Breathless CM - shankar mahadevan

smala · Post by **smala** » 01 May 2011, 12:16

A different feel.

http://www.youtube.com/user/vedavyasd1# ... FZIcohnL6U

venkatakailasam · Post by **venkatakailasam** » 01 May 2011, 14:04

sp:

i hope you will enjoy this one also!

003-Sreeram and Shankar Mahadevan- Breathless: JUST CLICK ON THE IMAGE

venkatakailasam

sureshvv · Post by **sureshvv** » 01 May 2011, 15:10

shyama-priya wrote:A different feel.

http://www.youtube.com/user/vedavyasd1# ... FZIcohnL6U

any clue on what he is singing... todi / charukesi / vakulabharanam / all of the above?

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 01 May 2011, 15:33

shyama-priya wrote:A different feel.

http://www.youtube.com/user/vedavyasd1# ... FZIcohnL6U

I thought it was a mime show --- then I realised there was some music going on too.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 02 May 2011, 08:24

I saw some of it on iCarnatic. Not my cup of tea. Never heard him before. It was interesting to watch him for a while and then I caught up with my chores so that I could watch the next day's many events

sureshvv · Post by **sureshvv** » 02 May 2011, 10:45

Here is "Nenarunchi naanu"...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsO6SQmZNKo

Is it just me or does anyone else notice a distinct Sanjay influence?

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 02 May 2011, 11:10

Is this the same Shankar Mahadevan that I saw years ago doing fusion/jazz stuff, or someone different?

smala · Post by **smala** » 02 May 2011, 11:30

same.

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 02 May 2011, 12:51

Interesting. I've seen his name "around" several times recently. Moving into (or back to) the classical mainstream?

I saw his band Silk, in London, some time back. People who know me can probably guess that I didn't enjoy it much --- but I really should not pre-judge his classical performance because of that.

sruthi · Post by **sruthi** » 03 May 2011, 02:37

Post no.2 - sounds like rap. Zero sowkhyam.

sureshvv · Post by **sureshvv** » 03 May 2011, 11:45

sruthi wrote:Post no.2 - sounds like rap. Zero sowkhyam.

Do you mean the carnatic bit or the Star+TV clip?

smala · Post by **smala** » 03 May 2011, 13:26

post #2 carries Vkailasam's clip - not CM, what Sruthi refers to. Vkailasam simply assumed that I enjoyed the CM-Cleveland clip I posted at the start of this thread - nowhere did I state so.

venkatakailasam · Post by **venkatakailasam** » 03 May 2011, 14:11

I am sorry.
I did not know that "A different feel" is not an enjoyment.

venkatakailasam

smala · Post by **smala** » 03 May 2011, 14:23

venkatakailasam wrote:I am sorry.
I did not know that "A different feel" is not an enjoyment.

venkatakailasam

Not good to assume. A different feel - was a statement. period.

venkatakailasam · Post by **venkatakailasam** » 03 May 2011, 14:36

Is it not too bad to continue after I expressed sorry?

What is it you are aiming at?

venkatakailasam

smala · Post by **smala** » 03 May 2011, 14:42

>>>What is it you are aiming at?>>>

you tend to jump in and post something or the other in so many threads - I had to remind you in another thread of a repeat post which you then deleted.

The clip you posted in #2 in this thread had no relevance to the CM line on Shankar Mahadevan which was my post #1 was about. Your post w/ link has created some confusion with Sruthi stating her dislike of the video clip and Sureshvv getting more confused about whether Sruthi meant my CM link or your non-CM link. Hope you get it now.

venkatakailasam · Post by **venkatakailasam** » 03 May 2011, 15:06

Has this all ended with my saying sorry ?
Why do you want to continue further?

venkatakailasam

smala · Post by **smala** » 03 May 2011, 15:33

venkatakailasam wrote:Has this all ended with my saying sorry ?
Why do you want to continue further?

venkatakailasam

You asked why in the previous post with "what is it you are aiming at"- that's why a response. I really hope you get the msg and stop here.

venkatakailasam · Post by **venkatakailasam** » 03 May 2011, 15:41

OK Thank you.
I with draw at this stage as it is developing into a useless postings at this thread.

venkatakailasam

smala · Post by **smala** » 03 May 2011, 16:19

A different Shankar Mahadevan - CM, Globalfest Dec 2010, Chennai here :

Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWyNJ16h ... re=related

Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZYj8Zwo ... re=related

Part 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6t4hoR1D ... re=related

Part 4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q10Nv9na ... re=related

Part5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbjO8Hy1 ... re=related

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 04 May 2011, 00:08

A different dimension of the same person or is this a different person? ( looks to be a different person )

I did not know anything about Shankar Mahadevan. I thought the 'breathless' in the title referred to his ability/claim to fame to sing continuously like that as in the clip v'kailasam posted.

smala · Post by **smala** » 04 May 2011, 00:36

vasanthakokilam wrote:A different dimension of the same person or is this a different person? ( looks to be a different person )

I did not know anything about Shankar Mahadevan. I thought the 'breathless' in the title referred to his ability/claim to fame to sing continuously like that as in the clip v'kailasam posted.

