Sanjay Subrahmanyan at Hamsadhwani, Chennai

[bharathi]

Sanjay Subrahmanyan: Vocal
S. Varadarajan: Violin
Neyveli Venkatesh: Mrudangam
S.Venkatraman: Kanjira
Date: March 17th, 2013
Venue: Hamsadhwani, Chennai

1.Varnam: calamu, ata, pantuvarali
2.Raramaa maayinti daaka: asaveri
3.Natakurinji:mamavaSada VARade: rupakam
4.Ranjani:buloga Kumari, hey Amrita naari: adi
5.Sankarabaranam: budhi radhu: rupakam
6.Madhyamavati: saravana bhava gugane: adi
7.Niravathi sukadha: tyagaraja
8.Jonpuri: rtp chitta chora yashoda ke bal
Bageshri,jog
8.Yedi mudam dehi krishna : Narayana tirtha : jonpuri
9.Viruttam: Paaril uyarntha Nilam: kambhoji, anandabhairavi,sahana,
10.Yen thai Vazh yenum mandira nadame: Patdeep
11.Geeta duniku thaka deem, swathi tirunaal, dAnaSri
12.Pavamaana

On sunday evening, on March 17th, Sanjay Subrahmanyam gave a spectacular performance for Hamsadhwani. Typically of his style, he started the recital sharp at 6:15 pm, after having been ushered in by the secretary with a warm introduction.

He began the recital with a varnam in pantuvarali ‘Calamu’, this was followed by ‘Ra ra mayinti daka’ in ‘Asaveri’. Then came a well sung piece in Nattaikurunji ‘Mamavasada varade of Swati Tirunal’. The song was rendered, with excellent improvisations at all stages. I recall my sister commenting, as to how Sanjay has made a masterpiece of this chit of song. It was as early as this in the concert, that I started to feel the spell Sanjay had woven over the audience. Sans the sound of whirring fans and Sanjay’s music, the engrossed audience, sat quietly riveted to their chairs.. the Pied piper had already mesmerized them. Then came the raga Ranjani, which was mellifluous from the first syllable uttered. Vardarajan’s raga essay was far more emotive in this piece. In the brief quiet before the song began, my sister whispered, will it be ‘durmargachara’, I voted for ‘Ranjani-Niranjani’, but Sanjay came up with a song not familiar to either of us. A wonderful swara prastara followed.

Then we were treated to a splendid, grand rendition of Shankarabharam. This monumental raga rendition made one wonder at the limitless scope of variations possible of a mere seven notes. The last part had the seven notes rendered sans gamakam, much like the Dikshithar’s note swarams, adding to the intrigue. I felt that I was witnessing the construction of a great monument like the Tanjore temple. This is when I thanked the lord god, for having me listen to this pravaham of the infinite.. and me having had the fortune of coming across a great musical genius such as Sanjay, in my lifetime. Vardarajan followed the alapanai, in his own inimitable style, keeping in step with the essential thread of the Raga essay of Sanjay. He never for once distorted the edifice, earlier outlined by the vocalist, he only showed the great monument in other shades. It made me wonder, if all of us were fortunate to have a great collaborator, who could be in step with the thoughts we have, we’d probably work wonders in our own areas of endeavour. (I am being presumptuous though, I fully understand that it requires a brilliant mind to evoke such a great trust in another, that’s why perhaps, we have few such genius collaborations around.) The song that followed was Buddi Raadu a sterling composition of Thyagaraja, sung with remarkable respect by Sanjay. There were kalpana swarams, in this piece taken at two places alternatively in the charanam, diving precisely at the "eduppu", like a kingfisher catching fish in a typical backwater. (Boy! was I glad that Sanjay did not take the view that having given all his manodharma to the raagam, rendering the song would be superfluous. Old fashioned as it may seem, the raga elaborations of the artists befitted the solidity expected of the composition, and so it better be there!)

