The Cleveland ArAdhanA and Festival 2015

Sundara Rajan · Post by **Sundara Rajan** » 07 Apr 2015, 22:44

Ashok Ramani-vocal
Nagai Muralidharan-violin
Mannargudi Eswaran-Mridangam

Started with sAmi nAn un adimai in nAttakurinchi
2. vinAyakA vigna nAsaka-vEgavAhini- Dikshitar
3. nannunbrOva nee intha thAmasamA- AbhOgi-Thyagarajaa
4.ThOdi alApana-15 min
kArthikEya gAngEya gowri thanayA ( not kAnkEya as many sing and he too sang sometimes) P. Sivan
.thani 6 min
5.kAmbodhi + madyamAvathi two raga RTP- thAnam in kambodhi, kAnada, behag etc.
kANa kaN kOti vEndum, sivanin arputha leelayai
6. pAl ninainthoottum-appar's thEvAram in sindhubharavi
7.kunitha puruvamum in Jog & madyamAvathi-Appar
8.arputha leelaikalai yAr arivAr- madyamAvathi- P. Sivan

I leave the review to more knowledgeable rasikas.

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 07 Apr 2015, 22:52

sAmi nAn undan aDimai - Sri Ramani's grandfather's lovely padavarNam - as explained by Cienu elsewhere, Sri Sivan composed this at the request of Sri Sadasivam (and Kalki Sri Krishnamurthy) for their daughters' arangETRam - which was also the padavarNam's arangETRam!

Rsachi · Post by **Rsachi** » 07 Apr 2015, 23:14

Purist,
please help me by providing a link to the Bidaram concert of TKR with MSG. Thanks

meenaakshi · Post by **meenaakshi** » 07 Apr 2015, 23:29

Alright Nick, count me in for Afternoon Tea, High Tea or just good old thEnIr:):):)

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 07 Apr 2015, 23:49

High tea? Secure your wallet, Nick

The lady also is game for simple thEnIr (ah, relief!).You can rope in Rajesh too. Wish I had a moment to
introduce him to milady that evening...

Sundara Rajan · Post by **Sundara Rajan** » 08 Apr 2015, 01:35

Narmada Violin:
I couldn't help breaking for my afternoon nap at my age and hence missed most of Narmada's violin. But got up to catch her Kathanakuthuukalam of PattaNam followed by beautiful treatment of Mohanam. She gave a brief demonstration of MSG style thAnam playing and prodded th Mdridangist to accompany, which was enjoyable. The song in mohanam is thyagaraja"s Bhavanutha with fast paced kalpana swara patterns. It was followed by a thani of Mridangam and ghatam. She next presented Sindhubhairavi in memory of late Ravi Shankar and played a tharana (thillana) in two speeds and finished with madyamAvathi.

Sundara Rajan · Post by **Sundara Rajan** » 08 Apr 2015, 02:12

Bharat Sundar-vocal
Murari-violin

1.Era nApai-thodi varnam - PattaNam's
2.SAmaja varadA neeku sari evaru- suddha sAvEri- poochi's
3. poorvi kalYani alalapana 12 min
satrE vilagidum piLLAi- GKB's. neraval at Bhakthiyil karikandavan
4.ThulasammA- dEcaghAndhAri- Thyagaraja's
5.Krahara priya rAga AlApana followed by Thyagarja's pakkal nilapadi
Thani
6.Irakkam varAmal pOnadenna- Behag

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 08 Apr 2015, 02:19

I came in when I heard Dr. Narmada playing kanja dalAyadAkshi. Our local percussion jelled well to support her. kamala manOhari was a melodious brook, flowing in rhythm with them. Her eyes closed, she played beautifully.

I was back for her lovely bhavanutha (missed AlApanA

), with a sprinkle of whim, which was very appealing.

The tarAnA in Sindhu bhairavi was a chiseled but exuberant piece.

Dr. Narmada, thanks!

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 08 Apr 2015, 02:25

Sundararajan,
A classy concert, no dilly dallying, no fuss, just seriousness and such good singing. have shared some of my thoughts about him in Maduraimini's Review thread.

He took the anupallavi line from irakkam varAmal (karuNaik kaDalE) and made a brief virutham of it. I love viruthams where the emotive quality of a singer can be seen in full.

