Sec'bad- T.M. Krishna & party

[sivakami]

Sadguru Sri Thyagaraja Aradhana Uthsava Samithi
Anand Bagh, 500047

23rd Feb 2014

T. M. Krishna
H. N. Bhaskar
Vankayala V. Ramanamurthy - mridangam
Tripunithura Radhakrishnan – ghatam

Song list:
1. Raksha bettare dhorakku (N& S@ sangeethapriya..)
2.Nenendu vedakkudhura – Karnataka behag( R, S@ ‘ilalo bhaktha’, violin return followed by another round of S@ nenendhu..)
3. varali R for 10 min, vio: 4 min; kana kana ruchira – N@ ‘parama dayakara karuna… sri raghupathe’
4. a short tani for 4 min
5. TK: tanam by TMK and HNB alternating for almost 25-30 min followed by the kriti “ chede bhudhi maanura, S@ chede budhi
6. tani for 12 min
7. Started with a slokam ‘ shringaram kshithi nandini viharane..’ bringing the nava-rasas in different ragams, and ending with ‘shantham’in khamboji, followed by the kriti ‘ evari matta vinnavo..’
8. Emanattichedevo emenchinavo – sahana
MANGALAM

“This is not a kucheri, but an Experience in itself”
This is the announcement that TMK made suddenly after the varali alapana, so the rasikas were prepared to enjoy that evening in his approach &style.

It was a Sunday, and expecting a large crowd, I went in early to find to my surprise the important committee members from the various sabhas of the twin cities also present. As this venue is somewhat interior in the suburb of Sec-bad, the regular-concert goers and sabha-committee –members are not usually seen. But this time it was an exception (looked like!), as many had come from far-off corners of the city. Once TMK arrived at 7.15 PM or so, the concert commenced immediately, as the accompanyists were ready. He began with the bhairavi kriti which excited the audience due to his unique singing style, the nice neraval etc., Rasikas kept applauding with appreciation, and with ‘aha, oho bale-bale ‘very frequently all through the 130-140 minutes of the kutcheri. After the alapanai before the 2nd song, he announced it was Karnataka behag. Then suddenly, he asked us, whether anyone can remember the anupallavi lines of “nenendhu vedhakkudhura”; several voices recited the lyrics, which brushed his memory apparently. The kriti & thetwo rounds of swarams kept the audience spell bound, when he started with varali, which was rendered super-o-superbly. As we normally get to listen to this pancharatna kriti only during the pancharatna seva without so much of elaboration, that too rendered by TMK in his special way, was the highlight of the day. The next day, I found several rasikas saying, ‘ atleast innum oru varusham TMK-yoda varali kaadhula kettunde irrukkum; manasai vittu pogaadhu’. Next he asked the percussionists to play a short tani for 2 min or so..( he said “2min vaashingo”). Once he was ready for the grand main, the tanam was started, with an announcement, ”this is Atana” and went on furling and unfurling the curls of the ragam, with HNB following very ,very closely. People never got tired by clapping so many times in between. Then he started with ‘chede budhi maanura’ sang 2 lines, turned towards VVRamanamurthy and said “ungalai sollalai, paattula appadi irukku, thappaa eduthukkadhingo’ (I am not telling you, it is in that kriti, don’t mistake me..’).
After the proper tani avathanam, the slokam on nava-rasas was another delicacy in the menu that day. The next 2 krithis were the desserts to mark the conclusion. I am sure, some other rasika who attended, would want to describe further. We wish to convey our special thanks to HN Bhaskar for his excellent support. So were VV Ramanamurthy and T Radhakrishnan. All the three of them were pucca pakka –vadhya vidwans. Thanks to the organizers for their pursuit to bring TMK here during the silver jubilee year, as his arranged concert got cancelled last year here.
The Standing Ovation for 5 min, from the rasikas of the twin-cities who were hearing him after quite a while, conveyed our appreciation.

[rajeshnat]

In this concert,TMK has not gone in a "different his own self proclaimed route" . Most of the numbers are staple of his dominant school -semmangudi. No just alapana orphans, no varnam in between etc and no words to say that he cannot continue concert any more. Perhaps Most importantly taking only weighty krithis . His weightly voice goes very well with these weighty krithis. Way to go,Keep it up TM Krishna :-BD .

Thank you sivakami for your review. :ymapplause:

[sivakami]

Yes, very true that TMK did not resort to his own-route prevalent now-a-days. Some of us, who were aware of such episodes in chennai & other cities, were prepared for all the out-of-the-box-ness, and ready with note books to note down the special features..
Although he was in his own world of music, he did try to conform to some inside-the-box-ness, perhaps due to the fact that this was a kucheri in Hyd after quite a long time... )

[arasi]

Rajesh,
"AlApanA orphans"

Sivakami,
So, inside the gift box was a 'kuchEri' experience! Hope this two-in-one gift pattern continues and keeps rasikAs happy. Way to go, TMK!

[kvchellappa]

TMK has said that he would present music that manifests in his mind at the time of his singing, without keeping any structure as a limiting point. He has not said that he would avoid a particular format. If his musical instinct on a particular day happened to coincide with a particular format, so be it.
That is how I read him. It is , however, possible that he tends to go with the audience, though he denies it. In Bengaluru, recently he gave 2 performances, one was TMK paddhati (i.e. no paddhati) and the other shorter one to a smaller audience at a temple that was 'formula' oriented.