Hindu November Fest

sbala · Post by **sbala** » 10 Nov 2007, 22:54

It appears that around a 1000 souls on this forum would have wished me bad luck as I was one of the fortunate few to attend the DKP tribute y'day. The good news is the curses work. The gentlemen from Pakistan are probably not well accquainted with Chennai or the hallowed status of the Academy. It turned out to be a completely mediocre performance meant to please a college crowd and not something that befits a venue like Academy with a rich history of fostering supreme classical music. They were going ooo-aah over the sarangi guy repeating the vocalist's swaras that any kid in Mylapore would have played half-asleep. If that started getting repetitive, the son would show off his prowess in the upper registers or indulge in some nonsensical banter with the crowd. It's now left to Anil and Gurucharan to save the Hindu fest. The only solace for me was there was one guy from this forum who missed Vijay Siva's concert but managed to attend this one. If you happen to see a few souls badly in need of a rejuvenation package at TNK's concert tomorrow, you know where they spent their Saturday evening.

Always_Evolving · Post by **Always_Evolving** » 10 Nov 2007, 23:23

Awww.. what a shame. And here I was thinking what a shame it was to miss it.

It's now left to Anil and Gurucharan to save the Hindu fest.

You aren't laying any bets on Rajan-Sajan then? (I guess the rest of the acts are not strictly classical)

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 11 Nov 2007, 00:20

Completely agree , I (the unfortunate gentleman referred to in the post above!) came with sky high expectations (literally - I flew down just to catch the Ustad!) but landed on rubble. It was supposed to be Fateh Ali Khan's concert but was wholly hijacked by his son Rustam, who was introduced as one of the brightest stars in the firmament of Pakistani Classical Music. Sorry if this sounds a tad jingoistic but that unlikely claim does not say much about the health of classical music in Musharaffabad

As Rustam frequently took pains to mention, the Patiala Gharama is known for its assertive style, sargams and layakari...but Bade, or even lesser mortals like Ajoy Chakraborty, never used their vocal power to submerge emotion and nuances....or bend the tanpura out of shape as Rustam heartlessly did...I am hearing Bade's Basant as I write this. Can't believe that the apaswara-riddled yells in the tara sthayi could have stemmed from the same school!

With 2.5 hours at their disposal one would have expected at least 2 bada khyals. Yaman (pronounced Aiman) sounded promising with a 5 minute alaap but the youngster's shaky grip on the raga's fundamentals was already showing, especially in the descent from dhaivat to madhyam. There was an obtuse insinuation about the speaker system after a couple of particularly jarring slips and then an exhortation for the audience to contribute to the "sam" (Samam) - not being familiar with etiquette in an HM environment I was perplexed as to how this was sought to be achieved. I was not alone...

The Vilambit was anything but vilambit in length and soon the sargams and taans were roaring along, bouncing on and off the raag's notes at will...after a breathless and soulless session, Goverrnor Saaheb stepped onto stage and made a request for a "Punjabi Song". I felt like booting the philistine out of the auditorium but the duo on stage were presumably more receptive to the suggestion, promptly launching into a thumri. (Imagine the impropriety of a tukkada after the first main piece - thank god for CM!). With an hour left after Governor saaheb's retinue had departed, there was still time for a weighty piece but now the artistes expressed desire to indulge the South Indians in the audience with a piece in Kalaavati - a light one that was used as a launching pad for sargams...tolerable enough but schoolboy-ish stuff when for someone used to hearing swara kalpanas day in and out...

Along came a sufiyaana kalaam and another plea for the audience to clap along...the request being rather more comprehensible this time, the crowd happily obliged. My opinion about the Academy's portals is less kind than sBalas - this is the sort of nonsense that one hears every time some 3rd rate crowd puller from the North/West is flown down on a carpet of greenbacks to Chennai. An audience that can't be bothered to put its hands together for the finest alaapanas suddenly feels obliged to give these charlatans a standing ovation. Sanjay Subrahmanyan made a compelling statement against this injustice in an editorial that brought him a prolonged boycott from a well-known sabha in the city.

Having lost my patience and any hope of listening to serious music, I made my way to Marris across the road and rediscovered my soul in a masterfully crafted sambaar- at least somebody's still keeping his gharana intact!

