The Cleveland Tyagaraja Festival 2014

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 25 Apr 2014, 18:58

vyApArigaLa ghOsha...

'chAlu chAlu' shAwl-ugaLa mAtu!
namma business ke bantu kEDu

(The merchants' moan...

Enough of your talk about shawls!
A nemesis to our business

)

hari2810 · Post by **hari2810** » 25 Apr 2014, 22:31

arasi wrote:Neyveli's Students:

To go with this year's theme of The MahAbhArathA at Cleveland, Neyveli's students started their morning concert with a dhyAna SlOkam in rAgamAlikA. They sang without flagging in momentum, all in unison. On to Tiger's composition about VinAyakA.

They changed the pace in a trice to sing a 'note'. They sang a thiruppugazh (which would faze some native singers to take it up in a concert!). This they sang so well--with no mispronunciation, but with clarity. The only thing I once heard which was 'american' was 'uthamazh' from some instead of uthamar!

They sang mAyAtIta svarUpiNi, tulasi dala, saraLi varisai, gItham, varNam, thus exploring all forms of compositions in a single rAgA.

NSG makes us proud, and his students made him proud!

.................
My scanty notes and my leaving the vicinity of my laptop every now and then makes my lists incomplete. I do appreciate those who know more and have corrections to e-mail me though the forum. Then, my errors and slips can be corrected. Thanks...
...........................................

Full video of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_V1llUy5LCg

Rsachi · Post by **Rsachi** » 25 Apr 2014, 23:25

Arasi,
Before you abandon the topic of shawls, here is the etymology of 'shawl':
1662, originally of a type of scarf worn in Asia, from Urdu and other Indian languages, from Pers. shal, sometimes said to be named for Shaliat, town in India where it was first manufactured. Cf. Fr. châle, Sp. chal, It. scialle, Ger. Shawl (from Eng.), Rus. shal, all ult. from the same source. As the name of an article of clothing worn by Western women, it is recorded from 1767.

According to me, shawl comes from 'caila' in Sanskrit which means a cloth garment. Or even 'cela' which means a cloth.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 26 Apr 2014, 01:38

sachi,
I'm not at all against them. I think they still serve as a nice accessory and even as necessity at times. Of course, they were the only upper garment of men in the olden days.

It's the shawl wrapping at events that irks me. These shawls are just glittery stuff which have neither quality not utility. It's money ill-spent and above all, it's a time-waster when the music is put on halt for this ritual.

Rsachi · Post by **Rsachi** » 26 Apr 2014, 03:44

Yes..yes...I am with you.
But the ritual of honouring the artistes seems to a must...what is the alternative? In Bangalore they give flowers or garlands or fruit baskets...

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 26 Apr 2014, 04:41

As far as Cleveland is concerned, just an invitation to come and perform here is honor enough

Seriously, they were given award plaques, weren't they?

Had it been Tirunelveli, I would have said lalAkkaDai HalwA!

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 26 Apr 2014, 08:02

Back to Cleveland...

Easter Sunday morning:

The children stunned us again with their involvement and excellent performance in Shashikiran's concept of CM fusion with western classical and in the following program directed by NSG. With youngsters pint-sized to teenagers singing, it was a smooth blend of the music of far off lands but good music sounds beautiful, and so it did, thanks to the children and to exponents, handling of the blend very well.

"There are teachers and gurus, but he is much more than that. He is an AchAryA", Ravikiran exclaimed at some point about NSG. How very true!

Then came uncle NAgai and nephew NAgai's super concert which I have already written about.
MAE surprises me no end with his energy, expertise and sukham, no matter whom he accompanies (and in Cleveland it also means the youngest of performers!). NAgai Muralidharan delighted us by accompanying many vocalists (level of competency no bar), and these two regulars (NM and MAE) were an asset at the festival. They not only played in many concerts but were also there in many concerts as listeners. Bless them!

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 27 Apr 2014, 09:46

Folks,
This was the longest day at Cleveland, the finale of the ambitious MahAbharathA five part presentation rounding up the day...

My snail pace get slower, I'm afraid--with so many events to write about, and yet progressing a little at a time.

After seeing the kids in the dance competitions a bit during the day tomorrow and seeing some of the last day programs, the withdrawal symptoms will take hold of me on Monday. No Cleveland? Not for another year?

Well, hopefully I may still be lucky enough to savor a bit of the December season, and then...Cleveland again

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 27 Apr 2014, 10:24

Arasi
The last fairly detailed report from you was for Nagai duo of violin which is last sunday Apr 20th concert , from there you jumped to mahabharatham close- April 26th. Certainly there is too much load for you to write - but if you or others can chip in in between those days especially those carnatic music concerts that would be great.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 27 Apr 2014, 18:10

Rajesh,

Come on, give me a minute to savor the moment at the end of a one-of-a-kind, only in Cleveland moment after a production like that!

I am 'me and others' as you say, in covering this mammoth festival on Rasikas.org but for a few other posts, and I'm not half your age

You know me and I know you for our zeal for music. Bear with me. I will continue to post. My scribbled notes will help, I hope.

I wish I had the time to plant myself in front of the laptop all day, every day to do justice to the content of this festival. That was impossible, of course. I needed time for other activities (most of them put on hold, mind you!) and chores in my life! Had I stationed myself like a disc (radio) jockey in a swivel chair in a booth to take it all in, I would have paved my way to becoming a vegetable

Be patient with me. I will have more snippets about the happenings in the next few days. Not that you will let me off the hook. You have other stuff you are capable of hurrying me about with

As they say, wish you were in Cleveland

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 28 Apr 2014, 01:38

Let me go back a few days...

All right, from where you've said I left off: that mAnavathi (and rAga mAlikA) RTP which NAgai and NAgai played is still washing the shore of my memory, though it is engulfed with the endless stream of music from Cleveland...

