THE DECEMBER MUSIC BONANZA -A SUMMARY

[CRama]

The just concluded music season was a much enjoyable season for me. I have enjoyed more than 60 concerts in this season. Thanks to God for keeping me in good health. My new find during this season is Adityanarayanan. I also got more convinced about the music of Tiruvarur Girish. I honestly admit that I throng to the concerts of many popular musicians and a few upcoming talents whom I have heard and got convinced. Since I was busy attending concerts, I could not get time to write the reviews. I am very happy to present a very brief review of some of the concerts that I attended.

It was a really exhilarating season. I attended morning and after noon concerts in Mylapore/Alwarpet area and mostly in the evenings, I attended Mudhra as it is near my home. I could hear many grand old ragas, rare songs, less of Poorvikalyani, more of Kharaharapriya and Kambodi, and a few grand pallavis.
Now a brief review of some of the concerts.

VETERENS- OUR PRANAMS
I feel lucky enough to hear the concert of R.Vedavalli in Music academy at 9 A.M slot on 23 December. She commenced the concert with an unheard pada varnam in Dhanyasi- E maruva bodhinchina. Many gems of compositions like Mariveregathi in Anandabhairavi, Thanameedane in Bhushavali, Orajoopu, Sree Neelothpalambikaya in Kannadagowla, Venuganaloluni, Krishnananda-Gowlipantu etc came back to back in their pristine form and enthralled the listeners. Sree Nathadi Guruguho was presented with elaborate ragam, neraval and swarams. Ramaneesamanamevaru- the main song was decorated with ragam, tanam, neraval and swarams. A highly classical and artistic concert. R.K.Sreeramkumar, Arun Prakash and Guruprasad highly embellished the concert.

Another senior vidwan I heard was O.S Tyagarajan in Mudhra on 21 Dec. The Sangeeta Mudhra title winners for 2016- Tirucherai Kartik and Sunada Krishana Amai from Mangalore accompanied him on Violin and Mridangam respectively. As is his paddhati, he packed the concert with the choicest Tyagaraja kritis. For Nidhichala sukhama, he did scholarly neraval at Sumati Tyagaraja vinuduni keertana sukhama and appended elaborate swarams. The main song was Chakkaniraja with the customary neraval at Kantiki sundara and elaborate swaras. Each song was rendered in a highly polished manner with the perfect enunciation of the sangatis and highly imaginative swara prastarams. The accompanists, though upcoming vidwans played with confidence, vidwat and anusaranai. Tirucherai Kartik, is already playing for many concerts. His alapanas and returns were marked with diligence and imagination. Sunada Krishna Amai- this was his first concert in Chennai and he played with good understanding and anticipation and clarity of strokes. Both these vidwans will soon be flowering into pakkaa vaadyakkaarars.

Another senior vidwan I attended is Sangeeta Kala Acharya Prof.K.Venkataramanan of Trivandrum. in Sastri Hall on 25 Dec 2016. I had posted an elaborate review of this concert. It was heartening to hear many rare songs of Muthiah Bhagavatar, Mysore Maharaja, Swati Tirunal, Deekshitar etc from this octogenarian vidwan devoid of any gimmicks.

Grammy Award Winner Ghatam Maestro Vikku Vinayakram was awarded MUDHRA AWARD OF EXCELLENCE on 2 Jan 2017 which included a cash award of Rupees One lakh. Mudra Patron Dr.Nalli Kuppuswami Chetty, SBI CGM, Ramesh Babu, Haridwaramangalam Palanivel and Neyveli Santhanagopalan felicitated the maestro. On that day Vikku Vinayakram presented a unique programme specially conceived by him for the day. It was named Kalachakram. Besides the Maestro who played four Ghatams, Sukanya Ramgopal (Konnakkol) and many other vidwans participated in Mridangam, Ganjira, Ghatam and Gettuvadyam. It was an amazing programme for nearly two hours. Rasikas consisting of many percussion vidwans sat simply floored by the virtuosity, manodharmam, energy, agility and involvement of this vidwan who is nearing seventy five years.