None of my vitriol need be construed as a comment on the greatness of Fateh Ali Khan. As pointed out, this was almost completely his sonâ€™s show. Recalling the majesty of his renditions with brother Amaanat Ali Khan, one couldnâ€™t help feeling sorry for this man who was reduced to getting the audience to cheer on his sonâ€™s mediocrity with shouts of â€œvery goodâ€

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 11 Nov 2007, 00:21

sbala, our jealosy notwithstanding, it is all part of the divine plan to bring you down from the dizzying himalyan heights after the Vijay Siva concert

Can one of you provide a bit of background about this festival? I can guess and glean a little bit from your posts but I still kept wondering what this is about.

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 11 Nov 2007, 00:22

Always Evolving - I am planning to give Mishra Banshu a shot, nevertheless...as sBala mentions, I am betting on the odds working in my favour next time!

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 11 Nov 2007, 00:22

http://www.hinduonnet.com/novemberfest/

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 11 Nov 2007, 00:26

Having lost my patience and any hope of listening to serious music, I made my way to Marris across the road and rediscovered my soul in a masterfully crafted sambaar- at least somebody's still keeping his gharana intact!

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 11 Nov 2007, 04:32

sbala,
Thanks for bringing another round of pre-season chennai scene alive. You WERE lucky, and we are happy for it. Otherwise, we wouldn't have heard about the wonderful DKP concert. This one was a drushTi parihAram for your rasikAhood to ward away the evil eye!

Vijay,
A stirring piece. A perfectly penned essay. Quotable lines. A man of many talents, indeed, the kalingA warrior...
'every time when a third rate crowd puller is flown down on a carpet of greenback to chennai..'

sbala · Post by **sbala** » 11 Nov 2007, 08:30

vijay wrote:Goverrnor Saaheb stepped onto stage and made a request for a "Punjabi Song". I felt like booting the philistine out of the auditorium but the duo on stage were presumably more receptive to the suggestion

Our man is heading to NGS today for Carnatica's fest. He might present a easier target than Prashant for your tomatoes. I'm looking forward to see if the Hindu would be bold enough to accept the disaster in its reviews.

rasaali · Post by **rasaali** » 11 Nov 2007, 08:35

vijay wrote:http://www.hinduonnet.com/novemberfest/

Very "interesting". I am tickled by the fact that organizers took pains to provide titles and genre for each performance. Wonder what the rationale behind these was? Why are Amurta Murali and Nisha "Born Free" (are others performers born enslaved?) Will Savitha Narasimhan and Mala Chandrashekar perfrom wearing Peacock Blue silk sarees from RMKV?

And will some one please help me understand what "Traditional Crossover" means? Sounds oxymoronic.

Someone seems to have gone overboard in the festival PR department.

Chennai rasikas. Please do educate us about these finer aspects of the fest. By looks of it, the "other side of midnight" was not dawn.

Yours confused and curious,
R

uday_shankar · Post by **uday_shankar** » 11 Nov 2007, 09:32

Bravo Bala and Vijay!

Superb reviews, as usual. I am becoming a fan you guys, in imminent danger of taking your words as gospel truth! I

Also congratulating myself for not falling for all the hype. I will settle for the good old RK venkatrama sastri festival in raga sudha and give the rest of hindu circus a complete slip. Except maybe Savita's blue sequined concert with Mala Chandrashekar.

prashant · Post by **prashant** » 11 Nov 2007, 11:24

The RKVS festival should be a fantastic event, organized painstakingly by Sri Shriramkumar. I would head there without a second thought

meena · Post by **meena** » 11 Nov 2007, 11:38

Deleted

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 11 Nov 2007, 15:04

Rasaali these concerts are meant to be some king of thematic events - I note Meena has provided the details. I completely agree with you on the hype - wish the Academy did a better job of promoting the Nedunuris and RK Srikantans during the season instead...

But the "walk in concerts" will probably provide more satisfying music than the main events...for starters, you won't have the Page 3 set around and the performers are largely a talented bunch of serious musicians....besides, the concerts are free!

rasaali · Post by **rasaali** » 11 Nov 2007, 17:16

Thanks Meena and Vijay for the details.

Now everything makes more sense, though I see have to say that "Born Free" still seems like the title of a Bruce Springsteen album and Peacock Blue sounds a better describing silk sarees than the romance of Radha and Krishna.