This was followed by a fast paced Niravathi Sukhada in Ravi Chandrika, like a bite of ‘Mirchi Bajji’ to pep up the heavy fare. Then we heard a soul stirring Madhyamavathi ragam elaborated as impartially as the shankarabharam was. (Just 5 notes of the scale, can one really sing combinations with no repetitions for so long.. or is it that we are in a state of trance and we are mesmerized into believing that there aren’t any repetitive sancharas? researchers should ponder over this at morning sessions during the music season.. afterall we were the erring rats under the spell of the Pied Piper?) The song that followed was ‘saravana bhava guhane’ which was sung really well (reminded me of Maharajapuram Santhanam). After this was the heavenly Jonpuri rendered so blissfully, suffused with soulful, emotional outpourings. I predicted that it would be ‘Eppo varuvaro’, as we were 40 mins towards the end of the program, but again, I was wronged, and the ‘masterful’ thanam followed. Here and only here, one could sense the limitation of the repartees from the violinist, not on account of misunderstanding the vocalist, but on account of the limitation of the instrument itself (felicity of the voice over a violin). The pallavi line was in Hindi, perhaps a line from a bhajan set to Adi thalam. There were ragamalika swarams for this in Desh and Jog, both rendered with élan, characteristic of the artists. Probably looking at the blank audience, Sanjay sang the name of the raga ‘Jog’ during the swara prastara.

The next piece was a viruttam ‘paaril uyarntha nilam’ by Sudhananda Bharathi, which Sanjay had sung in Jaya TV margazhi mahotsav 2010. This was followed by ‘En thaay mandirame’ in Patdeep. The audience was drowned in the patriotic fervour that Sanjay evoked through this piece. Although I had heard it before, I was bowled over a second time, not knowing whether, to concentrate on the lyrics, or pay attention to the rich tune behind it. This piece was a triumph of the confluence of the rich ‘iyal and isai’, a specialty offered only by the Karnatic music art form; and probably, “Viruttam” takes the place of the icing on the cake. The program ended with a thillana in bhimplas ‘geethadhuni’. Although rudely cast back to reality, the music soaked rasikas, whom Sanjay has groomed to love the heavy fare he offers, left home entranced. To me it appeared that Sanjay lived up to the dream of Bharathiyar viz., “enthan Pattu thirathale –ivvayathai palithida venum.”

[balakk]

s/inimical/inimitable

[kvchellappa]

The write-up, so emotionally charged and effectively expressed, holds a mirror, at it were, to the recital. It created in me an impression as though I were among the audience.
Lovely review for a great artist.

[espras]

Bharati,

Who were the percussion artists in this concert of Sanjay?

They would have contributed immensely too for the excellence of the performance.

S. Prasanna

[bharathi]

Yes Prassanna, they did contribute immensely to the success of the concert
They were..
Neyveli Venkatesh-- Mrudangam
S.Venkatraman-- Kanjira

Sorry it was missed in the writeup..

[Rsachi]

Bharathi,
Your enthusiasm lends a charm to the whole narrative, notwithstanding the troublesome words/phrases -inimical, wronged, misunderstanding, drowned neck deep. I am duly entranced by a mirchi-bajji of a report!

I think this is the true spirit of rasikas.org. Thanks!
Sachi R

[bharathi]

Rsachi
I have corrected the original post

Thanks for understanding the spirit of it..
bharathi

[satyabalu]

* Nice review Bharathi! I am enthused &urged to go over to your earlier reviews in the archives.

[arasi]

Bringing all of us down to earth
:
:
:
:
en thAi vAzhgenum mandira nAdamE is how I remember the lyrics.

The buddhi rAdu Sanjay sang two seasons ago is still fresh in my memory. An edifice he carefully constructed, indeed.
You seem to be fond of viruthams too. Though short, they add much beauty to a concert, don't they?
V V V--an ideal combination of accompanists. My miss.

Bharathi,
A lovely review, written from the heart. After all kaNakku and vazhakku (calculation feats) are settled, music is heart food, after all...

[kunthalavarali]

Great review. Was the ranjani song Mahakavi Bharathiyar's "Bhooloka kumari heyamrutha"?

[bharathi]

Kuntavarali
No, it wasnt Bhooloka Kumari..

