TNS + Chandramouli + Murugabhoopathy @ Atlanta - Sep. 15, 20

sramaswamy · Post by **sramaswamy** » 18 Sep 2007, 22:41

September 15 - Saturday â€“ 4 P. M. â€“ HTA Auditorium
Sangeetha Kalanidhi Madurai Sri T. N. Seshagopalan (Vocal)
Mullaivasal Chandramouli (Violin)
Tanjore Murugabhoopathy (Mridangam)

What a "Vinayaga Chaturthi" Atlanta had! A concert beyond all imagination. While one has heard TNS greatness, it is truly a magnificient experience in live concert.

The concert was delayed as T.N.Seshagopalan, Tanjore Murugabhoopathy and MullaiVasal Chandramouli had landed in US the previous day, had a concert at Nashville and arrived in Atlanta just few hours before the start. The concert had to be postponed for the artists to take much needed rest after nearly 40 hours of travel. Of course, the concert that followed never showed any signs of that. It went for slightly over four hours.

As there was time to kill, people were trying what TNS might might start with. No guess came anywhere close. The start had just everyone stunned. After a short Vinayakar slogam, the song was "Sri Gananadha" - the first gitam in Malahari every student learns. I tried to see whether the kids recongnized the song. The gitam sounded so sophisticated that not many kids could have guessed it. Of course, it takes a TNS to do that. Some quick swarams followed the gitam.

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Song List
=========

srI gananAdha - malahari gitam
vallabhA nAyaka - Begada
sri Maha Ganapathi - Gowlai
siddhI Vinayakam sevEkam- Mohana Kalyani - Adi-Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavathar
Gaja Vadana - Sriranjini
Ganapathe Sugunanidhe - janaranjini - HMB
Eka dantam - bilahari
girirAjasutA - baNgaLa - deshadi - tyAgarAja
velAmukhe tharase va va - darbAr
swamin (???) - kAnaDa
RTP - Shanmukhapriya + 16 ragams
Thillana - ? -
Mangalam - Surutti
Mangalam - Madhyamavathi
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Almost every song till RTP was preceded by a beautiful alapanai and followed by excellent svarams. Like a gymnast using the entire floor stretching from one edge to other edge he used his entire voice range during the alapanai. All were complex phrases and many a time many of us did not get the raga until the violin started. The violin accompaniment was excellent and the raga was clear in the very first phrase itself. He played very calmly and matched the style and gati appropriately. RTP was masterpiece. Rasika # 1 for TNS was not anyone in the audience but right there on the stage in Thanjavur Murugabhoopathy. He closely watched him and was fully absorbed in TNS music nodding his head during alapanai. When TNS handed over to Thanjavur Murugabhoopathy for tani avartanam some quick conversation flowed in between their mikes. As a result we were in for more pallavi from TNS in which he sang in superfast gati! This was followed by tani avartanam. That was wonderful. Throughout the concert, his accompaniment was as correct as it could be following closely and never trying to overplay.

Coming back to TNS swarams they were so exquisite and such a beautiful combinations that we were left in total awe and were in dazed condition. We were left wondering as to how he can come up with so many combinations and speed and all with perfectlaya. While we have yet to come out of dazed state, he will end the song and go on to the next one matter-of-factly as if he has just recited ABCD. And while he is singing, the combinations seemed endless and it looked like he can forever ad-infinitum. Truly stunning! Now,
I can understand Saroja Ramanujam poetry on TNS concerts!

Being Vinayaga Chaturthi, all songs were on Ganesha. He made it up in the "Surutti" Mangalam by invoking all other gods as well as "Bhakthars"and another one for Srinivasa in Madhyamavathi.

An outstanding concert that Atlanta will remember for years!

