What's the craziest thing you've done for the love of Carnatic music?

nivedita · Post by **nivedita** » 01 Sep 2016, 03:19

Inspired by the incredible stories of fellow forumite Nick Haynes and Malaysian-Chinese vocalist Chong Chiu Sen, I'd like to publish a compilation of the craziest things each of us has done for the love of Carnatic music.

Details in the flyer below.

Please write to me at carnatictimes@gmail.com.

thanjavooran · Post by **thanjavooran** » 01 Sep 2016, 03:38

Novel venture. Good luck to you.
Thanjavooran
01 09 2016

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 01 Sep 2016, 11:22

sureshvv and I drove all the way to Bangalore and back just to go to a concert.

But I suspect that this pales into insignificance when compared to some to the stuff that was done by some of the North American Rasikas. Was done and is still being done.

Which leads me to a suggestion for a future article: interview subjects including Cleveland Sundaram and VKV.

kvchellappa · Post by **kvchellappa** » 01 Sep 2016, 13:58

Kedaram's travels in USA fr listening.

CRama · Post by **CRama** » 01 Sep 2016, 15:53

This I had written in my article on MS published in Sruti. My trip from TVM to Malakkara for hearing my first live MS concert. Another instance-I was on a training in Lucknow. On a casual reading of a Hindi newspaper I came to know that MS is coming to Delhi for a concert. From Lucknow I went to Delhi for that concert.

nivedita · Post by **nivedita** » 01 Sep 2016, 18:11

Thank you, Thanjavooran sir.

vvsuresh and Kedaram, may I request you to email me if you see this thread please? Would love to hear your stories!

CRama, can you elaborate on those two incidents and mail them to me, along with a brief bio and photograph please?

nivedita · Post by **nivedita** » 01 Sep 2016, 18:22

Nick H wrote:
Which leads me to a suggestion for a future article: interview subjects including Cleveland Sundaram and VKV.

Thanks, Nick. Excellent idea. I interviewed Sundaram mama a few years ago on one of my Podhigai TV shows, but I'd love to do a more elaborate interview. I had the chance to meet VKV sir about 10 years ago at Sundaram mama's place in Adyar and listened to his fascinating accounts of taking CM to America. I still cherish that meeting!

shankarank · Post by **shankarank** » 01 Sep 2016, 19:07

On a cold snowy morning travelled towards Cleveland Utsavam. Snow turned into ice and My car went from left most lane, did a dance crossing 3 lanes and into the slope-y ditch to the right side of the road ( about ten feet down ) - luckily no cars were in between. Waited for AAA tow to pull me out - they were busy as well that morning- and then tailed a truck all the way to Cleveland ( another 75 miles) with wheels that may have been out of alignment.

Worth it - as Vid Sr R K Srikantan had finished his main by then - but started bAla gopAla ( Bhairavi) after that and many more gems!

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 01 Sep 2016, 19:42

Nivedita,
APart from VKV , Cleveland VV Sundaram (I recollect your lovely podigai interview) try also bringing in Pasupathy sir from canada . I am told he has done a lot for CM and many things indian .

What scares me a lot is you asking a photo along with our anecdotes . All along I am getting into a mould that CM is 100% aural and 0% visual.

nivedita · Post by **nivedita** » 01 Sep 2016, 20:45

shankarank, what a story!! Thanks for sharing. Would you like to me to publish this (and any other stories you have), along with a bio and photo? If yes, please do email me at carnatictimes@gmail.com.

nivedita · Post by **nivedita** » 01 Sep 2016, 20:47

rajeshnat wrote:Nivedita,
APart from VKV , Cleveland VV Sundaram (I recollect your lovely podigai interview) try also bringing in Pasupathy sir from canada . I am told he has done a lot for CM and many things indian .

Thank you for the suggestion, rajesnat. Will keep Mr Pasupathy in mind.

rajeshnat wrote:
What scares me a lot is you asking a photo along with our anecdotes . All along I am getting into a mould that CM is 100% aural and 0% visual.

Haha! I'm happy to keep it 100% aural specially for you. If you email me your anecdotes, bio and an audio clip, I will put that up instead of a photo!

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 01 Sep 2016, 21:19

Apart from Pasupathy sir also include NU/NY Cmana founding member - brother of Safe Ramabadran - His name slips right now for me.

sureshvv · Post by **sureshvv** » 01 Sep 2016, 22:42

Our own "Abode" Ramkumar may have a few stories chasing Abhishek Raghuram all over the south

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 02 Sep 2016, 01:14

nivedita wrote:Haha! I'm happy to keep it 100% aural specially for you. If you email me your anecdotes, bio and an audio clip, I will put that up instead of a photo!

You have to see Rajesh to know the full extent of his overflowing, bubbling, love and enthusiasm for CM, so, far from leaving out the pictures, I vote for video!

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 02 Sep 2016, 03:14

Nick H wrote:You have to see Rajesh to know the full extent of his overflowing, bubbling, love and enthusiasm for CM, so, far from leaving out the pictures, I vote for video!

