Season 07 Emerging/Unrecognized Recommendations

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 27 Nov 2007, 16:05

Season 07 is officially upon us with BVB's fest kicking off on 25th December. Here's wishing everyone - those who plan to be in Chennai and others - a Happy Season 07!

One of the standard pre-season threads is on emerging/under-recognized talent. While the "afternoon list" is already familiar to most forum regulars, I'd be particularly interested in artistes who are:

Artistes from outside Chennai
Relatively old artistes who have not, for whatever reason, received public acclaim
Teenagers who are likely to break in to the top ranks very soon
Students of leading performers

Would be interesting as well as helpful to rasikas if we could have a pre-season discussion.

sbala · Post by **sbala** » 27 Nov 2007, 17:18

Among the youngsters, I would think Prasanna and Amrutha Venkatesh are knocking on the doors. Balamurali junior is another amazing talent who should move up to the main slot soon. But the main slots seem full and there are quite a few in the 25-40 years category who are waiting in the wings for the stalwarts to exit. Like the big three in the Indian team, none of the 60 something stalwarts and kalanidhis have given any indications of slowing down. So, its probably going to be another 5-10 years atleast before these youngsters get premium slots. To me, this phase is now as much a test of their mental strength and commitment to the artform as their vidwath.

sbala · Post by **sbala** » 27 Nov 2007, 17:18

vijay wrote:Season 07 is officially upon us with BVB's fest kicking off on 25th December. .

That should be November

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 27 Nov 2007, 17:53

Oops..November it should have been...thanks for the correction...

Interesting observation from Sriram...but I feel it is not so much the 50/60+ vidwans who are dominating prime slots but the relatively younger vidwans. I don't know if there was ever a period in CM when the prime slots were so completely dominated by youngsters (in CM terms 30-45 years)...with these guys starting from Sudha onwards having at least 10 good years of music in them, as Sriram notes, these are testing times for youngsters in CM. Even a Sikkil Gurucharan, who is a fairly bankable commercial proposition in the circuit, has been waiting for a prime slot at the Academy for a long time now. Same goes, to a lesser extent, for BMK Jr., TNS Krishna, Abhishek et al....except for blips of prime time opportunities, the afternoon slot has been the sum and substance of their Season for the last 4-5 years...This is long given that the current stars like Sanjay, TMK, Ranjani Gayathri etc. seemed to have moved through the afternoon slots in 2-3 years (the Academy schedules from the past, as I have said before, are extremely addictive!).

Prasanna Venkatraman is clearly someone who has been growing leaps and bounds musically and I have heard a lot about Amrutha Venkatesh and others like K Gayathri, MR Subramanian etc. and look forward to listening to their music this season. As always the season will be a month full of opportunities for these folks...with the stars peddling their wares pretty much throughout the year these days, my season is going to be more about how the youngsters are shaping up!

Not to forget others who are no longer young but quietly churn out quality music (sadly, to empty halls) year after year. I "discovered" Lakshmi Rangarajan and Sugandha Kalamegham this year and have earlier made strong cases for Sangeetha Sivakumar and Pantula Rama. Sankaran Namboodiri is a force to reckon with on a good day and there was this guy called SR Veeraraghavan - almost unheard of but presented a mind-blowing concert a couple of years back.

sbala · Post by **sbala** » 27 Nov 2007, 22:23

I didn't quite mean that the 50/60+ are dominating but the youngsters have to hope that some of them will retire and they also mature at about the same time. If all is well, TMK, Sanjay,R&G are going to be there for another 15 years atleast and those slots can be forgotten just like the Indian middle order.

There are a few more in the middle age group. I heard 2 disciples of TNS- K.Vijayaraghavan and one more person with a booming voice who gave a concert at kgs recently. They are right up there waiting to be promoted by someone.