Attended Hyderabad Brothers concert for IFAS on 27 Dec at 4.30 slot. The concert met their usual standard. The concert started with Tarunee- a rare Adi tala varnam in Kambodi composed by Fiddle Ponnuswami Pillai. As usual, Seshachary only did maximum alapanas. There were three alapanas- Begada for Anudinamu, Sunadavinodini for Devadideva and Kalyani for E tavunera. The kriti rendition was neat and the alapanas were reflective of the rich manodharmam and neraval and swarams were shared by both the brothers. Raghavachary’s voice still retained the timbre and he should have been given more opportunities for alapana. Among the post tani items, Ela radayani kamini- Javali in Bhairavi was very nicely rendered. S. Varadarajan as usual, played well. Jayabhaskar, the Mridangist is a student of Yella Venkateswara Rao and he embellished the concert well. (To be continued)

[CRama]

(continued)
TODAY’S STARS
I heard two concerts of Sanjay Subramaniam. In his concert for Bharat Kalachar on 18 Dec, Sanjay presented a very impressive Vasantha for Sree Kamakshi-the main song and RTP in Bagesree. This concert has been discussed in the forum. Another Sanjay concert I heard was Kartik Fine Arts concert held in NGS on 7 Dec 2016. This also conformed to his usual standard. Budham Asrayami with elaborate swarams, Sudhadhanyasi alapana for Samodam Chinthayami of Swati Tirunal, Dasarathe in Kokilapriya as the main song and RTP in Sahana were the highlights. I enjoyed both the concerts. I heard two concerts of Vijaya Siva. In his concert for KGS on 22 Dec 2106, VS rendered Sukhi evvaro with elaborate alapana and swarams, Mayuranatham, Biranavaralichi in Kalyani and Nagumomu as main song. In his concert for IFAS on 27 Dec, Vijaya Siva highly won the hearts of listeners with his serene Santamuleka with alapana and swarams, Iha param enum iru ulagilil (Simhendramadhyamam) and Sivam haram Ṣantham in Kambodi of Muthiah Bhagavatar. His open throated alapanas, chistelled rendition of sangathis, very imaginative swaraprastarams all took the concert to a great level.

Chitravina Ravikiran, in his concert for KGS on 28 Dec impressed the rasikas with a very solemn rendering of Sama for Santamuleka with highly imaginative alapana and swaras never hampering the santa bhavam of the kriti. Smaramyaham in Ramapriya with elaborate alapana and swarams and Muthukumarayyane as the main song in the Chatusra Roopakam talam were the highlights. Violin by Akkarai Subbulakshmi, Mridangam by Anantha R. Krishnan, Ganjira by B.S Purushothaman and Ghatam by Guruprasad played significant role in enhancing the stature of the concert.

The four hour concert of Sankaran Namboodiri in Mudhra on the New Year Day maintained a very high standard. I have already posted a review of the same in this forum. The concert of Gayathri Girish for Meenakshi College on 10 Dec and for Mudhra on 16 Dec were top notch. In the concert on 10 Dec in Meenakshi College, she presented four alapanas- Kannada, Thodi, Kalyani and Abheri. On 16 Dec she presented an outstanding concert for Mudhra with Soundararajam as the main song and RTP in Vachaspati- a ragam very rarely heard these days for RTP. I had posted the reviews of the concerts in this forum.

Malladi Brothers presented a very good concert conforming to their usual standard of excellence in Mudhra on 30 Dec. 2016. They were apparently having cold and it took some time to take off. But soon the concert reached greater heights. Of late they have mastered many Tamil compositions. The concert started with Parameswara Jagadeeswara-Nata and they presented four alapanas- all elaborate. Asaveri for Lekana was very soulful. Sankarabharanam for Muthukumarayyane, Bhairavi for Sree Viswanatham Bhajeham (Main song) and Ranjani for RTP. H.K.Venkatram, Mannargudi Easwaran and Anirudh Athreya provided excellent support. Very sumptuous like a traditional marriage feast.

