Jayanthi Kumaresh, R. Shankaranarayanan, Trichy Krishna, Naada Inbam, January 2, 2023

[tmmurali]

Here is a report on an excellent concert by Jayanthi Kumaresh (veena), R. Shankaranarayanan (mridangam), and Trichy Krishna (ghatam) at Naada Inbam on January 2, 2023.

Jayanthi started with a short and evocative alapana of kamAs followed by mAtE malayadvaja. I like this dAru varnam immensely and enjoyed her presentation.

She then took the mike to announce that this concert on January 2 was a prayer in memory of Nadopasana Srinivasan. She mentioned the Nadopasana sabha that he conducted and his many years of service to music. He played an important role in her musical journey.

She announced the next song would be ninnu jeppa in mandAri, a ragam I like a lot. She played an alapana for a few minutes. I have heard a fair number of explorations of this ragam, including by her. This version sounded more poignant than usual, perhaps because she spent more time in the lower octaves. I enjoyed the alapana considerably as well as the song and the swarams at the pallavi line. A moment that I found very arresting was when she stopped at a note for a second in the middle of a long sequence.

Jayanthi then started an alapana in a vivadi ragam. R1 and G1 were immediately apparent. Initially, I thought it may be gAnamurti or mAnavati. However, the D and N sounded a lot like kharaharapriya, so I surmised that it must be the fourth mela vanaspati, also known as the Dalda ragam. After a very nice alapana which had some lovely sequences in the lower octave, she confirmed that ragam, announced the song, and played pariyAcakamA. She played a very nice sequence of swarams here as well.

She announced that the next song would shrI vEnkata girIShamAlOgayE in suruti, the day being Vaikuntha Ekadashi. She played a short alapana followed by the song.

About 50 minutes had passed by now. I had heard a varnam I love, a near-melakarta that is a favourite, and an alapana and swarams in a rare vivAdi ragam. Paisa vasool already, although the only paisa that had left my pocket so far was had been for the Ola ride.

The main piece was in shankarAbharanam. The alapana was grand, steeped in classicism, and soaked in the essence of the ragam. The thanam was divine with many oho and aha moments. I especially liked the times she would play a long sequence of notes without any plucking and several rounds of N R G M D in the lower octave. I wondered if she would play the song whose lyrics include the name of the hall. She selected akSayalinga vibhO. Swarams at badarIvana mUla were excellent. A standout moment was when she played notes for a few seconds at a low volume by plucking the strings gently.

She switched to sAvEri, then to kAnadA, and to valaji. At each transition, she appeared to play one note many times before playing the swarams for a new ragam. I was trying to figure out what was going on when she took up the mike. She started tapping on it to check if it was on and kept tapping to the beat and speaking to the beat as she explained that they were taking each swaram of shankarAbharanam and playing a ragam. "So for Sa, we played sA-vE-ri, for re we played kA-na-da, for ga, we played va-la-ji, and for ma, you-can-guess!"

Here is the full list of ragams:

sa: sAvEri
re: kAnada
ga: valaji
ma: vasantA
pa: Anandabhairavi
da: mOhanam
ni: hamsanaAdam

I would love to know how she decided which ragam to play for each note. All the ragams were pleasing and made for a wholesome combination.

The thani followed. Before Sankaranarayanan handed it over to Krishna, Jayanthi took the mike again to point out to the audience that both percussion artistes were playing with bandages on each finger. In fact, Krishna had played three concerts the previous day! Yet they were both eager to play today. Both artistes received a round of applause.

I don't know anything about laya but I can say that I enjoyed the thani.

The next item was venkatAchalanilayam preceded by a short, affecting alapana of sindubhairavi.

The final item was kAmakshi lokasAkshi, a mangalam in madhyamAvathi.

I thoroughly enjoyed this concert not just because it was only the second live event I was attending after a gap of three years. The thAnam was the highlight with the shankarAbharanam alapana, the mandAri, and the vanaspati also resonating with me. To continue my immersion in this music, I am looking forward to watching Jayanthi's lec-dem on "Raga alapana on the veena" at the Music Academy this season.

A few final notes.

The artistes had their own sound system installed, which caused a delay of 15 minutes. I happened to be sitting quite close to the front and was stunned to see a huge speaker loom up a few feet away from me. I was ready to decamp to the back rows but decided to brave the potential blast of sound. This proximity gave me a flashback of the time I watched Thillu Mullu from the very front row in a cinema theatre in Kumbakonam. (Imagine the effect of a giant-sized head of Thengai Srinivasan on an impressionable child.) There was no aural equivalent today. The sound was just excellent. There were some complaints from people at the back that they could not hear but this problem appeared to be rectified immediately. Kudos to the sound engineers.

I remember the time when Raga Sudha hall was being constructed. I realised that I had not attended a live concert at this venue until now! The hall may be relatively small but it makes for a more intimate setting. During the thani, the hall was resounding with a uniquely Carnatic phenomenon, the sound of the audience "putting" thalam.

