Navaratri Mandapam Concerts 2008, Thiruvananthapuram

[ramanathan]

Navarathri Mandapam Concerts 2008
Navarathri Mandapam, Thiruvananthapuram

Thodayamangalam DAILY by Mullamoodu Bhagavathars 5.30pm to 6pm

30 Sep Tuesday, 6pm to 8.30pm
(Main piece: "Devi Jagath Janani" - SANKARABHARANAM)

Vocal : Sri T. M. KRISHNA
Violin : Sri R. K. Shriramkumar
Mridangam : Sri Guruvayur Dorai
Ghatom : Sri V. Suresh

01 Oct Wednesday, 6pm to 8.30pm
(Main piece: "Pahimam Sri Vageeswari" - KALYANI)

Vocal : Master BALAMURALIKRISHNA
Violin : Smt. Padma Sankar
Mridangam : Sri Nanjil Arul
Ghatom : Sri Manjoor Unnikrishnan


02 Oct Thursday, 6pm to 8.30pm
(Main piece: "Devi Pavanae" - SAVERI)

Vocal : Prof. Smt. PARASSALA B. PONNAMMAL
Violin : Smt Charulatha Ramanujam
Mridangam : Sri Mavelikara R. Rajesh
Ghatom : Sri Adichanallur Anil Kumar


03 Oct Friday, 6pm to 8.30pm
(Main piece: "Bharathi Mamava" - THODI)

Vocal : Sri M.K. SHANKARAN NAMBOODIRI
Violin : Sri S. R. Mahadeva Sarma
Mridangam : Sri Cherthala S. Dinesh
Kanjira : Sri Uduppi S. Srikanth

04 Oct Saturday, 6pm to 8.30pm
(Main piece: "Janani Mamava" - BHAIRAVI)

Vocal : Prof. T.V. GOPALAKRISHNAN
Violin : Sri S. Varadarajan
Mridangam : Sri Tiruvarur Bhaktavatsalam
Ghatom : Sri T.V.Vasan

05 Oct Sunday, 6pm to 8.30pm
(Main piece: "Saroruhasana" - PANTUVARALI)

Vocal : 'Aswathy Tirunal' RAMA VARMA
Violin : Sri S. Varadarajan
Mridangam : Sri B. Harikumar
Ghatom : Dr. S. Karthick
Morsing : Sri Payyannur Govindaprasad

06 Oct Monday, 6pm to 8.30pm
(Main piece: "Janani Pahi" - SHUDDHASAVERI)

Vocal : Sri TRICHUR V. RAMACHANDRAN (Padma Bhushan)
Violin : Sri M. A. Sundaresan
Mridangam : Sri Bangalore Praveen
Ghatom : Dr. S. Karthick
Morsing : Sri Payyannur Govindaprasad


06 Oct Monday,9.30pm
Mohiniyattam by Dr. Deepthi Omchery Bhalla (Entry restricted to invitees)


07 Oct Tuesday, 6pm to 8.30pm
(Main piece: "Pahi Janani" - NATTAKURINJI)

Vocal : Kum. AMRITA VENKATESH
Violin : Sri R. Madhavan
Mridangam : Sri A. Balakrishna Kamath
Ghatom : Sri Perukavu P.L.Sudheer

08 Oct Wednesday, 6pm to 8.30pm
(Main piece: "Pahi Parvathanandini" - ARABHI)

Vocal : Sri Thamarakkad GOVINDAN NAMBOOTHIRI
Violin : Sri Sampath
Mridangam : Sri Kuzhalmannam Ramakrishnan
Ghatom : Sri Uduppi Sridhar


Please note that the Navarathri Mandapam assumes the role
of a traditional Kerala Temple and so traditonal restrictions
as in Kerala Temples are strictly followed, in attires too.
No applause, photography, other forms of private audio
or video recordings allowed. Audience seated in the Mandapam
are not expected to leave until the conclusion of the days concert.
While the concerts begin every day with the traditional
"thodayamangalam" at 5.30pm by the Mullamoodu Bhagavathars,
the main concerts begin at 6pm and end at 8.30 pm punctually.
Concerts pieces are all Maharaja Swathi Thirunal Compositions
with each days main piece being the one composed for the day
by the Maharaja. The musicians are expected to delineate
the raga of the main piece followed by thaanam accompanied
by percussion, a unique tradition of the Navarathri Mandapam,
- except if it is a veena type concert. There is a
loudspeaker kept near the Main Eastern Gate of the Sree Padmanabhaswamy
Temple and steps of the temple are used as seats by many devotees of music
subjec to the weather. Contact email: [email protected]. Postal Mail: Administrator,
Navartahri Trust, Fort Palace Office, East Fort, Thiruvananthapuram 695 023

[rbharath]

This year marks another beginning. the first lady accompanists and a young rising lady artist as well.

