TM Krishna concert for CMANA at NJ on Apr 16th, 2011

[Sankar Narayanan]

After being just a reader for a longtime, I have taken the next first step of penning my thoughts.

Krishna's concert was a delightful dose of 'Chowka Kala Sowkyam', literally from the start till the end. As can be seen by the songs election - the 1st piece was a leisurely 'Hechcharika', the main was the elaborate and exquisite Bhairavi Swarajathi 'Kaamaakshi', and the ending piece was the Chowkam Maestro MDR's composition - Saagara Sayana Vibho'.

The fully packed concert had the Krishna brilliance in all the other pieces as well, whether the elaborate gamakam-laden Sahaanaa RTP or the non-gamakam and brisque 'Notes'. He was ably supported by RK Shriramkumar and by Arun Kumar. It was interesting to watch the cerebral exchange between Krishna and Shriramkumar on the RTP ragamalika ragams which were all based on dexterous variations of the 'Ma Ga Sa' swarams. Shriramkumar's expert knowledge of the songs added an extra dimension to the rasika's experience, especially in the Kaamaakshi. Arunkumar played along well with an appropriate minimalist approach during the many bhava-laden Chowka renditions. In the uttharangam part of the concert Krishna also fulfilled many and varied requests from rasikas.

IMO the audio is another complex pakkavadhyam instrument which must be, in tune with and, in support of the artistes both on-stage and off-stage. The audio provided able support after some initial settling down challenges.

In all an excellent and memorable auditory feast with the Swarajathi bound to keep ringing in everyone's ears and mind for a long time.

Song list to the best of my ability is below:
Hechcharika - Yadhukula Kambhoji
Sanaathanaa Paramapaavanaa - Palamanjari
Sumasaadhaka - Padha Varnam in Kapi
Vandhe Meenakshi - Nottuswaram in Shankarabharanam
Kaamaakshi - Swarajathi in Bhairavi (main with Thani)
Vadivelani Nidham Potruvom - RTP - Sahaanaa (Kandajathi Triputa I think); the fast-paced ragamalika swarams included, Gambira Nattai, Udhaya Ravichandrika, Neelambari, Kambhoji, (did I miss some?)
ChinnanChiru Kiliye - Ragamalika included Hamir Kalyani, Kaanaada, Mukhari, Begada, Subhapanthuvaraali (not sure what the starting ragam was, expert help welcome)
Vadinain Vadi - Tamil Slokam, followed by Thirupathi Venkata Ramana in Sindhubhairavi
Saagara Sayana Vidho - Bhageswari
Mangalam

[rshankar]

Interesting that he sang the varNam at number 4...it should be sumasAyaka...the kApi padavarNam of maharAja svAti tiruNAL...
The list is exquisite. I would have loved to attend this concert--unfortunately, I had a conflicting engagement

[Sankar Narayanan]

Dear rshankar, Thanks for the lyrics correction. Yes, it was an interesting variation to start with Hechcharika and then a varnam as # 4!
One typo correction from my side - the Mridangist was Arun Prakash.

[arasi]

The tamizh viruttam was tirumangai AzhvAr's vADinEn, vADi varundinEn manadAl.

[mahavishnu]

Sankar Narayanan: first of all, welcome! thanks for your review.
Chinnanchiru kiliyE (his version) starts in chalanAta and ends in bhoopAlam. It also includes kharaharapriya, IIRC.

There is the youtube version from Marghazhi 2009 that you can compare it to (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFZkI5SYCys).You will notice that the last ragam does not have M2 & N3.

[Edited: to add youtube link]

[kunthalavarali]

sumasAyaka was a masterpiece of KVN. Old timers may remember his teaching this composition on the AIR as also the other equally great Swathi thirunal composition gOpalaka in revagupti.

[mohan]

Interesting that he sang the varNam at number 4...it should be sumasAyaka...the kApi padavarNam of maharAja svAti tiruNAL...

Even KVN used to render this mid-way through the concert. Shashank does the same. It is in Karnataka Kapi (not the more familiar Hindustani Kapi) and has a ragamalika of swarams in Kalyani, Khamas, Vasanta and Mohanam at the end.

