GLOBAL RASIKAS MEET 2014

[rajeshnat]

Shri MuniRao
I have changed the name as madhav Rao , Thank you.

[KMH]

Thank you Nageswaran Sir, for your continued efforts. Thanks to all contributors too, for giving some solace to those who, like me, could not attend. Can't wait for Dec 2015!

[rshankar]

Rajesh - nice review - thank you! By any chance was the composition in durga the daSAvatAra pada I had referred to earlier?

And I cannot but resist this quip:

# The meeting was kind of chaired by the host Nageshwaran (shiva) with Mahavishnu's appa brahma (Dr Balasubramaniam(?n))

According to Hindu mythology, it's the other way around - immortalized in annamayyA's kRti, cEri yaSOdaku SiSuvitaDu, dhAruNi brahmaku tanriyunitaDE...(describing vishNu/kRshNa as the child of yaSOda on the one hand, and the father of brahmA on the other)....

[mahavishnu]

Rajesh, thank you for that inimitable summary. It was like reading one of your kutcheri reviews.
I believe Ravi is right. Didn't Brahma (prajApati) originate from the lotus in Vishnu's belly button? I heard that my father (Dr. JB as he is usually known) spoke of his long association with Semmangudi & LGJ as well.

He told me that he was extremely impressed with Aishu's playing. He said that he was able to hear Sri TN Krishnan in every bow stroke. I look forward to hearing a recording!

I hope to read about GBL's memorial event and the concerts on the 29th in more detail. I wish many more rasikas would attend that event also.

[S.NAGESWARAN]

Dear Rasikas,

The down load links of some of the Videos are given below.
1. https://www.dropbox.com/s/d8yastiu16ah2 ... V.mkv?dl=0
6. https://www.dropbox.com/s/19u8ll0kp2099 ... N.mkv?dl=0
8. https://www.dropbox.com/s/hxnm3wj9jbld6 ... O.mkv?dl=0
9. https://www.dropbox.com/s/hxnm3wj9jbld6 ... O.mkv?dl=0

The rest of the links will be provided in due course.
Enjoy the Videos.

S.NAGESWARAN.
16.12.2014.

[S.NAGESWARAN]

One more link is given below.Even though the link caption is given as Dr. JB speaks, it is the welcome speech of the U/S after which DR.JB speaks at the end of the Video clip.

2. https://www.dropbox.com/s/2zlqezsd3c1yg ... 7.mkv?dl=0

S.NAGESWARAN.
16.12.2014.

[GNB_LGJ_PR]

Dear Sri Bombay Balaji,
Since you have replied to one of the posts, it makes my job of contacting you, easier, and ask you a question(on the suggestion from Sri VRV that
you may have the answer to my question).

I posed this question at the meet day before yesterday and it is as follows:

In the GNB-MSG-CSM Nattai Kurinji RTP concert(Shanmukhananda - Bombay, 1962), there is a lovely morsing accompaniment. Could you please browse the archives(if you
are not able to recollect) and let me know who the artist is?

Cheers,
KK

[bombal]

KK(GN sir and his 2 eyes) nice to hear from you...much as I would have loved to answer your q, I do not have any credible source to verify that...may be somebody who is close to Shanmukhananda(since this concert was held there), should be able to answer...not me for sure....not trying to pass the buck but that is the truth.

:namaste:

[S.NAGESWARAN]

The drop box link of the video of Ayswarya playing various raga alapanas is given below.
9. https://www.dropbox.com/s/4vo5wglztnatf ... 4.mkv?dl=0
Since the memory in the camera was full, the recording was stopped in the end portion of the Bilahari alapana.
The Audio recording is available and will be uploaded shortly.

S.NAGESWARAN.
18.12.2014.

[S.NAGESWARAN]

The drop box links of the violin playing[full] of Ayswarya and the vote of thanks
by Sri CRama at the Global Rasikas Meet 2014 are given below.

10. https://www.dropbox.com/s/mx3gcchoeb4d3 ... A.mp3?dl=0

11. https://www.dropbox.com/s/snyixhbsvipr2 ... A.wav?dl=0

S.NAGESWARAN.
18.12.2014.

[kamalamba]

Thanks Nageswaran sir and all other Rasikas. I am arriving in India only on December 20 and would have certainly attended the event, if it were on the 21st.
I seemed to have missed an excellent gathering and great music.
I will listen to Aishu Venkatraman on the 29th however.
Mohan

[VRV]

Nageswaran Sir, and dear friends who attended the Rasikas get together.

The last time I attended a rasikas meet was about 4 years ago. I walked away then with a feeling of euphoria, and had made quite a few friends. This year's meet was nothing short of spectacular. Nageshwaran's drive and passion for our music speaks volumes. The musical knowledge of this musical fraternity is exceptional and collectively we can spread the word to the farthest corner of the earth.

Both Aishu and I were severely jet lagged as we had arrived from the US that very morning. It was well worth our time to make that effort to attend this get together.