[arasi]

Very happy to see that.

[Musique4ever]

Wow ! You've beaten me to it, Shri Ramanathan Since I prepared something to be posted (Last year actually but I guess it holds good for this year too Heh heh !) here it is, for what it is worth.

Here's the list of the concerts at the Navarathri Mandapam, Trivandrum, Kerala, for the year 2008. (Please see list above)
The ambiance there is something to be experienced to be believed. Perfectly balanced acoustics, lighting by oil lamps, the divine grace of the Goddess in whose honour the concerts are conducted,
utterly disciplined and informed audience, the feeling of having travelled back in time by around two centuries.....the list is endless. As I said before.....it is something that has to be experienced to be
believed.
There are some restrictions though.
1) Only Hindus are allowed inside since it is a temple.
2) Men have to wear a mundu/veshti/dhothi and take off their shirts.
3) Everybody has to be seated by 6:00 pm at the latest.
4) Nobody can leave before the concerts finish.
5) The concerts start at 6:00 pm Sharp and finish at 8:30 pm Sharp.
6) Since the concerts are done as offerings to the Devi and not as "Performances" there is no applause.
7) Mobile phones are STRICTLY Forbidden inside.
8) The main krithi for each day is fixed.
9) Women were not allowed inside the Mandapam for 200 years but I had the privilege of getting
this tradition changed after fighting against this for 22 years. And now women can enter the place
both as performers as well as listeners.
A speaker will be kept outside the steps of the Shree Padmanabhaswami Temple (Which is adjacent to the Navarathri Mandapam) for the benefit of those who wouldn't be prepared to follow all the restrictions listed above, but would still like to enjoy the concerts.
A chunk of each concert would be broadcast by the All India Radio, Trivandrum on all days from
9:30 pm till 11:00 pm.
For further information, queries, feedback, please write to me at [email protected]
(Much safer than sending a letter to the administrator by post by the way.)

Here is an article by Shri Sanjay Subrahmanyan (Who spells his name this way incidentally) after his maiden performance at the Navarathri Mandapam in 2002.

The Navarathri Mantapam
15 th October 2002

The Navarathri Mantapam is located in the Padmanabhaswamy temple complex in Tiruvanantapuram. Every year, during the Navaratri festival, the Mantapam has a unique cultural festival featuring music, dance and vedic chanting. For music lovers in Tiruvanantapuram and other parts of Kerala it is a wonderful opportunity to listen to some of the top names in Carnatic music. It is more enjoyable for them because the concerts feature exclusively compositions of Maharaja Swati Tirunal. The main item every day is the Navaratri keertanam of Swati Tirunal Maharaja, preceded by Tanam to the accompaniment of Mridangam.

This year, for the first time that I had an opportunity to perform at the Mantapam and I must say that it was one of the most enjoyable concert experiences in my singing career. I received a call from the administrator of the Trust that conducts the festival a couple of months back and I jumped when requested to come and perform this year. I was scheduled to sing on the first day and song allotted to me as the main piece was dEvi jagajjanani in shankarAbharaNam.

A week before leaving for the concert I went and met Shri Semmangudi to seek his blessings. He was very happy and said that he had sung there continuously for 57 years without a break! He was feeling sad that he could not travel any more. Participating in the festival this year helped me understand how he must have felt about the whole experience.

The Kerala cultural tradition owes a lot to Maharaja Swati Tirunal who was a great patron of arts. It was he who composed the Navaratri kritis. He had a set of musicians under his patronage called the Mullamoodu Bhagavatars, who were involved with the musical aspects of the Navaratri festival in the Mantapam.

