Random kucheri notes

Review the latest concerts you have listened to.
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kunthalavarali
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Joined: 03 Mar 2010, 01:30

Re: Random kucheri notes

Post by kunthalavarali »

That was a varnam in amruthavAhini composed by kUrai nAdu natEsa pillai. When the vidwan followed it up with "I will now sing a krithi by thyagarAja" there was peals of laughter.

sureshvv
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Re: Random kucheri notes

Post by sureshvv »

Amruthavahini is seldom heard. So if it was rendered well, the faux pas should be gladly forgiven :)

sureshvv
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Re: Random kucheri notes

Post by sureshvv »

Props to whoever decided to put K.P.Nandini right after Smt.Vedavalli in today's program. Very nice contrast - like drinking degree buffalo milk coffee after unadulterated cow's milk.

sureshvv
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Re: Random kucheri notes

Post by sureshvv »

Vidwan K.Arun Prakash is the Thelonius Monk of Carnatic Mrdangam. Lots of his playing mostly in the thani sails right over my head. Like today I did not even notice existence of korvai. Wondering if the upa pakka vadhyam did :D

I am able to appreciate his accompanying much better & love the way he uses silences to ornament the singing.
Last edited by sureshvv on 23 Dec 2018, 13:16, edited 1 time in total.

Sachi_R
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Joined: 31 Jan 2017, 20:20

Re: Random kucheri notes

Post by Sachi_R »

sureshvv wrote: 23 Dec 2018, 12:22 The Academy sound system is so good that even young mrdangists barely out of their teens are sounding so grand & majestic.

On the other hand may be this kid, Tippirajapuram Hari, is really good!

On the other hand, may be he has practiced these songs really well. Seems to play perfectly for the song.

On the other hand, nothing wrong with practicing. Most important to succeed.

On the other hand, may be he is not that much of a kid. Has a bit of a stubble I didn't notice earlier.
Suresh, how many hands do you have? Like Enthiran Chitti some 18 or So? Your root cause analysis may get a Yes ticl for every one of those possibilities!

By the way where you mention the parking of scooters and dishing out of eats, opposite Mylapore Fine Arts, alongside that wall, MSG used to arrive in his red and white Standard 2000 and park it whenever he came for a concert. I used to attend a lot of concerts where he played solo or accompaniment.

Bhavapriya by Anahita Apoorva. Shall look around for sure. Thanks!

sureshvv
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Re: Random kucheri notes

Post by sureshvv »

Bumped into CRama in the foyer. Seems to be digging into the season bedecked in an all new wardrobe with a pass in every pocket in some official capacity. Some guys have all the luck :mrgreen:

sureshvv
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Joined: 05 Jul 2007, 18:17

Re: Random kucheri notes

Post by sureshvv »

Aishwarya Vidya Raghunath, who more than a decade and a half ago as a pre-teen clad in a "paavadai chokka" sang Andali to a near empty Sastry Hall is serving up a honey soaked Lalitha to a full house at the Academy. The local curmudgeon who accused her of "singing like an old woman" (thenjasattai?) should be eating his words.

sureshvv
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Re: Random kucheri notes

Post by sureshvv »

Has become quite the performer - with the strategic pause after an intense neraval to allow the audience to applaud.

Veenaabheri for filler & Kambodhi for main to seal the prize. Using breathing into the mike as an "effect" - kind of TNSesque.

sureshvv
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Re: Random kucheri notes

Post by sureshvv »

Today stands as another illustration for why the 1.30pm is the "killer slot" at the Academy.

RTP in Sriranjani. Using the glide sparingly & wonderfully. Qualifies for the "Princess of the glide" award. Waiting anxiously for the "Queen of the glide" to resume her schedule.
Last edited by sureshvv on 23 Dec 2018, 15:04, edited 1 time in total.

rbharath
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Joined: 05 Feb 2010, 10:50

Re: Random kucheri notes

Post by rbharath »

sureshvv wrote: 23 Dec 2018, 14:48 Today stands as another illustration for why the 1.30pm is the "killer slot" at the Academy.
I always believed this. This is the slot to watch for.

sureshvv
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Re: Random kucheri notes

Post by sureshvv »

Sriranjani nikhila janani pahimam ! Vani !!


in khanda triputa khanda nadai

Lot of ka aa aa arvais - making this a contender.