A big shout out to Nageshwaran for his hard work.

Vinod Venkataraman

[vasanthakokilam]

:namaste: ~o)

:ymapplause:

[rajeshnat]

Rajesh - nice review - thank you! By any chance was the composition in durga the daSAvatAra pada I had referred to earlier?

Ravi
I just checked now briefly the composition is bAre Gopi in durga not sure. I am assuming nageswaran sir has uploaded that piece also , madhav rao says this is dasavatara keerthana.

[S.NAGESWARAN]

Sri Madhava Rao and the U/S are close friends for more than five decades. We used to attend FREE concerts in Chennai.
He used to visit my home often to listen to the music of many artists which I have collected over the years.
He is a scholar in the Kannada krithis of many Dasars.
The legend Smt. MLV was the first artist to tune and sing many Dasar krithis[The composers of Dasar krithis were not tune smiths]
and each Kannada bhajan group used sing to the Dasar krithis in different ragams.
Sri Madhava Rao will be going through many Dasar krithis and select songs that were not tuned by many. He used to mull over songs he likes and will experiment with many ragams and after many days, he will be satisfied with one ragam and sing it many times.
Like this many Dasar krithis were tuned by him with different ragams.
Years back,One day, I requested Sri Madhava Rao to sing some Dasar songs and explain to me the meaning of the songs.
He sang 11 Dasar songs tuned by him and explained the meaning of each song. He sang with out any sruthi box.
I have added the sruthi later with my little knowledge in computer.
I used to like the Durga Ragam very much and frequently used to listen and many of my friends like it and the same song was sung
in our Bangalore Rasikas meet and all of them liked it very much.
I am giving the drop box links of the Dasar krithis sung by Sri Madhava Rao so that all our Rasikas may enjoy.
Drop Box links of Dasar Krithis by Sri Madhava Rao 20.12.2014.

1. https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/354 ... 20Narayana
%20Kedaram%20Madhava%20Rao.mp3
2. https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/354 ... %20Thalelu
%20Anandabairavi%20Madhavarao.mp3
3. https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/354 ... 0Ennakuda-
Kunthalavarali%20Madhava%20Rao.mp3
4. https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/354 ... 20Payasake
%20ragam%20MadhavaRao.mp3
5. https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/354 ... %20Mohanam
%20Madhava%20Rao.mp3
6. https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/354 ... de%20Kannu
%20Jonpuri%20Madhava%20Rao.mp3
7. https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/354 ... pi%20Durga
%20Madhava%20Rao.mp3
8. https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/354 ... olu%20Desh
%20Madhava%20Rao.mp3
9. https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/354 ... 0Mohananga
%20Pahadi%20Mahava%20Rao.mp3
10. https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/354 ... %20Darbari
%20Madhava%20Rao.mp3
11. https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/354 ... ava%20Baru
%20Jaranamma%20Dwajavanthy%20Madhava%20Rao.mp3

S.NAGESWARAN.
20.12.2014.

[Rsachi]

Message from Sri S. Nageswaran, Camp: Bangalore en route Bangkok


Sri Madhava Rao and the U/S are close friends for more than five decades. We used to attend FREE concerts in Chennai.
He used to visit my home often to listen to the music of many artists which I have collected over the years.
He is a scholar in the Kannada krithis of many Dasars.
The legend Smt. MLV was the first artist to tune and sing many Dasar krithis[The composers of Dasar krithis were not tune smiths]
and each Kannada bhajan group used sing to the Dasar krithis in different ragams.
Sri Madhava Rao will be going through many Dasar krithis and select songs that were not tuned by many. He used to mull over songs he likes and will experiment with many ragams and after many days, he will be satisfied with one ragam and sing it many times.
Like this many Dasar krithis were tuned by him with different ragams.
Years back,One day, I requested Sri Madhava Rao to sing some Dasar songs and explain to me the meaning of the songs.
He sang 11 Dasar songs tuned by him and explained the meaning of each song. He sang with out any sruthi box.
I have added the sruthi later with my little knowledge in computer.
I used to like the Durga Ragam very much and frequently used to listen and many of my friends like it and the same song was sung
in our Bangalore Rasikas meet and all of them liked it very much.
I am giving the drop box links of the Dasar krithis sung by Sri Madhava Rao so that all our Rasikas may enjoy.
Drop Box link of the folder with the MP3 versions of the Dasar Krithis by Sri Madhava Rao 20.12.2014:


http://bit.ly/MadhavaRaoDasarkrithis

[Rsachi]

I am still listening to Sri Madhava Rao's beautiful presentation. His singing and explanations are so engrossing. Most of the songs are new to me! I think he represents a tradition of singing Dasara padas in temples and pujas, in ever-new tunes and with great devotion. It seems Sri Nageswaran and others had a great time with such lovely music.
I heard that the shruti track was added and mixed later... his singing is so well aligned!
wonderful indeed.

