Gayathri Venkataraghavan at Varasidhdhi Vinayakar temple.

erode14 · Post by **erode14** » 07 Oct 2008, 02:17

(6.10.08, sri nagar colony, saidapet – 6.30pm)

Akkarai Subhalakshmi – violin
Erode Nagaraj – mrudangam
Alathur Rajaganesh – kanjira.

1. dhayanidhE – bEgada – varNam – Adhi – syAmA sAsthri
2. sidhdhi vinAyakam – mOhana kalyANi – Adhi - harikEsanallUr
muthaiyAh bhAgavathar
3. shrI kAmthimathIm – hEmavathi – Adhi – dhIkshithar
4. karpakAmbikE – bilahari – rUpaka chApu - pApanAsam sivan
5. gOmathi thAyE – yadhukula kAmbOji – Adhi - pApanAsam sivan
6. parAkEla nannu – kEdhAra gowLa – Adhi – syAmA sAathri
7. janani mAmava – bhairavi – misra chApu – svAthi thirunAL
8. dhanam tharum – viruththam – dhanyAsi & kamAs
9. kadaikkaN pArvai adhu pOdhumE - ,,,,,,,,,, - Adhi – pApanAsam
sivan
10. mAthA parAshakthi – rAgamAlika – Adhi - subhramaNya bhArathi
(ranjani –kalyANi –sindhu bhairavi-madhyamAvathi)
11. pavamAna – mangaLam –sowrAshtram - thyAgarAjA

Sangeetha is divine. It’s a mArga for mOksha. We, the musicians, while dedicating our music as offerings to the almighty, should make the rasikas listening to it to be sailing in the same boat towards divinity. It’s just like we buy different varieties of hAram made by someone and offer it to god, though; at times we make them on our own and do it.

The acceptance for any art form or artistes is got only when they are able to take the rasikas along with them in their musical journey… it may be towards divinity or peace of mind or expressing the present state of mind or just time pass… whatever it is, it lies in the unison of minds.

When Gayathri began her recital with the slOkam, “vigna rAja krupA sindhO and yA kundhEndhu thushAra hAra dhavaLA, the concert started its journey towards unison of minds and it reached its destination in the very third song and a gathering of good listeners enjoyed the various deities from where they were, in a temple which has separate sannadhis for piLLayAr, chandhramouLIsvara, yOgAambAl, mahAlakshmi, mahAvishNu, subhramaNyA, AnjanEyA and navagraha.

One may wonder on seeing the list of songs and ask how could one enjoy various deities… they are not only remembered by mere lyrics, but, also from the name of composers, as minds are mines of connected thoughts. That is why, most of the bIjAksharAs or manthrAs are far away from meaning, as far as common man’s knowledge is concerned. Meanings only provoke chain of thoughts and keep us away from what is to be attained by vibrations.

After warming up with a brisk varNam and lively sidhdhi viAyakam, she presented a beautiful AlApanA in hEmavathi with kArvais and improvisations on the way to thAra shadjam from dhaivatham. The sustain given in shadjam and rishabam were packed with suswaram and lengthier enough to enable even the last man to walk and soak himself in sruthi. shrI kAmthimathIm had svaras in both lower and middle speeds with chathusra kuraippu ending in dha, nI, sA rI, gA…

karpakAmbikE, with madhyama kAla swaras added pep to the pace of the concert and that was balanced well by a slower rendtion of sivan’s gOmathi thAyE with a short AlApanA. The line, “bUmiyil pala piRavi eduththu…” delineated the “salippu” in jananam and the rendering of the sAhithyam expressed a feel of thirst to realize or to rest in her divine lap for the rest of life.

parAkEla is a krithi which contains the essence of the rAgA especially in its chitta swaram and it served as an apt interlude before main.

Bhairavi.

My second bhairavi in this navarAthri and every second of the AlApanA spoke the beauty and bounty of bhairavi. She presented a balanced mix of four things, the breath control, weight in brugas, suswaram and creativity. The manthra sthAyi panchamam and madhyamam added value to it.