Sudha Raghunathan's Concert:

The ever-popular, star among stars, Cleveland-friendly Sangeetha kalanidhi Sudha Raghunathan delighted her fans and the audience with her music. This is the first time I have heard her to the accompaniment of R.K.Sriram kumar. That she is a trooper and he can play not only for the senior set but also to other kinds of (age group of) musicians was obvious that day (and of course,not forgetting TMK)--and you know how Cleveland has this 'strange stage fellows' formula which brings in an egalitarian setting where jAmbavAns accompany talented tiny vocalists!

Sudha started her concert with the nalinakAnti varNam. YagnAtulu in JayamanOhari followed (it was also sung by the torch bearers in one of their presentations).

Her DhanyAsi was my pick. She reminded me very much of her guru there. Such bhAvam and open-throated singing there. RKS's reply and neraval and svarams were so pleasing.

Her aruL Seyya vENDumaiyyA brought out all the flavors of rasikapriyA.

NATTaik kuRinji was impressive with RNS (all of it I think), SS's mAyamma amma nannu brOva with that charming chiTTasvaram. This was Cleveland Sundaram's pick to dwell on when he spoke after the concert. Personally, I would have liked a bit more elaboration on this piece.

There was a sweet PD kruti and a sAi bhajan too.

Rajesh, don't ask me if she sang an RTP. If she did, I wasn't around then.

So, she came, stole her fans' hearts, made the rest of the assembly happy, and was seen around for a bit (before or after her concert?) and was gone, on to her next engagement (*)

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 28 Apr 2014, 02:51

TVG, the Artiste of Many Colored Coats:

I looked forward to watching him and when I did, I loved his concert. There is no comparison, but when you go to a G.S.Mani's concert (hope Nageswaran is reading this!), you get the same feeling of warmth filling your heart, even before the concert begins. It's the goodwill they have in their hearts and the joy they have for music that radiates around them before they even begin!

TVG is simply amazing--even for someone like me who hasn't experienced live concerts of his that many times. His many talents border upon wizardry. His love for music and in sharing it is also a reason for his appealing and agreeable personality.

Nagai Sriram, MAE and Vaikkom accompanied him that day. Need I say? That combination made the concert even more pleasing.

His vAtApi gaNapathim was a joy to hear--not a ganESa ornately decorated but as if with a smear of chandan and a simple garland. Coming from him, it sounded as if the song didn't have all those complexities, but was child's play! He makes it all sound effortless.
tera tIyaka rAdA? next brought all the bhAva in, and the impact of the sAhityA was lodged in the listeners' hearts.

His bEgaDa (and another sAhityA stealer--kaDikkaN vaithennai ALammA) was scintillating.

Then, the stuccato, still easily pleasing galgaDa (pArvati ninnu nE).

mOhana rAmA-a mOhanamAna mOhanam.

ethanai kODi inbam vaithAi! Bharathi's song of wonderment and truth in dES sweetly sung by his daughter.Couldn't get her name.
A song on mAruti (my notes are indecipherable here. behAg?)

tambUri mITidavA in sindhubhairavi.

A concert to remember...

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 28 Apr 2014, 07:30

arasi
Take your time no hurry , keep going at your pace , it was the jump from nagai to last episode of mahabharatham that sounded to me that you are skipping 6 days of concerts .

TVG having got the main ratnakara award and he singing with perhaps a lot of zeal is great . Usually whenever he sings he usually keeps his disciple varadarajan in violin , for a change to sing with nagai sriram would have been a great treat - especially to hear few quick returns in chembai style vathapi mahaganapathim.

Keep them coming , this 2014 cleveland it looks there is only one batsman bowler and fielder in rasikas.org. You have just wrapped up sunday april 20th with TVG , 21 to 24 is waiting.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 28 Apr 2014, 08:19

Kudos to A Grandson:

Ashok Ramani has to be commended for his teaching more than a hundred young north americans songs of his grandfather, the great composer Papanasam Sivan. By the way, this year marks Sivan's 125th birthday.

Ashok Ramani did this with the help of music teachers who trained the young musicians for months.Though many children aren't familiar with tamizh (I'm saying it for the umpteenth time, and that's not enough), they sang as if they knew the language!

More than hundred singing, six violins and six mrudangams!

They began with AbhOgi tAna varNam (thanjam enRE). Some of the other songs:
tharuNam idaiyyA (Sivaranjani)
mAtA inbam thArAi, mayilai nAyakiyE!
sAmikku sari evarE (a star song lyrically and musically)
parAtparA, the popular vAchaspathi song with a lot of sanskrit words (a bit easier for those who are familiar with languages other than tamizh)
nArAyaNa divya nAmam (another biggie, a beautiful song).
manamE kaNamum maRavAdE *
SrinivasA! hamsAnandi
BehAg tillAnA
kaRpagamE! (another mega).

* VKV, I saw you sitting in the front row (in most concerts, nodding your head in appreciation), and how absorbed you were in this and were appreciative. Exactly how a few of us on the forum respond to that song!

Once again, a morning which started with such a heart warmer...

mahavishnu · Post by **mahavishnu** » 28 Apr 2014, 09:28

Arasi, thank you so much for all the trouble you have taken to post in such lovely detail.
I love your stream of consciousness narrative in this thread.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 28 Apr 2014, 20:20

The Great Grandson Follows Suite:

Rajkumar Bharathi, the great grandson of MahAkavi Bharathi brought to Cleveland
pAnjAli Sabadam, Subrahmanya BhArathi's jewel of a drama in verse.

A tough task this, I thought. With ever so many gleaming lines in the work, each describing the strife of the PaNDavAs and as Bharathi can be depended upon, bringing us universal truths, I thought the matter of selection of the verses would have been the toughest for Rajkumar Bharathi. Yet, he did it. He would have had his regrets about omitting many lines because that's how the whole work goes: each line is to be experienced in its beauty and substance and can't easily be left out. The time factor, coordinating with the choreographer would have been added problems. Yet, the end result was very appealing and moving.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 28 Apr 2014, 22:29

Jayanthi Subramanian is not just a sweet presence in Cleveland every year. She's a hard working teacher and choreographer. Her RamayaNA impressed us no end earlier. This episode of the bhAratha with PanjAli as the focus lived up to our expectations. The Cleveland specialty where senior artistes and new bloomers join in and occupy the orchestra section results in strong music accompanying a visual art. Forumite Surya was also part of it. I heard him sing ulagu thoDangia nAL mudalAi in panthuvarALi in his rich voice.

