Sri Sanjay's Mylapore Koil concert

[Rasikapriya2013]

March 27th 2014, Kapaleeshwarar Koil
Concert by Sri Sanjay Subrahmanyan with Sri S.Varadarajan on the violin, Sri Arjun Ganesh on the Mridhangam and Sri S.Venkatraman on the Ganjira.
Mylopore Koil took a new Parimaanam with waves of people thronging in to enjoy their beloved musician sing for Mylai Kapaleeshwarar that evening. After struggling to find a parking spot for almost twenty minutes, gave up my futile attempt and ended up parking at the vinayakar koil near Luz signal. Managed to get a seat inside the mandapam so that I could enjoy and watch this great musician perform.
1) Kutchery, Viriboni Bhairavi varnathudan kalai kattiyadhu. Sanjayin isaiyai ketka Myilai Urchava moorthikkum aasai pola!!! Oyyaaramai veedhi ulavudan yellorukkum darishanam koduthu Paattaiyum rasithu vittu sendrar.
2) Sivaloganathanai Kandu in MMG by Gopalakrishna Bharathi was next. Such a beautiful song on Nandanar, am sure Gopalakrishna Bharathi would have been moved listening to Sanjay sing this song.
3) Raga Sudha rasa, Tyagaraja kriti focusing on Nadopasana or worship through music as the means to salvation, was rendered with a neat and beautiful sketch of the raga through his alapanai.
4) Thiruppugazh Kandhar Alangaram Arunagirinadhar meyyurigi paadiya "Vizhikkuth-thunai men malar padhangal" yendra viruththathai mei urigi paadi, kettor ullangalai koLLai koLLa seidhu, and following it with "Sikkal meviya" in Kamboji was simply out of the world.
5) Next was in Nalinakanthi, "Manavyalakinchara", a Thyagaraja kriti.
6) Kalyaani with all her beauty and grandeur decorated Kapaali Mandapam that evening which formed the main for that evening. Words cannot compensate the brilliance, the creativity with which he approaches a raga, his respect towards music without tainting the tradition, his funny ttuuttu ttuttu prayogas and body language when he is fully engaged in his rendition clearly marks Sanjay the heart throb of many. Equally talented, composed, articulate is Sri Varadarajan's music. He is a varam to any musician and that day he replied back with such grace and beauty and took the spotlight from Sanjay for the Kalyani he played.
He started "Unnaiyyallal vere gadhi illai Amma" a Papanasam Sivam's composition. Each note was so rich with Bhava and meaning that Eyes closed and I submitted entirely to the divine mother.
Arjun Ganesh and Venkatraman were brilliant during the thani but I wonder when people will learn to appreciate and respect these musicians and sit through Thani also.
7) The song on Maaramanan Umaramanan made people sit and soak in the beauty of Hindolam
8) The other songs in Navroj, Kurinji (Papanasam Sivam's composition), Kamas all on Shiva peruman ending with mangalam was a Musical blessing indeed. Being alive and listening to all these songs come alive by Sri Sanjay truly made up for a divine evening

[MV]

Was No 8 'Engum Niraindirukkum' Sanjay sings that beautifully

[kssr]

Nalla maNipravaaLam.

[rshankar]

Thank you for that review from the heart!
IMO, Papanasam Sri Sivan's compositions on the deities in the mylApUr temple are particularly beautiful and filled with bhAva..may be because he was a mylApUr vAsI himself, perhaps?

[arasi]

From the heart indeed, Rasikapriya!

In all my years of listening to Sanjay, I have heard him sing in only a few temples--at RAgi guDDa temple last year, for several years at the Malleswaram VenugOpAla temple around SankarAnti (a pity, they switched the concert to around Krishna Jayanthi?), and one in the Chicago temple eight years ago when I happened to be visiting there.

A temple concert has a special appeal when a good musician sings there. I say sing, because even the most sweet-sounding instrument cannot beat the words in a sAhitya as this Sivan song moves you (apologies to Varadu!).

Ravi,
Yes, Sanjay singing Sivan's songs has many positive attributes. As you say, his growing up in the area near the temple, as a child being exposed to the mArgazhi bhajanais of Sivan, his regard for Sethalapathy (did he also learn from him Sivan's songs? I don't know).

Anyhow, after being mesmerized by listening to MMI singing kapAli in my young days, it was the first time that I was so moved by anyone singing that song--until I heard Sanjay sing it in Chicago. Tu tu tu or not, conveying the bhAvam is Sanjay's forte (not by emoting the words alone but by creating a state of mind in the listener to completely get into the mood of the composer).

I have heard unnaiyallAl on Youtube, Sanjay singing it in this very temple as an emerging musician (in the PS documentary), and what a composition it is! Have wanted to hear it in a concert too.

KapAli temple concerts don't happen when I'm in India. MV, the same for you, I know!

This is one concert where I wouldn't have minded not hearing an RTP from Sanjay. The temple atmosphere cancels out my disappointment on not hearing one...

As they say, Varadarajan is RAjan among accompanying violinists! Arjun Ganesh is such an anukUlamAna mrudangam player that I would like to listen to more often. S. Venkatraman is a steadfast accompanist too.

[Rasikapriya2013]

Was No 8 'Engum Niraindirukkum' Sanjay sings that beautifully

Yes it was indeed Papanasam Sivan's Engum Niraindirukkum in kurinji, and like you said it sounded divine followed by a virutham then ending the concert aptly, again with a Papanasam Sivan's composition in Kamas,"Thiruvalar Mylaiyin iraivanin adi pani". I forgot the song in Navaroj though.

[kunthalavarali]

Was the song in Navroj GKB's "Mukthi alikkum thiru"?

[mahavishnu]

Kunthalavarali, yes it was
(as featured in this video from some years ago https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5w37HdbUE0w)

[MV]

That was lovely. Thanks for the video clip Mahavishnu