BMK on UKS

[ramarama]

This weekend saw a splendid overdose of Carnatic music at a school auditorium in Singapore - BMK, Sowmya, Hyd Bros, V Shankaranarayanan, and Unnikrishnan, accompanied by the likes of Nagai Sriram, RKSK, UKS, Tanjavur Murugaboopathy, Neyveli Narayanan,(Singapore based kanjira artiste)Trivandrum Rajagopal, Anirudh Athreya.

Just wanted to share a fun moment - BMK was his usual exuberant self, and having a lot of fun interacting with UKS throughout the concert (oddly, Anirudh Athreya only played the kanjira for the tani) - and when he finished his swara cascades for Kalyani and turned over to UKS for the tani, UKS gently asked him to sing a few more swaras "for me" (in Tamizh), so BMK obliged by singing a few more sequences to serve as a taking off point for the tani. And then, at the end of the tani (way beyond my expertise to even say a word about what sounded pretty exquisite), BMK said with a hint of a smile but in a fairly straight tone (in tamizh again) "Sivaraman is one mridangam player who has no idea how to play the mridangam" .... shocked silence all around ... and you can imagine the electricity in the air on stage .... and then BMK says "he sings on the mridangam." Quick recovery then from UKS to say "to hear this from a legend like BMK is like getting the nobel prize."

Was fab to listen to the vaggeyakara sing his Kathanakutuhalam tillana with UKS playing the sollus at the appropriate moments. And the next day, the Hyd Bros sang a nattai BMK song right in front of the vaggeyakara sitting on the front row, enjoying his own composition as an audience member.

Something really special I think in listening to top notch vaggeyakaras singing their own compositions, with top flight accompaniment. Thanks, Music Circle for a wonderful weekend!

[Rsachi]

Yes, Ramarama, even via the Carnatica Utsav webcast in Q4 2012 we could catch the magic of these two maestros.
it is a bit like McEnroe and Maradona wre still playing at their peak!

[gnb]

Indeed, it is the same "you scratch my back, I scratch your back" syndrome again! Why do these established musicians resort to such cheap gimmicks? I guess there is a fan following that glorifies such pedestrian show.

[Ramasubramanian M.K]

GNB: We old timers(I m including you in the group!!) need to lighten up. Such on-stage "gimmickry" or genuine exchange of compliments" have been part and parcel of the Musician Circles. I remember Ariyakudi when singing Sabapathikku(how eclectic of a Veera vaishanvite to sing a Shivan song!!!) would pause in the line "Kripanidhi Ivar Ai Pola Pirakkumo" pointing to Palghat Mani Iyer much to the amusement of the audience!! I never felt in those days ARI almost 22 years senior was pandering to Palghat mani Iyer !!

Having said this my humble opinion is that UVS is noted for his Tanjore alacrity not only in Mridangam but also repartees(after all let's not forget he studied Law!!) so as much as we watch this MAS(Mutual Admiration Society) it is par for the course.I have seen his interactions with Neyveli Sanhanagopalan or Malladi Bros.
Seniority has its privileges and such 'stage-one-upmanship" is one of them!!

[Nick H]

oddly, Anirudh Athreya only played the kanjira for the tani

This I don't like. What is the point of having the guy sit there if he is not to play? That's what's wrong with the mutual admiration society thing: what's the point of it if they cannot give a fellow musician time and chance to play?

[ramarama]

Nick, that was extremely awkward and odd and unsettling throughout the concert. It appeared like he was waiting for a cue to start playing but never got it - several times, he would remove the kanjira from its case, tap it a bit close to his ear to check that it was in good playing condition perhaps, but never played at all - BMK too seemed to look backwards a few times to see why there was no sound from that side but Tanjavur Murugaboopathy was sitting right behind him (not playing the mridangam, just seated behind as an assistant offering the occasional beverage sip) so BMK didn't have a direct line of sight to AA. It was a relief that he did get to play for the tani. I often wonder what the protocol is with the upa-pakkavadyam - they never seem to start playing from the first avartanam, just sort of respectfully wait until given some nod of recognition. And some mridangam artistes often seem to just jump in whenever the violin is playing returns too, especially as the swaras get more complex and furious.

Something similar happened a few years ago, when UKS accompanied MSG and Narmada - a local ghatam artiste appeared very reluctant to play very much during the actual performance.

[Nick H]

As far as I know, which isn't very far, the protocol is simply that they remain silent through the pallavi and join for the anupallavi, and, with deference to the mridangist, play the returns --- but there is a huge flexibility in this, sometimes giving them a larger, sometimes a smaller, share.

Where the mridangist "takes charge," I feel that he should not only give as well as take, but also remember that the mixture of sound textures, the orchestration, is also for the benefit of the audience. Great as any individual may be, we do not necessarily want to listen to wall-to-wall mridangam from beginning to end. It is a wonder, in itself, that the mridangist is capable of playing through everything but the alapana for several hours, but yes, we know they can do it. We got that point!

[harimau]

GNB: We old timers(I m including you in the group!!) need to lighten up. Such on-stage "gimmickry" or genuine exchange of compliments" have been part and parcel of the Musician Circles.

I have a tape of MDR singing Rama Nee Samanam Evaru. As he elaborates the sangathis, he sings, "Jayarama Nee Samanam Evaru", a not-so-sly reference to Sri Lalgudi Jayaraman who is playing the violin!

[harimau]

(oddly, Anirudh Athreya only played the kanjira for the tani)

Somehow, the chemistry isn't right between UKS and Anirudh. Even in Chennai, UKS will not allow Anirudh to play much... not as much as he encourages his chela Sreesundar Kumar.

