Nisha Rajagopal @ Raga Sudha, 29/06/2017

[sureshvv]

Don't want to jinx this, but awesome concert in progress. May be the best I have ever heard her. Await parivadini recording!!

[Nick H]

Truly wonderful concert.
Exquisitely beautiful singing with wonderful accompaniment.

[hnbhagavan]

Is it Webcast?

[sureshvv]

I see the cam so expect it to be available soon.

Gun team with RKSK, KAP & AA.

[Nick H]

Should be live on Parivadini channel

[melam72]

The term maamiyar veedu has a double connotation in Tamil, meaning both Mother-in-Law's place and Jail. Yet, in my case, both are true, for my mother-in-law faces an insane deluge of paperwork from a legal battle stretching over half a decade. Because I studied law for a year, I was entrusted with the avalanche of legal paperwork, which jailed me for the first week. Yet, now a respite, so I chose to attend Nisha Rajagopal's concert in Naada Inbam.

The song list for Nisha is as follows:

1} Deva Deva - Mayamalavagowla - ONS @ Jata Roopa

2} Ninnada - Kannada - O

3} Dwaithamu Sukhama - Reethigowla - AS @ pallavi

4} Devi Brova - Chintamani

5} A Papanasam Sivan krithi I missed

6} Akshaya Linga Vibho - Shankarabharanam - ANST @ Badri Vana

7} Viruttam followed by Malai Varum Velai - Ragamalika

8} Ni Nama - Sowrashtram

A truly wonderful concert by a truly wonderful team. Nisha's voice was wonderful - malleable, pliable, and obedient to her wishes. She was a bit rocky to begin with - there was a bit of instability in the Mayamalavagowla sketch, but she settled down. She seems to have a fetish for chowka-kala renditions, and seemed reticent to do mel kala neraval/swarams - indeed, the transition from keezh kala to mel kala neraval in MMG was very contrived. But she settled down by Reethigowla, and employed a wonderful graha bedham during the alapana to Neelambari (to be specific, the P D N D M, with a jaru leading down to the M). Especially during her alapana of Reethigowla, her use of the Nishadam as a nyasa swaram was commendable and insightful. The Devi Brova was soaked with bhavam. There was a fast paced Sivan krithi - I didn't get that. But Akshaya Linga Vibho was a revelation of the myriad hues of Shankarabharanam. Yet, Inspiration decided to forsake young Nisha at the moment, for the neraval and swaram at Badri Vana were stale. The viruttam and ragamalika pleased the (non-existent) unwashed masses.

RK Shriramkumar, as usual, provided commendable support. Unlike other violinists without Akkarai (tsk, tsk ), he was an accompanist and just that - underplaying, yet enhancing the main artist. His returns for Reethigowla were very commendable too, and the swarams he played for Sankarabharanam were better than that of the main artist herself.

Arun Prakash, as usual, was Arun Prakash - fondling the mridangam at times, beating the mridangam during other times (like a drunk man beats a wife ) - but there was an element of cohesiveness which made him stand out over other mridangams. The tani he played, was, as usual, was combined with the usual math (I detected Khandam and Tishram). The sore point of the concert was Anirudh Atreya, who seemed to think he was accompanying the mridangist and not Nisha! Many times during the concert, all he did was sit and look pretty! If he exhibited his ample talents more, everyone would be very happy!

A few points for Nisha to work about:

• 1. She should venture outside extreme chowkam- she shouldn't wallow in extremely slow music for that is vogue now. Singing fast is as challenging as singing slow.
  2. There was a lot of nasality in the neraval for Shankarabharanam - avoid that
  3. Akaram phrases seemed to be sharing equal space with the usual 'ta-da-ri-naaa'. Ideally, it should be a 70-30 mix, in my opinion
  4. She should start the concert with a simple varnam of a Vinayaka Stuthi without manodharmam, so that she warms up to the stage, instead of beginning with heavy-duty stuff - Neraval and Swaram

A note about Raga Sudha

I now understand why singers in Raga Sudha sing rare compositions - when the concert began with Mayamalavagowla, half the hall sang along!!!