:)

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 11 Nov 2007, 19:14

Uday_Shankar wrote:Bravo Bala and Vijay!
Superb reviews, as usual. I am becoming a fan you guys, in imminent danger of taking your words as gospel truth! I

Uday,
Did you not realize that the forum ONLY allows reviews from individuals who have NOT TAKEN the oath of all reviewers (esp. the ones that review for leading National Papers)?
Parts of that oath are: 'the news in outline, views in abundance, brickbats aplenty, and a glimpse of the truth only if I let my guard down'!

So, you can take Vijay's words as gospel truth!:D

smadhumitha · Post by **smadhumitha** » 12 Nov 2007, 05:44

It's now left to Anil and Gurucharan to save the Hindu fest.

They did not only save the fest. But much more. Truly amazing performance. I sat mesmerised by the piano and vocal blend. And along with the sarangi, guitar and violin thown in for a couple of pieces, it was beautiful. I was initially sad about missing yesterday's performance. But after The Colour of Rain, I wouldn't even mind if I missed every other one to come. Anil and Guruchran's music sure is a new wave in the music world.
Starting off with "Punguyil", Kalki's poem...There was no stopping the flow of soulful music. Suttum Vizhi, Hari tum haro, Omana Thinkal, Sarvam Brahma mayam, Chinnanjiru Pen poley, Payyada, Vellai Thamarai........I don't know which one to talk about. Their music grows on you very slowly but very deeply. Those who missed the concert sure did miss something great !!

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 12 Nov 2007, 06:16

For those of us that missed the live performance, there is some solace in knowing that Anil and Gurucharan have a commercial release - madirAkshI - with a set of soul-stirring songs

smadhumitha · Post by **smadhumitha** » 12 Nov 2007, 08:08

Madhirakshi was their first album, released in 2006. The new one that premeiered in last night's show was "Maaya : The colour of rain" - richer and more beautiful. Both have been released by Charsur. Make sure you get a copy of both !

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 12 Nov 2007, 13:46

I split Sunday evening between Hariharanâ€™s Ghazal Sandhya (looking forward to Rajeshâ€™ post on the concert) and Colours of Rain, conceptualized by Classical Pianist, Anil Srinivasan and Carnatic Vocalist, Sikkil Gurucharan, as a bridge between Western Harmony and Indian Melody. My partial attendance of the latter was further truncated by â€œpaapi petâ€

uday_shankar · Post by **uday_shankar** » 12 Nov 2007, 15:02

vijay wrote:But the mind hardened by the assertiveness of mainstream classical music, while engaged by the uniqueness of the concept, felt that the overall effect wasâ€¦whatâ€™s the wordâ€¦Ah yes! Lightâ€¦

Brilliant !

Dude, clearly time to start your own blog on all matters Carnatic and not (eg., Marris sambar, etc..).

sbala · Post by **sbala** » 12 Nov 2007, 15:05

Net booking has all concerts except the one today. Are tickets being sold at the venue for the brothers concert? If not, I have to find a way to hack the Hindu website.

ram · Post by **ram** » 12 Nov 2007, 17:22

Uday_Shankar wrote:
Vijay wrote:But the mind hardened by the assertiveness of mainstream classical music, while engaged by the uniqueness of the concept, felt that the overall effect wasâ€¦whatâ€™s the wordâ€¦Ah yes! Lightâ€¦
Brilliant !

Dude, clearly time to start your own blog on all matters Carnatic and not (eg., Marris sambar, etc..).

Your writings are too good. It's great to see you back in action !!!!

I second Uday. Please oblige at least for Marris sake. You have eaten their 'namak'

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 12 Nov 2007, 17:48

Thanks Uday,Arasi and Ram...utterly flattered...will try to oblige when I can find some time between work, music...and Marris!

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 12 Nov 2007, 17:59

Bala you should be able to get tickets at the venue....I don't expect a weekday HM concert to be sold out....if so will meet you at the gate

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 14 Nov 2007, 13:29

Beneras Gharana maestros Rajan and Sajan Misra performed at the Academy on Monday. An excellent technical review from a highly regarded exponent can be found here:

http://www.hindu.com/mp/2007/11/14/stor ... 300800.htm

For the view from the laymanâ€™s armchair, read onâ€¦.

