sankara tv bhajan samrat finale

[gobilalitha]

http://www.istream.com/tv/watch/177188/ ... erformance
posting the bhajans from a group of farmers who have no basic knowledge of any form of music, who work in the fields from morning to evening and then practice. high pitched voices, touchig all octaveseffortlessly. singing with bhavam and bhakti. astonishing. they were awarded thesecond price of 4lakhs. they are from a village near Hubli , karnataka
courtesy sri sankara tv

[thanjavooran]

Shri Gobilalitha Avl,
Many thanx for the link. Really I missed this programme. Now I am happy.
Once again thanks.

Thanjavooran 18 09 2012

[gobilalitha]

Thank you Sri Thanjavooran, A BIT DISAPPOINTED. I was hoping that more friends would have enjoyed and commented. . Should we not encourage these people who has no facilities for training, finance etc. PURE DEVOTION AND BHAKTI. What a downpour of sangatis, birghas!! May God bless them

[Ranganayaki]

I do understand your disappointment, GBL. I feel touched, and wondered how anyone could sing so well without training. I feel it must be from the devotion, and from sheer native musicality. It must be intutive singing, relying unconsciously on sensitivity to melody and its balance like riding a bicycle, a complete lack of inhibition, just pure enjoyment of both the Hari / Ranga and the sound.

Thanks for the clip.

[Sreeni Rajarao]

That was nice to read about and watch!

Thanks for initiating the thread and providing the link!

[kvchellappa]

I did tune in and enjoy, that as well as the winners' performance.
I was wondering why Sowmya, who was there all along, was missing in the final.

[smala]

Thank you for the link - each team was just so wonderful and some songs simply made the hair stand on end with the vibrancy, bhakti and soul-stirring melody.

[PUNARVASU]

GBL Sir, thank you for the link. What a divine music ,coming from the heart. They sang for HIM and HIM alone!

[venkatakailasam]

gopilalitha...

See all final episodes here...

http://www.istream.com/tv/show/326/Bhajan-Samrat

http://www.istream.com/tv/watch/177239/ ... erformance

(GK Shetty Vivekananda's final performance)...

A song on Mahaperiva was heart blowing.....

[gobilalitha]

Thanks VK SIR, similarly there is a group from Rajastan appearing to be rustic who also sing marvellously w/o any inhibitions. I heard them in the late 90s or early 2000 in TVS SAREGAMA anchored by Sonu NIGAM IN Zee tv, i wish some friend posts it

[smala]

Without knowing the winner of the Bhajan Samrat title I listened to each group sing.

Among all, I found Vishwa Vidyalaya to be simply exceptional in their delivery of Bhajan. Stunningly musical, sweet and melodious and very pleasing incorporating so much bhakti, bhavam that Sri Jalota laid back with eyes closed lost in their rendition of Surdas. Just their start of Rama Rama Rama and then Janakikantha smaranam Jai Jai Rama Rama blew you away - no other group sang so delightfully, the invocations in between bhajans! With innovative and very supportive team techniques, I feel they are very very talented and as predicted by Sri Anup Jalota and Srimati Sudha, will make great waves in the future. I hope they keep striving on this strength of togetherness.

They were a "wild card" entry into the finals having lost in the semi-finals by one point, and later, I found out they were the winners of Bhajan Samrat 2012. Well deserved!
What is truly remarkable is that these children have no music or related tradition in their familes. In the interview and earlier, in response to Smt. Sowmya's remarks, the Bhajan teachers of Vishwa Vidyalaya said these children came from economically weaker homes, where fathers were drivers or mechanics. The Bhajan teacher who taught them Bhajans with a Carnatic base, stated that she recognized these children had a special gift from God and that she had not seen such talent from homes, say in West Mambalam, where she also taught groups. The boy on the harmonium had never played a keyboard or knew music but had picked up playing to be on stage by simply listening to the group singing! So, along with the wonderful Basavesvara group of non-music tradition farmers that won second place, this sweet refreshing group from Vishwa Vidyalaya that won the Samrat title, is just extra-ordinary.


GK Shetty was very good too and had you energized as in a Bhajan Mandal. At times, as was pointed by the judges, they shouted into the mikes.