I had the pleasure of seeing Nick and his wife sitting in the first row. Nick, you tell everyone you are 65, but look lie you're in your 40's - have you considered selling your Secret of Youth formula to Men's Health

[pperumal]

With such excellent pakkams, no wonder Nisha could sing to her best.
One observation I have about RKSK - most of the youth brigade who sing with RKSK, sing more or less a 'typical' list.
I am beginning to call this an 'RKSK' list for want of a better word!!!!
Not sure if I am making much sense - maybe I am not able to articulate myself better.

- PP.

[sureshvv]

5. Kumaran thaazh paninde thuthi

KAP was superlative. Very impactful playing right from the get go. Deva deva was a tremendous start with the right balance of energy and vishranti and the full nine yards treatment from the entire team that left the audience gasping. Watch the video when it shows up.

The first song in a Nisha concert is always telling. There is no warming up, no testing the waters - nothing tentative or bashful about it. It is kind of like watching Srikant in his heyday coming out into the field - all business, cocksure of himself and intent to make a mark from the get go. I still remember the viriboni varnam that she opened her 4 hour concert with for Sarvani sangeetha sabha at the same location a few years ago. I have never heard it delivered so well - exquisite flourishes in tandem with the brisk delivery to bring out the raga swarupam in full. No concern for the long session to follow or thoughts of pacing herself. Today was no exception.

[Nick H]

Thank you for your kind comments, but you should ask Nisha. She has been looking 24 since I first saw her. Even then, I thought her singing was mature for a 24-year-old (ahem, she would actually have been a little older, but she really didn't/doesn't look it) and it is now maturity mellowed with beauty and sweetness.

Perhaps us older ones at RS hall like the slow songs. But racing drivers sing there too. You are less likely to see me at those concerts. But my wife is getting into the music enough, now, to wonder why all the fuss about certain artists: you might see her being adventurous!

[sureshvv]

Here it is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OqcIXzaL04

[parivadini]

Here it is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OqcIXzaL04

That was super fast. I logged in after making the concert public only to see you had posted the link already

[sureshvv]

I am beginning to call this an 'RKSK' list for want of a better word!!!!
Not sure if I am making much sense - maybe I am not able to articulate myself better.

Looks like a straight Semmangudi/PSN list to me!

[sureshvv]

Here it is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OqcIXzaL04

That was super fast. I logged in after making the concert public only to see you had posted the link already

Really? I even had the time to listen to Devadeva again!

Love the way KAP takes his time to get started, has to be nudged to get started and waltzes into the song with pronounced quantum steps.

[sureshvv]

But she settled down by Reethigowla, and employed a wonderful graha bedham during the alapana to Neelambari (to be specific, the P D N D M, with a jaru leading down to the M).

I think I may have missed this at the concert hall. Can you provide the time slice in the recording so I may try to catch this again?

[melam72]

It is a very quick flash around here:

https://youtu.be/1OqcIXzaL04?t=29m2s

[sureshvv]

"Graha bedham" is a technical term that involves a tonic shift. Don't hear any such thing here. But it was wonderful alright

[melam72]

"Graha bedham" is a technical term that involves a tonic shift. Don't hear any such thing here. But it was wonderful alright

Nope.

This is a phrasal graha bedham - like the one from Shanmukhapriya to Kanada pioneered by S Kalyanaraman. Refer to this lec dem:

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_ ... ri+lec+dem

[sureshvv]

phrasal graha bedham -

Sounds like something made up under duress. Will check the lec dem. But I would be surprised if any griha bedham does not include a tonic (adhara shadjam) shift.

Plus your url seems like a generic search. Hope you are not dumping an avalanche of results for me to wade through.

[melam72]

Plus your url seems like a generic search. Hope you are not dumping an avalanche of results for me to wade through.

Click the first result.

[melam72]

Sounds like something made up under duress.

You think you can put duress on me

And I'm the one with 'delusions of grandeur'

[sureshvv]

I actually meant whoever came up with that terminology - not necessarily you.