Bhoomija, under its dynamic Ms. Gayathri Krishna, featured another interesting presentation of a different kind of Carnatic concert: 12 young violinists with a guest keyboardist, two mridangams, tabla and khanjira. Conceived and directed by Dr. Mysore Manjunath, they acquitted themselves very commendably, and brought credit to Manjunath's creativity and directorial prowess.
A full hall (some 350? in the audience) in the nicely got-up Brigade Millennium MLR Convention Centre, located in the back of beyond in South Bangalore, was a welcome surprise. Upmarket and knowledgeable, the audience made the right noises throughout and refrained from the ubiquitous photo/video/audiorecording activities of 4G, anti-social, unsmart phone users (but an old man in seat G13 kept texting and checking his social messages much to my irritation. His screen was bright but not his aesthetic sense).
The 12 violinists are already performing actively, and I recognised the Mysore Nagaraj/Manjunath descendants, Apoorva Krishna, Pradhesha Char...
Bhat on the mridangam was brilliant, so also Prashanth. Unlike with earlier Choirs, this percussion team added significant value to the experience by doing the usual things right, nothing in excess.
The stage decor, lighting, banners, sound system, and coordination between artistes set a new high standard. Also, the musicians did not waste time or destroy the mood by frequent retuning of violins. A wonder given the energetic fare presented.
Song list:
1. Hamsadhwani varna
2. Brova Bharama
3. Janani Ninuvina
4. Pantuvarali "noise" medley followed by Sarasaksha.
5. Kiravani - the main orchestral piece of the concert
6. Tani
7. Brief speech by Manjunath
8. Krishna Nee Begane Baro
Apoorva did all the item intros in a soft voice
. Pradesh Achar and she also vocalised the first lines of Krishna nee begane baro. The presentation of each piece gave a chance to 4 violinists to take centrestage in alapana, swaras etc. The remaining eight gave them accompaniment either through harmony or like in Carnatic accompaniment. The songs were presented by all with equal vigour. (As a result, the overall effect of 12 violins belting out sangatis was a tad harsh on a few occasions, as could be expected.)
The violinists deserved and got repeated applause. The raga alapana build up, section by section, was done seamlessly except for minor violin timbre and playing style variations, and as a result the whole experience was highly aesthetic.
The percussion enhanced the music emphatically. Prashanth excelled in song openings. Anu-pallavis were embellished by all four. Bhat was outstanding in playing for Janani Ninuvina.
The keyboardist played sounds of double bass and cello mostly and added fine touches. He switched to the acoustic piano and played a fine Minor scale=Kiravani in the main piece and got a good applause.
For me, Janani and Kiravani were stand-out performances. But surely, every item had great musical moments. Mysore Karthik and Apoorva Krishna stood out for their "concert-ready" maturity. However I must repeat that every violinist on the stage was excellent.
Not a single apaswara to my ears, although Manjunath joked in his speech that the violin has been caricatured as an apaswara vadya!
The "noise" medley was most unexpected. It showed how from an apparent cacophony, Pantuvarali can emerge... One need only place the notes in the right context and order. Very intelligently done.
No wonder such an idea struck the creator, hailing from a family of violinists who must be playing together and experimenting often 
I found every element of good violin playing in the concert, including wonderful gamakas, striking fingering techniques, employing lower string playing to full effect, and extremely fast bowing while presenting supersonic speed swaras (The M N&M brand).
I wish there were some really mellow passages, where we in the audience would have to strain our ears to catch those subtle, delicate, sounds. Krishna Nee Begane Baaro would have been the ideal song for it. But I realise it is a tall order to achieve that, given the fact of 12 young and energetic violinists are playing together, our mic-dependent music, and the built-in dynamic of orchestral song presentations.
Let me clarify that this is not nit-picking. The Youth Carnatic Orchestra '17 was a great experience for me indeed. Hats off to Dr. Manjunath, the artistes, and Bhoomija.
I met Dr.M along with Sri S. Nageswaran and his son, Karthik. Manjunath touched SN's feet, saying how SN had given them a home in Chennai looong back.
I found Dr. Mysore Manjunath to be a centred, gifted, and humble, musician. God bless.
No photos were allowed. I picked the one above from the Hindu write-up:
https://www.google.co.in/amp/www.thehin ... 9.ece/amp/
