Sanjay Subrahmanyan@NGS(Tanjore Upendran Day) on July24th,2016
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Vocal : Sanjay Subrahmanyan
Violin : Nagai Sriram
Mrudangam : Srimushnam Raja Rao
Kanjira : S venkataramanan
Concert Type : Nirvana - No concert to follow /Free
Day/Duration : Sunday /2 hours 07:30 to 09:30 pm
Occasion/Hall : 25th anniversary of Tanjore Upendran/NGS
1. sree ramya cittalankAra (S)- jayamanOhari-T
2 mins swaras
2. thyagarAja gurum AshrayE (raga sketch)-kedaram - MDR
3. dinamE sudinamu (R N S)- latAngi -T
9 mins alapana and 5 mins violin return
4 mins neraval in shree lathangi yani satatamu ninnukOri??
6 mins swaras
4A. rAas vilAas (R S T)- kAmbOdhi - ST
15 mins alapana and 9 mins violin return
11 mins swaras
4B. tani for 20 mins
5A. Viruththam aadugalum mAdugalum azhagudaya - AhirBhairav ???
5B.nithaM unnai vEndi manam ninaipathellAm - Ahirbhairavi ??? - mahakavi bharathiyar
6. pavamAna
Sanjay Subrahmanyan@NGS(Tanjore Upendran Day)on July24th,2016
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rajeshnat
- Posts: 10129
- Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 08:04
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rajeshnat
- Posts: 10129
- Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 08:04
Re: Sanjay Subrahmanyan@NGS(Tanjore Upendran Day)on July24th,2016
25th anniversay of Tanjore Upendran had a day long program in NGS . I wish i had time to hear more concerts before sanjay but I only managed to attend only this concert .I heard the fag end of the main speech where violin vidwan VVS and NGS new office bearer spoke . Shri Upendran was a great team player and worked tirelessly in uniting artist is what I heard from the two speakers.
I am hearing sanjay after his 2014 Music Academy concert . His start was in a rare krithi in jayamanohari, I recollect having read a review here about the krithi. I felt he did not give that great start may be a little more pouring swaras would have been bit more magical for this two one way tracks of aabhogi and sreeranjani - jayamanohari mixture.Also the mrudangam was slightly low which got adjusted from 2nd number onwards. Kedaram is a lovely raga where there is a bit of restraint in general . Sanjay excels with vocal power and a bit of restraint (adakkal) and I like in general his kedaram . He sang very well and it was a typical antha kalathu ariyakudish #2 drop where there is no swaras with only krithi . I am not such a big fan of only krithi especially in #2 but anyway kedaram kalaikattufied the concert
Latangi alapana was not the usual alapana rendition . Prati ragas like kalyani pantuvarali usually have not that much vivadi dissonance feel . Sanjay sang a lathangi which was indeed lathangi from word go but he gave lot of dissonance notes too of a typical prati madhyama vivadi ragas . I have not heard the next krithi dinamE sudinamu and he sang well . There was not much to rave about in neraval in latangi , he could have certainly dwelled more . The swaras were well done with few pockets of his sanjayesque mannerism .
KAmbOdhi alapana was well done , he certainly brought in a lot of intense carnatic idioms and i liked it . The lovely rasa vilasa was well sung , he skipped neraval and the swaras were more in lower to medium tempo and he finished with a long cycle of swaras.I wish he raced bit more and took up the upper reach sangathis around the ga ma pa ma pA , but he skipped it and gave a tani. I was atleast then thinking perhaps he is planning a RTP but that did not happen.
There was just one song post main, the viruththam and the followup of bharathiyar in Ahirbhairav (hope it was not chakravakham) was catchy . I thought he would come up with more songs but that was not the case.
Nagai Sriram played well but it was not the usually high excellence that he generally demonstrates . During alapana there was a bit of roughness . The percussion team of raja rao and s venkataramanan pepped enough . I particularly liked the first round of tani for most part where raja rao rhythmic intelligence was in full flow but for every handing over strokes to kanjira ,raja rao was quite loud.He earned applause but my inner ears had a loud experience. S venkatarmananan is a restrained player and he shows his skills in a typical kanjira pakkavadhya way and I loved it.
