Sanjay Subrahmanyan, SLNSS, Hyderabad-29 May,2011

[revanthv552]

Sri Lakshmi Nrisimha Seva Samithi of Secunderabad, organized a concert of Sanjay Subrahmanyan as a part of their annual festival. On the violin, he was accompanied by Sri Varadarajan, on the mridangam by Sri Neyveli Venkatesh and on the ghatam by Trichy Murali. It was wonderful to listen to Sanjay and the same team after a gap of three months. The concert they gave on February 17th, 2011 was the best concert I heard so far! It was really happy to have the same team perform again. The concert was full of popular pieces and thus everybody enjoyed it thoroughly. The information about the happening of the concert was not proper, so the venue was half empty despite the fact that it was a free concert. The song list,

1. Varnam-Kaanada-Ata taalam[S]
2. Bhavanutha-Mohana-Thyagaraja[S]
3. Sarasadalanayana-Khamas-Dikshitar[O]
4. Marivere dikkevarayya-Shanmukhapriya-Patnam Subramanya Iyer[R,N]
5. Sivakaamasundari-Mukhari-Papanasam Sivan[R]
6. Raasa Vilasa-Khamboji-Swathi Tirunal[R,S,T]
7. Haridasulu-Yaman kalyani-Thyagaraja
8. Kalilo Harismarana-Kaapi-Muthiah Bhagavathar[O]
9.Theril Erinaan-Kalyani-Papanasam Sivan[?]
10. Virutham-Durbari Kanada,Hamsanandhi,Komalangi
11. Narayananai thudi-Komalangi-Raghavaramanuja dasar
12. Dikku theriyadha kattil-Ragamalika-Subramanya Bharathi
13. Tunbam nergayil-Des-Bharathidasan
14. Virutham-Bimplas followed by Maname Kanamum-Bimplas-Papanasam Sivan
15. Pavamana-Sowrastram-Thyagaraja

The concert began with the detailed rendition of the varnam in two kaalams. He also a put a brief kalpana swarams at the charanam of the pallavi. Bhavanutha, came up next. It was sung in a very beautiful way. The sangathis were pleasing and the kalpana swaram was decent. Then he came up with a small outline of Khamas and rendered Sarasadalanayana. The alapana of Shanmukhapriya, the krithi rendition and the neraval was good. I was expecting swarakalpana here, but he did not sing. Artistes have their own mood for the day, so I should not complain. However, he moved to alapana of mukhari. It has been ages since we heard a good mukhari here in hyderabad. It was a beautiful alapana. Followed by the famous krithi. There was no kalpanaswaram for this either.
Next, He moved to khamboji. Now this was the best part of the concert, if you ask me. The alapana was perfect and went for a decent number of minutes. I really expected him to sing this krithi of Swathi Tirunal and to my joy, he did it. There was no neraval and the thaniavarthanam was good. The post-main items were many in number. I never heard Sanjay sing so many items after the main piece. The Muthiah Bhagavathar krithi was rendered so well, the entire venue swayed their heads to the tunes of this song! I personally loved it a lot. There is a youtube video where he sings this song. And the virutham went on for long time, followed by the komalangi piece.
I felt Sanjay was not at his usual extra ordinary self, but he was not bad either. It was a satisfactory concert.

[rshankar]

Revanth, thanks for that review. I was wondering if you were hibernating! It is great that he sang SivakAmasundari of Sri PS (mukhAri); I have only herad the Sri GKB kRti live (jaganmOhini). By the way, I think #9 should be tEril ErinAn (Eri and nAn as one word), and not tEril Eri nAn which will mean 'ascending (Eri) the chariot (tEril), I (nAn)', for IIRC, this song describes how kRshNa became pArthasArathi, right?

[revanthv552]

rshankar,

thanks for the corrections, will do the required.
He sings the mukhari piece very well. I also guess there is a commercial album with this song.

[arasi]

Ravi,
It isn't Revanth who hibernates. It's the Hyderabad CM scene When there's activity, Revanth is kind enough to report and review! With concerts taking place infrequently, surely there are many who are keen on attending them, if only they know about them! Chennai is king, granted, but Bengaluru can rightly boast of many concerts happening there these days--and thanks to Jayan and others, the newspapers can more or less be ignored when it comes to finding information about concerts.