Sundara Rajan · Post by **Sundara Rajan** » 08 Apr 2015, 02:44

I may have another chance to hear Bharat Sundar in Tampa in May. I liked his Karaharapriya, one of my favorite rAgas.

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 08 Apr 2015, 03:56

This thread is such a delight to read with the trio's coverage of the events at Cleveland. It is not easy to cover the entire day's proceedings from the early start in the morning to late evening. Thank you Sundara Rajan, Maduraimini and Arasi (and others who have chimed in) for covering the event with such enthusiasm.

Bhavanuta is Thyagaraja's, and it is also MSG's.

His kalapanaswaram for this song is indeed one of a kind where he starts off with some really folksy Mohanam and seamlessly transitions to a more classical idiom. I am sure Dr. Narmada has imbibed such performance techniques from her guru and it would have been a great treat indeed.

mahavishnu · Post by **mahavishnu** » 08 Apr 2015, 04:52

vasanthakokilam wrote: Bhavanuta is Thyagaraja's, and it is also MSG's.

Very nicely said, VK.

I remember the LP solo version of "bhavanuta" by MSG from the 70s that used to play in our house on repeat mode (with amazing mridangam by TVG, who anticipates every sangati). My cousin and I scratched the record from playing it so many times. My grandmother would refer to me as "nandavanattil OranDi", who broke his favorite record by playing with it too much.

Let me also echo VK's other point and thank the two lovely cousins Arasi and Maduraimini and their Floridian colleague Sundara Rajan for the continuing commentary.

Sundara Rajan · Post by **Sundara Rajan** » 08 Apr 2015, 04:57

CarnAtica Brothers: Sasikiran & Ganesh

In the 1940's in my teens whenever I scratched my head about a raga in a live temple concert, my father used to say "why bother about the name, if you like it close your eyes and enjoy it". That is what I do now a days, when I hear kAmni, mAlini, vasanthi, lavangi etc.that are GREEK to me !
That is case in today's RTP in sUlini presented by the Carnatica brothers. I just enjoyed their music without bothering about the grammar.
Sasikiran announced the ragas & composers at the end of each song and at the start of the RTP that made my job easier.

1. kAmbodhi varNam of Swathi. I couldn't make out the first line .I am told it was SarasijanAba.
2. palukutachE palamEmi-palamanjari-PattaNam's
3. EkAmbrEsanAyikE-sudda sAveri-Dikshitar
4. Lokavanachatura-bEgada-Thyagaraja"s
5.yAr pOi solluvAr-Thodi- gAnam Krishna Iyer
6. dEvAdi dEvA-sunAda vinOdini- Mysore vAsudEvAchar
7. RTP in sUlini rAga, 35th mElakartha as announced by Sasikiran. This is for the year 2015 :20+15=35 ! as he announced .
Thani- for 10 min
8. Dasana mAdiko- dEvara nAma-listener's request- nAdanAmakriya-PurandaradAsa
9 RAgavEndra raskhitho-
10. Another request- jAvaLi- parulanna mAta nammava-kApi-darmapuri subbarAyar
11.MangaLam in Suruti- Sivaperuman krupai vEndum- Papanasam Sivan-- in recognition of his 125th anniversary .
2 hours 40 minutes of exhilarating music.

mahavishnu · Post by **mahavishnu** » 08 Apr 2015, 05:01

1. is sarasijanAbha
5. is yAr pOi solluvAr by Ghanam Krishna Iyer

Sundara Rajan · Post by **Sundara Rajan** » 08 Apr 2015, 05:28

Thank you, Mahavishnu. I have made the corrections.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 08 Apr 2015, 05:33

A Carnatica Bros concert combines Shashikiran's extraordinary energy and Ganesh's laid back but serious music. They treated ShUlini in detail today, surrounding it with interesting and some extra special songs--yAr pOi solluvAr, certainly one in my perennial favorites list, for instance. You don't need a dancer to make you fall in love with that song. The song is so dense with rAga bhAVA, and as VVS pointed out, it's a different take on tODi and it pleases you no end. The bros gave us a plateful of a variety of items, which did shine with the fine playing of Nagai--especially that ShUlini. Some of you may remember--at least I do, when Sanjay sang an RTP in Shulini years ago at NGS and Nagai accompanied him, if my memory serves me right.

