Vasundhra Rajagopal, Live at Rasikalaya, London, 27-Aug 2012

[jayaram]

Vasundhra Rajagopal, Live at Rasikalaya, London, Aug 27th, 2012

http://www.rasikalaya.org.uk

Vocal: Smt. Vasundhra Rajagopal
Violin: Sri AGA Gnanasundaram
Mridangam: Sri Somasundara Desigar

Venue: Church of the Ascension, Beaufort Road, London W5 3EB
Time: Concert started at 5:30pm and lasted for 3 hrs 15 mins

01 SrI jAlandharam - Gambhira Nattai - Adi - Jayachamaraja Wodeyar
02 Vazhi Maraitirukkudu - Natakurinji - Misra chapu - Gopalakrishna Bharati
03 pAlintuvO pAlimpavO - Adi - Kantamani - Thyagaraja (R, S @ Pallavi)
04 sArasAksha - Pantuvarali - Adi - Swati Thirunal (R, N,S @ BhAminI samudayA)
05 Saravanabhava guhanE - Kannada - Adi - Papanasam Sivan
06 rAma bANa - Saveri - Adi (2 kalai) - Thyagaraja (R, N, S @ Shauryam Emani Pogadutura)
07 Thani avartanam
08 malai kuRavanji vandALE - Begada - Adi - Kavikunjara Bharati
09 SrI kamalAmbA Jayati - Ahiri - Rupakam (2 kalai) - Muthuswami Dikshitar
10 rAgam tAnam Pallavi - Bhairavi, Lalita, Sindhubhairavi - Adi (2 kalai)
"bhairavi rAga rasikE ... laLitE shivE sindhu"
Ragamalika swaras: Salagabhairavi, Anandabhairavi, Ahir bhairav
11 Thillana - Misra Shivaranjani - Adi - Lalgudi G Jayaraman
12 Mangalam

(R: Raga alapanam; N: Neraval, S: Swaras)

Overall it was an evening of excellent music, much appreciated by those who attended the concert.
Let me provide excerpts of feedback we received from some of our patrons - they will speak for themselves:
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1. From Shri E Balaji:
Thanks for organizing this wonderful concert. The concert was unique in many respects:
1) There was no Varnam.
2) Each major carnatic composer was represented by one & only one song. Shyama Sastrigal was the only omission.
3) The RTP was an unusual blend. I have heard the combination of Bhairavi, VasantaBhairavi, AnandaBhairavi & SindhuBhairavi but the inclusion of Lalita in this package was a bold experiment which succeeded very well.
4) I liked the titbits added by way of comments by Smt Vasundhara. Very sharp & precise. There was the occasional touch of humour like she said the name of the Raga was ‘camouflaged’ in the Ahiri Kirtanai – Dikshitar the prankster perhaps!

The accompanists rendered great support & in turn they were allowed great freedom by the vocalist to show their stuff individually.
It was altogether an enthralling experience. The food packet was the icing on the cake.
Congratulations Rasikalaya. Please give us more of the same.
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2. From Smt Geetha Sivaraman:
Dear Rasikalaya team,
Well done! Another feather in your cap!!
RTP is still fresh in my mind & I am getting rejuvenated when I try to relive those happy times of listening to RTP of Mrs. Vasundhra Rajagopal.
Not only were our ears filled with good music, our stomach was also filled by very tasty home made pulia sadham & thayir sadam.

Thanks once again for arranging such a good programme.
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3. From Shri K Natarajan:
Just a line to thank you all for arranging the wonderful concert - it was a scintillating concert and I for one was completely mesmerised during the entire 3.5 hours that Mrs Vasundhra sang! To cap it all were the tasty PuliyOdarai and Thayir Saadham! Nirmala's and my heartfelt thanks to the volunteers who prepared the food.
Well done and best wishes for your future success!
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Smt Vasundhra Rajagopal holds a special place for Rasikalaya - she sang the inaugural concert for us in 2010.
Just like the inaugural concert, this one was also of a very high quality, full of vidwat.

As always, it was a labour of love for the team and the volunteers who helped out.

Jayaram

http://www.rasikalaya.org.uk
(A review of Smt Vasundhra Rajagopal's inaugural concert for Rasikalaya can be found here: http://www.rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=13156 )

[jayaram]

[rajeshnat]

Jayaram
Nice to see a review of yours. It is nice for u to kickstart and post others views . I particularly miss Rishi sharma 's review . Hope he adds that too...

[arasi]

Jayaram,
Good to hear from you, as always. A review collection and all the organizing! May there be more such good concerts at Rasikalaya.
As Rajesh says, a review from Rishi would have been the cherry on top. Was he not present at this concert?

malaik kuRavanji vandALE is something I haven't heard in any concert, and the rarely heard rAma bANa makes it more interesting for me. Any chance of hearing them, with the artiste's permission?

[mohan]

Thanks for the writeup and photos Jayaram. I note that the provision of food continues to be a big hit among all!