Ragamalika swaras in keeravani, poorvikalyani, suddha saveri.

H.M.Smitha on the violin does a great job with last raga.

sankark
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Re: Random kucheri notes

Post by sankark »

sureshvv wrote: 23 Dec 2018, 15:12
Lot of ka aa aa arvais - making this a contender.
It was more kA hA hA rvais hat jarred a bit, rather very much

sureshvv
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Re: Random kucheri notes

Post by sureshvv »

4th concert of the day. Probability of woman on percussion is up 14.28%

Sachi_R
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Re: Random kucheri notes

Post by Sachi_R »

sureshvv wrote: 23 Dec 2018, 13:37 Bumped into CRama in the foyer. Seems to be digging into the season bedecked in an all new wardrobe with a pass in every pocket in some official capacity. Some guys have all the luck :mrgreen:
Rama Rama!

sankark
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Joined: 16 Dec 2008, 09:10

Re: Random kucheri notes

Post by sankark »

RS hall brimming to capacity for the ArdhrA special @ 4pm

Live @ https://youtu.be/5lrGUqHqSVM

Nick H
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Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 02:03

Re: Random kucheri notes

Post by Nick H »

sureshvv wrote: 23 Dec 2018, 12:07 Just opposite the Mylapore Fine Arts gate, usually where two wheelers are parked in hap hazard fashion, now some tables are lined up with eager waiters behind them ready to serve up stuff in buckets in competition with the over priced sabha canteen inside - not much more hygienic.

Indian free enterprise at its most egregious :D
Then there's the plain simple tea shop selling plain simple food at plain simple prices just a few doors away :)
Sachi_R wrote: 23 Dec 2018, 11:29 PS: I don't like ragas like Bhavapriya. They are inscrutable ....
I suspect that I do like inscrutable ragas, but then... I don't scrute them anyway. Although something strange-sounding that Sumithra sang yesterday evening did prompt me to enquire of Whatsapp friends what it might be!

Nick H
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Re: Random kucheri notes

Post by Nick H »

sureshvv wrote: 23 Dec 2018, 13:10 Vidwan K.Arun Prakash is the Thelonius Monk of Carnatic Mrdangam. Lots of his playing mostly in the thani sails right over my head. Like today I did not even notice existence of korvai.
Did you notice the mohara leading up to it? I hate it when mridangists complicate it out of recognition. I'm sure they're trying to fox the singer! Worst is when farans, mohara and korvai blur into some sort of warp-speed continuum --- and suddenly I realise the artist is singing so it must have been the korvais. I don't really have this problem with Arun Prakash.

He challenges my ability to be able to count to more than four with his liking for for khanda nadai. Suresh, you can keep talam through that, so you must recognise it. I'm lucky if there is one takatakita phrase that occurs in one beat to give me the clue.

But still... I enjoy :)

Nick H
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Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 02:03

Re: Random kucheri notes

Post by Nick H »

sureshvv wrote: 23 Dec 2018, 12:22The Academy sound system is so good that even young mrdangists barely out of their teens are sounding so grand & majestic.
I would say that they have not been that good with the mridangam over past couple of days. There has been feedback muddying the sound, and they have joined in the fad of over-amping the left hand.
sureshvv wrote: 23 Dec 2018, 12:18 Rs.300 full meals being served outside.

:o :shock: :o

I went for Rs.44 dosa just up the road!

Academy tea... They are giving short measure and it is not always hot. However, I scored a win yesterday, after asking the person next to me to explain to the waiter that I wanted a full and hot tea: he brought me a large beaker of hot tea! :D :lol: :D

Sachi_R
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Joined: 31 Jan 2017, 20:20

Re: Random kucheri notes

Post by Sachi_R »

Nick, a propah Englishman.
But then you want your tea really hot? Like a corrupted Indian? It must be your love of Masala Dosa!