Musicians, yes, revive our love for a tODi by singing a one of a kind tODi piece by letting us hear something as fresh as yAr pOi solluvAr, and let's also listen to shUlini and the rest of her kind. Nagai himself, by his mastery has made my appreciate new rAgAs (to me) and has made me keen on listening to them and more.

I haven't seen a 'so so' percussion performance yet at Cleveland so far. Murugabhupathy and Sethuraman gave a lively thani, of course...

PUNARVASU · Post by **PUNARVASU** » 08 Apr 2015, 05:42

Missed most of this concert!

.
Too untimely for us here. Watched from dAsanamADiko.
Now Kadri and party going on.

ramamantra · Post by **ramamantra** » 08 Apr 2015, 09:24

After a few photos, it gets boring. The same American fake smiles lit on everyone's faces. Like factory-produced smiles, promoted and marketed well. Back when I lived there, there was more the reverent or serious element. Thank God, I R2I ed.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 08 Apr 2015, 09:44

Ramamantra,
That is my picture, because I'm not in any of those pictures...

I know, America is perhaps not the most favorite country in India, but surely, those smiles are about an occasion which brings friends together, their feeding hundreds of people (without a catering service).
Other pictures are of CM musicians, and of children who make us proud...

maduraimini · Post by **maduraimini** » 08 Apr 2015, 10:08

I had to miss kadri Gopalnath's concert unfortunately.Just heard the last 2 songs and one was 'kurai onrum illai' which was wondeful. After this, I saw a bevy of young girls who sang Dikshitar's Navagraha kirthis. The girls had good pronounciation of the Sanskrit words.They sang well and were co-ordinated. Thanks to their Guru. I thought that I heard they were students of Bhushani Kalyanaraman. Is it so or am I also hearing things now?!

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 08 Apr 2015, 10:36

Maduraimini,
It was a program which happened earlier this morning. Bhushani and Kulanayaki, her student were responsible for this. A very well prepared and presented concert by the children.

First time I hear 'pArAyaNam' (in vAchaspathi).

mahAsuram was very well sung, the violin was very good, I thought and it was Apurva Krishna, Sahana Samraj singing with her. VVS later said that they were roped in at the last minute.

Waiting for Bhushani's concert. Tomorrow?

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 08 Apr 2015, 11:27

My grandmother would refer to me as "nandavanattil OranDi", who broke his favorite record by playing with it too much.

Ha..ha. quite funny.

Purist · Post by **Purist** » 08 Apr 2015, 12:00

Rsachi wrote:Purist,
please help me by providing a link to the Bidaram concert of TKR with MSG. Thanks

Here it is - http://www.sangeethamshare.org/kl/09-TK ... ysore-1972
Listed under " Karthik KL " postings.

Purist · Post by **Purist** » 08 Apr 2015, 12:07

There is also another uploaded by "Ramanujam Thirumalai" @ Sangeethapriya

MaheshS · Post by **MaheshS** » 08 Apr 2015, 19:01

ramamantra wrote:After a few photos, it gets boring. The same American fake smiles lit on everyone's faces. Like factory-produced smiles, promoted and marketed well. Back when I lived there, there was more the reverent or serious element. Thank God, I R2I ed.

Next time, we'll get them to scowl / be reverent / be serious the American way for the pictures, OKva?

God, now we hear the "Andha kalathula naan Americala irukkum podhu ... nalla vela idha pakka naan irukkala" stories.

Rama rama!

:: Edited ::Enjoyed the photos, thanks!

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 08 Apr 2015, 19:59

Well, I am shown albums of wedding pictures when I am in India. Everyone smiles in them as far as I can see, because they are happy--except perhaps a face shows up which is disgruntled because of the quality of food or the way an auto driver ripped him off of an amount equal to the one spent on the wedding present...

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 08 Apr 2015, 21:06

Arasi asked me to post this:

https://www.facebook.com/notes/josh-she ... 8845804820

My experience from one night at Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana
April 6, 2015 at 7:31pm
I want to share what my visit to Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana was like yesterday for anyone who is interested. (This is the huge 12-day long South Indian dance and music festival happening now at Cleveland State.) Hopefully this will inspire some more of my friends to come check out this amazing, very unique event.

