R Vedavalli, Guru Smaranam

[rbharath]

R Vedavalli, V Sumitra - Pakala Ramdass - Vellore Ramabadran

Guru Smaranam. Palghat Mani Iyer Rememberance Day.
Sastri Hall
18 July 09. 6:15 pm

guru brahma guru vishnu - slOkam in harikAmbhOji
entaranI tanaku - harikAmbhOji - Adi - T (NS)
mOkshamu galadA - sAramati - Adi - T
praNatAtiharAya - sAmanta - Adi - MD
ninnE nammi nAnu - tODi - misra cApu - SS (RNST)
idi nIku mariyAda - bEgaDA - misra capu
tillAnA - shankarAbaraNam - Adi
nI nAma rUpamulaku - saurAshTram - Adi
svasti prajApya - madhyamAvati

It was a fantastic concert. I loved every bit of the concert and enjoyed it thoroughly. Concert started late, thanks to the felicitation function before. From the beginning it was a very classical affair. All the kritis were rendered with a lot of weight. The manOdarmam parts were totally soothing and in perfect match to the mood of the concert. The accompanists did their job to perfection.

With the concert lasting just less than an hour and half, one was left hungry for more...

Earlier in the evening, Smt. R Vedavalli was felicitated at the function which was organised in memory of Palghat Mani Iyer. Sri B Madhavan, Secretary, Madras Sanskrit College presided over the evening and offered his felicitations. Vidwan B Krishnamurty also offered his felicitations. Sri MS Shekar, a disciple of PMI and son of Critic KSM, was the cheif guest of the evening. All the speakers praised PMI's qualities and spoke about various facets of his personality. A recording of PMI talking about ARI was also telecasted at the function.

bharath

[srinivasrgvn]

I wanted to attend this concert very badly but I couldn't. Thanks rbharath, for the short write-up. =)

[Nick H]

This time it was a stomach problem; I was confined to the house this week, and missed another of her concerts.

Arvind was even kind enough to call and make sure I knew about it.

[semmu86]

As bharath said , thanks to the felicitation function , the concert was a curtailed affair. It is here that i would like to say a few things about the speech made by the chief guest Sri.Shekhar. While as a sishya of Mani Iyer , he had each and every right to voice his opinion about his illustrious guru , some of the comments which he made comparing mani iyer with others were extremely unfortunate and totally uncalled for . I quote him "what is the difference between mani iyer and the other great mrudanga vidwAns of his time? ( we all know who is the other great vidwAn of mani iyer's time ) It was Mani iyer touched the soul and others touched only the mind ". Did he say this because vid.Sri.Kalidas was there in the front row?? God only knows . But these comments totally didnt project him in good light at all. To praise a vidwAn dosent mean that one has to degrade others..

what a wonderful concert ... starting from harikAmbhOdi to madhyamAvathi... listening to mAmi live after a gap of around 1-1.5 years..The majestic way in which harikAmbhOdi began is still ringing in my ears. Cursing myself for not taking my mp3 player along with me that day.( bharath , can you help with the recording pls?? )

Nick , you are most welcome . Felt bad that you missed the concert

Arvind..

[prashant]

I have been longing to hear Vedavalli Amma sing ninnE namminAnu... hope I will get a chance soon. It must have been a great experience...

[rbharath]

semmu, ppl make such not-so-nice comments oh-so-often at such meetings. they are not to be taken seriously. for example, once a very senior musicologist was talking at a memorial function about her guru and she said 'mama-va maadiri, rAgam yellathaiyum svaram-ave paada yaaralaiyum mudiyadhu.' and went on. i was shocked. well, these meetings are only occasions for socialising and nothing else.

a recording, well i dint personally record it. if i get a copy of the concert from some source, i can always pass it on.