Sanjay Subrahmanyan Sankritilaya SF Bay Area May 3, 2015

[mahavishnu]

Sanjay Subrahmanyan - vocal
S Varadarajan - violin
Neyveli Venkatesh - mridangam

4 hours approx

1. pankajAkshi varnam - kambhOji - Maha Vaidyanatha/Ramaswamy Sivan
2. rArA mAyiNTi dAka - asAvEri - T (S)
3. satrE vilagi irum - pUrvikalyANi - GKB
4. narasimhudu - kamalAmanOhari - Mysore Sadasiva Rao (A)
5. sri rAmachandrO - srIranjani - MD
6. Anandavalli - nilAmbari - ST
7. pAlincu kAmAkshi pAvani - madhyamAvati - SS (ANST) Neraval @ kAntamagu pEru ponditivi kAruNya mUrti vaijagamu
8. avan seyal - hameer kalyANi - HMB
9. RTP kambhoji - tisra triputa (4 kalai) ananda natanam AdinAr tadimi tadim ena kanakasabhayil
ragamalika swarams in Anandabhairavi, bilahari, sArangA, nalinakAnti, ranjani, behAg
10. harivAsaradA upavAsada - sindhu bhairavi - PD
11. thandadukkum neer vandadukkum - begada (composer:?)
12. kANa vEndamO - srIranjani - PS (audience member request)
13. jAnAti rAmA tava Nama ruchim mahEsa - vAlmIki - hamsAnandi, sahAna, rishabapriyA, mOhanam, jOnpuri
14. dasarAta suta - jOnpuri - vAnamAmalai jeer
15. pagaivanukku aruLvAi - subrahmanya bhArathi - rAgamAlika
16. vizhikku tuNai - viruttam (kApi) followed by sOdhanai sumaikku -kApi- P.Sivan
17. akilacharAra pasupathi AgiyA - short viruttam - khamAs
followed by tiruvaLar mayilayin - khamAs - P. Sivan
18. tillAna - durbAri kAnada - SKR - misrachApu
19. nI rAma rUpamulaku - sowrAshtram - T (MangaLam).

There are few things in life that are as comprehensive as a Sanjay kutcheri. While I am awestruck by the variety, richness and diversity of the fare, I am equally amazed by the sheer physicality of his music. The power, the presence and above all the endurance. Sanjay arrives on stage and then he dominates your world for the next 4 hours.

In today's concert I saw and experienced Sanjay's music, without the unconscious filters of Sanjay's personality. Don't get me wrong, everything Sanjay bears a strong Sanjay touch. But somehow today it felt like we just saw the deed and not the doer. His music seemed to flow, barrier free as it were. Becoming is being, perhaps?

At the outset, I was delighted to hear the less heard kAmbhoji pada varNam. In fact, Punarvasu and I were reminiscing about another kambhoji pada varNam and I had quite forgotten about this gem (in the context of taruNi, kamalAkshi and sarasijanAbhA).

The asAveri was ok, but I thought Sanjay really hit his stride in poorvikalyani. He always excels in this rAgam whether it is AnandanatamaduvAr or the vaLlalAr arutpA, appA nAn and satrE vilagi is no exception.

While I really enjoyed Sanjay's soulful kamalAmanOhari, I am not a huge fan of narasimhudu. The song, while trying to capture the spirit of the narasimha avatAram, also seems to evoke this hyper-aggressive quality; in contrast to Dikshitar's expert handling of it. The whole experience of this song left me feeling a bit restless. It is the kind of feeling you get when you eat at a dodgy restaurant with a name like "Dim sum and then some", when you could have easily gone to the buffet at the "Golden Dragon". I digress.

But then Sanjay quickly changed the pace, mood and general ambience with a superb srIranjani and Dikshitar's masterpiece came just at the right time to make me feel like everything was fine in the world. Now, that is a composition!