[appu]

Interesting that he sang the varNam at number 4...it should be sumasAyaka...the kApi padavarNam of maharAja svAti tiruNAL...

rshankar,

I love the Kapi Narayani piece as rendered by KVN. Thank you for educating me that it is actually a Pada Varnam. I knew this was a composition by ST, never new it was a varnam


Thanks

[mohan]

appu - not Kapi Narayani but Karnataka Kapi

[mahavishnu]

There is a nice commercial release where TMK has sung the Karnataka kApi varnam (with Mysore Manjunath/Trichy Sankaran). I believe it is Charsur's December Season 2006, recorded at Sri Krishna Gana Sabha.

Please see http://www.charsur.com/charsur/index.ph ... ts_id=1239

[Ranganayaki]

I am sossosososo mad!!!!!
I spent more than an hour responding in detail to this post, I had so much to add, and my connection was expired and I lost it all!!!!!!!!!!

[mahavishnu]

I hate it when that happens.

[rshankar]

I did not know that Sri KVN used to render it midway as well...maybe, because a pada varNam is more elaborate than a tAna varNam? I am speculating of course...I should listen to this varNam in its entirty; I have only lisened to the pallavi and anupallavi sections...Mohan thank you for pointing our the rAgamAlika section...

[annamalai]

Yep. This was one of KVN's classic. The ragamalika at the end of this pada varnam seems a bit odd and perhaps out of place.

There is supposedly a predecessor to this varnam - Sarasanu - exact same tune; a composition of Ponniah Pillai (Tanjore quartet) sung by T. Viswanathan & troupe for Balasaraswathi's dance. B. Balu (Wesleyan) disciple of T. Viswa sang this varnam - Sarasanu - at a concert at Musiri's house sometime back.

[Ranganayaki]

Oh, I am so upset at having lost all that I wrote. Though I am incapable of repeating it all, I will try. Oh no!!!!!!!!!!

It was a treat! Really a lovely, sweet experience – the music, that is.. The Sanaathana Paramapaavana left me racking my brains, I had never heard it, but Sankar Narayanan, I think he said it was Phalamanjari.

The varnam he sang was LOVELY and I thought at first that it was a keertana, till the muktayee swarams were followed by the caranam and chitteswara. The Chitteswarams were sung in Ragamalika, using Kalyani, Khamas, Vasantha, Mohanam. It was sung in third position, not fourth as RShankar thought – a LITTLE earlier in the concert. The ragamalika was completely unexpected and made it very interesting. I have never heard a single other varnam like that (of course, I'm not forgetting the navaragamalika varnam), . I guess it was the later position in the concert, and the beautiful lyrics that made me think initially that it was a keertana.

The Nottuswaram (by Dikshitar) was very simple, almost like a nursery rhyme. It went Vande/ Meena / kshi-Tvam/ Sarasija sung simply as Sa Ma / Sa Ma / Sa Ma / Pa Ma Ga Ri, yet TMK made a lovely piece of it, sung sweetly and meditatively. SankarNarayanan, I am so glad you wrote the song list, I heard the sahityam all wrong. I would have written “Vande Neelaam Shuklaam Sarasija”. I thought it didn’t make any sense – both Neelaam and Shuklaaam? Why not, I thought! I realize that it was neither!! I’ve noted the nice second line too, it goes Bhadre, Parne, Durge, Nakasura (nr, nr, nr, grsn)

The next alapana was beautiful. I had to contend with a neighbor who joined in the singing as long as she was unable to identify the raga, and with three guys at the back who enjoyed predicting what song he was going to sing as soon as they had identified the ragam. I heard “ Upacharamu” and “Yaaro Ivar Yaaro” (Sankar, excuse me if it was you). I think all that is part of the carnatic concert experience, and it was all part of the fun. But TMK probably surprised them all with “Kamakshi”, the swarajathi. He did not sing the low notes in the tara sthayee, and in fact, I was amazed at the wide vocal range he enjoys. At some point in the concert, he went down, down, down, reaching ma, ga, and all the way down to sa and I think he might even have touched the still lower ni. He began the swarajathi, but allowed Shriram Kumar to play the swarams first without singing and then followed with the sahityam. I thought that was a nice touch, to give the violinist his moment with the swaras. Beautiful. and meditative like the whole concert. That word has come back throughout the concert : meditative, meditative.. It is just the way I like my music. He sang SLOWLY, with eyes closed, he was into it, completely focused, and oh, so relaxed. His beautiful voice was working well and by the time he got to the middle of the song with “Padakamulanu”, all my irritation at the unending parade of speakers at the beginning of the concert had subsided. But it took all this while and I really enjoyed the piece. He joined in with the final swarams (for Shyama Krishna Sahodari Shiva Shankari) for a dramatic finish. I was surprised by a reprise of Bhakta Jana Kalpa Latika Karunalaya for a neraval, which I really didn’t mind as it was very nice like everything else, but I thought the concert would have shobhichified a little better if he had left the effect of the dramatic finish of the song to sink in. Again I was surprised that the mridangist solo took place here, meaning that the main piece had no kalpana swarams. (The song which includes the Tani is still considered as the main piece, right?) I didn’t mind the lack of kalpana swarams.

So Arun Prakash starts the Tani Avartana, and to my dismay, he sets off an exodus. A number of people left the audience – probably for the food. I thought it was shameful that the last speaker, who had come up on stage just as TMK had thought thankfully that he could finally begin his concert, interrupted him to inform us that food was going to be served at 7 30 in the cafeteria. It was free, he said, so he advised us to please go and eat and suggested that we could go between songs! I felt really bad for TMK and even if he didn’t really give a damn, I thought it was thoughtless, rude and .. Well, the less said, the better. TMK said, “Can I go too?”

I think Arun Prakash was good and if I were more confident in tala I would say more and share some doubts about TMK’s pick ups, but I am not. Shriram Kumar was GREAT! But unfortunately, I have not written much about it. I’m sorry about that.

Then came the nice long alapana for Sahana and the RTP followed, set in Khanda Jaati Triputa Taalam. The sahityam:

Vadivelanai Nitham Pottruvor
Vaiyam ellam Arul Purinthu Kattum

Sankar, I don’t think you missed ragams here, but I think it was not Gambheera Nattai, but just Nattai. As you said, he sang swarams in ragas Nattai, Udaya Ravichandrika, Neelambari, and Khamboji. He did not elaborate the pallavis in these ragams, but only sang swaras, and then picked up the pallavi in the raga of the swaras. Neelambari was very sweet and was a nice contrast to the other ragas, and he sang a gentle pallavi with it, softly modulated. I too have written MG-S to the side on my notes, but I don’t remember what I wanted to say. Your comment is more helpful and I am guessing that he picked up the sahitya on the swarams Mg-S? The Khamboji ending was dramatic, I’ve said, but then he moves again back to sweet sahana to finish. Very interesting pallavi singing.

Chinnanjiru kiliye did begin with Chalanattai (I agree with Mahavishnu there 36th mela, all highest swaras except for ma), and moved to Hamir Kalyani, Kharaharapriya (not kaanada), Mukhari, begade and I have a couple of question marks for the last raga. I just checked Mahavishnu’s link and I do agree that it was Bhupalam. I am reminded of the kavithaigal discussion of the ragam, as here, he sings bhupalam for the saddest part of the song, while bhupalam is a raga that does evoke freshness and daily renewal.

The virutham Vaadinen Vadi was such a beautiful piece of poetry, that I looked it up, and if you are interested the sahitya, along with a nice explanation is available at http://www.ramanuja.org/sv/bhakti/archi ... /0030.html. As I said, the explanation is very good, but I do think the poster has sort of entangled the meanings of the second and third stanzas. But it is easy to disentangle. As Arasi says, it does come from Tirumangai Azhvar. The virutham was not sung in sahana as the poster on the link says, though. TMK sang it in Ananda Bhairavi, Shankarabharanam, Kalyani and Sindhubhairavi, leading into Tirupati Venkata Ramana (a Purandaradaasa kriti).