Nick - absolutely, priceless!!

kvjayan · Post by **kvjayan** » 02 Sep 2016, 11:48

Dr. P. Rajagopalan

rajeshnat wrote:Apart from Pasupathy sir also include NU/NY Cmana founding member - brother of Safe Ramabadran - His name slips right now for me.

K Nagarajan · Post by **K Nagarajan** » 02 Sep 2016, 13:25

I was once supposed to travel by the evening GT express bound for Delhi in December, 1983. I was late and the train had left. I was happy, instead of feeling sorry, that I missed the train. Otherwise I could not have attended a wonderful concert of Dr.M Balamuralikrishna in Vani Mahal that evening.

kedharam · Post by **kedharam** » 02 Sep 2016, 16:49

Kedaram, may I request you to email me if you see this thread please? Would love to hear your stories!

If you have a second round

, I will certainly submit. Right now kind of tied up

.

thanjavooran · Post by **thanjavooran** » 04 Sep 2016, 10:12

In late fifties during Adipooram festival there used to be two concerts one by AKC and the other by Karukurichi at two different temples at Nagapattinam [Neeladhayakshi and SRPerumal] on the same day every year . Temporary dais arranged at two or three places to hold concerts. We students used to shunt between two venues to listen to the stalwarts till early morning and share our experience and reach the hostel at Immigration depot by jumping the compound wall. We never get back such wonderful experience.
Thanjavooran
04 09 2016

ramarama · Post by **ramarama** » 06 Sep 2016, 14:40

Not particularly crazy but very memorable for me. I had once planned to fly from Hyderabad to Chennai specifically to catch Nedunuri Krishnamurthy's concert the next day (they announced, that he held the longest consecutive streak of Academy concerts) - at the airport boarding area, I realized that Sir was on the same flight - he was all huddled up in an angavastram/shawl covering his head and carrying a small bag, and none of the passengers seemed to know that a major singer was in our midst. I told him I was on my way to listen to him and helped him get his carry on bag on the flight, and then again on landing in Chennai, helped him with the bags. He asked me if I had an airport transfer arranged, and I didn't so he generously offered to drop me off someplace in Mylapore en route to the person who was hosting him and who had sent a car for him. The next day, after the concert (in which the Malladi brothers played the tanpura and sang in support), as he left the stage, he was literally mobbed by hordes of people bowing and scraping and touching his feet. TMK and Ravikiran and other "stars" were just waiting outside patiently to see him. I pushed my way through the crowd and got a CD cover autographed

What a difference from the complete stranger he was to the Hyderabad airport waiting area crowd!

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 06 Sep 2016, 18:17

Nivedita,
Have been away most of August from Rasikas.org. Family time...

Catching up, and it's not easy to catch up with you. Busy young mother you are, but your enthusiasm and creative energy are very much with you. Way to go!

nivedita · Post by **nivedita** » 09 Sep 2016, 10:13

Thanks for sharing these lovely stories, K Nagarajan, thanjavooran and ramarama!

Arasi-ji, very sweet of you to say that, thank you!

bala747 · Post by **bala747** » 11 Sep 2016, 18:10

When wooing my fiancee (now the wife, 9 years to this day), I had to hold the phone in one ear and play kalyanavasantham on the violin tucked into a funny angle while standing next to the wall.

To get her to sleep.

raguanu · Post by **raguanu** » 22 Sep 2016, 09:17

My brother and I gave up our day jobs to build carnatic apps. I still think it is crazy to do since the market is so small. But we could not stop ourselves! :--) Excited about the potential.

Thank you,
Ananth Pattabi
_____________________________________________
Shruti Carnatic Tuner (Android app)
Tune your instruments or voice. Automatic swaram detection!
© Kuyil | Apps Crafted for Carnatic

Rsachi · Post by **Rsachi** » 22 Sep 2016, 10:30

Nivedita,
Asking me what's the craziest thing I have done for the love of CM is like walking into a mental hospital and asking a long-term inpatient if he was crazy.
I will list for you five things randomly:
1. Hearing a TK Rangachari Kambhoji alapana in the higher octave when I was a newbie rasika, in my early teens, at Aralikatte, Mysuru, I burst out in loud applause at a defining moment- to everyone's damn embarrassment. (I was squatting a few feet away from the stage).
2. With hardly any preparation for my IIT entrance test, the evening before the entrance test, I preferred to attend an MSS concert in Crawford Hall, armed with the only material I had got, a questonpaper bank. That I passed in flying colours is entirely due to Sarojadalanetri.
3. At IIT, I routinely attended concerts just before major tests/exams.
4. I gatecrashed into their homes to meet KVN, Emani, Birju Maharaj....
5. Amritha Murali sang last Sunday a tribute concert to MSS. She announced that she would sing two chakras from the Melaragamalika, and narrated how it was recorded by MSS and the album royalties went to the Music Academy building fund. Before she finished the next song (a quickfire Manavyalakincharadate), sitting in the front row, I ordered the Saregama album on Amazon. It came within the next 48 hours.
My craziness continues unabated and specialists as we speak are conferring to pronounce me after all not crazy but differently configured.

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 22 Sep 2016, 14:08

So, no plans to give up the craziness, then?