It was only in the early 20th century, under the guidance of Maharani Sethu Parvati Bayi that top musicians from elsewhere came and started giving concerts at the Mantapam. Mantapam concerts usually feature only men, mainly vocal music with one veena concert. All concerts begin at 6.00 pm and end at 8.30 pm sharp. Musicians must stop the moment a bell is rung at 8.30 pm. Concerts are usually relayed by the AIR Tiruvanantapuram every year. Even today it is the Mullamoodu bhagavatars who start off the musical proceedings everyday with their rendition before the main concert.

The ambience inside the Mantapam is very special. It is right inside a sanctum for Devi. Floral arrangement and lighted lamps give a beautiful atmosphere. The audience comprises men only inside the main mantapam. There is a courtyard just beyond the mantapam where women are allowed. The audience gets into the complex much before the concerts begin and once inside they cannot leave until the end of the programme. The doors of the complex are shut, and loud speakers are placed outside for people to sit on the steps of the Padmanabhaswamy Temple and listen.

As in Kerala temples musicians and the men in the audience do not wear any shirts. Musicians are requested to sing only compositions of Swati Tirunal. The hall inside the Mantapam is amplified but the amplification is so subtle and sensitive that one gets the experience of a mike less concert. I have never experienced this kind of an acoustic set up. It seems they place inverted mud pots in the ceiling of the Mantapam to help the sound to resonate.

As we walked upto the venue, my accompanist Embar Kannan remarked "It feels like we are going back in time by about 100 years!". The walk itself is through the Kudira Maliga complex. A wonderful structure and an excellent example of Kerala architecture. Just in front of the palace where we sit and sing is a wooden screen/window. Behind this is a room where the Royal family members sit and listen to the music.

There is absolute silence inside the mantapam and there is no clapping or any vocal expression of appreciation.

As I went through the concert, I realised this was as much a part of the cultural history of India as anything else. The Trust must be congratulated for maintaining this wonderfully serene and pleasant atmosphere that inspires us musicians. After the concert I met the members of the Royal family and they told me about how every musician who has sung there has expressed a similar sentiment or emotion. No wonder that in his nineties, Shri Semmangudi regrets not being able to go there after 57 years of continuous singing!

Sanjay Subrahmanyan.

There ! Please spread the word among your music loving friends and try and come for at least a few concerts this year.

[PUNARVASU]

I have never known about these concerts. Even reading about them makes one long to attend them.Do not know if I will be ever able to attend. But the desire is there. For the time being let me be satisfiesdwith feed backs from the people on the scene.

[vganesh]

Wow! I only knew the conerts are held every year. Wish some time in my life I attend at least one day. Once up on a time I had a chance of attending every year but never felt the importance. All the very best this year too and years to come.

[cienu]

Musique4ever

Thank you so much for such a detailed writeup and for Sanjay's article too.

Will definitely try and attend the festival.

[Musique4ever]

You are most welcome. Since the world is becoming a smaller and smaller place, I hope it will become
progressively easier and easier for more and more of you to come.

[VK RAMAN]

Musique4ever - Very thoughful of you to bring to the notice of the rasikas about navarathri mandapam concert. Those of us in U.S who are not fortunate to participate, hopefully, you will share with us some of the songs for our listening too.

[vasanthakokilam]

9) Women were not allowed inside the Mandapam for 200 years but I had the privilege of getting
this tradition changed after fighting against this for 22 years. And now women can enter the place
both as performers as well as listeners.

Great work Rama Varmaji. Congratulations on getting that tradition changed. Thanks.

[arasi]

Absolutely!

[Musique4ever]

My pleasure ! And we have classy ladies like Golden Girl Parasala Ponnammal and Amrutha
Venkatesh to add lustre to the entire festival too, thankfully

[carnaticdasan]

Good line up of artists for the occasion.Cant understand Has the artist informed their main piece well in advance.

[devi]

Good line up of artists for the occasion.Cant understand Has the artist informed their main piece well in advance.

Please read the article by Sri Rama Varma about Navaratri Festival, published by The Hindu in November 1998.

The Navaratri Mandapam experience

When Sage Kambar (author of the epic Kamba Ramayanam) knew that his end was nearing, he gifted the idol of Sri Saraswathi which he worshipped, to a Chera King whose name I forget.

