Overwhelmed by a Chamber music type concert by Prince Rama Varma

Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan main hall

If Sunday we witnessed "sowkhya sangeetham", then on Tuesday, at the same venue, we all witnessed "sowkhyam-er" sangeetham. I have a feeling that it probably is the "sowkhyam-est", but don't want to rush into such extreme judgement, lest Carnatic music itself and some stalwarts prove me wrong yet again. We had a wonderful feeling of attending a chamber concert from Prince Rama Varma, accompanied by Avaneeswaram Shri S R Vinu on violin and Shri B Harikumar on the Mridangam. Soft, melodious and soulful music was presented over the 2 hours in the evening concert.

Prince Rama Varma started with the bhairavi varnam 'viribOni'. He presented the pallavi, anupallavi and muktAyi swarams in three kAlas before proceeding to the charanam 'cirunav' in the brisk pace. The softness was also followed by Shri S R Vinu in his presentation as well as Shri Harikumar's accompaniment. As probably many know, Shri Harikumar can be goaded to play exhuberantly when required for a different team and different presentation. In this concert he gave apt touches through out.

The next song presented was 'vAtApi gaNapatim' in Hamsadhvani. Continuing in a medium tempo and soulful rendition, Prince Rama Varma started expressing facially and with actions, at certain points in the kriti to add colour to the concert. Making a 'ogre' like face, while singing 'bhUtAdi' and using a mandra stayi phrase showed us that he would be adding such postures and actions at key points to express the meaning of the lines as well. He sang very good kalpana swarams after the caranams and presented many variations with pauses, jumping octaves, etc., which reminded us and indicated the influence of his guru Dr. M Balamuralikrishna.

A view from our seats on 27 November, 2018

After just a few seconds of indication of pantuvarALi, he started with 'rAma bhakti' as part of the rendition of 'aparAma bhakti'. After a very involved and bhakti filled rendition of the kriti, he launched into kalpana swarams. During the kalpana swarams in pantuvarALi, suddenly he seemed to stumble upon 'niri niri gama gari sa'. With a 1000 watt bulb of a smile on getting this swaram phrase, and thrill of a child discovering an unexpected gift, he repeated it in the fashion of the pUrvi tillAnA which begins with these swarams. As most of you know, pUrvi is the Hindustani equivalent of pantuvarALi.

The end of kalpanaswarams was a very interesting stretch of 3-4 minutes in various nadais and also some with nice pauses, single swarams and dwelling on a single swaram, etc. This included a descent step by step all the way to the adhara shadjam, without any hesitation, and dwelling on each note in mandara stAyi - pa.... ma.... ga.... ri.... then finally sa - without any problem with maintaining the sruti at that bass! Of course, there was spontaneous applause for him presenting this series of swarams. This part reminded us of the bass of Shri M D Ramanathan who loved to sing the bass and with impeccable sruti alignment. The interesting part was that Shri S R Vinu then presented a nearly identical kalpana swaram follow-up including the descent and extension of each swaram in the mandra stAyi. Incredible to remember the structure of the 3-4 minutes of that manodharma and repeat it nicely! The kalpana swarams also had so much of Dr. Balamuralikrishna's styles incorporated. We can say that Dr. Balamuralikrishna continues to live and perform among us in the form of Prince Rama Varma.

Next Prince Rama Varma presented the HindOLam composition of Dr. M Balamuralikrishna 'gAna rasikE'. This composition is replete with swaraksharams and is indeed wonderful to hear. It was a compact presentation of the song after which he announced that it was his guru's composition, even though it was obvious for us that inclusion of 'muraLi' as well as the style of the composition, including swaraksharams, can only be His composition.

shankarAbharanam was chosen as the main piece for the day. The earlier four songs were rendered without an AlApanA. The irresistable, slow, melodious lineation of this weighty rAgam was superb. It was a very good classical elaboration of the rAgam, followed by Shri S R Vinu's reply in similar manner - nuanced, unhurried and melodious. By the way, just as the AlApanA was unfolding, a VIP from middle of first row stood up, walked to the rightmost seat of second row and admonished the person. Then we noticed that this gentleman in second row, though well out of view of all audience, was busy reading the newspaper, likely in noisy manner, which seemed to disturb the VIP. There were other interesting things that happened, which we will cover at end of this report.

Prince Rama Varma's diction, splitting of lyrics in right way to emphasize the meanings, etc., are really to be learnt from by students. Again, Dr. M BMK's influence can be seen very much in this aspect. Amazing diction.

Before beginning the main piece, Prince Rama Varma explained that this piece would be that of his 'mAnasIga' guru Shri M D Ramanathan. He talked briefly about the two gurus' personalities - outgoing one of Dr. M Balamuralikrishna and an inward looking one of Shri MDR. He also mentioned that it could be seen in how Dr M BMK used to highlight and enjoy singing his mudra "Murali", or even the word "Murali" in others' compositions. Meanwhile one could figure out a song composed and rendered by Shri MDR through his 'swallowing' the mudra 'varada dAsa' (as though being a bit embarrassed to sing the same) as his own composition. Prince Rama Varma also highlighted that the piece, janani natajana pAlini, included the phrase 'Adi varada dAsa' meaning 'first of Tiger Varadachariar's disciples'. He mentioned that Shri MDR had written the compositions in Thamizh, Malayalam, Sanskrit and Telugu in the respective scripts only, in the many notebooks!

