TM Krishna @ Odukathur Mutt, Bangalore on 20th Aug 2007

balsree · Post by **balsree** » 21 Aug 2007, 09:34

Capturing the audience with

Voice : Sri TM Krishna
Violin : Sri Ramanujacharyalu
Mridangam : Sri Karaikudi Mani
Ghatam : Sri V Suresh

The concert got off to a good start with the team gathering momentum quickly. Warming up his throat with warm water, he warmed up the environment with some good renderings in the beginning. Good , but all the sensational stuff happened with the thani. It was a great start to to the thani by mani(it rhymes!). He gave a beautiful start and was thoroughly focussed. he appeared, as though as he did not hear the great applause he got from us. Matching the stalwart was another great stalwart of ghatam , suresh. Amazing synchronisation will be a misnomer. Well you can synchronize if only there were more than one. I could just see one mind playing two instruments. Such precision and perfection . This was observed even if one supported the other in the middle for few secs. What can you call such a coordination? A perfect match!

The birthday boy(mani) was glowing great. He was requested to speak on the occassion. An excerpt of his speech. Attempt made to capture the beauty of his tamil speech in english.

"Usually i dont speak in kutcheri. I come here, do what i am supposed to do here and leave. I wanted to be @ my home performing homas on this day. But Ramesh(organizer) did not allow me to do so. So did Krishna. I could not refuse. I am seeing you all rasikas as devas and devis and this kutcheri as a pooja. SO i have no complaints. So divine is this music that i am very pleased to be here. I consider this opportunity of playing in front of you as a gift. I have the foremost respect for you(the rasikas) in my life. You all are so divine. Your encouragement and presence is the lifeline of music. If you all come in huge numbers, organizers will have more power to organize many such programs. If many people come, even the media takes notice of it and the artists are highlighted. this is a very good sign. Only rasikas can make things happen."

There is a soft heart behind that big beard!!

2nd time in 3 days there was no RTP. A sense of incompleteness dawns in me. I am sure most of us felt this.

Overall, It was good concert worth braving the bangalore rain to get in!

Love

Balsree

coolkapali · Post by **coolkapali** » 21 Aug 2007, 11:54

Good review.but will be nice if u can post the list of kritis rendered.

komalangi · Post by **komalangi** » 21 Aug 2007, 20:07

Was the concert by Karaikudi Mani accompanied by the other artists? Is it similiar to concerts to the Mr. Mani is planning to give in North America? If so, what is the format of these concerts? I am interested in attending.

seldnplan · Post by **seldnplan** » 21 Aug 2007, 21:17

Songlist:

sarasuDa (varNam) - sAvErI - Adi - kottavAsal vEnkaTarAma ayyar
mOhanamayI - yadukula kAmbhOji - mishra cApu - svAti tirunAL (S)
sItApatE - khamAs - Adi - tyAgarAja (S)
mInalOcana - dhanyAsi - mishra cApu - shyAmA shAstri (RS)
bRhadIshvarO - gAnasAmavarALi - rUpakam - muttusvAmi dIkSitar
cakkani rAjamArgamulu - kharaharapriyA - Adi - tyAgarAja (RNS)
marubArI tALalEnurA (jAvaLi) - khamAs - Adi - dharmapuri subbarAya ayyar
shlOkam (karacaraNakRtam) - mAyAmAlavagauLa, bilahari, sAma, bEhAg - shankaracArya
irakkam varAmal - bEhAg - rUpakam - gOpAlakriSNa bArati
varugalAmO - mAnji - khaNDa cApu - gOpAlakriSNa bArati
nI nAma rUpamulaku (mangaLam) - saurASTram - Adi - tyAgarAja

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 21 Aug 2007, 22:07

Thanks Seldonplan - maybe you could chip in with your opinions as well (aren't we a demanding bunch!)

s_hari · Post by **s_hari** » 21 Aug 2007, 22:47

The song list seem to be nothing exciting, compared to TMK standards! ganasamavarali is new to me though! Compared to concert in Feb this year in Bangalore (on sivarathri), this is nothing...

-hari

sirsub11 · Post by **sirsub11** » 21 Aug 2007, 23:15

Advertised concert duration - 6 pm to 9 pm. Concert started at about 6.20 pm. Tani aavarthanam lasted nearly 25 minutes, followed by speechifying by the organiser and Karaikudi Mani - another 25 minutes. If you do your math, you will figure that Krishna managed to sing for about 1 hour and 50 minutes. Not surprising he skipped the RTP.