I was always frustrated overseas when English-speaking overseas brethren used to scoff at my penchant for hot tea and coffee. Somehow they enjoyed the tepid versions!

rupavathi
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Joined: 13 Dec 2011, 08:44

Re: Random kucheri notes

Post by rupavathi »

:o Major sound system failure at Academy during Saroja-Lalitha morning concert...

SrinathK
Posts: 2477
Joined: 13 Jan 2013, 16:10

Re: Random kucheri notes

Post by SrinathK »

This isn't about any concert itself, but as I left the Music Academy after the Lalgudi concert and reached my street corner, a dark blue car that looked too exotic to be normal, which I then recognized as a Ferrari 488 GTB (It must be this one that was released in India - https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attachme ... g_8726.jpg) swept past and vanished before I could turn around and chase it - if only I had 4 hands, I might have had time to snap a picture of it. Bonkers cool...
Last edited by SrinathK on 24 Dec 2018, 11:35, edited 1 time in total.

arasi
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Joined: 22 Jun 2006, 09:30

Re: Random kucheri notes

Post by arasi »

Random Kucheri Notes is simply grand, Am!*
Keep them coming, till the season is done :)

* Yes! in tamizh.

Sivaramakrishnan
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Joined: 02 Jan 2010, 08:29

Re: Random kucheri notes

Post by Sivaramakrishnan »

The award for Best Tani of the season' (if there's one like that) would go to Guru Karaikudi Mani (with Giridhar Uduppa on Ghatam) for his performance at the Violin concert of Mysore Brothers at Krishna Gana Sabha, 19 Dec. It was for a simple Aadi taalam 2 Kalai with eduppu at 'Samam' for an RTP in Kamboji that the Mridanga Maharshi gave an incredible laya package.

Another highly illuminating one was by Sri Trichy Sankaran (with Chandrasekhara Sarma on Ghatam) again for Aadi Taalam 2 Kalai samam @ the Pallavi of Ethutanilachite (Sankarabharanam) by Malladi Brothers at Music academy in 22 Dec.

Well, the season is not over, still....

SrinathK
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Re: Random kucheri notes

Post by SrinathK »

If the ticket prices get any higher than this, the middle class won't be able to afford paid concerts and I might have to pawn my family jewels for a family concert outing. I guess that's the foil to all those extra free concerts, but still -- the air fare for flying into Chennai is actually cheaper than getting into some halls for the top billers!

Sabhas are now doing lot of surge pricing strategies - some of them even claim the hall is full and only more expensive tickets are available, to fill up the front and middle rows. And then after the concert begins, quite a few back row seat tickets are given out. The Academy for example, had the upper balcony ticket at Rs. 150, but once you go from row J to row I, the next rated ticket was a whopping Rs. 550. This does not even come close to what was at the ground floor. Even the stage tickets, once the last resort criteria for those who couldn't find a chair, is now repackaged into uber premium class, selling at a cool Rs. 550 for the up close and personal view. I now think Madrasana's idea of using movie theatres for hosting concerts will actually turn out to be cheaper for rasikas and organizers.

All that's left is to introduce standing tickets, canteen tickets, more tickets for watching the live video sitting in your car in the parking lot and tickets for sitting on the roof, maybe even tickets for the loo. Maybe there'll even be street tickets. They could at least give discount pricing if the hall is emptier than usual... -- the irony is that in some halls the rasikas are sitting outside watching the concert on TV while the hall itself is less than half full (and sometimes near empty), because of the ticket prices.
Last edited by SrinathK on 24 Dec 2018, 11:34, edited 2 times in total.

SrinathK
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Re: Random kucheri notes

Post by SrinathK »

Arvind Bhargav, a disciple of Mandolin Srinivas, has recently pionnered the concept of Facebook Gana Sabha... check it out. I can't at the moment, but sounds like artistes want to become their own personal sabhas.

I took inspiration from that to suggest another idea -- Give your new car a 4G connection and live stream the concert to the infotainment screens of the cars of all those rasikas (especially those of our generation and the gen Z) who cannot attend because they are stuck in traffic, and turn the traffic jam into a virtual sabha. We will call it Traffic Gana Sabha!

