A spell binding combination of intellect, talent, devotion and absolute mastery over every aspect of music--- this perhaps best describes one of the greatest music composers to have ever walked this earth……… Muthuswamy Dikshitar (1775—1835).
Bharatiya Sangeeta Vaibhavam, Chennai, invites you to pay homage to this composer par excellence at a day-long Akhandam…………….
Venue - Kasturi Srinivasan Hall, The Music Academy, Chennai
on Sunday , March 17,2013 from 09:00 AM onwards……
Sri T.S.Krishnamurthy, former Chief Election Commissioner of India, has consented to be the Chief Guest; Dr. R.Asha, Sanskrit Scholar, will be Guest of Honor
DEEKSHITAR AKHANDAM ON 17 MARCH.
It was a wonderful day for music lovers as they were treated to a grand feast of Deekshitar kritis by eminent artists displaying devotional fervour. The proceedings started with slight delay due to non availability of the Chief Guest – the ex Election Commissioner, Sri.Krishnamurthy. As I reached the venue , Prof Veezhinathan released a book on Deekshitar written by Dr. Asha and he highlighted the contributions of Deekshitar and the significance of his compositions. The akhandam stated at 10.25 AM only, an hour behind the schedule. The first programme was by Seetha Rajan Mami and her students who took the audience on a musical pilgrimage on the footsteps of Deekshitar to the temples where he had composed the immortal kritis. Before starting the musical journey she gave a history of the life of the immortal composer. The pilgrimage started in Thiruthani where Deekshitar composed his first song, and concluded at Ettayapuram with Deekshitar’s soul merging with the Guruguha. Before each song, she explained the details conveyed in the Kriti, the ragam temple where it was composed etc. The list of the songs are given below.
Sree Naathaathi Guruguho Jayathi- Mayamalavagowla-Thiruthani
Narasimha Aagacha-Mohanam-Sholingapuram
Chintayamaakanda-Bhairavi-Kancheepuram
Arunachaalanaatham-Saranga-Thiruvannamalai
Aanandanatana prakaasam-Kedaram-Chidambaram
Kumaaraswaaminam-Asaveri-Vaitheeswaran Koil
Sankaram abhhiramimanoharam-Manohari-Thirukkadayur
Daakshaayani Abhayaambike-Thodi-Mayiladuthurai
Sree Baalasubramanya-Bilahari-Swamimalai
Sree Mahaganapathi-Gowla=-Thiruvarur
Thyaagaraja Mahathdhwajaarohana- Sree- Thiruvarur
Kamalaambaam Bhajare-Kalyani-Thiruvarur
Sree Viswanaatham bhajeham-Chaturdasa Ragamalika-Kulikkarai-Dakshinakasi.
Sringaara sakthyaayudhadhara saravanasya daasoham- Ramapriya-Sikkal
Brihadeeswaro rakshathumam-Ganasamavarali (Ganamurthy)-Thanjavur
Sree Maathrubhootham-Kannada- Thayumanavar swami of Malakaottai
Sree Ranganthaya Namasthe- Dhanyasi- Sreerangam
Jambupathe-Yamunakalyani-Thiruvanaikkavil
Pahimam Rathnachala- Mukhari-Rathnachaleswarar
Maamava Meenakshi-Varali-Madurai
Maamava Raghuveera- Maahuri
Anandaamrithakarshini- Amrithavarshini-Ettayapuram
Meenakshi Memudam-Poorvikalyani.
Mami and seven of her students sang in one voice. There were many rare songs, but not even a student referred to any paper while singing. The perfection and synchronization was amazing. The programme took nearly 2 hrs and 30 mts. But there was not a dull moment in the rendering. At the end of the programme the audience gave a much deserved standing ovation. Rahul and Arjun Ganesh accompanied in the Violin and Mridangam respectively with good understanding.
RAMAKRISHNAN MURTHY
The next slot was for Ramakrishnan Murthy who had already impressed the music lovers in many venues. He was accompanied by Rajeev on the violin and J.,Vaidyanathan on the Mridangam. The list of songs.
Pavanaathmaja agacha-Nata
Krishnaananda Mukunda -Gowri
Kamaakshi-Bilahari
Sree Venugopala-Kurinji
Sree Kamalambike sive pahimam-Sree
He presented the songs well. He sang alapana and swaras for Bilahari. Due to time constraint, this slot was truncated- 30-45 minutes.
PRIYANKA PRAKASH.