Among the ladies, my favourite is Manda Sudharani. I really hope she has got some premium slots this season. Her laya expertise and swaras are out of the world. She offers something that none of the other top artistes do and she deserves to be in the top rung. She has got great technique and a voice suited for long concerts as she doesnt rely on tara sthayi phrases for impact like some of the others.

Pantula Rama - I can't believe organisers are unable to find a place for her.

I would be surprised if Sudha lasts 10 years. Her voice is sounding strained these days..Maybe, its just me because the crowds are still flocking.

jukebox · Post by **jukebox** » 28 Nov 2007, 03:54

very nice posts, vijay and bala. you have succintly explained why many youngsters are unable to graduate to the higher slots. the lists in most sabhas do show that the majority of the main slots are occupied by people in the age range of 30-60. as you say, most of them have anything between 10-30 years of good music left. it is going to be a very hard scramble for those waiting in the wings. but i do believe that clever music will ultimately win even if not pure quality music. it is going to be interesting to watch the progress. my votes would be for the less-heard/hyped ones like manda sudharani (a pity that i don't see her name anywhere so far), kiranavali (a definite yes after her recent boston concert), pantula rama (don't see her name much in the lists) and nandita ravi. there are a few more, but i can't think of them offhand. will post again when i do.

mahesh_narayan · Post by **mahesh_narayan** » 28 Nov 2007, 09:53

Looks like they need a separate Indian Music Academy, just like they now have Indian Cricket League, if everyone hopes to get a slot

:).

grsastrigal · Post by **grsastrigal** » 28 Nov 2007, 13:27

Some quickies from BVB programmes. I attended Ashok Ramani (last Sunday morn slot) with Bhaktavatsalam and Sriram and Gopalakrishnan. When he finished his concert at 1 PM, five people were there in the hall. His Mohanam (kaapali) and Karaharapriya (Sendhi Aandavan) were good among his PS Keethanams.

Sikkil Guruchanrans (I came late) 5-7 slot yesterday- His main song-Bhajare re Manasa (Aabheri) of Mysore V is the best I heard in the recent times.

I Could see Mylapore Fine Arts schedule yesterday- Sanjay is not performing but Hyderabad brothers are. Surprising.

jukebox · Post by **jukebox** » 29 Nov 2007, 03:36

am not sure if these artistes should be mentioned in this thread but from what i have heard, at least one concert of each is a must: rama ravi, suguna varadachari & suguna purushottaman (who toured the US as a duo a few years back), rudrapatnam bros (who i think are a better team than the hyd bros).

i can't think of any young vainikas or other instrumentalists. is it peculiar to chennai or is instrumental music really on the decline?

sbala · Post by **sbala** » 29 Nov 2007, 08:47

jukebox wrote:i can't think of any young vainikas or other instrumentalists. is it peculiar to chennai or is instrumental music really on the decline?

You don't have to go beyond our forum members veenajj to feel comfortable that the veena is still in safe hands. I heard one of the best Bhairavis of the year from them. They have a great repertoire of Dikshitar krithis as well. If the layman's opinion is still a cause of concern, Shri NSG and Dr VV Srivatsa were in the same concert and they were also thrilled by their performance.

coolkarni · Post by **coolkarni** » 29 Nov 2007, 11:33

safe hands

http://rapidshare.com/files/73034770/Ja ... an-5-1.avi

Safe hands
Serene Sankarabharanam

Jayashri · Post by **Jayashri** » 29 Nov 2007, 12:08

Has anyone heard the singer Kum. S. Mahathi? I believe she is an upcoming talented singer. If someone attends her concert, please can you post a review? Thanks.

veenajj · Post by **veenajj** » 29 Nov 2007, 12:35

Thank you, Sriram and Kulkarniji. Coming from rasikas like you, these words mean a lot to us.

