It was a lovely evening, with great hospitality and music.
Aishwarya has a great presence and confidence on stage; a great maturity. She is an expressive artist who I shall be happy to see play again (but I'm afraid I missed her concert this evening; she is playing again in Chennai on 29th). As befits a student of TNK, her music is very sweet. I really look forward to hearing it in years to come.
I'm no violinist, but I noticed how she held and moved the bow; how neither the position on the strings nor the angle changed hardly at all. I asked if, in her early lessons, very strict attention to correct technique had been enforced. She said that Sri TNK had refused to teach her until she had learnt this discipline from Western violin.
She said that she has been taught by Sri TNK that she must become a proficient solo artist before playing as an accompanist. I always though it worked the other way around; that some accompanists went forward to become soloists. However, it makes sense to me: accompanists have to be able to cope with the entirely unexpected, as in our last concert where Padma Shankar told me that she only actually knew
one of the songs.
She also told me that she very much liked to wear a half-sari. See: it is the 'foreigners' that will be preserving the traditions!
Sri Vellore Ramabadran was the gentle giant on stage. It was great to be able to see him playing 'in close up' in a house concert. I'm afraid that a lot of mridangists find it very hard to adjust to a small room, and can be overpowering. No suggestion of this from VR; always perfect modulation. His playing was beautiful.
Aishwarya's father on stage was something of a distraction. I do appreciate that, after I signalled to him that his very loud talam putting was off-putting that he did make an effort not to do so. Perhaps he is more used to sitting on stage, without a microphone, in a larger hall. I would rather have seen more of his kanjira playing.
He did put his point of view to me after the concert --- that Aishwarya does not yet have the confidence to play without the assistance of someone keeping tala for her, and that she would not be able to
see his right hand seated as they were, so would be reliant on being able to
hear it.
This sort of thing is a technical problem for artists, and one that they should find ways of solving without affecting the music or the audience. The ideal place for a talam keeper is the middle of the front row of the audience, where they can be seen by the artist without them even having to turn. The sound of a clap is course and unmusical; it has no place in among the sweetness of violin and mridangam.
Layam itself has no sound. Layam is translated into music by the musicians: did anybody ever consider a metronome a suitable instrument for the stage? What a shame any krya of talam was ever said to be 'shabda'. If talam is to be put. with sound, on the stage, then the bells of the nadaswaram parties and the natavangars should be used, then, at least, the sound will be sweet and tuned.
This is my beef, as many know, but I do believe it is important for them to consider this, to the benefit of her future concerts; it is not just Nick's usual moan. I liked Aishwarya, her music ,
and her father too much not to speak up on this. He must have contributed so much in so many ways that his daughter is where she is today.
If the concert was amplified, it was not noticeable. I think we had a truly acoustic concert, which means that if there was any amplification (there was one small monitor speaker that I noticed) then it was of the very best kind. Aishwarya's playing is strong, powerful even, which probably has something to do with the excellent technical discipline I mentioned earlier.
May she go from strength to
greater strength. I have no doubt that she will.
I avoided the one-way hazards of TTK road and Chamiers Road, coming by Manadaveli Station and Warren Road instead. Probably a wise decision.
. Let me give the pallavi line for the violinist. 
karni
....