All five finalists were wonderful and encouraged through a fair way of rewarding. Great job by Sankara TV.

The end segment of prize-giving was chaotic.

[smala]

Judge for your self. If you missed this one, you missed something Divinely spectacular!

http://www.istream.com/tv/watch/177237/ ... erformance

[VK RAMAN]

awesome and mesmerizing. Thank you smala

[smala]

Thanks VK Raman. Thanks are due to Sri Gobilalitha for pointing us to the Basvesvara group and Sri Vkailasam for posting the main link on istream. I am both excited and delighted that Sankara TV has inaugurated this program.

Like Sri Gobilalitha, I too am disappointed that there's been scant response to this very laudable program, in particular, the discovery of deeply talented singers from non-affluent homes and extra-ordinary circumstances, sublime music with a spiritual high - so much further ahead than the much-touted "Carnatic Idol" its middle-to-upper class patronage, not to mention the restrictive sectarian character of this latter event.

[VK RAMAN]

Interested fans among our rasikas for bhajans is very limited and most of our rasikas are most interested in CMs. This is true among many CM concert going rasikas.

[smala]

The story of the rise of Vishwa Vidyalaya's team as bhajan singers was crafted in another plane by a Master Craftsman.

Those interested in following the story of a 10-year old from a village, attending Vishwa Vidyalaya and a prinicpal and vice-principal who were themselves endowed with the gift of recognition, read on :

....
"The atmosphere was electric. The occasion - grand, and the milieu – the best indoor stadium in New Delhi, the capital of India. While the rest of the city was slowly slipping into slumber after the day’s toil, the Talkatora Stadium was ecstatically abuzz with frenzied activity. A great spectacle was about to unfold. It was past nine on that momentous night of February 11, 2006, and the over four hundred thousand music lovers filled every inch of space; the cool air was laden with a sense of exhilaration and excitement, and at the same time, eager expectation.

The grand finale of the National Talent Hunt for young vocalists, organized by the internationally renowned Sangam Kala Group was striding along, and the audience’s anticipation had indeed hit a high note. They reveled and rejoiced, screamed and shouted, as the stadium reverberated with the scintillating songs of the budding artists. Suddenly, the assembly fell silent. In fact, silence gripped the whole ambience; but for one melodious voice.

A frail and simple-looking girl had begun her devotional rendering Dayaku Premaku Roopu Dalchina Daivama, Sai Daivama …. in Telugu. The experience was out of the ordinary. Mesmerised by the melody, and overwhelmed with the soulful emotion that exuded from the little performer, the spectators became still and speechless. For the next ten minutes, an unusual serenity seemed to envelope their being.

It touched the inner core of every heart, including the highly accomplished judges from tinsel town. When the results were announced, little Jayalakshmi, became a national star. She stood second in that prestigious competition and instantly the spotlight was turned on a little girl with a mighty talent, who suddenly transformed into the cynosure of everyone’s eyes, especially the professionals from the music industry.

"Ten-year old from Rural Tamil Nadu takes Delhi’s Music Mandarins by Storm'
Sounds like a headline from a tabloid, or a fictitious fairy tale, isn’t it? But it is as real as the story that went into making of a national star out of a poor village girl.

Remarkably, just a year earlier, little Jayalakshmi did not even know that she had it in her to sing! Her electrifying performance at the Talkatora Stadium in the nation’s capital was the very first time in her young life that Jaya had sung a solo in front of such a large gathering. Her earlier experience had been limited to singing as part of a group.

If the ignorance of her latent talent is surprising, her home situation is simply shocking, yet it is typical of millions of disadvantaged children in developing countries.

Two hours prior to leaving her home on the journey to New Delhi and stardom, little Jaya did not even have a decent pair of slippers or a presentable dress to wear, for such luxuries were unthinkable for her illiterate father, who earlier drove a truck and now, as a result of a serious injury, drives an auto-rickshaw, and struggles every single day to provide two square meals to his three daughters. The family’s home is a tiny hut in the poverty ridden Manivakkam village, in the outskirts of the city of Chennai (formerly known as Madras ) in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu!