Regards,
Jeyaraaj & Jaysri

sbala · Post by **sbala** » 29 Nov 2007, 15:08

There is another vainika whose name I think is Anantha. He had accompanied Smt Sita Rajan last season during a lecdem. The nadham was divine. Somebody can confirm his name. I can't give any more telltale signs except that he was unbelievably modest when I met him at the Academy recently and we were taking about NSG and he said Shri NSG was his manasika guru.

kji - waiting to reach home to experience the serenity of shankarabharanam tonite and the seas day after tomorrow.

ramanathan · Post by **ramanathan** » 29 Nov 2007, 17:32

Vijay, I have been trying to contact you. Cud you pls get in touch with me by e-mail, or get my number from Coolji.

Thanks,
Ramanathan.

jukebox · Post by **jukebox** » 30 Nov 2007, 03:16

sbala wrote:
jukebox wrote:i can't think of any young vainikas or other instrumentalists. is it peculiar to chennai or is instrumental music really on the decline?
You don't have to go beyond our forum members veenajj to feel comfortable that the veena is still in safe hands. I heard one of the best Bhairavis of the year from them. They have a great repertoire of Dikshitar krithis as well. If the layman's opinion is still a cause of concern, Shri NSG and Dr VV Srivatsa were in the same concert and they were also thrilled by their performance.

i haven't had the good fortune to listen to this couple yet. btw, who is sri. nsg?

my crib was more general in nature. there doesn't seem to be even a decent representation of instrumental music in the season. one sure hopes it is not due to the paucity of accomplished instrumentalists. come to think of it there have been no new instrumentalist stars ever since shashank. i remember the excitement and buzz when ravikiran or srinivas entered the field nearly 2-3 decades ago. even shashank's entry generated only a milder buzz, but there certainly was some excitement over the new 'discovery'. that doesn't seem to have happened for several years now. wonder why.

coolkarni · Post by **coolkarni** » 30 Nov 2007, 06:45

http://rapidshare.com/files/73045110/Ja ... umar-5.avi

http://rapidshare.com/files/73045111/Ja ... mar-12.avi
Jayanthi Kumaresh-Patri Sathish Kumar
"NOT TO MISS "combination

kalgada78 · Post by **kalgada78** » 30 Nov 2007, 06:54

Wow!! That's a lovely Harikambhoji! She plays quite effortlessly.

Thanks Kulkarni Sir,for the clip.

But what happened to Satish Kumar? he is trying to imitate zakir husain or what? Lot of change in the look :rolleyes:

sbala · Post by **sbala** » 30 Nov 2007, 07:03

NSG is Neyveli Santanagopalan. Maybe, Ravikiran and Srinivas had the advantage of the novelty of a new/relatively unknown instrument (assuming Ravikiran began with chitravina). I doubt they would have been such a hit if they were into traditional instruments like violin. Leaving aside such hypothetical situations, even they are struggling to draw crowds now, when arguably their vidwath should be at a much higher level. I have walked into near empty concerts of Ravikiran atleast a couple of times during the last year. Same goes with Shashank. Given the fact that he spends most of his time outside India, he should be drawing full houses in Chennai when he performs. Srinivas at MFAC is possibly the only full-house concert for an instrumentalist in Chennai.

I also wish that someone blazes a new trail and brings back instrumental to the forefront. Until then, the onus is on the rasika to keep searching in lesser known sabhas in noon slots.

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 30 Nov 2007, 08:03

Kji,
Thanks for Jayanti Kumaresh's clips. I love her style of palying. One of my favorite instrumentalists whose music touches my spirit with out extracting too much mental stress. But 'effortless playing' I think I reserve for the late Chittibabu, and among the current artists, his student Smt. Prabhavati and the evergreen Gayatri (yes, quite some while back, she was the child prodigy people were Ohing and Aahing about...and she was called Baby Gayatri) are aslo sublime!

