TMK, RKSK, KA at Detroit

[venkatpv]

TM Krishna
RK Shriram Kumar
K Arunprakash
Sterling Heights High School Auditorum.

1. Begada thanam
2. O Jagadamba (brief alapana, N at kanna talli, S at anni bhuvanambulu)
3. Nijamarmamulanu - Umabharanam (alapana, S at kshema tyagaraja, brief thani)
4. Surutti alapana
5. Vaddani nenantiga - Kaapi javali (alapana, S at vaani joli neeku celi)
6. Shri Neelotpala naayike - Reetigaula (alapana, S at pankaja nayana vishale)
7. Shri Valmikalingam - Kambhoji (alapana, thanam, N at shankaram somakulambikambhoja madhukaram, Thani)
8. Parulanna maata
9. Vanajakshi ninne kori - Kalyani varnam (S at 1st charana swaram)
10. Saramaina - Behag
11. Hari tum haaro - Darbari Kaanada
12. Rama nee samanamevaru
13. Mangalam kosalendraya (Kharaharpriya)

Pluses
The highlights for me were the Surutti alapana, Reetigaula alapana and kriti, and the Kambhoji kriti. The Reetigaula alapana and kriti were chaste without any trace of D2. In fact he even rendered the chittaswarams for this kriti (from the SSP I suppose). The Kambhoji kriti was also an audacious choice, coming as it did right after the Reetigaula (it would have been easier to sing a crowd favourite at that point). I also quite liked the Kaapi javali.

Negatives
Begada thanam that started off quite alright, gathered too much steam and veered off course from "rakti" to "scalar" territory. It was left to RKSK to salvage some Begada. Ditto with Ananda bhairavi - TMK's flourishes during the kriti and neraval were not to my liking. Same situation with Kambhoji ragam and thanam, albeit to a lesser extent. Kambhoji is made of sterner stuff than an Ananda bhairavi I suppose.

The organizers had planned a tribute to U Srinivas before the concert, which included a short powerpoint presentation and a 10 minute dance recital by a young lady. So far so good. Between the tribute and the start of the concert, there was a commercial plug by a realtor from Toronto for an "exclusive" building complex in Coimbatore designed by some Bollywood star. Left a bad taste in the mouth... The concert eventually started at 6:50PM, almost a full hour late.

[harimau]

TM Krishna


6. Shri Neelotpala naayike - Reetigaula (alapana, S at pankaja nayana vishale)
7. Shri Valmikalingam - Kambhoji (alapana, thanam, N at shankaram somakulambikambhoja madhukaram, Thani)


The Reetigaula alapana and kriti were chaste without any trace of D2. In fact he even rendered the chittaswarams for this kriti (from the SSP I suppose). The Kambhoji kriti was also an audacious choice, coming as it did right after the Reetigaula (it would have been easier to sing a crowd favourite at that.

The songs are both on the deities of Tiruvarur. Neelothpalamba is the Goddess and Valmikanathar is the moolavar of the Tiruvarur temple though Thyagaraja is more famous as is Kamalamba.

Kamalamba is not considered the consort of Thyagaraja nor of Valmikanathar. Is Neelothpalamba the consort? Even that is doubtful as I have read somewhere that Somakulambika is the consort. Deekshithar references her in the phrase somakulambikambhoja madhukaram. On my next trip to Tiruvayur, I need to look for the shrine to Somakulambika.

[keerthi]

Kamalamba is not considered the consort of Thyagaraja nor of Valmikanathar. Is Neelothpalamba the consort? Even that is doubtful as I have read somewhere that Somakulambika is the consort. Deekshithar references her in the phrase somakulambikambhoja madhukaram. On my next trip to Tiruvayur, I need to look for the shrine to Somakulambika.

Within the same prAkAra as the shrine of the vIthi viTanka sOmAskanda icon of tyAgarAjEswara, is the shrine of valmIkalinga. If you're facing the sOmAskanda shrine, to your extreme right is the chamber with the utsava vigraha set called candrashEkhara, and in between, to your immediate right is the shrine of valmIkEswara.

In the niche just outside the sanctum sanctorum, but separated from the vestibule where devotees stand, is a 3.5 foot bronze icon of the goddess. It is a bronze icon in the late choLa style, seated in the rAjalIlAsana pose, with one hand bearing a lotus and the other dangling by her side. There is a smaller replica of this icon in a similar niche at the bRihadIswara shrine in TanjAvUr.

This icon, though of metal, and not fixed; never leaves the shrine. She is referred to as the paDi'ttANDA pattini, or the virtuous one who never crosses the threshold. I had a SanskRt verse about how she is asUryampashyA, since she is forever illuminated by the superior glory of valmIkEswara; but have forgotten it. This is sOmakulAmbikA.

venkat,

1. How was the kambhOji song presented? It has certain long kArvai-s on the pa, dha and nI, that are tricky to sing. Also, there is a danger of singing it in a pale, elementary way, wherein many sAhityAkSaras land on the beat. One of the most glorious and most challenging songs of MD, this one.