Sanjay gave as usual a lot of rare numbers. He could have gone more - perhaps this being a free concert he decided to exactly have it as 2 hours - which makes strategically a lot of sense for his soon ticketed concerts is my best guess.
Overall a very good to excellent concert for nearly 2 hours
I am hearing sanjay after his 2014 Music Academy concert . His start was in a rare krithi in jayamanohari, I recollect having read a review here about the krithi. I felt he did not give that great start may be a little more pouring swaras would have been bit more magical for this two one way tracks of aabhogi and sreeranjani - jayamanohari mixture.Also the mrudangam was slightly low which got adjusted from 2nd number onwards. Kedaram is a lovely raga where there is a bit of restraint in general . Sanjay excels with vocal power and a bit of restraint (adakkal) and I like in general his kedaram . He sang very well and it was a typical antha kalathu ariyakudish #2 drop where there is no swaras with only krithi . I am not such a big fan of only krithi especially in #2 but anyway kedaram kalaikattufied the concert
Latangi alapana was not the usual alapana rendition . Prati ragas like kalyani pantuvarali usually have not that much vivadi dissonance feel . Sanjay sang a lathangi which was indeed lathangi from word go but he gave lot of dissonance notes too of a typical prati madhyama vivadi ragas . I have not heard the next krithi dinamE sudinamu and he sang well . There was not much to rave about in neraval in latangi , he could have certainly dwelled more . The swaras were well done with few pockets of his sanjayesque mannerism .
KAmbOdhi alapana was well done , he certainly brought in a lot of intense carnatic idioms and i liked it . The lovely rasa vilasa was well sung , he skipped neraval and the swaras were more in lower to medium tempo and he finished with a long cycle of swaras.I wish he raced bit more and took up the upper reach sangathis around the ga ma pa ma pA , but he skipped it and gave a tani. I was atleast then thinking perhaps he is planning a RTP but that did not happen.
There was just one song post main, the viruththam and the followup of bharathiyar in Ahirbhairav (hope it was not chakravakham) was catchy . I thought he would come up with more songs but that was not the case.
Nagai Sriram played well but it was not the usually high excellence that he generally demonstrates . During alapana there was a bit of roughness . The percussion team of raja rao and s venkataramanan pepped enough . I particularly liked the first round of tani for most part where raja rao rhythmic intelligence was in full flow but for every handing over strokes to kanjira ,raja rao was quite loud.He earned applause but my inner ears had a loud experience. S venkatarmananan is a restrained player and he shows his skills in a typical kanjira pakkavadhya way and I loved it.
Sanjay gave as usual a lot of rare numbers. He could have gone more - perhaps this being a free concert he decided to exactly have it as 2 hours - which makes strategically a lot of sense for his soon ticketed concerts is my best guess.
Overall a very good to excellent concert for nearly 2 hours
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grsastrigal
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- Joined: 27 Dec 2006, 10:52
Re: Sanjay Subrahmanyan@NGS(Tanjore Upendran Day)on July24th,2016
“I know Rajeshnat’s /C Rama’s review would come as it was only “crowded” concert , except Shri.O.S.Thyagarajan was giving a concert at P S High school on the same day. Since it is Sanjay, two is a crowd. Here is my review..
Tanjavur Upendran’s 25th remembrance day was celebrated on 24th July 2016 at NGS, Chennai.
Full credit to Neyveli narayanan and Murugabhoobhathi for this whole day’s programme. The stage itself was very beautiful, Temple bell-like a set hanging above the stage-was something unique. Disciples celebrating “remembrance Day” for their Guru at such a level is very appreciable. As a left handed player, like pazhani, his photo itself, showing his left hand, was very majestic.
When I was entering the hall, stalwarts, Shri VVS, Karikudi mani, Sikkil baskaran and Smt. Vedavalli and 2 more people were at the stage and paying “huge’ tributes to TU.
I could go to the evening session half an hour before Sanjay’s concert. Sanjay’s concert started at 7.35, instead of the scheduled 7.15. The concert, unusually, went upto 9.35. After a longtime, I could listen to Sanjay’s 2 hours concert deviating from his customary 3 hours and more…..