Gayathri Venkataraghavan, Amrutha Murali, K. Gayathri among the well-known, and up coming youngsters like Aswath Narayanan, Raghav Krishna, Anahitha and Apoorva added life to dance in various productions of the five episodes of the epic. Adding life to all the singing was the orchestra: Ranjani Ramakrishnan, Mudikondan Ramesh, Athul Kumar (he looked like Bharathi for a few days with a bushy mustache, and then after that, like the very young, sweet-playing youngster as we have seen him before!). The specia mrudangist in dance accompaniment and the other percussionist on board were very good too.

Rhadha's role as Sakuni was engaging. In her steps, abhinayam and body language, she always wins us over. Her generosity in helping fellow dancers is mentioned ever so often.

Wish I had a glimpse of Rajkumar at the end. He did a great job along with Jayanthi, the dancers and the orchestra. Either I missed him or he made a lightening appearance.

He made his great grandfather (he is very much around us) and his family very happy, no doubt...

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 29 Apr 2014, 02:06

And For Some Pipe Music:

Harimau had recommended him, and I was waiting to hear Vyasarpadi Kothandaraman and party's nAdasvaram concert. It was worth my while. Siddhi vinAyakam, a specially appealing bEgaDa (nAdOpAsana), paralOka bhaya, KharaharapriyA and a pUrvikalyANi. Followed by a tani which was fantastic with cricket sounds and mOrsing sounds, with super fast and precise strokes! Panrutti Venkateasn and Palanivel were something to listen to!

At some point, Kothandaraman's playing started sounding a bit faint (sound trouble, reed trouble?). His companion Kesanna who was playing so well all along, kept the concert moving until the problem was addressed.

Thanks, Harimau

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 29 Apr 2014, 04:42

Symposium on Lalgudi:

It was a short event, part of celebrating Lalgudi by reminiscing about the artiste and his music. That was what our VKV and MKR were doing, sharing the stage with Sundaram and the Lalgudi siblings. Lalgudi family members were in the audience.

They marveled as to how intellectual his music was (pleasing to the brain) and at the same time had the quality of touching the heart. His aesthetic sense was very keen. VKV played some audio to illustrate it. I heard Lalgudi's beautiful Bilahari.

Lalgudi's focus and concentration were other aspects about him that they spoke about.

He gave everything he knew to his students. Krishnan emphasized it too when he spoke a bit about his father (well, there wasn't much time for a leisurely recap). Also about his generosity to fellow artistes. Once, when he went to Dubai (?) and he was paid very poorly, he gave it all to the percussionist he had taken along, without even letting him know about the paltry sum he was given (hope I got the story right).

I would appreciate it if the two of you add more to this skimpy report...

There was no duality about his personality and his music occupied him all the time, they concurred.

I could not hear everything that was said (my hearing and not being able to stay put makes it difficult). I couldn't stay around till the end either...

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 29 Apr 2014, 06:58

The Living Legend, Bala Murali Krishna with a Murali Playing

BMK billed with Shashank, Shashikiran and Ganesh by his side, Mysore Srikanth, Patri and Ghatam Somaiyajulu and Toronto Karthik surrounding him. I switched on when they were singing endarO
mahAnubhAvulu. BMK had a terrible cold and barely could sing. Carnatica Bros were doing the singing.

Then, after a virtually no voice out of him-state, he poured out phrases sweetly. The raining began as amruthavarshiNi! It got better and better, and we were assured of a treat. Shashikiran and Ganesh supporting him, he regained his voice and energy.

Shashank played beautifully--BMK appreciating his playing. His murali sounded sweet and it egged BMK on to sing to match it. Murali Krishna's composition on hanumAn (don't ask me about the rAgA. I can't remember) had a delectable flow of words--anuma namamE, vinumA, mahimA and so on.

Then came the patent AbhEri and of course nagumOmu. Even if he doesn't will it, some in the audience make their wish come true. So, there he went, for the thousandth time and somehow, coming from him, it didn't sound repetitious

Patri played tani as he always plays. He is a class act.

palukE bangAramAyena--in BMK's case, paluku and gAnam become gold.
Then behAg (nArayaNa tE namO namO).

A tillAnA in BrundAvana sArangA, I think.

So, from a dormant voice to his usual amrutha varshita voice! God bless him!

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 29 Apr 2014, 07:37

arasi wrote: Murali Krishna's composition on hanumAn (don't ask me about the rAgA. I can't remember) had a delectable flow of words--anuma namamE, vinumA, mahimA and so on.

Every one gets drenched in rain (amritha varshini) and catches a cold , looks Dr BMK caught cold then drenched himself in the rain #-o . This composition of hanumA anumA is in sarasangi by BMK

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 29 Apr 2014, 07:49

Rajesh,
Thanks for reminding me

I was just now raking my brain about the rAgA. Wish others post too when there are fill-in-the-blanks and errors in my posts.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 30 Apr 2014, 08:36

Inspirations of A Composer :

NSG was inspired to present a program with his senior students who sang Papanasam Sivan's inspired songs--his being inspired by the krutis of MD, T, Patnam and so on. Some are near translations, others are based on the tunes of the original. They are not mere carbon copies, he emphasized. They were born out of inspiration and they enriched the treasure house of sAhityA.

Though I saw only part of the program, I could see NSG's stamp on it. He spoke as eloquently as ever, and the students sang their hearts out.