Akkakrai subhalakshmi seemed to be one who sings a lot in her manas, apart from her practice. A feel of singing was felt in some places during her turns. She stayed in panchamam and gave a silence and played a soft dha.. dhA..nI dha Pa….like sangathi in the lower octave, which was very effective.

When she sang the piece of svAthi thirunAL, I felt as happy, as I am playing to janani mAmava after an year’s time. The slow pace and classic niraval at “anupa mitha kamala vAsE” (3 after samam) added colour to the evening. After a few kIzh kAla swarAs, Gayathri moved to medium speed and did a kOrvai.

We played interesting kuraippu to edam and the thani was followed by viruththam in two rAgAs and kadaikkaN pArvai. It is always nice to hear the mahA kavi’s composition in concert platforms. Literature and bakthi are two eyes of thamizh and they have grown complementing each other. The breeze in the corridor of the temple gave a gentle massage to the body and the music passed a gentle message to the mind.

erode nagaraj.

PUNARVASU · Post by **PUNARVASU** » 07 Oct 2008, 03:42

Nagaraj,
you seem to gain strength from review to review; wonder whether I should call it a review at all; it is your anubhavam and you are kind enough to share it with us. What a way to share! I , for myself, am very happy to read it and can atleast feel a part of the bliss you felt in being present there.Thank you once again. I think there will be a rasigar sangam for your reviews.
Um paNi toDaraTTUM; Neer peTra inbam
yAmum peravE, mEnmElum vAsippIr
mEnmElum ezhuduvIr,emmaiyum
vAsikka vaippIr! (read not play)

Lakshman · Post by **Lakshman** » 07 Oct 2008, 03:55

kaDaikkaN pArvai adu is in khamAs.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 07 Oct 2008, 04:41

Punarvasu,
Nagaraj is a poet too, a serious one at that. Sollum Sollum iNaindiyangum avariDam. A 'from the stage' review always adds to the authencity of a concert and is pleasurable to read.
GV's choice of songs and her beautiful rendering of them have inspired him...

balusatya · Post by **balusatya** » 07 Oct 2008, 05:11

Aptly described his role.Arasi!The review is complete even his not narrating his performance.(inferred.Sollamal solli ....)

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 07 Oct 2008, 07:13

balusatya,
That is where those who attend concerts and hear him play can chime in.
Mridhangam (Balaji) who writes 'from the stage reviews' too, does the same. They both tell us about the tani, its structure and stop there...

cienu · Post by **cienu** » 07 Oct 2008, 10:42

Wow Nagaraj !

That was a great concert to review. Thank you for sharing your "anubhava"

bilahari · Post by **bilahari** » 07 Oct 2008, 11:48

"The breeze in the corridor of the temple gave a gentle massage to the body and the music passed a gentle message to the mind." - How lyrical! First time I'm hearing of gOmathi thAyE as well.

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 07 Oct 2008, 11:57

Thank you sir for taking the time to post so many wonderful reviews.

HarishankarK · Post by **HarishankarK** » 07 Oct 2008, 12:24

Gayathri Venkataraghavan's music always gives more priority to bhava and not flamboyance. It is never loud and her voice quality remains constant throughout the concert unlike few other artistes whose voice involuntarily chnages at different octaves.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 07 Oct 2008, 20:29

Cienu,
'anubhavam' it is!
Yes, that untranslatable factor which we have in common as listeners--but how are we to share this? That's the question. We try (some successfully so, and this review is an example). Song lists don't say it adequately, theoretical knowledge about CM alone doesn't wing it.
We like to share our experiences, and when it comes to extra special concerts, even more so! But what an abyss lies between impressions and our expression of it! Still, the desire to share our experience with fellow rasikAs makes us write reviews, supply the song list. To each reader, according to his own brand of appreciation of CM, a picture emerges about the concert, and with it, a sense of it. Our past experiences color it, and we have another bit of an experience (though second hand) added to our life of living with CM.
The 'stage side' reviews are very special because of proximity, participation, authenticity and sensibilities. All from fellow-artiste turned reviewer!
Nothing in the world is perfect. Even the near-perfect things in art have those who are not impressed by them. Here at the forum, many of us look forward to the reviews which are our own (sometimes inadequate) expressions of our concert experience. Am I right in thinking that sharing that anubhavam is what motivates the reviewer--and the rest of us to look forward to them each day?