Nagai Sriram
Srimushnam rajarao- mridhangam
S.Venkatraman
Sanjay, growing beard, partially white, looked like kabAli star. Immediately, I have a “kavidhai”
இவருடைய கச்சேரி என்றால் ஜாலி
தமிழை அழகுற தருவதில் அவர் இன்னொரு வாலி
அவரின் கற்பனை ஸ்வரங்களுக்கு ஏது வேலி
அவர் சங்கீத உலகின் கபாலி
--Sri ramya chittAlanAra swaroopa- JayamanOhari-Adi- Thyagarajar (S)
It looked like sriranjani intiatlly to me and I was wrong.
--kedhAram-rAgam for 1 minute-ThyagarAja Gurum AshrayE-MDR
Very melodius one, lovely chittaiswaram.
--LathAngi-Sub-main- dinamE sudhinamU IsvarI kripa- Neraval in “Sri Lathangi yani satatamu ninu kOri”
ThyAgarajar (S)
Very interesting neraval. Sanjay displayed all his “swara jAlam in lathAngi- Nagai Sriram equally carried that brilliantly. This concert was supposed to have Nagai muralidharan, instead it was replaced by over by Nagain Sriram. For me there is no difference, both the violinists are superb.
Interesting note about this kriti is as per T.K.Govinda Rao’s book, this was not ThyAgarAja kriti. When he started I thought this would be Badrachala armadas kriti, as later’s kriti also starts with “dinamE”
There is a word “bhava sAgara” in this kriti. Sanjay did a slow-“water fall like descending note in this, which was repeated in violin by NS. “So delicious”
--Kambodhi-Main- rAsA vilAsa-Swathi TirunAl- (S)
What a rendition. Full throat AlApana. Sanjay’s full energy was displayed. Excellent rendition.
-Adugalum mAdugalum azhagudaiya pariyum”- virutham (must be Ahir bairavi).
“Nittham unnai tEdi manam ninaippathellAm poyyA- (Whose kriti)
The above kriti was never heard from Sanjay. Though, it was nice, some other virutham would have been better.
PavamAna
The crowd was 75% expecting some more (may be RTP). But he finished it in 2 hours. May better luck next time.
Srimushnam rAja Rao- I think he was like TiruvArur bhakthavatsalam. He was slapping, blasting the instrument. If anyone went near to him that time, he would have slapped that person also. I thought Mannargudi or his usual Neyveli would have been better …
Violin-Cool-Nagai Sriram with his “killing smile” captured the heart of full crowd with his instrument.
Tani was good.
Tanjavur Upendran’s 25th remembrance day was celebrated on 24th July 2016 at NGS, Chennai.
Full credit to Neyveli narayanan and Murugabhoobhathi for this whole day’s programme. The stage itself was very beautiful, Temple bell-like a set hanging above the stage-was something unique. Disciples celebrating “remembrance Day” for their Guru at such a level is very appreciable. As a left handed player, like pazhani, his photo itself, showing his left hand, was very majestic.
When I was entering the hall, stalwarts, Shri VVS, Karikudi mani, Sikkil baskaran and Smt. Vedavalli and 2 more people were at the stage and paying “huge’ tributes to TU.
I could go to the evening session half an hour before Sanjay’s concert. Sanjay’s concert started at 7.35, instead of the scheduled 7.15. The concert, unusually, went upto 9.35. After a longtime, I could listen to Sanjay’s 2 hours concert deviating from his customary 3 hours and more…..
Nagai Sriram
Srimushnam rajarao- mridhangam
S.Venkatraman
Sanjay, growing beard, partially white, looked like kabAli star. Immediately, I have a “kavidhai”
இவருடைய கச்சேரி என்றால் ஜாலி
தமிழை அழகுற தருவதில் அவர் இன்னொரு வாலி
அவரின் கற்பனை ஸ்வரங்களுக்கு ஏது வேலி
அவர் சங்கீத உலகின் கபாலி
--Sri ramya chittAlanAra swaroopa- JayamanOhari-Adi- Thyagarajar (S)
It looked like sriranjani intiatlly to me and I was wrong.