RasikasModerator2
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Re: Random kucheri notes

Post by RasikasModerator2 »

This thread is a good idea. We're making it sticky for rasikas to do their tweeting all year long. Although at first we didn't like the idea of tweet reviews, the tidbits turned out to be really good when put in a dedicated thread.

You may tweet anything you like here - parking, canteens, loos, your complaints, schedule stuff, ticket prices, eccentric stuff, funny stuff, anecdotes, even artiste fashion and whom did you take a selfie with or whether there's room to park. Bonus points for anyone who shares cheap and good food tips. :lol:

SrinathK
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Re: Random kucheri notes

Post by SrinathK »

T M Krishna's coming back this Saturday : https://twitter.com/tmkrishna/status/10 ... 13/photo/1

Alas, very very far off though.

SrinathK
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Re: Random kucheri notes

Post by SrinathK »

The 1:30 pm slot in the Academy has a killer line up this season. Today I think it's VIgnesh Ishwar. Anyone live?

sureshvv
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Joined: 05 Jul 2007, 18:17

Re: Random kucheri notes

Post by sureshvv »

Came to BVB for R.P.Shravan but seems there has been change in program to Violin duet with K.J.Dileep & Sangita. Interestingly there is a young girl on Ghatam almost doubling my previous probability estimate.

Samyuktha Sriram is her name & she played the thani with confidence! Bravo!!

Will post a pic after I figure out how to turn it around.

Image

Piece O cake!
Last edited by sureshvv on 24 Dec 2018, 17:13, edited 5 times in total.

sureshvv
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Re: Random kucheri notes

Post by sureshvv »

Sri PSN just walked into MFAC concert for A.S.Murali with the help of a couple of aides. Seems to have aged much more in the last few months.

A.S.Murali unveiling Parampara jewel in the crown to celebrate :D

sankark
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Re: Random kucheri notes

Post by sankark »

https://youtu.be/07g7A6hEB9M

Shruti Ravali Manda now in RagaSudha hall. sumasAyaka opener and dhEnuka with RS @#3. Click it for a feast

If you are a fan of singapore rAgams (SSI classification), the RTP is in mOhanakalyANi, k nadai t triputai
Last edited by sankark on 24 Dec 2018, 17:33, edited 1 time in total.

sankark
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Re: Random kucheri notes

Post by sankark »

Today saw a man with a small diamond stud, in Academy lobby.

On the nose* (mookuthi).

Naththu, bullaakku, sevippU here they come.

*Don't know if it is the real deal or some pasted/temp costume.

sureshvv
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Re: Random kucheri notes

Post by sureshvv »

Malladis have of late become vocal about their disdain for popular Chennai practices in CM. Yesterday they sang nenaruncinaanu in vilamba kaalam & mentioned how it was more appropriate to the Sahityam (nidhaanam is there somewhere)! At Pa'swam'sabha they rendered "Darini telusukonti" in the "correct" manner - especially the anupallavi.

Hope it doesn't get any worse :D
Last edited by sureshvv on 24 Dec 2018, 17:17, edited 1 time in total.

sureshvv
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Re: Random kucheri notes

Post by sureshvv »

The beauty of an A.S.Murali concert is that you begin to question if CM is an art or science! :D

sureshvv
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Re: Random kucheri notes

Post by sureshvv »

Could the chitta swaras in "kapali" be a good illustration of how there is only one "ga" in Mohanam?

sankark
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Re: Random kucheri notes

Post by sankark »

sureshvv wrote: 24 Dec 2018, 17:16 The beauty of an A.S.Murali concert is that you begin to question if CM is an art or science! :D
Tch, tch. Why doubt? It is the 'Art of Science'

sureshvv
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Re: Random kucheri notes

Post by sureshvv »

Lady walks into concert hall with Bombay Jayashree hairstyle with back to the audience. And more than one. Good subject for harimau's sociology study!

sureshvv
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Re: Random kucheri notes

Post by sureshvv »

Starts with Lalitha Sahasranama slokam.

sureshvv
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Re: Random kucheri notes

Post by sureshvv »

Rowdy crowd complaining about not enough volume when Patri is banging away mercilessly. May be in future each one will have a bluetooth enabled headset with individual volume controls.

sureshvv
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Joined: 05 Jul 2007, 18:17

Re: Random kucheri notes

Post by sureshvv »

Kills "kani manava avatarudai" with "avatarudai" going down scale a few times before finishing it high as commonly heard.

sureshvv
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Joined: 05 Jul 2007, 18:17

Re: Random kucheri notes

Post by sureshvv »

Obviously no one told her about the ragas featured in prior concert.

