Pallavi Darbar 2013

[Carnaticamusic]

Pallavi Darbar, a unique festival dedicated to the art of Ragam, Tanam, Pallavi singing, is all set to take place between the 7th of August to the 9th of August at Mylapore fine arts club. This event organized by Carnatica in association with Sri Parthasarathy swami sabha has been receiving overwhelming response from the rasikas for the last three years. This 3 day event is conducted with an intention to make art of pallavi singing and the challenges on the artiste known to the carnatic fans and also to foster and encourage pallavi singing with great creative abilities. “Pallavi singing is the ultimate challange to a musician’s creativity and now we are seeing how to make the audience enjoy this aspect of our music”, says K.N.Shashikiran, who conceptualized this innovative festival.“On the spot pallavi singing” will be the highlight of this festival. This being the centenary year of Dr.Sripada Pinakapani, the festival is dedicated to him.

Carnatica in association with Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha
presents
Pallavi Darbar -2013
at Mylapore fine arts club, Mylapore Chennai 600004


7th August

5.00 PM - Open house on Art of Pallavi singing - with Vidwan Trichy J.Venkataraman,
Vidwan Chitravina N.Narasimhan and Vidushi Suguna Purushothaman
6.00 PM - Pallavi concert by Malladi Brothers, S. Varadarajan, K.V. Prasad, Vaikom Gopalakrishnan
7.30 PM- Abhishek Raghuram, Akkarai Subhalakshmi, Anantha R. Krishnan

8th August
5 .00 PM - Pallavi and its intricacies- Vidwan J.Venkatraman demonstrates
6 .00 PM - Saketharaman, Nagai Sriram, Pathri Sathish Kumar, K.V. Gopalakrishnan
7 .30 PM - Suguna Purushothaman and Suguna Varadachari, R. Hemalatha,
K. Arun Prakash

9th August

3.30 PM-Pallavi puzzle - On the spot pallavi contest conducted by Bharat Sundar .....(a team event - each team can have 2-3 participants)
5 PM- Open house with Vidwan J.Venkatraman , Vidwan Chitravina Narasimhan and Vidushi Suguna Purushothaman - Moderator K.N.Shashikiran
6 PM Akkarai Sisters ( Subbulakshmi and Sornalatha), Ranjani Rama Krishnan, Patri Sathish Kumar
7.30 PM-T.N.S.Krishna

Teams comprising of 2-3 people can participate in the "Pallavi Puzzle" contest. Entries can be sent in either through mail to [email protected] or register at the venue.Attractive prizes are awaiting!

All are welcome

[Rsachi]

Shashikiran and team,
Congratulations on getting up a great festival.
We would love it if you live-stream the events.
Please consider.
Thanks
Sachi R

[mahavishnu]

Excellent program.
Let me second Sachi's request for live streaming.

[CRama]

Excellent line up and thanks to the organisers. I have been attending this programme for the last three years and reporting in this forum also. THis time, my only gievance is all the days are working days. Last year, even on Saturday and Sunday, the audience was not much except for Abhishek Raghuram. ON working days, what will be the position. We have to see. We the office goers, will not be able to attend this programme and the loss, is definitely ours only. I also join in the request for live streaming of this event so that it reaches a vast majority of music lovers. Please... Please...

[Sangeet]

Indeed, as Sachi R says, a live-streaming would be great for rasikas outside Chennai.

[shashikiran]

Thanks for your responses. We shall try and arrange for deferred web cast of the event in association with Paalam.....pls chk out updates regarding the same. Also registration open for the Pallavi Puzzle scheduled on 9th at 3.30 PM. A team event with 2 -3 members and attractive cash prizes for winners. Pls also do not miss the open house with Pallavi exponents and the thematic pallavi concerts by Malladi Bros , Abhishek Raghuram on 7th , Saketharaman and Suguna Purushothaman and Suguna Varadachari on 8th, and Akkarai sisters followed by T.N.S.Krishna on 9th.....Festival is dedicated to Sripada Pinakapani's centenary year celebrations.

[CRama]

Thanks a ton for your efforts to webcast the event through paalam.

[mahavishnu]

Thank you, Shashikiran. Looking forward to it!

[Rsachi]

Thanks KNS!

[Shalu]

Great initiative Shashikiran. This would be my first and am sure I would enjoy myself. Thanks

[CRama]

This is an an annual event which I am eagerly looking for. I still remember the pallavis I heard in the last two years. I was very happy when I saw the ad and my happiness became multifold when the organiser , our forumite Shri.Shashikiran was kind enough to announce that they will webcast the same through paalamtv.