Finally, I continue to be amazed by the munificence of the organisers who have kept these concerts free for so many years. The bounty of online concerts available through the grace of Naada Inbam and Parivadini were a vital source of stress release during the pandemic.

Here is the song list.

1. mAtE malayadvaja, kamAs, Muthiah Bhagavathar (r)
2. ninnu jeppa, mandAri, Patnam Subramanya Iyer (RS)
3. pariyAcakamA, vanaspati, Thyagaraja (RS)
4. shrI vEnkata girIShamAlOgayE, suruti, Muthuswamy Dikshitar (r)
5. akSayalinga vibhO, shankarAbharanam (RT), Muthuswamy Dikshitar, ragamalika swarams in sAvEri, kAnada, valaji, vasantA, Anandabhairavi, mOhanam, hamsanaAdam
6. thani avartanam
7. vEnkaTAchala nilayam, sindubhairavi, Purandara Dasa, (r)
8. kAamakshi lokasAkshi, madhamAvathi, Shyama Sastri

[rajeshnat]

Here is a report on an excellent concert by Jayanthi Kumaresh (veena), R. Shankaranarayanan (mridangam), and Trichy Krishna (ghatam) at Naada Inbam on January 2, 2023.
........
She then took the mike to announce that this concert on January 2 was a prayer in memory of Nadopasana Srinivasan. She mentioned the Nadopasana sabha that he conducted and his many years of service to music. He played an important role in her musical journey.
...
So I surmised that it must be the fourth mela vanaspati, also known as the Dalda ragam. After a very nice alapana which had some lovely sequences in the lower octave, she confirmed that ragam, announced the song, and played pariyAcakamA.
....
This proximity gave me a flashback of the time I watched Thillu Mullu from the very front row in a cinema theatre in Kumbakonam. (Imagine the effect of a giant-sized head of Thengai Srinivasan on an impressionable child.) There was no aural equivalent today.

Jayanthi Kumaresh is a phenom , her music sticks so deeply even without the addition of dalda . But still you got more stickiness , way back when i heard with santhanam singing this pariyachakamA ragam i used to think the raga name can be called dalda and not vanaspathi. Now i have some one also calling with the same name . For sure Nadopasana sreenivasan was a big supporter of Vidushi Jayanthi. He has himself told so much about her to me.

Sankaranarayanan is a terrific accompanist whom I heard is shuttling between canada and india.

In the movie thillu mullu Rajini after talking big about vivekananda gets an appointment order .Time to give you an appointment order Both nadopasana and Thengai Srinivasan's will be happy. keep writing more thank you @tmmurali

[Nick H]

The artistes had their own sound system installed, ... There were some complaints from people at the back that they could not hear but this problem appeared to be rectified immediately.

There were complaints from me that I was being (further) deafened. At the back.

It was awful. My wife and I left.

Sad and disappointed. We have been admiring her for so many years.

[arasi]

[*]One of my several misses which meant much to me was vidushi Jayanthi's concert. I first wondered why Naada Inbam's fine sound system was replaced by a 'brought in' one.

Nick,
Mylai karthikeyan's concert that the three of us attended was just right in sound (naagaswaram isn't a flute!). The violin and mrudangam sounded in harmony and the sound with all was just right.

The ancient instrument when played by Jayanthi moves me no end. Had I stayed on to attend this concert, I would have been disappointed. I am hoping to hear her in Bengaluru if I luck out, finding a concert of hers before I return home. Hope the sound system stays peaceful (a vINA is yet to be played in a rock concert??}.

Should I make this comment or not, I wonder: It's all fine, artistes being with it with technology and using it to enhance their performances. However, they can't get carried away with it, depriving the listeners of the pleasure they derive from the music.

[Nick H]

Mylai karthikeyan's concert, of a naturally loud instrument was indeed wonderful, and, even at the front, was not too loud at all. A wonderful concert.

I have spent a quite considerable proportion of my life over the past few years at Ragasudha Hall. It is no exaggeration to call it my second home . It has even been my destination of choice during this wonderful return to Chennai Season this year. Really, I love the place (and Jaya and her crew of course) a lot! I'm aware that it isn't perfect, but it is a great deal better than some Chennai venues. Some of which should never, ever be used for music (Hello that Sringeri Mutt Road place) but are. And one or two, like Sunaadalahari, have invested heavily in audio equipment to very good, and gentle effect. And one or two (Hello NGS mini hall!) have updated equipment, but the sound engineer still manages to ruin the music.

I know very well how much cotton wool I have to put in my ears for different kinds of concerts in these places. And I know very well the real state of my hearing.

I have no doubt of Jayanthi's intentions. I am absolutely sure they are excellent. She wanted to do better for her instrument and music than the resident speaker system could and made this attempt. But it was sadly misled.

I have noticed a tendency, in the couple of years before covid, for her to be taking the louder path. I was not surprised. But none the less, sad.