P.S I am sorry for the incomplete song list. I hope one of the other more knowledgeable Atlantan(s) will fill in the gaps!

sramaswamy · Post by **sramaswamy** » 18 Sep 2007, 22:56

Aside #1
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Just came to know that cutchery day - Sep. 15, 2007 was his birthday from the other rasikas.org thread

Aside #2
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Can you believe what my friend Ramesh says? TNS used to be his neighbour in Madurai and many times TNS has come over to his house and lamenting that "Yaarume cutcherikky chance kuduka mattengra" (no one is giving him cutchery chance)! Of course it must be long time ago (By the way I am not that old!)

Aside #3
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While it was not easy to identify the raga from TNS alapanai we were able to get the ragam easily when violin played

Aside #4-
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At the end of RTP, TNS remarked "I am very glad to see so many of young generation sitting and enjoying even the RTP. It is not so even in our home country", when he saw many young boys. The comment I got from my friend was "Oh! it has become a fashion to say that!"

vrbadri · Post by **vrbadri** » 18 Sep 2007, 23:04

Some corrections in the songlist ...

1) Malahari gItam is ShrI gaNanA'th'a
2) Mohana kalyANI kRti is SiddhivinAyakam sEvE'h'am
3) darbAr kRti is vEza mugattarasE (vEzam is elephant, I was informed)
4) TillAna was in basant and was composed by himself (it had the mudra shaMkaradAsa).
(The lyrics: "nRtta gaNapati sapta surapati(=svarapati) dhitittai dittaiyenRADum layapati...")
5) Pallavi was in KhaNDa tripuTa and the lyrics can be found in the post below.

As was mentioned, the concert started about an hour and a half later than was supposed to because of the travel undergone by the artists. Probably due to the travel, TNS's voice took some time to warm up. He had trouble reaching notes at the tAra sthAyIs in the first few pieces of the concert and could have eschewed singing around tAra sthAyI gAndharam initially.

-Badri.

shishya · Post by **shishya** » 18 Sep 2007, 23:12

I had to leave during Sriranjani alapana, but one point I noted during the concert :

Following the anupallavi, in the gowla kriti, TNS Sir sang the chittaswaram in three speeds and trisram. Following the charanam, he sang each line in three speeds. However, when he followed the anupallavi with chittaswaram, it took him 3 attempts to get it right. I have heard him and his student Madurai Sundar sing it on earlier occassions in concerts. The strain from the flight and road trips was very evident. If I didn't know about his travel, I would have assumed that age was taking it's toll.

Maybe he sprang back into full vigor after I left. My loss

In spite of being so tired, he did give a vintage TNS concert (including shruti lapses, which we have grown to love

)

Lakshman · Post by **Lakshman** » 19 Sep 2007, 00:54

vEzha mukhattarasE is by Ambujam Krishna.
Would have loved to hear the tillAnA.

kalpanar · Post by **kalpanar** » 19 Sep 2007, 02:45

Song list of Atlanta Concert

# Song Ragam Talam Composer[/u]
1 Mooshika Vahan modaka Malahari
2 Sri Gananatha Malahari Roopakam P.Dasar
3 Vallabha nayaka Begada Roopakam M.Dikshatar
4 Shri Mahaganapathi Gowlai M.Chapu M.Dikshatar
5 Siddhi Vinayakam Mohana Kalyani Adi Harikesanallur M.Bhagavathar
6 Gajavadana Shriranjani Adi Papanasam Sivan
7 Ganapathe Sugunanidhe Janaranjani Adi Harikesanallur M.Bhagavathar
8 Ekadantam Bhajeham Bilahari M.Chapu M.Dikshatar
9 Giriraja suta Suddha Bangala Adi Thiagarajar
10 Vezha Mugatharase Darbar Roopakam Ambujam Krishna
11 Swami Gajamukha vibo Kaanada Adi Koteeswara Iyer
12 RTP-Nayaka Vinayaka Gananayaka Sakala Karya Siddhi K.Triputa
Shanmugapriya -
Ragamalika(Kedaram, Nattai, Arabhi, Varali, Bilahari,
Suruti, Desh, Bhageshwari, Revathi, Kathanakhutukoolam, Kunthalavarali, Nilambari, Bowli)
13 ?? Khamas K.Jhamapa -
14. Virutham followed by Tillana Ragamalika Adi TN.Seshagopalan
15. Mangalam- Suragananathanukkum Surati Adi

kmrasika · Post by **kmrasika** » 19 Sep 2007, 06:32

The kAnaDA kriti attributed to kOTIShvara aiyyer is not included in S Rajam's book. Is it a later discovery? Whose composition is the mangaLam, "suragaNanAdanukkum?" Never heard of it before. I'm sure the RTP must have been a wonderful treat for caturThI. Hope we get some audio clips of the concert.