This was before the formation of the Venad Swarupam and later Travancore. The state of Travancore was established by Maharaja Anusham Thirunal Marthanda Varma (1729-1758) who had only two options at the time - to kill or be killed. He opted for the former - and ably aided by the genius of his minister ("Dalawa") Ramayyan, wiped out his enemies being nearly wiped out himself on more occasions than one but that is another story.



In fact he vanquished his enemies so thoroughly that the succeeding Maharajahs had little to do in the defence department, which left them ample time for the finer things in life - music, for example. Though Maharaja Swati Thirunal Rama Varma remains the most famous musician, composer and patron of arts in the family, there were many others before and after him who have rendered invaluable service to the cause of art and literature in their own way.

To come back to our story, the Chera King had promised Sage Kambar that the Navaratri Festival for the precious Saraswathi Amman would be conducted every year, come what may. This promise has always been kept and the Navaratri Festival is being conducted by the royal family of Travancore to this day.

This was (and is) easier said than done because Maharaja Swathi Thirunal shifted the capital of Travancore from Padmanabhapuram (now in Tamil Nadu) to Thiruvananthapuram while the Goddess remained (and remains) in a small temple in the premises of the splendid Padmanabhapuram Palace. So, every year she is brought to Thiruvananthapuram in procession (on an elephant, no less!) for the Navaratri Festival. A unique feature about this idol is that it is not the "Utsava Vigraham". When the idol is removed from the shrine a lamp is lit, representing the Goddess and pooja performed.

The Navaratri Festival featured music, dance, other arts, vedic chanting, Grandha pooja, Ayudha pooja, scholarly discussions and debates on the puranas, till the first quarter of this century. Though the poojas continue, many of the other activities have been given up leaving music concerts (and to a lesser degree, dance) the most prominent place in the festivities.

The music for the Navaratri concerts as we hear them now was composed and codified by Maharaja Swati Thirunal. He composed nine songs in the ragas Shankarabharanam, Kalyani, Saveri, Thodi, Bhairavi, Panthuvarali, Shuddha Saveri, Nattakurinji and Arabhi respectively, to be sung as the main piece on each day. During the first three days the Devi is worshipped as Saraswathi; as Lakshmi during the next three days and as Durga on the last three days.



The ambience at the Navaratri Mandapam has to be experienced to be believed. Oil lamps light up the place. The subtle fragrance of fresh flowers, sandalwood, incense and camphor fumes waft around in the air. The concerts start exactly at 6 p.m. and conclude at 8-30 p.m. Nobody is allowed to come late or leave early. ("Can such things be?" one wonders, when one takes a look at audience behaviour in most music sabhas.)

The concerts are preceded by the rendition of the Thodaya Mangalam and Ganapathi Stuthi by the Mullamoodu Bhagavathars. The Mullamoodu Bhagavathars are families of musicians whose ancestry - and musical tradition - dates back to the time of Maharaja Swati Thirunal. In fact, it is from these musicians, other royal families in Travancore and from the Nadaswaram vidwans at the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram that veteran musicians like Dr. Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavathar, Dr. Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer and Vidwan K. S. Narayanaswamy were able to get the compositions of Maharaja Swati Thirunal in their original, authentic, untampered form.

Till the first quarter of this century the concerts were given by the Mullamoodu Bhagavathars themselves, where one musician would "lead the chorus", so to speak and each one took it in turns to do Raga Alapana, Thanam, Neraval and Swaram singing. By the 1920s this system changed and eminent musicians from outside were invited to give the main concert and the Mullamoodu Bhagavathars were restricted to singing the Thodaya Mangalam.

The concerts are more in the form of offerings to the Devi than performances. The musicians sing and play for the Goddess and the listeners join in the worship by listening, "Sravanam" and "Keerthanam" being the first two steps prescribed in the nine ways/levels of worship/devotion. There is neither applause nor the exciting or irritating or sometimes pathetic phenomenon of the singer and the accompanist trying to outdo each other or trip each other up.

Wooden grill that enables the viewer to see without being seen.

The Navaratri concerts have other unique features too. The main piece for each day is fixed. This is preceded by Raga Alapana and the singing of Thanam, accompanied by the Mridangam, in which artists like late Palakkad T. S. Mani Iyer excelled. Only compositions of Maharaja Swathi Thirunal are sung. The Mangalam is sung only at the end of the concert on the concluding day. In the past few decades, a portion of each concert has been broadcast by the All India Radio all over Kerala the same evening.

