Parting Shots of the 2013 Season

[harimau]

1. Harikesanallur Venkataraman (HV) nominates Abu Sheik as Man of the season.

2. Talking about the relationship between sruthi suddham and audience appeal, HV said, "There are musicians who sing with excellent sruthi suddham and fail to draw a crowd. There are others whose sruthi alignment is found wanting but draw a big crowd. Is this because of Visakha nakshtram or because of Hari namam (Vishnu's name), I can't say." (In his final column in the Dina Thanthi.)

3. HV also nominated S Mahathi as one of the 5 best female vocalists, refusing to name the other 4.

4. Blind Monkey Not Sighted.

In the concerts of Sudha Raghunathan that Team Harimau (3 during the Season) attended, the Blind Monkey song did not find a place. It is feared that the Blind Monkey may have passed on to another world and that may have happened a year ago. Team Harimau did not attend concerts during the year -- they were all sponsored by real estate companies who had the nerve to ask for a minimum of Rs 300 for a ticket while handing out free tickets to customers -- so we are not sure how long ago the Blind Monkey died. Will there be a new song as a Unique Selling Proposition (USP) or is the Sangeetha Kalanidhi sufficient to carry Sudha Raghunathan forward in the future?

5. In your service, Team Harimau attended 120+ concerts in Dec 2013 and Jan 2014, spreading ourselves in various locations such as the Music Academy, Sri Parthasarathy Swamy Sabha, Sri Krishna Gana Sabha, Narada Gana Sabha, Brahma Gana Sabha, Kartik Fine Arts, Kapali Fine Arts, Nada Inbam, etc. All we can say is that nothing worthwhile transpired during most of the concerts.

6. The Madras Music Academy proved it is aptly named by handing out most prizes to Chennai-based musicians. Seasoned vidwans and vidwamsinis from other regions/states who had performed so much better were given short shrift.

7. The caterer at Music Academy offered New Year's Day lunch at Rs 280. Finding there were no takers, they reduced the price to Rs180, the usual rate, and served a substandard lunch. Daily lunch itself had to be reduced from Rs 250 to Rs 180 as people refused to pay the price.

8. Mountbatten Mani Iyer served the best tiffin at Sri Parthasarathy Swamy Sabha. Music Academy canteen was a distant second. Gnanambika at Narada Gana Sabha was a disappointment, serving tiny portions at inflated prices.

9. Can anything be done about the logo of the Music Academy? The words look as if a bunch of 3rd Standard students were given pictures of various musical instruments and told to use them to form the letters. You may say that Bharath No-Culture uses a similar lettering but at least they have the excuse that they have 3rd Standard students in the school they run.

And what is with that dour expression on the face of Saraswathi? What with the lotus on which she is seated tilting towards the left, Saraswathi is seen tilting her torso to the right and is seemingly apprehensive that she may slide off the lotus and fall into the water. Music Academy can take a look at the pictures of Saraswathi used by Hamsavinodhini or Saraswathi Trust and figure out how a level lotus will restore equanimity to Saraswathi. Perhaps they can paste Mona Lisa's smile on Saraswathi's face when they level the lotus.

10. All of you who claim to discover nagaswara pidis in your favorite artist's music did not attend any nagaswaram concerts but that is par for the course. When you have the time, go to Youtube and look for Parivadini's uploads of Dhechur D S D Selvarathnam's and Nemmara Brothers' nagaswaram concerts from Brahma Gana Sabha. On the other hand, you may settle for tup tup tup in vocal music. Or listen only to Injikkudi E M Subramaniam merely because he is the favored artist at Nada Inbam.

See you all next Season or when there is something worthwhile to report.

[harimau]

Deleted duplicate post

[kvchellappa]

Hope something worthwhile turns up.

[Rsachi]

Harimau,
Your summary definitely bears repetition: a wonderful summary and your team's attending 120 concerts is stupendous. Your cause célèbre of nAgaswaraM is commendable, I also simply love the music.

Did you notice that you also have "Hari" in your name?
Hari comes from the root hR which means in Sanskrit to rob/take away (one's sins). You do that very easily, in fact almost anybody can be your mau (=food)

Your comments about the MMA's logo is on the same lines as what I commented looooong back. Well, that type of art is called kitsch.

You are hard on the canteens. Of course I also never really enjoy the mass-produced food in shamianas, whether they are next to music halls or marriage halls. So I can see where you come in.

I do request you (this is in seriousness) that you to list your team's choice of BEST concerts and artistes. I look forward to your assessment.

Thanks!