Heartwarming Spirit of Camaraderie

Upon hearing the news of Jaya’s imminent departure to Delhi, to participate in the talent hunt, her classmates spontaneously and immediately offered her their best dresses, slippers and other accessories for use. Her school Principal procured her travel tickets and made all other arrangements, while the Vice Principal, Ms. Vasumathi, personally accompanied her to New Delhi, given that Jaya’s parents had neither any clue about their child’s talent, nor the enormous significance of the competition, and certainly no resources or inclination to send her so far.

A Lotus Blooms in the Murky Waters

When Jaya returned triumphant, the children made huge banners to welcome her, while all her teachers voluntarily contributed to present her with a gold ring. The parents of Jaya, in awe and wonder at the sudden turn of events, had no words to say, except to express their gratitude. “Whatever good has happened in our life, it is because of the School! Two of my daughters are able to study there, because the School has arranged for scholarships. My daughter has won many prizes, but I have no clue. It is all due to the loving teachers of the School.”

Today, Jayalaksmi is a rising star, an idol for her friends, pride of her parents, and more importantly, an ideal for society. In spite of their poverty, she exudes a remarkable sense of personal dignity and self-confidence, rather refreshing for her age, as she asserts, “I will never sing cheap songs for money; I will sing only those who extol the Lord. I am what I am because of my school and my dear teachers. I will walk on the path they have shown me.”

This is the story of the Lead singer R. Jayalakshmi who today at 16, is in her first year of college.

*******
The Hindu, dated Mar 17, 2006

Sri Vishwa Vidyalaya Matric H.S.S., Vandalur

R. Jayalakshmi of Sri Vishwa Vidyalaya Matric H.S.S., Vandalur was the sole prize winner from the city at the national singing talent hunt conducted by Sangam Kala group, held at New Delhi.
*******
See her picture with her family, at age 10.
http://media.radiosai.org/journals/Vol_ ... rstory.htm

[smala]

Sri VKRaman, aren't the Dasar compositions and many others sung in this program also sung in CM concerts by *select* CM musicians?

[VK RAMAN]

Dasar, Tyagaraaja, Ramadasu, annamayya, Ottukkadu, etc etc compositions are all part of South Indian sampradaya bhajans but the perception of such rendition are not held in the same esteem as CM concert.

[smala]

Maybe if we threw out the fact that Sowmya was a judge for the Round Robin selections and Challenge Rounds, *some* folks here on rasikas might take notice! Might add too that Sudha Ranganathan was a judge for the finals.

Sowmya's expressions when Vishwa Vidyalaya sang, her praise of the team singers with some constructive suggestions, her addressing Bharani Kumar on the harmonium she was his "fan"...might add something, perhaps.

Not expecting too much, though. If 'rasikas" miss the forest for the trees in their understanding of CM music - caught in its own web of intricacies - perhaps all one can say is that there is music and then there is music with Divinity and then there are Divine singers.

As quoted by the Judge on the Wild Card round, Narada stated in Vishnupurana that he's not to be found in the obvious places but in the hearts of such children... and that Hari must be immensely pleased with them.

[smala]

Raga Jog never usually employed in bhajans, so one judge says, and Sowmya was all praise for this unique rendition of Annamaya's aakaTi vELala alapaina vELalanu...

http://www.istream.com/tv/watch/100738/ ... 5-Complete

[venkatakailasam]

There were plenty of participation by these young talents...one can view at You Tube...

A Mixing of their rendition at jaya TV.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I383CREFf7Y

[smala]

This is an important clip on an extra-ordinary team that won the title, Bhajan Samrat, 2012.

Listen to what the Music Teachers of Vishwa Vidyalaya have to say first.
Then listen to Sowmya's feedback about their Learning Curve.

S. V. Usha trained Vishwa Vidhyalaya singing with a Carnatic base.

Vasumathi, Vice-Principal helped with other details, co-ordination and improvement.

http://www.istream.com/tv/watch/171108/ ... -Vidyalaya

[smala]

S.V. Usha one of the two teachers responsible for Vishwa Vidyalaya's win.

http://www.aptclasses.com/ClassesTutors/Chennai.aspx