RaghunAyaka, nI pAda in hamsadhvani (vAtApi making Sivan compose it).
manasulOni marmamulu by T flowing into thuNai purindaruL...
himAdri tanayE (triggered by virAna brOva)
palukE bangAramAye leading to SingAra vElavan vandAn

Ravikiran said: it's easy to teach the grammar in music, but also to share his aesthetic sense--is NSG's way, with his commitment and enthusiasm. There are teachers and gurus, but NSG is a true AchAryA...

As Ravikiran said, the tamizhisai movement and movies made Sivan even more prolific.

A personal note: someone said,"Your 'engu pArthAlum un innuruvE kANum inbam enakkaruLvAyO?' in dEva gAndhAri sounds so much like 'ennEramum un sannidhiyilE nAn irukka vENDumaiyA'! How true, I thought, and wondered if it came under the category of plagiarism (unintended, of course)! Nonetheless, the song appealed to some, and they saw the inspiration of Nature there. Then, forumite PVS wrote something to make me feel much better about it by speaking of similarity but of its separate existence and I now can say that in a small way, like Papanasam Sivan, I was inspired too to create a new song from an old one

Always_Evolving · Post by **Always_Evolving** » 30 Apr 2014, 19:17

A few snippets from Cleveland - Part I is music concerts I attended. Some others were also reportedly great concerts; if not mentioned here its only because I didn't attend fully.

Sustaining sampradaya on the first sunday evening was good; there were some very good improvisational parts by the children and their singing was quite in synch. I heard that Ashwini Bhide's recital that night was excellent but unfortunately had to miss it due to jet lag and an early start the next day for our daughter was in the Carnatic symphony. The symphony had the charm of Sri Balamurali Krishna leading the kids in Vadanadyuti… However this year's show did not have the overall perfection of last year's.

Bhargavi Balasubramanian's chitravina recital showed her hard work, intelligence and classical taste. Amritha Murali's vocal recital especially the Sankarabharanam main was executed very well. And the Carnatica brothers sang with verve and creativity that night.

An unusual treat was presented on Thursday evening in the form of Chitravina Ravikiran's recital with the surprise element of Shashwati Sen doing the abhinaya for OVKs Thaye Yashoda with Pt. Birju Maharaj on Tabla! These people are truly great artists -- evidenced by how Shashwati had learned the word-by-word meaning of the Tamil composition, internalized it and presented it compellingly in Kathak.

At 8 am on Friday, Kiranavali Vidyasankar's students presented the magnum opus Melakartha Ragamalika by Mahavaidyanatha Sivan. Their presentation of the ragas with appropriate gamakas revealed the great amount of hard work and research that must have been done by their guru. And they sang with a remarkable unison too, with no one referring to notes. A real achievement by one of America's outstanding carnatic music teachers. Sri NSG said that he was so inspired by this show that he plans to learn the entire composition soon after returning home -- as he knows only a few chakrams so far.

Following this was a concert by KVN and Padma Narayanaswamy protege Aswath Narayanan. He has a wonderful voice and sings with involvement and brings back memories of KVN. This was followed by a bhakti-evocative program of Abhangs by Tukaram Maharaj.

The Lalgudi Krishnan-Viji duo with Trichy Sankaran was one of the high points of the festival. I enjoyed Krishnan's saveri alapana and swarams. Krishnan's silken touch and brilliant playing, not to mention the stroke-clarity, accuracy and dazzling rhythms of Sri Sankaran made it wonderful.

Always_Evolving · Post by **Always_Evolving** » 30 Apr 2014, 19:34

Snippets from Cleveland Part II (Dance).

Pt. Birju Maharaj and Shashwati Sen's participation in this year's CTF added a great deal of charm to the proceedings. Their own recital on the first Saturday was outstanding -- the thihayi's and short compositions were even more lovely than usual. And the presence of many leading dancers and musicians in the audience must have been inspiring. Shashwati's depiction of the story of Ahalya was great.

Mahabharata in five parts:

Overall in the series there were about 40 dancers from all over the world, working with multiple choreographers and music composers, as well as with three genres of dance!

Sunday evening's Karna Shabatham / Draupadi Kalyanam was all class, -- both music (Chitravina Ravikiran) and choreography (C V Chandrasekhar). And the performance of some of the artists, in particular Manjari Chandrasekhar as Karna stood out in expressive subtlety. The next evening's Panchali sabatham also offered memorable performances by Rhadha as Shakuni and Maalika Girish as Duryodhana. Part 4, Vana-Virata Vijayam was a dazzling performance in parts, and the role of Brihannalla was done brilliantly by the male dancer Pavitra Bhat of Mumbai. Ranjeet Babu who is also a Kalari-payattu artist presented a cameo with amazing body-twists, as a wild boar.

The finale of the Mahabharatham was choreographed and composed by a variety of great artists. Part 5 had some memorable dance sequences and individual performances. Maalika Girish as Karna brought out the pathos of the role brilliantly as did senior dancer Jayanthi Subramaniam as Kunthi. Narthaki's facial expressions as Krishna were superb. A no. of Bharatanatyam dancers had learned Kathak just for the occasion. Again, Pavitra Bhat's versatility was amazing. His portrayal of Abhimanyu's battle using a chariot wheel as his weapon was excellent. The Kuchipudi portion was well done led by Divyasena and the finale melding all three dance styles was dazzling. The senior most dancers Pt. Birju maharaj, Smt. Radha, Jayanthi Subramaniam and Narthaki Nataraj made it a memorable occasion.

As I told several friends, all credit to the audacity of V V Sundaram for conceiving something so complex and actually pulling it off! And as they say of every Olympics, this was the 'greatest aradhana ever' :ymapplause:

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 30 Apr 2014, 20:26

Always_Evolving,
Great to hear from you and to read your impressions and description of the various events at Cleveland. Finally, I don't feel alone in covering this grand festival of music, dance and more.

You add another dimension to the commentary. You were actually there! Traveling thousands of miles to be there at that.