This vidushi is from Bangalore, a disciple of Neela Ramgopal. She has a got potential, a strong and melodious voice and very good style of presentation. She should be given more opportunities in Chennai and she will definitely rise to the top. The list of songs.
Neelothpalambikaayai-Kannadagowla
Raame Bharathapaalitha raajyamarpayami-Jothi (Jothiswaroopini)
Ramachandraaya Namasthe-Thodi
Gange Maampahi-Chenjuruti
Hastivadanaaya-Navroz
She sang alapanas of Jothi and Thodi and her Thodi was very good. She sang neraval at the line Dasaratha raja kumaraya and sang swaras at three places- Dasaratha, raja, kumaraya. She explained the special characteristics of the compositions. She said that the song in thodi is one of the Ramavibhakthi kritis and the song is set in fourth vibhakthi which can be seen in all the lines. Once BVR and BVL had remarked that this song and the song Sree Ramachandro rakshathumam in Sreeranjini constitute the Ramayana kritis combo and singing both the compositions will give Ramayana parayana bhalam. (To be continued)
Last edited by CRama on 19 Mar 2013, 14:05, edited 2 times in total.
Report continued.
VIDYA SUBRAMANIAM
This young vidushi is a disciple of Lalgudi Jayaraman. She was accompanied on the violin by Raghuraman and on the Mridangam by Ramkumar. While singing the kritis, she narrated the characteristic features of the kritis, raga and the temples in which the song was composed. The list of songs.
Sree Ganesaatparam chittha nahire-Ardradesi – Vaitheeswaran koil
Sree Lakshmivaraham-Abhogi
Madhavo maampahi- Dasaavathaara ragamalika in the ragams Nata, Gowla, Sree, Arabhi, Varali,Kedaram, Vasantha, Suruti,Sourashtram, and Madhyamavathi. She said that, in this kriti, Deekshithar has employed 8 vibhakthis in the first eight charanams and second vibhakthi in the last two charanams.
Sree Ramaasaraswathi-Nasaamani
Sundareswaraaya Namasthe- Sankarabharanam
Nabhomani Chandra agni nayanam- Nabhomani (Navaneetham)
Prasanna Venkateswaram- Vati Vasanthabhairavi.
Navarathnavilaasini-Gamagakriya
Kalaavathy Kamalaasanayuvathy-Kalavathi (Yagapriya)
Sree Guruguhasyadaasoham-Poorvi -Guruguha vibhakthi kriti
Sree Kamalambikaya thava bhakthoham-Punnagavarali
Lalitha Parameswari-Suruti.
A pleasing alapana of Sankarabharanam was done. More attention was given to project the kritis in pristine form and the contents of the kritis than to show individual virtuousity by singing alapana or swarams. It was a very scholarly presentation.
SUMITHRA VASUDEV
She was accompanied by Rajeev on the violin and Mannarkoil Balaji on the Mridangam. The list of songs.
Slokam on Deekshitar composed by Dr.V.Raghavan
Thyaagarajena Samrakshithoham-Salagabhairavi
Saraswathyaa Bhgavathyaa-Chaayagowla
Veenabheri-Abheri
Sree Vidyarajagopalam-Jaganmohanam
Sadasivam Upaasmahe-Sankarabharanam
Sree Guruguhamurthey-Udayaravichandrika- Guruguha vibhakthi kriti
The abheri alapana was very beautiful and elaborate using sudha daivatham as per the Dikshitar sampradaya. Swaras were also elaborately rendered. Sankarabharanam alapana by the vocalist and violinist was very good. Neraval was done for the pallavi and swarams in two kaalams rendered. Udayaravichandrika, as per the asampoorna melam is different from the Udayaravichandrika of Enthanerchina of Thyagaraja. It uses both the nishadams and it was well displayed in the song. A very impressive performance, as usual.
DR.VIJAYALAKSHMI SUBRAMANIAM
Accompanists- Anayamapatti Venkatasubramaniam-Violin, GSR Murthy-Veena, J.Vaidyanathan-Mridangam. I did not know the name of the Ganjira artist. List of songs.
Vaathaapi- Hamsadhwani.
Angaarakam-Suruti
Kadambaripriyaayai-Mohanam
Swaminaathena samrakshithoham-Brindaavanasaaranga.
Guruguhabhavaantharangini-Chathurangini
Parvathikumaaram-Natakurinji
Ekaamresanayakim-Shanmugapriya
Ehi Annapurne-Punnagavarali
Maaye-Tarangini.