Arasi,

Yes viruttums are lovely, so emotive and heart rending..
I searched desperately for the lyrics of
paaril uyarntha nilam /En thaay Vaazenum mandira nadaame, I couldnt find it in Rasikas.org archives, nor anywhere in the web..
Can you tell me where I can find them
Thanks
bharathi

[Meera]

[quote="bharathi"] This monumental raga rendition made one wonder at the limitless scope of variations possible of a mere seven notes. The last part had the seven notes rendered sans gamakam, much like the Dikshithar’s note swarams, adding to the intrigue.

I suppose the extend to which this ragam is explored is possible not just because of the 7 notes.For.e.g.if you notate the alaapanai and try to sing this in a vivadhi melam like neethimati or raghupriya,I doubt if it will turn out to be such a grand edifice. So it is not just the no.7 that matters but a sequence of 7 notes that is conducive to build a grand edifice.

[rajeshnat]

Bharathi
Tx for your review , well expressed . Concerts in hamsadhwani in general are very nice , the start time being 06:15 pm is conveniant for musicians to go for RTP after Main. Please continue to write about other concerts in hamsadhwani,it is a long festival .

[malavi]

Yes it was Bhoolokakumari in ranjani sung by Sanjay.Nice review Bharthi.
Actually adyarites were lucky to listen to two excellent concerts in 10 days.on 7th he gavea wonderful concert in Ratnagireeswar temple for sivaratri.Every year the temple concert isa memorable one.the crowd is very disciplined and people sit till the end for sanjays conceert.
He gave some beautiful essays ofsaranga,abheri and todi.The songs in these ragas were arunachalanatham,kayarohanesam and innamum oru kalai.there also accompaniments were the same and all of them didtheir best.before we could forget the experience of the temple concert wewere treated to a marvellous one in hamsadhwani.these 2 concerts will linger in our minds for sometime.

[CRama]

Thanks for the detailed review which clearly shows your enjoyment of the concert. It will be better if you could post a list of songs in the beginning of the review which will facilitate to have a quick glance of the songs presented.

[arasi]

Yes, CRama.
A list of songs of the concerts reviewed/reported is something we all look forward to--even if incomplete. Usually, other listeners complete the list.
A list is like singing a varNam or a ganEsA song at the beginning!
Though, it is difficult to be as meticulous as Rajesh when it comes to timing the A,N and S-s

[bharathi]

I got the song list from 'hema' my sister, who had it in her ipad and here it goes

1.Varnam: calamu, ata, pantuvarali
2.Raramaa maayinti daaka: asaveri
3.Natakurinji:mamavaSada VARade: rupakam
4.Ranjani:buloga Kumari, hey Amrita naari: adi
5.Sankarabaranam: budhi radhu: rupakam
6.Madhyamavati: saravana bhava gugane: adi
7.Niravathi sukadha: tyagaraja
8.Jonpuri: rtp chitta chora yashoda ke bal
Bageshri,jog
8.Yedi mudam dehi krishna : Narayana tirtha : jonpuri
9.Viruttam: Paaril uyarntha Nilam: karaharapriya, YK, sahana,
10.Yen thai Vazh yenum mandira nadame: Patdeep
11.Geeta duniku thaka deem, swathi tirunaal, Bhimplas
12.Pavamaana

[rshankar]

The mahAkavi's bhUlOka kumAri in ranjani is new to me. I have heard the TNS-school version in amRtavarshini, and really like it.
And shouldn't the tillAnA have been in dhanaSrI, and not bhImplas?

[arasi]

Thank you, Bharathi/Hema!

We can get finicky sometimes, but it helps to have the list in front of us.
(a learning process, memory jogging process for some of us). It's nice to type the song first, rAgam (some like tAlam too!) and the composer. As I mentioned before, blanks are fine, if we have no idea. Other enthusiasts offer help.
Thanks!

rArA mA inTi dAka?
bhUlOka kumAri
chit chOrA yaSOdA ke bAlA?

Ravi,
This Ranjani bhUlOka kumAri (tuned by Calcutta Krishnamurthy) grows on you. A tight-knit version. You can listen to it on Sanjay's blog. On hearing it a few times (once live), I wonder if the bard was inspired by Nivedita Devi when he penned it--seeing bhAratha mAtA embodied in her as he did.

[mahavishnu]

Ravi, Here is a clip of bhUlOka kumAri sung in Ranjani by Sanjay: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I43mqDRvYEQ
As Arasi says, this version grows on you.

