TMK-Nagaraj-Karaikudi Mani-V Suresh

[srikant1987]

Sri TM Krishna - Vocal
Mysore Sri Nagaraj - Violin
Karaikudi Sri Mani - Mridangam
Sri V Suresh - Ghatam

Ganapathi Sacchidananda Ashrama, Girinagara, Bengaluru
11 Feb 2012

evari bOdhana - AbhOgi - Adi - PSI (varNam)
nenaruncarA nApaini - simha vAhini - Adi - T (NS @ tyAgarAjapAla suguNa shIla)
suvarcalAmbA - kAmavardhani - Adi - ? (R, S @ pallavi)
dEvi brOva samayamidE - cintAmaNi - Adi - SS
ElAvatAramu - mukhAri - Adi - T (R, N @ shatarAga ratnamAlika)
?

It was a good concert.

During the swarams for nanarunca rAvEmi, after finishing his own long round of swarams which included a koraippu, Sri Krishna asked Sri Nagaraj to play a koraippu to which he sang replies. It took them some time for them to make this sensible: Sri Nagaraj initially instinctively carried forward Krishna's koraippu into his, where as Krishna's own weren't very well connected to what Sri Nagaraj played. However, there was a round where Sri Nagaraj made an obvious move by playing a round which went upto tAra ni, to which Krishna had an obvious reply.

I liked Sri Nagaraj's kAmavardhani AlApanai. I felt Krishna's could have been a little more structured, though it had many very nice passages. Also, the tambura (there wasn't any electronic 'tambura' visible), volume was a little inaudible in the large amplification provided to Krishna, which definitely takes away something from kAmavardhini AlApanais.

The kAmavardhani krti makes a mention of Sri Sacchidananda in the charanam. It was sung in Adi-1, but is a weighty, slow and very nice krti.

There were only kIzhkAla swarams in kAmavardhani. TMK sang very beautiful swarams. Sri Nagaraj's final long round didn't seem to be decorated sufficiently with gamakams and sounded rather flat.

dEvi brOva samayamidE was beautifully (sparsely) rendered. It had the rgs for "nA (vetalu)", which I don't like -- I like the sa sung as a jAru (from pa) or even plain instead, but the overall rendition was very effective and nice.

Just as the dEvi brOva was concluding, I had a sudden craving for kArubAru. I was happy when Krishna began mukhAri though it wasn't to be kArubAru eveutually

The mukhAri didn't have the "force" that I consider essential for it. But both TMK and Sri Nagaraj did a good mukhAri. I liked Sri Nagaraj's usage of pdppm but I sorely missed a rss. Krishna had a ravai in the tArasthAyi, but it was a slow one, not the kind I wanted.

I planned to leave as soon as the mukhAri krti was done as it was getting late. Unfortunately, the neraval was begun in between the krti and I couldn't listen to the whole krti as a result.

A good concert, overall, but nothing mind-blowing. Perhaps having one or two numbers more and briskening things would've allowed more chance for Aha moments. The kAmavardhani krti and its rendition were the highlight for me.

[Sindhuja]

TMK started with a varnam?!

[harimau]

TMK started with a varnam?!

Maybe he was asking himself whose advice ("evari bodhana") he was following until now!

[eppramod]

I was fortunate to attend NSG sir @ Odukkathur Mutt.It was a good concert.

[girish_a]

I was there.

After Mukhari, he sang a short Kannada composition in Hamsanaada (I think it is Sri Swami Ganapati Satchidananda's composition). Next, he sang Govardhana Giridhaara - he first sang a rather elaborate sloka in three raagas starting with Kedara Gowla, switching to Shahana and Mohana before finally getting to Darbaari Kaanada. I very much liked the way he switched from Mohana to Darbari Kaanada - it was very sudden, but very cleverly, and beautifully, executed - with great "Soukhya"; and everybody present spontaneously acknowledged it with appreciative nods of the head, not to mention the inevitable "Aahs!" which could be heard all around. It was really beautiful, a moment to savour. I wish I could remember the exact notes (I think he was at the gandhara in Mohana, and there was no feeling of Mohana coming to an end, but then he sang another gandhara in darbaari, but I am not sure of the exact sequence). And he brought great "bhaava" into the singing of the composition.