Komalangi, I think your piquant question was sincere and not ironic. We can't blame you for thinking it was a Karaikudi Mani show, accompanied by the others. It was meant to be a Krishna show, and it was not his fault the agenda got hijacked by forces outside his control.

I am aware the subject has been covered before, but organisers must understand that the audience do not come to concerts to listen to learned (?) dissertations on the performance. A brief and warm welcome at the start of the proceedings, followed by the customary garlanding, will leave the field clear for the artist to perform for the entire duration without any interruption to arrest the momentum.

But then, who's listening ?

ramakriya · Post by **ramakriya** » 22 Aug 2007, 00:11

seldnplan wrote:bRhadIshvarO - gAnasAmavaraLi - rUpakam - muttusvAmi dIkSitar

Any special observations on the rendering of this song?

-Ramakriya

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 22 Aug 2007, 09:11

sirsub,
Who is listening, you ask.
The speakers,
To their own speeches...

seldnplan · Post by **seldnplan** » 22 Aug 2007, 18:12

Somehow, though there were certainly moments of excitement during the concert, the prevailing impression I carry now with me is one of blandness. Discounting all the organizational boo-hoos described by sirsub, one obvious culprit is the post-tani session that consisted entirely of pieces that TMK's already performed around 1923 times; another is the imbalanced choice he made in the pre-tani session to feature four svarakalpanAs, but only two rAgA delineations and one lonely neraval (around the eminently predictable 'kaNTiki sundara' at that). If he had replaced the svarAs in dhanyAsi with a neraval (it seemed for a very fleeting moment like he would improvise around 'kAmapAlini', but it wasn't to be!), it would have made for much more satisfying fare. I have a couple more complaints, but I'd rather not have this review be one long ballad of negativity. My disappointment stems more from the high expectations created by TMK himself, than from any grievous faults of this concert viewed in isolation.

The evening, I must say, began on a very promising note: my favourite Adi tALam varNam rendered by Krishna with characteristic deliberation, followed by a quick sketch of yadukula kAmbhOji and a moving rendition of mOhanamayI. Usually, TMK finishes these pre-main cauka kAla kRtis with a long, exhilarating string of svarAs sung slowly, deliberately in all their gamaka-laden beauty, giving you the feeling that he has squeezed out all the rAgabhAva he has, just for you. Here, however, I felt that he meandered a bit (always a danger, given his style), and the much crisper follow up by Ramanujacharyulu (who was steady if unspectacular through the course of the evening) only served to throw this lack of direction into relief. Well, I guess that's a complaint. So I might as well make another. Perhaps there are some Tamil songs where aspirates are warranted, but, especially in the lyrical context of 'varugalAmO', it seemed to me that TMK's azhuttam in his pronunciation of 'bh...', 'dh...' was somewhat misplaced. Anyway, before any one gets the wrong impression from my rant, let me just record that I also enjoyed significant parts of the concert apart from the ones already noted: all of dhanyAsi, the touches of kAfi in the kharaharapriyA, the lightning rounds of svarAs following sItApatE, and even the khamAs jAvaLi.

ramakriya: the gAnasAmavarALi didn't seem to me a very inspiring piece. Whether it's the fault of the composition or of the rendition, I'm not sure.

Aside 1: TMK doesn't use an electronic shruti box. Instead, he brings in an iPod with his shruti pre-recorded (I suppose it has a different track for madhyama shruti) and places it in a Bose iPod speaker in front of him (it used to be an Apple speaker till last year). I used to wonder what the hell it was, but this time I sat close enough to figure out its purpose. Has any one noticed this with other artistes?

Aside 2: Speaking of yadukula kAmbhOji, why is the gorgeous svarajati in the rAgA so absent from the concert stage, when its bigger brothers seem to be everywhere?

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 22 Aug 2007, 19:06

Thanks Seldnpln...

seldnplan wrote:places it in a Bose iPod speaker in front of him (it used to be an Apple speaker till last year).

Perhaps he has switched sponsors! I remember how frustrated I felt when McEnroe shifted camp from Sergio Tacchini to Nike just after I'd badgered my parents to get me an (expensive) ST t-shirt!