'Audacious'? Yes, and admirably well-orchestrated at that! It's going to be tough to top this year's festival, but we know and hope that next year, it's going to happen too...

hnbhagavan · Post by **hnbhagavan** » 01 May 2014, 13:57

Certain combinations of artists perform at Cleveland and these are not seen in performances in India. Shashank and Balamurali combine.
Ravikiran in combination with dance and the coordinated approach of the artists is simply amazing.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 03 May 2014, 06:10

hnbhagavan,
There is no other festival like this in that it brings in a lot of musicians as in any other festival, though the scene is totally different. We rasikAs love the December season in Chennai, Ramanavami festival in Bengaluru for example, in the countless concerts that are available in one city. However, it's different with this festival. Cleveland does put in the amount effort of all those sabhAs put together. In Chennai, the musicians come and perform, and their responsibility lies in engaging the musicians and paying them.

Cleveland is different in that it not only engages musicians, it hosts them (literally), takes care of them when they are here (no easy task). The roots go deep. RasikAs here around the sixties and thereafter were thirsting for CM, were listening just to taped music and longed to hear live performances.

It started happening. MSS came to sing at the UN, musicians slowly started coming as visiting faculty to universities. Famed artistes came too, to give concerts (mainly house concerts). VKV (cacm), MKR (ace rasikAs) and others have written about their experiences of the early days. Call it the immigrant spirit. We had very little native culture available to us. There were hardly any indian grocery stores. Let alone sabhas and restaurants!

Born out of this thirst--with zealous organizers, strong leadership and volunteers aplenty, CM took foothold here like a delicate tropical plant flourishing in a greenhouse, even in freezing weather!

Though we are aware of all this, CM in Cleveland is something which has to be seen to be believed. Artistes who come to the festival work harder than ever.They end up playing for tots as well as their peers. The weather is too co..ld for many of them, some are elderly, but they all love to come to Cleveland

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 03 May 2014, 06:31

The Cleveland experience can be overwhelming. How many programs! How many involving children!

The Lalgudi school brought a lot of joyful music to us. Lalgudi Krishnan and Anuradha Sridhar's students showcased their skills in a program with some of the master's compositions to the accompaniment of Toronto Gowrishankar and Toronto Kartik Venkatraman.

They played a sweet mohankalyani, the violins 'sang' kalyanavasantham in nAda lOluDai. A nattaikurinji and behAg tillana were ours to hear. The kids were great. More was to come in honor of the great violinist. The duet concert by the Lalgudi siblings. Anuradha Sridhar accompanied many vocalists, and she played better than ever, I thought...

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 03 May 2014, 07:12

Our "Vidyaarthi" NSG's Concert:

Nagai Muralidharan and Guruvayur Dorai (who was honored this year), Cleveland Balu

Starting with the Sri rAga varnam, we had a treat in store. nEnendu vedukudurA is by itself a moving kruti. NSG did justice to it, his urukkam reminding me of Chittoor Nagaiah singing it in the old film chakradhAri (?)!

Then NSG brought out the contours of Anandabhairavi with 'kuLumai' (soothing?) and eLimai (simplicity).

Then came a purvikalyani rAgam, with an inspired tAnam ending. Nagai's reply matched it. mInAkshi mEmudam dEhi with nereval in madurApuri nilayE. nAgai's playing there and Dorai's empathizing was something to hear. Neyveli can take an oft-heard kruti (mangnum opus, nonetheless) and revive it of its majestic beauty. For a moment, it seemed as though stirred by the mellow pleas of him, She stirred and came out in her splendor, taking a ride in her palanquin, as he showered Her with svarams.

Some kaNakku followed, but she was impressed with that too, it seemed

With a gurgling stream of svarams, he went about worshipping her. Nagai and Dorai added a delicious finale to all this praise. Frail though he looks, Dorai's anticipation and enhancement was as brisk as ever.

Then came sarasa sAma dAna, his playing around words and phrases, taking it away from pedestrian renderings.

thODi was at his beckoning and he reveled in the intricacies of it. He had some playful moments with this mighty rAgA.His guru's, his parama guru's and MMI's touches were all there (MMI was after all a saha SishyA with MMI of HMB).

Nagai sculpted perfectly his responses, and along with his guru, uzhavur Babu echoed some of his master's strokes...

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 03 May 2014, 07:26

Bhargavi Balasubramanian's Chitra Vina:

Apoorva Krishna on the violin, Dr. Sriram and Nanda Masti on percussion

Bhargavi started the concert with sAmi daya jUda varNam in kEdAra gowLa. As I was occupied, I could hear the sweet strains of nAda tanumanisam from another part of the house. I went to my lap top again to listen to the kalyANi ragam she played. Then I had to leave home

Bhargavi, will try and listen to you again during the web-cast

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 03 May 2014, 08:24

Amrita Murali:

I have heard Amrita Murali in several concerts as an accomplished violinist. She is now a full-fledged vocalist to reckon with. She is sweet-voiced like some of our female vocalists. That's not all. She sticks to classicism and yet adds her own delicate stamp to it.

I was not around to hear her entire concert. Of what I heard, her nATTaikuRinji had kuzhaivu and clarity.
She did justice to SankarAbharaNam which she sang next.

A nice virutham (Sankha chakra gadhApAni) and dEva dEvam sEvitham (?) in sindhu bhairavi. Had SivarAma tIrtha as mudra.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 03 May 2014, 08:54

Carnatica Bros:

Our ever-energetic forumite Shashikiran and Ganesh indeed 'sang with verve and creativity' as Always_Evolving has mentioned.

They started with jAlandara with a BMK touch, very nice with svarAs, veteran Nagai M responding merrily. He had a short break between NSG's concert and Carnatica Bros, that's all. Where did he get all the energy? Call it the Cleveland effect

With ace players by their side (Nagai, MAE and Vaikkom), they gave a spirited performance.

With enta vEDukontO rAghava they charged along, angArakamASrayAmyaham giving it a change of pace. Ganesh's mukhAri was very good and Nagai's reply was a beautiful etching to keep. MAE's playing was superb, Vaikkom joining in.
How effortless Nagai and Easwaran make it all seem! They were such a presence, more so this year, and we are thankful.