On 9 Dec, I heard the concert of Abhishek Raghuram in BGS accompanied by B.U.Ganesh Prasad, Anantha R.Krishnan and Sreesunderkumar. It has already been reviewed in this forum. His Anandabhairavi for Mariveregati and RTP Thodi were superb. The next concert of Abhishek I heard was on 8 Jan 2017 in Bharat Kalachar with RTP In Ranjani ragams. This also has been discussed in this forum. I attended one concert of Bombay Jayasree in Bharat Kalachar on 15 Dec where she excellently presented Tulasibilva as main song and RTP in Rasikapriya. This has been discussed in this forum.

S. Mahati accompanied by Charulata Ramanujam (Bangalore) on the violin, Saigiridhar on the Mridangam and A.S.Krishnan on the Morsing presented an excellent concert for Mudhra on 24 Dec 2016. Her apprenticeship under various great masters keeps her in good stead. There is always a place for a vivadi ragam in her concerts. In this concert, she presented Velum Mayilume tunai in Sucharitra with ragam and swaram. The main song was Ethutanilachite in Sankarabharanam with elaborate ragam, neraval and swarams. Her raga alapana always reminds me of the expansive and akara based alapana of TNS. Special mention should be made of the RTP in Hindolam and Vasanta. In the alapana, Vasanta was sung by sruti bhedam and she sang tanam, pallavi, neraval and swarams in both the ragams. It was a very scholarly presentation high on aesthetics. Charulata Ramanujam- I have not heard this violinist earlier. She played very well with good nadam, manodharmam and control. In Sankarabharanam alapana, Mahati made sruti bhedam to Todi and Charulata made sruti bhedam to Yamunakalyani. Saigirdihar played with good anticipation, nadam and clarity of strokes at the right volume.

Shashank in his concert for Mudhra on 20 Dec made very interesting presentation of Hiranmayim as sub main and Paramathmudu as Main. It was a display of his abundant vidwat, manodharmam and craftsmanship that made Vagadheeswari a piece that will remain in our memory for long. B.U.Ganesh Prasad, Neyveli Narayanan and K.V.Gopalakrishnan contributed significantly in the success of this concert. Sikkil Gurucharan’s concert for Mudhra on the last day of the last year was exhilarating. He sang a lovely Saranam bhava karunamayi in Hamsavinodini with raga alapana and swarams and presented a very elaborate RTP in Hemavati. S.Varadarajan on the Violin was a perfect match for the manodharmam and virtuosity of Sikkil. Tiruvarur Bhakthavalsalam with his loud banging made us run for ear plugs. I could not stay for Tani avartanam and came out. Kunnakudi Balamuralikrishna in the company of Dr.Mysore manjunath and Padmavibhooshan Umayalpuram Sivaraman and Sreesunderkumar presented an amazing concert for Mudhra on 23 Dec. This concert has been discussed in this forum. I attended two more concerts of this vidwan.

Ramakrishnan Murthy- I heard RKMurthy’s concert first on 26 Nov in BVB. He started with the varnam Neranammiti in Kanada followed by Kapali in Mohanam. The song was rendered with full justice to the bhavam conveyed by the composer in the composition. The elaborate swarams in two kalams he appended to the charanam lines Mathi punal aravu konrai tumbai arugum which culminated in a complex korvai brought the required verve at the initial stage of the concert itself. Bhavapriya- the 44th melakartha ragam was taken up for an elaborate treatment and the Tyagaraja composition in this ragam Sree kanthaneeyeda was presented very nicely. After a leisurely Kalai thookki nindradum deivame in Yadukulakambodi, RKMurthy chose Kharaharapriya for an elaborate treatment. His full open throated singing, long akara sancharams interspersed with appropriate gamakams and brighas with pause overs at key junctures presented a wholesome portrait of Kharaharapriya. Kori sevimparare- one of the Kovur Pancharatna Krits composed by Tyagaraja in praise of Sundareswarar of Kovur was the chosen song for an elaborate treatment. Elaborate neraval was attempted on the lines Sree Saundarya nayika varuni Sree Tyagaraja varaduni Paramatmuni haruni and was decorated with sufficient doses of cracker swarams. The swarams had very intricate patterns but RKMurthy saw to it that the vyavaharam was never a threat to sowkhyam. He concluded the concert with a composition of Dr.Balamuralikrishna – Mahaneeya madhuramurti in the ragam Mahati. Except the varnam, all the songs rendered were in Adi talam. A mix of kritis in various talams would have given a brighter colour to the concert. Sandeep Ramachandran, disciple of R.K.Sreeramkumar accompanied on the Violin. His bowing had the necessary sweetness and revealed his manodharmam in the alapanas and swara returns. N.C.Bharadwaj, a young disciple of Dr.Umayalpuram Sivaraman provided deft strokes on the Mridangam and embellished the concert significantly. Anirudh Athreya on the Ganjira jelled well with rest of the team.