He followed this up with "Naada vindu kalaadi" in chenchuruti, which he sung beautifully at just the right pace.

Pavamaana was the MangaLa piece.

The vote of thanks was at the very end - the audience was requested to stay on for some more time. Somebody made a speech in English, which was embarassingly extravagant in its praise of the music and the musicians, with hyperboles thrown in generously; evidently the person who spoke was not schooled musically, but nevertheless, he was a good man and had good intentions

After the speech, the artists were honoured by one of the monks in Ganapathi Satchidananda Swamiji's organization.

[srikant1987]

Thank you, girish_a, for completing the list and report.

TMK started with a varnam?!

varNams often have a romantic interpretation and many vidwans avoid them for concerts (like this one) that are held in temples.

evari bOdhana (varNa). rAgA: AbhOgi. Adi tALA.

P: evari bOdhanavini IlAgu jEsEvurA
M:Listening to whom you are doing all this?

A: javamuga nannElarA shESAcalEndra shrI venkaTEshA
M:shESAcalEndra shrI venkaTEshA,come and save [ACCEPT] me soon.

C: mArubAri kOrvajAlanurA
M:I can't bear this seperation / loanliness.
-- http://promiserani.proboards.com/index. ... &thread=64

Now let's see how people storm into this thread ...

[arasi]

Srikant,
Are varNams not supposed to be sung in temples? I don't know. Perhaps not a padam or jAvaLi--varNam too?
Now, forgetting it's a varNam, just looking at the meaning here, I think it could well be a composition of TyagarAja.

In temples, they also have dance performances. Are varNams not included in a program at a temple?

Well, I'm not so sure.

[mahavishnu]

Srikant, that is patently untrue.

As Arasi says, varNams are key part of a temple dance performance. I have personally seen dance performances in temples that have featured detailed varnams (including heritage sites like the Tanjore big temple and Chidambaram that have been hosting bharatanatyam peformances for centuries).

The story about not singing Javalis in temples is also false. Here is a link to Ramnad Krishnan singing, Charumati Upacharamu, a Javali at the kapAli temple almost five decades ago. http://www.kalakendra.com/shopping/ramn ... -1756.html (see track 8).

[sureshvv]

C: mArubAri kOrvajAlanurA
M:I can't bear this seperation / loanliness.

Clearly this was sung at a bank to an ICICI collection agent especially with the prevailing interest rates!

[arasi]

You mean, 'loan' lessness

[thenpaanan]

Srikant,
Are varNams not supposed to be sung in temples? I don't know. Perhaps not a padam or jAvaLi--varNam too?
Now, forgetting it's a varNam, just looking at the meaning here, I think it could well be a composition of TyagarAja.

In temples, they also have dance performances. Are varNams not included in a program at a temple?

Well, I'm not so sure.

As far as I know most, if not all, varnams of yore had the nAyika bhAva (amorous longing). If I recall correctly it was Lalgudi Jayaraman who pointed out this out in some lecture -- I don't know if his own varnams are in the same fashion or whether contemporary varnam composers have stuck to this constraint.

-Thenpaanan

[srikant1987]

As far as I know most, if not all, varnams of yore had the nAyika bhAva (amorous longing). If I recall correctly it was Lalgudi Jayaraman who pointed out this out in some lecture -- I don't know if his own varnams are in the same fashion or whether contemporary varnam composers have stuck to this constraint.

Not all. Not Shyama Shastri's varNams, for example -- dayAnidhE in bEgaDa, Adi and nA manavini in saurAShTra, caturashra aTa -- have a devotional theme. Incidentally, Sri N Vijay Siva began the rasikas group Shyama Shastri special concert held in a Mambalam temple with dayAnidhE.

[ganeshkant]

I am inquisitive to know whether T or D composed varnams !