Ramanavami concerts in Bengaluru

svkashyap · Post by **svkashyap** » 10 Apr 2007, 10:36

Hello all,

CM season in Bengaluru starts with RAmanavami. With the grace of Lord Shri RAma, I could attend a M.S. Sheela's concert yesterday. By the time I reached the venue, she was singing Tulisadala. It was followed by alapane in Sriranjini and Marubalka.

It was followed by a short alapane in raga shivakAMbOji. She announced that she would be singing mahArAja jayachAmarAja woDeyar's krithi kAmAkShi pAhimAM meenAkShi in this raga. It is a rare composition I had never heard before.

Unfortunately, I could not stay for the rest of the concert. I request any rasikas whc were there to post about the rest of the concert.

svkashyap.

drshrikaanth · Post by **drshrikaanth** » 10 Apr 2007, 20:14

From today's Hindu

The Hindu wrote:This music jamboree has seen them all

Ranjani Govind

Programmes of Ramaseva Mandali, which turns 70 next year, are growing in number

STALWART: M.S. Subbulakshmi giving a concert at the Ramanavami music festival at Fort High School Grounds in Bangalore in 1953.

BANGALORE: Seen a three-foot programme pamphlet for the five-week Ramanavami classical concert series? The unique list is brought out by the Chamarajpet Shree Ramaseva Mandali for its yearly extravaganza.

The mandali is an institution with a stature that speaks of passion, toil and an obsessive zeal from the family of S.V. Narayanaswamy Rao.

The two-acre Fort High School Ground on Narayanaswamy Rao Road is transformed into a musical jamboree during Ramanavami, what with big names in music and dance taking centre stage in the 38-day festival, and famed patrons and ambassadors paying heartening tributes to the mandali turning 70 next year.

What is it that makes the Ramaseva Mandali a big banner in Bangalore today?

As you walk along the sprawling area covered in the spread of pandal (chappara) with the idol of Lord Rama near the dais infusing a pious feel, one comes across S.N. Varadaraj, general secretary of the mandali, and son of Narayanaswamy Rao holding fort. "This is home for me for one-and-a-half months," says Varadaraj, a mechanical engineer who shunned jobs in foreign soil to continue the mandali's work after the demise of his father in 2000.

The endeavour to start an enterprising music mission had its humble beginnings when Mr. Rao collected Rs. 20 for Holi Kamana Habba in 1939.

When he found an excess of Rs. 10 in his expenditure balance sheet, he was overwhelmed that such a collective effort could help serve the cause of fine arts too during Ramanavami. Thus was born the Mandali the same year with a few days of music on the III Main Road footpath in Chamarajpet. Within the first 10 years, the mandali had seen young talent as T. Chowdiah, Alathur Brothers, Madurai Mani Iyer, T.R. Mahalingam and Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar before the venue for concerts moved to the Bangalore City Institute Compound in the early 1950s, with the Mysore Maharaja, Jayachamaraja Wodeyar, taking part in several inaugural ceremonies along with C. Rajagopalachari.

"A touching moment was when S. Radhakrishnan, then President of India, sent a recorded inaugural message for the mandali in 1959 that was aired on AIR as he could not be present," recalls Varadaraj.

The Fort High School Grounds (of the Education Department) saw the music programme boomerang from 1967 with pandals that saw the April showers too enjoy the melodies without really a drop seeping in.

"Now we have them under improvised sturdy pandals with truss iron poles that rest zinc sheets for a roof cover with cloth underneath. Wooden plank flooring also serves for good acoustics. It was Rajaji's idea that we retain the pandals for concerts as a traditional norm, rather than have music in restricted concrete auditoriums," said Varadaraj.

From M.S. Subbulakshmi, John B. Higgins, M. Balamuralikrishna, R.K. Srikantan, Veena Doreswamy Iyengar, Rukmani Arundale, Ravi Shankar, Amjad Ali Khan, Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Bismillah Khan to Parveen Sultana, Lakshmi Shankar, Kadri Gopalnath, Madurai Seshagopalan and the names in the younger circuit... the mandali has featured them all.

As the sun sets into glowing orange, the evenings see a mellow radiance with 10,000 people gathered on the concert premises waiting for the artiste to take off.

"It takes about two months for us to prepare the ground, as we have to bring in water and toilet facilities on the premises. We have 50 lorry loads of material coming in every season and our traditional firewood kitchen set up here caters to more than 100 people for free lunch and dinner everyday. Music season expenses run to about Rs. 30 lakh every year, making it a no-profit-no-loss venture," explains Varadaraj.

Routine concerts don't just make up Ramanavami though. Religious discourses by scholars, recognitions to senior musicians on founder's day, young artistes setting themselves on stage in the mandali's "Prathibhakankshi" series, the Narayanaswamy Rao Memorial Award instituted for seniors are but some more feathers to its achievements. A gurukula, "Sangeeta Grama" and a world conference on the Ramayana for its 70th year celebrations are on the cards.

Looks like the programme list will grow taller. "We consider it as the sacred tail of Lord Hanuman. Hope it grows," says Varadaraj. This year, the concerts will go on till May 3.

http://www.hindu.com/2007/04/10/stories ... 920200.htm

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 10 Apr 2007, 21:43

Thanks, DRS. This well written article gives an idea about this unique music festival to music lovers from other parts of the country and from abroad...

madhurya · Post by **madhurya** » 11 Apr 2007, 16:47

hello friends,
there are many venues that hold concerts during Sri Ramanavami Festival in Bangalore.Among them the Seshadripuram Rama seva mandali is a famous one.
Yesterday (10.04.2007) there was a concert by the Malladi brothers. They sang very well. started with the kambhoji attatala varna..but the rarely heard sahithya to the chittasvara and the ethhugadai svaras were beautifully sung.Sripathe nee padachinthaname in nagasvaravali followed...was slower than the usual.Purushotthamuda veevu, revagupthi raga khanda chapu,a sankirthana of Annamacharya was soulful.Then followed a lovely kaanada and sukhi yevvaro.surpisingly kotinadulu in todi was sung like a chutka. main piece was an RTP in raga Saveri and khanda nadai aaditala.a very mature performance.

:)

sowmya · Post by **sowmya** » 11 Apr 2007, 19:30

Vocal : M.S. Sheela Venue : Fort High School Grounds, Bangalore
Violin : Nalina Mohan
Mridangam : Cheluvaraju
Ghatam : B R Ravikumar

1. Sarasijanabha - Kambhoji - Khanda Ata - Swati Tirunal
2. Tulasidala - Mayamalavagowla - Roopaka - Thyagaraja [N, S]
3. Tolijanmamuna - Bilahari - Khandachaapu - Thyagaraja [R, S]
4. Maarubalka - Shriranjani - Adi - Thyagaraja [R, S]
5. Kamakshi paahi - Shivakambhoji - Khanda Triputa - Jayachamaraja Wodeyar [O, S]
6. Anupamagunambudhi - Athana - Khandachapu - Thyagaraja [S]
7. Marachitivemo - Poorvikalyani - Adi - Mysore Vasudevacharya [R, N, S, TA]
8. Govinda Gopala - ??? - Adi - Vadiraja
9. Pibare Ramarasam - Adi - Sadashiva Brahmendra
10. Ramanama payasakke - Maand - Adi - Purandaradasa
11. Krishnana kolalina kare- Sindhubhairavi - Adi - Pu.Ti.Narasimhachar