Ramakrishnan Murthy presented an exhilarating concert for Mudhra on 26 Dec. Starting with the rarely heard Narayanagowla varnam, he went on to present Sankaram Abhirami manoharam in Manohari. He then presented Kadaikkann nokki Kaavaavadum eno in Thodi, a rare composition of Papanasam Sivan. Raga was elaborate and neraval at the lines Mayilapurikkiraiva and the succeeding swarams were enjoyed by the discerning rasikas gathered in great numbers. The main song was Tiruvadi saranam with the customary neraval at Aduthu vanda ennai thallalaagathu and elaborate swaram which culminated in a complex korvai rendered with precision. He then rendered Ragam Gangeyabhooshani and the kriti Evvare Ramayya. The RTP was in Poorvikalyani- Kana kidaikkumo sabesan darisanam kandaal kali teerume. His voice was in great form that day that belied some reviewers apprehension about the strain in his voice. Charumathi Raghuraman presented some best moments in her alapanas of Kambodi and Poorvikalyani and her violin returns were always appropriate and sweet. N.C.Bharadwaj and BS Purushothaman handled percussion admirably.

Another concert of RKM I heard in Venus Colony Alwarpet on 9 Jan 2017 where he presented excellent alapanas of Asaveri (Mapala), Hameerkalyani (Manamuleda) and Kambodi (O Rangasayi).Nagai Sriram and K.V.Prasad embellished the concert sincerely. When we hear his concerts with the perfect blend of jnanam, manodharmam, voice, serenity, we forget his age. Pray God to bless this amazing vidwan the best of health and long years to enrich the music world.

T.N.S.Krishna, in his concert in Krishna Gana Sabha presented an excellent RTP in Ramapriya besides Raa Raa Rajivalochana as Main song. He proved that he is worthy heir to his illustrious father. Amrita Murali, in her concert for IFAS on 19 Dec impressed me a lot with her Tyagarajaya Namaste as main song and RTP in Keeravani. I had posted a review of this concert in this forum. The concert of Bharat Sundar for Chennai Cultural Academy held in Rama Rao Kalyana Mandapam on Dec 21 stood tall for his virtuosity, imagination and voice power. I had posted a review of this concert in this forum. The Nadaswaram concert of Injikudi Subramaniam in Raga sudha hall organised by Parivadini on 2 Dec was much enjoyable for his mellifluous delineation of Karnaranjani for Vanchatonu and Keeravani for Devi Neeye Tunai.

Ashwin Anand, disciple of R.Vedavalli presented a pristine Veena recital in the Music Academy on 27 Dec in the 1.30 slot. Commencing with the Ata tala varnam in Kalyani, he went on to present three ragams- Mayamalavagowla (Sree Nadhadi Guruguho Jayati), Dhanyasi (Meenalochana brova) and Kambodi (Sree Subramanyaya Namaste) The alapanas were elaborate and there were no gimmicks to show his virtuosity. It was pure unadulterated music in the gayaki style. He proved that the Veena in the hands of a musician who pursues profound classical values and has adequate mastery over the instrument, truly produces a divine music. In the tanam segment of Kambodi, he also played Ragamalika in Saraswati, Mukhari and Saveri. There was an elaborate neraval at Vasavaadi sakaladeva and the clarity of sahithyam would be a challenge to some of the vocalists. I heard Veena of Ramana Balachandran in Ragasudha Hall on 2 Dec. His Enthani ne in Mukhari was haunting for many days. The Natakapriya for Geetavadya natananatakapriye (Tanjavur Sankara Iyer) and asal kumbakonam chicory kapi For Intha sowkhya (main song) he played that day simultaneously singing the song was soaked in raga bhavam belying his age. He also presented Brihadeeswarim bhaje- a rare composition of MD in the ragam Lalitapanchamam. Ramana concluded the concert with Pibare Rama Rasam as a tribute to Dr BMK. (To be continued)

