Arasi (Smt. Rajee Krishnan)

[cmlover]

...appropriate indeed!
unless arasi had Sai Baba in mind

[venkatakailasam]

e swara 010- Sumitra Nitin-Unnai ninainde- Punnagavarali-composed by arasi...


Copyright tag free Audio provided by Smt. Sumitra Nitin...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sMNcasMLM4

[arasi]

VKailasam,
Came upon these just now!
Thank you so much for bringing Neela Ramgopal and Sumitra Nitin's singing of my songs to this thread.
As always, you do a great job of adding the visuals.I am glad you bring mahA periyavar here. Philosophical musings like these are born out of inspiration from such
divine beings.
This song, sung with poise and feeling by Neela is from the second CD. Though one of the pictures show her with V.V.Murari and forumite Mannarkoil Balaji (they played at the CD release concert), in this recording Neela is accompanied by Charulatha Ramanujam and Anoor.

Your visuals for Sumitra's song unnai ninaindE innisai pADi(a song from the first CD) are again pleasing and soothing--just in the way she emotes the lines.
Sumitra sings the song in the concert here with Ambika Prasad on the violin and our own Erode Nagaraj and Venkatasubramanian on percussion.

Thanks again for choosing these two songs (both similar in thought)--which are sort of my favored ones too

[arasi]

For the folks who had in the recent past asked me for some of my songs which VKailasam had posted but were not available for sometime: they are back now. Vidushi Neela Ramgopal and Sumitra Nitin have sung them.

Thanks, VKailasam!

[pvs]

Arasi,
Just chanced upon your 'Engu parthalum' on Youtube. It paints my mood in the same happy colors and contours 'Enneramum' does (inspiration?). Though I have listened to many other compositions of yours and enjoyed them (I'm at fault for not giving them due attention; my apologies), this song has started me on a more detailed revisit of them all, extracting more enjoyment from 'Unnai ninainde'! Many many thanks and best wishes to continue with hundreds more! So much to hear, so little time...

[arasi]

PVS,
Thank you kindly! That you have spent this much time with the songs is itself gratifying!

When I arrived at engu pArthAlum--I wasn't even conscious that it resembled ennEramum. Then, someone pointed it out, and yes, even the eDuppu is like that. ennEramum conjures up a visual image which (in all its verses) reaches grandeur. Engu pArthAlum speaks of a search in which one asks: Nature, which is so overwhelming and moving to the senses, can it bring your nearness to me, God? Nature nurtures the soul, and is all around me where I live, fortunate that I am!

It's all a lot of work, bringing every song to light. I'm lazy I suppose, when it comes to working on a project like that

[pvs]

My pleasure, Arasi. Very interesting! Yes, I enjoyed the simple and meaningful lyrics (I'm a native Tamil speaker) and the 'total' parallel in the pallavis of the two - 'all the time' and 'wherever I see'. Thanks again! So many works and you call this 'lazy'! )

[rajeshnat]

Taking this quote from another thread:

I can tell Ramaraj how he inspired me
To compose in rAgAs I was not even aware of!

arasi ,
Did you compose on any ragas that he told , just curious you can list them in this thread if there are new numbers.

[arasi]

Rajesh,
As always, thank you for your constancy in being interested in my songs.

Yes, Ramaraj was one reason (the other one--my being exposed to rare rAgAs in live concerts, elaborated by fine vocalists with rAgAs and svarAs). I got emboldened by these experiences, I guess.

A few years ago, when you were in Bengaluru with your better half (the best half for both of you, your charming daughter hadn't arrived then!), you were on my case for not doing much with my songs, and went through a pile of songs I had--even the one in chandrakauns! I have been quite productive the past year and now, I have a number of them in a variety of rAgAs, thanks to you all.

Of the songs which are already out there, in my rather short season, I heard Sumitra Nitin sing 'chinnak kaiyai virithenniDam veNNai kELAyO?' at NGS, and one of my favorite artistes and persons, Gayathri Girish wrote and told me that she was singing 'oru nALEnum' in kAmbOdi early in the season. I wrote back to say I was still in Bengaluru. She then asked me on which day I could make it to her concert, and did sing it for me at Indian Fine Arts! I loved the way she prefaced it with a virutham and sang it with such bhAvam. How I wish it can be shared here! (she had heard Sumitra Nitin sing it in the third volume of the Arasi CD).

