Why I skipped my dinner yesterday ?

badari · Post by **badari** » 17 Apr 2016, 07:02

Reached the venue pretty early to get a front row seat to listen to Vid. T M Krishna @ Seshadripuram Education Trust premises. Pretty hot day had heated the granite floor below and it was unbearable initially.

Junior concert rendered by Meghana Moorthy and team was delivering a Saveri piece at its fag end. The assembled audience were entertained to some good music till 6.30 , 15 mins beyond the schedule closing time for the junior concert.

As we kept waiting, the artists who had the first taste of deteriorating traffic conditions. The concert started at 7.10 almost 40 mins beyond schedule. However, that did not deter the plans of TM Krishna and his team.

He started with a heavy pice of Sri Krishnam Bhaja mAnasa, and it was made heavier with 3 sets of neraval. Every time Krishna brings up KRISHNOVATION, and I'm not tired of looking forward for it. It was presented in sedentary pace. During swara prastAra, he traversed ati mandra Ni to tara Ni. As the voice co-operated, it was a treat for the audience. He was in full swing within the very first 15 mins of the concert. A short percussion duet that followed added more luster to the already shining piece. As predictably, the affair lasted 30+ minutes. The highlight was 3 Neravals in this piece.

1 madhyama kala niraval at vENugAna lOla and 2nd at pankajAsanAdi dEva mahitam. Violnist came out of his shell and traversed through the scale to bring out essence of tODi. The 3rd neraval was at duritha kAla at pankajadala. Excellant mandra sthAyi swarAs at pallavi line. Arun Praksh's gentle touches added beauty during swara kalpana.

TMK completed the song with mandra stAyi swarAs. Did not venture to medium and duritha. This left a great impact on rasikAs. Mini percussion duet added beauty. 3 niravals slow swaras at pallavi and entire song in meditative madhyama kAla and short tani(duet) what else u want. Krishna if u hive such varieties, we are with u.

khamAs jAvaLi he gave lot of surprises, pleasant one. He started the jAvaLi with AlApane. The very first phrase was typical khamAs. But the pharse ended with bit jarring, completely unexpected, Wondering what happened? This was when micAsura appeared. Then he asked audience if it sounded loud. YEEEEESSSSSS came the reply. Understood he was disturbed by audio system.

When we thought we are for a grand khamas AlApana , He switched to rapid tAna and again when the tAna was moving to climax ge moved to javali. When javali was in a steady flow he switched to rapid swara kalpanA. Percussion team provided elegant support. Completely different approach than tODi by them. Violinist was also equally impressive. Beautifully garlanded swaras added to poetic melody of the composition detailed enough for a 13 mins presentation.

Normally, when a vidwAn takes such quick unexpected changes rasikAs will be upset. But tAna overtook rAga AlApane. Then jAvaLi overtook tAna and finally swaras overtook all of them. So all changes turned out to be pleasant and better than the previous one.

SahAna was the first AlApane of the evening and it was essayed neatly and detailed. It was so complete, I was wondering whether it would be presented as a piece by itself! However, Vid HK Venkatram, presented an equally brilliant manOdharma to raise it to heights. TM Krishna in this AlApana was bit offtrack. Infact he is one of few front line vidhwans who sketches raga swarUpa in first pharse itself during AlApane. But the first phrase was bit confusing. As he recognised this, he announced the rAga name sahAna. Then he took off. with many circles of repetitions. Expanse came at a cost of repetitions. It could have been crisp. But violin returns were very crisp. filtered one. Violinist scored over krishna in sahAna AlApana. Overall enjoyable 17 mins of AlApane. There was substantial clue of sangatis in his presentation, that it would be followed by Giripai.

mandra stAyi sangathis and notes were again a magic. His sangatis and long glides at composer mudra"tyagaraja" was again a good effort. As a concert is a joint team work, it was amply evident when ever krishna gave lot of breaks that were duly and intelligently filled by Violinist and percussion team. Another detailed presentation of krithi with all necessary nereval embellishments to make the composition presentation wholesome throughout the 15 mins of presentation.

Very last year, in the same venue, mikAsura had appeared from nowhere, and Krishna had to leave the dias to drop by the sound engineer's system to make adjustments. However, this time though there were traces, he demonstrated high level of patience to interact with the sound engineer to get it adjusted. There was long period of HUM in the audio system.