This slot as well as the final slot were long and the artists utilised the time to the best advantage. Vathapi, sounded rather out of place in today’s programme. Mohanam, Brindavanasaranga and Shanmugapriya alapanas were very beautifully rendered. Deekshitar, being a Vainika , a Veena accompaniment was included in this programme. Tanam was played for all the three ragams mentioned above. Veena and violin followed swara passages. Swaras were rendered for Mohanam and the main song in Shanmugapriya. Ehi Annapurne was rendered in a very leisurely manner facilitating enjoyment of the sahithyam and ragam to every inch by the discerning listeners. Maye- This song which won the hearts of lakhs of music lovers like me in the good old days have gone through a transformation now. Many musicologists have expressed that the tune of Maye as we were listening is not Tarangini as designed by Deekshitar. ( I do not have the technical details). I have heard the new version, or the authentic version as now people say, a couple of times. The earlier version which sounded like Chenjuruti was sung in the Madhyama sruti. The revised version is not sung in Madhyama sruti. But today what VS sang was an amalgam of two versions- at least to me it felt that way. She sang the revised version in the Madhyama sruti. On the whole, a concert of a high standard as always you can expect from Dr.VS. The accompanists also played quite competently.
MAHARAJAPURAM RAMACHANDRAN
VV Ravi on the violin and Manargudi Easwaran on the Mridangam were the accompaniments. I could not stay for this concert as I felt too tired sitting from morning 10 AM. Based on feedback I got from my friend I am reporting. The song list.
Rakthaganapathim-Mohanam
Guruguhaswaamini-Bhanumathi- Guruguha vibhakthi kriti
Budham Aasrayami-Natakurinji
Hiranmayim- Lalitha.
(list incomplete)
Ramachandran sang all the songs quite impressingly. His alapana of Lalitha, neraval and swarams for all the songs were excellent. The accompanists played with good level of understanding.
I did not get answer for one question- When Dikshitar has specifically composed a song for each day, what is the appropriateness of singing Angarakam Asrayami and Budham Asrayami on a Sunday. Nobody sang Suryamurthe, though.
The organisers deserve our whole hearted appreciation and gratitude for organising this festival every year.There was no repetition of songs. All the artists sang with full commitment and devotion. An appreciable feature- even though there were many rare songs, none of the singers sang with a paper in front of them. I heard many songs for the first time. There was good turnout of audience. IN the morning, it was 80% full. And in the evening it was almost house full. The organisers made arrangements for tea, coffee and biscuits (unlimited) and also lunch for the people who attended. It was a memorable event.
Reg Kulikkarai, I have made the correction.
Reg Gowri, The raga name as Gowri comes in the song and I have heard that this is the name of the ragam in the asampoorna melam.
gaurIpa antaranga. gaurIpa means the consort of Gowri, i.e., Siva. Krishna is very dear (antaranga) to Siva, is the meaning of the rAga mudra.
There is another raga called Gowri which also belongs to the 15th mELA mAyAmAyavagauLa. In it, Dikshitar has two songs, srI mInAkShi and gowri girirAjakumari. Besides, there is a Gowrti segment in the Chaturdasa rAgamAlikA and it begins as 'srI vishAlAkShi gowrIsham'. It is the beginning of the anupllavi. Refer to the SSP for Gaulipantu and Gowri.
* CRama !same as last year you have taken the first initiative to write about the whole proceedings spanning close to eleven -twelve hours.I really wonder how you could actively sit through the whole programme .Great!
*My observations:-
* Seetha Rajan with Saptha kannigaigal- (as CRama told)in unison &in one voice.
* They had covered 4 out of 5 Pancha Bhotha Linga kshetrams(except kalahasti).
* Seetha Rajan explained MD adopted Drupat! style in "Jambhupathe-Yaman kalyani.
*" Pahimam Ratnachala-Dikshidhar has described Kaveri water is being taken for temple abhishekam the practice prevalent even today."
*Mamava Raghuveera kriti-Mahuri- composed during his prilgrimage enroute to Rameshwaram.
* There was a breezy chittaiswaram to kriti "Brahadeeswaro rakshthumam""There were a spate of kritis on Tanjore set in Vivadi Ragas ."
* I had listened to the same group performing 2 full half day sessions during Dikshidhar Jayanthi Ettayapuram.
The list is totally different this time.kudos to the Gurukulam to have absorbed the vast repertoire from Seetha Rajan.
Last edited by satyabalu on 20 Mar 2013, 07:26, edited 4 times in total.
