2011

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 01 Feb 2011, 22:14

Excellent Service vkailasm! Many thanks.
Not only the video but also the audio is well recorded...

venkatakailasam · Post by **venkatakailasam** » 03 Feb 2011, 11:10

Since then, Parts II and III have been uploaded

venkatakailasam

Ponbhairavi · Post by **Ponbhairavi** » 04 Feb 2011, 19:32

The carnatic music idol in jaya T.V.
The programme is in great shape.The judges not only point out the deficiencies but also demonstrate the correct form which is a very good thing for the students to learn .None of the aggressivity exhibited before.The encouragement to the young participants is also noteworthy. However a couple of observations:
It would be better if the judges refrain from recalling and comparing last year’s performance or their previous association or the performance of the candidate in some other forum.
One poor boy coming from Sholingur was browbeaten for coming in pants by the comperer and the judges before he even started. May be many others have chided him for the same thing right from the time he entered. He was looking so guilty that he failed even before he started. No doubt the judges were absolutely right that a participant should “ look like a carnatic music singer “ But they could have told him that after he sang.. It would have been a good gesture if someone there or the organizer (in the make up room ) has lent him a dothi for a few minutes . They do this in trivandrum temple entrance and in some other temples also so that “the sanctity of the place” is not affected( in this case the T.V. studio)
For a poor boy who does not own a car, it is a Herculean task to travel by bus from Sholingur with his dothi intact Next time he should bring a Jari veshti packed in a hand bag which he can change in the make up room of the TV studio which helps the stars.
Incidentally there is quite a lot of vestimentary changes among carnatic music singers.Gone are the days of the kudumi. We find crop thalai and even parattai thalai. The mayil kann visirimadippu angavastram has disappeared. along with the panchakacham.The short jibbah has elongated into a north Indian sherwani The aragaja pottu has disappeared from the forehead “vethunethi” is quite common among male vidwans. Some even proclaim that atheism is no bar to carnatic music .
“

thanjavooran · Post by **thanjavooran** » 04 Feb 2011, 19:44

Shri Ponbhairavi avl,
I totally agree with your observation and suggestion. IMHO when judges offer their comments in English [of course it is quite comfortable for expression from their point of view ] no harm in a contestant coming in a non traditional dress [ comfortable to him ]
Thanjavooran 4 02 2011

suma · Post by **suma** » 04 Feb 2011, 20:41

I think Jaya TV is doing an outstanding job in televising these competitions. From all the excerpts that we saw for 2011 carnatic idol, a student can learn a lot:

What is allowed and what is not allowed within a ragam framework
What kind of phrases violate the raga lakshanam

My sincere request to the participants, parents and also the viewers (future participants). Use this as an educational experienece. Sowmya and Ganesh's comments are very knowledgable. They are stopping right when something goes wrong and explaining.

If the students are already with a great (knowledgeable guru), they wont have these problems, but we hear Sowmya and Ganesh saying "you should not sing like that". Which is correct, hope the participants recieving those kind of comments take it in the right spirit and learn carnatic music correctly.

Having come to this level, all the participants are winners. So, cheer up and learn from the golden one on one training that you got from Sowmya and Ganesh.

bilahari · Post by **bilahari** » 04 Feb 2011, 22:02

Venkatakailasam, thank you for ALL of these uploads. I've certainly been learning quite a bit from watching Carnatic Idol, and Sowmya and Ganesh have been giving great advice.

However, I do agree with Ponbhairavi that they were unnecessarily harsh on the already apologetic boy in pants.

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 04 Feb 2011, 22:43

they were unnecessarily harsh on the already apologetic boy in pants.

Surely... he should, at least, have worn trousers!

(some of will never get used to some of the American usage :$ )

seriously surely... he should have known; or his parents should have known; or his teacher should have known --- or, as already said, surely some other guy could have lent him a vesti. They may be competing, but there should be a certain spirit among competitors

sramaswamy · Post by **sramaswamy** » 04 Feb 2011, 22:53

I heard that the pants became an issue because the boy was not wearing "Pothys" trousers

It is impressive to see these young boys and girls able to switch from Simhendra Madhyamam to Kambodhi quickly. It is heart-wrenching to see some the contestants rejected although the participants seem to take it very sportingly.

Rasika911 · Post by **Rasika911** » 05 Feb 2011, 11:20

When is the telecast resuming?

Hope somebody will continue to upload these videos. Enjoyed them so far. Also encouraging to see participants from the US and Australia.

harimau · Post by **harimau** » 05 Feb 2011, 12:59

sramaswamy wrote:
It is impressive to see these young boys and girls able to switch from Simhendra Madhyamam to Kambodhi quickly.

