Did any one attend Sanjay's concert at Malleshwaram, Blore?

[prahalad_rag]

Song list from this concert would be great, friends.

[kunthalavarali]

Prahalad, here is the list:

1. Varnam: nArayanagowalai, VK
2. Sri VEnugOpala deva - darbAr, KI
3. nEnendu vetukudura hari_karnAtaka behAg_T, S
4. enthani ne varnintunu_mukhAri_T, R, S
5. vAchAma gOchanga nee_atAna, Mysore Sadasiva Rao, R
6. Sri venkatesham varam_tOdi, RSI, R,S, Thani
7. Edhayya gathi_chala nata, KI
8. RTP - Valaji, Pallavi line was: AjA giridharu thU Aja apunA banAkE mujE lEja; I missed the ragamalikai swaras.
9. karpuram nArumo kamala_khamAs, Andal (nAciyar tirumozhi)
10. petra thAi - Viruttam in sindhu bhairavi, senchurutti and nAdanAmakriya
11. Arar Asai padAr_nAdanAmakriya, Muthu Thandavar
12. rAdha samEdha krishna_yamunakalyAni
13. mangalam

Sanjay was accompanied by S Varadarajan, Neyveli Venkatesh and Guruprasanna.

[prahalad_rag]

Thanks a lot, Kunthalavarali.

[kssr]

Khanjira guruprasanna

[kunthalavarali]

kssr, Thanks. Corrected

[arasi]

Thanks for the list, kunthalavarali.

sri venkatEsam varam is Poochi Srinivasaiyengar's kriti, and a mighty one. Sanjay would have treated it royally, no surprise there.
As expected, a solid list of songs from him.

We have been missing the Venugopalaswamy temple venue concerts the past few years because they stopped their Sankaranthi ones and have been presenting them around Gokulashtami. Just wondering: how nice it will be, if they have two short sessions of concerts to celebrate both festivals!

Mukhari in the list. What were the highlights? Varadarajan and Venkatesh, Guruprasanna too. Surely, there were some worth-mentioning moments to share!

[gardabha_gana]

where do they conduct it - in the hall? This is the center of the universe for a community called "Hebbar Iyengars" - very nice temple where I have spent lots of time when I was young. Planned to go, but was trumped by RKSK's lec dem which are rare in bengaluru.

[kunthalavarali]

Arasi, Thanks for the correction

[musiclover14]

Disclaimer: I am an ardent Sanjay devotee.

This was not one of his better concerts. In at least two different instances, I heard a discordant shout which made me wonder if I was in a Sanjay concert. I have heard at least five different renditions (in various sabhas) of all the songs he sang, yet it was hard for me to discern the words in the Krishnar koil kutcheri. This is the first time I went to his concert and hoped every minute that it will get better soon. When he launched on Karpuram Narumo (it is a personal favorite), I thought I can take home the memory of this one kriti as consolation. I was so disappointed (never has he sung Khamas the way he did); there again, I had to actively guess what words he was singing.

Varadarajan provided splendid support on the violin.

[arasi]

musiclover14,
As an ardent Sanjay devotee, you surely must have relished parts of the concert at least? I'm wondering if it was the speaker close to you which was the culprit. Did those sitting near you experience the dissonance too?

I just heard from folks in Bengaluru and they say the concert was a classy one, with such good accompanists too, V and V. I was keen on learning about Guruprasanna's playing (I like his khanjari accompaniment).

The thODi, that mighty Sri venkaTESam was prefaced by a lovely AlApana(e), I hear.
Wish I had heard it. After listening to Ari and KNV (and once to Sanjay??), I rarely hear it (or find it in song lists).

A true major league song, it's dearer to me because when I was a child and knew very little about music, Poochi's disciple Namakkal Seshaiyengar happened to ask my aunt what kruti she was learning at that time. When she said that it was SrI venkaTEsam, standing in the middle of the room, closing his eyes, he sang it himself, savoring every word and musical phrase of the song, and I was struck by it. I still remember his singing two kAlams of 'nIrajAsananuta padam, nAradAdi gaNAspadam', though at that time I didn't know he was singing his guru's song!

The Valaji RTP of Sanjay was very impressive too, I hear. A nice balance there, of a loaded thODi and a fluttering valaji in the concert. MukhAri and AtANA for substance and idara vagaigaL (etc!) for liveliness...

[CRama]

Arasi Madam, You have given a wonderful review of a concert held in Bengaloru while being stationed in US. I request you to post more reviews when you come for the concerts in Dec.

[gardabha_gana]

Hmm...... I was caught in two minds - of going to Yengade Krishnan Koil or Namma Rama Lalitha Kala Mandira and chose the latter. Can someone share the recordings if possible. Arasi Ma'm - Khanjari you adapt very well to the place! I plan on going to Vid. Charumathi next sunday. kunthalavarali/musiclover14 - does it start at 6 or 6:30. I have got conflicting start times when I enquired.

[mahavishnu]

AjA giridharu thU Aja apunA banAkE mujE lEja

Seriously?