Surya is interested in singing two other songs (other than 'inRu varuvAnO?') in his concerts and had asked for the lyrics which I have sent him. Hope he sings one in a concert soon, and you can hear him too

[venkatakailasam]

Arasiji..your songs are here..I think I told you when you called me a few days back..

concert 011-Rajee Krishnan Compositions..

at ..

http://myblogkumara.blogspot.in/2013/11 ... isten.html

Unfortunately, it is a uncared for thread...Many good concerts are being missed..After all I have nothing to lose...

[arasi]

Venkatk,
I always appreciate your effort in bringing my songs for others to hear! Your tireless service to the rasikA community in making thousands of songs available is commendable.

I was telling Rajesh how well Gayathri Girish sang my song (the one Sumitra Nitin has sung on the CD), and wondered if she would let us listen to her version here.

[rajeshnat]

Arasi,
Jog my memory a bit here , chinnak kaiyai virithenniDam veNNai kELAyO is in karnataka devagaandhari right. I do know a month or two back there was a sudda dhanyasi number that suryaprakash sang, did not hear it live. Looks sumitra,gg and suryaprakash have taken up this season. Any luck from Neela maami this time in taking any of your compositions? I am assuming JS did not sing this season.

[arasi]

Yes, Sumitra sang the karnataka devagandhari one so well. Neela?
Not this season, I don't think. JS would have, but had to cancel her concert due to ill health.

Don't know if Surya sang any last month. Shashikiran and Ganesh might, some day. The former reiterates that he wants to.

My! Has it turned out to be a self-promotion day?

[rajeshnat]

Something which happened ages ago, came back to me! I still don't know the answer, but this is what happened. I was working as a sub-editor for a short time at a low key quasi-government publication. After working for a newspaper, it was vacation time for me. Little work, too many people to tackle it. I had a friendly editor who gave assignments which I finished quickly (due to my having worked at a constantly busy daily). I would take a book out of my desk and start reading it, or go to the cafeteria for a cup of coffee. The senior among the sub-editors could not brook it. He said, 'you can't read a book or have your coffee except at the 'understood' hour'! I would say, 'give me some work to do, and I'll stay'. He would scrounge around for some scraps of paper, and after working on them, I'd make my way to the cafeteria. It irked him no end, and the farce went on for a while.

Then, one day the editor called me into his office and said, 'you do more than your share of work. Please feel free to take some time off here and there'! Bless that old gentleman! With that carte blanche, the documentary section next door was a fun-filled learning ground for me.

Now, considering that I was not in my seat (or was sitting and reading a book) the right thing to do? I still don't have an answer, in the light of what we are discussing here: a performer deciding on his time on stage dependent on his artistic satiation level...

Then again, I had my editor's permission and approval for it

Arasi,
That is interesting .I wished you had sung then veenAsaigaLil veezhvEnO in unnai ninaindu of yours in kuntalavarAli instead of reading another book and having another coffee. Atleast one kuntalavarAli would have slowly permeated then in 1950 to 1960's and now that number would compete with bhogeendra sAyinam.

Putting that aside , Arasi dont feel shy, just write about your experiences .Possibly atleast segment into four parts ,
1.your years in India inclusive of your book reading and publishing experience.
2.Then a bit about your UK
3.Then about your early days in US.
4. May be the last decade and half in US.

Write long post , this is just dry time for music and kutcheris. Donot feel shy.

[arasi]

Rajesh,
Thanks for asking! And you had to bring this post all the way from elsewhere
Thanks for asking--but there aren't many younger people like you who would ask MKR or VKV, us old folks to share our experiences as if they matter.

Still, considering the number of fans MMI and other musicians of the bygone era are worshiped by a number of much younger people like you...it all looks promising for CM!

I'm just a big mouth

[arasi]

Rajesh,
Just a little correction: unnai ninaindE inniSai pADi ennALum irundiDalAmO? is in punnAgavarALI (SaradE! Sarasvathi is in kunthalavarALi) on the same CD.

How can vINASaigaLil vIzhvEnO? be speed-sung in Kunthala varALi? It needs the elongated musical notes of punnAga varALi, don't you agree?

[rajeshnat]

Arasi,
You are obviously right. All the more better let there be unnai ninaindE in punnAgAvarAli of yours and let it find a place in many concerts like swati's bhOgeendra sAyinAm in kuntalavarAli .

Anyway please start writing about yourself as mentioned in the last post.