I am sure some amount of editing has gone into the video so that not much (commercially precious) airtime is lost in showing the singers mentally re-orienting themselves to the new raga.

pvs · Post by **pvs** » 05 Feb 2011, 18:34

Regarding # 8 and #9

Very true. I think the judges should check back to see how many compositions in English they sing on the carnatic stage (none AFAIK), when they are freely mixing up Tamil and English in every sentence. When they converse in chaste Tamil they will get the moral right to criticise pants ( or trousers:). Wearing pants is not the end all - its not a costume party. At least, JayaTV could have edited the Sholingur episode out. There is no understanding of how hurting it could be for the boy, especially when broadcast on TV! The compere is a joke, the silly jokes and mannerisms are just too much. The conducting could be way more polished and gentle. This rant apart, my disclaimer is that I really like Sowmya and Ganesh's music.
~ S

mahavishnu · Post by **mahavishnu** » 06 Feb 2011, 01:07

Sadly, the person that sang Simhendra Madhyamam did not qualify (IIRC). I thought the poor young lady deserved to go to the next round; some weaker candidates managed to sneak through, although just barely. Perhaps, there was something in her performance that was not in the broadcast segment like Harimau says.

All said, I really like this show. Talking about the anchor.. What is Mr. Balaji's background? Does he have a background in CM or is he just a TV personality?

And Nick, I totally understand why you wouldn't ever get used to the common American word for trousers. It means something quite different in Britain!

hamsadhwani · Post by **hamsadhwani** » 06 Feb 2011, 03:05

mahavishnu wrote:
Talking about the anchor.. What is Mr. Balaji's background? Does he have a background in CM or is he just a TV personality?

Balaji is the anchor for almost all of the shows produced by Maximum Media, especially those of Ms. Subhashree Tanikachalam. Apart from the CM Idol, he also hosts "Ragamalika", a light music competition. I remember sometime back he also co-anchored some couples show on Jaya TV! I am quite certain that he possesses no special training or knowledge of Carnatic Music.

In any case, even if he did, I think the comment he made to the boy "win pannardhu irukkattum, modhalla veshti kattindu vaanga" was totally uncalled for and to telecast that on TV was even worse. Sometimes, these EMCEEs just go overboard!!!

thanjavooran · Post by **thanjavooran** » 06 Feb 2011, 04:05

S/Shri Mahavishnu and Hamsadhwani,
By any chance are you watching Hariyudan nan in the same channel ? The anchor person all along with James vasanthan and Sarath was teasing the contestants and they underwent utter humiliation. But both have changed their attitude now excepting Sarath who with stiff face pass harsh comments with his colloquial tamil. When Hari nods his head in appreciation, this gengleman with grim face stare at the contestant. He behaves the same way in Asianet also.

Thanjavooran 05 02 2011

mohan · Post by **mohan** » 06 Feb 2011, 05:06

venkatakailasam wrote:Uploaded posts can be seen at my channel at:
http://www.youtube.com/user/vkailasam

Sri Venkatakailasam thanks for providing these uploads but why is there a restriction for viewing these on mobile devices and tv-connect devices? Are you able to change these settings?

On another note, I too felt quite sorry for the way the boy from Sholigur was riduculed by the compere and the judges.

Anyway am rooting for the Sydney-lad, Krishna, who I have heard since he was 5 and have accompanied in a few concerts.

Sam Swaminathan · Post by **Sam Swaminathan** » 06 Feb 2011, 08:06

The contestent from Sholingar was made to feel uncomfortable by all including the compere and above all by the two judges. He was so frightened and nervous that he made some silly mistakes in the raga he was asked to sing. Contestents must be made to feel easy and comfortable before they commence. This was not allowed by both the judges. I am not saying they did this deliberately, but as senior vidwans, this should have been the common sense approach. Would they be in a positve frame of mind had they been subjected to similar situation prlor to an important concert? And if english language can be spoken for the ease of communciation during the contest, why not an english attire? The discussion on his attire was not warranted by any one. Failure of this boy in this back ground is totally unfair and cannot be accepted.

chalanata · Post by **chalanata** » 06 Feb 2011, 12:51

My sympathies and appreciation are with the boy who took the bashings most gracefully. And a word of caution for the cultural constables. Please do not forget what happened in a reality show in Kolkata.

mahavishnu · Post by **mahavishnu** » 06 Feb 2011, 13:29

Thanks, Hamsadwani. Pardon my lack of knowledge about matters of Indian pop culture. Sri Thanjavooran, I am not familiar with either TV program, but I feel like I have seen the anchor Balaji at several events in Chennai.