ram · Post by **ram** » 19 Sep 2007, 09:03

swAmin gajamukha vibhO is by kavi kunjara bhArati

balu · Post by **balu** » 19 Sep 2007, 12:33

iam very happy that people in us have better ears and theyare calling spade a spade.coming late to cocert by tns is not new thing .even if he had landed twodays before he still would have come late.he was late even on the day he received sk.with this often sruthi lapses he has been singing almost five years.nobody has written about that .his singing is more maths than music.in chennai to some people even he opens his mouth for yawning that is awesome singing . let us enjoy the music and not the musician

bhaktha · Post by **bhaktha** » 19 Sep 2007, 16:44

balu wrote:in chennai to some people even he opens his mouth for yawning that is awesome singing .

Now, that's a very strong statement, totally uncalled for. Rasikas in Madras are not a bunch of jokers please....
-bhaktha

bagayanaiya · Post by **bagayanaiya** » 19 Sep 2007, 17:26

I am sure balu was referring to ONLY "some" rasikas....and anyways, rasikaas everywhere are rasikaas....no better in Madras, no worse elsewhere!

saveri · Post by **saveri** » 20 Sep 2007, 00:33

balu wrote : enjoy the music and not the musician !

Though he may be right in his own dispassionate way, it is very difficult for ardent admirers to do so.

Advaita Philosophy somewhere catches up there.

The music and the musician in the rasikas mind fuse inseparably.

To a logical , pure scientifcl mind this might seem, like psycophancy, but rasikatvam is not only about logic, it is a lot about passionate emotionalism too.

If the musician was not enjoyed , then the GNB's Ariyakudi's and tha MS's of this world would have lost their pride of place. Part of their rasikas enjoyed their chaisma and many were blindfolded to their faults too.

Even in the Western world, people like and clone , Elvis Presley and Beatles for their charisma, dress , hairstyle etc etc and enjoed the musician more han his music even.

And after all one cannot erase the history created by musicians and their music, even if they were slipping on account of age or tiredness.

I am just presenting another aspect of rasikatvam, though Mr.Balu's views may be fully logical.

kmrasika · Post by **kmrasika** » 20 Sep 2007, 10:48

ram wrote:swAmin gajamukha vibhO is by kavi kunjara bhArati

Would you have the lyrics/notation for this song? Is the mangaLam also by the same composer?

ram · Post by **ram** » 20 Sep 2007, 12:53

kmrasika,

please find the lyrics for the song below, courtesy our very own Lakshman ji. I am not aware of who has composed the mangaLam (it goes like "suragaNanAthanukkum saravaNabhavanukkum .... .. mangaLam mangaLam mangaLam" ). TNS sings it often in his concerts though.

svAmin gajamukha. rAgA: kAnaDA. Adi tALA.

P: svAmin gajamukha vibhO mAmava
A: shyAmaLa varNa sunaya shakti shankara tanaya kOmaLa guNAlaya kumAra sahOdara jaya
C: indrAdi vanditapadAshrita mandAra manjuLa sadA muni brndAdi hrdkamala
bhrnga sadrsha sukha mukunda bhAginEya hita kumjara kavi praNIta

kmrasika · Post by **kmrasika** » 21 Sep 2007, 06:53

ram: Thank you, this really is a rarely heard piece, especially for it being composed only in Sanskrit by kavi kunjara bhArati. Pls do post the mangaLam lyrics if you come across them.