TM Krishna at Ranjani fine arts on 9.2.2013

[kssr]

Song list

1. Enta veduko..O Raghava. Saraswathi manohari. Neraval at Chinta deetsuta. also Swaram. Very slow pace expansive, leisurely.
2. Karaharapriya Ragam sketch_ Chakkani raja. Two rounds Neraval on pallavi line at sub-low octave. Sancharam at Anu Mandira sthayi. Got an applause.
3. Parulana Malta nammava in Kapi. Swaram.
4. Ragam Chenjuti completed by Sriramkumar. Then naadanaamakriya, sindhubhairavi and punnaGavarali-all raagaas then Neenyaakao nine hangyaako in the same set of ragas. Going back and forth in the four ragas. Quite wonderful. The ease of transition by both artists reminded TNS.
5. Bilahari Ragam. Followed by mukhtari Ragam. Stop. TMK announced that the Ragams were unconnected with each other and the item to follow is unconnected to either Ragam. Than came Varnam Nera Nammithi in kaanada followed by thani avarthanam.
6. PaarukkuLLe nalla naadu in Kapi.
7. Audience request for Vaadinen vaadi an azhwar pasuram in Varali, neelambari, Sahana and behag as viruttam. Behag javali vagalaadi bothanaku valachithio.
8. MD nottu swaram Vande Meenakshi in 2 kaalams
9. bhavamaana-mangalam.

TMK's voice is absolutely pure. Clear diction.

Important points : No Main or sub main.

Excellent pakka vadhyams. Sriramkumar and Arun prakash were gems. Khanjira was by anirudh Athreya.

TMK Appeared to have some discomfort with throat problem , cold, etc., and the ac on stage and too bright lighting.

Each of the items he sang was superb. Strong limbs in the Bilahari and mukhtari Ragam, excellent torso in Chakkani raja and so on but together, all the numbers do not make a good wholesome body. Well, we have to also probably learn to adapt and appreciate these new kutcheri formations.

First annual festival concert of Ranjani fine arts was indeed well organised . Reaching the hall from parking or gate involves long treks and climbs. Senior citizens could have problems. But the hall was top class. Good acoustics. Sound a bit too loud for my liking. Admirable beginning and surely Ranjani will make a huge presence in the Bangalore cultural landscape in the years to come.

[rajeshnat]

Where is ranjani fine arts in bangalore ??

[braindrain]

Rajesh, they are n the Sarjapur Road area, near Bellundur. 5-6 km from Koramangala.

[kssr]

They conduct monthly concerts in sobha auditorium . You can see their website. The two day festival is being held at new horizon college in outer ring road. Today was Ranjani Gayathri excellent concert. Will report later.

[braindrain]

I was there today and was told that "the concert was sold out". Luckily , there are concerts at 6 places today, and I had other options !

[arasi]

So, where did you go

[braindrain]

Ranjani (the Sabha) stopped Gayathri from attending the Ranjani-Gayathri concert...! Dejected, we drove towards Gayana Samaja, but the message came from there saying the hall was packed at 4:45 pm for the 5:45 pm concert. Another hope was dashed... The next possible venue was Indiranagar Sabha with Sikkil Mala Chandrasekhar. I would say, it was boon in disguise. What a concert we had...

[arvind.brahmakal]

Fantastic concerts....

What a positive news this is for Classical Music and it's growing popularity....thought sell outs were for movies only. It was quite unfortunate that many people had to return home....there was no permission to add any chairs in the 700 seater auditorium.

[arvind.brahmakal]

For snaps of the festival and a write up, you may refer www.ranjanifinearts.org. We are happy to announce that the souvenir released in the festival is now available online in the same website link.

[Sivaramakrishnan]

I had a dream.
TMK's concert begins with a Tani in Aadi 2 kalai. He follows it up with niraval and Swara @ Neela neerada sareera ( Balagopla - Bhairavi). No kriti.The singer pauses for a while before starting the next item only to throw a puzzle to the audience - he calls upon them to guess the raga which he would be humming to himself! He tells an unsuccessful audience that supreme music is that which would strike a chord between the singer and the listener even when the music strains are not audible. He abandons the exercise and proceeds to sing saurashtra in detail. Mangalam (Pavamaana) with all Charana-s is the kriti.There is niraval and swara at Rajeeva nayana and the concert ends.
And I wake up from sleep!

[Rsachi]

Did you wake up to the applause?

Notwithstanding the odd sequencing of items, I have listened to TMK (with an open mind I believe) and my respect for his music has only increased of late.