Chalanata, what happened in Kolkata?

chalanata · Post by **chalanata** » 06 Feb 2011, 14:01

Mahavishnu,
I am restraining myself from narrating the entire episode of what happened in Kolkata in the fear that it will give people ideas. But this was all over the local English News channels that time. Please google and you may get a glimpse of what happened.

bilahari · Post by **bilahari** » 06 Feb 2011, 14:24

I guess chalanata is referring to this:
http://www.merinews.com/article/reality ... 6614.shtml

venkatakailasam · Post by **venkatakailasam** » 06 Feb 2011, 18:17

Shri. Mohan
"why is there a restriction for viewing these on mobile devices and tv-connect devices? Are you able to change these settings?"

I have since enabled the Syndication. Now you can view on mobile also.

venkatakailasam

mohan · Post by **mohan** » 06 Feb 2011, 19:08

venkatakailasam wrote:Shri. Mohan
"why is there a restriction for viewing these on mobile devices and tv-connect devices? Are you able to change these settings?"
I have since enabled the Syndication. Now you can view on mobile also.

Thanks for quickly fixing the issue for mobiles. I guess the blocking on tv-connected devices (such as my WD TV Live media player) is a global youtube setting.

suma · Post by **suma** » 06 Feb 2011, 19:12

Thanks Bilahari. That's sad. Hope the girl comes around.

pramodh · Post by **pramodh** » 06 Feb 2011, 19:21

Completely agree with the previous posts regarding the pants (or trousers). The poor boy was already apologetic initially. So I couldnt believe what I saw with the judges taking on the poor chap. Is Jaya TV so penniless that they could not spare a dhothi for him??!!

And what is so culturally aversive about trousers?

Speaking English is not culturally aversive
Playing violin( a western instrument) is not culturally aversive.
A young Mandolin player seen wearing jeans on the casette cover (millions sold!) was not aversive

I could go on................

Jaya TV and both the judges should apologise to the boy through TV. Simple as that.

venkatakailasam · Post by **venkatakailasam** » 07 Feb 2011, 14:37

This is a program which is already completed in January. What we see is only an edited clips broadcast half an hour daily except Sat/sun days.

venkatakailasam.

Shri Mohan: When I enabled Syndication , You can view on your mobile TV also.

suma · Post by **suma** » 07 Feb 2011, 19:40

venkatakailasam wrote:This is a program which is already completed in January.

In that case, does any one know who won the competition this year?

Music · Post by **Music** » 07 Feb 2011, 20:39

Sam Swaminathan wrote:The contestent from Sholingar was made to feel uncomfortable by all including the compere and above all by the two judges. He was so frightened and nervous that he made some silly mistakes in the raga he was asked to sing. Contestants must be made to feel easy and comfortable before they commence.

Sad. A contestant from Australia gets welcomed warmly with "Hi how are you doing".....and a badly dressed contestant from Sholingar gets ridiculed.......such is the way of the world.

Sam Swaminathan · Post by **Sam Swaminathan** » 08 Feb 2011, 00:50

venkatakailasam wrote:Since then, Parts II and III have been uploaded

venkatakailasam

Sri Venkatakailasam, just a request...would you be uploading any more of these programmes? I have seen up to part 5 and needless to say, I enjoyed them, barring the unfortunate incident of "dhoti" ! And, a big thanks for your efforts thus for and look toward seeing other episodes. Regards

venkatakailasam · Post by **venkatakailasam** » 08 Feb 2011, 09:27

Shri.Sam Swaminathan

E'-SWARA-006-Bru Carnatic Music Idol-2011-Part VI-07-02-2011

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8agcjD5MzCI

E'-SWARA-007-Bru Carnatic Music Idol-2011-Part VII-08-02-2011.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnOISh01Vvs

View my channel at: http://www.youtube.com/user/vkailasam

venkatakailasam

mahavishnu · Post by **mahavishnu** » 08 Feb 2011, 09:33

Sam, episode 6 is up. The show was on break for the wknd and resumed Monday. And of course, sri Kailasam has diligently posted the video with cheerful promptness!

From episode 6: The contestant Nandini sounded very competent. She was the winner of a similar competition in Kerala ( on AmritaTV). Coincidentally Sowmya was the judge there too! Here is a sample clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_jNtm4ZA6E. The organization of the Malayalam show ("Raga Ratnam Yuva") seems excellent, the judges and hosts are most professional. The standard of contestants also seems very high.