I got there 20 minutes late, to see that the performance before the one I wanted to see still hadn't ended. It was a young boy, about 12 years old I'd say, who was singing. And professional very high level adult accompanists. (One of the accompanists was Cleveland Balu, one of the festival organizers, one of my favorite people, who I've performed with a couple times and who very generously gave me some kanjira lessons and a couple kanjira drums to go with it! I am so much in debt to him and the other festival organizers for providing so much great music over the years.) This boy's singing was in my estimation about 10 - 20 times more skillful than the American adult singers who win those TV competitions we as a nation adore so much. Truly a rising star. So I got to see the end of that performance, and already felt like I got my $25 worth that I paid for the entire evening. Still coming were the three performances I went there to see.

The next performance was actually a north Indian program called a jugalbandi, which means "tied together" and represents a certain format where there are two melodic players trading lines and playing together. (This is rare, we don't see it often here because the artist costs are higher for more people.) There was also a great tabla player, Arup Chattopadhyay, who I actually stayed in a hotel room with a long time back when he was playing for my first tabla teacher in Detroit. And as an extra bonus there was also a mridangam player. From the beginning, the music was absolutely sublime. It was like the first ray of sun coming above the horizon. If you could hear someone's soul when they are at their most peaceful, that's what it sounded like. I was quite moved. From there the pace built and built until they were playing insanely fast lines, both together and trading back and forth. The percussionists were also tearing it up, raising the level of excitement even further. The ending was like a fireworks finale of sound. Again I easily got my moneys worth for that show alone.

Next performance was all people I hadn't heard of, except the mridangam drum player who is a legend, one of the top guys. The singer turned out to be really excellent, on a scale of excellence that most western audiences and music lovers are completely unfamiliar with. Picture the most shredding instrument solo you can imagine. It's that, except with the human voice. It would be incomprehensible for anyone who never experienced it. (I found out later his Guruji is my favorite south Indian vocalist.) As usual for this particular format, the violin player shadowed his lines and responded beautifully. The percussionists, also, were out of this world. Trichy Sankaran's brain is like a human rhythm computer. It was so mind boggling. People sometimes assume I play tabla so I should play at this festival... I couldn't even count the beat they were playing to without messing up at times, because their playing was dancing around it and subdividing it so skillfully. Though much of it was over my head, it didn't stop me from enjoying the sheer ecstacy of it. The other percussionist was a fantastic kanjira player, who has the job of matching the mridangam player but with only one hand. Also as usual, they had drum solos and a drum duet. We're not talking playing a few bars either. We're talking a 20 - 25 minute percussion section. Needless to say, just the percussion alone was worth my entrance fee, not to mention the rest of that performance. With one more still to come...

The final performance of the night was a Kuchipudi dance opera. The first two dancers were quite stunning. The first part depicted Krishna playing flute and frolicking with his Gopi maidens, with every glance and slightest movement having deep scriptural relevance. And the dancers are also percussionists, dancing highly rhythmic patterns with their feet and ankle-bells. The musicians included a woman who did all kinds of vocal percussion (takadimi takajuna!), as well as a singer, a flute player, a violinist, and a mridangam player. The next part was about SHIVA's Thandav dance (which according to Hindu mythology created the entire universe) and PARVATI's dance called Lasya which was a response to Shiva's dance. It was a beautiful performance rich with meaning and significance, and I couldn't help but be in awe of the skill of the dancers and musicians. Another program easily worth the entrance fee.

After all that intensity (7+ hours of excitement for $25), I walked with a friend who came with me to Comfort Inn down the street, which is where many of the out-of-towners and artists stay while they're here, and where you can get south Indian meals and schmooze with the artists. When you walk in, it's like the festival took over the place. First thing I heard was a tanpura sound! Probably pumped through the hotel speakers 24/7 for the duration. We got a huge plate of awesome healthy (sattvic) feeling food for $5. I bumped into this tremendous percussionist and disciple of one of my favorite ghatam players, who I bugged into giving me a lesson a while back. So it was great to catch up after some time. When my friend and I were leaving, we looked through a slit in a divider where that tanpura sound was coming from, and there were about 25 kids crammed together sitting on the floor of the room in the hotel practicing singing, probably for an upcoming performance or competition.