After Anandavalli, which went by relatively quickly, Sanjay sang a lovely madhyamAvati and somewhere in the middle of Varadarajan's return, I was beginning to root for pAlincu kAmAkshi. And there she was! This song reminds me so much of Ramnad Krishnan; there is a lovely recording from Elektra/Nonesuch circa 1967 that is just stunning. Strongly recommended record, a must for any RK admirer. I had a feeling that Sanjay would do an extensive neraval @ kAntamaku, and he didn't disappoint. Someday, I will understand the full import of the magnetism in those lines

After a brief but beautiful "avan seyal" in HK, Sanjay started the raga elaboration in kambhoji for the RTP. In many ways, Sanjay's concert organization felt like a deliberate Ariyakkudi arrangement. The order was utterly professional, very little wait between sets and there was an amazing rotation of composers etc. And the RTP in the ragam of the varnam, if that is still a thing.

The pallavi was quite a delight, especially with a 4 kalai cadence; he doubled and further doubled the tempo further down, but the initial neraval, trikAlam were done at the slow speed. Sanjay showed that even in his ultra-professional mode, he is still a risk taker. He tried a few strategies during the tisram that didn't quite get him to target, so he used those perturbations to bounce right back till he settled the score with the tALAm.

The tail-end pieces were worthy of a concert on their own. Such beautiful pieces each one of them. Sanjay's fluency in the language of P.Sivan, learned through several years of effort and through the genius of folks like Sethalapathy Balu, is commendable. And Sanjay has such a diverse repertoire of Sivan compositions!

The other interesting thing I noticed about Sanjay today is what I used to call "savant" or "fluke" sangatis. There are times when Sanjay sings his favorite ragas like Begada or Sahana, there is always this phrase or sangati that makes you get up and take notice. I have always wondered if these were just spur of the moment sangatis, that were a function of the zone that he was in. An emergent property of the present, so to speak. Today Sanjay convinced me that they are not. Each one of these brilliant brighas are the product of a lot of observation, thought, effort and several years of deliberate practice. And imbibing the spirit of several of the past masters, giants of Carnatic music. And it is now obvious that he is notating and codifying these sangatis and phrases, since his students reproduce them with great care, method and effort.

Varadarajan works as the perfect accompanist for Sanjay. He followed Sanjay through every dark alley, every lit corridor, every irreverent sangati, every zig-zag phrase, through the mountains and the lakes and sometimes in darkness before the light at the end of the music idea. Varadu had some brilliant moments throughout the concert, yet he was always the accompanist and never the lead.

I listened to Venkatesh with great interest today. I think he truly represents the Pazhani style that came to him through the great rAmanathapuram KandasAmy Pillai. Venkatesh showed that you uplift a concert by playing the mridangam and not by pretending to play it! His accompaniment represents the best of the PSP tradition: the sollus, the nadi amaippus, the use of thoppi and 200% involvement. In fact, I would say all of these are true hallmarks of the PSP school, which if applied properly, can airlift any concert to the heavens. And Venkatesh did that today! I am very, very, very impressed. And I am not usually very, very, very impressed.

To be honest, I was not planning on writing this review at all. I am really busy with a grant deadline and so I sat down to write the song list before I forget the details and the rest of it wrote itself. If that is not a strong testimonial for an exceptional concert, I don't know what is.

[vasanthakokilam]

Thanks Mahavishnu for a great write up of the concert. Your description is quite riveting. The song list is huge, my goodness. As comprehensive as it can get. As you wrote, that post RTP list itself is a mini concert. So there was a raga maika slokam (jAnAti rAmA tava ) and a viriththam? Double treat indeed, I can see how enjoyable they would have been given Sanjay's abilities in singing them quite brilliantly.

Thanks again.

[bombal]

nicely written review mahavishnu, I am very very very very impressed....

[gardabha_gana]

Wow - that sounds like an outstanding concert. mahavishnu - our music likes have much in common - be it Lalgudi or Sanjay

[hnbhagavan]

Very good review.Oh A 4 hour concert .You are lucky.This is unthinkable in Bangalore.
A great song list and 19 songs.I am sure some of them would please the very knowledgeable as well as lay rasikas.

[kunthalavarali]

Tandadukkum neer vandadukkum_Begada is a tamil padam by Papavinasa mudaliyar

[arasi]

இசை தந்ததுக்கும், நீரதைக் கொண்டு வந்ததுக்கும் நன்றி, மகாவிஷ்ணு!
isai 'thandadukkum, nIradaik koNDu vandadukkum, nanRi, mahAvishNu

When rasikAs requested, Sanjay sang. When requested, your deadline didn't matter. You brought us the review which brings us the distilled expression of your rasanai and your know how, applied to the evening's music. Like the music, your lines stand out. Thanks!