This good mood continued into gaULa AlApane, dwelled in detailed essaying all possible passages. gaULa AlApane - the very first hum and pharse indicated clearly it is gaULa, but TM Krishna also announced the rAga. There was a sumptuous trace of tAna like presentation, though it was just AlApane. Don't know how the 12 mins passed by. The team presented another detailed, embellished and improvised version of tyAgarAja pAlayAshumAm. The highlight is anthara sancharAs. No violin return, but gave ample space to HK Venkatram to exhibit his class. tyAgarAja in praise of lord siva of thiruvArur, the neraval and swara at srI guruguha was very soothing to ears. HK Venktram started his neraval with lovely glide at lolam, was a treat to the ears.

The drift into tani was damn smooth and it did not appear as a stand alone piece. Vid Arun Prakash has a trademark presentation skills during kriti v/s during tani. Vid S Krishna too demonstrated strong rhytmic and aesthetic controls during both phases of the concert. 16 mins of kriti and 13 mins of tani made this the main piece of the concert.

With a brief outline of Kharaharapriya, pakkala nilabadi (providing sufficient clue that it would be the last and heavy piece for the day- trademark Krishna way of ending the concert) was presented in apt pace without any hurry. 14 mins presentation with nerval indicates the leisurely pace at which it was presented.

By the end of tani, the team had received good amount of chit request. He said he would honour them. To the delight of the audience, the concert continued for another 20 mins presenting the pieces of mAND and dEsh. mAND had swara added to increase the glory of dancing krishna as beautifully imagined by kanaka dAsa. swaras on violin was another demonstration of brilliance by HK Venkatram.

Baro krishnayya - we would have heard so many times. But KRISHNOVATION was kalapana swara at dhimdhimi dhimdhimi which added beauty to often heard song. Bangalore rasikAs should sing "baro( tm) krishnayya" if TM Krishna elevates even a tail piece to such classic level.

WHile it was the first concert for me listening in a sqauatted seating position after my recent ankle surgery, It made me to forget the pain that I was enduring. Overall, through the evening we were fed with majestic rAgas, and in a great mood. It had quenched the thirst and hunger in this mortal body. And now you know why I skipped my dinner yesterday.

And here is the complete list

Vocal: Vid. TMKrishna
Violin: Vid. HKVenkataram
Mridanga: Vid. ArunPrakash
Ghata: Vid. SKrishna

Ocassion: 68th Ramanavami Music Festival @ Sesharipuram, Bangalore

01 shrI krishNam Bhaja mAnasa tODi Adhi m.dhIkshitar (N N N S)
Nereval @ vENu gAna
Nereval @ pankajAsanAdi dEva mahitam
nereval @ pankaja daLa
Swara @ bhaja mAnasa satatam
Short duet tani

02 mArubAri thALalEnurA jAvaLi kAmAch Adhi Dharmapuri subbarAya iyer (T, S) tAna (1 cycle only )
Swara @ MarubAri

03 giripai nelakonna rAmuni shahana Adi tyAgarAja (A N)
Nereval @ tyAgarAjAya vinutUni

04 tyAgarAja pAlayashu gauLa Adi m.dikshitar( A N S T )
Nereval @ sri guruguha pUjita

05 pakkAla nilabaDi golicE muccaTa bAga delpa kharaharapriyA tripuTa tyAgarAja (O, N)
nereval @ manasUna

06 bArO krishNayya mAND Adhi kanaka dhAsa (O, S)
Swara @ dhim dhimi

07 ViTTalA SalahO SwAmi dEsh p.dAsa

08 nI nAma rUpamulaku mangaLa sourAshtra Adhi thyAgarAja

Picture @
http://arohanaavarohana.blogspot.in/201 ... taram.html

Im ready for one more dinnerless evening tonight as he performs at SRSM, Fort High School

Rsachi · Post by **Rsachi** » 17 Apr 2016, 09:26

Badari!

arvenky · Post by **arvenky** » 17 Apr 2016, 09:48

Good one Badri. Great concert it was.

Traffic and power outages messing up this season. As I live stone throw distance from the venue it took 45 mins to reach the venue

And there was no customary speeches (might be because of the late start)

Purist · Post by **Purist** » 17 Apr 2016, 22:10

Very sad and disgusting that Sheshadripuram Ramaseva Samithi have still not gotten a good sound system
even after holding years and years of Ramanavami concerts.

hnbhagavan · Post by **hnbhagavan** » 17 Apr 2016, 23:09

So easy for u to blame the Seshadripuram Ramotsavam samiti.You can if you are running a parallel samiti and conducting music concerts without mike problems.People are not willing to contribute even a single rupee.In these days seshadripuram Ramotsavam samiti is conducting free music concerts by reputed musicians.Mike problems exist even in best auditoriums.
Stop making sarcastic remarks.

pperumal · Post by **pperumal** » 17 Apr 2016, 23:19

hnbhagavan wrote:So easy for u to blame the Seshadripuram Ramotsavam samiti.You can if you are running a parallel samiti and conducting music concerts without mike problems.People are not willing to contribute even a single rupee.In these days seshadripuram Ramotsavam samiti is conducting free music concerts by reputed musicians.Mike problems exist even in best auditoriums.
Stop making sarcastic remarks.

