Palghat Ramprasad at NGS(Mini)

[CommonMan]

Accompanied by HN Bhaskar, Manoj Siva, Guruprasad......real brilliance, and classism filled concert....I have been a great fan of PRP in the recent past, for his traditional style (in other words, no anavasiyam or forced "pudhumai") and his voice in particular - very rare to come across such a masculine yet meliflous voice....kind of broad and barritone in the lower octaves and soft and tonal in the upper.....
Started off with Eesane indhe (Chakravaham), folowed by Gnanasabhayil (Saranga), Thaye ezhaipal (Bhairavi), Madhayay (Vasantha), kava (varali), enedhu ullame(chenjuruti), karpagame.
The power and imaginative skills of PRP and HNB kept increasing over the course of the concert to "unimaginable" heights...and vasantha was sheer brilliance...hearing this after many years (from KVN, ofcourse)....and am sure both these artists should be hitting practice sessions at least 3 or 4 hrs a day for years now - or at east thats how it sounded.....Manoj' balance of valam and edam was so comforting and uplifting - it showed how much of "musical" sense he has, given his exposure to vocal singing. Guruprasad was not just another upam - he did play his part extra-ordinarily......he should be young, but not sure how he had lots of tones from "Vilvadri Iyer".....may be some lineage....those who did not attend did miss a concert....
After the thani, Smt. Rukmani Ramani could not control her emotions, and spoke (emotionally for few minutes) about the sruthi sudham, vocal clarity, and the team effort and added "inga irukaravaa yaarum ezhundhuka maata - neenga evelo neram venumnaalum paadalaam"....still, he just had 2 more songs to sing - this ccomes across as very strange to me - he has done it many times in the past - when people are willing to listen for more, why should he stop...when he was singing kavava I could see few next to me in tears, and I was reminded of his grandfather accompanying Madurai Mani Iyer......Overall, yet another top class "traditional, classical rich" concert - may he continue to sing the same way for years to come so that there is at least a handful who can remind people of the past....

[cacm]

Dear CommonMan, YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. If we want the ARIYAKUDI- PALGHAT MANI IYER LEVEL OF GREATNESS to be preserved I am convinced PALGHAT RAMAPRASAD IS THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN DO IT. I wish Rasikas especially ORGANISERS realise this GREAT PROMISE and ENCOURAGE HIM by presenting him in their forums. In a sense I am really sorry I am in USA in a remote location & at age 80 I no longer have what it takes to promote & organise what it takes for such pure music & talent to be PROMINENTLY brought to the attention of discerning rasikas. VKV....... YOU are so right about PMI accompanying MMI. SIVAN himself commented on how PMI & PALANI (AND ALSO CS MURUGABHOOPATHY & VELLORE RAMABHADRAN) IN CONJUNCTION WITH MMI BROUGHT OUT WHAT SIVAN HAD INTENDED. Tiruchi Sankaran in his lecture at Cleveland a few years back played PALANI'S THANI IN KAA VAA VAA- MMI HAD CAREFULLY CHOSEN THE IDEAL MOMENT TO GIVE THE THANI; IT WAS HIS ;'59 M.A.PRESIDENTIAL CONCERT & PSP PLAYED IT BRILLIANTLY! THE BEST THANI I HAVE HEARD IN 60 YEARS OF LISTENING. VKV

[rajeshnat]

This is an exclusive papanAsam sivan concert. I particularly love this vasantha krithi, wish I was there.

[rshankar]

This is an exclusive papanAsam sivan concert. I particularly love this vasantha krithi, wish I was there.

I have not heard Sri KVN's version, but I love Smt. MSS' version.

[CommonMan]

In a sense I am really sorry I am in USA in a remote location & at age 80 I no longer have what it takes to promote & organise what it takes for such pure music & talent to be PROMINENTLY brought to the attention of discerning rasikas.

....I exactly know how you feel, as I am in a similar position with few other constraints as well.....I am sure pure traditional music can take its time to gain momentum, but once there wouldn;t look back! Its like taking off a real big ship (hopefully he doesn't change his style for the mass as like many other youngsters)

[cacm]

I do not think he will. He has had plenty of time & he has not changed.I feel his standards are quite high & his pedigree is also impeccable....Any way I hope & pray his genuine talents are recognised soon and we can have a swing back towards classicism at its best. VKV

[thathwamasi]

Respected Commonman

Thank you for your review sir. I couldn't attend the concert due to some domestic commitments.

