Parasala Ponnammal 90th Birthday

[sweetsong]

Veteran Vidushi Parasala B.Ponnammal turned 90 years old.

Prince Rama Varma, who brought her out of retirement nearly a decade ago,

gave a duet with his student Amrutha Venkatesh.

They were accompanied by S.R.Vinu, Palghat Maheshkumar and P.L.Sudheer.

The concert was held at the Valiasalai Agraharam where Vidushi Ponnammal lives.

They sang

Thodi Pada Varnam - Swathi Thirunal

Gajanana - Panthuvarali - Neelakanta Sivan

Marubalka - Sriranjini - Thyagaraja

Paripahi - Kalyani - Swathi Thirunal

Ninnaye Rathi - Sindhubhairavi - Bharathiyar

Japath Japath - Bhajan - Ragamalika - Swathi Thirunal

Pankajamukha - Dikshithar Nottuswaram

Hindolam Thillana - Dr.Balamuralikrishna

Here are a few videos

Thodi Pada Varnam

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifaxQkW6FTY


Japath Japath - Ragamalika

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4K10icUPfY


Ninnaye Rathi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sb6BQNR7_8o

[Rsachi]

A very thoughtful gesture by a young Vidwan and Vidushi in honour of a venerable old lady in the field of CM. Indeed such acts of gratitude and respect will serve the cause of CM very well indeed!

[rshankar]

Best wishes to the venerable vidushi, and as Sachi says, a lovely birthday gift!

[arasi]

Yes, Ravi. And what a gift for the musicians and for those gathered there to see the beaming golden girl who would have appreciated the gesture no end

May her music reverberate through her students. I will not be surprised if she still has students coming to her to learn from her. Reminds me of the time when one of our ardent rasikAs took his young children all the way to see her and to get her blessings on vijaya dasami day--to start the day with her inspiring them with a music lesson

[PUNARVASU]

A beautiful tribute to the great vidhushi! My namaskarams to her.

[Ramasubramanian M.K]

Many Happy returns for the Great lady--incidentally Valia Chalai is where I spent the first 10 years of my life with my grandfather. She lived a few houses away from my Grandfather's . My late aunt and her daughter learnt a few songs from her. She was also neighbor of kallidaikurichi Harihara Iyer(who was one of SSI/s prime disciples).I also read some where that Vadivelu(of the Tanjore Quartet lived in Valia Chalai in his later years when he was under the patronage of Maharaja Swathi Tirunal.

Sorry folks this piece is more about myself than the Great Lady!!!! I get carried away when Valia Chalai(Malayalam---means Big Street) is mentioned!!! I wish some of that rich musical heritage had rubbed off on me!!!!!

[thanjavooran]

An excellent tribute to the great Vidhushi. My Panams.
Thanjavooran
28 11 2014

[kssr]

A few years back, I had the opportunity to listen to Smt.Parasala Ponnammal in a private home concert at one of the rasikas house in Bangalore. Her rendering of thodi and Sri Krshnam Bhaja maanasa is still fresh in my memory. The majestic viLamba kaalam and the beautiful swarams belied the octogenarian voice. Very thoughtful of Sri.rama Varma to have held the concert. He has been doing a lot of constructive work for Carnatic music in his own quiet unassuming style.

Sri.rama Varma and Amrutha held a duet concert in Bangalore which,we were told was the first such attempt. It is good that they are stabilising the format, especially in such events when both would like to express their respects to Smt.PP through their music.

As usual, what caught my attention is the Bharathiar song! RV has composed the music to a toe tapping rhythm, with a lilting Kannamma. Excellent understanding of the romance in the lyrics. The other version is that of Sanjay Subrahmanyan in Bagesri, another lovely interpretation of the song. My mother had sent a request to Sanjay for this song in a concert and he appeared to be concluding the concert without it. Then he went on to sing a grand RTP with Unnaye Rathi endru ninaikkirenadee as the Pallavi line. A memorable experience indeed.

[arasi]

kssr,
Such a good story!

Sanjay has sung this Bharathi song in rAgESri, in my recollection??

[HarishankarK]

Many many happy returns of the day to Parasala Ponnammal patti.
She is really very adorable.

[HarishankarK]

kssr,
Such a good story!

Sanjay has sung this Bharathi song in rAgESri, in my recollection??

Bageshri just like the rendition of Maharajapuram Santhanam

[Rasikapriya2013]

Here is a lovely review of the concert that came in the Hindu Today, Trivandrum.

Aswathy Thirunal Rama Varma and Amrutha Venkatesh presented a concert to celebrate the Navathi of Parassala Ponnammal.
Special Arrangement Aswathy Thirunal Rama Varma and Amrutha Venkatesh presented a concert to celebrate the Navathi of Parassala Ponnammal.
TOPICS
Kerala
Thiruvananthapuram

music
Carnatic Classical
Aswathy Thirunal Rama Varma and Amrutha Venkatesh rendered a duet in Thiruvananthapuram.

An interesting Carnatic duet concert by Aswathy Thirunal Rama Varma and Amrutha Venkatesh was held in the capital city. It was a pleasantly different aural experience for rasikas.

The concert began with ‘Daani Saamajendra’, a padavarnam composed by Swati Tirunal in Thodi. Their elaborate exercise during the intricate course of the kriti unravelled the grandeur of Thodi. The clear diction of sahitya and the flawless rendition of chittaswaras added splendour to the composition. Both the singers focussed on maintaining a traditional style while they emphasised on each and every detail that adorned the kriti.

This was followed by the Neelakantan Sivan kriti ‘Gajanana Ganeshwara’ in Panthuvarali and the Tyagaraja kriti ‘Marubalka’ in Sriranjini raga. The main raga Kalyani was sweetly explored in an essay that was a combination of phrases in bass and soprano ranges by Rama Varma and Amrutha. Their improvisations poured melodic content into the raga, which was blended together brilliantly without losing out on bhava or classicism.

Avaneeswaram S.R. Vinu on the violin embellished each node of the raga while travelling through exquisite phrases in his excellent excerpt of Kalyani.

The main kriti ‘Paripahi’, set to Mischra chapu, was also sung with great discipline. While Rama Varma experimented with swara patterns in his own mode, Amrutha adhered to a more conventional method of singing swaras in the kriti. A brief but impressive thani avarthanam by Palakkad Maheshkumar on the mridangam and Sudheer on the ghatam followed.

The Bharathiyar kriti ‘Ninnaye Rathi’ in Sindhu Bhairavi, ‘Japath Japath’ (ragamalika bhajan composed by Rama Varma) and ‘Pankajamukha’, a Dikshitar kriti with notes sung with a Western touch were also rendered.

Rama Varma and Amrutha wound up the concert with a thillana composed by Balamuralikrishna in Hindolam. The concert was organised by residents of Valiyasala agraharam in Thiruvananthapuram, as part of the ninetieth birthday (Navathi) celebrations of the veteran Carnatic musician Parassala Ponnammal.

Keywords: Aswathy Thirunal Rama Varma, Amrutha Venkatesh

[Sivaramakrishnan]

An excellent 'musical acknowledgement' by the Prince to the greatness of Smt.Ponnammal.

[HarishankarK]

Pankajamukha - Nottuswaram of Sri Dikshitar