Bright side is it is a rare "Mati matiki delpa". Not sure I have heard it before. Swaras @ Pa'tiki delpa :)

sureshvv
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Re: Random kucheri notes

Post by sureshvv »

Teliyaledhu nu aaramcha seruppadi thaan.

The next one better be even rarer!!

Spends an extended time holding notes on the way down & people are scrambling to find out if it is a "graha bedham". Mean trick! :D

sureshvv
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Joined: 05 Jul 2007, 18:17

Re: Random kucheri notes

Post by sureshvv »

People seated both on chairs & on floor on the stage. Wonder if they are priced differently.

sureshvv
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Joined: 05 Jul 2007, 18:17

Re: Random kucheri notes

Post by sureshvv »

So some time last week, after singing his song, the name
of the composer was first mentioned as "Annaswamy Sastrigal" then repeated with the "gal" elided and a sheepish smile. :D
Last edited by sureshvv on 25 Dec 2018, 09:36, edited 1 time in total.

SrinathK
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Joined: 13 Jan 2013, 16:10

Re: Random kucheri notes

Post by SrinathK »

@uday_shankar has just invented a new word called "shambura" referring to the phenomena of someone playing a tambura for the whole concert, but we never hear any of it, and not because of lack of a mic. :lol:

ark07
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Joined: 08 Feb 2018, 14:17

Re: Random kucheri notes

Post by ark07 »

sureshvv wrote: 24 Dec 2018, 17:12 Malladis have of late become vocal about their disdain for popular Chennai practices in CM. Yesterday they sang nenaruncinaanu in vilamba kaalam & mentioned how it was more appropriate to the Sahityam (nidhaanam is there somewhere)!
Related to this, here's a very good article on raga Malavi and how it is rarely elaborated these days. It also features a clip of Sri. Voleti (guru of Malladi Suribabu) singing nenaruncinaanu a bit slower than the SSI-GNB madhyamakala standard.

Sachi_R
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Joined: 31 Jan 2017, 20:20

Re: Random kucheri notes

Post by Sachi_R »

SureshVV
You're my hero, I love this thread and imagine you zigzagging the Chennai snarled-up lanes slavering for saucy tidbits and succulent musical bites ready to strike randomly with your lovely notes!
Spends an extended time holding notes on the way down & people are scrambling to find out if it is a "graha bedham". Mean trick! :D
👍

sureshvv
Posts: 5523
Joined: 05 Jul 2007, 18:17

Re: Random kucheri notes

Post by sureshvv »

The season can be quite a challenge to the one's constitution, especially when you start with a 9am R.Vedavalli concert and end with Malladis at 9pm - and subsist on sabha coffee and keerai vadai(1) so as not to doze off at the auditorium.

The Pharma guys should work on a magic season pill to help with this!

(1): The name itself is a deep rooted conspiracy to make a vile deep fried dish sound healthy and wholesome.

sureshvv
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Joined: 05 Jul 2007, 18:17

Re: Random kucheri notes

Post by sureshvv »

Last year Kirtilal's was handing out wall calendars. This year it appears that they are the secret sponsors of the entire season. Many lady musicians are flaunting their "best friends".

SrinathK
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Joined: 13 Jan 2013, 16:10

Re: Random kucheri notes

Post by SrinathK »

The music Academy is now issuing tokens to guarantee tickets to whoever can come at 4:30 in the morning and buy. One of my friends has somehow, somehow got a token for Ranjani and Gayathri. He says even the screen tickets are sold out by 6 in the morning.

That's right, now we need tickets to buy tickets!!

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