December Music Season 2018 - Tidbits - Part 2

(Few hits, but a lot more misses in this part) 

Vidushi Gayatri Girish

The season brings not only music, but our enjoyment of others’ behaviour in social encounters as well. Or suffer a sting, if we falter in sticking to the high expectations of the rasika fraternity these events.

Let me start with a heartening thing that we noticed. 6 or 8 or 10 year olds sitting on the dais, taking notes and more importantly keeping the tALam impeccably throughout the concert indicates that we can be assured a continued lineage of interest in Carnatic Music. The music will be handed down and carried forward with interest generation after generation, I am sure. See below picture from Shri Abhishek Raghuram's concert at Narada Gana Sabha. Someone had posted on FB, of a boy playing a phantom Mridangam, in the Music Academy, while seated behind the Mridangist.

Vidwan Sruthi Sagar Flute, Vidwan Abhishek Raghuram Vocal and Vidwam Anantha R Krishnan mridangam

The joyful season it is in Chennai. It is the time to dress up in choice attire, just like we do for an important function in the immediate family. Deck ourselves in neatly creased dresses, jewellery to match, other accoutrements that synchronize, etc. Having said this, I unfortunately did not notice anything significant to report. Somehow eyes and the brain of the beholder did not behold properly.

One of things I loved is that many artists attended others' concerts. Wait. Or was it always the norm - and only now I am able to identify a few artists in the crowd? Having attended very few concerts in first 15 years of this century, maybe I cannot come to conclusion - I would like to know the inputs from our fellow rasikas on this aspect.

Why not some change to attend some dramas, we thought. Dramas and dances are also on the cards for December season. We enjoyed a sparsely attended 3ji of Shri Y G Mahendran, and decently attended Crazy Premier League of Shri Crazy Mohan. The former probably does not see patronage due to a political stance being taken in this political-comedy. As the actor himself announces, comedy in politics and politics in comedy. The ideas as well as the comedy are good and we enjoyed (3ji). CPL was obviously a block-buster. However it makes us think about patronage to dramas. Isn't it cheaper to watch comedy dramas and even historic / fiction based dramas, rather than watch Television serials for free. Through TV people learn all the bad things about relationships, or get into depression with negativity, finally ending up paying hefty charges to A or C Hospital, don't they?

Official photographers and those with special permissions move around the concert hall, auditorium or sabhas to catch some outstanding freezes in time of the performers. It is only a minor irritant if they decide to do so conspicuously instead of by stealth. But here was an official photographer who decided to use the flash in all his clicks at the concert. In my opinion, it is a major disturbance to not only the rasikas, but also all the performers. I wonder whether he got a good set of choice words in his ear. I cannot know the results, if such an event occurred, as I did not go to that sabha again this season. I hope the artists can give their views as well. A regular reader of this series should be able to see a click of the photographer in one of the previous posts!

Vidwan Yazhpanam Balamurugan

Chamber concerts are definitely in a different league in terms of ambience. During the music season, there is added advantage of a slightly sparser crowd. We can have a seat with lot more freedom, relaxation (less cramped postures), and adds to intimacy with the music & the performance. Here is a click from a mesmerising smile of the co-performer (nagaswaram) of Yazhpanam Shri Balamurugan at Musiri Chamber, that I felt like including here. He played very well along with the maestro to lift the concert on that day (and earlier day at Sivagami Pethachi Auditorium).

Reading newspapers in some obscure corners of the auditorium is likely okay. The earlier report mentioned one person being admonished as he was reading it noisily in the second row of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. That was outclassed by this person in the first row of the Music Academy. He was reading a tabloid type newspaper - maybe a Mylapore Times or a T Nagar Talk. I wonder how it affects the musicians. Just because it is a free concert, can we do this in the front row, at the "Kailash" of Carnatic music?

Random question, triggered by the snow white top of Kailash. Shouldn't the rasikas of Shri Sanjay Subrahmanyan dress up in white on 1st January?

Vani Mahal concert of Vidwan Sanjay Subrahmanyan

With respect to canteens, which is the main topic for many, I did not sample much, nor have the expertise to provide reviews on that aspect. I may not notice even if someone missed adding salt to the sambhar at times. Snacks at Sivagami Pethachi auditorium and Mylapore Fine Arts club were the ones sampled. For the first time in my life added a lunch at a sabha canteen - this one at the Music Academy - enjoyed the banana leaf lunch of Pattappas! I plan to hold on to the promises by dear friends for the filter kapi - but likely will happen only in December 2019 - see you then.

Two concert notes for the seventh report

This is the seventh note, and probably the last, for the 2018 music season. I will cover two concerts in this report.

On Thursday, 27th December, we were excited to attend the concert of Shri Abhishek Raghuram, accompanied by Shri J B Sruthi Sagar on the flute and Shri Anantha R Krishnan on the mridangam, at Narada Gana Sabha. The next day we attended the concert of Vidushi Aishwarya Shankar with added intention of sampling the "leaf lunch" of Pattappas, at the Music Academy.

Vidwans Sruthi Sagar, Abhishek Raghuram, and Anantha R Krishnan (L to R)

Shri Abhishek started the evening with a sedate AlApanai of Hamsadhvani. The flute accompaniment suits as much as a violin accompaniment would, in my opinion, and Shri Sruthi Sagar played a nice follow-up. 'vandEHam jagat vallabham' was the kriti chosen, which was followed by kalpanaswarams. He then chose saHAnA as the next rAgam for elaboration. With the relaxed items one after the other, we were wondering whether he was cautious after his throat infection 2 weeks earlier in the Kerala temple, where he cut short his concert after the first varnam.