--kedhAram-rAgam for 1 minute-ThyagarAja Gurum AshrayE-MDR
Very melodius one, lovely chittaiswaram.
--LathAngi-Sub-main- dinamE sudhinamU IsvarI kripa- Neraval in “Sri Lathangi yani satatamu ninu kOri”
ThyAgarajar (S)
Very interesting neraval. Sanjay displayed all his “swara jAlam in lathAngi- Nagai Sriram equally carried that brilliantly. This concert was supposed to have Nagai muralidharan, instead it was replaced by over by Nagain Sriram. For me there is no difference, both the violinists are superb.
Interesting note about this kriti is as per T.K.Govinda Rao’s book, this was not ThyAgarAja kriti. When he started I thought this would be Badrachala armadas kriti, as later’s kriti also starts with “dinamE”
There is a word “bhava sAgara” in this kriti. Sanjay did a slow-“water fall like descending note in this, which was repeated in violin by NS. “So delicious”
--Kambodhi-Main- rAsA vilAsa-Swathi TirunAl- (S)
What a rendition. Full throat AlApana. Sanjay’s full energy was displayed. Excellent rendition.
-Adugalum mAdugalum azhagudaiya pariyum”- virutham (must be Ahir bairavi).
“Nittham unnai tEdi manam ninaippathellAm poyyA- (Whose kriti)
The above kriti was never heard from Sanjay. Though, it was nice, some other virutham would have been better.
PavamAna
The crowd was 75% expecting some more (may be RTP). But he finished it in 2 hours. May better luck next time.
Srimushnam rAja Rao- I think he was like TiruvArur bhakthavatsalam. He was slapping, blasting the instrument. If anyone went near to him that time, he would have slapped that person also. I thought Mannargudi or his usual Neyveli would have been better …
Violin-Cool-Nagai Sriram with his “killing smile” captured the heart of full crowd with his instrument.
Tani was good.
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grsastrigal
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Re: Sanjay Subrahmanyan@NGS(Tanjore Upendran Day)on July24th,2016
I would be doing injustice by not mentioning about stalwart’s comments on Tanjore Upendran. (from my memory)
Smt. Vedavall – TU was a man of words. When I asked him to accompany me, he said, “I need to get “upgraded”, give me two months”. Once I am successful, I will accompany you first”. Exactly, after 3 months and accompanied me for the concert. Rarely you see a person with “respecting the word”
Karaikkudi Mani- TU’s contribution in upbringing Mandolin srinivAs itself showed how he encouraged youngsters. The moment he spotted a talent, he went to any extent to bring them up.
He was a great astrologer too.
Once, TU was about to accompany an artist in Thyagaraja utsavam. That time, Trichy Sankaran came and asked TU to accompany that artist, as TS was about to catch a train in an hour or two. Immediately TU not only gave the mridhangam slot to TS but also played Ganjira for the artist.
He is real “human”. His humility and humanness, despite being at his peak of his carreer, was amazing No ego. Very simple and try to reach any one with any problems without even blinking his eyes. Karaikkudi Mani was moved, when explaining about TU, as he encouraged “double mridhangam’ with him and wherever TU went he recommended Karaikkudi Mani.
He also said, “whenever I had personal problem, I always go to him for a solution, and he was ready for that. Now, no one is there for me and Iam left alone”
TU was fully instrumental in bringing Mandolin Srinivas in to “A” grade in Radio without “audition”.
Karaikkudi mani (KM) concluded TU was failure in one area, where he wanted KM to get married and brought so many alliance for KM but could not succeed, amidst laughter.
Sikkil baskaran and TU accompanied many concerts. Sikkil baskaran narrated how helpful he was to each and every artist and VVS also echoed.
Smt. Vedavall – TU was a man of words. When I asked him to accompany me, he said, “I need to get “upgraded”, give me two months”. Once I am successful, I will accompany you first”. Exactly, after 3 months and accompanied me for the concert. Rarely you see a person with “respecting the word”
Karaikkudi Mani- TU’s contribution in upbringing Mandolin srinivAs itself showed how he encouraged youngsters. The moment he spotted a talent, he went to any extent to bring them up.