A fitting finale by Sanjay and his team of V&V this spring in NA.

Those who complain about 'such a short tour?' can now weigh the heft of these concerts and view the sheer number of concerts some musicians render, all of course sung faithfully and sincerely.

Kedharam,
Mahavishnu was there

[rshankar]

Ramesh - poetic indeed!! Your review danced like the pallavi - ta-dhimi ta-dhIm ena! Thank you....

[kvchellappa]

Great review delightful to read. The finishing lines reminded me of Kalki when he said of Alai Osai, 'When I look back, I did not write it, the characters did it themselves.' Sanjay is as great a singer as Kalki was a writer. Both are confined to tradition, but blaze a new trail.

[mahavishnu]

Thank you all for your kind words.
Still thinking about the concert in all my quiet moments today! Good music just keeps giving

[arasi]

And thanks to other rasikAs (may or may not be members here), who are keen enough to share our reviews with other fans, giving links to what is written at Rasikas.org. A few have appeared--Kedharam's, and now Mahavishnu's, in Sanjay's website.

Chellappa,
I wouldn't have known about Aravinda Mudaliar's reviews in tamizh, until you posted one here. His writing is something I savor, though someone I know says they are a bit much. Well, to me, that kind of goes with tamizh nADu...a bit of drama, that is. Think of Sivaji the chevalier, some of our very expressive native expressions, and so on...

[rajeshnat]

Mahavishnu
As usual a lovely review , so much to write when concerts have everything and when it goes to 4 hours. I would have loved if Sanjay had a chance to come to LA, but that did not happen. I especially liked the way you described Neyveli venkatesh.
I am very very very impressed.

[Sankar Narayanan]

mahavishnu, thanks for the mahareview of a mahaconcert !!
I recall your review of his Bay Area kutcheri last year & was waiting for your write-up today. Your descriptive commentaries helped me visualize the entire event, especially the kAmbOji RTP in the the 4 kalai cadence!

[mahavishnu]

Your descriptive commentaries helped me visualize the entire event

Rajesh, Sankar: Thanks. I am happy that the kutcheri is visualizable through my words!

Here's what I visualized in Sanjay's music, especially in the last few pieces.

Even though I have made several claims that I am not a Mylapore maven, I grew up deeply influenced by the magic of mylai and kapAli. There is a very special place in my heart for the annual sighting of the adhikAra nandhi and reliving MMI's version of kANa kann kODi each time. The music of P. Sivan and Sethalapathy avl filled our our house when I was a child, that I cannot help recalling some of those incidents.

Sethalapathy avl used to sing Bhakti viruttams followed by Sivan kritis and his son Ganapathy and I would try to accompany him using old Bournvita tins (well, we were only 5 years old then). Most of these sessions were completely extemporaneous. Balu mama would never refuse a request to sing and my grandfather had no problems being very mercenary about making these requests.

And then the session would go on for hours! He would begin with Sri vAtapi in sahAna with the most beautiful use of "kOmAnE" that would just tug our hearts. Among the other songs that he routinely sang were some of the classics such as sOdhanai (kApi), kamala pada malar (harikambhOji), kapAli (mohanam) and the less frequently heard tiruvaLar mayilayin (khamas) that Sanjay sang yesterday.

While my paternal grandfather was still a healthy nonagenarian and shortly before he passed on, he was very particular about arranging a Sethalapathy special concert in our house . And so we did. In fact, a very young Varadu accompanied him that day. I had a made a special trip from the US just for that event. And that was the last time I heard tiruvaLar mayilayin. There was no one in our household (guests included) that wasn't weeping at the end of that rendition. As I heard Sanjay yesterday, I visualized that image and that feeling!

In a fit of nostalgia, as I went through the deep recesses of my memory, I googled that song. And I was very pleased to discover the story behind the Bhikshatana at the kapAli temple and what the song describes. While many know of the adhikAra nandi, very few know about the vaRalaru behind this song. Here is a short blurb from V. Sriram's blog.