[sridrect]

I got the song list from 'hema' my sister, who had it in her ipad and here it goes

1.Varnam: calamu, ata, pantuvarali
2.Raramaa maayinti daaka: asaveri
3.Natakurinji:mamavaSada VARade: rupakam
4.Ranjani:buloga Kumari, hey Amrita naari: adi
5.Sankarabaranam: budhi radhu: rupakam
6.Madhyamavati: saravana bhava gugane: adi
7.Niravathi sukadha: tyagaraja
8.Jonpuri: rtp chitta chora yashoda ke bal
Bageshri,jog
8.Yedi mudam dehi krishna : Narayana tirtha : jonpuri
9.Viruttam: Paaril uyarntha Nilam: karaharapriya, YK, sahana,
10.Yen thai Vazh yenum mandira nadame: Patdeep
11.Geeta duniku thaka deem, swathi tirunaal, Bhimplas
12.Pavamaana

BHARATHI - A great grand review fitting the majestic concert of the MASTER. Just a few correction first. The RTP pallavi ragamalika was in HamirKalyanai and Jog. And also the viruttam was sung in entirely different ragams to the one he sang at JAYATV concert in 2010. This concert the viruttam was in Kamboji, Ananda Bhairavi and Sahana.

The Sankarabaranam alapana is going to remain with me FOREVER ! It was so majestic that I did not want it to end. And similarly when everybody thought he would start the immortal EPPO VARUVARO as the pallavi (although I prefer the MASTER Singing Tamizh Pallavi lines ... it enhances the enjoyment) he threw a googly with a hindi line.

AMAZING CONCERT and Thank God I did not miss it !

[bharathi]

Yes rshankar
I learnt it long ago and it was Dhanasri
Thanks

Sridrect
In fact hema's list hAd it exactly as you said..

Being mesmerised by it I heard the jayatv version several times.. And got totally messed up..corrected Hema's version
Thanks..

[sridrect]

BHARATHI .... Please correct your original post.

[bharathi]

Mahvishnu,
Thanks for the link of 'BHUloka kumari'.. yes, it sounds better the more you listen to it..

I am posting the lyrics of the viruttam .. paaril uyarnda nilam, which I noted down by listening several times..
please correct the mistakes, if you find them

Viruttam-Sudhananda Bharathi

pAril uyarnda nilam thangapacchai sezhitta nilam
pooraNa yOgamum bhOgamum pOTRidum puNNiya viNNagame

Ananda veda nilam malayAruGal padu nilam
Thenmozhi Solaiyil gnana kuyilOsai thendraludan konju nilam

vaNmai migunda nilam aruLvakku malarntha nilam
peNmayum ANmaiyum kaNkaruthon pErinba kAdal nilam

koLLa koLLa kurayA nidhikoTTi kuluNgu nilam
theLLiya kalviyum deiva kalaigaLumai sErndu vaLarnda nilam

veLLimalai paRaman kaDalmunai veeTRirukkum kumari
aruL sakthi aLithidum Anandamana nilam ALiya BhAratamE

nAnGaL vazhthidum thAyagame
Azhiyum vAnamum BHUmiyum pOlave
vAzhi sudesa nilam endrum vAzhiya BHAratame

The song's pallavi alone I could get.. if the rest can be filled in by other rasikas, it would be wonderful:

Song-Patdeep
enthAy vAzhenum mandira nAdame inbathai oottudamma
enGaL indiya pAsura thenDral van idayathin tandhiyai meetudamma

[sureshvv]

Bharathi:

Thanks! Wish you had attended the Sivarathri evening concert of Sanjay as well as he sang a wonderful virutham there also.
Unfortunately my stenographic skills were found wanting and all I could note down was "Karuvutra naal mudhal..." and "oru patrilaanumai...".

[hema]

Bharathi
This is a wonderful review. And befitting the great concert. A student of mine was commenting on
the lines for the RTP "Chitachora navaneeta..." -- who cares it was simply superb. Yesterday, I should have
perhaps gone to Kapaleeswarar Kovil and attended Sanjay instead of Abhishek.
-hema