I know this is probably a TLDR (too long, didn't read) post for most of my friends, but I just had to share my experience that is so typical of each night of each year of the festival, and how incredibly lucky I feel that such a thing goes on right in our home town... the single largest south Indian dance and music festival outside of India. Which is run on a volunteer basis by a small number of some of the most highly dedicated music fans anywhere in the world. And which started as a few concerts in one of the organizer's basements 38 years ago and grew to the behemoth it is today, hundreds of performances for 12 full days, from early morning until late at night. All right here in Cleveland, Ohio.

kvchellappa · Post by **kvchellappa** » 08 Apr 2015, 21:26

Thanks to Arasi for letting us read this wonderful account.

maduraimini · Post by **maduraimini** » 08 Apr 2015, 22:23

Thanks Sundararajan for Ashok Ramani and Carnatica Brothers review. I did hear Dr.Narmada's beautiful concert. I will write aabout the concert.

maduraimini · Post by **maduraimini** » 08 Apr 2015, 22:31

Arasi,
It was very interesting to read about the experience at the Aradhana. Thanks

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 08 Apr 2015, 22:46

Thank you Kokilam for posting what I sent you, and thanks to the friend who sent me this.

We have hundreds of things to discuss at Rasikas.org about the festival, some of which don't matter in the least--thumbai viTTu vAlaip piDikkiRa vElai (as if trying to catch a calf by its tail rather than by the tethering rope).

He was there on the evening of NSG's concert, we can see. An aspiring tablA player he is. I thought I would bring in a fresh look upon the festival by posting what I had read and enjoyed of this young man's writing...

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 08 Apr 2015, 23:38

Thank you Arasi and VK! And that too from someone who can't be classified into any of the categories that our usual combatants can be (examples: incognito relative of so-and-so, disgruntled parent of so-and-so, all-purpose ass, etc.)

arasi wrote:We have hundreds of things to discuss about the festival which don't matter in the least--thumbai viTTu vAlaip piDikkaRa vElai (as trying to catch a calf by its tail rather than by the tethering rope)....

For the most part, the arguments may even be justified if they end up catching the calf...to my mind, they end up catching a mule....

Sundara Rajan · Post by **Sundara Rajan** » 09 Apr 2015, 02:59

It appears that OST's concert also will not be webcast as per his wish !!
Jayanthi has commenced her veeNa concert with my favorite raga sahAna. Looking forward to a great performance

hnbhagavan · Post by **hnbhagavan** » 09 Apr 2015, 07:51

Web casting actually helps for the propagation of music.In case the artists come to town,threre will more rasikas.Hence I do not understand the reason for not we basting.In fact announcements are made not to record.By recording once again music only is the winner.Generally recordings are for personal purposes.I do not know whether this has been misused commercially.
In fact one artist who does not announce such things in concert is Sanjay subramanyam.

munirao2001 · Post by **munirao2001** » 09 Apr 2015, 11:22

vasanthakokilam Sir,

How come you have not mentioned the names of the artists/performers in your report? ( except one)

munirao2001

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 09 Apr 2015, 14:10

Sundara Rajan wrote:It appears that OST's concert also will not be webcast as per his wish !!
Jayanthi has commenced her veeNa concert with my favorite raga sahAna. Looking forward to a great performance

hmbhagavan wrote:Web casting actually helps for the propagation of music.

The ups and downs of this have been discussed discussed inside and outside in other threads and, along with the various copyright issues, and the general topic of recording of concerts, will continue to be hot subjects.

There are instances where an artist has a contract with a recording company that does not allow them to record for others, and it might cover broadcasting too. If this is the case, the artist is obliged to stipulate no webcast.

However, if it because they think they don't look good on the computer screen, or they fear that they may loose money from the free distribution of one concert (which wouldn't have been a commercial release anyway), or they fear that an additional handful of people will see and record any mistakes they may make, then my view is that, tough, let them shut up about it and sing to the camera as well as the audience.