[KSJaishankar]

Did you wake up to the applause?

Notwithstanding the odd sequencing of items, I have listened to TMK (with an open mind I believe) and my respect for his music has only increased of late.

Bravo ... I think there is too much of a focus on TMK's lack of adherence to the Ariyakkudi concert format. It takes a gutsy artiste to challenge what is at best a norm, definitely not a rule! Ariyakkudi was a similar artiste... there are enough reports about the flak he had to face with his "innovations"!

Maybe the TMK format will stick, maybe it won't... but being sarcastic about his challenging status quo doesn't help.

Artistes of capability have always tried something new... TNS with his RTPs in Brindavana Saranga, Kamala Manohari, Malahari, just to take a few examples; TVS with Surya, KalyanaVasantham, Brindavana Saranga again; Sanjay with three different Pallavis in different talas in the same raga in the same concert or RTPs in very Hindustani ragas like Patdeep and Jonpuri; Sowmya with an all Varnam concert or a ragamalika Varnam as the central piece in another concert; TRS with starting a concert with a Javali..not to speak of even more senior vidwans like GNB or Balamurali or SKR, whose penchant to challenge status quo was legendary to say the least!

[MV]

Did you wake up to the applause?

Notwithstanding the odd sequencing of items, I have listened to TMK (with an open mind I believe) and my respect for his music has only increased of late.

Ditto
Jaishankar..Nicely said. Challenge of status quo is also important for revival of interest for some and to bring in new audience like the younger generation.

[srikanthj]

"There are many Varna compositions of great beauty. Would it not contribute to Rakti if in a kutcheri varnas are rendered in one or two kalas with independent manodharma, vocally or instrumentally at a stage when when the artist has warmed up and when his voice and mind are at a state of poise? Why should we not sing Astapadis, Kshetrayya Padas and other such compositions of extraordinary beauty in the middle of a kutcheri fully with all the charanas to bring out their meaning and feeling? Are they like Swarajatis merely swara-structures? Do they not possess great poetic and musical qualities that singers should bring out?"

This quote, which seems current and appropriate in the context of this thread, is from the Presidential Address at the Music Academy in 1974 by Sangitha Kalanidhi Vidvan Sri. Rallapalli Ananthakrishna Sarma, whom we've been discussing in another thread!

Link to the speech here: https://sites.google.com/site/rallapall ... al-address. Thanks to RSachi for the original link.

[varsha]

Rallapalli Ananthakrishna Sarma, whom we've been discussing in another thread!

And so you bring that stench to this thread as well

[srikanthj]

varshaji, my intention was quite the opposite.

I hoped the quote, which is in line with TMKs vision for a concert, shows Sri Sarma as a thoughtful, forwardlooking scholar musician. And the speech and related links (if anyone cares to read it) indicate that Sri Sarma is thoroughly deserving of the honors he was awarded, whatever the opposing claims may be!

[Rsachi]

Sir, the link was given by another worthy.
For sure the sequencing of songs differently from the stereotype is akin to the modern five star buffet where you can eat soup after soufflé. Same way, music players software have a shuffle function by which you can randomly play tracks.

As Kollywood and Bollywood have amply demonstrated, Indians love stereotypes. That's how we tell the stories of our gods and goddesses. I heard that in some Shivaji movie, they had different endings for Kerala and TN, as TN wouldn't like to see their hero come to a bad end. Of course this was before TMK was born.


Caveat : Anything, even novelty, can become a stereotype.

[arasi]

Sachi,
Good to read about Sivaji Ganesan (for the first time?) in our forum. Here was an actor who was born into the old nATaka (stage drama) tradition and yet kept reinventing himself in every role that he played--in some overly melodramatic films as well. Even after hundreds of films, he was a work in progress. An amazing artiste. Every branch of art can benefit by having artistes like him.

Novelty for novelty sake is another thing. What part does it play for the growth of any art? It does not withstand time, for sure.

I think that all those yesteryear musicians who brought their new ideas into their art with commitment (and with awe for the age old treasure) are the ones we still talk about, listen to and admire, long after they are gone. We wish and hope that more like them are in the offing, and many more after them.This will help keep CM healthy and thriving. The novelty for novelty sake artistes will soon be forgotten...

Well, that 's just how I feel, after listening to music for decades without any preconceived notions about how CM should be presented...

[varsha]

Good to read about Sivaji Ganesan (for the first time?) in our forum

We had discussed this lovely MLV - Sivaji bit , long ago .

http://www.mediafire.com/?447slugxbkiec37