[vasanthakokilam]

All we can say is that nothing worthwhile transpired during most of the concerts.

That is a lot of concerts your team attended. How many in the team?

[Nick H]

According to Harimau's post here, and mentioned elsewhere, there are three of them.

It reminds me of the spy story, Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy.... "There are three of them, and _____"

[arasi]

Nick,
You missed typing the 'I' in your soldier--which leads me to the seasonal words 'Sold Out'...

Whatever imminent imagined catastrophe some foresee and speak of the death of CM in the future, there seems to be no dearth for concerts everywhere!

Harimau,
Relished reading your post. I won't comment about your opinions, though and of your team. You mean to say there are more Harimaus than one?!!

I was listening to the nAdasvaram here and there, thanks to Parivadini. Your suggestions are looked forward to because you are a good guide to fine music. Will listen to them. I also know that you see some fine musicians with blinkered eyes.

Some of your parting shots, I do agree on.

Who 'are' the other three promising young musicians a la HV?

Yes, Mountbatten was the best in canteens--taste, service, smiles.
Then, Academy? Not to me. Gnanambika still reigns in taste, but their prices and portions were, as you say, not agreeable at all...

[Nick H]

Nick,
You missed typing the 'I' in your soldier--which leads me to the seasonal words 'Sold Out'...

More likely that I was thinking soldering iron! Thanks, I edited it.

[arasi]

Doing repairs around the house? Soldier on!

[rshankar]

You mean to say there are more Harimaus than one?!!

Didn't some wise soul once say 'you know, and God knows that one of you is more than enough!'?
I do have a question...are Harimau and HV the same person?

[tiruppugazh]

All of you who claim to discover nagaswara pidis in your favorite artist's music did not attend any nagaswaram concerts but that is par for the course. When you have the time, go to Youtube and look for Parivadini's uploads of Dhechur D S D Selvarathnam's and Nemmara Brothers' nagaswaram concerts from Brahma Gana Sabha. On the other hand, you may settle for tup tup tup in vocal music.

Thankfully the few nagaswara pidis that are heard are so much better and reflective of an earlier era than the sub par mediocre music that gets passed around in the nagaswaram only festivals. Of course it is also par for the course to expect recommendation of these concerts from one who loves the general sub par mediocre dhavasam music in vocal also

[arasi]

Doubt it.
All I know is that HV is and ah, his great ancestor and mine come from the same great neck of the woods

I have even met him once, and know what he looks like. No, he doesn't fit the image of what I imagine Harimau to look like.

[Rsachi]

How to track Harimau in your neck of the woods?
how to track Harimau

[arasi]

Sachi,

, but your animated icon is cuter!

[harimau]

Harimau,
Relished reading your post. I won't comment about your opinions, though and of your team. You mean to say there are more Harimaus than one?!!

[/quote]

It is impossible for one person to attend 120+ concerts, most of them in the Dec 15- Dec 31 timeframe. So there has to be more than one. More than two. Three, to be precise. One is from Harivanam who provides information on Tanjore delta towns/temples. Another is from Haripad, whence comes the Malayalam flavor. The third is from the arid area of northern Tamil Nadu.

In addition, we get comments/information from a person who widely disseminates them. For instance, Item 2 in our list was brought to our attention by him who is usually misidentified as being Harimau.

Two other persons also add spice to our reports; one of them feels we are too lenient and timid in our writings. He emerges from his cave during the Season, attends a few concerts and retreats back to his cave to listen to Madurai Mani Iyer and MDR. This is his way of licking the wounds (to his aesthetic sense) he receives at the live concerts. Properly, he should be Harimau, the big cat licking his wounds after escaping from an ambush.

I was listening to the nAdasvaram here and there, thanks to Parivadini. Your suggestions are looked forward to because you are a good guide to fine music. Will listen to them. I also know that you see some fine musicians with blinkered eyes.

Desur Selvarathnam is a nagaswaram artist you don't get to hear except when you go to the Kamakshi Amman Temple in Kanchipuram. For he is the temple vidwan, playing for the various daily activities at the temple and rarely coming out of Kanchipuram. It is a good thing that his concert is now available through Youtube so that more music lovers may become aware of his music. With one camera that focuses on the stage, it is impossible to capture the audience mood or the buzz he created but let me just say that several persons went up and congratulated the organizers. In fact, the entire line-up at the Brahma Gana Sabha Sabha nagaswaram festival this year has been outstanding.

As to blinkered eyes, read the earlier response about being too lenient!