At this point, we were annoyed by more speeches, I thought the organizers were indisciplined and inconsiderate. My brother was too bugged to stay and he dragged me out, and I returned to the door while I waited for him to get the car in the rain, and I could tell that TMK was setting up another song. I was sorry to leave and I am SO disappointed to learn that it was MDR’s “Sagara Shayana Vibho” that we missed. A friend of mine had me listen to it sung by (Pr.) Rama Varma a few months ago, and it was then that I discovered both the song and the singer with this beautiful voice! It’s a lovely song!

The concert was a lovely experience, and it was very nice that TMK took the trouble to relax, slow down and sing beautiful songs.

[Ranganayaki]

Again, but in my irritation, I missed thanking SankarNarayanan for his review and for starting the thread. Welcome, SN, and I look forward to more from you.

[Ranganayaki]

I hate it when that happens.

Thank you, Vishnu.

[Ranganayaki]

The concert was a lovely experience, and it was very nice that TMK took the trouble to relax, slow down and sing beautiful songs.

SankarN, am I echoing what you meant by "chowka kala sowkyam"? I'm not strong on technical terms related to rhythm.

[kalyani_ragam]

TMK and Chowkakalam - A COMPLETE MISNOMER
just because TMK sings a kriti in a slow pace does not mean it is in chowkakalam. His renditions no way brings any essense of the raga properly. The same way he sing rapid fire swaras - he is immediately compared to seemangudi. Again a syupid comparison.

This guy's music has been hyped up so much !

[srikant1987]

One typo correction from my side - the Mridangist was Arun Prakash.

You can correct it in your first post. He's also known as KAP.

He began the swarajathi, but allowed the violinist to play the swarams first without singing and then followed with the sahityam. I thought that was a nice touch, to give the violinist his moment with the swaras.

I am being extremely finicky, maybe, but you could call him RKSK or Shriram Kumar instead of "the violinist".

This guy's music has been hyped up so much that it is not worth listening!

How does "hype" make someone not worth listening. Do you mean the halls get so crowded and queues get so long that it's becomes difficult?

[Ranganayaki]

I am being extremely finicky, maybe, but you could call him RKSK or Shriram Kumar instead of "the violinist". .

No, you are not being finicky, and I ought to have been more thoughtful, especially because we enjoyed Shriram Kumar's playing so much. I'm about to fix it.

[rajeshnat]

Oh, I am so upset at having lost all that I wrote. Though I am incapable of repeating it all, I will try. Oh no!!!!!!!!!!

Please have the habit of typing long posts first in notepad and after saving in your personal pc , copy and paste it here. It helps in many ways

[Ranganayaki]

No, you are not being finicky, and I ought to have been more thoughtful, especially because we enjoyed Shriram Kumar's playing so much. I'm about to fix it.

I've fixed it, but I've left "the violinist" in one spot because the line refers to the idea of an instrumentalist rather than Shriram Kumar specifically.

Rajesh, I've written long posts offline before, but I didn't know it was important to do that. I do know now.

[Ranganayaki]

TMK and Chowkakalam - A COMPLETE MISNOMER
just because TMK sings a kriti in a slow pace does not mean it is in chowkakalam. His renditions no way brings any essense of the raga properly. The same way he sing rapid fire swaras - he is immediately compared to seemangudi. Again a syupid comparison.

This guy's music has been hyped up so much !

Kalyani Ragam, I know you are responding to SankarNarayanan, but I had asked about the term. It would be helpful to explain why you think the term is wrong in this context.

Enjoyment of the arts is a personal and subjective thing. This discussion is about a single concert, and not about his Vidwat in general. Don't you think it's always nice to allow others to share their enjoyment? TMK brought everyone a lot of pleasure that day, so let's give him that.

[devma36]

yes, i totally agree with sri.kalyani_ragam. TMK is a much hyped singer, whatever he does being lapped up as if it has been done never before.

[kalyani_ragam]

[quote="srikant1987Do you mean the halls get so crowded and queues get so long that it's becomes difficult?[/quote]


I am not here to teach you english and I am sure u r pretty good at that. If you cant decipher based on context, god help you