If webcasting is part of the deal, it should be part of the artist's deal too, and stipulated in the contract. However, I doubt that the committee would want, at this time, to make that a deal-breaker. Maybe in years to come...

Sundara Rajan · Post by **Sundara Rajan** » 09 Apr 2015, 18:13

JAYANTHI KUMARESH: veeNa ON 4-08-2015

1. Started the cconcert with a beautiful varNam in one of my favorite ragas- sahAna- 5 min
2. LathAngi raga alApana followed by PattaNam's Aparathamula-20 min
3. Extensive AlApanA of raga kAnada followed by T's Suki Evvaro ( I am not sure of thee composition )
4. T's NenaruchirA in SimhavAhini-7 min
5. Good presentation of RTP in Shanmukapriya;
The pallavi lines are: sadA nee pAdamE gathi KrupAkari, karuNiso janani.

In spite of her bereavement of her uncle's passing away less than 12 hours ealrier in the day, Jayanthi kept her commitment to the Aradhana and
performed on stage. Kudos to her and her team.

pattamaa · Post by **pattamaa** » 09 Apr 2015, 20:52

heard Srividya Ramanath - senior most disciple of Guruji Neyveli SG. Hearing Surya P's grand majestic bhairavi now !

Sundara Rajan · Post by **Sundara Rajan** » 09 Apr 2015, 20:54

Sundara Rajan » 09 Apr 2015 13:09
Maduraimini: There is no need to be apologetic about your minor mistakes. You have an older brother here at 82 who makes more mistakes and who sometimes has difficulty in identifying a raga or a song played on an instrument. I have to have an afternoon nap, come what may, and miss some performances ! These are normal effects of passage of years and I am sure that members of rasika .com would understand and appreciate our problems and
bear with us.
By the way, do you plan to come to Tampa on 4-11-15 for Malladi Brothers' concert, which I plan to attend. My wife and I live in Winter Springs,FL , ten miles north of Orlando. I guess you live on the east coast of southern Florida. It would be nice if we could meet sometime and get acquainted. I have met your cousin Arasi in Madras during her CD releases and in the Music Academy whenever I managed to visit Madras.

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 09 Apr 2015, 21:08

Mennakshi - get better first! And goes without saying: thank you for the photographs!
And please do not feel you have to account for yourself to anybody (except perhaps yourself) - there is a very good song for this from the movie amar prEm- kuch tO lOg kahEngE, lOgOn kA kAm hai kehnA (and if you look at the people that Rajesh Khanna is referring to as he sings this song, you get the idea of the kind that do the kehnA, but are not around for the karnA [doing])....and 'chODo bEkAr ki bAtOn mein kahin bhIt na jAye rainA' is very right - let's spend the limited time we all have doing what we enjoy, without wasting it on apologizing or splaining (as Ricky Ricardo would say) - exceptions to this are obvioulsy the sadists!

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 09 Apr 2015, 22:16

Sorry to hear about your flu, Meenaakshi: hope you can lift a tea bag and swing a camera soon!

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 09 Apr 2015, 23:10

Add being out in the garden--above all, she will miss being at Cleveland and that means two pairs less in helping hands among volunteers.

Get well soon, milady

harimau · Post by **harimau** » 10 Apr 2015, 08:33

Easy fix. Mix in several tubs of sour cream.

As the fast food industry has figured out, it is all in the mouth feel and the more fat you have in the food the better it tastes!

harimau · Post by **harimau** » 10 Apr 2015, 08:43

ramamantra wrote:After a few photos, it gets boring. The same American fake smiles lit on everyone's faces. Like factory-produced smiles, promoted and marketed well. Back when I lived there, there was more the reverent or serious element. Thank God, I R2I ed.

People in the US, particularly Indians, have reasons to smile about. They have escaped from Planet of the Grumps, otherwise called India.

In India people have plenty to be grumpy about. And the fear that they may be losing out on the perennially short but necessary items, such as train tickets.

This is why Indans cut in line with a grim face while studiously avoiding the poor souls around them.

One guy carried it to an extreme: at the local Vishnu temple, one man in his 60s cut into the line -- all of two persons long -- to get theertham. I can understand it if it is a line for sakkarai pongal which may be prepared in limited quantities but for a spoonful of water? As an Indo-American would say, Holy cow!