[gardabha_gana]

Same pallavi line @ RSM http://www.rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=21261

Not a fan of hind pallavis - the intonation is flawed - Upna, Apna, Aupna, Apuna and so on......

[arasi]

crama,
Coming from someone who writes detailed and very observant reviews, I take it as a compliment that you see any merit in my comments! Those of us who belong to the 'andak kAlathile (in good old days) spouting' set among rasikAs, often tend to recall related incidents to a musical moment or song, as in this case. That is not to be deemed as a review line, of course! My feeble attempts at a review fail, considering my lack of knowledge about the intricacies of music.

nAmAvaLi RTP lines have often been used by Sanjay and others, which sometimes, on so much repetition of a single line of elaboration with kaNakku and such (without the bhajan-like plea), fall flat on my ears. veLLaith thAmaraip pUvil iruppAL, kuzhal inidu yAzh inidu and so on lend a fluidity to the singing of a pallavi line which I relish.
Yes, this was different (Meera-sounding?), fluid, and was not in tamizh. Yes, hindi pallavi lines are something we aren't used to, and so they sound odd to some (even giridhar, Sanka chakradhar, our mahavishnu seems to mind ). Another factor: hindi line, hindusthAni rAgA (kalAvathi) and prayOgAs would have disturbed the 'CM is CM, no place in it for HM' folks would have been perturbed, of course!

Dr. Narmadha, in another thread speaks about how any good music becomes world music, tracing her family's musical heritage.

In this technological age, remember, even the ancient lot among us get instant info from kith and kin about their weekend musical experiences, from anywhere in the world! Since Sanjay's music interests me, those who really did 'attend' (unlike me!), sent their impressions by E-mail.

gardhaba_gana,
The word khanjari sounds so good (rather than k (g)anjira! I think it was vasanthakokilam who said we should adopt the lovely sounding word! With so many accomplished khanjari artistes around, I hadn't paid any particular attention to Guruprasad until a couple of years ago. His playing made such an impression on me that I wanted to hear about his playing.

[Rsachi]

Of course you mean Guruprasanna and not Guruprasad, right!?

I would like to record here my opposition to the word Khanjari. Although it is meant to sound feminine, it is quite discordant. Remember we are talking of a percussion instrument, thumped away with one hand and held by its ear by the other. It does have a jingle of discs that strike on occasion, but if we think of Khanjari as a woman, it is like the tinkle of her bells as she rushes to board a bus under duress.

On the other hand Khanjira is a valorous man, equal to the task, taking as much on his chin as he gives, unafraid of the left or the right sides of a bold mridangam, waiting to pounce on his chance, and show how with one hand he can do more than a two-handed smash of the the mridangist. The people are left agape at what the Khanjira can do. Remember a Hari Shankar. Remember a Dakshinamurti Pillai, a Pazhani, even a Mani Iyer.

I also saw a lecdem video of Sri Trichy Sankaran, ably assisted by Amruth on the khanjira. The admiration of the maestro for the khanjira responses was very positive.

Khanjari... No madam.

[arasi]

Sachi,
Don't you think we should take this name game elsewhere--to the Lounge for instance?

Well, we know many in Karnataka call it khanjari and some time ago, some of us agreed that the name sounded very nice, and wondered why we don't call the instrument that--instead of k(g) anjirA (sounds like gruel, come!).

Now, you argue effectively about ascertaining the gender of the instrument. I look upon it differently. DKP didn't possess a high-pitched syrupy sweet voice. Yet, how pleasing and woman-like her voice sounded!
Women can sound like this instrument and vice-versa. Sympathetic, and at its best empathic...to the masculine roar of the mrudangam, a softer and yet assertive echo...
May be it's personal, but in me, this instrument which plays not a big part in a concert,
reverberates, and I hear no macho aggressiveness in it. It can be emphatic like a man or woman. Like the dance of SivA, genderless too perhaps, and when played well, can be very pleasing to the ears...

Mods,
Please move this to the Lounge or elsewhere if this becomes a longer topic!

[Rsachi]

You can move the topic wherever, but you can't move me from my position.
I also know khanjadi(r) is a north Indian one-handed drum with a jingle.

[Rsachi]

The Oxford Hindi English Dictionary

[arasi]

Have it your way, Sachi!

Makes no difference to me. I will enjoy listening to its sounds when it is played well by anyone--Guru whosoever, or any other. What counts is how they play it

[Rsachi]

Ok, now that's all settled, let me present you a nice little khanjari:



It's is from Persia and is kept at the a metropolitan Museum of Art.
The link is here:http://images.metmuseum.org/CRDImages/m ... 250841.jpg

[arasi]

jhanak jhanak khanjari bAjI

Back to the topic and to the list, is there a clip we can listen to of anyone singing Sadasiva Rao's vAchAma gOchara in ATANa? Don't remember listening to it before.

[arasi]

Sachi,
My Edit button has disappeared again

An extra post this, because I can't edit my previous posts. Yes, it was a slip on my part. I meant Guru Prasanna in post #15!