VK, the 5-part one is a different Shankar Mahadavan (SM) as already stated, i.e. NOT the same person as the video clearly shows, an interesting new singer for me.

Breathless is how I like to describe the SM CM in the clip I posted - the word borrowed from his breathless style in the breathless song, yes.

The thread was to highlight SM's CM which he doesn't engage in often, certainly not in Cleveland! which seemed quite different from the usual we hear, not so much to dwell on his already well-known Hindi-breathless song.

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 04 May 2011, 00:56

OK, got it. Since I did not know that famous song ( I guess I am living in a cave

) the v'kailasam link helped me why the breathless tag is applied to him. Good to know.

The other SM links here is confusing. We can move it somewhere else later.

smala · Post by **smala** » 04 May 2011, 01:06

Sure, anytime - other than the name, artists don't share much else.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 04 May 2011, 01:37

Another cave person here.
I did hear him at the Cleveland festival via Icarnatic. He has a very good and vibrant voice and gnAnam--again, his singing is not my cup of tea, as I said before. the concert was a CM concert--(may be not--in my view). Unnikrishnan was very appealing to me before he started singing for films. I thought this was another case of someone switching from CM to Pop as his main profession. My very personal taste (we are all entitled to one) while acknowledging SM's gift for singing, is indifferent to his style of singing.
I did watch a bit of him and thought he looked very much like the man in the show--that only his looks (to suit the pop scene) were different. I cannot believe there are two music men by the same name! In figure and voice, I don't see much of a difference.
He (they?) remind (s) me a bit of our Rajesh

sruthi · Post by **sruthi** » 04 May 2011, 01:39

The second set of video clips are of Sri Sankaran Mahadevan - he is a professor based out of Nashville, Tennessee.

(The artiste's name is incorrectly given as Shankar Mahadevan. This can cause confusion.)

smala · Post by **smala** » 04 May 2011, 01:41

arasi, the five part clips are ANOTHER shankar mahadevan - their looks are not even close! Thanks Sruthi for the pointer,- Sankaran - youtube did NOT say this no way to know until now.

Arasi, going by your CM to Cine flight, then some others ought to be off your radar - BJ and Nityashree - they've sung for films - MLV too in her days. For me MLV, Unni and BJ still hold their sway in CM despite their forays into cineworld. (Nityashree is OK but as harimau put it aptly she does tend to shriek).

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 04 May 2011, 02:37

sruthi wrote:The second set of video clips are of Sri Sankaran Mahadevan - he is a professor based out of Nashville, Tennessee.

IIRC, he is married to Monica, a bharatanATyam dancer (a student of Smt. Vasantalakshmi and Sri Narasimhachari). He sings for her.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 04 May 2011, 02:39

Let me have a look...
As for MLV--and others--the scene was different in those days. MLV sang almost as if she sang in a concert or in the AIR studio! She did not sing in false voice to a higher Sruti. The recording equipment was primitive (like it still is in some concert halls) as opposed to today's technology-spun mixing and all that (which I don't know about). There was a stigma about acting and singing in the movies, true, but CM singers like Nityashri's grandmother and others did not change their way of singing. They also sang sometimes their very CM songs to an orchestral background--more so with rAga mAlikAs. So, there were no differences in the genres for them, so to speak.

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 04 May 2011, 02:49

In the final day discusiions with Balamani VVS asked her about how she trained him ( as well as Bombay Jayasree) so well in CM. Is he her son and is he the brother of Hariharan?

What is so great about his CM to be so complimented? I am confused..

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 04 May 2011, 03:04

s-p.
As you, shruti and shankar point out, and after seeing your five videos, I can also say that they do not resemble each other in looks or in their way of singing! I had seen the breathless video of his with Sreeram. He is the same person who sang at Cleveland. Yes, they are different--shankar and Shankaran Mahadevan.

CML,
We have just come out of one confusion--mainly due to my not viewing the five videos!
No, Shankar Mahadevan is not the son of Balamani. Hariharan is, and Shankar refered to him as his dear friend and to Balamani as his guru. The style in which he sang did not have much to do with a traditional teacher like Balamani. He did learn from her and would have been a very talented student--only, he changed his career path. That's all I gather. I thought he went overboard in his praise of her and asked her daughter (and his friend) who sings hindustani music to come to the stage and sing a couple of bhajans which would have surprised the organizers too, don't you think? I caught that end part of the concert.