Trademark descending brushes against N3 and M2 (how clearly the swaras stand out in a Hindustani rendition!) unambiguously announced Shuddh Kalyan (Mohana Kalyani) although Iâ€™d missed the brothersâ€™ introduction. In stark contrast to their cousins from across the border, the Pandits preferred to present the Vilambit as a focal point rather than a sidelight. The official clock was pushing 8 by the time the tara sthayi was unfurled. The younger (Sajan?) sibling struck the more resonant notes with ringing rests distributing the tonal range with equal felicity from the mandra gandhar to taar pancham. The elder seemed slightly flummoxed by the slippery meends around the nishads and madhyams and his halts lacked the assurance of his brother â€“ it must be mentioned, though, that he was suffering from a bad case of coldâ€¦in the taan section however, the roles were reversed - The younger had trouble with descents while the elderâ€™s version assumed a Dhrupadiya character in their weight and clarity.

A short composition in Durga (which, I am given to understand, is the equivalent of Shuddha Saveri although the caresses of the Nishadam would probably put it closer to Arabhi) followed before an interval was imposed. The concert until this point was satisfactory but not spectacular (unfortunately for sBala who chose to exit during the break after having entertained himself at my expense thanks to certain random observations from a bystander on a somewhat prickly subject! I am hoping he will have the discretion not to elaborate!)

Jhinjhoti was the next major item, presented in Rupak tal with gears shifted to Teental and then Dadra for the Madhya Lay and Drut respectively. The analogy with Kambhoji was immediately apparent with phrases such as PD2S and SR2M1G3 alloyed with the decidedly Hindustani colour of N2D2N2 and occasionally, even N2SD2 (although the latter did not feature in the sargam). Sajanâ€™s dalliance with the notes was just beginning and his grins were getting wider with each perfectly sounded constant.

After a brusque and mesmerizing Megh (Madhyamavati, with a shade of Brindavana Saranga in the Nishadam) the brothers sought the audienceâ€™s opinion on a suitable raag for a bhajan. But the crowd, having smelt blood, was in no mood for tukkadas just yet, instead demanding the heaviness of Darbari even though, at 10 PM, the concert should have entered the wind-up mode.

Sajan promised a â€œglimpseâ€

sbala · Post by **sbala** » 14 Nov 2007, 13:45

vijay wrote:The concert until this point was satisfactory but not spectacular (unfortunately for sBala who chose to exit during the break after having entertained himself at my expense thanks to certain random observations from a bystander on a somewhat prickly subject! I am hoping he will have the discretion not to elaborate!)

Count on me to keep secrets

. Feel bad to have missed the second half but that's the price I have to pay for music still being a second priority

uday_shankar · Post by **uday_shankar** » 14 Nov 2007, 22:42

sbala wrote:Count on me to keep secrets.

What happens in Vegas...er Hindu Fest, stays in Hindu Fest.

Let me guess...bystander raves about the Shruti Shuddham of these Hindustani artistes while lamenting the Shruthi lapses of Vijay's ishta devata. That would qualify as a prickly subject for Vijay, no ?

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 14 Nov 2007, 22:54

In this case, Uday, I'll be happy to play along with your interpretation although I've long learnt to accept my "ishta devata"'s lows along with his highs

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 15 Nov 2007, 09:15

Vijay,
Yes, read the Hindu review. Very nice. Still, for setting the scene, commenting on the performance, not like a statistics professor but a finely tuned essayist, capturing the colors of the emotional ranges...wAh rE wAh, an enjoyable read indeed.
Your mood seems exuberant, and thanks to sangeetha dEvata, we get such delectable reviews from you. As for ishTa dEvatAs, mmm, ishTa dEvatAs have their ishTams and kashTams too. Ask bAlAji about it. The assault of bhakthAs he puts up with up there in the hills...

vgvindan · Post by **vgvindan** » 15 Nov 2007, 09:32

The assault of bhakthAs he puts up with up there in the hills

Balaji would any time tolerate the assault on Himself but would be more concerned with the 'assault of temple staff' on the bhaktas who come for Darshan - Jaragandi jaragandi - type - not only verbal but also physical.

kamavardhani · Post by **kamavardhani** » 15 Nov 2007, 10:12

Today's Hindu Metro Plus carried a brief write-up on the symposium 'My Guru' that was held as part of the November Fest, on Tuesday at the Taj Connemara. IMO, the write-up hardly does justice to what was an insightful two-hr+ event. I had tagged along with a musician friend to what was an invitees-only show. Frankly, I wish such symposiums were thrown open to enable the public's better understanding of our musicians and their backgrounds...

