Samakkulam K Balasubramanian (gobilalitha) has departed

[appu]

Venkatakailasam,

I read in another post that you were attending concerts of young talent. I hope you can attend Aishu Venkataraman solo and report. It would be awesome.

[venkatakailasam]

Appu..thank you..

Actually, due to old age, my movement is restricted to the house and I do not attend concerts.But I have friends who record some of the concerts and send by mail to me..This year I am able to watch more concerts courtesy Shri RK and Dinamalar/Dinamani..
I have seen Aishu's one or two concerts. As you say young talented girl..

[kamalamba]

VK Sir, thanks for the touching post and poem.
Appu, are you in Chennai?
Kamalamba

[appu]

Kamalamba,

No, I am not. I am in Nova Scotia. I am living vicariously through Rasikas. I even had my tickets to come to India. But plans changed and had a job related emergency. Catch up with you next time.

[kamalamba]

Sorry to know you couldn't come, but hope to catch up in the next season.
Kamalamba

[sridhar_ranga]

Thank you Kamalamba and family for the wonderful musical and culinary treats, a fitting tribute to GBL who was a connoisseur of both HM and CM, and, as we were told, a foodie as well. His warmth towards fellow forumites which we all have experienced here on Rasikas was seen once again from all the gracious hosts.

I entered listening to the wonderful strains of marubehag from the shehnais of the pandits duo and their team, who also presented a couple of HM vocal numbers. After a short round of bhajans by Swathi and the other performer (apologies for not noting the name), we were treated to a very nice violin concert, music much inspired by Aishu's gurus: sri TNK and Sri SRJ, as explained by her. With great support from her dad sri Vinod and sri Tripunithura Radhakrishnan, young Aishu maintained a great tempo with some fast numbers interspersed with heavier uruppaDis. Here is a brief list:

1. kaanada ata varnam
2. niravadhi sukhada
3. kalyani + amma raavamma (S)
4. Nenarunchinanu annitiki
5. kiravani + tanamalika (kiravani sahana subapantuvarali kapi mohanam and reverse - in typical TNK style as explained by Aishu)
kaligiyunte kada (S@ pallavi, tani)
6. chinnanjiru kiliye
7. bhagyada lakshmi baramma

There was rain pounding on the sheet metal roof for most of this concert as well as the next one by Suryaprakash, but the musical presentations were so engrossing that hardly anyone was distracted.

Before the next concert, it was time for providing some warmth for the audience shivering from all the wet weather and chilly winds: we were treated to jangiris, hot samosas and steaming cups of coffee/ tea. A well thought out break!

The grand concert by Sri Suryapraksah and team followed, and what a wonderful concert it was! We had H S Smitha from Bangalore on the violin and Sri Rajesh Srinivasan on the Mridangam accompanying Suryaprakash. It was a great presentation showcasing the best of CM and HM in a true tribute to GBL, with whose family Suryaprakash has been friends for over thirty years. Here is the list:

1. vallabha nayakasya - begada - rupakam - D (S)
2. evarani - devamritavarshini - Adi - T
3. vishnupriya + baalasubramanyan paadame tunai - Adi – Thanjavur Sankara Iyer
4. ardhanareeshwaram - kumudakriya - rupakam - D (S)
5. sarasa saama daana (S @ hitavu maaTalento with some MMI touches)
6. tODi + chEsinadella - Adi - T (R, NS@ raama sri raja....prema, tani)
7. RTP Ragesri (a GBL mama special as he was a connoisseur of HM and raga based Hindi film songs as well, said Suryaprakash)
We had some taanam raining from Surya & Smitha and real rain pouring overhead which was very intense now
p: mandagamani sadaa veenaa vaadini | saaradE maam paahi  in khanda jaati tripuTa 2 kaLai
(S in ragesri, kaanada?, ghor kalyan, multani - thanks to Suryaprakash for announcing the last two as well as Ragesri! my HM ken is near zero)
8. veLLai taamarai poovil iruppaaL - bhimplas- Adi - Subramania Bharati
9. maayee saavare rang raachee - meera bhajan - Sindhu Bhairavi
10. mangalam

Overall it was a very pleasant afternoon/ evening with some fantastic music. The GBL family intends to make this an annual event. Jan 6th will mark the anniversary of our dear GBL's passing. There was a vote of thanks by GBL's daughter. Smt Lalita (Mrs GBL) presented tokens of appreciation to all the artistes who performed on stage.

It was great to meet old friend Arasi and new friend Mohan aka Kamalamba. I also got to shake hands with coolji for the first time.

[kamalamba]

Many thanks Sridhar-Ranga for taking the time to come and write the review. It was a pleasure to meet you along with other friends from Rasikas.org (arasi, varsha, Mahavishnu's parents and others who I may not have had a chance to talk to amongst all the action).

I have moved your concert review to the "Concert Reviews" section, so that rasikas may read it.

Regards
Kamalamba (Mohan)

[Nick H]

I'm glad I was able to express my thanks when seeing you again this morning, as my wife and I had to hurry away from Suryaprakash's concerts due to flooding. I'm really sorry if our coming and going from the back off the hall and hopefully-subdued phone calls disturbed anyone.

The event included a number of treats. The food has to be mentioned! Both lunch and snack were great and the tea was most welcome. All of the music was a treat, although I did have stern words with the sound guys about their effect on the HM vocal!

I have not seen Shennai for decades! Seeing them appear on the stage, unexpected, was probably my best nice surprise of the season. What a unique and wonderful sound! Once we had the water worries under control, my wife went straight to YouTube to seek out more.