Yesterday, I reached the venue by about 5.45 PM. The open session with Shri Chithravina Narasimhan and Shri J.Venkataraman on the dias was going on. It was a pleasant surprise to see the hall occupied to 75% of the capacity on a working day at 5.45 PM. I was very much applauding the organisers thinking – what magic they would have played (Last year, even on holidays, the turnout was very poor.). By about 6.10 -6.15 the next programme- Offering respects to Dr. Sripada Pinakapani garu for whom the series was dedicated- commenced with two speakers only- Shri. Cleveland Sundaram and Shri Malladi Sriram Prasad. The speeches became so lengthy and repetitive and it extended upto 6.45PM. Malladi Brothers concert (4 kalai pallavi in Bhairavi) commenced at 6.50 PM and the concert ended at 8.15 PM.

Now Shashikiran came to the dais and announced that because of the delay happened so far, the second concert – by Abhishek Rahuram is cancelled. WE will accommodate this progamme on Friday.

Another instance when over drawn speeches mar an important programme. When there is a string of programme, it should be ensured that every programme confines to its schedule- or gets over within a minimum stretching . The first programme was to be over by 5.45 and it got stretched to 6.10. The second programme, scheduled for 15 minutes took 40 minutes. On a working day, when a huge turnout has come to attend the two best concerts in the series one was chopped. The audience had been taken for a ride. All of us felt terribly disappointed.

I will post a report of all the concerts once the series is over.

[mahavishnu]

How disappointing!

[semmu86]

Phew this is so surprising! I left after the Malladi Bros' Concert, but had no idea that Abhishek's one will be cancelled. But guess the major chunk of the crowd left after the Malladi concert.

[harimau]

CRama wrote:

"The first programme was to be over by 5.45 and it got stretched to 6.10. The second programme, scheduled for 15 minutes took 40 minutes. On a working day, when a huge turnout has come to attend the two best concerts in the series one was chopped. The audience had been taken for a ride. All of us felt terribly disappointed."

The first program started at 5:20 pm. There are a lot of things that needed to get done to get prepared for the program and they just ran short of time though they had been there considerably early. Still, that discussion ended at 6 PM. It took a while to re-arrange the chairs for the next event. After that it took again time to re-arrange the stage. All of that eats into the schedule.

Abhishek himself came and said that he was asking to reschedule his program because he couldn't do justice to the pallvi in the time remaining. He agreed to perform instead at 4:30 pm Friday.

If people only came for the Abu Sheikh pallavi but not for the Malladi Brothers' program, they have a right to be disappointed. The Malladi Brothers program turned out to be excellent. If, after that, they wanted the Carnatic-Hindusthani mixture, well, they can wait till Friday.

[CRama]

I was disappointed because of the mess creators by the organisers. They are no novice to this field. Yes Malladi Bros was excellent. No doubt. I will be writing separately about that. And you cannot presume that the crowd came only to hear Malladi Bros. The majority crowd left only after the announcement by KNS. I remember, last year, the only crowd pulled concert was of Abhishek Raghuram.

[jodha]

The problem is not that AB's prog.has been deferred.They were rushing up the session with Trichy JV- NN for the next session where Veerai Chundharam spoke about Voletti instead of Dr.Pinaakapaani.Couldn't they get some sensible speakers ?It was surely mismanaged and the organizers have to take the blame and this is what happens when U bite more than U can chew.

Malladi's was good.But had they known about the cancellation of the next session they would have sung in visraanthi.The svaram singing for Bhairavi was curtailed (only 2 long aavartanams they sang-one in the beginning and the other rounding)Crama will any way write a review as he has posted.

My anguish is everythiong was rushed up and nothing consummated.

[Nick H]

I was far too busy getting stuck in VIP-induced traffic jams to think about concert going yesterday, but if Sugunas V & P is curtailed or cancelled tonight then I will be very disappointed indeed.

Oh well, at least I found out how to pronounce "Malladi," yesterday! (Thanks to Uday )

In general, these multi-event programs are prone to not giving satisfaction. Speakers and some musicians are undisciplined, organisers are not able to impose discipline, and, even if the thing runs like clockwork many will feel that whatever it was that took them there should have had longer if not the whole evening. jodha's "anguish" is almost inevitable.

[rajeshnat]

Abhishek himself came and said that he was asking to reschedule his program because he couldn't do justice to the pallvi in the time remaining. He agreed to perform instead at 4:30 pm Friday.

On 9th August , i see the below schedule, how is abhishek going to squeeze his pallavi with the below schedule .

9th August
3.30 PM-Pallavi puzzle - On the spot pallavi contest conducted by Bharat Sundar .....(a team event - each team can have 2-3 participants)
5 PM- Open house with Vidwan J.Venkatraman , Vidwan Chitravina Narasimhan and Vidushi Suguna Purushothaman - Moderator K.N.Shashikiran

I am personally OK with the pallavi time start of Abhishek getting extended by another 45 to 50 minutes .It is ok to have a late start. After all it is just moved from 07:30 PM to 08:20 PM, I dont Know what is the underlying reason - is it that abhishek who made a call as it started late along with KNS or is the obsession of MFAC to close the hall at 9PM,not giving even an extra minute to go beyond 9pm that put kns and abhi in a spot.

