rasikas.org meet-up

jananee · Post by **jananee** » 18 Dec 2007, 23:22

No i didnt sbala!!!!!!! i think i saw u while we we were trying to head out at the side entrance on te ground floor!! Next time i will watch out when u snack! And Prashanth..if i think i spotted u right i was sitting a few rows behind u...how was sanjay?

rbharath · Post by **rbharath** » 18 Dec 2007, 23:49

i thought i was the only one to eat biscuits during concerts.. looks like i have a senior for company.

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 19 Dec 2007, 11:11

I usually snack on peppermints, but will go for sesame balls if really hungry.

I feel embarrassed to eat biscuits, but occasionally do!

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 19 Dec 2007, 15:13

I missed the whole lot of you. Blame it on the rain!

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 20 Dec 2007, 00:27

You didn't miss me today!!!

sbala · Post by **sbala** » 20 Dec 2007, 18:29

jananee wrote:Next time i will watch out when u snack!

Jananee,
I didn't know you were serious. You did catch me as I was savouring the last remnants of a delicious badam halwa. Anyways, good to meet you.

uday_shankar · Post by **uday_shankar** » 20 Dec 2007, 19:38

jananee, knowing your preferences, were you at the wonderful ravikiran concert where Nick, Arasi and I met ?

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 20 Dec 2007, 21:16

Nick,
It was lovely meeting you. I wrote about it and by the time I tried to post it, the system failed again--darn! I have to wait until I get home to send posts in detail.. Two of my reviews got eaten up by the goblins...
Luckily, my husband saved my yesterday's post, and here it is:
Torrential rains all day, but I was there at B. Rajam Iyer's presenting the rAma nAtaka kIrtanais at Parthasarathy Swamy Sabha.. He was supported by his two students. Parur Anantaraman and J.Vaidyanathan were the accompanists.
The rains abated a bit when I bravely made my way to Dakshinamurthy Hall. Attended two concerts in a row at Kartik Fine Arts and the ticket prices surprised me (the lowest in town for the best seats)?
Malladi Bros had the same accompanists who were there for Nedunuri at the Academy. It was a good concert, though their voices showed a bit of 'seasonitis'. The thundering and gusts of wind added drama to their lively rendering. The most dramatic moment came when the power went, and in absolute darkness in the hall, Sankaran and Suresh continued playing, and the applause in response drowned the thundering. The power came on again immediately!
I stayed until the tani for Ravikiran's concert. This year's Kalanidhi was supposed to accompany him with Anand and Abhishek Raghuram on the kanjira. Anand (??) played the mrudangam. I heard that Murthy had a fall and could not play.
Ravikiran's playing was as solid and pleasing as ever. He took up mayamalavagowla, a sweet rasali, a moving kedAragowla (sAmikku sari evarE) and marakatavallIm in khamboji. His impressive playing was enhanced by the accompaniment of Mysore Nagaraj who showed his mettle in playing the rAgAs. His kedaragowla was rewarded with ample applause as the heavens roared outside.
Met Uday again. Nick was there too, and Rajana Swaminathan, the young mrudangist from the US (UKS's disiciple). She is playing in half a dozen concerts in the remaining season.
Ran into Kumar and his wife at breakfast yesterday. Wrote about it last night only to see that it did not make it to the forum because of the unpredictable connection we get here. He was keen on seeing Cool, but rain stopped the meet, I think...
Hope you are feeling better, Shashi...

jananee · Post by **jananee** » 20 Dec 2007, 21:52

Hahaha..good one sbala...i did not realise i caught you snacking again! Anyway good to meet u tho it was very brief.

So how was the concert? I wish i had chosen to sit on the stage too....had a very irritating time between one mami whose cell phone was ringing non stop and she had to answer all the calls loudly( just as u were drowning in sanjay's music the phone wud ring loudly) and a lady who insisted on singing along with Sanjay including the Soolini ragam when she did not even identify the ragam....

Uday...if u are referring to the concert yday..i missed it unfortunately..but were u at the Academy concert? And do u plan to attend any of Ravikiran's concerts? We should touch base..i think we know someone in common ! Pity i missed u, Nick and Arasi madam.

sbala · Post by **sbala** » 20 Dec 2007, 22:15

I left at the same point as I had to be back at work. NGS stage is quite spacious and comfortable compared to BVB. But the sound was quite muffled and it was quite hard to make out the words in the krithis. All said and done, listening to concerts from the stage is quite thrilling.