[S.NAGESWARAN]

The drop box links given by the U/S were not working.
I am really thankful to Sri RSachi who had taken the trouble of accessing my drop box account
and re uploaded the songs of Sri Madhava Rao for the benefit of listening to the Dasar songs
sung by Sri Madhava Rao.
Rasikas may enjoy listening to the songs and give their feedback opinions.
S.NAGESWARAN.
23.12.2014.

[munirao2001]

Nageshwaran Sir,
You have posted that "The legend Smt. MLV was the first artist to tune and sing many Dasar krithis[The composers of Dasar krithis were not tune smiths]
and each Kannada bhajan group used sing to the Dasar krithis in different ragams." I am sorry it is factually wrong and misleading. The facts are:
1. Dasa's were vaggeyakaras. They did gave the 'dhatu' to the 'matu'. Hundreds of 'compositions' were being sung in Bhajana Sampradaya for many centuries and we have still many dasas, belonging to dasakoota, who sing them during the 'sangita seva' ritual and during the other celebrations of Dasa jayanti and vardhanti. Women also learnt hundreds of compositions and were singing. The parampara is continuing. With 'Dasa Sahithya' project of TTD , under the able stewardship of Sri Anandatirtha Acharya, Special Officer, it has received a new vigour in the propagation of daasara padagalu.
2. Maha Vidwans of Mysore raja samsthanam did perform the daasara padams, handed down in karna parampara. Maha Vidwans of Tajore raja samsthanam were also singing dasara padams. Tanjore Saraswathi Mahal library does have notated compositions. Sangita Sampradaya Pradarshini also contain few compositions written and published. It will be a long list to mention the names of the Maha Vidwans. We do have compositions with notations published in the 19th and 20th century. Daasa koota strictly composed in the batdeesa raagams-32 and did not compose in the vivadi raagams.
3. Original and karnaparampara compositions of the Daasa koota are essentially simple varnamettus but beautifully capture the very essence of the raagams. Daasa koota standardized the taala systems-Suladi sapta talams and extensively used the other 'misra chapu' and 'khanda chapu' taalams also.
4. Maha Vidwans belonging to earlier period of ARI, stuck to the karna parampara of simple varnamettus. Maha Vidwans of Tanjore were inspired with the saahithya bhaavam and commenced the practice of singing select dasara padams, suiting to the changed concerts pattern of ornamentation.
5. ARI did include dasara padams in his new cutcheri padhati, allocating the time and practice of inclusion in the 'devotional' part, given the identity of 'thukkada' section, unfortunately.
6. Mysore court musicians, to mention a few -Mysore Karigi Rao, Mysore Sadasiva Rao, Swaramuthy V.N.Rao did tune the compositions, not available in the karna parampara and were performing special and exclusive concerts of daasa koota. Saka Rama Rao of Tanjavuru was also performing special concerts of daasa koota.
7. SSRao, my Guru and Father, belonging to daasa koota was giving special concerts of daasa kootaa and also collected and archived in the AIR, Vijayawada and Madras. Through 'sangita sikshana' and other special programs did bring them to the attention of all the great maestros of his times-ARI,GNB, SSI to mention a few names that with the inspiration of 'Trinity' music, dasara padams also can be handled as a major compositions in the cutcheri. In Madras, many great maestros and maestros, including ARI, GNB, SSI, MSS, MLV, KVN, S.Ramanathan,BMK, Voleti, Nedunoori, Nookala, Srirangam Gopala Ratnam, Radha and Jayalakshmi etc., learnt the compositions and they popularized. HMV also brought out the recordings. SSRao was recognized as an authority on dasara padams and his lecture demonstrations were attended by the stalwarts of his times. His last lecture demonstration was on 'Karnatka Sangita Pitamaha Purandara Dasa' in Indian Fine Arts Society in Jan'1994, When Sri TNK presided over the annual conference.
8. Sri TKG also has set many a compositions to tune and was singing. He has published a book, with notation also.
9. Mysore Doreswami Iyyengar, Sri RKS, Mysore Raja Iyyengar and many other Great Maestros and Maestros, as staff of Mysore Radio Station and later AIR, Bengaluru, they also tuned many compositions and were regularly broadcasting.
10. MLV's mother had learnt many compositions and inspired MLV to learn more compositions, both belonging to the karna parampara and set to tune, from Mysore Ramamuthy and SSRao, besides learnt from her Mother. With her popularity rising and her mission to popularize dasara padams, it caught the public imagination, in no time.
11. When Karnataka Government decided to celebrate Purandara Dasa and commenced the Hampi Music Festival to popularize his and other dasa compositions, MSS Amma was to give the inaugural concert. On the advice of SSI, MSS Amma learnt dasara padams from SSRao and performed. The popularity of her dasara padams, is now history.
12. I know personally Sri Madhav Rao, a dasa himself, musician and a teacher.
I felt it my duty to correct and share the facts and information.

[KMH]

I believe the morsing artiste was Sri Natesa Pillai. The source of this information is a very reliable and well informed person.