[CRama]

(continued)
THE FUTURE OF CARNATIC MUSIC.
Aiswarya Sankar, In her concert in Music Academy in the 11.45 A.M slot on 27 Dec sang Nammi vachina in Kalyani- famous with the Musiri school with neraval and swarams. She impressed the huge audience with her splendid rendering of Anandabhairavi- Kamalamba samrakshatumam with neraval and swarams at Sumanasaaraadhitabjamukhi. I have never heard any body singing neraval in this lines. The main song Tiruvadi saranam with the neraval and swarams at Adutha vanda ennai thallalaakathu was executed with aplomb. Her first concert in Academy, she performed with elan.

I started the season on 23 Nov with the auspicious concert of S.Aiswarya in BVB for Sai Baba’s birthday. The atmosphere was charged with devotion and the concert too. Among many songs, Aiswarya rendered some songs on Baba. In her concert for Meenakshi College on 22 Dec, Aiswarya presented a lovely Hemavati for Sree Kantimatim as the main song. and I had posted reviews of both the concerts. Anahita and Apoorva, disciples of Chitravina Ravikiran presented a well designed concert for Mudhra on its inauguration day – 13 Dec. The concert had all heavy weight items like Deva deva kalayami te, Ekamresa nayike, Karuvelpulu in Kalyani and RTP in Bhairavi. All the items were rendered with confidence, precision and good manodharmam. Apoorva Krishna and N.C Bharadwaj provided very good support. All these artistes were winners of Sangeeta Mudhra award last year and really very happy to see that they are in the right track on the way to success.

Aditya Prakash, disciple of Palai C.K.Ramachandran of Semmangdi School impressed the listeners with his erudite rendition of Mayateetaswaroopini, Karunaelakante, and Kadambaripriyayai on 16 Dec in Arkay. Ashwath Narayanan, the torch bearer of KVN school presented a very impressive concert in Ragasudha hall at 2.30 P.M slot on 25 Dec. Starting with Suryamurthe, he presented Sree Kamalambike in Thodi, a very rare composition of Subbaraya Sastri popularised by Brinda Mukta and Kamakshi Sree Varalakshmi in Bilahari as the main song. A vidwan with very good potential, pleasant voice, serene music and manodharmam. Sure to blossom, into a consummate vidwan very shortly. Madurai Sivaganesh, the winner of Sangeeta Mudhra Award of Mudhra presented an excellent concert in Mudhra on 14 Dec. He was accompanied by Veteran accompanying vidwans- N.C.Madhav and Thrissur Narendran. I had posted detailed review of this concert.

On 25 November, I heard the concert of Adityanarayanan- a disciple of Suguna Varadachary in Arkay. Adityanarayanan has a pleasant voice, good jnanam, sowkhyam and manodharmam steeped in tradition. There is enough potential for him to ascend greater heights in a couple of years. He sang Sree sukra bhagavantam in a leisurely kalapramanam which I immensely liked. Other songs he sang were Pankajalochana and Tanayunibrova which were faultless and a proof of his potential. Next year we will be able to hear him in many sabhas.