To be fair to the lady, she was probably humming to identify the raga. I've seen many people who do that. In any case, I was no better than her as I had no clue about soolini.

jananee · Post by **jananee** » 20 Dec 2007, 22:43

Yes..even i do that but she was humming during the whole concert and got glares from quite a few people.....the reason i mentionend soolinin is nobody had a clue for some time...incl me!

rbharath · Post by **rbharath** » 20 Dec 2007, 23:36

i m feeling jealous. I havent met one single soul from the group, though i have been regularly concerting thro' the city since last week...

is it my choices? or is it your choices?

i havent regretting going anywhere yet..

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 21 Dec 2007, 00:17

People who do that should be strongly shushed: glaring tends not to be enough! The worst I ever had (In London, too, where audiences tend to be better behaved) was someone who whistled the ragas! But I was not so bolshy in those days --- just let anyone try that sitting near me these days!

But I have decided to call it concert yoga, and try to exclude the many distractions, rather than loosing my cool.

Arasi... it was great to talk with you after such a long time. I do hope we might get together over a chai or something maybe one afternoon next week? Let me know when would suit you.

Uday... nice to meet you too, although we didn't get much talking opportunity.

By the way: anybody else notice how perfectly audible the thani was during that powercut? not only mridangam, but even the ghatam could be heard perfectly well, even right at the back of the hall.

uday_shankar · Post by **uday_shankar** » 21 Dec 2007, 06:11

jananee...yes, I'll be around in most Ravikiran concerts (often fussing with the audio

) that's a good place to catch me

. Today (Dec21st) I'll most likely be going to Kiranavali Vidyasankar @ 3 PM and/or Thanjavur Sankara Iyer @ 5 PM, both at Swami Hall (wherever it is).

nick...I'm sure we'll have other opportunities to blah blah at length...

rbharath · Post by **rbharath** » 21 Dec 2007, 10:00

i plan to go for tanjavur shankara Iyer and Parassala Ponnamal at Swamy's Hall.

Uday, its on R K Mutt Road, on your way to adyar from mandaveli bus stand, next to the telephone exchange, near rani meiyyammai school.

prashant · Post by **prashant** » 21 Dec 2007, 11:09

Bharath - does meeting me not count?

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 21 Dec 2007, 12:06

I think I will be there too...Jayaram from London will also be there - so it will be a small get-together again!

gobilalitha · Post by **gobilalitha** » 21 Dec 2007, 15:25

vijay, where exactly is the meeting on 25th,I am coming from bangalore , staying at BPCL OFFICERS QUARTERS ,ANNANAGAR, any member from that area? gobilalitha

rbharath · Post by **rbharath** » 21 Dec 2007, 15:27

prashant wrote:Bharath - does meeting me not count?

oh ya. prashant, we met so briefly that it did not register. apologies. .. nice to meet u, surely.

you missed a vedavalli mami concert the day after we meet...i enjoyed

poor u

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 21 Dec 2007, 15:37

25th....

Hmmm... I make a fuss about my Christian wife not abandoning me and doing her church thing on Christmas day, so I'm not sure I should abandon her...

(BTW: we compromise, she spends New Year's Eve night at the church)

arunk · Post by **arunk** » 21 Dec 2007, 15:57

From post #92, it appears the meet is on at raga-sudha hall after 10 AM TSI concert. I will be there.

Gobilatha - In case you dont know, raga-sudha is near Luz Corner in Mylapore adjacent (literally) to Nageswara Rao Park.

gobilalitha · Post by **gobilalitha** » 21 Dec 2007, 18:04

thanks ,dear arun balasubramanian gobilalitha

kkumar29 · Post by **kkumar29** » 22 Dec 2007, 20:47

Hi all,

Just got back to the bay area from a rain drenched trip to Chennai. I had followed the suggestions given by forum members and stayed at the New Woodlands hotel. It was a pity that I landed in Chennai only on the 16th afternoon and missed the meeting. I ran into Arasi at breakfast on 17th and she filled me in on the meet. I was looking forward to meeting with Cool but unfortunately rain ruined our best laid plans. So got to talk to him on the phone. I attended a wonderful concert by our fellow forumite G Ravikiran at Brahma Gana sabha and ran into him on the front yard of the woodlands hotel.

Let me thank once again all those who gave me suggestions and for rbharath for marking all the venues on the google map which I found invaluable. As he had mentioned I was able to walk to most venues in spite of the rain.

On the whole it was an enjoyable trip and thanks once again for all the help and directions.

K. Kumar.

arunk · Post by **arunk** » 24 Dec 2007, 09:44

Hi - i presume we are on for tomorrow 25th morning at Raga-Sudha? Pl. confirm here as to who can make it. I should be there for the TSI concert.