The song, neraval and kalpanaswarams were excellent and fit both for the grandeur of the rAgam as well as the choice of it being the main item. Again, at various points of the song, he showed the facial expressions and actions fitting to the lyrics - can say like a dancer would express the meaning using abhinayA! The main item included a tani avartanam by Shri Harikumar, which was kept in line with the tone of the concert - polished and soft, presenting all the combinations. Of course, towards the end of it, the exhuberance did creep in with the exhilaration of the finish, but that is bound to happen in a tani avartanam. Surprisingly not many left the concert at the beginning of the tani avartanam (around 8 PM). Of course, some Mylapore mamis and mamas had to leave at their respective timings of 7:30, 7:40 and 7:45. Many have their own schedules or they have even older relatives to take care of at home (as per the explanations they give to their friends who showed questioning faces or raised eyebrows).

Next, Prince Rama Varma pointed to Shri Harikumar, as he started with "Hari", in singing Maharaja Swati Tirunal's rAgamAlika composition 'japata japata Hari'. The rAgamAlikA is in rAgams mAnD, nIlamani, beHAg and sindhubhairavi. An upload in YouTube is available. He also announced to the audience, who he may have noticed were in a dilemma whether to leave, that he would only take about 15 minutes and finish by 8:30 PM and they need not worry about the delay in dinner.

It was very nice of him to explain the next medley of a 'siddar pADal' - 'nandavanattil OrAnDi', its meaning, its inner-meaning and that he would include the maguDi also in the medley. He started by singing the tune as swarams first before singing the pADal, and then presented in second tempo too. Smoothly he switched to the magudi notes before he finished with a flourish. Coming back to the full lyrics - 'nandavattil OrAnDi; avan nAlAru mAsamAy kuyavanai vEnDi; koNDu vandAn oru thONDi; adai kUttADi tUttADi pOTTuDaittAnDi' - is quite obvious from the normal view. He explained a soul prays to the potter & that nAlAru = 4 + 6 = 10 months, a soul waits for the body (a pot) and then the person proceeds to waste his/her life before breaking the pot (leaving the body). The story of life in just few lines!

The final part of the presentation was Shri T V Gopalakrishnan's tillAnA in beHAg. Prince Rama Varma thanked everyone stating that it was nice to perform in front of a beautiful audience and that he was performing only once more on 15th December at Arkay Convention Centre, for the Chennai season. I am surprised and sad to hear that he is not performing a few more times in this December Season. I do not know the schedule of the Prince, or the dynamics of our sabhas - but it is definitely a loss for Chennai if more of his concerts are not included for us. The youngsters can learn lot from his concerts, a lot about his guru Dr. M Balamuralikrishna and his repertoire, his 'mAnasIga' guru Shri MD Ramanathan's style and repertoire, etc., from this stalwart. Hope the sabha fraternity, organizers, sponsors and the various donors look into the possibility of getting Prince Rama Varma to perform more concerts here.

Prince Rama Varma is an accomplished Vainika also. The first Musiri Chamber Concert that I attended was that of his Veena recital in June 2014. Such a simple and unassuming gentleman, with ever smiling face.

Switching gears, it is indeed annoying to note that a simple etiquette of switching off mobile phones or turning on silent-mode is not being done by MANY people. Invariably, we have a dozen or more interruptions of the cell-phone rings. Luckily, it did not reach the ears of the people on the dais - however it is annoying for others nearby. Then there are some who want to take their phone calls (when in silent-mode) and walk across disturbing others in their row, go out any which time, and return any which time!

When a boy of 15 or 17 does it 3 or 4 times within 25 minutes, I wonder whether he is in touch with Shri Ambani or Shri Modi or even the big Shri Don Trump (not in this concert but on earlier day - wanted to ra(n)t in this report).

Some elders in the audience acknowledged the Prince's statement of the "beautiful audience", by loudly saying "see how he talks; did any one of the other artists so far say this about the audience; he has the good thoughts to express it to us; it is the thought that counts"! (etc)

In the past few concerts, I was wondering that all the neighbours' activities can disturb me less, if I closed my eyes and listened. It worked in brief spells in earlier concerts. I am glad that I did not do it for this concert - because then I would have missed all the abhinaya of Prince Rama Varma, which was a nice added dimension to the Carnatic concert. It was also great to feel the presence of Dr. M Balamuralikrishna in our midst indeed in the form of Prince Rama Varma's presentation.

DO NOT MISS if you get a chance to see the video of this concert - you will enjoy - the smile and abhinaya will stay with you for long time.