He was a great astrologer too.
Once, TU was about to accompany an artist in Thyagaraja utsavam. That time, Trichy Sankaran came and asked TU to accompany that artist, as TS was about to catch a train in an hour or two. Immediately TU not only gave the mridhangam slot to TS but also played Ganjira for the artist.
He is real “human”. His humility and humanness, despite being at his peak of his carreer, was amazing No ego. Very simple and try to reach any one with any problems without even blinking his eyes. Karaikkudi Mani was moved, when explaining about TU, as he encouraged “double mridhangam’ with him and wherever TU went he recommended Karaikkudi Mani.
He also said, “whenever I had personal problem, I always go to him for a solution, and he was ready for that. Now, no one is there for me and Iam left alone”
TU was fully instrumental in bringing Mandolin Srinivas in to “A” grade in Radio without “audition”.
Karaikkudi mani (KM) concluded TU was failure in one area, where he wanted KM to get married and brought so many alliance for KM but could not succeed, amidst laughter.
Sikkil baskaran and TU accompanied many concerts. Sikkil baskaran narrated how helpful he was to each and every artist and VVS also echoed.
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shankarank
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Re: Sanjay Subrahmanyan@NGS(Tanjore Upendran Day)on July24th,2016
I cannot resist recalling what a friend who was in attendance of an earlier remembrance day ( late 90s or so ) of Sri T Upendran, recollected. I don't recall who was the Mridangist - As usual many in the audience started to leave when tani started.
Sanjay had to restrain them with words: "Upendran Sir .. it will be nice if you all stayed and listened"
As regards Raja Rao sirs volume - this tendency developed for both him and Sri Bhaktavatsalam, and is not restricted to them .. whenever a Senior Mridangist plays for a Junior this trend started from early 90(s). And this is not restricted to Mridangam only - From Music as music to Sound as music to Volume as music, Artistes themselves started becoming insecure about the art !
You can hear his soft exuberance in cassette releases with many Senior artistes in the earlier period. I hope for the sake of greatness of this art - they all tone down.
Sanjay had to restrain them with words: "Upendran Sir .. it will be nice if you all stayed and listened"
As regards Raja Rao sirs volume - this tendency developed for both him and Sri Bhaktavatsalam, and is not restricted to them .. whenever a Senior Mridangist plays for a Junior this trend started from early 90(s). And this is not restricted to Mridangam only - From Music as music to Sound as music to Volume as music, Artistes themselves started becoming insecure about the art !
You can hear his soft exuberance in cassette releases with many Senior artistes in the earlier period. I hope for the sake of greatness of this art - they all tone down.
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kvchellappa
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Re: Sanjay Subrahmanyan@NGS(Tanjore Upendran Day)on July24th,2016
Thanks Sri GRS for the soulful review and the nice poem.
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arasi
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Re: Sanjay Subrahmanyan@NGS(Tanjore Upendran Day)on July24th,2016
Rajesh,
I can understand. Your longing for four hour concerts gets even more intense when you get just half the duration of such a concert
Reason (s)? Could have been any one of many. After a series of concerts and speeches, just because it was a nirvANA slot, you can't stretch the hours even more!
Also, Sanjay who is known to sing without looking at the watch, might have had that in mind. Or, did the organizers want a shorter concert? Or, did the venue have a say in it?
Most of us get frustrated if the RTP gets a precis treatment. So, a non-pallavi concert was given, I guess.
I can understand. Your longing for four hour concerts gets even more intense when you get just half the duration of such a concert
Reason (s)? Could have been any one of many. After a series of concerts and speeches, just because it was a nirvANA slot, you can't stretch the hours even more!
Also, Sanjay who is known to sing without looking at the watch, might have had that in mind. Or, did the organizers want a shorter concert? Or, did the venue have a say in it?
Most of us get frustrated if the RTP gets a precis treatment. So, a non-pallavi concert was given, I guess.