That's good to know. The world needs craziness like this

nivedita · Post by **nivedita** » 22 Sep 2016, 17:44

All you truly crazy people -- your stories are inspiring! Thank you for sharing.

Nick H wrote: The world needs craziness like this

Couldn't agree more!

Rsachi wrote:2. With hardly any preparation for my IIT entrance test, the evening before the entrance test, I preferred to attend an MSS concert in Crawford Hall, armed with the only material I had got, a questonpaper bank. That I passed in flying colours is entirely due to Sarojadalanetri.

Or due to you being a genius!

raguanu wrote:My brother and I gave up our day jobs to build carnatic apps.

You both, sirs, are the epitome of Carnatic craziness!

kvchellappa · Post by **kvchellappa** » 22 Sep 2016, 19:00

Nivedita, you have enough, I hope to write your piece. I craziy look forward to reading it.

shripathi_g · Post by **shripathi_g** » 28 Sep 2016, 14:14

Not sure if this is still relevant. I used to live in Buffalo, NY. This was around the time Sanjay was touring US (2004). Heard that he was performing in Albany, NY which is roughly 300 miles away. A friend and I left work at 3pm, reached around 7:15, finished the concert at around 9:30 and drove back the same night. 8-9 hours of driving for 2.5 hours of music. I think he sang Kamboji that day though my memory is a bit off. Similar experience with Rama Verma's concerts in LA, San Diego and Bay Area. Chased him around till he got sick of us. Highlights were a very good Amruthavarshini in SD and Amba Kamakshi in the Bay Area.

When I came to the US to study, I brought 4-5kgs (1.43oz/cassette * ~100) of cassettes (mostly MMI, TVS) with me. The allowed limit was/is 23 kgs and one of my bags alone weighed 45kgs. Since I was the first to checkin, I convinced the attendant at the counter to make an exception!

nivedita · Post by **nivedita** » 15 Oct 2016, 05:16

More 'Carnatic crazy' stories have now been published: https://carnatictimes.com/portfolio/for ... c-music-2/

kvchellappa · Post by **kvchellappa** » 15 Oct 2016, 06:56

Good show. The one about MS as always is scintillating.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 15 Oct 2016, 07:35

Nivedita,
Great!

Starting with Hema Shankar (Punarvasu on Rasikas), all such good experiences shared by CM lovers of all ages...Good to see Venugopal's account too. His father was not only a great fan of MMI, but a close friend of his too.

We have plenty of young musicians coming up in the CM world, and enough rasikAs too from everywhere!

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 16 Oct 2016, 02:27

Nivedita
Liked your writing .While many write with a mindset of 1960's , but your thinking is certainly modern .the way you articulate and make others articulate to write is just wonderful. Particularly for me the best takeaway some one in vasco da gama in Goa is teaching Carnatic music in bits goa campus .

Hema Shankar(Punarvasu)
There was one post that your Let Rama bless you father wrote . He was a kid and he did not know he met Koteeswara iyer , may be you can curate that post and send it to Nivedita . In my opinion the post from your appa VeeYens on meeting Koteeswara Iyer is the most authentic in terms of non hear say anecdote.

sankark · Post by **sankark** » 16 Oct 2016, 08:56

Being a CM rasika/listene/aficionado itself being crazy to the core

Tongue firmly in cheek, it may pierce to create a permanent hole there!

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 16 Oct 2016, 09:00

Seriously

PUNARVASU · Post by **PUNARVASU** » 16 Oct 2016, 20:55

Rajeshnat, will try to do that. Don't know how to retrieve old post, though!

PUNARVASU · Post by **PUNARVASU** » 16 Oct 2016, 23:55

Rajeshnat, I am unable to get my farther's posts thro search options.

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 17 Oct 2016, 00:33

PUNARVASU wrote:Rajeshnat, I am unable to get my farther's posts thro search options.

Punarvasu,
You did not try bit farther to get your father's post

Your appa wrote with two ids - veeyens3 and veeyens . You always search with those ids. There is one extraordinary series of posts that he wrote titled "anecdotes - you read at your own risk" with cmlover moderating most of those posts asking incisive questions. In that post he once mentioned as a kid roughly 90 to 100 years back,he saw a very old man who was koteeswara iyer. Check your appa's posting here in
viewtopic.php?f=24&t=15659

May Rama bless us all with better search

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 17 Oct 2016, 01:01

Rajesh,
You brought the dear man back today, thanks. Along with him, another endearing person GBL.

As for CML, his absence is felt often, and his input on many topics are missed. He's busy, still applying himself to study and research, keeping himself occupied intellectually...

PUNARVASU · Post by **PUNARVASU** » 17 Oct 2016, 04:35

Rajeshnat, I did search for 'anecdotes- read at your own risk' !

Thank you for giving me the link. I went thro about 20 pages. I will go thro the rest and pick out the relevant ones. Thanks once again.

thanjavooran · Post by **thanjavooran** » 17 Oct 2016, 06:04

Punarvasu avl,
Trial costs nothing ! You will succeed.
With wishes,
Thanjavooran
17 10 2016