[vs_manjunath]

Arasiji..your songs are here..I think I told you when you called me a few days back..

concert 011-Rajee Krishnan Compositions..

at ..

http://myblogkumara.blogspot.in/2013/11 ... isten.html

Unfortunately, it is a uncared for thread...Many good concerts are being missed..After all I have nothing to lose...

Sri VKailasam-Thanks.
arasi madam-All your compositions are execellent and have been rendered by the duo very melodiously.

[bagyamananthu41]

" Unfortunately, it is a uncared for thread...Many good concerts are being missed..After all I have nothing to lose..."

Sorry..even if comments are not there, these have been seen by nearly a thousand people...

[rajeshnat]

Arasi recently released two cds and those reviews are there in the forum in the below url
http://rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=24840 and http://rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=24821

I just notice that kalakendra has the cds for sale in their website.

Engirundo Vandai Penne by Suryaprakash:
-----------------------------------------------
http://www.kalakendra.com/shopping/engi ... -3848.html

Paattu Dipamai Olirude by Gayathri Girish:
----------------------------------------------
http://www.kalakendra.com/shopping/paat ... -3847.html

Please do buy and if you get a chance to hear also review it(hear hear especially srinivasaraghavan)

[cacm]

I am starting a discussion on ARASI'S COMPOSITIONS esp specifically her latest cd's VOL: 4(ENGIRUNDO VANDAI PENNE!") AND VOL 5: "Paatu Dipamai Olirude" rendered respectively by Suryaprakash & Smt.Gayathri Girish respectively.
To me ARASI'S COMPOSITIONS are the answer to whether lyrics, emotions and words MATTER. (Being discussed in another topic in another section). In my view she has CLEARLY PROVED that not just the notes or their accurate rendering that alone matter but the WHOLE IMPACT is a combination of ALL OF THE ABOVE. Being a good poetess she manages to COMBINE various aspects to compose songs that move one beyond just the words or the music.
Suryaprakash has imaginativelty rendered Padams&Javalis (ESP Swarams, Neravals & Chitta Swarams) which as has been pointed out correctly (except for Mahakavi Bharathiyar) has previously been the province of men as they experienced love. These verses in Arasi's compositions are very gentle & the ragas are PERFECT to express the sentiments in a more sophisticated fashion. The result has been a deeper & gentler expression on the subject which ENHANCES the sentiments & feelings THROUGH MUSIC.
Gyathri Girish is the IDEAL singer to perform almost any composition because of her discipline, dedication , and competence; Hence her renderings of Arasi's compositions are appropriate & properly delienate Arasi's contributions over the years.
My wish is that experts here start a meaningful analysis& discussion about Arasi's works as I feel it can be very illuminating esp. reg. what matters in Carnatic music---compositions, contents, technicalies etc-
VKV

[mohan]

Please merge with http://rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=2045

[arasi]

Countless rasikAs have benefited by Lakshman's tireless service in his sharing compositions with us. His zeal and efforts are unmatched in this.Wish I had an iota of his devotion.

He has been asking me to post my songs on KarnAtik for a while now. Not seeing me do it, he has done it himself A dear friend he truly is

My thanks to KarnAtik, for their publishing the lyrics of my songs

I'm posting this here, so that those who have asked for the lyrics can find them now.

Arun's App also has lyrics from my earlier CDs. Thanks to him too. He's also the trigger for my wanting to compose the thematic songs which Suryaprakash has sung admirably in 'EngirundO vandAi

[rajeshnat]

LJi
I see in the url http://www.karnatik.com/composers.shtml
Rajee krishnan is listed and clicking on that we see only 54 compositions of arasi after clicking that

Will it be possible for you to make a change so that her pen name is listed too , let it be Arasi (Rajalakshmi Krishnan).

Arasi
Atlast some thing moves ????? Get everything thru arasan - is all there in your almirah.

[arasi]

Rajesh,

Reprimand me you would, won't you, as fond as you are of me

I am just Rajee, not Rajalakshmi, which is more misleading

All the songs Lakshman has taken the time to post are the ones that have come out on CDs.

One song which is about MS, I have posted here. This being her centenary year, If Cienu obliges, we can even have a recording of it--sung by Aishwarya several times (and with his mother, when it was first sung)...