2.Was there a difference in treatment of kApi for vaddani nE and parulanna mATa?

3. Isn't the varNa vanajAkSa? Was swaraprastAra with sarvalaghu swaras, or was there the kuraippu-muktAyam etc. sung? Must have been a bit tricky for the ATa-tAla.

[Ponbhairavi]

Why shouldT M K sing Mangalam kosalendraya always as the last item ?

[bhakthim dehi]

Harimau
Sri Kamalamba is yogini and said to be doing penance and nilothpalamba, the bogini and said to be the consort of srI thyagesa., veethi vitanka murthy. valmikanatha, moolava murthy, made of anthill (hence considered as prithivi sthalam) is considered to be much more ancient than vitanka murthy. somakulambika is his consort

[venkatpv]

1. How was the kambhOji song presented? It has certain long kArvai-s on the pa, dha and nI, that are tricky to sing. Also, there is a danger of singing it in a pale, elementary way, wherein many sAhityAkSaras land on the beat. One of the most glorious and most challenging songs of MD, this one.

Before starting TMK did look at his notes. I am not familiar enough with the kriti to make any claims about its fidelity to SSP notation. I liked the rendition.

2.Was there a difference in treatment of kApi for vaddani nE and parulanna mATa?

Having never heard vaddani ne before, I thought it sounded closer to modern-day kapi.

3. Isn't the varNa vanajAkSa? Was swaraprastAra with sarvalaghu swaras, or was there the kuraippu-muktAyam etc. sung? Must have been a bit tricky for the ATa-tAla.

It was sung as vanajakshi, which is how I have learnt it too. There was no kuraippu to my recollection. He sang a few poruttams for Ri.

What are the odds of hearing two Ata tala songs in succession in a concert?!

[vasanthakokilam]

Why shouldT M K sing Mangalam kosalendraya always as the last item ?

Don't give him ideas.

On a serious note, I do not think Mangalam should be sung only at the end. It will be interesting to see when that pattern got in to CM. If you look at Thyagaraja's plays, the mangalam oriented songs are at different places including the beginning.

[music_is_life]

[quote]Between the tribute and the start of the concert, there was a commercial plug by a realtor from Toronto for an "exclusive" building complex in Coimbatore designed by some Bollywood star. Left a bad taste in the mouth... The concert eventually started at 6:50PM, almost a full hour late.[quote]

The mandatory 2 minutes given to the sponsor was planned during the transition between the dance and the concert. We also wanted to complete the artist introduction when the curtain was closed to save the lost time which was due to the delay in securing the 6' high back drops of violin and mridangam

[arasi]

VKokilam,

Yes. In TN vAzhiya senthamizh is a good way to conclude a concert.
Sanskrit ones, like jayathi jayathi bhAratha mAtA are suitable anywhere.

pavamAna in most concerts is an under a minute wrap up flurry, the audience too hurriedly gathering their effects to get out of the hall. Andhra musicians are an exception, singing all verses, that too with nidAnam (for that very reason, TMK can take a fancy to singing it).

A nice picture. TMK looking sedate and simply clad (older style of wrap and all).
RKS and AP are captured with the expression: what to expect next--like the audience, it seems However laid back TMK may be in his singing, the accompanists are kept on their toes,aren't they? Even these seasoned artistes...I would add, even Arun Prakash, another most relaxed person on stage...

[Ponbhairavi]

Literally mangalam means auspicious or serene. It would better to make an auspicious beginning than to make the end auspicious -if at all any auspiciousness is needed.
Badrachalam Ramadasar's Ramachandraya janaka rajaja... in kurinjee is also in the list unless the sampradaya Surutti is preferred to pack up things. I have come across some official functions which begin with Janakanamana and end with the same.

[harimau]

TM Krishna

6. Shri Neelotpala naayike - Reetigaula (alapana, S at pankaja nayana vishale)

The Reetigaula alapana and kriti were chaste without any trace of D2. In fact he even rendered the chittaswarams for this kriti (from the SSP I suppose).

Would that make it Narireethigowlai rather than Reethigowlai? Did it have passages showing shades of Karnataka Devagandhari?

I am asking for the following reasons:

The set of Neelothpalamba krithis (otherwise called Gowlantha raga krithis because all raga names end in Gowlai) have two krithis set to Narireethigowlai. Deciding that Sri Deekshithar shouldn't have done that, one of the songs has been changed to Reethigowlai and almost all musicians render the 2nd vibhkathi krithi in Reethigowlai but Sri Neelothpala Nayike has not been tampered with and is rendered in Narireethigowlai.

However, Sri M Balamuralikrishna has rendered even this song in plain Reethigowlai and you can find it on Youtube.

The late Smt Kalpakam Swaminathan was emphatic that there was no reason to change one of the krithis to Reethigowlai. It is unfortunate that she didn't perform a thematic concert on the Neelothpalamba vibhakthi krithis. At least, then we would have had a record of a certain patantharam coming down the line of the Kallidaikkurichi sishya parampara of Sri Deekshithar.