Just as I typed this, episode 7 is up! Thanks again Sri Venkatakailasam.

suma · Post by **suma** » 08 Feb 2011, 18:54

I think so far, Raghavendra was good.

Nandini's Kerala contest thillana was good. I think her voice weight is missing in some octaves

mahavishnu · Post by **mahavishnu** » 08 Feb 2011, 19:09

Suma, I fully agree. So far, I think Raghavendra is the top seed.

nadhasudha · Post by **nadhasudha** » 08 Feb 2011, 20:30

I liked Raghavendra's rendition of Harikambhoji - It is a difficult raagam to sing without any shades of Khamas or khamboji. Nandini was good too. Kedaragowlai is not sung very often even in concert circuit. Extra kudos to these participants to attempt to sing these raagams in this competition.

Ramasubramanian M.K · Post by **Ramasubramanian M.K** » 08 Feb 2011, 21:10

Nadhasuda: Re: your comment about harikambodhi--I disagree that it is a difficult raga to sing(I did not hear the rendition by Raghavendra). Please see my comments on this Raga under the raga Alapana topic.

Over the years hearing the stalwarts(Semangudi,Alathur,KVN,DKJ )sing this raga I found out that the underlying secret(as possible true to every raga!!!) is that one should learn as many krithis as possible. Thyagaraja's eight or nine krithis have distinct flavors and help us in "mining" the multiple depths of the raga--sannithodi is different from Enthara or Enthuku nirdaya.

While I can understand a contestant on these competition shows may not have the versatility of a Professional singer,it does not necessarily follow that it is a difficult raga to sing.

Lastly if I were to be a judge in any professional singing contest my litmus test would be how he/she handles this raga. As they say in Tamil ' ORU PANAI SHOTRUKKU ORU SHORU PADAM"--TO TEST WHETHER A POT OF RICE IS COOKED IT IS ENOUGH TO TEST ONE GRAIN FROM THAT COOKED POT.

nadhasudha · Post by **nadhasudha** » 09 Feb 2011, 02:21

Ramasubramanian M.K wrote:Nadhasuda: Re: your comment about harikambodhi--I disagree that it is a difficult raga to sing(I did not hear the rendition by Raghavendra). Please see my comments on this Raga under the raga Alapana topic.

Over the years hearing the stalwarts(Semangudi,Alathur,KVN,DKJ )sing this raga I found out that the underlying secret(as possible true to every raga!!!) is that one should learn as many krithis as possible. Thyagaraja's eight or nine krithis have distinct flavors and help us in "mining" the multiple depths of the raga--sannithodi is different from Enthara or Enthuku nirdaya.

While I can understand a contestant on these competition shows may not have the versatility of a Professional singer,it does not necessarily follow that it is a difficult raga to sing.

Lastly if I were to be a judge in any professional singing contest my litmus test would be how he/she handles this raga. As they say in Tamil ' ORU PANAI SHOTRUKKU ORU SHORU PADAM"--TO TEST WHETHER A POT OF RICE IS COOKED IT IS ENOUGH TO TEST ONE GRAIN FROM THAT COOKED POT.

Sorry Sir - I beg to disagree. You are entitled to your opinion and I to mine. The reason I said it was difficult was because it had to be delivered without any shades of khamas or khamboji present in it. It is a very fine balancing act. Khamas and Khamboji being janya ragas more popular and more frequently rendered than harikambhoji. This rendition of harikambhoji was followed by a contestant singing hindolam - now with hindolam no such confusion can occur. So it is easier to deliver a hindolam alapana than a harikambhoji - which is what I was getting at.

In regards to having to learn multiple krithis in a raagam before attempting an alapana - not necessarily true - there are different schools of thought. Akella Sir who is a respected music teacher and frequents this forum has a different approach to alapanas away from the conventional method. You may want to check out his posts on that.

Last but not the least you state that you would judge a singer by how he/she handles this raagam. Goes to show the importance and therefore the musical maturity that you think is required to render harikambhoji as opposed to rendering an audava/audava raagam like say hindolam.

mahavishnu · Post by **mahavishnu** » 09 Feb 2011, 02:41

Could someone please confirm if Raghavendra is indeed the son of Srimushnam Raja Rao & Padma Chandilyan? I believe he had some training from Sanjay Subrahmanyan. We have discussed him before on a thread on Sri Raja Rao: http://rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic.php? ... &view=next

Just wondering if it is the same person...
Here is another video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCdVCSZu0AE

All said, the young boy sang a wonderful harikamboji and the neraval was very professional!