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 04 May 2011, 03:28

In the basement discussions Balamani gave some excellent suggestions for training future CM students and her experiences. Of course Bombay Jayasree is an Icon which folks will asspire to. But SM is nowhere in that category ( as far as CM is concerned)!. Hariharan is entirely different and belongs to a different genre. It is the mixup of these different categories which confuses me...

mahavishnu · Post by **mahavishnu** » 04 May 2011, 06:01

Arasi/CML: Just to clarify. Hariharan is the son of Smt Alamelu Mani (also disciple of the Brindamma school); not related to Balamani mami (from the Musiri school) in any way. The only thing in common between all of them is that they are all from Bombay and the Chembur/Matunga south Indian music scene there.

Smt TR Balamani has a daughter named Ranjani Chander, who performed on the first day of the festival.

mohan · Post by **mohan** » 04 May 2011, 06:43

So confusing! Just to summarise, Shankar Mahadevan learnt Carnatic music under TR Balamani (also the guru of Bombay Jayashri). Hariharan learnt under his mother, Alamelu Mani.

An interview with SM at http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/indi ... cleid=4483

mahavishnu · Post by **mahavishnu** » 04 May 2011, 07:08

Yes, Mohan. that is right.
thanks for that link.

sureshvv · Post by **sureshvv** » 04 May 2011, 10:54

shyama-priya wrote:A different feel.

http://www.youtube.com/user/vedavyasd1# ... FZIcohnL6U

sureshvv wrote: any clue on what he is singing... todi / charukesi / vakulabharanam / all of the above?

Apologies for quoting myself but will someone please answer me?

smala · Post by **smala** » 04 May 2011, 11:10

This is the most ill-fated thread in that it is most confusing. I read somewhere that BJ is where she is today because of her extensive training with Lalgudi Jayaraman but at least three posts only credit Smt. Balamani as her guru.

Arasi, you still didn't say anything of BJ and Nityashree who have done fair share of film singing, only singled out poor Unni who is still good at CM.

mohan · Post by **mohan** » 04 May 2011, 11:35

shyama-priya wrote:I read somewhere that BJ is where she is today because of her extensive training with Lalgudi Jayaraman but at least three posts only credit Smt. Balamani as her guru.

While in Mumbai, Jayashri learnt for a considerable period under TR Balamani then shifted to Madras for advanced lessons with Lalgudi Jayaraman. So they are both her gurus.

sruthi · Post by **sruthi** » 04 May 2011, 16:24

shyama-priya wrote:This is the most ill-fated thread in that it is most confusing.

Reminds of this joke:
Three old guys are out walking.
First one says, 'Windy, isn't it?'
Second one says, 'No, it's Thursday!'
Third one says, 'So am I. Let's go and get a beer..'

mahavishnu · Post by **mahavishnu** » 04 May 2011, 17:00

Sureshvv, it is vakulabharanam. There is a very clear G3.

In the pa to sa range (esp in the first few seconds of the video), he used some todi prayogams. This is fairly non-standard (read as wrong) usage for vakulabharanam, even though the swarams are the same.

He should have attended the concert/lec-dem on allied ragas

However, I did not hear any traces of charukesi, which clearly requires a R2. Maybe that is just me.

sureshvv · Post by **sureshvv** » 04 May 2011, 18:20

mahavishnu wrote:Sureshvv, it is vakulabharanam. There is a very clear G3.

Mahavishnu... Thanks! Makes sense. Though I heard all the other Ga's also

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 04 May 2011, 19:06

s-p,
I am the wrong person to answer your question. I didn't mean to pick on Unni. I still like to hear his singing here and there--just as I do of others who started singing film music. The gist of it is that I'm not that keen on going and sitting in a concert hall for three hours to listen to them. I have nothing against any of them. They are all very talented. Finally, it's all a matter of one's own personal taste which is at work.
I think some of us here are like those characters in sruthi's joke (a good one, sruthi!). We are well and alive, still loving our CM, but we are better off not getting into very detailed discussions about when, where and how--because our brain cells refuse to cooperate!
In short, we are happy to be still around, enjoying the bounty of CM, thanks to all technological marvels which provide us with even more music that we love to listen to.
Take our Suryaprakash for instance. He has given entirely film songs concerts. The difference is--they are old songs which MKT, Kittappa and others have sung. They are not the same as today's film songs. May be because of that, I do like to listen to Suryaprakash in concert.
If you ask me why, how and why not others?--I have no answer. You may know that I'm not one of those who wants to keep CM chaste in such a way that there cannot be room for imagination to explore the richness of it within its boundaries. You may also know that I don't listen only to CM and to no other kind of music. "So, why are you not keen on going to listen to all the very talented young bunch of singers I name?" you may ask and my answer is: my own taste which I can't explain to myself, let alone to others

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 04 May 2011, 19:42

Without teasing out the notes, I only heard tODi all along and not a shade of charukesi (which I am very good at detecting). Of course it was not a 'good' tODi!