Arun

vgvindan · Post by **vgvindan** » 24 Dec 2007, 09:52

arun
You may count me in.
In case the meeting is postponed or cancelled, I request you to intimate by tonight so that I don't have to make a trip all the way from Tambaram.
Govindan

rajumds · Post by **rajumds** » 24 Dec 2007, 11:01

Sorry, I won't make it. But I may be at MA for TNS in the evening. Do post some photographs

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 24 Dec 2007, 12:03

Should be able to make it...there is a lec dem before so I might be a bit delayed

bilahari · Post by **bilahari** » 24 Dec 2007, 13:05

I was really hoping to meet you all, but I'm taking my grandfather to the doctor tomorrow morning, so I won't be able to meet it. I still hope I can at least glimpse some of you in concerts before I leave next Monday!

kaapi · Post by **kaapi** » 24 Dec 2007, 14:00

Hi Arun, Govindan and others,

I will be meet all of those who mcan make it tomorrow ( 25 /12 ) at Raga Sudha Hall in the morning. Please confirm the time. I hope to stay for TSI's concert also.

Good Luck.

ganesh_mourthy · Post by **ganesh_mourthy** » 24 Dec 2007, 14:06

may i know where there convention woudl take place tomorrow. I have not been following this thread at all . So my idea is bare. please excuse.

arunk · Post by **arunk** » 24 Dec 2007, 19:19

We atleast have me, vgv,vijay, kaapi, gobilalitha - so lets just meet. Others are welcome. It is more like an informal chat (just for people to put faces to names) as opposed to any formal meeting/convention

I think the concert is at 10 AM. I would guess it would be about 2 hrs. So we can chat after the concert, and people can take photos etc.

Arun

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 24 Dec 2007, 21:51

Goodluck! Just shoot some pictures and identify the names (nicknames) so that we may be able to recognize them during any random encounters here or 'up there' where eventually we can have eternal CM congregations at our will and pleasure

(Don't post any pictures of the gourmet victuals that will unnecessarily provoke and elevate the BS of some of us oldies

rbharath · Post by **rbharath** » 24 Dec 2007, 22:25

i m going to be at MFAC next morning for sangeetha concert. can come to raga sudha after that...

ganesh_mourthy · Post by **ganesh_mourthy** » 24 Dec 2007, 22:47

fine, with your postings i assume that some of you are at least acquinted to each other. I think there is no way i can locate any one of you as it is impossible. I dont know none of you nor have I met anyone.

i can be there but not possible to meet.

Ganesh

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 24 Dec 2007, 22:53

Ganesh go through the photos posted on earlier threads and I am sure you can identify many of us...

rbharath · Post by **rbharath** » 24 Dec 2007, 23:03

ganesh, if u notice a group of 4-5 ppl talking together after the concert, u can come and ask if they are from rasikas website. cant u???

harimau · Post by **harimau** » 25 Dec 2007, 08:11

rbharath wrote:i m going to be at MFAC next morning for sangeetha concert. can come to raga sudha after that...

Sangeetha kutcheri followed by arattai kutcheri! Wonderful!

ganesh_mourthy · Post by **ganesh_mourthy** » 25 Dec 2007, 08:44

rbharath , thanks for your idea. but i think concerts are also meeting points for many. so i woudl find many 4 or five people chating. let me try.

jananee · Post by **jananee** » 25 Dec 2007, 11:44

Sorry cud not make it today thanks to a fever! Btw i think i spotted rajumds and vijay at teh RK Srikantan concert..rajumds in case u remember u had kept ur handkerchief on a chair next to me while u went to look for your friend and later came back n said u were going to the other side? I cud not loate u guys later.

rajumds · Post by **rajumds** » 25 Dec 2007, 11:54

In fact we were hanging around for quite some time. Kulkarni, Uday ,Jayaram and Ramaraj were also there. Hope to meet you in some other concert. Take care

arunk · Post by **arunk** » 25 Dec 2007, 20:42

Meet #2 was as good as meet #1. Myself, vijay, sbala, vgv, vainika, gobilalitha and his son Mohan, anusha and Uday chatted for a few minutes after the TSI concert. We then headed to Narada Gana sabha where we met Jayaram and Vaggeyakara. After a (very sumptuous!) lunch we met Jayaram and Vaggeyakara, followed by a cup of coffee, a few of us headed to Academy to hear catch a bit of Abhishek Raghuram. I believe few met arasi at NGS (who was coming from Academy to NGS), but I did not, I did meet her yesterday at the Academy. We obviously missed you-know-who.

It was wonderful meeting everyone. Chatting over traditional meals on a banana leaf, and coffee - as satisfying as the music dished out by the artists during the season.

I did take a couple of photos but there is a problem. I am not 100% sure but I do not think I packed the USB connector for my camera. If I can find an alternate means to get the stuff off the SD card, I will upload as soon as possible. Else it would have to wait a few weeks till I get back to the US - Sorry!