When I was back to my lap, the brothers were winding up their bilahari and then sang a hymn on Raghavendra.

A line up of Rasikas.org members on that day, all keeping us happy with their music! NSG, MAE. Sashi...

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 03 May 2014, 09:16

Sahana Samraj:

This youngster sang appa, rAma bhakthi, and I stayed to listen. kIravANi rAga which she sang with poise had an unhurried progression, and her singing was extremely pleasing. With her capacity for brugAs, the calmness she sported was impressive. I'm sure it would have made some stars stir in their seats!

HMB's amba vANi came next. In high notes at times, she needed to modulate her voice.

She's Suguna Varadachari's noteworthy student...

cacm · Post by **cacm** » 03 May 2014, 09:17

arasi wrote:hnbhagavan,
There is no other festival like this in that it brings in a lot of musicians as in any other festival, though the scene is totally different. We rasikAs love the December season in Chennai, Ramanavami festival in Bengaluru for example, in the countless concerts that are available in one city. However, it's different with this festival. Cleveland does put in the amount effort of all those sabhAs put together. In Chennai, the musicians come and perform, and their responsibility lies in engaging the musicians and paying them.

Cleveland is different in that it not only engages musicians, it hosts them (literally), takes care of them when they are here (no easy task). The roots go deep. RasikAs here around the sixties and thereafter were thirsting for CM, were listening just to taped music and longed to hear live performances.

It started happening. MSS came to sing at the UN, musicians slowly started coming as visiting faculty to universities. Famed artistes came too, to give concerts (mainly house concerts). VKV (cacm), MKR (ace rasikAs) and others have written about their experiences of the early days. Call it the immigrant spirit. We had very little native culture available to us. There were hardly any indian grocery stores. Let alone sabhas and restaurants!

Born out of this thirst--with zealous organizers, strong leadership and volunteers aplenty, CM took foothold here like a delicate tropical plant flourishing in a greenhouse, even in freezing weather!

Though we are aware of all this, CM in Cleveland is something which has to be seen to be believed. Artistes who come to the festival work harder than ever.They end up playing for tots as well as their peers. The weather is too co..ld for many of them, some are elderly, but they all love to come to Cleveland

Dear Arasi,
JUST RETURNED HOME!(2000 miles from Cleveland).
I very much APPRECIATE your kind analyses & opinions about OUR MUSICAL& CULTURAL HISTORY HERE. After you are done I hope to write a more detailed response to MANY EXCELLENT observations you have made. Regs, VKV

cacm · Post by **cacm** » 03 May 2014, 09:24

arasi wrote:Sahana Samraj:

This youngster sang appa, rAma bhakthi, and I stayed to listen. kIravANi rAga which she sang with poise had an unhurried progression, and her singing was extremely pleasing. With her capacity for brugAs, the calmness she sported was impressive. I'm sure it would have made some stars stir in their seats!

HMB's amba vANi came next. In high notes at times, she needed to modulate her voice.

She's Suguna Varadachari's noteworthy student...

I HAVE BEEN EAGERLY LOOKING FOR A REAL BREAKTHROUGH STAR FOR A LONG TIME & I FEEL SAHANA SAMRAJ IS THE ONE SINGER I FIND WHO SHOWS PROMISE OF BECOMING A TRULY GREAT MUSICIAN OF THE HIGHEST ORDER....I HOPE SHE WILL GET THE SUPPORT SHE DESERVES AS SUGUNA V'S GUIDANCE WILL HELP HER GET THERE MUSICALLY.......VKV :-BD :ymapplause:

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 03 May 2014, 09:57

Our Surya Sparkles!
(well, he IS SUrya 'prakAsh'

Rasikas.org can be proud of the way our fellow-members shine in a grand festival like the Cleveland ArAdhanA.

Surya's voice was in fine mettle that day (is there any need to say it?).

He started with the virutham vakra thuNDa mahAkAya. Sri raghu kula was the starter .That hamsdhvani sizzled. a svara mAri followed (he rained svarAs).

Then, mAmava mInAkshi. A delectable varALi, neraval at SAmE Sankari, done with such verve and an accompanying meditative quality.

His sahAnA rAgA was a treat. It had lingering notes and bursts of energetic phrases. rAma, ika nannu brOva
rAdA, daya lEdA? Surya sings with an understanding of the lyrics and the words come out with clarity.

Then a kalyANi with a brisk beginning, but with azhutham. I loved the way he slowly built up this grand rAgA. It was a crystalline kalyANi. Murari's violin replies were very good, as expected.

Trivandrum Balaji is an agreeable and adept accompanist--with a smile on his face , whether he plays for a biggie or a child.

Surya sang a short RTP in Bhairavi: kA guhA, murugA, bhairavi priya?? tiSra rUpakam ?? Short but compact and complete, I thought. Coming to think of it, kalyANi and bhairavi were vying to be the winner.

A neatly presented concert which had a good proportion in every aspect of it.

Surya, we are proud of you

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 03 May 2014, 18:43

VKV,
Thank you for your warm and detailed responses to my posts

I have only been armchair-viewing Cleveland, and being a few years senior to me, you have participated in the festival from day one to the end, taking in almost every concert. Amazing! The journey to and fro would have made it even more challenging. Still, all that music energized your soul and the scientist was in musical space, orbiting

Sivaramakrishnan · Post by **Sivaramakrishnan** » 04 May 2014, 07:37

Thank you 'arasi', the 'Queen of Cleveland' for the gracious, excellent reporting!

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 04 May 2014, 09:27

Sivaramakrishnan,
You are far too kind--I'm queen-in name only--all right, the peasant queen of Rasikas.org, may be. But of Cleveland? Neither the city of Cleveland nor the festival will acknowledge me as even their nAm ke vAstE queen. I am as much an outsider as you are in Cleveland!

Thanks for appreciating my efforts. A lot of hours of watching, and some of writing, but it was fun...