coolkarni · Post by **coolkarni** » 30 Nov 2007, 16:24

For those like experimenting, here is an old war horse you could try.
his 1983 vathapi -for about 25 odd minutes - at pillayar koil kk nagar still rings in my mind.
in this video , he is into the 30th minute of a 55 minute thulasidala.neyveli narayanan and ma sundareswaran sizzle , too.
over to tadepalii lokanatha sharma.

http://rapidshare.com/files/73238402/DIV00000.MPG
http://rapidshare.com/files/73246944/DIV00001.MPG
http://rapidshare.com/files/73253820/DIV00002.MPG

mri_fan · Post by **mri_fan** » 30 Nov 2007, 22:19

jayanthi kumeresh and banglore arjun kumar toured the US this year, and that was a great combination too

sankirnam · Post by **sankirnam** » 30 Nov 2007, 22:19

Mr. Kulkarni,

THANK YOU for uploading this video featuring my guru!!!

Thanks very much!

sankirnam · Post by **sankirnam** » 30 Nov 2007, 22:20

mri_fan, you mean bangalore arjun kumar, not arjun ganesh...

sureshvv · Post by **sureshvv** » 30 Nov 2007, 22:25

My top 3 recommendations:

1. Sangeetha Swaminathan - back after a break of 3 years?
2. Abhishek Raghuram - Couple of stupendous performances in the past few months (KGS and Sastri hall)
3. Prarthana Rao

sankirnam · Post by **sankirnam** » 30 Nov 2007, 22:29

Coolkarni,

The ghatam in that video is by a younger H. Sivaramakrishnan, and morsing is definetely Srirangam Kannan. However I cannot put my finger on the main artist, who is it?

mri_fan · Post by **mri_fan** » 30 Nov 2007, 22:29

thank you, ill fix that

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 30 Nov 2007, 22:35

Last year we exhustively discussed this topic, things cannot change so drastically in 1 year . For all the new forum members that thread may be a big bonus.

http://rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic.php?id=1566

thenpaanan · Post by **thenpaanan** » 01 Dec 2007, 00:06

coolkarni wrote:http://rapidshare.com/files/73045110/Ja ... umar-5.avi

http://rapidshare.com/files/73045111/Ja ... mar-12.avi
Jayanthi Kumaresh-Patri Sathish Kumar
"NOT TO MISS "combination

Coolji,

Beautiful playing. Thanks a lot, sir.

Made my day to listen/watch.

-Then Paanan

coolkarni · Post by **coolkarni** » 01 Dec 2007, 07:55

Sankirnam
Thanks.
My apologies for leaving out the two accompanists' names.That was quite insensitive of me.
The main artist is
TadePalli Lokanatha Sharma

Suji Ram · Post by **Suji Ram** » 01 Dec 2007, 09:34

he is into the 30th minute of a 55 minute thulasidala.neyveli narayanan and ma sundareswaran sizzle , too.
over to tadepalii lokanatha sharma.

Interesting neraval...MAS indeed adds to the mood of the renditions.
I have heard DKJ but this one is quite different.

mri_fan · Post by **mri_fan** » 01 Dec 2007, 10:13

he's a rather dynamic performer...really enjoyable to watch ...I don't think I would get the same feeling listening to it as I do from watching it

thanks very much for the upload.

coolkarni · Post by **coolkarni** » 03 Dec 2007, 13:00

http://rapidshare.com/files/73943087/MS_Sheela-5.avi
http://rapidshare.com/files/73943088/MS_Sheela-6.avi

MS Sheela-CN Chandrashekhar-Ananthakrishna Sharma-UN Giridhar Udupa

mri_fan · Post by **mri_fan** » 03 Dec 2007, 13:27

(As I'm waiting to download the latest morsel, I thought I'd thank you, sir for the upload)..