Actually I didn't see anything wrong in Purist's honest comment - definitely nothing sarcastic. It is just serious feedback to the organisers.
It is of course the organisers' prerogative to incorporate this feedback or not.

- PP.

badari · Post by **badari** » 17 Apr 2016, 23:28

Honestly, this sabha has one of the best sound system. it was some humming that irritated in between. As things were solved in a flash and amicable fashion, Its not a point of concern !

kvchellappa · Post by **kvchellappa** » 18 Apr 2016, 03:23

Was sahana difficult to recognise because he sings it the way it was sung earlier?

Rsachi · Post by **Rsachi** » 18 Apr 2016, 08:16

Bad news. Did anyone see anything?

SrinathK · Post by **SrinathK** » 18 Apr 2016, 08:24

Tsk. Tsk. I hope the culprit(s) will be caught soon.

As for Bangalore traffic, perhaps that Faking news story will soon become true. http://www.fakingnews.firstpost.com/201 ... es-colaba/

Walking shall soon become the fastest mode of transport.

badari · Post by **badari** » 18 Apr 2016, 08:27

kvchellappa wrote:Was sahana difficult to recognise because he sings it the way it was sung earlier?

I could recognise it at the take off itself. May be he reiterated (as he must have spotted me discussing it with my fellow rasika in front row)

kvchellappa · Post by **kvchellappa** » 18 Apr 2016, 09:05

Wish him to get the money.
I wonder why cash for such a big sum (to me it is).
Hope other artists do not get to know the sum particularly as the sabha is short of funds and it seems some artist sang without payment last year

Rsachi · Post by **Rsachi** » 18 Apr 2016, 09:09

KVC,
I think 99.9% artistes prefer cash.
Cash is like air and water. It is the sixth element

And TMK HAD to disclose the amount in the FIR.
There is an interesting story about Seshadripuram and artiste remun i read in a book about MSS...

kvchellappa · Post by **kvchellappa** » 18 Apr 2016, 09:33

Pl share.

Rsachi · Post by **Rsachi** » 18 Apr 2016, 10:17

Sir, it was in Kannada, written by the late S. Krishnamurthy, and narrated how Sri TS did not accept the honorarium owing to the attitude of the then organiser.
Since all the parties concerned are deceased, No need to rake it up.
Sorry I mentioned it...

kvchellappa · Post by **kvchellappa** » 18 Apr 2016, 10:20

CRama · Post by **CRama** » 18 Apr 2016, 11:05

badari, Yes. you have skipped your dinner because of the ecstasy after hearing TMK concert. But please change the title to TM KRISHNA IN SESHADRIPURAM. Otherwise people will not know what is this thread unless they read it fully. Nice review.

Purist · Post by **Purist** » 18 Apr 2016, 12:07

hnbhagavan wrote:So easy for u to blame the Seshadripuram Ramotsavam samiti.You can if you are running a parallel samiti and conducting music concerts without mike problems.People are not willing to contribute even a single rupee.In these days seshadripuram Ramotsavam samiti is conducting free music concerts by reputed musicians.Mike problems exist even in best auditoriums.
Stop making sarcastic remarks.

Bhagavan, can you please point out where did you find 'sarcasm' in my post so that I can learn to avoid.
As for your comment -'people are not willing to contribute even a single rupee...', I do not know to who
you directed or meant, however as for I am concerned I make it a point to make a contribution at the entrance
whenever I have attended a concert there. In fact in the past I have even collected contribution/donation for the
Samithi.

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 18 Apr 2016, 12:08

This theft is a dreadful thing to happen.

My wife says to me, take care of her bag, so I put it on the chair with mine and go to the toilet. She tells me off, I ask, who, among these people, is going to take our bags? Well... I am a fool not to realise that there are bad people everywhere. Of course the bags are safe with 99.999% of the audience, but these are public places; people can and do pass through.

As Rsachi says, cash is like the air. Unless there is some considerable luck with a chance witness or cctv recording (and since when did sabhas even need to think about that kind of security?) I doubt that the parties will ever see it again.