Sivaramakrishnan · Post by **Sivaramakrishnan** » 04 May 2014, 16:01

That's quite interesting!

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 10 May 2014, 03:38

'ARina pazham kanji' the expression goes (cold old porridge), and I realize I still haven't finished writing about the mega festival of music. So what, I thought. A good thing lasts long in our memories, and so, thinking and speaking about it even after some time isn't a bad idea, it seemed. As for the organizers, they are going to start working on next year's ArAdhanA festival any time now!

The frustrations artistes and rasikAs might have experienced in a big time happening like this would all have evaporated too. The same for the organizers as well, I guess! They can't afford to mind it all because there's work to do, until musicians and listeners gather in Cleveland or (thanks to icarnatic again!), some of us lodge ourselves in front of our computers and join the festivities next spring.

Some bits from the notes I had scribbled and had not mentioned before, follow...

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 10 May 2014, 07:46

Another Sweet Voice!

Gayathri Venkataraghavan possesses one, no doubt, let alone her other assets. She had a strong team accompanying her. Sriramkumar, Tiruvarur Vaidyanathan and Rajganesh on Khanjari.

I'm sure she must have given an impressive performance to deserve a 'command' item of a tillAnA

I only heard part of her concert, so what I'm going to say might not be fair. I thought I've heard her sing even better before. Others who heard her please put me right.

I heard her sing Enu dhanyaLO lakumi sung not in the familiar pUrvi kalyANi but in valaji(?). Then I was back for her dEvagAndhAri (ennEramum) which she sang appealingly. So was her bhairavi rAgA, and Sriramkumar's response was played in a princely manner with fluidity.

Then I heard a bunch of MSS's songs in a row. darSan tErE, jagadOdhArana ADisidaLu and nenjukku nIdiyum thOLukku vALum.

Her karuNa jUpavE was sprightly and rounded up the concert very well.

I hope I get the time to hear this concert again on webcast without interruptions...

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 10 May 2014, 08:27

Young Raghav Krishna who was busy singing for the mahAbhArathA productions gave a morning concert with young Apoorva on the violin and professor David Nelsen (another awardee this year) on the mrudangam.

The nATai varNam grabbed one's attention (for a short concert, it was a bit long for a starter, I felt).
Raghav sang pantuvarAli rAgA expertly. SambhO mahAdEva had substance. neraval had too, but 'dharaNi' punctuating the line many times sounded a bit abrupt, dharaNIdhara being the whole word there. I liked his kharaharapriyA (main) too.

Apoorva played very well, and David Nelsen's tani had some complex rhythms which didn't proclaim anything loudly, but flowed with the music, making little ripples in its progression...

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 10 May 2014, 09:17

Sweet She Sounds and What Voice Power!

This is the second generation vocalist kid--well, I may be excused for calling the young woman that, because I've known and heard Sriranjani Santhanagopalan singing when she was a kid in skirt and half sari, and have watched her grow in stature.

Her confidence buoys her while she swims across the music channel, and yet she clings to her sire's tempered style of singing.

Her sAvEri varnam promised more goodies. Her Arabhi (rAga sudhA) was classy. What a hailstorm of svarams! She made it all even more special by adding some dramatic pauses at the end.

Then she sang dhanyAsi rAgA. mIna lOchana brOva arrived with a beat to the lyrics. Neraval at tAmasa gamana. Her exposition was a percussionists' delight.

muruganai bhaji manamE in jOnpuri was delivered with speed and intricate brughAs. Yet, her brisk delivery did not rob the lyrics of bhAvA.

Anuradha Sridhar had played in a concert that morning, and since Jayshankar Balan couldn't be there as scheduled, she filled in for him and supported Sriranjani sweetly and without showing fatigue.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 11 May 2014, 01:49

Brothers of Different Times:

Singing brothers on the scene--I had only known Alathur Bros from my childhood, and Hyderabad Bros, from the time they came on a US tour and gave a tremendous concert in Connecticut, accompanied by our dear departed sarva laghu man (in his personality too), Vellore Ramabhadran. The sadAchalESvaram they sang, I still remember fondly. Then I heard the Malladis and was happy to think, here's another duo which has come to stay, and that's how it turned out to be.

Times change (only a matter of a decade or more) and I was listening to a concert during the season some years ago, and as it drew to the end, I suddenly saw a handsome guy come in and seat himself in the front row, dressed in an embroidered kurtA. I wonder, is he in the movies? Then I saw another one, similarly dressed, with two young women. They sit together and I think, what nice looking young couples. Since I wanted to give the next concert a whirl, I just waited when people dispersed and some came in. The curtains parted, and now I saw the Trichur Bros on stage, and not in the audience. Their mates were still in their seats, waiting for the husbands to begin the concert.

The Bros have come quite some way, and seem to be getting very popular--many things going for them. Good voices, good looks, young and energetic and so on. Their music is good too. They will soon settle down as they get more years of experience under their belts, learn more and try out more, to establish themselves as very serious musicians--unless they take the popularity route and stay satisfied in catering to that genre of rasikAs who already find them to be great singers. It's worth watching them.

The Brothers gave a good performance in Cleveland. Starting their concert with Sri rAmam ravikula sOmam (I do love that song), and nEnarunchinAnu anniTiki
which changed the pace.

I happened to be around when they sang an RTP in sucharitrA. It took some time for them to settle, but as it progressed, the RTP turned out to be very appealing. Special mention has to be made about B.K. Raghu (from Bengaluru) who played beautifully and added to the appeal of sucharithra the brothers were essaying. He seems to have studied with several gurus. I also saw Neela RAmgopal's name in the list there. No wonder, sucharithra was a breeze for him. After all, Neela is queen of mELakarthA rAgAs!

rAma rAma pAhimAm, paTTAbhirAma, the pallavi line went, and bloomed into a rAga mAlikA affair of bEgaDa, behAg, dES..again, Raghu played it all so well. My notes say dES--that in particular?