Sunil Gargyan impressed the huge audience in Music Academy n 23 Dec in the 11.45 A.M slot. Starting with Keezh vanam vellendru- Tiruppavai of the day he sang a very good alapana of Sreeranjini for Nee sati deivamendune and the main ragam Kalyani for Rave Parvatharajakumari- a rare kriti of Syama Sastri. He also sang the very rare song- Etla doragithivo- a rare Tyagaraja kriti in Vasantha. He has abundant vidwat, manodharmam and potential, but some fine tuning needs to be done to achieve perfection in alapanas and kanakku vazhakku. Padma Sugavanam is another artiste with immense potential, very pleasing voice, jnanam and repertoire. Her concert in Mylapore Fine Arts in 1.30 P.M slot on 24 Dec was very good with Dhyaname with alapana and swarams, Saraswati Namostute, and a kriti of M.M.Dandapani Desikar in Keeravani as the Main song. The concert of Brinda Manickavasagam in the Academy at 11.45 A.M on 24 Dec was very pleasing. Her Devagandhari alapana and kriti Namoralakimpa- another Musiri special and the main song Palimsu Kamakshi were lingering in the ears for long time. I think she got prize for this concert in Music Academy. Another young vidwan who impressed me a lot is Venkatanagarajan who is a disciple of Guru Ambujam Vedantham of Trichy. Now his music has got considerable influence of Sanjay. He presented Ramabana as the main song in his afternoon concert in Sivagami Pethachi on Dec 25.

I heard 62 concerts and there were RTPs in 18 concerts. In all the RTPs I have heard, the singers have paid attention to all elements of the RTP and devoted adequate time to the pallavi. There was never an instance of rushing through or singing RTP as a ritual. There were variety in the ragams chosen. Pallavis in the big five ragams- I heard only three- one by Abhishek Raghuram in Thodi and another by Anahita and Apoorva in Bhairavi and Rudrapatnam Bros in Kalyani. But there were many grand pallavis in other ragams. Fortunately, I did not hear any miniscule pallavi in any minor ragam. Pallavis were rendered in a variety of talams and most had ragamalika swarams. A few had ragamalika tanams and ragamalika neravals too. In the concerts of three hours duration, the artistes get sufficient time to present the RTP elaborately.

One of the important concerns during the festival is the poor audience turnout in many sabhas except for the star performers. In many sabhas, for the upcoming vidwans, only the relatives will form the audience. In Rama Rao Kalyana Mantap in Habibulla Road (Numgambakkam Cultural Academy) audience turn out is abysmally poor. The hall is also very poor in terms of accoustics. The prestigious IFAS conducts its festival in Ethiraj Kalyana Mandapam- a venue most unsuitable for music concerts. These organisers, shedding their ego, should consider merging with another sabha in the neighbourhood so that the audience will not get split. It is easily said than done. I have observed that the Astika Samajam of Venus Colony Alwarpet gets good audience support. (I went there in January. That also could be a reason). Generally, the audience comprise of rasikas above 50 years and the proportion of young audience is very poor everywhere. This is a serious issue which has to be addressed by vidwans, sabhas and gurus. (CONCLUDED)

[HarishankarK]

Well done and thanks for your reviews. May you attend many more pristine concerts.

[rajeshnat]

Crama- Lovely 3 part writeup. Just curious from which date you have started counting your 62 concerts. 62 concerts is just an awesome figure.I do know that you are retired from service and this was indicated in one of your post. May be the count is slightly greater than your age. Kudos to your enthusiasm in the next 10 years or so your count of concerts will exactly match your age of that december.

[Rsachi]

CRama, Your narrative is wonderful. Valmiki told his story in six kAnDas. You have done your epic in just three. Bravo!

[Nick H]

Thank you CRama

[CRama]

Rajesh. My season started on 23 Nov and I have included upto 9 Jan. Only when you pointed out I noticed. This sixty two is just one plus my age.

[dipukaruthedam]

Great summary! Thanks!

[semmu86]

Valmiki told his story in six kAnDas.

Seven it is actually, including the utthara kAnDam though the u'kAnDam is hardly taken up for pArAyaNam or in upanyAsams.

Wonderful summary CRama. Loved reading it.

[rshankar]

Seven it is actually, including the utthara kAnDam though the u'kAnDam is hardly taken up for pArAyaNam or in upanyAsams.

The uttara kANDa is thought to be a later addition, and attributing it to vAlmIki may be incorrect...

[rshankar]

Beautiful and succinct summary! Thank you for your reviews. As I've said before, we are certainly enjoying your retirement!

[pattamaa]

CRama Sir - hats off to you, easily you are only one who attended so many concerts in the season, also noting down meticulously the details and summarizing. It must have been really tiring. Whenever i attend more than 3 concerts one day, i was really drained for next two days !! So nice of you that you didn't find fault with any artist for poor performance.. Also interesting to know that purvikalyani didn't find its place much...