Arun

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 25 Dec 2007, 23:04

Same here - great meeting up with everyone...Ganesh/Kaapi, missed you - Cool of course as well....look forward to the pics Arun...

vainika · Post by **vainika** » 26 Dec 2007, 01:05

Nice to have caught up with more music and more rasikas today: Parthasarathy Swami Sabha, Naada Inbam, Narada Gana Sabha, Music Academy and then Naada Inbam again. Arun, do bring your camera and/or card over when we meet next.

Professor SRJ's hindOla at PSS - part of his lecdem on SGMDNS-scaled rAgas - found a spirited echo in Tanjavur Shankara Iyer's mAl maruga. I only wish TSI's pointed remarks on how the niShAda in madhyamAvatI should (and should not) be handled had been heard by the talented young singer Abhishek, whose fiery exposition was tainted with bRndAvana sArangaesque phrases: it took the violinist to set the record unambiguously straight.

Ramnath and Gopinath played a lovely veena concert to an audience packed with vainikas at Naada Inbam. Gopinath's varALi and Ramnath's shankarAbharaNa were both exquisite.

arunk · Post by **arunk** » 26 Dec 2007, 08:00

I went to Hyd Bros at Parthasarathy Swamy Sabha after catching a bit of Abhishek (and yes madyamavati was different, a bit wild may be

- but his talent and potential is amazing).

The Hyd Bros concert was way too short

. I think they started a few minutes late and perhaps ended a few minutes late - only may be 1.5 hours. But they took about a hour on pUrvikalyANi - which was phenomenally done. It helped that both brothers contributed equally on this cpncert - in fact the elder brother perhaps contributing more on the pUrvikalyANi piece. With the combined range of their voices, they explored from mandra shadjam to atleast tara dhaivatam (D2). The alapana and neraval were quite expansively done. The volume level of the percussionists was a bit too high. In fact the sound equalization and balance for the concert could have been better.

We talked about a jam session on 30th - possibly in the evening. I am up for it (as a listener of course

). Let us decide a place and time in the next couple of days.

Arun

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 26 Dec 2007, 10:13

Thanks to Vainika I stayed back in PSS for a delightful LD by SRJ. I had to reluctantly leave to make it in time for the meet-up at NI. A wonderful afternnon spent exchanging a lot of vambu. Then we headed for the Academy where we heard Abhishek. A sincere and talented youngster, he has the stuff to get to the very top but his Madhyamavati could have been better handled on that day. I enjoyed his fine concert at KGS a while back a lot more.

I look forward to another Jam session...maybe we could put together a show of hands. I think givevn family commitments etc. etc. it would be better to have an afternoon session. 30th is as good a date as any and if we can converge somewhere around the Academy we can all barge into Sanjay's concert at 4.30!

vainika · Post by **vainika** » 26 Dec 2007, 13:30

OK, I volunteer my apartment: the only constraints are that

(i) I will only be back home by 12.30 pm - so 1-4 pm would be fine.
(ii) Twelve is likely the upper limit in terms of seating capacity, unless some of you want to get to know each other -really- well, or alternately help divest the living room of its furniture.

It's a bracing walk from my place to Music Academy, and you can have darshan of the homes of Smt. Vedavalli and Sri SRJ on the way there;)

Let me know.

rbharath · Post by **rbharath** » 26 Dec 2007, 15:30

i had to rush home from sangeetha's concert at MFAC on tuesday and hence ran off from the meet at Raga sudha.

Have met arasi (at last!) and knandgo...

rbharath · Post by **rbharath** » 26 Dec 2007, 15:31

vainika wrote:OK, I volunteer my apartment: the only constraints are that

(i) I will only be back home by 12.30 pm - so 1-4 pm would be fine.
(ii) Twelve is likely the upper limit in terms of seating capacity, unless some of you want to get to know each other -really- well, or alternately help divest the living room of its furniture.

It's a bracing walk from my place to Music Academy, and you can have darshan of the homes of Smt. Vedavalli and Sri SRJ on the way there;)

Let me know.

i hope i can attend

kaapi · Post by **kaapi** » 26 Dec 2007, 15:31

Hi All,

Actually I was there till the sAvEri alapanai started. I had to leave to meet someone on an important matter.
As I have limited access to mail I did not know that the meet up is after the concert. Otherwise I could have come back for the arattai.
Anyway I will be around for a few more days and hope to bump into some of you guys in the concerts.

kamalamba · Post by **kamalamba** » 26 Dec 2007, 18:33

Hi all
I am a newly registered member (Mohan, aka Kamalamba). I was at the Rasikas meeting yesterday (25/12) at Raga Sudha and NGS (and met several of you).

In any case, I was at the SRJ lec/dem on hindola patterns and it was really good.
I believe there is a lec / dem on Mohanam patterns , also by SRJ. Is there a recording of this? Does any one know more about this?