Sowkhya Sangeetham - Shri Vijay Siva at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan

(and mish-mash report)

Shri Vijay Siva never disappoints in providing a serene and exhilarating concert. It was one such on the Sunday morning (25 Nov 2018), where he was accompanied by the talented youngsters Shri L Ramakrishnan on violin, Shri Palghat Harinarayanan on Mridangam and Shri Sunil Kumar on Kanjira. I am sorry that I don't know the names of Shri Vijay Siva's two disciples who provided vocal support, as well as played the tambura.

Shri Vijay Siva did not include any gimmickery, just like any of his trademark concerts, while presenting an excellent compact traditional 2 hour carnatic concert. After a brief shlokam he began the concert with vandEHam jagat vallabham in Hamsadhvani. It set a brisk pace to the start with a few kalpana swarams also in the rendition.

HimAcala tanayE in Anandabhairavi was presented next. The soft rendering was soothing and set the stage for the rest of the sowkhya sangeetham. When he chose an AlApanA in sArangA next, I was anticipating the panca-bhUta kriti arunAcala nAdam. However, the phrases presented in the AlApana did not seem to indicate it - I wondered if it would be nIvADa nE gAna or enta bhAgyamu. It was a pleasant surprise to hear a rarely sung Thyagaraja kriti Emi dOva balkuma. This rendition included kalpana swarams in a relaxed gait.

A click from a different concert in 2017

Taking a diversion in this report, Shri Vijay Siva, unlike most musicians, does not give any gap between songs (unless accompanists need to fine-tune their instruments). Shri Sanjay Subrahmanyam also does not give more than those 3 to 5 seconds between songs, before commencing the next. This reminded me of comments on a lecture demonstration of the previous day (Saturday), where Shri Sriram Parasuram was talking of Nagaswaram Maestro T N Rajarathnam Pillai (at Raga Sudha Hall, as part of Parivadini series). In his opinion, the format of the thavil interludes in the AlApana of Nagaswaram not only gives a breather to the artists to recharge lungs, but also helps him/her make a fresh start on the AlApana. This format, suggested Shri Sriram, could also be followed in vocal concerts, to provide vocalist with a brief rest for him/her to provide an elaborate exploration of the rAgam. Only in the case of rAgam and tAnam before the pallavi, this "exchange" pattern is followed allowing for elaboration in this manner. It could be extended to other main AlApana and sub-main (as seems to be the current term) AlApana also.

Coming back to the concert, Shri Vijay Siva then started with just ta-nun-na (mandra stAyi ni-pa-sa??) to indicate, in just half-a-second, that the next rAgam would be kEdAram. Just brilliant to sing that quite unique and short phrase in the right manner. The knowledge, vidwat and experience comes out in such nuances. Again, I was hoping that he will take a panca-bhUta kriti - and he did not disappoint. His AlApana had indicated clearly that it was Ananda naTana prakAsham that was going to follow. kEdAram was presented in elaborate manner and the serene rendition of the Dikshitar kriti followed. As was expected, there was nice neraval at sangIta vAdya vinOda tAnDava, followed by kalpana swarams in brisk tempo.

The next item was a short vasantA rAgam song composed by Shri Papanasam Siva "mA dayai nidhiyenum". Then came the magnum opus in kharaHarapriyA.

We can say that the AlApana covered the entire scope of the rAgam. He presented most of it in a full throated manner and near the end, he switched to the gentle lilting soft vocalisation to give the "konjal" face of kharaHarapriyA. It was very moving indeed. Shri Ramakrishnan presented a good and compact version of this rAgam. In the end, Shri Vijay Siva sang some characteristic phrases from cakkani rAjA in the AlApanA, giving clear indication that the composition will be the one to follow. This composition was given the full treatment, including the expected neraval at kanTiki sundara. The kalpanaswarams also covered the entire facet of the rAgam followed by a brilliant tani avartanam. Shri Harinarayanan and Shri Sunil kumar thrilled the audience as well as the artists with their exchange.

Coming back to the lecture demonstration, Shri Sriram (on Saturday) had mentioned that some stalwarts (primarily Thanjavur Shri S Kalayanaraman?) had suggested that AlApanA of the vocalist can be for one rAgam, which need not be followed by an elaboration by violinist. Also, before another composition in the concert, the violinist can start and present the rAga AlApanA, while the vocalist follows it by the kriti. This seemed like a very good suggestion indeed. It is also interesting that if this is followed by some "non-conformist" in current decade, along with other radical ideas, there seems to be a knee-jerk reaction of dissent from rasikas.

Shri Vijay Siva closed with "tOdudaya cevi" by Thirugnanasambandar, viruttam in nIlAmbarai, varALi and bhImplAs (or was it karnAta devagAndhAri), followed by yAdava nI bA yadukula nandana in that last rAgam and finishing with a kAvaDi cindu "centamizh nEDennum pOdinilE".

I wish that nature rained claps for this concert too, like it happened on 31st December, 2017, after his concert in West Mambalam - tippity-tap on the tin roof exactly during the mangalam, it was on that day. Chennai does need a lot of rain.