[CRama]

Even though I attended so many concerts some artistes I missed- because of overlapping with other concerts. Eg, Pantula Rama, Lalgudi GJR Krishnan-Vijayalakshmi.

[Rsachi]

Semmu, Ravi

Not to put too fine a point on it, here is an extract from an excellent site, valmikiramayan.net

Thus the structure of Srimad Valmiki Ramayana is arranged into six Kaandas or Books, and they are:

Bala Kanda ( Book of Youth) [77 chapters]
Ayodhya Kanda (Book of Ayodhya) [119 chapters]
Aranya Kanda (Book of Forest ) [75 chapters]
Kishkindha Kanda (The Empire of Holy Monkeys) [67 chapters]
Sundara Kanda ( Book of Beauty ) [68 chapters]
Yuddha Kanda ( Book of War ) [128 chapters]
While stabilizing the original text of Ramayana, historians surmised that portions of two Books [Kaandas], namely Book I, Bala Kaanda and Book VII, Uttara Ramayana (not listed above) are later additions - "The first and the last Books of the Ramayana are later additions. The bulk, consisting of Books II--VI, represents Rama as an ideal hero. In Books I and VII, however Rama is made an avatara or incarnation of Vishnu, and the epic poem is transformed into a Vaishnava text. The reference to the Greeks, Parthians, and Sakas show that these Books cannot be earlier than the second century B.C......"[ The cultural Heritage of India, Vol. IV, The Religions, The Ramakrishna Mission, Institute of Culture ].

However Book I, Balakanda is considered to be an original version except for some injected stories. Story starts from the fifth chapter of Book I, and tradition demands it to be read with the others. This stipulation is not obligatory to Uttara Kaanda, a later kaanda, wherein Sita's expulsion to forest takes place.

[Sivaramakrishnan]

Maybe only less than a dozen concerts I could attend with CRama but I must thank him now for a quick glance at the 'perfectly classified events'.

[gardabha_gana]

Thank you Sir very much for the report. I think @Rscahi and I will be thrilled that RKM's voice is not at risk. Maybe it is the bengaluru weather that plays truant at times. I am kind of jealous in a good way... some day I hope to emulate you

[arasi]

CRama,
A fantastic job! I concur with Ravi--actually, many of us do. Your retirement is our gain

I missed seeing you though, and I see why. Our venues were different, even with the same artistes!

My short season in Chennai meant around fifteen concerts. Some weren't even full concerts. I was very keen on our S. Aishwarya's concert--just that one within my time frame--knew I could only attend an hour or so of it, and even that was not to be--I was held up just as I was stepping out...

Coming back to you, who said you've retired? This was a full time job, covering so many concerts--that too so meticulously! Thanks again --

[Ramasubramanian M.K]

CRama: As usual I am late for the party!!! When I read the 3=part review,my reaction was "WOW".Thanks a million for your prodigious effort.We are grateful to you.

I noticed that there several rare pieces sung by veterans like Vedavalli and youngsters like Ramakrishna MUrthy. This not only convinced me about the artistes's sincerity in unearthing compositions that were latent but also the rasikas' willingness to support these youngsters. Ofcourse the lament about thin attendance is valid. However as an old Chennai resident the transportation logistics(lack of public transportation) can be truly forbidding. It is all the more commendable that rasikas like you,Rajeshnat and others take pains to attend the concerts braving all these hassles!!
Congrats on a job well-done!!!

[svenkat]

I wanted to do a summary thread like this for the events I attended, but work pressures and travel kept me busy, and now CRama has beaten me to it! Very nice classification and summary, CRama. I will just add a few general observations here, and post some concert lists soon.

1. V Ramnarayan of Sruti magazine observed that many of the stars disappointed this year. Many had lost their voices, temporarily or for the longer-term. Some make one wonder if they are worthy of the elevation they are given by institutions like the Academy or the hype created by a group of people around them.

2. A large number of vocalists barely sing with any heed to sruti. Many real tamburas are not in tune by themselves or with their electronic counterparts, making one wonder which sruti they are trying to adhere to!