Revanth,
Perhaps you should start a blog and keep others informed about H.Bad concerts
After all the hassle one goes through during the season to get tickets, Hyderabad sounds like Sleepy Hollow! Seats to spare, eh? Seriously, wish the organizers publicize their concerts more in your town. Don't get on my case if Sanjay's concert after three months (if that's when he'd be back again) is sold out! Get your ticket or invitation and spread the word about future concerts of all performers there!

nArAyaNanait tudippAi nenjamE avan nAmattai dinam bhajippAi.
The MukhAri of Sanjay's season (kArubAru--which is also on youtube and the one he sang in the nArAyaNi RTP (rAgamAlikA svarams) at Mumbai (also on youtube--posted by fellow member Balaji Sethuraman) were excellent. Would like to know what the viruttam pieces were...

[arasi]

Srikanth,
I know you're busy with work and Bengaluru traffic is another problem, but many karnATaka performers give concerts in various sabhas in Bengaluru. There are many HM concerts too. Yes, Ananya offers such good concerts and lectures that perhaps you do not need to go elsewhere. Seva Sadan too is close by (that is, if you live nearby).
It's healthy when there is an exchange of artistes among states. If we apply the same thing to Chennai, we wouldn't be hearing musicians from outside of tamizh nADu there, either singing or playing an instrument

Revanth might agree with me. Not that they have many concerts in her city, but she perhaps likes to hear the Andhra musicians as well as those from other states.

[srikant1987]

Arasi,

Sorry I deleted my post before you replied. It must have been so annoying.

Yes, true. I realised that I was being somewhat harsh. I live down south near Bommanahalli in one HSR Layout. Malleshwaram isn't exactly near-by, but I go there anyway.

And thank you for mentioning that we get to hear musicians from outside TN in Chennai too. My harsh-on-Bengaluru stance is mostly a result of people wishing Chennai encouraged people from other places (who sometimes don't get much encouragement from their own place!). :$

[arasi]

srikant,
I see what you were driving at. My feelings are that the place to be is Chennai. Within my family circle I've seen this happen! To be there 'visibly' seems to be the answer to this problem! At one time, I've complained too that Karnataka, Andhra and Kerala artistes do not get much of a chance in Chennai. Now, I see that it is changing somewhat.
By the way, I did not know that you could delete a post not merely in text but totally altogether!

[revanthv552]

arasi,

Even i was informed about the concert in the eleventh hour So could not post it anywhere. I knew Sanjay was coming but did not know when. I will definitely start a blog soon and put all my concert reports out there too along with the photographs. The main problem here in hyderabad is 80% of the concert hall is filled only with people who are 40+ The youngsters hardly come. The problem is that most of them have an assumption that Carnatic music is "slow" and "boooring"! I happened to interact with many and told them the little I knew about the heritage of Carnatic music. Many of them were surprised to know that Carnatic music is so rich and interesting. So, basically what is required here in Hyderabad is popularizing the art. I just hope it happens soon!
And the concert scene is pale, for there are a lot of issues within the two or three sabhas that organize the concert.

On the other side, I feel Hindusthani music is popular here. Every year in the month of December, Pt.Jasraj organizes a festival dedicated to his gurus, Pt.Motiram and Pt.Maniram. Its called Pt. Motiram and Pt.Maniram Sangeet Samaroh, I guess! Different artistes come and perform here. I happened to attend the concerts in 2008, when I was surprised by the number of people who turned out. The venue was full, and the ambiance was so good! People receive Hindusthani very well and I also spotted quite a few youngsters who turned up to these concerts.

The number of listeners of Carnatic music in Hyderabad is not less! For a few concerts, the turn out was so overwhelming. I still remember a concert of Sudha Ragunathan, where the people sat on floor, on steps, on any little place available in the venue and a few stood outside the venue to heard her sing. And also for concert of Bombay Jayashri, the hall was jam packed! Even for a few concerts of Sanjay Subrahmanyam, Priya sisters and Malladi bros, I saw the hall being completely packed. But thats only once in a while. That clearly shows us that Hyderabad does not lack listeners but the somehow very few make it to the concerts and hence the poor scene. Now the reason for this thing, I never understand!

All that apart, Last week, I missed a concert of M.S.Sheela. I did not know she was in the city, I always wanted to listen to her! But due to no prior notice about the concert I could not go. I read the concert review in the paper. She sang an amazing Malayamarutham is what I read. I so wish I could listen to her in live

And about the artistes we listen to in hyderabad. Concerts only happen in the months of November and the period of February-March. And those who come are definitely the very popular artistes from Chennai. But we dont get to listen to all the good musicians. And artistes from Karnataka and Kerala hardly are invited to perform here. So we dont get to listen to anyone except for the few very very popular names. I wish I could listen to more and more artistes. We people are always thirsty for music! As we get the treats only once in a blue moon. And the moment we know there is a concert, we will try by all means to be there! "We" here refers to the tiny number of those very dedicated rasikas of Hyderabad who never miss any concert that happens here.