I hear that they drew a lot of crowd in NJ. Good for them. I wish them well...

bsnram · Post by **bsnram** » 11 May 2014, 03:20

Day 10 of Cleveland Aradhana witnessed a brilliant opening by disciples of renowned Carnatic Musician Smt. Kiranavali Vidyasankar presenting one of the most challenging compositions in Carnatic Music, 72 Mela Ragamalika.

This master piece by Sri. Maha Vaidyanatha Iyer opens with a subline Sri Raga pallavi and a brisk Jati, followed by 72 charanams that ingeniously bring out the characteristics of each raga. This was later enhanced with chittaswaram by his brother Sri. Ramaswamy Sivan that embellish each raga with beautiful swara phrases and transitions delicately into next raga in the uttaranga part (later half). Following the Mela Chakra structure devised by Venakatamakhi, at the end of every two chakrams (12 ragas), the chittaswaram transition to Sri raga and back to the pallavi.

The group presented the entire 72 mela ragas spanning an hour with precision and perfection. Despite 17 students on stage with varying age (11 thru mid 30s) and skill level, the combined outcome was absolute harmony for the entire hour demonstrating their tenacious sruthi sudham. As the ragas transition so gently from one another, the group handled them with accuracy and fidelity. Despite being raised in North America, all students had an impeccable diction and delivered all subtleties of this complex Sanskrit composition with unblemished sahitya sudham. As Sanskrit scholar Sri Vidyasankar noted in his introductory speech, this is not an easy composition to master and deliver, as the quality of the language is of very high order and uses sandhi extensively shrouding the raga names embedded in the sahityam quite intelligently.

Sri V. V. Sundaram of Cleveland Aradhana committee pointed out that this was the first time the entire 72 Mela ragas were presented in Cleveland, owing to the intricate and extensive nature of this composition. Chitraveena Sri. Ravikiran mentioned how all the subtleties of the sahityam and the ragas were handled profoundly by the group. Guru Sri. Neyveli Santhanagopalan emphatically declared this to be the “Crowning jewel of the Cleveland Aradhana”.

The splendid presentation was a testimony to conviction and hard work of their Guru Smt. Kiranvali Vidyashankar

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 11 May 2014, 04:56

bsnram,
Luckily, you had announced this event, and I made it a point to get to my laptop first thing in the morning.

I have been asking for help, and here you come, with a commentary befitting the program. Thanks!

As a lay rasikA, I was surprised to hear that such a magnum opus was going to be presented by our youngsters.

My scribbled notes say the following: many vidvAns and vidUshis will hesitate to take up even a portion of this giant piece in a concert, but it happened this morning. Such a difficult and quickly changing no-man's territory (all right, few vidvAns' partially known territory) was traversed without a hitch. I'm impressed even when seasoned vocalists sing just a segment of it in a concert.

Then, how was it made possible? Kiranavali must have worked so hard, the singers too, not getting frustrated along the way, and making the whole thing impossible to pull off. I was around most of the time because I simply couldn't go away from the singing, wondering every few minutes, 'how can they do this?'

Then it occurred to me. Kiranavali's lineage is one. Her father's unbelievable achievement of teaching his gifted family with his skill and with dedication is inspiration enough for her. The family's work ethics is another. That she got her students to get inspired about learning the whole thing to perfection,and their achieving their goal is another great aspect of this challenging project--and need I add anything more?

This sort of a thing can only happen in Cleveland...

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 12 May 2014, 04:42

A Pleasing Performer:

Here's someone whom I very much like to listen to. Is he a thoroughbred professional? No. Is he an amateur? Not at all. What is he? I find Manimaran to be a charming singer who cannot be classified one way or the other. My guess is that because he is busy as a professional, he doesn't find that much time to be a full-time musician--to find time for sAdhakam and all that it entails to be a super professional singer.

I like listening to him. There is an air of freshness in his music, and he scores high on feeling. The lyrics reflect his internalizing the words, and his voice carries a lot of bhAvA in it.

V.V. Murari, MAE and Vaikkom were there to support him. He began with swAminAtha paripAyayAsumAm.

The malayamArutham which came after that was very good. manasA eTulO.

His dhanyAsi had a lot of calmness to it (rAmA nannu brOvavE) which I savored.

There was kharaharapriyA and LathAngi which I heard from a distance and could not make out the songs (as I was engaged in conversation with someone).

His punnAgavarALi (aiyyE metha kaDinam) pleased no end. kaRpUram nARumO? was a laid back version of the pAsuram.

I am glad I could listen at least to part of his concert...

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 12 May 2014, 09:14

Dependable Music--DKP Like...

He is a young and established vocalist, coming from a musical family in which his grandmothers and aunt are well-known for playing the flute. His music is solid. Sikkil Gurucharan reminds me of DKP for that. He also reminds me of KVN as a young artiste, singing here and there when guru Ari was very much there (KNV, I hope you agree). We do know how KVN evolved into the fine musician he was, his singing exuding beauty and his delivery reflecting total involvement.

Sikkil Gurucharan has the advantage of a strong grounding in music. His family's encouragement has helped his talent to grow. He has a very pleasing voice too.

I enjoyed listening to him when he sang at Cleveland. With Nagai M, Tiruvarur Vaidyanathan and Cleveland Balu playing, it turned out to be even better.

Gurucharan started with a solid (what else?) viribONi, and it was a dignified start.

His kannaDa rAgA song 'intakaNTE kAvalana' had lively svarA patterns and Nagai's returns were robust.

He sang a detailed sAvEri rAgA to preface Sankari samkuru. That was good.

pAlintuvO? in KanthAmaNi was engaging. Nagai's response to that was something to cherish.

vidajAladurA was briskly sung.

Then came kIravANi. Though by this time Cleveland had heard many renditions of the rAgA by musicians, Gurucharan's version was very pleasing to the ears. There were sparks of emotive energy as he wound up the rAgA. puNNiyam oru kODi was the song.

His vagalADi was good (the other rAgA we heard throughout the festival was behAg!).