Anyway, there were six musicians invited to talk about their Gurus: Sowmya (on Dr. S. Ramanathan), Charumati (on MLV), Jayanthi Kumaresh (on Balachander), Rita Ganguly (on Begum Akhtar), Rajshekar Mansur (on father & guru Mallikarjun Mansur) and Kalapini Komkali (on father & guru Shivputra Komkali aka 'Kumar Gandharva'). The talks were insightful and as Gowri Ramnarayan pointed out in her VoT, belied the musicians' claim that they were better at singing than talking!

By far, the best presentation was Sowmya's. She had the dual role of making the first presentation as well as moderating (or, in her words, 'coordinating') the show. Of all the speakers, she was the only one who didn't turn the presentation into a mere biographical sketch of her guru. She gave insights into SR's teaching technique, his total 24x7 obsession with music (singing, teaching, research, attending other concerts obsessively, etc.) and the values - musical & non-musical - he imparted to his students. Her talk was the only one backed up with a video clip, slideshow and pics (including one of a delightful un-bearded SR playing the Vina). She also played a brief audio track of SR teaching Kedaragowla (Lali lali) to a group of students.

Given the impressive technical set-up (audio & video) and well-placed giant screens, one would have hoped for more backup material from the others too. Except for Charumati who played a couple of MLV audio tracks, no one else bothered to have any arresting backup material! Rita Ganguly's talk on Begum Akhtar was more of a tear-jerking recount of the Begum's personal travails and offered few insights into the 'Guru' aspect. Kalapini & Rajshekar spoke of their experiences, growing up as kids of famous parents. Answering a question at the end, Kalapini was blunt in stating that she had never known Kumar Gandharva as a parent... he being totally in his world of music! Charumati sang and demonstrated some of MLV's trademark styles, but I wish she had cut out the trite alphabet-wise expansion of MLV's name (M for magical, L for lively, etc etc). Jayanthi made a rather dramatic speech on SB, highlighting his grand, larger-than-life personality, his quirks & eccentricities and his asura-sadhakam in unconventional fingering techniques.

All-in-all, a mixed bag... good to hear about famous gurus from persons who have experienced it from close quarters, but wishing that one heard more about the 'Guru' aspect than a biography which one can pick up and read in a book.

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 15 Nov 2007, 10:31

Arasi, those short on technical details have to resort to literary devices to engage the reader's attention...thanks for your kind words anyway.

Kamavardhini - you're bang on about the utter pointlessness of such events being held in 5 star hotels - there isn't even a commercial interest involved so why not throw the doors open to the public, many of whom would be more knowledgeable and interested than the 3 crowd who, I am sure, would have dominated the attendance.

One can expect Sowmya to make a focussed, erudite presentation but you're right about such LDs degenrating into hagiographies. Surprisinly enough for a bunch of people comfortable with the stage and into teaching, musicians tend to be poor communicators in general. If I made a presentation anything like most of the LDs one attends during the season, it would cost me my job! We need more like Sowmya, Neyveli, Suguna Purushottaman etc. who can communicate as well with words as with music.

Always_Evolving · Post by **Always_Evolving** » 15 Nov 2007, 11:29

vijay wrote:AWe need more like Sowmya, Neyveli, Suguna Purushottaman etc. who can communicate as well with words as with music.

Totally. And let's not forget that master communicator-guru-musician Chitravina Ravikiran. Even with the brief annotations he provides during concerts makes one feel who needs lec-dems when you can attend a Ravikiran concert.

sbala · Post by **sbala** » 15 Nov 2007, 11:59

vijay wrote:although Iâ€™d missed the brothersâ€™ introduction.

Hmm..the law of averages has indeed worked in your favour, assuming you were lucky to have missed the compere's introduction as well.

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 15 Nov 2007, 14:32

Hmm...curious to know what gems the compere came up with this time. It is a mild irritant to watch an over-dressed convent-accented compere hold forth on subjects he/she has no clue about ...PC Ramakrishna was a good choice last year - he is a part-time musician in addition to being a theatre veteran...but he messed up a bit in the Ravikiran/Vishwa Mohan Bhatt concert when he forgot the names of some of the artistes