[arasi]

Nageswaran has uploaded the Rasikas.org concert he hosted in Chennai recently in the Concert Reviews forum. Suryaprakash, in this delightful concert has sung one of my compositions (sung by Neela Ramgopal in CD volume 2). How well he sings it!

Thanks, Suryaprakash

[rajeshnat]

Hear! Hear! I sang a composition of hers "kandA vEl murugA" in sAvEri at my concert (copied from the album by gAyatri girIsh). I probably did not do justice to the song but it is truly a wonderful wonderful creation. You would think a rAgam like sAvEri would have been wrung out ("puzhinju-fied" as they say) by now, but arasi found a way of presenting the rAgam that I had not encountered before. I wanted to give her this kudos earlier but it kept slipping my mind and this post reminded me.

Thanks, Arasi, for this and other wonderful compositions.

Thenpannan
That is wonderful to hear . We have had neela mami, suryaprakash, Gayathri girish and sumitra nitin.
I do know suji ram played a violin venkatava unnnai vendinEn in shyama , I did not know you can sing . Post your recording in soundcloud and share it.

Arasi,
Refresh my memory your very first song is in saveri . I forgot now which one is that ? Can you trace some kind of time mapping (approximations)???

[arasi]

Rajesh,
Your memory is amazing. Yes, forgetting my 'compositions' for high school and college programs, the first song of my composing stretch started with a sAvEri song: Anai mugathOnai azhaithAl...1989 or thereabouts.

[rajeshnat]

Arasi composition in saveri is sung by Archit Kumar (North America based disciple of Suryaprakash) in Dec 2024 from madhuradhwani. This is a saveri composition , kept the youtube pointer there. Hear with great bluetooth speaker not just with mobile

yEnnana inparivOr anbum(sprinkle of swaras) - saveri - Arasi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-FwDiBi86g&t=2294s

Arasi,
Congrats , This is not from your first CD , is it from second CD or has this number never hit the CD's . I dont recollect from my memory. Lovely composition sung by a lad from North America who can qualify in between like your Grand son and your Great Grand son .

Very Good Arasi and rendition by Archit is great

[arasi]

Just seeing this!

Rajesh,
It was on Arun's legitimate question about the lack of compositions on the dance stage--those which express the sentiments of a man--which brought about these songs. We see men dancing to lyrics which are purely from a woman's point of view!

Somehow, this made sense to me and the next two months, words for these songs came. Suryaprakash urging me to finish the 'project' pronto--the songs came in succession. If you asked me, I wouldn't remember many lines of the songs, as I do with my previous ones! Call this my wanting to do something at that time about the dearth of songs for male dancers in depicting love from their point of view.

Nice of Archit in choosing this song, and of course of Suryaprakash in teaching him this. This song is about a man looking at his wife who reminds him of his dear mother in the way she cares for him: en annaiyin parivum...I can't remember the words now! More so because of their being a response to a dearth of suitable songs out their for men (a cultural call for a social cause??!!). Well, as you know, my age in years adds up, and so does my forgetfulness

This was a decade ago!

[sam]

@arasi
Madam,
I was trying to get some youtube or other links to the songs and lyrics for a long time.
-
Only recently stumbled upon this link by Gayathri Girish - Apple Music, a set of 13 songs.
I am unable to copy and paste the list and may be there are restrictions about the country.
====
‎Paattu Dipamai Olirude (Compositions by Arasi, Vol. 5) - Album by Gayathri Girish - Apple Music
(oLirudhe)

https://music.apple.com/my/album/paattu ... /988367914

The link says vol-5.
So there have been 4 earlier volumes on the same theme by the same artiste or by different artistes?
-
A few could be found in youtube,
.Watch "VandAlum vArAvidinum- Arasi's composition rendered by Sumitra Nitin" on YouTube.
https://youtu.be/ov5BGfUpBGk?si=gqATLCioP8A3Rxxm
.
==
I remember a karNatik com page listing some of the kruthis transliteration.
https://karnatik.com/co1152.shtml
-.
quote
====

Arasi (Rajee Krishnan) - is a vaggeyakara and a writer of prose and poetry. She comes from a family of musicians and composers (see here for for information). Some of her compositions are sung on CDs by vidushis Neela Ramgopal, Sumitria Nitin, Gayathri Girish and vidvan R. Suryaprakash.
</quote>

Is there any problem in placing all the poems in Thamizh script for the thamizh songs, in Thamizh section? Transliteration of thamizh songs does not do full justice., because of special phonetic grammar of Thamizh.
May I have information about a good English to Thamizh TRANSLITERATION site?
--
What is the problem in sharing thamizh LYRICS even if they are in commercial CD?
Also in sharing the music in public domain with the permission of the CD company and artistes?
-
Any work of art not shared widely in public domain will be forgotten in the coming decades.