On one evening a dance recital is also featured, after the concert and the evening pooja. Almost every danseuse worth her name has performed at the Navaratri Mandapam.

Almost all the great singers have sung here too, with a few notable exceptions - the Great Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar for example, who is the pride and joy of any self-respecting musician from Kerala. The reasons for such omissions, though rather intriguing - and unfortunate - are beyond the scope of this article. Till now the tradition has been to have concerts of male voice, veena and occasionally Gottuvadyam. Whether this will change or not, only time will tell.

There are other restrictions too. Being a temple, entry is restricted to Hindus. The concerts have to start exactly at 6.00 p.m. A bell is rung at 8.30 p.m. marking the end of the concert. The late M. D. Ramanathan concluded virtually all his concerts (not just at the Navaratri Mandapam) with the last lines of Maharaja Swati Thirunal's celebrated Ramayanam song "Bhavayami Raghuramam." One year he sang the rarely heard Ashta Ragamalika by the Maharaja, "Pannagendra Shayana", which he finished at 8.30 p.m. on the dot... when, sure enough the bell rang.

But, feeling bad that he had not sung the usual "Kalithavara Sethubandham" bit from Bhavayami Raghuramam, he rendered it at a brisk gallop though "the bell had tolled", so to speak. The then administrator of the Navaratri Trust who was not particularly well known for his polite and gentle nature gave Ramanathan a piece of his mind, before the audience.

The Navaratri Mandapam.

The gist of what he had to say was fairly simple; that at the Navaratri Mandapam one had to follow the timings and not one's own timings. This was an insult - and MDR, in characteristic simplicity muttered "Appidiya? Aanal Koopida Vendaam!" ("Is that so? Then don't call me") and left. But how could one forget the impact his miraculous voice had in the small, virtually mikeless Mandapam? How could one not help but miss the magic he worked with pieces like "Paramaananda Natanam" in Kedaram, "Mohanamayi" in Yadukulakamboji, "Paripaalaya maam" in Reethigowla, "Padmanabha Pahi" in Hindolam and of course "Bhavayami Raghuramam"? So MDR was invited again and he continued to sing at the Mandapam every year till he passed away.

Restriction on time puts off the audience too - as does the fact that one has to sit on the floor - and bare chested at that. So hundreds of people sit on the steps outside the Padmanabhaswami temple where a loud speaker is installed for the convenience of those gathered there. This reminds me of another story. It involved the late G. N. Balasubramaniam and another musician I shall not say who.

The latter was passionately jealous of GNB - in more ways than one. But he was curious to know how Balasubramaniam did his job. Eyewitness (who wish to remain anonymous) recall that this musician would come in a car with a "chela" over his head, giving him - rather, hoping that it would give him - the look of an elderly Brahmin woman and remain hunched in his car and listen to GNB's glorious singing.

The temple in which the idol is kept during Navaratri.

Once Maharani Sethu Parvathi Bayi (who was largely responsible for the development of music in Kerala during this century) joked with our friend, the incognito-musician, "You know, today there will not be any flowers left in the market." "And why, may I ask?" he inquired. "Because GN is singing in the evening and the women would have bought up all the flowers, because they are crazy about him." To which our friend replied sardonically "Yes, some musicians are worth seeing - some others, worth hearing."

Palakkad T. S. Mani Iyer was also a regular at the Mandapam, where he waived his usual conditions which said "No" to microphones, radio broadcast, etc. (The problem of radio broadcast was solved rather strangely, by playing two Thani Avarthanams, of which the first would be the real Mani Iyer vintage stuff - which would not come on the air - and the second a relatively uneventful one. "Uneventful," that is, by Mani Iyer standards.)

One year he decided to miss his Navaratri concert having been invited abroad. All the programmes had been fixed when a telegram arrived from Mani Iyer saying that he would be coming after all. An obliging mridanga vidwan offered to let Mani Iyer play in his place. After the concert Mani Iyer explained "I couldn't bear the thought of missing a concert in this wonderful Sannidhanam." (shrine).

The Goddess arrives on her caparisoned vehicle.

