Mudikondan Ramesh@rAma Anjaneyar temple on Apr 16th,2013

[rajeshnat]

Mudikondan Ramesh@rAma Anjaneyar temple on Apr 16th,2013
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Veena : Mudikondan S N Ramesh
Mrudangam : MelakAveri balAji
Ghatam : Adambakam Shankar

Concert duration/Day : 1 hr and 50 mins /Tuesday
Concert Type : Nirvana (no concert to follow)
sabha/Hall : RAma Anjenaya trust/Rama Anjeneya temple, tambaram sanatorium

1. gam ganapathE(S) - hamsadhwani- HMB
4 mins swaras
2. dasaratha nandana (rAga sketch)- asAveri - T
3. sogasu jooda tharamA(rAga sketch) - kannadagowlai - T

4. parAtparA paramEshwarA (S)- vAchaspathi - papanAsam Sivan
3 mins swaras
5. ranganAyakam(R) -nAyaki - MD
3 mins alapana

6. raghuvamsa sudhA - kAdana kuthuhalam - Patnam
7A. okapari (R Taanam S T) - kharaharapriya - AC
7 mins alapana and 4 mins taanam
7 mins swaras
7B. tani for 17 mins

8. bhaja govindam - ragamAligA - Adi shankarA

Few years back I have heard half a concert of vainika Mudikondan Ramesh in annanagar and with that impression i headed to this concert. This was my first chance to attend a full length veena concert of his at a temple in tambaram sanatorium. The concert was consistent with aesthetics and perhaps bearing one segment he played beautifully.

Ramesh uses the saraswathi veena and only had the electronic radel shruthi . His start in gam ganapathE with a dose of quick and brisk swaras in hamsadhwani kept me hooked up . What an asaveri , last week in the same temple i heard an asaveri , and this week it was another asaveri . I used to think nayana touch of last week asaveri and the veena touch of asaveri were two poles apart, showed perhaps the carnatic aesthetic boundries.Ramesh played in a very vilambit tempo in asaveri and the gamakams were so rounded and had so much sowkhyam. The contrasting fast tempo that followed in kannadagowlai was nice and I could spot lot of dexterity in his play.

ParatparA was really wonderful and his glides in swaras alternating from one side with a bass tone and the other side with a little sharper tone was remarkable. The nayaki vilambit with a gentle alapana was very well done , I was bit off when he started singing few sangathis ,it kind of eclipsed the tone of his veena , but nevertheless well presented.

The main was in majestic kharaharapriyA. Alapana was concise may be bit more dwelling in few gamakams in madhyamakalam would have interested me more .I was eagarly awaiting tAnam and he played some what too quickly, it was not that much soaked in rAga bhavam, just perhaps only during the taanam the consistency bit dropped . As he played the kharaharapriya krithi , my mind ran thru 6 to 8 krithis in the raga , it never crossed me then about okapari until the end of the concert when I confirmed with him. His playing was really carnatic intense , intense as in having a real gamaka suddham.

After a bit long tani , the closure was in a bhajan , nice change of ragas in the famous ragamAliga medlay of bhaja govindam.

MelakAveri balaji played very well, the shruthi of his mridangam was in line with veena and with gentle strokes he certainly enhanced the concert . There was a lot of rotation with ghatam and Adambakkam shankar played very well , may be a bit more hollower sound would have been better.

Overall Mudikondan Ramesh has an ability to perhaps pluck bit less and goes with a good sweep with his dextrous singers to weave longer karvais. I like that as at times I am really put off by the constant over plucking tring tring sound.

The sound quality was really good , may be because of his well tuned saraswathi veenA. What was most remarkable was his ability to play both fast and slow numbers with equal ease, in particular the katanakuthuhalam just reminded a fast mandolin srinivas of 1990's to me. I came very satisfied excepting perhaps during taanam.He is a real pristine and patantara player and looks he has avoided the fusion route.

Overall a very good to excellent concert for 1 hour and 50 mins.

[CRama]

Thanks Rajesh for your review. I think this is the first review of a Veena concert I am reading from you.
Yes. M.Ramesh is very good veena artiste, very committed to his art and very traditional in his approach towards raga alapanas and kritis. I have heard many of his concerts. A few tanams he played in last episode of GG was remarkable.

[PUNARVASU]

Muikondan Shri Ramesh is a fine vainika. I heard him years back in Mumbai in a house concert at the residence of my guru Shri PNK. It was such a fine concert and I made it a point to attend his concerts a couple of times when I was in chennai during the music season. His is a traditional classical Carnatic music and I just love it.

[rajeshnat]

Thanks Rajesh for your review. I think this is the first review of a Veena concert I am reading from you.
Yes. M.Ramesh is very good veena artiste, very committed to his art and very traditional in his approach towards raga alapanas and kritis. I have heard many of his concerts.

Crama,
There were few reviews of mine atleast 4 or 5 years back when rasayana concerts were held with Kalpagam swaminathan and J&J concerts. Also a review of a vidushi named N vijayalakshmi when brahadvani conducted in a home at tiruvanmiyur . As such I am attending a veena concert after many years, it is difficult beat traffic and hit mylapore and mambalam during week days .