A wider implication of the desire for loudness is that it causes [further] hearing damage to all of us. Why are many musicians always asking for more volume on stage? One reason is that they actually need it. Deafness is an occupational injury among musicians of all genres.

I don't intend to be be mean. I love the music. I also, these days, tend to keep quiet if I have nothing positive to say about a concert.

I don't know her to tell her all this, and this response will probably never reach her, and she may ignore it if it does. I know her well enough to exchange greetings after a concert. And I very specifically avoid any negative comment post-concert, it is not the time for it.

Over-amplification has been discussed often on this forum. This time it ruined one particular concert and I chose to say so.

[semmu86]

I'm aware that it isn't perfect, but it is a great deal better than some Chennai venues. Some of which should never, ever be used for music (Hello that Sringeri Mutt Road place) but are.

I have stopped participating here quite sometime back, but i couldn't resist replying when this was shown to me. Well, Nick would be the first to know that no one is in dire straits for want of his attendance in concerts happening at Sacred (Imperfect for him) venues like Sringeri Mutt. After all in our sampradAyam, bhakthi & music are interlinked. Since it won't make much sense to folks like you, you should just shut up, rather than address such a sacred place with so much insensitivity and disrespect. One can argue all day that Nick did NOT mean that, but it is what it is!

If one is sooo damn concerned on acoustics, one has all the choice to sit in the comfort of the drawing room and listen or even better, build an hall with what you perceive as good acoustics and host concerts or do whatever BS you need to! Concerts in holy places like like Sringeri Mutt, Sastri Hall, etc will always have a special place in the hearts of TRUE connoisseurs even without the approval of such ignoramuses.

[Nick H]

Ahhh, what an informed response.

Obviously, you were there. So your opinion is to be taken highly seriously. Thanks.

Most helpful!

Happy New Year.

[arasi]

This is a music forum, understood--
Where we could discuss sahAna
But, we old members have mused on
Life's other aspects related to music
*sahana, for instance--a quality
Musicians and listeners need
To have decent communication
Amongst themselves at all times
Where we respect our differences
and meet in music, that's fair--and
If anything, faith does enhance it

*tolerance

[shanks]

I'm aware that it isn't perfect, but it is a great deal better than some Chennai venues. Some of which should never, ever be used for music (Hello that Sringeri Mutt Road place) but are.

I have stopped participating here quite sometime back, but i couldn't resist replying when this was shown to me. Well, Nick would be the first to know that no one is in dire straits for want of his attendance in concerts happening at Sacred (Imperfect for him) venues like Sringeri Mutt. After all in our sampradAyam, bhakthi & music are interlinked. Since it won't make much sense to folks like you, you should just shut up, rather than address such a sacred place with so much insensitivity and disrespect. One can argue all day that Nick did NOT mean that, but it is what it is!

If one is sooo damn concerned on acoustics, one has all the choice to sit in the comfort of the drawing room and listen or even better, build an hall with what you perceive as good acoustics and host concerts or do whatever BS you need to! Concerts in holy places like like Sringeri Mutt, Sastri Hall, etc will always have a special place in the hearts of TRUE connoisseurs even without the approval of such ignoramuses.

What a moronic and arrogant statement?
A place may be sacred, but they are not beyond criticism from numerous angles.

[Nick H]

Indeed.

For the record, please note that the criticism was not of Ragasudha, I love Ragasudha! It was of this concert, the presentation of which was in the hands of the artist.

There a few places I would rather be. That does not mean that I have no criticism of any individual concert. Many people criticise many concerts in many venues. That is their freedom. And that includes me.

[sureshvv]

I was there for most of the concert and it fell short of expectations.

1. This excessive concern about acoustics took away this rasika's enjoyment of the concert. It lasted well past the initial set up. This is a disease that some other artistes also share. They should attend a couple of Sanjay concerts.

2. The song list itself felt formulaic. Other than the ragamalika swaras it felt like a cut and paste from her previous concerts. She should attend a couple of RKSK concerts

And Semmu, looks like age has not withered your infinite venom. Sitting for long periods in Sringeri Mutt may have affected both your hearing and civility.

[gardabha_gana]

In general, the quality of music on the Veena has come down over the years and decades.
* Too much emphasis on acoustics and contact mics. While some of it is necessary, the sound of the Veena becomes more like a guitar or a mandolin
* Fusion, Jugalbandi etc - I dislike them with a passion. While they have their place under the Sun, it is fusion and not veena.
* Leave the Veena alone - No violin please. However good the artists are - just leave the Veena alone.
* And no singing along with Veena playing - probably other than the opening line of an RTP. This has become the trend especially with certain talented young vainikas
* And let's have scalar ragas to a minimum - unless they are traditional grand ones. Where are the Begadas, Sahanas...

Kudos to vainikas such as Balakrishna who continue to play as they always did...

[gardabha_gana]

Talking about Veena - I stumbled onto this young Vainika - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNG_dowfMio
Good luck to her!