T M Krishna SRLK festival 9 Feb 2016

[hnbhagavan]

Artists

T M Krishna - R K Sriram Kumar - Arun Prakash

1. RTP - Shankarabharanam
followed by Pallavi...........

2.Saramati- Mokshomugalada - Alapana and Kruti played mostly by Sri r K Sriram Kumar

3.Jagadhodarana - Kapi -PD

4. Sanskrit Sloka

Sri R Sachi is requested to post more details.

[Rsachi]

Sir,
I walked out when Saramati began. TMK was struggling to sing Saramati. I was not impressed with the music that day. The pallavi in Sankarabharana came out well. Otherwise it looked like an off day for TMK at the office. Shriramkumar did his best to lift up the concert.

The pallavi line was "Chakkaga bhajanaseyevariki tappaga galada Sri Rama dinadinamu" (disclaimer: my Telugu is bad!) It occupied two cycles of Adi Tala (Trisra Triputa) 2 Kalai with the start after two counts. Todi, Kharaharapriya, Kurinji,Kuntalavarali etc, were raga changes. In KHP, Shriramkumar wove in Chakkanirajamargamu...leveraging the first word Chakkaga. It was done well. There was tani after the pallavi. It was not remarkable to my enfeebled laya sensibility.

I do not wish to write more because I think TMK is a great musician and anyone can have a bad day. The audience on the other hand were egging him on like a bunch of boy scouts trying hard to make a bonfire with wet wood. Perhaps they succeeded in motivating him after I left.

I do know Badari was there in the audience and he makes meticulous notes and reports. So over to him....

[hnbhagavan]

Sri Badari,

Please post further details in your meticulous way!

Rsachi,

Thank u for ur posting.I did not get the wordings right!

[Jigyaasa]

Chakkaga bhajana seyuvAriki takkuva galada Sri rAma dinadinamu

[arasi]

I was there too, and can't recollect the order of the numbers (even in a regular concert, I can't, I'm afraid).

Well, it is more difficult for me to remember all that was performed in the concert. So, random I am too. VaishNava janatO was wrapped in two mangaLam lines, but the long (40 mins?) shankarAbharaNam, the starter, was a major piece by SRK, Krishna chiming in here and there, and singing the tAnam, and wasn't there a tAnam in sAramati too...?

Anyhow, this way the concert was top heavy, SBharaNam dominating the session and SRK pouring it out. His being the major player, I started wondering if TMK's equality in seating also took into account who sits in the middle.

A modern deconstructed concert (think Picasso) of an ancient form it was for me, with some delightful singing by TMK in snatches, the recurrence of which I kept waiting for.

Arun Prakash--what he plays is so good, and again, how I wish he would play more each time! And yes, he did, quite a bit...

Sachi,
Yes, we can't expect an artiste to give us his best every time. In tamizh, we say kachEri amaiyaNum (has to gel, have the wow factor). amaippu also means structure. In that sense, this format or lack of it is perhaps difficult to pull off, in my not so enlightened rasikA mind...

[hnbhagavan]

Madam,

The musician can start with heavy stuff such as RTP.But the audience is not yet prepared.The beauty of time tested format lies in drawing rasikas attention gradually.I noticed the equality in seating arrangement,but i do not know where these are relevant.
The audience has rasikas who are experts and non experts like me.General concert structure does provide balance so that all sections of rasikas enjoy the concert.
Some unpleasant exchanges and clapping could be heard.Overall the atmosphere looked more military than civil.

[dipukaruthedam]

The following is the list and order (open to corrections!). As my knowledge of Ragas is limited, have left many as blanks/question marks which I hope someone else can fill in!

1. RTP - Sankarabharanam (A, t, S, T)
Ragamalika during Pallavi
Swaras only in Sankarabharanam
Ragas - Thodi, Kharaharapriya, Kurinji (as per above post), YamanKalyani, Kunthalavarali, + 2 more I think (?)

2. Mokshamu galada - Saramati (A, t, N, S)
Neraval and swara at veena vaadana
Alapana by TMK
Tanam by both
Kriti by SRK
Neraval and Swaras by both.

3. Kapali - Mohanam (O, S)
Sang swaram once at Kapali at the end, and while about to conclude, again started another short round of Swaras at "pa" in Ka"pa"li!

4. Slokam: Chethodarpana - Anandabhairavi (?) + Sindhubhairavi +?

5. Jagadodharana - Kapi (O, S)

6. Bhajare re chitta - Kalyani (A, N, S)
Neraval at "shrI vAgbhava kUTa jata"
Swaras at "Sringara"

7. Slokam (Karacharana kritam vaa) + Vaishnava Janatho - Ragamalika (?)

8. Syama Sundara - Dhanyasi
      + Mangala Slokam (Mangalam Kosalendraya)

[arasi]

Good job! Now I remember them, fragmented though some of them were...

[Rsachi]

Oh, looks such a wonderful list of compositions after left. My loss!

Chetodarpanamarjanam...is from Shikshastaka by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. It is one of the most profound shlokas in Bhakti literature.

The irony is that someone who can select and sing such wonderful compositions so well is often articulating irreverent ideas! What a double role the star TMK is reprising! We must just laugh it all off I suppose.

[hnbhagavan]

Thanks for the exhaustive list.

[arasi]

Just read that Priya sisters g sarasa sAma dAna. Wasn't kApi nArAyaNi sung also by TMK in the rAgamAlikA?

[Rsachi]

Yes. During RTP! After Kuntalavarali. If I remember correctly, he sang Anandabhairavi also.

[Rsachi]

The pallavi tala was Adi=Chaturashra Triputa (sorry I typed Trishra by mistake).

[badari]

Ragamalika Pallavi - tODi, Kharaharapriya, Kurinji, YamanKalyani, nArAyaNi, Kunthalavarali, kAMbODhi, tODi, varALi, dEsh surUTi

@Arasi.. there was no Anandabhairavi in rAgamAlika AFAIK.

[arasi]

Badari,
Sachi had mentioned it. However, I wondered if I heard a fleeting minute of it as well...was TMK thinking aloud what to sing next? A Bhairavi was on his mind then?