3. Downright sensationalism and cheapness prevail, explaining the stardom that some enjoy!

4. Some lesser known artists sing their hearts out and extremely well too, to much smaller audiences.

5. Audiences in many places are indifferent to some great music simply because of lack of star value, while they lap up anything dished out by the stars! Quite baffling even to a half-baked student/listener like me.

6. The situation with instruments is very lamentable. If we don't act fast, we will soon lose a great Indian heritage and some of the biggest gems of India.

7. A few lec-dems were simply fantastic - perhaps time to have more of these and thereby better educated audiences?

[CRama]

Some make one wonder if they are worthy of the elevation they are given by institutions like the Academy or the hype created by a group of people around them.

2. A large number of vocalists barely sing with any heed to sruti. Many real tamburas are not in tune by themselves or with their electronic counterparts, making one wonder which sruti they are trying to adhere to!

3. Downright sensationalism and cheapness prevail, explaining the stardom that some enjoy!

Unless you give specific names , such observations are superfluous.

[arasi]

"What a great wedding! Graceful hosts! Fantastic food!"

"Ugh! When I arrived, there was no one to welcome me at the door!"

"You came in so late, and they were all busy blessing the couple--it was the moment of the mAngalya dhAraNa."

"Gosh, you praise the food! That rasam had anything but flavor!"

"Mmm, I don't think so. Everything they served was excellent in taste and was served tastefully. Not too many items, no slopping it on the leaf, but serving manageable amount, all in proportion..."

"Bah! Rationed amounts! I needed a spoon more of that avial, and..."

"I thought you didn't like the food..."

"Well, I didn't! I had to eat something! Even that was denied to me...Anyhow, my cousin's daughter got married within days. What food! What arrangements!"

Folks,
Well, cringe as some might , food analogies are CM's indispensable companions

[CRama]

Arasi Madam, Brilliant analogy. For a second, I was bewildered- are you telling about RSachi's daughter's marriage. It is today. But as I know their family, it can't be. As I went on reading, I could get what you wanted to convey. True. Experiences can vary formany people. But very generalised statements do not convey anything. It is better to give who erred sruti or who has been promoted too early.

[Vocalist]

cringe as some might , food analogies are CM's indispensable companions

I admit I cringed also , but I would not be surprised if that was an almost word for word conversation (translated of course).

I generally hate stereotyping about people but yet it is difficult not to in matters like this.

[svenkat]

Some make one wonder if they are worthy of the elevation they are given by institutions like the Academy or the hype created by a group of people around them.

2. A large number of vocalists barely sing with any heed to sruti. Many real tamburas are not in tune by themselves or with their electronic counterparts, making one wonder which sruti they are trying to adhere to!

3. Downright sensationalism and cheapness prevail, explaining the stardom that some enjoy!

Unless you give specific names , such observations are superfluous.

Have to respectfully disagree. One can make general observations about a large picture. Rather than being superfluous, they are the best indicators of trends.

[kvchellappa]

The comments will fit into any season.

[semmu86]

Many real tamburas are not in tune by themselves or with their electronic counterparts, making one wonder which sruti they are trying to adhere to!

I have still not managed to get a convincing answer to the logic/ reason behind having 2 thamburas in the first place and then over on top of that, the reason behind having an electronic shruthi box, shruthi tone on iPAD, shruthi tone on Cell phone etc.. in addition to the 2 thamburas. Wonder if all of them are at all in the same shruthi.

[kvchellappa]

Interestingly, when this question was put to Sangitha Sivakumar, TMK said, 'If this question was put to me, I would have run away.' But, he uses two.

[svenkat]

Many real tamburas are not in tune by themselves or with their electronic counterparts, making one wonder which sruti they are trying to adhere to!

I have still not managed to get a convincing answer to the logic/ reason behind having 2 thamburas in the first place and then over on top of that, the reason behind having an electronic shruthi box, shruthi tone on iPAD, shruthi tone on Cell phone etc.. in addition to the 2 thamburas. Wonder if all of them are at all in the same shruthi.

Ambience creation? Aping Hindustani artists? I daresay they are seldom in tune.