The amount is, ahem... interesting. Please note from the start that I do not begrudge it. It is just a little ironic that this information should come after the above exchange about what sabhas can and can't afford.

I would like to say that all senior artists should be paid similar sums for their performances. I won't say it. I won't say it because I am too selfish: it would mean an end to our mostly-free-concert scene.

I am very sorry for TMK, the sabha organisers, and all others for whom the event must now be soured.

badari · Post by **badari** » 18 Apr 2016, 13:06

CRama wrote:badari, Yes. you have skipped your dinner because of the ecstasy after hearing TMK concert. But please change the title to TM KRISHNA IN SESHADRIPURAM. Otherwise people will not know what is this thread unless they read it fully. Nice review.

Sir,

The purpose is served of having the immediate experience shared with fellow rasikas.. I would update

badari · Post by **badari** » 18 Apr 2016, 13:09

The program @ Seshadripuram is organised in a school/ College premises. It has good CCTV coverage. Hope they were working and the culprits would be caught soon.

arvenky · Post by **arvenky** » 18 Apr 2016, 15:17

Yes they have CCTV Camera and they are working on that to crack this. Btw I was waiting to greet TMK while everyone around wanted to have a snap with him. He obliged saying give me a minute will come down so that all of us can be together. He came down and everyone around took snaps. Guess at that time the dais was empty rest of the artists were near the car park. Sad thing at the end of a good concert.

hnbhagavan · Post by **hnbhagavan** » 18 Apr 2016, 17:43

Post#18

Very sad and disgusting that Sheshadripuram Ramaseva Samithi have still not gotten a good sound system
even after holding years and years of Ramanavami concerts.

I find the tone a sarcastic one.After all they have a temporary set up and each time the sound system is re installed.Even in permanent auditoriums,problems surface in the system.Sorry if you felt offended.The spirit of this was to convey that sometimes we rasikas as well as artists have to live with it unless a very good blue tooth system replaces the present mass of connections.In fact Badari said that the sound system was pretty much OK except for HUM.
Regarding free concerts,it is not directed at you,but this is in general true with exceptions.I did not single you out for this.
Hope this clarifies.

gardabha_gana · Post by **gardabha_gana** » 18 Apr 2016, 18:46

I haven't been to Seshadripuaram in a while... Went there few years back. Personally, I didn't find the atmosphere to be the same as that in 70s and 80s when we were a regular. This is both in the range of artists invited and the listening pleasure. For many concerts there used to be overflow crowds sitting in the park opposite. Traffic was a lot less then - and I remember the old gentleman who used to give an excellent vote of thanks! The listening folks were very informed and it was an experience indeed! Many artists had to complete the concert at 9:45 so that they can catch the Madras mail at 10:10

I can go on and on.... Times have changed .... everywhere....

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 18 Apr 2016, 18:49

sarcastic would not be the right word. Sarcasm would have been saying something like, "Oh, they have such a great sound system there..." when it is obvious that the opposite is the intended meaning. Thus, whether one agrees with it or not, one cannot call purist's words sarcastic.

I have a lot to say on sabhas and sound systems. Correction: I have a lot to say again on the subject, which we have discussed a lot in the past, and probably will again. Leaving all that aside... most of the problems that pain me are with the operator rather than the equipment

hnbhagavan · Post by **hnbhagavan** » 18 Apr 2016, 18:51

Post#24
The atmosphere in all venues have undergone a sea change.Same thing applies to Seshadripuram.But arts has to continue.It is to the credit of the organisers that they are continuing in the best possible manner.Actually quality is declining every where be it politics or other professions.

gardabha_gana · Post by **gardabha_gana** » 18 Apr 2016, 19:09

I agree with Nick. I don't think Purist's comments were sarcastic in any way. Bangalore sound system operators really need a 101. Couple of Sabhas do a very good job. First they need to understand that Good != Loud. And I don't think it is a cost issue.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 18 Apr 2016, 19:45

Nick,
Can't say it enough times until we make others deaf too (there! sarcasm!).

Yes, many sabhas seem to have their own sound system these days. So, the OPERATOR is to be blamed, if the sound system is wanting....

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 18 Apr 2016, 21:53

By the way... Sometimes I make a point of congratulating the sound guy. We should not ignore them when they do well.