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arasi
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- Joined: 22 Jun 2006, 09:30
Re: Sanjay Subrahmanyan@NGS(Tanjore Upendran Day)on July24th,2016
gsastrigal,
Thanks for the review and the inspired verse.
Here's a verse after my reading your posts...
கவிதை பிறந்தது கவின் மிகு இசையினால்
செவிதனுக்குகந்த சங்கீதம் கேட்டதுமே--
புவியில் பிறந்தோரதன் சுவை விடுத்து
நவில்வரோ பலசரக்குக் கடை விவரமுமே
kavidai piRandadu kavin migu isaiyinAl
sevidanukkuganda sanItam kETTadumE--
puviyil piRandOradan suvai viDuthu
navilvarO palasarakkuk kaDai vivaramumE
Thanks for the review and the inspired verse.
Here's a verse after my reading your posts...
கவிதை பிறந்தது கவின் மிகு இசையினால்
செவிதனுக்குகந்த சங்கீதம் கேட்டதுமே--
புவியில் பிறந்தோரதன் சுவை விடுத்து
நவில்வரோ பலசரக்குக் கடை விவரமுமே
kavidai piRandadu kavin migu isaiyinAl
sevidanukkuganda sanItam kETTadumE--
puviyil piRandOradan suvai viDuthu
navilvarO palasarakkuk kaDai vivaramumE
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arasi
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Re: Sanjay Subrahmanyan@NGS(Tanjore Upendran Day)on July24th,2016
Rajesh,
The virutham is the third verse of Bharathi's 'nittamunait tEDi manam', which preceded the song.
The virutham is the third verse of Bharathi's 'nittamunait tEDi manam', which preceded the song.
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sureshvv
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arasi
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Re: Sanjay Subrahmanyan@NGS(Tanjore Upendran Day)on July24th,2016
Sureshvv,
Good to have the lyrics!
Transliterations vary, of course. Two words which stood out were veTRi (vetti) koNDE and kaLi (which with small case 'l' becomes fate--kali), instead of joy.
Good to have the lyrics!
Transliterations vary, of course. Two words which stood out were veTRi (vetti) koNDE and kaLi (which with small case 'l' becomes fate--kali), instead of joy.
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grsastrigal
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Re: Sanjay Subrahmanyan@NGS(Tanjore Upendran Day)on July24th,2016
Oh Thanks. Sureshvv. I have a special interest for SS virutham as all of you. That day virutham was not catchy though it was in Ahir bairav. After reading the full lyric of yours, I started wondering the beauty of the kriti.
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arasi
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Re: Sanjay Subrahmanyan@NGS(Tanjore Upendran Day)on July24th,2016
gsastrigal,
With all of Bharathi's writings, whichever page we open, whichever two lines our eyes chance upon, we feel like reading the lines again, as the impact of them surprise and elate us...
With all of Bharathi's writings, whichever page we open, whichever two lines our eyes chance upon, we feel like reading the lines again, as the impact of them surprise and elate us...
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grsastrigal
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- Joined: 27 Dec 2006, 10:52
Re: Sanjay Subrahmanyan@NGS(Tanjore Upendran Day)on July24th,2016
Happy to upload this kriti. When he sings- "pariyum", SS is using a "different note"..!!!
https://www.sendspace.com/file/geua81
Which one you like- BharatiyAr lyrics, SS way of singing or the rAGam.... whoever tells correctly, will get "magsaysay" award..
https://www.sendspace.com/file/geua81
Which one you like- BharatiyAr lyrics, SS way of singing or the rAGam.... whoever tells correctly, will get "magsaysay" award..
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sureshvv
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- Joined: 05 Jul 2007, 18:17
Re: Sanjay Subrahmanyan@NGS(Tanjore Upendran Day)on July24th,2016
None of the above. grsastrigal's "achachacho" during the viruttam gets the cake
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kvchellappa
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- Joined: 04 Aug 2011, 13:54
Re: Sanjay Subrahmanyan@NGS(Tanjore Upendran Day)on July24th,2016
The true connoisseur may prefer something more worthy than Magsaysay!
Thanks for the priceless clip.
Thanks for the priceless clip.