Which is a sentiment echoed by Palani Subramania Pillai, Musiri Subramania Iyer, The Alathoor Brothers, G. N. Balasubramaniam and a host of other Maha Vidwans, past and present including of course, the one and only Dr. Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer who continues to regale the Navaratri Mandapam crowd and more importantly Goddess Saraswathi to this day with his evergreen soulful music.

There is a saying that Saraswathi, the Goddess of knowledge and Lakshmi, the Goddess of Wealth rarely go together. This is true as far as the Navaratri Mandapam, which is run by a Trust, is concerned. "How does one improve things in Lakshmi's department without damaging the existing heights of excellence in Saraswathi's domain?" remains the big question.

Help from lovers of true and pure music might be a solution. During times like these when we are bombarded with sounds from rap, nuclear explosions, cellular phones and the like, it is truly a miracle and a relief - that a place like this exists, celebrating the cause of bhakthi, vishranthi and classical music in it is purest form. In fact, dear reader, next year around why don't you come down to Thiruvananthapuram and see, hear and experience the magic of the Navaratri Mandapam? It could easily become an annual pilgrimage if Shuddha Sangeetham is your cup of tea.

Link to this article; http://www.hinduonnet.com/folio/fo9811/98110220.htm

[gowri narayanan]

I live in Trivandrum. I have been attending Navaratri concerts every year since 1970 ! My sentiments are similar to those expressed here, but those days there was no portal such as rasikas.org to share our experiences.

I used to go to the Navaratri Mantapam about a week before the start of Navaratri to see the typewritten schedule pasted on the entrance wall. Thanks to technology and initiative of members of our portal, I have the luxury of getting the schedule so much in advance and sitting in my house.

[devi]

I live in Trivandrum. I have been attending Navaratri concerts every year since 1970 !

Blessed Soul!

[rajeshnat]

Devi or Sri ramA vermA,
Superb post .Just a curious question, between the 9 grand krithis ,are the artists left to choose their own rAgam.

[s_hari]

No - for every day - the keerthana and ragam is fixed based on serial number. For example. Smt Ponnamaal is singing on 3rd day, so it will be 3rd keerthana in saveri - devi pavane... This is already mentioned in ramanathan sir's post (post #1)

-hari

[devi]

@rajeshnat: Glad that you liked the post.

I have been enjoying and admiring Varma Sir's music for many years. Rrecently I have become a Mega Fan of his writing. While all of Varma articles are highly readable due to the very interesting presentaion style, regardless the subject; the clarity with which the information is conveyed and the flow in his writing is amazing. Just like his music, I suppose!

[Musique4ever]

Thank you Devi Ji. And Rajeshnat ji....They have to sing only compositions of Maharaja for all the nine concerts.
But only the main krithi is fixed for each day. This works well for people who prepare their songs in advance
and sing with some sort of plan. But people like Shri M.D.Ramanathan would probably have found this restrictive
since they would be forced to sing Kalyani on the second day for example, even if they might be in a Thodi mood

[vs_manjunath]

I'm sure this will be a wonderful experience to take part in this music festival......the 200 years old ambience.....RTP......thanam being accompanied by mridangam being an unique feature.........each day one specified Devi song to be sung........etc., whole concert comprisisng only Swathi Tirunal's Compositions.........etc., etc., Previous years I have heard the Trivandrum AIR broadcasts which were a memorable experience.......It will be nice if Sri Rama Varmaji can U/L previous Navarathri Concerts.........

[devi]

Video excerpt from Varma Sir's first concert at Navarathri Mandapam. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKNAY9amqyo

Wonder which year was this?

[vasanthakokilam]

ah.. very nice Mukhari. BMK's interpretation and bANi of mukhari is different from many others and I am curiuos if this is before or after Shri Varma becoming a disciple of BMK.

[arasi]

VK,
My guess is that it was before. May be I am wrong.
Yes, a pleasing mukhari.

[Musique4ever]

Yes Vasanthakokilam ji. Sir's Mukhari is rather different from the usual Mukhari one hears. But with
people like MDR in my heart, I sing the old fashioned Mukhari myself even now And Arasi ji,
this video was after I had started learning with Balamurali Sir for more than a year. I have been with him
for 11 years now, though my Mukhari continues to remain firmly in the MDR/Musiri mould

[PUNARVASU]

So the mukhari was of the pre-BMK (learning) days though the cutcheri was a post BMK
(learning) one!