On the ninth day, Siva comes as Bhikshatana, the handsome beggar who seduced the wives of the sages of Darukavana. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Doraikannu, the Devadasi of the temple would lead this procession dressed as Bhikshatana herself and her dance would thrill the audience. Papanasam Sivan came to Madras the year Doraikannu died and so the two perhaps never met. But he too was greatly inspired by the Bhikshatana procession to compose songs for the occasion. There are three songs Saundarya Vellantanil (raga Mohanam), Tiruvalar Mayilayin (raga Khamas) and Picchaikku Vandiro (raga Surutti) describing this event. The last song is in the form of a ninda stuti. In addition, one more song Kapali Karunainidhi (raga Hamsadhvani) sings of both the Adhikara Nandi and the Bhikshatana processions. Sivan’s famed Kapali (raga Mohanam) too deals largely with Siva as Bhikshatana. At a particular point in the Bhikshatana procession, Kapaliswara is met by Karpagambal decked out as Mohini. It is now the turn of the Goddess to dance and she performs most spiritedly and finally enchants him.

More here: https://sriramv.wordpress.com/2009/09/1 ... festivals/

OK. I had to sneak this one in. Back to grant writing!

[arasi]

Ramesh,
You needed some time off from that

[mahavishnu]

Arasi: You read me right But this time I am just procrastinating.

And while I'm here, I should give a shout-out to ManiS, Mani/Viji Mani and other volunteers at Sankritilaya for their excellent organization. They had put a lot of thought into the affair, right from parking arrangements to the early seating and management of the queueing system. The sound system was excellent too. And best of all, very brief speeches/announcements.

The crowd was a bit thin; perhaps I was expecting it to overflow like it did at Sanjay's last performance in Livermore.

[vasanthakokilam]

Mahavishnu, those kapAli stories are quite captivating. A lot of our family stories revolved around the various events and processions involved with the temple like the ones you are describing. My dad and his siblings grew up there. Later on when I was on my own visiting my friends and relatives in Mylai it was quite an emotional experience walking through those various streets and reliving those stories. Thanks for mentioning those references in relation to the Sanjay concert and the Sivan songs. It brought back all those memories. A lot of us seem to have that cultural and familial connection to the temple, whether we grew up there or not.

[PUNARVASU]

Mahavishnu, it was as if I attended the concert! Thanks for bringing it to all of us.
I am yet to get over the disappointment of my cancelled visit to chennai for the 'season'! I had meticulously arranged for accommodation, made a chart of the concerts I would attend, with plans to attend all of Sanjay's concerts! That was not to be!
Thanks, once again, for this brilliant piece of writing!

[rshankar]

Ramesh - thank you for the story. I remember those sights very well - from having accompanied my grandmother to the temple - as you can tell, the temple, without qualification refers to the kapAli temple...
Keerthi or Rajani can correct me, but IIRC, one symbolism behind the bhikshADanar kOlam is that when the jaganmAta as annapUrNA offered him bhiksha, it set Siva free from the brahmahatti dOSam that he incurred when he pinched brahma's fifth head off (as well as the curse that the calvarium of the fifth head of brahmA would remain attached to his hands).

[mahavishnu]

Ravi: How interesting! I love your use of the word "calvarium".
I also wonder how the adhikAra nandi story came about.

Punarvasu: Thanks! Sorry to hear about your cancelled season trip How disappointing. Hopefully this year.
I sent a message to your forum inbox re: the kamalAkshi varnam. Not sure if you got a chance to check...

[rshankar]

Ravi: How interesting! I love your use of the word "calvarium"

LOL! I guess all those years of medical education have to be put into use!

[PUNARVASU]

Mahavishnu, you mean an e mai? I did not get one! I saw you comment on the sahityam of the Varnam.

[mahavishnu]

Yes, I sent a forum email with the remainder of what I remembered of that varNam. Interestingly, Sanjay sang a different kambhoji varNam and it made me think of this again.

I am posting it here:

----------------------------
Dear Punarvasu

Thank you for making me think of this beautiful varnam. I often hum this to
myself feeling very nostalgic about my childhood, when I was enveloped in a
world of music. I am remembering this after a gap of about 36 years. I
learned this when I was 8-9 years old!

A lovely gentleman named Baluswami Dikshitar (he was the great-grandson of
MD's older brother), used to come to our house to teach my mother and
periamma. He was such a sweet man with the kindest disposition and had a
special fondness for me. I used to toss his angavastram in the well as a
very naughty little boy. He taught me this song and several other beautiful
Dikshitar nottuswarams. IIRC, he had the original Dikshitar vINA in his
house. Interestingly, our little discussion on the Abhishek thread brought
back all these memories and I have you to thank for that

As Veeyens sir would say, May Lord Rama bless us all!

best regards,

Ramesh (mahavishnu).