How many krtuthis are there?
How many in commercial CDs and how many in
easily accessible youtube ?
-
these 54 only have been listed in karNatk site
--
Compositions:
ADi pADi dinam - rAgamAlikA
Adi parAshakti - nATa
alaivEnO nAn ulaga - kAmavardhini
amarndavanai ninanindAl - rAgamAlikA
anumanE marutan - hindOLa
Ar enna sonnAlum - kalyANi
arindEnE inrE unnaiyE - Ahiri
cinnak-kaiyai - karnATakadEvagAndhAri
collac-colla inittiDumE - vAcaspati
EmAndEnE ennennavO - kApi
en annaiyin parivum - sAvEri
engirundO vandAi nI - madhyamAvati
engu pArttAlum - dEvagAndhAri
ennai nI anbu - dEvagAndhAri
guruvE sharaNam en - dhanyAsi
hosa hosadAgi kELuvE - hamsAnandi
inbamAyinum tunbam - amrtavarSiNi
indap-piLLai enna seyyum - rAgamAlikA
inidE vandaruLvAn kandan - rItigauLa
inru varuvAnO - kalyANavasanta
inrum nI varuvAi - rAgamAlikA
kadiravan mennoLi - bauLi
kalakalavena silambasaiyum - Anandabhairavi
kaLLamillAdunnai - sarasvati
kandA vEl murugA - sAvEri
kandan vindai enna - tilang
koNDADi kUttADi kandA - kApi
kurai tIrppAn guhan - hamsadhvani
madhuvuNDa - rAgamAlikA
makkaLa Atava - behAg
maragata shirag-ashaindE - bAgEshrI
mayilEri oyilAi - cArukEsi
nADagamE un ulagam - hamsAnandi
nADi vandEn - gambhIranATa
nAraNanai nidam kaNamEnum - kAmbhOji
nATyamADO naTarAja - pUrvikalyaNi
oru nALEnum un iDadu pAdam - kAmbhOji
parAmukham EnO - behAg
pATTu dIpamAi oLirudE - paTdIp
rAmA nI padamu - AbhOgi
sammatamA solvAi - AbhOgi
shAradE sarasvati - kuntalavarALi
shivanAr naTanam kaNDEn - kharaharapriyA
shyAm AyE man - hindOLa
un tiru nAmam - mukhAri
unnai ninaindE - punnAgavarALi
vaLLi nAyakanE - bilahari
vandAi vandE aruL - kEdAra
vandAlum varAdiDinum - kalyANi
vandE tuNai tandE - shuddhadhasnyAsi
vandu pOgum inda - sumanEsharanjani
varadAyikE (lakSmi) - simhEndramadhyam
varuvEn enravan - tilang
vEngaDavA unnai - sAma

=================================
"Gayathri Girish -
kandA vEl murugA -
sAvEri -
composer----Rajee Krishnan / arasi
==
https://youtu.be/VnKJmM4bWRA?si=2SRdM9vOSVCg9V8n

=========================================
How nice it would be if we can have an audio link along with Thamizh lyrics for Thamizh songs?
--
@rajeshnat
Brevity is not always a virtue.
-
Brevity par excellence is numerous links to THE HINDU articles which are behind paywall and so virtually dead for non-subscrribers or to extinct rapidshare. So many images in image sites?
-
of what use to learners?

[sam]

Paattu Dipamai Olirude
| Compositions by Arasi |
Sung By GAYATHRI GIRISH"
.
https://youtu.be/OO7p-oBYZT0?si=4koBTg3IE_ICY6oh.

Arasi's songs in this fifth volume are drawn from different decades of her composing. They are traditional in content in that they are in praise of different deities. Gayathri Girish has also chosen a couple of songs which can be sung by anyone of any denomination in praise of God.
.
Gayathri Girish -
koNDADi kUttADi kandA -
kApi -
Rajee Krishnan Arasi
https://youtu.be/Qw7U-TPdnkQ?si=2LMXcwG8ijOOu3AK
..
Where can I find poems of @arasi in
Thamizh script?.
Not English transliteration as in karnatik.com