[harimau]

Harimau,
Your summary definitely bears repetition: a wonderful summary and your team's attending 120 concerts is stupendous. Your cause célèbre of nAgaswaraM is commendable, I also simply love the music.

I do request you (this is in seriousness) that you to list your team's choice of BEST concerts and artistes. I look forward to your assessment.

Thanks!

Thanks.

Team Harimau is really on a Sociological Research mission. That is why we attend as many concerts as possible and sit through them from beginning to end, no matter how execrable the performance may be.

We don't confine ourselves to vocal music. We attend as many instrumental concerts as possible (veena, violin, flute, nagaswaram, etc.) We sample saxophone and mandolin concerts as well. But not the keyboard!

It is easier to list disappointments first. For some reason, Nithyasri's voice was not very cooperative and her concerts suffered as a result. This observation is from late September to December 2013. Such an extended problem needs attention and corrective action.

S Sowmya delivered good concerts but somehow they seemed to lack verve (would that be viruviruppu in Tamil? ) ) It is as if she is bored; the lack of engagement with the audience was palpable.

Now to the good news.

Laid-back artists such as O S Thyagarajan and Vijay Siva delivered excellent concerts. Normally one doesn't expect fireworks from them but they were not needed at all; solid music presented extremely well is so much more satisfying than music that seeks to titillate.

Old-timers such as R K Srikantan, Rudrapatnam Brothers, R Vedavalli, Seetha Narayanan, etc., are always good to listen to. We don't miss their concerts unless there is a major conflict.

If you want technical wizardry and are willing to overlook some issues with sruthi, T N Seshagopalan is your bet. If you insist that technical wizardry not overshadow musicality, then Manda Sudharani and Pantula Rama are top choices. Unfortunately, Hyderabad Brothers (the younger one in particular) have attitude problems that detract from their performances.

Sherthalai Renganatha Sarma, Kunnakkudi Balamuralikrishna are excellent choices among those who have grabbed the rings. The ascent of D B Ashwin, Ramakrishnan Murthy and Pattabhiram Pandit bode well for the future.

More later.

[Rsachi]

Keep going!

[rajeshnat]

Is harimau taking a convenient route of expressing collectively different opinions of he and his closer circle of friends/acquaintances-

He may lose his mauling individuality which was so unique and tries perhaps to bit mellow down after a retrospection of his earlier posts? Is his rasikatvam aging right or bit losing his sheen? :-! harimau

[rajeshnat]

Harimau
If you have any urls/scanned copy of Harikesanallur Venkatraman write up please post it .

[tiruppugazh]

Old-timers such as R K Srikantan, Rudrapatnam Brothers, R Vedavalli, Seetha Narayanan, etc., are always good to listen to. We don't miss their concerts unless there is a major conflict.

Ammaavaasai tarpanam is not missed unless there is a major conflict, even though the brahmin who does it for you is of the same nature as the musicians quoted above. This is to be expected from a team of Sociologists so I am not surprised.

[rshankar]

Ammaavaasai tarpanam is not missed unless there is a major conflict, even though the brahmin who does it for you is of the same nature as the musicians quoted above. This is to be expected from a team of Sociologists so I am not surprised.

Huh? On second thoughts, whatever...

[mahavishnu]

You mean to say there are more Harimaus than one?!!

Didn't some wise soul once say 'you know, and God knows that one of you is more than enough!'?

And do the multiple personalities in team Harimau always agree?

[varsha]

That is why we

Only Kings , Editors and men with tapeworm , have the right to address themselves as We , when giving an opinion . Mark Twain

[Sivaramakrishnan]

I could not spot any reigning vocalists in any of the Nagaswara concerts I attended.

Vocalists should also attend (whenever they are free) namasankeertanam/discourses to understand the full import of many kriti-s they perform.

And why not good dance performances too? Naatyam is an essential segment of Sangitam. Some of the lec-dems at the Naatyakalaa conference (Kishna Gana sabha) were excellent and could provide immense take-aways for musicians.

The season could be hectic for artists but can't they snatch a few hours for quality add-up?

[annamalai]

Harimau,

Desur Selvarathnam is superb Nadaswaram, I would dare to say even better than some of the well-known, performing artists. Thanks for your reference.

TR Govindarajan (great tavil artist) was mentioning in a Podhigai interview, the nadaswaram artists do not speak English and thus are not able to market themselves like other Vocalists.

[arasi]

Annamalai,

Are there any recordings of his playing which can be shared?

[mahavishnu]

Arasi, there are a number of recordings of Sri Selvarathinam on youtube.
Here is a sample: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOlEADcoMUw