Dr N Ramani @ Rama Seva Mandali - 20 Apr

s_hari · Post by **s_hari** » 20 Apr 2008, 14:39

Dr N Ramani - Flute
Vid Nagai Muralidharan - Violin
Vid K V Prasad - Mrudangam
Vid N Amrit - Kanjira

Per published schedule, the program is from 9am to 1pm, and there was felicitation function of various artists, and then vocal concert of Vid Nedanuri Krishnamurthy. I was eagarly waiting for this day, reached venue around 9.20am, but the felicitation function didn't start until 10.40am or so!!

The concert actually started around 12noon, and for exactly 60 minutes...No comments on 60 minutes concerts(;- (It is better to say 60 minutes instead of 1 hour, atleast that looks big!!)

1. Mohanam varnam - Ninnu kori - Adi 2 kalai
There was nadai change in anu pallavi, and did 2nd speed on nadai change (tisram, kandam - not sure , may be both), and then 2nd speed on chatusra nadai.

2. Gowlai outline, Pranamamyaham - Mysore vasudevacharyar - Adi
Swara @ pallavi line

3. Chinnanadena - kalanidhi - Thyagaraja - adi

4. Atana (biref sketch) - Sakala graha bala - PD

5. Dharmavati raagam - bhajana seya radha - Mysore vasudevacharya - Rupaka
Swara @ (not sure what sahityam it was)

6. Mohanam alapana - Nannu palimpa - Thyagaraja - Adi 2 kalai
Started at anu pallavi line - vanaja nayana
Swaram @ nannu palimpa

Again, some nadai change, (kandam??) during swara prastara during final korvai and quite an amount of kannakku. Nagai Muralidharan didn't play anything ,except for Sa Pa Sa during kannakku, and just used one hand to put thalam..

thani was for 5 minutes, very much enjoyable. Not sure what nadais they played, for sure nadais were changed!!! (sorry, i am very poor in laya aspects)

7. Sudda danyasi (outline), Narayana ninna - PD

8. Sindhu Bhairavi (outline), Venkatachala nilayam - PD

9. Bhagyada lakshmi - madhyamavathi - PD

10. Madhyamavathi outline..

I will remember this concert a long time for laya oriented aspects, good tonal quality of the flute, and bad job done by organizers... Does it make sense for a senior artist like Dr Ramani to play less than an hour? Difference of opinon will exist, just my two cents...

He played all 3 octaves (really) in mohanam from mandara Sa to Ati tara styai Sa... during swara prastara.

I have scribbled down some of the pidis during raga alapana, and while swara prastara. If some one is interested, can post.

During sudda danyasi outline, he changed to a bigger flute (why??)

I will add another post on felicitation function, which was good. Glad to see there are so many elderly vidwans in Karnataka, unfortunately, not many people know about them (including me until this morning!!).

I had the pleasure of listening to the concert with Jayan (our forumn member with a disguise name, who is actually doing yomen services to bangalore rasikas guess who....) He took some pictures of felicitation, i will check with him whether he can post them...

Organizers who did awsome job in felicitating local unknown senior artists, i have some Qs:
1. Can you arrange for a press report, when a major change in program like from Nedanuri to Dr Ramani?
2. Can you start program in schedule? And also mention what time concert will start if there is felicitation function?

No doubt Rama Seva Mandali is doing yomen service to classical music in Bangalore for last 70 years, these hitches are very minor one.

-hari

-hari

sowmya · Post by **sowmya** » 20 Apr 2008, 17:19

s_hari wrote:No doubt Rama Seva Mandali is doing yomen service to classical music in Bangalore for last 70 years, these hitches are very minor one.

Exactly my thoughts, hari. They should have informed about the change, and punctuality has never been the norm here. But yet...
The change from Nedunuri might have been disappointing to many people [including me!! I've never heard him, and was dying to..], and I was surprised there was no explanation for it, but I didn't think it warranted the strong resentment I sensed in the audience. I saw many people walk off, in the middle of the felicitation ceremony, muttering about it being a waste of time.

By all standards, today's function was great regarding the speeches. Almost none of it was overdone, and as you said, I learnt quite a lot about the great vidwans being felicitated. Isn't it an insult to Carnatic Music itself, if one says one doesn't have the time to sit through 2 hours of ceremony to honour people who have made it as it is today? After enjoying almost 40 concerts for a pittance [Rs.100 for the season ticket - It would have been blown up on one concert in the Chennai season..], it is sad that people do not support the organisation in its effort to felicitate some of the veterans in the field...

s_hari · Post by **s_hari** » 20 Apr 2008, 17:44

Sowmya - well said. Exactly my thoughts. Organizers could have made the ceremony slightly better, they could have played some audio for 3,4 minutes for the corresponding artist while hounouring them. I have never heard them performing...(video may not be available, if yes, that also might be a great idea!!!)

-hari

braindrain · Post by **braindrain** » 20 Apr 2008, 22:27

The function started very late and ended even later. It was almost 12:00 when Sri Ramani could start the concert. By 12:30 the place was empty and only a few were left to listen ( can count on fingers !) thanks to the announcement of free lunch. He said all of you MUST eat here ( rama's prasada was the announcer called it) , dont leave without eating. This would have disappointed the great artists on stage. Sri Ramani remarked that even the organisers are missing.

Later when Hari and myself thought of having the prasada, the missing crowd from the audience ( and more ! ) were already seated. There was more crowd waiting for the turn ( almost equal to a crowd for Sanjay's concert). Needless to say, we decided to skip and go back home.

The point here is, that it was a waste of time to have such a concert. Having called artists of this stature, it indeed was an insult to them ( and to us) to have them perform for less than an hour to a dozen people. What would have been suitable was to have a low scale performance by an upcming artist, or by one of the eminent aritist who was felicitated to do a short concert for the occasion. Sri M S Govindaswamy and Sri B N Chandramauli are still active in field.

s_hari · Post by **s_hari** » 21 Apr 2008, 05:08

I have added a link for award function under vidwan / vidhushi section - http://www.rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic.php?id=5429

Regarding prasadam / meals... vidwans were doing 'sapadu' (In tamil - sing 'Sa' sadjam) - where as audience were doing 'sappadu' (meals)....

-hari

vanamali · Post by **vanamali** » 21 Apr 2008, 08:38

sowmya wrote:
s_hari wrote:No doubt Rama Seva Mandali is doing yomen service to classical music in Bangalore for last 70 years, these hitches are very minor one.
Exactly my thoughts, hari. They should have informed about the change, and punctuality has never been the norm here. But yet...
The change from Nedunuri might have been disappointing to many people

They actually announced the change during saturday's concert of Mysore Nagaraj and Mysore Manjunath. I was also looking fwd to Nedunuri's concert and i also checked once again after the concert by going inside the office room and asking them if Nedunuri was really not performing on sunday!

Agreed.. they should also have other means of announcing these changes.. Also, the organisers should do a better job on the concerts after these felicitation ceremonies.. The same thing happened last year also. Nedunuri was felicitated with the S V Narayanaswamy Rao award which was to be followed by a concert of Malladi Brothers. The award ceremony was supposed to be from 5:30 to 6:30. It started around 7:00 PM and finally ended at 8:00 PM. Malladi brothers then began singing at 8:00 PM, for about 1.5 hours!! They should really try and keep up timings. They usually call some politician for these functions, and we know what happens when a politician is supposed to come.

Wonder who will perform during Ramani's actual scheduled performance later during the series.. maybe someone whose name is not in the schedule so far...?

braindrain · Post by **braindrain** » 21 Apr 2008, 08:53

deleted...

(Hari has already posted this in a new thread )

bahudari · Post by **bahudari** » 21 Apr 2008, 10:46

They actually announced the change during saturday's concert of Mysore Nagaraj and Mysore Manjunath.

Vanamali,
Can you please write in detail about this concert?

Anusha · Post by **Anusha** » 21 Apr 2008, 14:36

I entered the place at around 10:15, got to know from a senior rasika that Shri Nedanuri was not well, hence there was a change in the schedule. I was getting quite impatient with the speeches. The suggestion of playing audio clips is a good one. Listening to records of Bheemachar's morsing, Chandramouli's khanjira would certainly be more enriching.

s_hari,
Thanks for sharing your views on the concert. It was short indeed. In Ninnukori, I think each avarthanam was played as a combination of first and second speeds in tishra nadai. During the swarams for the main piece, I was quite lost and couldn't focus on which nadai it was.

thathwamasi · Post by **thathwamasi** » 21 Apr 2008, 18:30

Regarding the Nadai change in the varnam, I presume that Ramani Sir would have played what Flute Mali popularies in the Mohana Varnam. Mali used to play the varnam is a unique way.In 2 kalai, he would play the first 4 aksharams as normal (chatusram), the next eight aksharams as Tisra Keezhkalam and the last 4 as Tisra Melkalam. Its a very nice improvisation by Mali.