Dr.N. Ramani's flute concert at Bhairavi,Puducherry

[Ponbhairavi]

A flute recital by Sangeetha Kalanidhi Dr N. Ramani was held under the auspices of Bhairavi Puducherry on Sunday the 4th December2011, with the following accompaniments:
Nagai Muralidharan-Violin
Tiruvarur Bhakthavathsalam- Mrudangam
Vaikom Gopalakrishnan-Ghatam.

-Chalame-Nattaikurinjee varnam
-Vatapi Ganapathim-Hamsadwani
Guruleka- Gowrimanohari
Evarura Ninnuvina- mohanam
Andavane Unnai nambinen- Shanmukhapriya
Vararaga laya-chenju kamboji
Indha Sowkhyamani- Kapi—Thani
Chinnanchiru kiliye- ragamaligai.

Once Dr. N. Ramani gets on the stage, the age factor appears to vanish and was not a handicap in any way. The secret of success lies in the fact that the octogenarian maestro knows what to present and how to present in order to please the audience:a crisp alapana to bring out the essence of rAgaswarupa, short swarams to pep up the tempo.No fire works; no grandstand .Nagai Muralidharan’s accompaniment enhanced the sugAnubhavam.
Of all the percussion instruments in the world, mrudangam is supreme due to the variety of sunAdam elements. The sweet and pleasant sound of “chApu” cannot be reproduced in any other instrument. This makes listening to mrudangam alone with closed eyes a melodious yogic experience and treat to the ears. Of course it also has a powerful thAm and thOm to forcefully punctuate any urdha thandavam jumps. In yesteryears, the vAsippu of Tiruvarur Bhakthavathsalam as accompaniment to veterans like M.L.V focused on melody and speed. Nowadays his Kanakku, koraippu and mOra structure appear to have overtaken him and force him to emphasize the ajutham at the expense of melody which has disappeared. The subtleties of kanakku can dazzle about 5 % of connoisseurs in the audience but the melody can mesmerize any layman of the remaining 95%.. The choice is that of the artist.
In recognition of Dr. N. Ramani’s lifelong contribution to Carnatic music through his divine venuganam for three quarters of a century now, the Lakshmi Duraiswamy award was presented to him amidst thunderous applause by the Hon’ble Minister for Electricity, govt of Puducherry thiru Thiagarajan, in the presence of Hon’ble Minister thiru Rajavelu.

[srikant1987]

Sri N Ramani is a septuagenarian. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N._Ramani

Seems silly to nitpick, though. Thanks for the review, Ponbhairavi.

[kalyani_ragam]

In recognition of Dr. N. Ramani’s lifelong contribution to Carnatic music through his divine venuganam for three quarters of a century now, the Lakshmi Duraiswamy award was presented to him amidst thunderous applause by the Hon’ble Minister for Electricity, govt of Puducherry thiru Thiagarajan, in the presence of Hon’ble Minister thiru Rajavelu.

Hope you had no power cut during the concert atleast

[Ponbhairavi]

Age correction noted.May he live long with the nimble fingers maintaining the agility of his teen years.
It is indeed a miracle that for the past several years not a single concert of Bhairavi (touchwood) has been interrupted by power failure.

[nadhasudha]

The subtleties of kanakku can dazzle about 5 % of connoisseurs in the audience but the melody can mesmerize any layman of the remaining 95%.. The choice is that of the artist.

How true! I find that many mridangam vidwans focus too much on kanakku thereby letting melody take a back seat. Some mridganists just beat the mridangam instead of playing it.

Over amplification is another problem - Almost all of them insist on a lot of amplification - not sure if they are unable to hear the feedback or they need to just increase the volume.

I almost walked out of a recent concert with a headache. The accompanying and main artists kept requesting for more amplification and the sound was just unbearable. Surprisingly the audience just loved the rock concert like atmosphere.

[arasi]

Ponbhairavi,
Thanks for your lyrical review.
I felt the same about the master when I heard him on The Cleveland Aradhana festival streaming. It was crystal clear notes which flowed out of his flute like a mountain stream. God! What a rich source of musical store they came from!

I was just listening to a PMI's tani. How often do the present day percussion wizards recollect the magical subtle sounds he wrought! The pity of it is, they are all extremely talented, but tend to sacrifice their art at the altar of noise
I don't mind it too much if a poor or mediocre player produces loud sounds.
However subtle their sounds, do some of our top mrudangists realize that their fine playing is drowned, as a result of their thirst for loudness?

nadasudha,
Yes, nAdam is not sudha with them but is an ear-piercing ritual. Uday's tip about carrying cotton wool balls to concerts is priceless...