Luckily we get to listen to good number of Andhra artistes, as the smaller sabhas organize many concerts of these artistes. But even that is once in a while. Now I am eagerly waiting for Pantula Rama garu's concert on June 11th Wish the other rasikas from Hyderabad in this forum will try and make it to that concert. The venue is Thyagaraja gana sabha.

[arasi]

Revanth,
That's a nice write up from you--just as I expected!
Going back to the concert you enjoyed, there seem to be a number of viruttams in your list. Do you remember any of them?

[mahavishnu]

Revanth might agree with me. Not that they have many concerts in her city, but she perhaps likes to hear the Andhra musicians as well as those from other states

Oh, here I was thinking Revanth is a young lad

[arasi]

Mahavishnu,
She's still studying, I think...

[bilahari]

Revanth IS a young lad! (Not a "she". Ahem.)

[arasi]

Bilahari,
Is that so? Apologies, Revanth! I had imagined you to be a young woman since I first read what you wrote about the music festival where all organizers are women. Now I wonder...did this question crop up once before? The old lady is getting more absent minded, it seems...

[srikant1987]

Hmm, even I thought Revanth was a young lad. The youngness generally shows in the posts, and I vaguely remember a mentions of his studies -- I think he even attended (or missed?) a concert just before some exam.

The lad part came from his handle, actually. But we have well-known examples of handles not being very representative of the member's gender, so I was thinking I was the one mistaken from Arasi's "she"s. =)

[revanthv552]

@arasi,
haha, thats alright
I've been following the forum from the time I was 16 or so. Now I am in my 20s. Many of my earlier concert reports clearly show my youngness and immaturity. As I grew up I started understanding what exactly should one expect and look for in a concert
And about my studies,
I finished my Btech 2nd yr this summer, will be into the 3rd year now.

@Srikant1987, Always this happens. Before my exam I have a concert and I make it a point to attend the concert despite the exam fear You see, here in Hyderabad exams come again and again but The musicians and their concerts hardly come. And all the concerts that I attend during the exam time are AMAZING I still remember a concert of TNS, which I attended right before my board exam in chemistry, back in 2008! (Amazing Gaanamurthi and Kalyani ragams and a beautiful RTP in Hindolam) Unforgettable experience is what I get, from these concerts !

And about the viruthams,
Yeah arasi, I make a notes of every concert I attend. I did jot down the lines of the viruthams.
The virutham preceeding the komalangi piece was rendered in ragamalika.
The Durbari kanada lines began with "oorilen kani illai", the hamsanandhi was "kundram endhi"( alwar's composition?) and the komalangi was "Kulam tharum"
The bimplas piece was preceeded by "Vey ozhu tholi". I am not sure if the words are correct as I am not very good with Tamil. These were the viruthams. The first virutham was elaborate and beautiful, went for long time. The second virutham was a short one( The one that preceeded "Maname Kanamum")

[rajeshnat]

The bimplas piece was preceeded by "Vey ozhu tholi". I am not sure if the words are correct as I am not very good with Tamil.

Chiranjeevi Revanthv552,
The only Deccan charger who writes reviews , you are exactly listening to CM in the age where I completely lost touch with that . This no is vEyuRu thOLi pangan - KOloru paDigam by thirugnanasambandar. Your thamizh is 100 times better than my telugu.

[revanthv552]

Chiranjeevi Revanthv552,
The only Deccan charger who writes reviews , you are exactly listening to CM in the age where I completely lost touch with that . This no is vEyuRu thOLi pangan - KOloru paDigam by thirugnanasambandar. Your thamizh is 100 times better than my telugu.

haha Thanks for that rajeshnat. I actually learnt tamizh to understand the compositions and conversations Half of the interviews and tv programs on Carnatic music are in tamizh, so somehow managed to learn it. Thanks for the information on the virutham.

[arasi]

Revanth,
So, it turned out to be a rich in viruttams concert, then! In another thread, we are discussing bhAvam. Viruttams and SlOkams are perfect when it comes to conveying bhAvam. They also give all of you 'tAlam-keen' folks a rest to appreciate more of bhAvam, and the musicians to take a rest from 'kaNakku and vazhakku' (which is an expression). vazhakku is also vazhakkam, habit--here, the habit of keeping beat in a concert--so, viruttams give bhAvam the prominence along with AlApanai and neraval but even more emphatically. Then again, it's possible to invest bhAvam in svarams too. Bless CM!

Rajesh,
I wouldn't underestimate your tamizh. When it comes to songs, you are very good! So, no excuses about your not being able to read poetry. They're only a page long each, if at all