Sam Swaminathan · Post by **Sam Swaminathan** » 09 Feb 2011, 03:03

Thank you, Venkatakailasam Sir....Two candidates were really outstanding and will go a long way forward in this contest....Nandini and Ragavendra. My best wishes to them. I will be watching their progress with great interest.

Thank you once again for your kind efforts. Regards

knarayana · Post by **knarayana** » 09 Feb 2011, 08:15

mahavishnu wrote:Suma, I fully agree. So far, I think Raghavendra is the top seed.

I agree. Raghavendra and Nandhini performed very well, especially Raghavendra was top notch. However the program itself seems to be edited to a significant extent before the actual telecast, so in a sense we would never know who, among all the contestants, really performed the best. For ex., telecast of the performance of contestants on the first couple of days of telecast(A boy(Vishnu?) sang Kambhodhi and a girl sang Poorvi Kalyani during one of those days) appeared highly edited since the comments given by the judges didn't correlate with the (small)portion of their performance that was telecast'd and those comments seemed to reflect poorly on those contestants, but all of them qualified to the next round. So unless we are physically present in that location to listen to all the participants, it's hard to judge from just watching the telecast. my .2 cents

venkatakailasam · Post by **venkatakailasam** » 09 Feb 2011, 09:17

To day' event:
'E'-SWARA-008-Bru Carnatic Music Idol-2011-Part VIII-09-02-2011

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7P57RRaex4

"I think Raghavendra is the top seed."

My hunch is Ms.Anahita can be the bet. she did well this time also. in 2010 , she lost to Ms. Sri Ranjini in the final round.
Considered very close last time.

Her 2010 performance is at:

Carnatic Music Idol – 13 Anahitha In finals-last year-2010

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Dw-10gx ... re=related

venkatakailasam

mahavishnu · Post by **mahavishnu** » 09 Feb 2011, 09:49

Sri Kailasam. Just watched it. many thanks for the upload.

Anahita was excellent. She sang a wonderful composition in todi. I heard her at KGS last december season. She is already at a good concert performance level! One can see her guru Sri Ravikiran's style in her music. I thought Sowmya's feedback on singing gamakams was very pertinent and useful.

Now, this is a real competition! very exciting prospects for the future of CM.

suma · Post by **suma** » 09 Feb 2011, 19:04

Of the ladies, Anahita definately has the potential. So far Raghavendra stands out.

nadhasudha · Post by **nadhasudha** » 10 Feb 2011, 04:03

The contestant who sang Sahana - IIRC I have seen her playing tambura for Sowmya in some of her concerts. Is she Sowmya's disciple? If yes then isn't there a conflict of interest situation here?

mahavishnu · Post by **mahavishnu** » 10 Feb 2011, 05:28

Nadhasudha, yes she is a student of Sowmya's. I believe her name is Subhashree. I don't understand how they define COI in this case. Last year another one of Sowmya's students participated. Please see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7rErxzpru0. Sowyma did not recuse herself then either! Ganesh even made jokes about how the contestant was nervous about singing in front of her guru.

Suma, to answer your earlier question. While the show may be taped ahead of time, no one is talking about the results anywhere. I have tried probing through all venues known to me and no answers are forthcoming! I guess they don't want to miss out on any viewers for the grand finale.

My top 3 so far: Raghavendra, Anahita and Nandini in that order. Looking forward to the next episode!

Sam Swaminathan · Post by **Sam Swaminathan** » 10 Feb 2011, 05:38

mahavishnu wrote: My top 3 so far: Raghavendra, Anahita and Nandini in that order. Looking forward to the next episode!

After hearing Anahita, I would like to put the order as "Anahita, Raghavendra and Nandini".

Todi of Anahita was excellent. Yes, Sowmya made a valid observation, but, from Anahita's point of view, I think, the rendition of the raga was getting the base ready for the song that was to follow. The style of rendition suited the structure of the song....just my opinion.

I agree, judges MUST recuse themselves when ever their shishyas participate. It is not fair.

nadhasudha · Post by **nadhasudha** » 10 Feb 2011, 07:24

mahavishnu - Thanks for that link. Yes I did see that one contestant from last year was her student as well. I think the ground rules for the competition need to be laid out by Jaya TV/Maximum Media and probably that is where such a rule is missing.

Nevertheless I agree - the right thing to do would be for Sowmya to have excused herself from judging her own shishya.