S Sowmya at Hamsadhwani, feb 3rd

jnaanasoonyam · Post by **jnaanasoonyam** » 04 Feb 2008, 14:40

Sowmya, M. Narmada, Neyveli Narayanan
Hamsadhwani, Feb. 3rd 2008
-------------------------------
chalamela - nattakurinji - adi - rangaswamy nattuvanar
shri guruna palitosmi - padi - rupakam - md (s)
ranidhi radu - manirangu - adi - tyagaraja (r, s)
ekkalattilum - purvikalyani - mishra chapu - tiruvarur ramaswmay pillai
krupajuchutaku - chhayatarangini - adi - tyagaraja

RTP - shanmukhapriya - adi, 2-kalai
(The pallavi line was'aram seyya virumbu, hariyai solli...' which to me means
"endeavour to do good deeds, chanting the name of hari". Hope I'm right!
Anulomam/Pratilomam exercises were done; the former from samam to samam and the latter
in 1-, 2- & 4-kalai from arudi to arudi. Ragamalika swarams in Mohanam, Kanada,
Hamsanadam, Surutti. Entire RTP incl. tani took well over 1 hr)

tani avarttanam
narimani - khamas (javali) - dharmapuri subbarayar
yar poi solluvar - todi (padam) - ghanam krishnayyar
nanda nandana - desh - lalitadasar
kaala unnai - chakravakam - mahakavi bharatiyar
tunga teeravirajam - yamunakalyani - ?
bhumi mechidum - kavadi cindu - annamalai reddiar
dhim taranana (tillana) - behag
mangalam - saurashtram

Curtains went up at 6.05 pm (end of rahukalam) sharp as advertised, before a full house.
Late Hamsadhwani Ramachandran's son kicked off the proceedings with a succinct
intro in chaste English reminiscent of his late father, whose large portrait
adorned a significant part of the stage backdrop. The concert was off to a
brisk start and it was evident that Sowmya would make this a great evening,
in spite of the fireflies and mosquitoes on the stage that bothered the artistes endlessly and
a sound man who went AWOL, leaving us to the tender shrieking mercies of his amplifier,
each time the vocalist or viloinist hit a high note. Actually I felt like strangling the
idiot when it happened in the middle of that lovely Todi padam.

Sowmya created magic in Padi, playing with just three notes m, p, d
in the swarakalpana, like the late Dr. SR used to do so effortlessly.
Manirangu alapana went on for about 15 minutes, full of energy and involvement. Long time
since I've heard Ranidhi Radhu and this one was delectable. Purvikalyani was a nice change of
pace into something deliciously languorous. A quick Chhayatarangini interlude (when was the
last time I heard this? Probably KVN...) and Sowmya launched into an alapana of Shanmukhapriya
that turned into a thrilling, elaborate exploration that examined several subtle shades
of this wonderful melody. Touching the upper sa was a moment of pure bliss and she lingered there
for several moments in the nadaswara style. (An aside: Just what is it about ragas like Kambhoji & Shanmukhapriya
that make them so magical when played on the long pipe? Any thoughts, folks?)

Expecting something like 'Vaddane Varu' or 'Parvati Nayakane', it was a pleasant surprise to hear
her launch into a tanam, again a quite elaborate exercise. The anulomam/pratilomam sequence was
interesting and the tani that followed was surprisingly short, but crisp. Post-tani phase went the
whole hog with padam, javali, kavadicindu, tillana, tukkada... the whole 9 yards. Concert ended around 9 pm, close to three full hours, a rarity these days in Chennai. Beautiful concert overall... she is singing again today at NGS Golden Jubilee. Not sure if I'll make it.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 04 Feb 2008, 15:00

Another great concert by Sowmya and I miss it...
Enjoyed reading your review, gnnasoonyam (who has a lot of gnaanam).
The translation of the pallavi line is right. aRam also can mean truth and charity among other things.

bilahari · Post by **bilahari** » 04 Feb 2008, 15:14

Kamboji and Shanmugapriya are divine in any musical medium!

V_ANNASAMY · Post by **V_ANNASAMY** » 04 Feb 2008, 15:18

'bilahari' too is divine

completelyclueless · Post by **completelyclueless** » 05 Feb 2008, 01:04

kambhoji and shanmukhapriya are divine in any musical medium....

except keyboard, which i feel is more suited towards the brindavani, sivaranjani type stuff

Lakshman · Post by **Lakshman** » 05 Feb 2008, 02:54

tungAtIravirAjam is by Kamaleshadasa.

gopalank · Post by **gopalank** » 05 Feb 2008, 10:53

jnaanasoonyam wrote:she is singing again today at NGS Golden Jubilee. Not sure if I'll make it.

I did attend the NGS concert last nite. Here's the list:

Sowmya, Embar Kannan, Neyveli Narayanan
NGS Golden Jubilee, Feb. 4th, 6.30 - 8.40 pm

Angayarkanni (Varnam) - Behag - Adi - Dr. S. Ramanathan
Chelimini Jalajakshu - Yadukulakambhoji - Adi - Tyagaraja (S)
Sandehamunu Dirpumayya - Ramapriya - Adi - Tyagaraja (R; N & S at pallavi)
Kannan Malikaikku - Athana - Papanasam Sivan
Shri Ramyachitta - Jayamanohari - Adi - Tyagaraja (S)
Durusuga - Saveri - Adi - Shyama Shastri (R, N - 'narayani shyamakrishna...', S, T)
Idatu Padam Tookki - Khamas - Adi - Papanasam Sivan
Ninnayae Rati Endru - Bharatiyar
Villinaiyotha Puruvam - Kavadi Chindu - Bharatiyar
Mangalam

SUPERB CONCERT!

prashant · Post by **prashant** » 05 Feb 2008, 10:56

What a lovely selection of songs.

gopalank · Post by **gopalank** » 06 Feb 2008, 08:59

Indeed, prashant. Yadukulakambhoji had a very unique flavor and pacing in this kriti 'Chelimini'. Athana was quite moving; she mentioned that she learnt it directly from the late Mani Bhagavatar (Papanasam Sivan's direct disciple), whose moving renditions along with Sethalapathy mama were a hallmark of the Margazhi bhajanais.

sureshvv · Post by **sureshvv** » 06 Feb 2008, 14:11

fast paced swaras in jayamanohari was quite spectacular