[Musique4ever]

Yes My intrepid video posting friend musiquebox has just taken an old video from me of one of my veena concerts where I have played Emani in Mukhari, before an audience mostly comprising of musicians themselves.....Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, Chitti Babu and his wife, Ravikiran, B.Rajam Iyer, M.S.Anantharaman and his children, M.Chandrashekharan and so on and so forth. He said that if the audio/video
quality is good he would post it in youtube. Apart from the audio/video, I pray that the Music quality would be good too I have never watched this video myself actually and so, have no idea what or how I have played. But Emani was there for sure.

[devi]

My intrepid video posting friend musiquebox has just taken an old video from me of one of my veena concerts where I have played Emani in Mukhari, before an audience mostly comprising of musicians themselves.....Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, Chitti Babu and his wife, Ravikiran, B.Rajam Iyer, M.S.Anantharaman and his children, M.Chandrashekharan and so on and so forth...

And here are those videos from Musiquebox celeberating Varma Maiden Concerts Season:

1. Emani Part One
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrgUiyxJzZw

2. Emani Part Two
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iq82DPLkcAM

Musiquebox has also graciously uploaded Sir's (always very beautiful) Panthuvarali on veena, from the same concert. For those who, like me, are the fans of the raagam please check Musiquebox's youtube channel.

Thank you.

[wordpecker007]

Dear friends,
Here are some more videos of his maiden veena concert in Chenna in the nineties.

He plays Thyagaraja's composition in Kama Vardhini.
PLease check out this link. Some of the most emininet musicians of that time can be seen in the audience.

http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=0zXDNB-MTYI
http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlpnweLO1HI

thank you

[Musique4ever]

Here is a beautiful article from The Hindu, Madras edition about the Navarathri festival. (The dates are from SEPTEMBER 30th till OCTOBER 8th by the way.)

About the festival
http://www.hindu.com/fr/2008/09/12/stor ... 190100.htm

About the songs
http://www.hindu.com/fr/2008/09/12/stor ... 180100.htm

[vijay]

This is why I insist on getting the Hindu, even if it is a day late! Sir, wishing the festival all the best!

[Nick H]

Pretty much a whole front page of the section in fact!

Good coverage, with some nice photographs.

[devi]

Dear all,
Please please dont miss the very nice Interview of Varamaji (who is awfully modest to provide the link above) that appeared along with the writeups on Navarathri.

http://www.hindu.com/fr/2008/09/12/stor ... 210200.htm

Sirji's interviews are always very fresh and inspiring. It was interesting read about his views on his veena playing style, which I consider is very very unique and I feel Sir is going to present the music world a new baani!

Hope someday Sirji would be kind enough to elaborate on the influence of world music/popular music upon his singing/veena playing

[devi]

Hope this year also All India Radio Trivandrum Station is broadcasting excerpts from each day's Navarathri Mandapam Concert at 21.30 hrs.

[vs_manjunath]

Can we know the frequency of AIR,Trivandrum in which these excerpts are broadcasted daily ??

[Shree]

vs_manjunathji,
Hope we all can wait for Musique4ever, Ramanathanji or Deviji to upload these videos in Youtube and give us ,the rasikas the link here.

[vs_manjunath]

shree- SURE WE LOVE FOR VIDEO/AUDIO CLIPPINGS.

[Milagu]

can some1 pls post the photos of the navaratri mandapam at sri padma nabha swami temple, thiruvananthapuram........and the concerts...???

[Milagu]

can some1 pls post the photos of the navaratri mandapam at sri padma nabha swami temple, thiruvananthapuram........and the concerts .???

[vs_manjunath]

Milagu-pls chk up post no #33 of this thread

http://www.hindu.com/fr/2008/09/12/stor … 210200.htm

[Shree]

Milaguji- Plz check Muisque4ever's post no #30. In that few photos are there which are more clear and recent ones.


About the festival
http://www.hindu.com/fr/2008/09/12/stor … 190100.htm

About the songs
http://www.hindu.com/fr/2008/09/12/stor … 180100.htm

Will let you know the other links soon:-)

[devi]

@ Milagu: Given below is the link to a very nice article by Varma Sir on Navarathri Mandapam, Thiruvananthapuram. I guess this link has been posted in this thread before as well; in which case apologies for repeating this again. But personally I feel this article is exactly what the title says; it conveys to the reader, the whole experience of being at the Mandapam.