Infact, I am a bit surprised to see the list because, a couple of days before, I was talking to Ramaprasad and I had asked him what is his plan for the concert and he mentioned a lot of "Non-Sivan" kritis in his list including Raju Vedala and Abayambikayaha. I could only infer that he would have been informed in the last minute that the concert has to be "All Sivan Kritis".

And regarding his finishing on time habit (which is something I have also observed over a long period of time), I believe it comes from his thatha's advice that artistes should finish the concert on time. (His exact words were "Avaa enna time'ku mudikkanum'nu sollaralo adhukku 5 nimisham munnadiye mudichudanum").

Regards
T

[rajeshnat]

Infact, I am a bit surprised to see the list because, a couple of days before, I was talking to Ramaprasad ....

Thathwamasi
Is his name ramaprasad or ramprasad.? Is he settled in USA or has he come back to India.A month back I saw in the hindu that he was singing at sastri hall with TNK giving a speech before on PMI. Looking forward to hear him , IIRC I have heard him just once in 2006 with Trichur narendran as accompanist .

[thathwamasi]

Rajeshnat

His official name is Ramaprasad Rajaraman. But in the concert circuit he is known as Palghat Ramprasad. He has come back from the USA and he lives in Chennai now. I hear that he will sing a few concerts this December in Chennai.

Regards
T

[mahavishnu]

I hear that he will sing a few concerts this December in Chennai.

Look forward to catching him this season. Ramprasad is such a sincere and talented vocalist.

Eesane indhe (Chakravaham), folowed by Gnanasabhayil (Saranga), Thaye ezhaipal (Bhairavi), Madhayay (Vasantha), kava (varali), enedhu ullame(chenjuruti), karpagame.

And such beautiful compositions, all of them!

[CommonMan]

Thanks, Thathwamasi...however, "on time" would be better than 5 mts earlier for people who come from far and wide......Rajuvedala would have been a killer for his voice and sruthi sudham.....

I feel his standards are quite high & his pedigree is also impeccable

....

Ramprasad is such a sincere and talented vocalist.

I agree on both the remarks above without a speck of doubt...sincerity and high standards were hallmark of the vidwans those days, and in particular Mani Iyer - very heartening that he follows his grand father's footsteps...

[cacm]

Dear Common Man, I want to reinforce what you have written. S.Rajam said in an interview " Palghat Mani Iyer and Madurai Mani Iyer are BOTH Nadhayogis"( it is in the dvd on rajam by Swati Samskriti Series). I consider myself very fortunate to have interacted with both of them in some depth. VKV :ymapplause:

[thathwamasi]

Dear Cacm and Common Man

I agree with your views. Ramaprasad is one of a kind, these days. A thought about CommonMan's comment that he doesn't attempt any forced "Pudhumai" - His Thatha said - "Karnataka sangeethathula pudhumai kidaiyadhu. Gayathri Japathula pudhumai unda?" (Carnatic music, just like Gayathri Japam, does not require any "pudhumai"). And he follows that to heart.

Regards
T

[cacm]

Dear Sri.T.,
The greats of yesteryear were very critical in their assessments of their OWN efforts & performances. For Example SSI when asked how to learn Raga Alapana used to say that no special training was needed; If one could sing the composition perfectly in the many attempts that would involve raga elaboration would automatically happen. ARI would not sing a song in his concert without having tried it in private at least 80 times. MMI never agreed that his Vataphi was perfect & said even after close to fifty thousand attempts he was yet to sing it ONCE to the perfection of the composition. GNB flatly said that his era was different than the trinity who had almost created perfect compositions and what was needed was the proper rendering. Mali stuck mostly to Thyagaraja bec. he said the sangasthis are so beautiful & all emcompassing.
PMI with his total grasp of all aspects in my opinion has succintly & briefly expressed this using Gayathri Japam Mantram as a the ideal way to communicate in one sentence a PROFOUND TRUTH the others have said. TYPICAL PMI way of communicating! VKV :-@ L-)