So, most of those smiles are not fake, contrary to what you think!

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 10 Apr 2015, 18:34

Harimau,
It's heartening to see your supporting the rasikA/volunteers at Cleveland. After all, we are all family in our love for music, wherever we all come from. Bharathi's dream of, and of those who came before him: yAdum UrE, yAvarum kELIr! (this entire world is my home town).

Please don't bring in 'the global village' and politicians into it

maduraimini · Post by **maduraimini** » 10 Apr 2015, 21:21

MaheshS,
You made me smile! It is true, every time I meet someone from India, they always comment how the Americans are phoney, always a smile fixed on their face (But they don't mean it- how they read their mind is beyond belief) , money hungry and how in India they are all true and only smile when they mean it etc.

maduraimini · Post by **maduraimini** » 10 Apr 2015, 21:40

Meenakshi, Get well. Others can attend to the thayir sadam. You rest and take your meds.
rshankar, I loved your answer to Meenakshi. I love the song ' kuch to log kahenge' and I try to sing it to myself when somebody says something to me. I loved all the songs of this movie and liked the movie. I thought Rajesh Khanna and Sharmila Tagore did a wonderful job in this movie. Like you say, we know the log who do the kehna.

maduraimini · Post by **maduraimini** » 11 Apr 2015, 01:16

I have not heard Bhushani Kalyanaraman's concert before and i sat before the computer'to listen to her. What a concert it was! Really wonderful. Now I know I must hear her whenever there is a program of hers. She made me into a Believer of hers- not that I didn't believe her. I didn't get out of my seat until she finished.
1. She started with Bhairavi varnam 'Viriboni'.
2. Saveri raga kriti Kari kalabha mukha was next. This Dikshitar kriti was sung with so much passion that the ragam danced before your eyes.
3. Then came the 34th Melakarta Ragam Vagadheeswari alapana. Followed by Thyagaraja kriti 'Paramatmudu '.
Beautiful singing of this beautiful ragam.
4. The artist sang another beautiful Thyagaraja kriti , 'Nee daya rada' in Vasanthbhairavi.
5. Wondeful Madhyamavathi raga alapana ensued. Can't believe the raga can be handled and kneaded this many ways! It is the ever popular song of Thyagaraja, 'Rama katha sudharasa '.
6. Chandrajothi song 'Bagaya naiyya' shone like Chandra's jyothi during day time.
7. I could not hear the next song, sri chakraraja nilaye-
8. I came back to soak in the raga bhava filled Kamboji. The kriti 'Kailasa Nathentoa Samrakshithoham' is filled with elegant lyrics like most of the kritis by Sri Murhuswamy Dikshitar. The words in the artist's singing came alive. She sang niraval ,swaram for ' charu sharaschandra'. This kriti took the cake.
9. I have never heard this new song. It started with ' Nee than tunai Neelambari' in the raga Neelambari and these other ragas: Vasanthabhairavi,Gaurimanohari,saraswathi,Sriranjani, Mohanakalyani and Jyothiswaroopini, with the raga names in each line (That's how I got ll these ragas!)
I don't who the composer is, but the raga names were nicely woven into these lilting ragas. They were only one line and the raga names were added beutifully in that line, like Dikshitar did for most (or all) of his kritis.
10. It was a Sindhubhairavi Tillana- I don't know the composer. I had to get up, a my legs were going to sleep, but I wanted to wait and hear her finish the Tillana. I wonder if it is a Lalgudi tillana or who the composer was.
I got up while Sundaram was speaking. I enjoyed the concert very much.

Sundara Rajan · Post by **Sundara Rajan** » 11 Apr 2015, 01:39

I did enjoy her concert too. No wonder. After all she is the wife and student of late Thanjavur S. KalyaNaraman . Each item was a gem. The ragamalika Nee thAn thuNai is a composition of N.S. Chidambaram

meenaakshi · Post by **meenaakshi** » 11 Apr 2015, 01:45

I wish I was feeling little better, I would have made it:(
NeethAn thuNai is by N.S. Chaidambaram. The thillana is by my God SK:)
Sri chakra Raja nilayE in Sivashakthi is by GNB.
All SK classics. Wanted to hear her live soooo badly:(