You would notice that even in the tani, Anirudh plays much shorter versions of the various nadais.

Anirudh has to go along as he doesn't want to antagonize someone like UKS. Same thing goes for B S Purushothaman.

My observations from the music scene in Chennai. YMMV.

[annamalai]

(oddly, Anirudh Athreya only played the kanjira for the tani)

This is hierarchical discrimination (like caste discrimination)

The mridangist complains big time, when he gets tani towards the end of the performance, he feels the main artists do not treat him fairly.
But in turn, he does not give any chance to Kanjari. It is remarkable G. Harishankar was able to survive all this treatment.

There was a famous incident at Bangalore (reported in Sruti magazine) when the mridangist, did not give any opportunity for the Kanjira during the concert and when he offered a turn during Tani, the Kanjira declined. The vocalist was totally non-plussed and had to intervene.

Madurai Somu who performs with a full bench (Mridangam, Ghatam, Kanjira, Morsing) - would say - round la varanum, round la varanum.

[sureshvv]

That's what's wrong with the mutual admiration society thing: what's the point of it if they cannot give a fellow musician time and chance to play?

Don't think you can blame the "mutual admiration society" thing as the main artiste may not have a hand in this.

[arasi]

"round-le varaNum "(each one has his turn)--how very Somu-like! Bless him!

Nick's "also remember that the mixture of sound textures, the orchestration is also for the benefit of the audience. Great as an individual may be, we do not necessarily want to listen to a wall to wall mrudangam from beginning to the end'' says what most of us feel, I think.

[Nick H]

Don't think you can blame the "mutual admiration society" thing as the main artiste may not have a hand in this.

Whilst the responsibility seems to have been given, by convention, to the mridangist to organise "his" crew, the main artist is still very much the one in charge. Many people would like to see the team on stage recognised as a team, with a little less spotlight on the "soloist," who actually never sings "solo" at all. Some spotlight is fine, but let it be turned down enough so that the others are not left in the dark.

The speech makers love to trot out the epithets humble and sincere, after all, whether they are true or not.

Anyway, the main artist is in charge. Many a time I have seen a main artist indicate to kanjira, ghatam, etc artist to play, and they don't stop to check with the mridangist first

Sometimes the mridangist is more than fair in these matters anyway, allowing sections of solo play to the other, or inviting them to take the lead in kalpana swara. It takes all sorts.

Sometimes, I suspect, the mridangist may even be glad of a few minutes rest! He is expected to play without support for entire concerts most of the time.

There was a famous incident at Bangalore (reported in Sruti magazine) when the mridangist, did not give any opportunity fo

This lives with stories such as the vocalist asking the mridangist why he should have a thani when he has been playing one for the whole concert

Mostly, we see only the presentation from the stage. We are not aware of background frictions or difficulties artists may have with one another. Mostly that is a good thing! For the most part, I suppose that these people (they are people, after all) do get on pretty well and function as colleagues and community. But...

Somehow, the chemistry isn't right between UKS and Anirudh. Even in Chennai, UKS will not allow Anirudh to play much.

...Isn't this the sort of thing that the sabha secretaries should be aware of?

"round-le varaNum "(each one has his turn)

Says it all! But it is an imperfect world. (Thanks, arasi, for the translation)

[arasi]

main artiste and the mrudangist--both can see to it that others get their chance to play. I personally do like the mrudangist play for the vocalist and let upa-pakka to play for the violinist, except when the mrudangist joins in occasionally as the end of a cycle.

Nicholas,
Half of Somu's expression is from your language and it doesn't help at all! That's why I translated

[annamalai]

I have heard that Alathur Brothers wanted to have Kanjira (instead of Ghatam) since it adds to the base tone in their concerts.
It is wonderful to listen to their rendition of Endundi Vedalithivo (Durbar) or Dhyaname Varamaina (Dhanyasi) - alternating between Mridangam and Kanjira.
This can happen only if the mridangist allows gaps and lets a turn for the upapakkavadhyam.

[gnb]

Talking about upapakkavadhyam, my experience in India to a smaller extent and in NA to a larger extent is this. The upapakkavadhyam artists in NA (Ghatam and Khanjira in particular) tend to go low when playing with mridangists from India. But when they play with NA artists, they go all over the place with no compunction for the traditional format and often fail miserably. I have noted this with a particular khanjira player who also wields lot of power in Cleveland. He is good , but just average. But due to his clout, gets a lot of slots and screws up most pf the time. This can easily be rectified.

[ramarama]

"This can easily be rectified." Heh! Sounds kinda ominous!

[arasi]

"Gets a lot of chances to play, but 'screws up'': Yes, gets a lot of chances, but not the latter, in my view.This is the view of a lay layam person, of course.

"He's good, but average" : Both are agreeable choices.

"Wields a lot of power?" : I'm not sure at all about that. But I do know that he's one of the reasons we have come this far with CM in the US and for our music to be flourishing there.

[gnb]

Hey Rasikas, I am not pointing fingers at this one particular person. I have seen a Ghatam artist trained in India and then was in Singapore before coming to the US and go on to get a PhD in Computer Scenice. In the US, he does exactly the same thing. When he plays with Indian mridangists, he is meak and goes by the rules. But when he is playing with NA mridangists he cares too hoots and goes on as though he is the main percussionist!

[arasi]

Yes, it's possibly the personality of the artiste which comes into play and causes this taking over!
Somu's 'Round-le varaNum' are golden words to be remembered by those who occupy the stage.

As for the said khanjari player, it isn't true, in my view. I've seen one or two domineering side players in my life, and this individual is not one bit like them Enthusiastic, yes. Overwhelming, no.