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 07 Oct 2008, 20:38

mOhanakalyAni followed with bilahari is somewhat a partial overlap .YK kAmbOdhi followed by kedhAragowlai , must have been a closest overlap. Certainly I would prefer not that much overlap.

Thankyou for your best line "The line, â€œbUmiyil pala piRavi eduththuâ€¦â€

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 07 Oct 2008, 20:41

A refreshing review from Bangalore some time ago by a pre-teen member comes to mind.
Mridangamkid (a teen) who lives in the US and spends his summers in India is a student of Guruvayur Dorai . He writes about concerts he attends and takes part in percussion discussions. Very impressive. Their interest and involvement promises a healthy future for CM. And they are very polite too! I am sure there are many other youngsters like them who read them and some day write too.
Anubhavam and wanting to share it is what it is, I think...

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 07 Oct 2008, 20:54

Rajesh,
I do not know if it is true today. Years ago, my son was fascinated by finding Erode on the map of India. He read about it somewhere and told me that it was a gem capital. That may not be the case now.
As for the reviewer, 'eroding' definitely is not it. Let us hope and wist--that it is a gem in the making!

PUNARVASU · Post by **PUNARVASU** » 07 Oct 2008, 20:58

rajeshnat,
exactly; the words are so powerful and if the singer is able to breath life into it and deliver , it takes the listener to great heights. Another song with similar sentiments is 'unnaiyallAl' in kalyANI, wherein Shri PS says 'ennAl ini ADa muDiyAdu, tiruvuLLam irangi,ADinadu pOdumeRu OyvaLikka'- GV is one such artist who brings out the bhAva well.

ram · Post by **ram** » 08 Oct 2008, 09:06

erode14 wrote:9. kadaikkaN pArvai adhu pOdhumE - ,,,,,,,,,, - Adhi â€“ pApanAsam
sivan

Lakshman wrote:kaDaikkaN pArvai adu is in khamAs.

Lji,

I think that's what erode14 also meant.

,,,,,,,,,, = commas =~ khamAs

PUNARVASU · Post by **PUNARVASU** » 08 Oct 2008, 09:35

ram,

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 08 Oct 2008, 11:41

ha ha..

cienu · Post by **cienu** » 08 Oct 2008, 13:46

Ha Ha

Ram , you certainly read between the lines (or words if I may say ! )

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 08 Oct 2008, 20:29

Credit goes to both of them for the 'com'ic enrty? While Ram is capable of amusing us, I feel Nagaraj would have meant it in the first place--so his' ,,,,,,,,,' were typed solely for the 'com'ic effect, I think...

PUNARVASU · Post by **PUNARVASU** » 08 Oct 2008, 20:39

'commA'vil khaamAsaippOTTa nAgrAjukkum
'COMMa'VIL KHAMaSAIKKAndA rAmiRkum
Oru 'O' PodUVom, eDo nammAl
pODa muDindadu.

ram · Post by **ram** » 08 Oct 2008, 22:03

All the credit goes to erode14

erode14 · Post by **erode14** » 13 Oct 2008, 07:50

dear all,

thank you for your views...

thanks to bsnl.

i wish bsnl broad band to do a gray-test. (asking them to do "ancient" test agni pravEsam - fire - ash - gray) since, my internet connection went greater than the greatest.

many years ago, when i attended a concert of hyd.bros., they sang an attractive khamAs [mass kA rAg?] and my friend m.g.subramaniam wrote commas in a bit of paper and showed me...

i just remembered it and shared with you.

bilahari · Post by **bilahari** » 13 Oct 2008, 08:02

Erode14, your creativity knows no bounds!

erode14 · Post by **erode14** » 13 Oct 2008, 09:15

connecty-witty...

I differ with Albert Einstein. His is "The Theory of Relativity" and mine is "The Relay of Witty Theories". [ a caption in my orkut profile]