The Navaratri Mandapam experience

http://www.hinduonnet.com/folio/fo9811/98110220.htm

@ VS_Manjunath:
I am trying to get the frequency of TVM station, these days even my grandparents seem to have forgotten about good old AIR...

[devi]

@ Sri Manjunath again: My radio savy friend from Kerala advises me to try MW 520 kHz. Sorry, I have no idea whether it will work alright.

[kmrasika]

Musique4ever: Would be able to post a recording of the tODaya mangaLa gItams (I assume these are composed by svAti tirunAl) rendered by the mUlmUDu bhAgavatars?

[vs_manjunath]

@ VS_Manjunath:
I am trying to get the frequency of TVM station, these days even my grandparents seem to have forgotten about good old AIR...

@ Sri Manjunath again: My radio savy friend from Kerala advises me to try MW 520 kHz. Sorry, I have no idea whether it will work alright.

devi- Thanks for this info.

With excellent Chinese Make TRANSISTORS flooded in the mkt as well as nice FM Channels vying for each other..it is really nice to go back to good old GOLDEN Days.

Decades back it was AIR, Chennai; AIR, Trivandrum;AIR,Vijayawada & Hyderabad;AIR, Bangalore were the medium in which we have heard excellent carnatic music. AIR Saturday's NATIONAL PROGRAMME OF MUSIC between 9:30 PM to 11:00 PM was so famous. For two Hindusthani concerts, there used to be one Carnatic Concert. Also in these programmes TRIBUTE concerts were broadcasted. I have heard GNB's & MMI's concerts in National Programme.

I am hopeful of catching AIR, TVM in Bangalore.

[devi]

My pleassure Sri Manjunath. Just because you mentione the golden times of AIR, I am remined of those days when I used to plan my morning routine based on AIR Trivandrum programme schedule, not too long back.. long back enough before FM Channels and Reality Shows took over...

[devi]

Today was another special evening at Navarathri Mandapam. After Veteran Smt. Parassala Ponammal, the second female artiste to perform at the Mandapam was another golden girl, Kum. Amrutha Venkatesh. Personally I would rank this concert amongst the real special ones I have ever attended. Such amazing performance it was! I was wondering about the organisers' decision to go for such a young girl after featuring 85 year old Smt. Ponnammal twice and setting such high standards for this poor little girl (as I presumed before listening to her) to catch up with. But Oh My Goodness, I am totally bowled over by this amazing artiste's spectacular performance. May God Bless her with long, successful and fulfilling musical years. And May god bless us all with wonderful music and such wonderful organisers like Varma Sir who present to us such golden talents at such magnificent venues like Navarathri Mandapam.

[Shree]

Happened to be in Trivandrum today and had an unforgettable experience at Navathri Mandapam.I reached there by around 5.45pm.I was not allowed to wear shirt inside.The ambience was too good.There were no electric lights near the performer.It was only those lit big lanterns.Smell of the fresh flowers were awesome.I felt that I am in heaven, listening to extra brilliant performance of Ms Amrutha Venkatesh in the presence of GODDESS SARASWATHI..Amruthaji's voice is soooooo good.I have to thank profusely Varmaji on behalf of all music lovers for conducting such a wonderful fest. It was really a feast for me here.Will come to Trivandrum next time if possible.

[Musique4ever]

Thank you Shree ji. Yes it was a sublime concert indeed. Sadly, many of the musicians these days seem to need to refer to notes while singing....and the small electric lamp I am forced to give them
ruins the ambiance greatly. Ms.Amrutha Venkatesh and Shri Sanjay Subrahmanyan are two musicians
who sing without the notes and consequently the lamp.....and the difference this makes is Huge.
And the kind of music they make is so good that it brightens up the place Anyway

[arasi]

Musiclover,
The navaratri celebrations would have flooded the Mandapam and environs with music by the light of the oil lamps (son et lumiere). Once again, our appreciation for all that you do for the love of music.
Do we get to hear bits and pieces of the concerts?
Did you play the vINA?