TMK - Kartik fine arts - NGS - Dec 8, 2012

[MaamiAtHeart]

I checked this forum repeatedly hoping to find a discussion of this concert, and as I could not find any, I am starting this thread. Please forgive me as I am just a lay person with only a tiny bit of knowledge. I really hope more knowledgeable rasikas will post a detailed review on this thread.

I traveled to Chennai during the december season for the first time after 11 years. I had time for one concert and it had to be TMK. I went with tremendous expectations and TMK met and even exceeded them.

What I loved -
1) The enormous focus on Sahitya - I had not heard many of the compositions previously, but even a lay person like me was able to easily follow along with the lyrics and even understand them (with no real knowledge of sanskrit or telugu). There were few kalpana swaras and no RTP. If you went to the concert expecting some technical fireworks, you would have been disappointed. However, the bhakthi and bhava in every note was delightful
2) The scope of TMK's voice - he effortlessly touched very high notes
3) The rapport between TMK and the violinist
4) The brilliant thani
5) The choice of kritis - There was no varnam or ganesha kriti; TMK dived headlong into Amba Kamakshi (Bhairavi SS swarajathi?). This lasted about 45 minutes and he held the audience spellbound throughout. A beautiful brindavana saranga alapana was followed by Sounderajam ashreyam (MD) kriti. I had not heard this before and I can only say that it is compositions and renditions like this that keep the margazhi festival alive! There was a Harikamboji alapana which was abandoned without any follow up kriti (TMK remarked that he had sung everything he could in this ragam and he could not bring anything more to the table). While purists may raise an eyebrow, I think TMK had a remarkable feel for the pulse of the audience. This ragam somehow did not fit into the concert's tapestry and rather than half heartedly rendering a dinamani vamsa, he simply course corrected (I must admit that with my jet lag, i started nodding off during this alapana and was overjoyed when he sang another composition). There was a ninnuvinaga mari dhikkevarunnaaru nikila loka janani (poorvikalyani, SS). His rendition of the anupallavi in this composition literally brought kanchi ekamranathar in front of my eyes.
There were some sound glitches due to the power cuts and he performed baro krishnayya without the mike. There was also a quick nalinakanthi before this i think. I was sad when the Mangalam was performed. Rasikas like me left longing for more music.

What brought a smile to my face -
1) TMK's assertion that he would not talk much during the concert!!! (he still did not hestitate to voice his opinions :tmi: )
2) During a round of applause, he actually requested the audience not to!
3) The violinist perfomed some swarakalpanas so brilliantly, TMK remarked that he did not need to follow up with anything after such a good performance
4) The little 10 year old sitting next to me who enjoyed the concert so much; Carnatic music will live for many more generations, no doubt!
5) Devoted seniors who painstakingly trudged through rush hour traffic to enjoy the concert

The painpoints -
1) Mobile phones kept ringing through the concert - truly unforgivable
2) A wailing toddler constantly crying through the concert even though there are boards stating that children under 10 are not allowed.
My respect for TMK increased manifold as he did not say a word about these interruptions.
3) People leaving during the mangalam

I don't know when I can return for another season, but I feel blessed that I got to experience this musical feast first hand. Forgive me for this awful review which is nothing compared to the brilliant analysis from other rasikas. I do hope some of you post your views on this concert and help people like me understand technicalities.

[bilahari]

Maami, please name the accompanists. And nice handle, btw!

[srikant1987]

Bilahari,

Going by http://www.sabhash.com/music/events/151 ... -arts.html the accompanists were sarvashree HN Bhaskar, KV Prasad and BS Purushottaman.

[sangeetham]

Would any day prefer a "pre-prank" Krishna's concert...Hope just one day, he would resort back to singing a "normal" style concert that he used to (like prior to 2008-09)....yearn to hear at least one from him...."Subhasya Sheegram"

[sureshvv]

He still does that on occasion. In recent memory, his concert for Smt. Suguna Purushothaman's birthday celebration was exceptional.