Shri Abhishek sang Ee vasudhA following his AlApanai and it was rendered full of bhava. Moving phrases, lilting sangatis and can one doubt the scope of saHAnA in those aspects! The team thoroughly enjoyed the presentation, oblivious of the audience - competing with each other for small twists in korvais and sangatis which surprise one-another bringing out individual excellence! The appreciation of one another by the beaming smiles, raised eye-brows, etc., are really worth watching - we are not only audience but spectators in this concert.

And then the plane took off with pantuvarALi as the third piece for the evening. With this we were treated to Shri Abhishek in his regular full flow. A very long elaborate AlApanai he sang, which included to slow unfurling and the fast brigas at the end as well. Shri Sruthi Sagar then played a beautiful follow-up including show of his fingering skills at the conclusion. 'rAmanAtham bhajEHam' was the composition for this main item of the evening, kAshiramakriya rAgam as per composer Muthuswami Dikshitar's nomenclature. kAmavardhani / pantuvarALi are the names given to this rAgam - or they have all become synonymous now, if there was nuanced differences earlier.

This was followed by extended neraval and innovative kalpanaswarams. The sets of kalpanaswarams ended with different portions of the composition. Both the neraval and kalpanaswarams brought out the camaraderie of the 3 artists, each goading the other to higher levels of manodharma. This was followed by usual brilliance of Shri Anantha in his tani avartanam. With just this 3rd piece we found about 2 hours of the concert were over. The main had taken up about 1:20 hours or one and a half hours, and we did not notice - drenched in the excellent music.

A brief AlApanai in bhairavi was followed by a superb 'ela rADAyane kAmini', rendered at a brisk pace. The melody is still ringing in my ear. We were hoping the next one would be a rAgam tAnam pallavi, but a gentleman came and requested Shri Abhishek giving two options. We could only hear that "I will sing candracUDa itself". He launched into a soulful darbArikAnaDA followed by a melodious candracUDa. Though we have heard him sing this before, everytime he manages to move us by the rendition. And then suddenly the mangaLam was sung. Oh my - only 2:15 minutes? This was a bit disappointing - maybe the 7 PM slot is for 2 hours or extended by 2:15 only, at Narada Gana Sabha - we don't know. We obviously want more - and this team deserves more time to present a full concert.

The hall was nearly full, but it was a bit disappointing to note that the first two rows was just half-full. This, I think, is because a single ticket is issued for both the 4 PM and 7 PM concerts. There are a few rasikas who like only the one or the other, and hence the some seats stay empty.

Another interesting aspect is that relatives of Shri Lalgudi G Jayaraman had monopolised the evening at Narada Gana Sabha. 4 PM concert was by Shri Ganesh and Shri Kumaresh. 6:45 PM concert in the NGS mini-hall was a Shri G J R Krishnan for Charsur, in the Samskritam series. Isn't it also a dilemma for the family members to choose between these concerts? At least Smt Jayanthi Kumaresh avoided the dilemma by playing a concert in distant Guwahati the same evening, and not be tugged by conflict of schedule at NGS.

Vidwan B S Prashanth, Vidushi Aishwarya Shankar, Vidwan G Badrinath (L to R)

The next day, we decided to attend the 11:45 AM concert of Vidushi Aishwarya Shankar at the Music Academy. Chidambaram Shri G Badrinath played the violin and Shri B S Prashanth played the mridangam. After singing a short shlokam in kalyANi, Vidushi Aishwarya began the concert with the kEdAragowLa varnam, sAmi dhaya jUDa. A very relaxed shrI varalakshmI in shrI rAgam was the second song. Vidushi Aishwarya chose latAngi rAgam for the first major item of the afternoon. A very nice AlApanai was followed by Shri Badrinath's crisp essay of the same. marivere dikkevvaru was rendered including kalpanaswarams.

Then, after a quick indication of dEvagAndhAri, she took up nA moralagimpavE of Saint Thyagaraja - rarely heard song, I think and first time I am hearinng this. A brisk 'kumaran tAl panindE' of Shri Papanasam Sivan in yadukula kAmbhoji followed this, setting the stage for the main song of the afternoon.

tODi was the rAgam chosen and suddenly it struck me that I had not listened to any other tODi elaboration in the entire season. Seems like this season the artists have chosen a bigger variety to expand horizons for the rasikas by bringing out more compositions from as many sources as possible. A very good AlApanai was presented in unhurried manner, but towards the end it seemed to come to a close quickly without the usual faster pace akArams. We then noticed that she was trying to manage the time properly as it was only a 1 and half hour concert. Hence the slightly abrupt descent and closure of AlApanai. Shri Badrinath presented a short version as well before Vidushi Aishwarya presented Amba nadu vinnapavini of Pallavi Gopala Iyer, followed by neraval and kalpanaswarams. Shri B S Prashanth played a spirited tani avartanam.

Vidushi Aishwarya then closed the concert with viruttam in dEsh and jOnpuri, followed by Purandara Dasa's 'Hari citta satya' in jOnpuri (usually rendered in pUrvi kalyANi). This was a good concert within the time constraints of 1 and half hours. The fulfilling concert was then followed by filling stomach - the 2nd treat for the day was the 'paet pooja' of Pattappas meals served in banana leaf, like a 'kalyAna sAppADu'.

Wish all rasikas a very Happy New Year, and hope 2019 is great for all, along with more melodious, musical accompaniments.