I've heard Anoor Ananthakrishna Sharama on the mridangam many times over the last few years, since his groups have toured the US recently, and he's one of the most dynamic mridangam artists that I suspect people are not aware of in Chennai (or maybe I'm wrong, but I don't see his name come up at all in Chennani besides in playing for the occasional M.S. Sheela concert). His play takes elements from many different styles and blends it all together, and he really makes it look easy. And with that, my download is complete!

coolkarni · Post by **coolkarni** » 03 Dec 2007, 19:07

Shed a Tear or two if you dont find this artist featured in as many number of slots, as he deserves !!

http://rapidshare.com/files/73964273/Pa ... ao-1-1.avi
http://rapidshare.com/files/73964274/Pa ... ao-1-2.avi
http://rapidshare.com/files/73964275/Pa ... _Rao-2.avi
http://rapidshare.com/files/73964276/Pa ... _Rao-3.avi
http://rapidshare.com/files/73964277/Pa ... _Rao-4.avi

nathikan · Post by **nathikan** » 15 Jan 2008, 09:26

vijay wrote:and there was this guy called SR Veeraraghavan - almost unheard of but presented a mind-blowing concert a couple of years back.

he gave very few concerts this year but they were among my favorites, one was at mylapore fine arts, the other was at a sabha near the kabali koil tank whose name escapes me, i think rk swamy?

rsrini · Post by **rsrini** » 21 Feb 2008, 21:04

A few people in Bangalore have formed a Trust with the purpose of uncovering unrecognised talent by giving them opportunities to perform. This Trust plans to hold concerts of such artistes every 3-4 months.

The inaugural concert in this series was held on Feb 16 in Bangalore. The singer was Kumbakonam S Shankararaman (a disciple of Maharajapuram Ramachandran) who is based in Salem. He is currently the Principal of Tamil Nadu Government Music School. It was an excellent concert, reminiscent of Maharajapuram Santhanam, which left one wondering why he hasn't got opportunities to perform in Chennai or Bangalore. Shankararaman has a strong voice and he showed a deep commitment to music. His concert lasted 3hrs 45 mins, a rarity these days.

He was very well accompanied on the violin by Shankar Rajan (who works in Nokia), on the mridangam by SR Anantharaman (a VP in IBM) and Bhargava (again working in IBM). It is amazing how these people still find time to keep their musical skills intact while working in high-pressure jobs.

I will post video clips of the concert in the next few days.

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 21 Feb 2008, 21:11

rsrini,
Can you post the songlist of the concert.

rsrini · Post by **rsrini** » 24 Feb 2008, 21:25

Kumbakonam S Shankar Raman - Shankar Rajan - SR Anantharaman - Bhargava
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sarasuda varnam saveri Adi kothavasal venkatarama iyer
Gajavadana beduvey hamsadwani adi purandara dasar
Jagadanandakaraka nattai adi Thyagaraja
Pariyachakama vanaspathi Rupakam Thyagaraja
Mee valla kaapi Kandachapu Thyagaraja
Velum mayilumey sucharithram Rupakam Koteesswar a iyer
Kuzhalooodhi kamboji adi Oothukadu venkata subbier
Narayana suddha dhanyasi Kanda chapu Purandara dasar
Himachala Anandabhairavi Adi Shyama sastry
Nannu palimpa mohanam adi Thyagaraja
Chinnanchiru Ragamalika adi Bharathiar
Govinda Janasammooodini adi Purandaradasar
Govardana Bindumalini adi Narayana theerthar
Ksheerabdhi kannigey Ragamalika adi Purandara dasar
Ragavendra Misra sivaranjani Rupakam
Bho Sambho Revathi adiI Swamy Dayananda saraswathi

jayashreevaithy · Post by **jayashreevaithy** » 24 Feb 2008, 22:36

Today Prof TRS was honoured by PSN students foundation.Great evening !...
There were speeches by VV.sundharm,TN.Seshagopalan & PS.Narayanswamy praising TRS profusely & fondly sharing their memories.One cannot stop admiring the greatness of TN.Seshagopalan,not only his singing but also his talking on a subject like Pallavis- demonstrating and explaining the intricacies.
A genious of this century!