BUT WHAT CAN I SAY WITH THIS 9 PM CURTAIN CLOSE OBSESSION OF CHENNAI , JUST DISGUSTING - DONT KNOW WHERE THE PROBLEM IS --> WITH THE ORGANIZERS OR THE ARTISTS. /:) /:) . Certainly the rasikas who wanted to hear abhishek were taken for a ride

[harimau]

rajeshnat wrote:

"is it that abhishek who made a call as it started late along with KNS or is the obsession of MFAC to close the hall at 9PM,not giving even an extra minute to go beyond 9pm that put kns and abhi in a spot.

BUT WHAT CAN I SAY WITH THIS 9 PM CURTAIN CLOSE OBSESSION OF CHENNAI , JUST DISGUSTING - DONT KNOW WHERE THE PROBLEM IS --> WITH THE ORGANIZERS OR THE ARTISTS. /:) /:) . Certainly the rasikas who wanted to hear abhishek were taken for a ride"

It is also the audience that walks out 8 pm to catch the bus so that they can go home to their dinner. Just watch the exodus at Music Academy in December. People will troop out from the 7 pm concert around 8 pm unless they are waiting for the Blind Monkey Song, the Snake Dance Song, the tup-tup-tup alapana and the like.

As to the audience being taken for a ride, I don't think they paid Rs 2,000 a head to be disappointed. Then they could demand a refund at least. I think the organizers would cheerfully refund whatever you paid yesterday. )

And if they came for only Abu Sheikh and not for the Malladis, at least their gnanam would have improved a little if they had paid attention..

[rajeshnat]

Harimau
FYI ,About a year back the same Abhishek started at 08:45 Pm after a very delayed start speech in vidwan manakkal rangarajan function .He sang one vathapi and a pallavi in shanmughapriya and nattaikurinji. Exodus is always there.

[Nick H]

DONT KNOW WHERE THE PROBLEM IS --> WITH THE ORGANIZERS OR THE ARTISTS.

It's with the AUDIENCE. A percentage leave at 8.00pm, another batch depart at 8.30, even if it looks as if there are only few minutes left. A batch leave before the tani, one or two leave after it.

I have to admit that I like the 6.00-8.30 time basis far more that the 7.00 or even later start with the function continuing to ten.

[pattamaa]

how about weekend concerts start at 4pm, and end at 7.30pm?

On another note, my mom attended a concert (after long time), and commented that, still after decades, people walkout during tani

[shashikiran]

Pls see my response in the concert review section. We do feel bad for those who are disappointed and as organisers, we too don't like changes in a planned event. Pallavi concert unfortunately cannot be condensed and I know the rasikas here would probably stay even till 12 am for the passion they have. But we have so many of them who may not be able to and so it has been re-scheduled and I think all factors are considered before these decisions are made. And the event is not cancelled as reported but only re-scheduled on a holiday, today being Ramzan. Even the open house scheduled has been moved to a longer session in December festival. Now to term organization like Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha as novice which is over 100 yrs old or Carnatica too that has organized by now over 1000 concerts, or if was meant to be individuals including this poster, let me clarify it is not a personal decision of one individual when so parties are involved. And when we do an event and it is given free to the rasikas, we do have the rasikas interest as the main objective and though given free the expenses has to be borne by someone. Sponsorships in Carnatic is very niche and all the more for events which of this nature even more tough. Organisers work hard and have been putting a lot of effort to keep the rasikas happy. Most times a lot of personal passion leads to investing personal money apart from time. But, I am not pointing these to justify this case. But just for rasikas to understand that as much as we are organisers or musicians, we are equally or more crazy rasikas too who are addicted to this art form and do this as we love it. I am sorry about this lengthy explanation but can imagine the disappointment of the passionate rasikas here. Do hope you join us today as well.

[Nick H]

Yesterday's (one excellent, one exceptional) concerts ran smoothly and well within acceptable timing.

For specialised form of music they were very well attended, and there was a notable proportion of youngsters in the audience. Leads me to wonder if the "populists" might not have got some things wrong, and what young audiences actually want is more heavy-weight serious music.

Keep up the good work

[ganeshkant]

As a rasika of CM I feel lucky to have attended the pallavi darbar which was very informative and catered to the appetite of discerning rasikas sumptuously.I attended on day 1 & 3 and all 4 concerts were excellent.Today's concerts of AB,Akkarai sisters and TNSK were great.I also eagerly await the review of these concerts by fellow forumite C.Rama.Kudos to the organizers.