I wonder if top CM stars get any kind of sponsorships at all? Surely the day is not far when the Tambura is adorned with logos like a Formula 1 car!

sbala · Post by **sbala** » 22 Aug 2007, 20:18

It might be naive question. What is the role of the two tambura artistes if the Ipod is used for sruthi? Or does he use the iPod only when a tambura isn't available?

seldnplan · Post by **seldnplan** » 22 Aug 2007, 20:30

vijay -- I'm sure TMK wouldn't mind being sponsored by Bose. It's the next step in the evolution of the Carnatic musician as a brand: product endorsements! (I'm being only partly facetious here).

sbala -- As far as I remember, there was only one tambura for this concert, and it was tuned quite assiduously by TMK. My impression is that it is now a way for upstanding elder citizens of the community to get their share of the limelight.

ram · Post by **ram** » 22 Aug 2007, 21:10

It might be naive question. What is the role of the two tambura artistes if the Ipod is used for sruthi? Or does he use the iPod only when a tambura isn't available?

My guess is that the ipod shruti might be used as a reference to tune the tambura. Two well-tuned tamburas, one on either side of the head (for each ear) as TMK does, must be a heavenly experience.

sbala · Post by **sbala** » 22 Aug 2007, 21:29

Btw, my question is not just with reference to TMK. I have seen sruthi boxes, CD players, laptops and now iPods. Is the tambura no longer useful? What is its purpose in a concert?

gundakriya · Post by **gundakriya** » 23 Aug 2007, 09:16

Pls folks, let us not get carried away by the showmanship and visual spectacle of multiple tamburas, ipods and what not... a good artiste needs just one properly tuned sruti reference source, preferably ONE old-fashioned manual tambura strummed properly and professionally! In the absence of a good manual tambura artiste, the next best - simple, effective - option is the electronic TAMBURA (not crappy 'sruti boxes', such as the mediocre one-tone Radels), such as the Ragini that gives out a consistent, quality replication of a manual tambura. The key is to properly and regularly service the electronic instrument so that dust and power fluctuations do not harm the internal circuits.

sirsub11 · Post by **sirsub11** » 23 Aug 2007, 09:56

Further to my gripes pertaining to mid concert speeches, this morning's Deccan Herald in Bangalore carried a fulsome review of a Kishori Amonkar concert. Apparently, she told the organisers to finish their felicitations prior to the commencement of the programme, so that she could perform uninterrupted, much to the delight of the audience. I hope all sabha secretaries read this piece.

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 23 Aug 2007, 10:21

Tambura usages vary considerably....some (especially in HM) prefer to have 2 whereas others make do with a white box and yet others use new fangled devices like i-pods (btw can anyone explain how this is actually done - I'd like to try it myself)....some play it loud and clear for all to hear - some for their reference alone (and in some cases one wonders why a tambura is being used at all!)...

As a rasika I personally like to hear the drone clearly - sruthi suddham is brought out so clearly...I don't know whether a full size tambura is really required to achieve this....however a massive tambura (or preferably 2) on stage is a captivating sight...to me it signifies a surrender to shruthi...

We have driftd again. Perhaps there is merit in hiving this off as a spearate thread.

mohan · Post by **mohan** » 23 Aug 2007, 11:12

vijay wrote:others use new fangled devices like i-pods (btw can anyone explain how this is actually done - I'd like to try it myself)

There are CDs available in different sruthis of a real tambura being played. These can be purchased in music shops in Chennai.

Some artistes have converted the CD to MP3. The MP3 player (ipod) is connected to small speakers on stage and file is looped (put on repeat play) so that it can play throughout the concert. For madhyama sruthi another mp3 file is required.

srinidhi · Post by **srinidhi** » 23 Aug 2007, 11:42

<<<It might be naive question. What is the role of the two tambura artistes if the Ipod is used for sruthi?<<

An opportunity for TMK's disciples to ascend the stage. In this case probably, Ravikiran.

coolkapali · Post by **coolkapali** » 23 Aug 2007, 11:58

Well............wat a drift in the topic discussed.however, I feel two Tampuras on either side of the vocalist and one electronic gadget is just perfect, provided the vocalist has a voice that is even more audible and clear.......and as a matter of fact, if u just use one tampura, more often than not the violinist and the mridangist have to strain to hear the shruthi and tune their instrument in btw the concert.........
therefore cool kapali's verdict:

Its just perfectly alright.