The allied ragas was very enjoyable and I wonder why we should not encourage such 'mixups' in CM. It is the 'hybrid vigour' that will sustain new developments in CM. In fact the popular bashanga ragas
are akin to genetic mutations which violate the strict venkata mahi grammar of janaka/janya ragas. Now that we have legitimized them why not permit the admixture of allied ragas which belong to the same 'gOtra' as IR has successfully demonstrated in some of the popular CM-based movie songs?

arunk · Post by **arunk** » 04 May 2011, 19:56

I was at the Shankar Mahadevan concert. I thought he did admirably given that he is not giving cm concerts regularly (although his style is over-demonstrative to my taste - but that is not to single him out). Still I enjoyed the concert. I will beat a different beat and say would put this about a standard cm fare i.e. what one may find during the season in Chennai - but not at the level of top cm-pros. but then he isn't a full-time pro. I liked his mukhari. The vakulabharanam for most part initially reminded me of part-carukEsi and part-mmg, and thus I resolved the two to vakulabharanam and from then on it was fine to me. But yes there were some places where it reminded of tODi - perhaps too much - not sure. Some would squarely blame the artist, I simply assign it to my unfamiliarity with the raga and thus leading me to grasp at familiar ragas during the identification phase in particular (i have heard exactly one detailed elaboration of this raga until now in concert). Perhaps the pdns of vakulabharanam is trouble because of the obscurity of the raga - you shake ni too much, and it is going to remind of us of ubiquitous tODi. You don't do it, it can remind some of carukESi (it certainly reminded me). The srgm to me almost always throws shades of MMG. This is when I listen to any song in vakulabharanam

And now I go "off beat"

and say that this kind of concert impresses me some of the super-senior concerts I have attended (barring some who are blessed with phenomenal voice culture even in ripe days). To me if sruthi isn't steady in tara stayi and mandra stayi, or voice breaks during phrases, then most of the rest (tradition, patantram etc etc.) becomes compromised from a listening experience perspective. So I have never been moved by the super-senior concerts barring Sri. Srikantan - but this is of course just my perspective.

Arun

smala · Post by **smala** » 04 May 2011, 22:51

Sruthi, good one

thalai naa vaal going on here.

Arasi, understand personal tastes is where everybody is at-- but still, a bit unfair on Unni who is a very good CM artist just as BJ is - some people do films, modern or otherwise, for their own reasons and still maintain their ground in CM. To think....oho.. ippo films-la paada erengiaachaa? pochu po!..x/y/z is doing laralappa or dabba sangeetham - so even though it is your personal choice - dismissing him/them from personal CM ambit is unfair because the light music that Unni, BJ particularly do is NOT the cheap stuff, rather very elevated quality. Also, this is just an *occasional* side venture for them. I've heard this doing the rounds from some types... "Unni used to be top till he entered films..." and wish people would stop being so judgmental and be fair. Unni's concerts are still pleasing.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 05 May 2011, 01:09

s-p,
I do like to hear both Unni and Jayashri-- and Nityashri too! Not necessarily in a three hour concert. I have the patience and zeal to listen to and watch talented children who do not sing for three hours like star performers. Another thing. I make it a point to go to each one of their concerts after an interval of a few years, just to experience their singing again--just to make sure that I'm not missing something. It's the same as in our different tastes in food. Not that one dish is not as good as the other. It surely has something to do with our taste and taste buds.
Yes, as you say, personal tastes is where everybody is at--and I add, that is where we make peace among ourselves, not questioning the tastes of each other. I can't think of anything more to explain my thoughts on this

smala · Post by **smala** » 05 May 2011, 01:27

arasi,..."not questioning the tastes..." of course no one can, but sad with your dismissal earlier of Unni when you said "Unnikrishnan was very appealing to me before he started singing for films." Like I explained, this view of CM into occasional film foray can sometimes be our own in-built rejection-by-association without a fair trial. Like the SC court says to be found with Maoist literature does not make you a Maoist or a seditionist.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 05 May 2011, 01:46

s-p,
I went back searching for anything that I said which was offensive about Unni! All I have said is that his music was very appealing to me before he started singing in films!
Now, you make me say the following: I've ignored personal remarks in the past about my being 'regal', because I thought that there was no point in dwelling upon unpleasant (not necessarily sad) remarks because it is understood that we all have different tastes in people too!
Sorry, my remark made you sad. Hope those who love his music post here and make you happy

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 05 May 2011, 01:49

You have edited your reply and I'm happy to see the smile in your post!

smala · Post by **smala** » 05 May 2011, 01:54

arasi wrote:You have edited your reply and I'm happy to see the smile in your post!

Its all in the mindset, arasi - hopefully you'll attend his concert and enjoy it too.