* Ramakrishnan Murthy was undeterred by the mass exodus soon after the marathon session of Seetha Rajan * Krishna Nanda Mukunda-Gowlipanthu was a rare one. It was elevating when he was calling "krishna" every time.
* I also felt he was given a very short time.His kalapramanam was appropriate .He said his guru is from US.
* Dr.VS She sang with a lot of ghathram on that day.
*Neraval @'Dheena rakshakam pujitha vaidyanatha Kshetram"In Angarakam asrayami was done. Why other vara kritis do not have neraval spots?
*parvathikumaram -Natakurinji was followed by "Solkattu".
*swaminathena samrakshithoham"when she sang I was reminded of Tanjore Kalyanaraman who used to sing a series of akarams following the rendering of kriti.
* I only try to supplement here what CRama(full of stamina) has covered in her/his scholarly &elaborate write up.
* Rasikas do not have chance to interact with artists soon after each session as the entry to&exit from platform is sideways through staircase in the entrance without necessity to pass through the mini hall.
* I fully appreciate the organisers for the repeat good programme with hospitality.
* May I make a point in that Akantam in the true sense could cover only kritis sans Raga&swaras -neraval can be demonstrated with moderation with more no of particpating artists culled from different schools so that We have opportunity to listen to more and more kritis(prachrathil illada krithigal) being covered.
Thanks Sathyabalu for supplementing my report.
Before Ramakrishnan Murthy's concert, when we saw the mass exodus for lunch, we requested one of the organisers for a gap of 30 minutes so that people can have the lunch. But he said that already we are behind the schedule and hence we can not afford to have a break. So while most of the people went out, we , a few sat for the concert and had lunch after the RKM concert. I agree that his rendition of Krishnananda was soulful.
As regards singing only kritis, I am in agreement with the package designed by the organisers. We had two slots which contained exclusively kritis- sans alapana and swaras. In the other three slots- ragam alapana and swaras were restricted to minimum. The last two slots, which were fairly long, the artistes devoted proportionate time for raga alapana and swarams. They also included more number of kritis. So this package was OK. If the entire day is devoted to only singing of kritis, it will be monotonous.
Instead of singing kritis only, the method adopted by Seetha Rajan and Vidya Subramaniam is appreciable. They explained the significance of the kritis, ragam, temple etc. This will add value to the songs rendered which we may not be able to hear in a regular concert.
The organisers can add one slot- where one particular ragam can be taken up for explanation as to the details-= especially like ragas like Abheri or Udayaravichandrika- how the raga conceived by Deekshitar differs from the same raga handled by Thyagaraja.
satyabalu wrote:
*swaminathena samrakshithoham"when she sang I was reminded of Tanjore Kalyanaraman who used to sing a series of akarams following the rendering of kriti.
I have not heard the recording of SKR singing this brindavana saranga krithi . By any chance if anyone can upload the song that would be great.
Tx CRama for your detailed review. Few years back I attended the same akandam, I have to say you should have just ended with hiranmayeem of maharajapuram ramachandran, you would get tears, such a sublime rendition from MSR.
Rajesh, I very well remember your mentioning of Hiranmayim by M.Ramachandran in an earlier post. I will look forward for an opportunity to hear that from him.
Folks
First of all, please let me introduce myself - my name is Suresh Kumar Bopparaju and I'm the Managing Trustee of Bharatiya Sangeetha Vaibhavam (BSV) that presented this Akhandam.
I'm glad to note the level of interest in this annual program and am enthused by the prospects of even more visibility this will (hopefully) generate!
Please let me respond briefly to a few of the points made in this discussion - I'll come back with more later:
1. rendition of "varam" krithis: One of the primary intents behind this Akhandam series is to create a repository of high-quality audio / video documentation of the great composer. As we have always scheduled these programs on Sundays (for the convenience of rasikas), we are constrained to take an exception on the tradition of rendering these krithis on specific days of the week!
2. Manodharmam in Akhandam: Our focus is certainly on the krithis. However, a 12-hr program like this will be that much more enjoyable for the rasikas with manodharmam included on a limited basis. I also believe that manodharmam enhances the appreciation of each of the krithis - particularly the raga alapana part that really creates the right mood for the krithi.....
3. Lunch break: I fully appreciate the feedback - we had not seen this in the past, but, this year, soon as we announced the availability of lunch, bulk of the rasikas trooped out - and there were only a small number in the audience for the initial part of the next slot. We will plan differently next time on - provide a clear 20 or 30 min break.