-------------------------------------
This is what I remember from the muktayi swaram

Kamalakshi ninnEkOriyunnadi
karunimpa manchi samayamu swami

VimalAtmuDaina muktIswara sada
BhakthuDaina muddu rAmalinga chandra bhUpatE

ggmgrr rgrs s rsndpds |dpsdrsgr mgpmgrsr
ggm grgm p dpm pdnmpd|sndp dRSnd npmg srg

eedharaNilOni kucarisamAnayuvatiguNamu | mrutunaya vacanamu atirupa
vatikuca
swarnasikaramuka yunnati nI paimarulu koniyunnati sAmika nee daya valacina
chinadi

(please correct the lyrics)

charanam: nIkEta kura neerajAkshA komma

Will try to remember the rest of the cittaiswarams and the sahitya as well.

I know the last chittaiswaram ends with: devarAyippudu mahArAja vijaya
muddu rAma linga bhupatE

[PUNARVASU]

Thanks, Mahavishnu. This was my favourite Varnam. But I had not learnt the sAhityam of the muktayiswaram and the chittaswaram . My teacher ,Shri P.K.Rajagopla Iyer had also taught many nottuswaramas and some rare compositions. Unfortunately, I seem to have lost the note book,cursing myself for that.
Thanks for rekindling those memories.
May Lord Rama Bless us all,

[arasi]

That kAmbhOdi RTP...someone alerted me about it, and if not the four hours of the concert, we can hear four minutes of Sanjay singing the rAgA and Varadu playing (Face Book)..It gives us a glimpse into the musical mood of Sanjay that evening, and the response it elicited...

[hnbhagavan]

Dear Mahavishnu,

I enjoyed your comprehensive review.In Bangalore generally Sanjay sings for 3 hours.He is a complete no fuss musician in the modern era.He has at the same time imbibed ideas from past masters.S varadarajan is an ideal accompaniment.So also is Neyveli Venkatesh.The same combination gave the Ramanavami concert in Bangalore reported by Badri.

[mahavishnu]

Thank you, Sri Bhagavan.
4 hour concerts are indeed a luxury. We are very fortunate to be able to get such long concerts from so many musicians in their prime.

[Sivaramakrishnan]

Must have been a great concert! The value addition is, of course, the marvellous review by mahavishnu. The items could easily meet the Kutcheri repertoire of any average musician for a season! And I am always impressed by SS' ability to thoroughly internalise the compositions before 'staging'.

[mahavishnu]

Sivaramamakrishan sir: Coming from you, I take that a great compliment
Yes, Sanjay does not ever bring anything half-baked to the stage. I guess that speaks to his great sense of professionalism.

[Sivaramakrishnan]

The items could easily meet the Kutcheri repertoire of any average musician for a season!

(An explanation on my own remark as I felt I didn't convey it right!)

What I meant was, if anyone knew all the 19 items presented by SS, he/she could ably manage an entire 'Kutcheri season', with the credit of having handled some very rare or even 'tough' uruppadi-s in the realm of carnatic music!

[arasi]

Sivaramakrishnan,
You said it!

When I heard those four minutes or so of that kAmbOdhi, Mahavishnu's review came alive for me.

Imagine four hours of sustained quality in music like that, concert after concert! In tamizh musical parlance, a simple commercial term gained a lot of usage: sarakku (merchandise, inventory)! 'evvaLAvu sarakku irukku!' (how much stuff he possesses) meaning not only the inventory but the experience (and experiencing) of them. The quest does not stop there...

With all the planning of a list, if there is not enough sarakku (again, it's not just adding songs to one's repertoire but bringing them alive with the bhAVAs which go with them--both sAhitya bhAvA and rAga bhAvA--all along, feeling the pulse of their rhythm as well), this kind of a thing cannot happen.

We adore our old masters for their greatness, and rightfully so. Distance adds charm to the view. How their little failings have melted away in our nostalgic look at them! This generation of musicians has to work doubly hard to earn our appreciation. In a way, without even being conscious of it, we seem to demand more of the present generation