I did that at a temple concert a week or two ago. One expects less of these less formal affairs, but the sound on this occasion was very well done, and I was happy to tell the guy so.

anandasangeetham · Post by **anandasangeetham** » 18 Apr 2016, 22:26

I think the operator may not be qualified....Yesterday at NadaInbam concert of RKM a Raga Sudha hall I pointed out to the guy that the balance between the two sets of speakers was not correct and that only the left side set of speakers were clear (a bit loud too) and the right side set needs to be adjusted. He came promptly and went to a person sitting just below the speaker and asked if he it was audible to which the rasika responded in the affirmative. He looked at me smiled and went away. I was sitting in the middle. after the second song RKM, BUG and Ghatam Karthick asked that the sound be adjusted (they could feel in the small monitor) and then it was ok. Had the operator stood in the middle and listened he would have known (he didnt though I invited him ).

badari · Post by **badari** » 18 Apr 2016, 22:55

Nick H wrote:most of the problems that pain me are with the operator rather than the equipment

Completely agree with you. Apprentice on a field job !!

badari · Post by **badari** » 18 Apr 2016, 22:59

Guys,

can we have a separate thread on the SOUND SYSTEMS in Sabhas, and not hijack the concert review here ?

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 18 Apr 2016, 23:01

This thread has been hijacked twice!

But yes. Sorry. It was a wonderful review of what I'm sure was a great concert.

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 20 Apr 2016, 02:41

Offtopic, sorry, but the concert discussion seems to have finished, and just to tidy away this one...

anandasangeetham wrote:I think the operator may not be qualified....Yesterday at NadaInbam concert of RKM a Raga Sudha hall I pointed out to the guy that the balance between the two sets of speakers was not correct and that only the left side set of speakers were clear (a bit loud too) and the right side set needs to be adjusted. He came promptly and went to a person sitting just below the speaker and asked if he it was audible to which the rasika responded in the affirmative. He looked at me smiled and went away. I was sitting in the middle. after the second song RKM, BUG and Ghatam Karthick asked that the sound be adjusted (they could feel in the small monitor) and then it was ok. Had the operator stood in the middle and listened he would have known (he didnt though I invited him ).

Sekar is, qualified or not, one of our best --- which is not to say that he never makes mistakes or that 100% of Ragasudha Hall concerts are perfect, but don't you think that their record is pretty good? He probably should learn the lesson, from this one, to go and assess the sound from the centre of the audience.

I remembered your post this evening, as, with the artist sitting in front of me on the stage as one would expect, her voice seemed to be coming over my left shoulder. I strolled around the edges of the hall just to make sure I had not suffered some sudden hearing loss in the right ear (I was a bit concerned; my hearing seems volatile these days) and confirmed to myself that there was a problem. Sekar's English is better than my Tamil, but I can communicate full and easily with Jaya and told her what was going on. They "put" the sound back in the middle within a minute or two.

The most curious thing about this is that, even with such a glaring problem, maybe for several days, only a couple of us even attempted to raise the issue.

The bottom line is that not only do people not ask for better sound, they really don't mind bad sound.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 20 Apr 2016, 03:35

The first denoting sAtvik and the second ascetic?

maruthidasan · Post by **maruthidasan** » 23 Apr 2016, 14:39

very sorry and a bad time for TMK who normally does not sing for money alone very amicable to the sabha and organizers and more flexible as far as the honorarium is concerned seeing the paper about the theft i too skipped my dinner thinking about the great loss to this great singer.
v.srinivasan secretary pearmbur sangeetha sabha chennai

maruthidasan · Post by **maruthidasan** » 01 Dec 2016, 10:31

VIOLIN SOLO BY Dr.NARMADHA ON 28th November at Bharatiya vidya bhavan

the solo violin progrramme by Dr.Narmadha was simply superb on that evening.
she not only played but narrated wonderfully about the ragas and in particular SRINIVASA THIRUVENGADA MUDAYAN in Hamsandhi and THEERATHA VILAYATTU PILLAI in raga malika. Her paying tribute to the great Leland Sri.Balamuralirishna in playing a composition made both by her father and Sri.Balamurlaikrishna was worth and apt.

V.Srinivasan Secretary Peambur sangeetha sabha.

thanjavooran · Post by **thanjavooran** » 01 Dec 2016, 10:52

Shri Srivasan Avl,
Excellent. Was there any RTP ? Many thanx for the review
With wishes,
Thanjavooran
01 12 2016

CRama · Post by **CRama** » 01 Dec 2016, 12:07

Mr.Srinivasan. Thanks for your brief review about Dr.M.Narmada's concert. What was the compositionshe played as homage to Dr.BMK.

By the way, this thread is about a concert of TMK held long back in Bangalore. You could have opened a new thread for Dr. Narmada's concert.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 02 Dec 2016, 04:44

Mods,
Kindly bring the review under a new topic: Dr. Narmadha's Concert at BVB on 28-11-2016.