[CRama]

Arasi I really meant what I wrote. Because I could see your passion for Sanjay’music, your passion for the lyrics of the pallavi, and how you answered one Sanja’s devotee’s laments. But your reviews are not frequent. Hence I requested for your more reviews. You are telling that your knowledge of music is lmited. It is sure underrating yourself.

Reg the Sanjay’s concert under review, personally I am not comfortable with Hindi pallavis.

Reg the anecdotes relating to anda kkaalathu vishayangal which is shared by yourself, CML, MKR, VKV etc, we really enjoy it. Many times it opens a window to peep into the past which we have not seen.

[CRama]

On a related discussion, do anybody sing Kannada pallavis at least in Bengalooru. When I was in Bengalooru, I used to wonder why nobody is composing pallavis in Kannada. Same for Malayalam also.

[Rsachi]

CRama,
I think for Kannadigas at least, a contrived Kannada Pallavi line would not endear the musician. They would consider how he/she rendered well-known Kannada kritis and padas without compromising pronunciation or meaning.
As far as RTPs go people would judge the manodharma aspects more than the lyrical compositional values.
This is my opinion based on attending lots of concerts in the company of Kannadigas.
It is easy therefore for a non-Kannada speaking musician to learn a few Kannada compositions really well (eg KVN would check with Vid Sandhyavandanam) and do a good job and get high marks.

[varsha]

https://archive.org/details/Vachamagoch ... dasivaRao2

This upload link has a pallavi BY RKS in kannada.
Also included two renderings of Vachama of Sadasiva Rao . Cant remember where I saw the request .
Anyone who knows Kindly copy and paste this link in the relevant thread
One is by TP Vaidyanathan
The other is by ....... Well Some Lodestar suff

[arasi]

Thank you, Varsha!
What better than to hear the mother and daughter sing it in unison!
A nATya-friendly song too, it seems.

As for a pallavi line in kannaDa, I have heard one or two (M.S.Sheela, perhaps?)...

[MV]

[quote="mahavishnu"][quote]AjA giridharu thU Aja apunA banAkE mujE lEja

Seriously? /quote]

I was thinking the same... doesn't sound like Sanjay. But I heard the Thodi was superb !

[kunthalavarali]

Based on some 100 well known pallavi lines, I find that most of them are in Sanskrit or Tamil and a few in Telugu.

[arasi]

Seriously, we should hear one in Pushtu

Harimau,
Keep away :-!

[prahalad_rag]

Sanjay himself has sung pallavi in Kannada on couple of occasions during concerts in Bangalore. I guess it just needs some thinking. RKS, I heard, regularly sings pallavis in Kannada. I once heard him on the radio demonstrating different pallavi lines in Kannada. So no dearth there.

[arasi]

If I'm right, it all boils down to this:
Most vocalists, when they do pay attention to constructing a complex pallavi (in kaNakku, techniques), have paid scant attention to the lyrics that convey their mastery. That's why, a street vendor's cry could easily become a pallavi line! Musicians have also followed the older generation in not bothering too much about the words for pallavi. While they do choose a good (meaningful?) line for nerevals, somehow, the pallavi line isn't given much thought. Strangely enough, if that line doesn't emote, the sheer repetition of it (the singer needs to repeat it dozens of times, of course), the lyrics suffer more, and glares you in the face in being trite.

On the other hand, rasikAs too, sort of get used to this and take it all for granted. That's why, a Bharathi line or a line from a DAsara pada comes as a breath of fresh air. A line from TyagarAjA's kruti has the same effect.

EppO varuvArO? morphing into the kruti at the end of a pallavi has the same effect. Sanjay once sang a pallavi line in chaste tamizh which created a rich visual imagery. Don't remember all the words: Azhi sUzh (surrounded by ocean) alai mEvum (replete with waves).......nAga bhUshaNi (the rAgA) thAyE! Adi mudalAi....
Wonder where the line is from.Wish I had remembered all the words.

I have no problem with a hindi line. This could have been a better one, I suppose. AjA, giridhar AjA! murali bajAke man lEjA! or something like that. Perhaps this line sounded a bit cinematic for Mahavishnu's taste! Mind you, he' s one of the most broad-minded of all rasikAs when it comes to appreciating good music from any corner of the world!

[mahavishnu]

I have no problem with a hindi line. This could have been a better one, I suppose

Amen to that, Arasi. This line just sounds contrived to me.

[tiruppugazh]

TNS used to sing a bhajan in SIndhu Bhairavi. I think the words were Aajaa giridharu thoo aajaa.

[arasi]

:ymsigh:

You are right. It's a bhajan by Ambujam Krishna!

[kunthalavarali]

Arasi, The line if I am right is:

"Azhi choozha aravin theerthamandru arul tharum nagabooshini thaye aadhimudale alaimodhum" (may need spell correction)

[arasi]

Thanks, Kunthalavarali.

'aravin mIdamarndu' (seated on the serpent) sounds more like it. 'Adi mudalAi' (from the very beginning) too.
'nAgabhUshaNi'...