Anahita and Apoorva exhibit skills in short and crisp Music Academy concert

Accompanists: Vidushi Apoorva Krishna on violin and Shri Rohit Prasad on mridangam

We went to the Music Academy a bit early for the 11:45 AM concert of Vidushis Anahita and Apoorva. Entering at around 11:15 AM into the morning concert of veteran flutist Shri B V Balasai, we felt we had missed a chance to attend his concert too, if only we had come at 9 AM. He was playing the pallavi in hEmavati, which was followed by kalpana swarams in the same rAgam, kIravANi and amrutavarshini. Hope it rains a bit it Chennai, as we still have a deficit of more than 50% in rainfall for the quarter ending 31 December, 2018. Shri Balasai then played vEnkatAcala nilayam in sindhubhairavi and a small piece in HamsAnandi, closing on the dot at 11:30 AM.

Veteran Flutist Shri B V Balasai

It was a bit disappointing to see that the hall was less than half full. However, it could be the standard modus operandi of rasikas moving to the canteen to appreciate the food, before the second serving of music at 11:45 AM. By the time the 2nd bell rang at 11:45 AM, the hall was nearly full. As the curtains opened to pink highlight of the backdrop to the sides, we also saw pink included in the attire of the ladies and the mridangam cover.

Moving on to the music, Vidushis Anahita and Apoorva began the proceedings with a brisk-paced composition of Oothukkadu Venkata kavi (Subbaiah Iyer says Wikipedia). God only knows which is the right spelling for this poet's name, with U / Oo, tt or th, and the name itself kept separate or combined as Subbaiyer, etc. 'vandaduvum pOnaduvum' set to bilaHari rAgam was sung well and set the tone for the crisp concert. The kalpanaswarams rendered in this rAgam were nice and short too. Shri Rohit Prasad played quite softly and aptly for this duo.

Kumari Apoorva then took up a detail AlApanA of shubhapantuvarALi. Vidushi Apoorva Krishna on the violin presented a delightful follow-up to the exploration by the vocalist on this first major item of the concert. A composition of Harikesanallur Shri Muthaiah Bhagavatar 'manOnmani mandaHAsini' was presented in a quick tempo, with an elaborate neraval at 'sanakAdi muni vinuta' by both the vocalists and the violinist. The neraval in the upper stAyi by Kumari Anahita was full throated and with shuddha shruti sangatis which made it a treat. In fact she was able to demonstrate this in other songs throughout the concert filling our hearts with superb music. I have to reiterate that mridangam accompaniment was really superb because it was quite apt, throughout the kutcheri. The nAdam of the mridangam was great.

Kumari Anahita then took up a brief AlApanA of dEvagAndhAri and rendered a shlOkam following the AlApanA. This was a nice change of pace after the two quick-tempo songs. They took up Shri Muthuswami Dikshitar's kshitija ramanam cintayE right after the shlOkam. Andal's tiruppAvai 'kaRRu karavai' was the short piece that came next sung in mukhAri, I think. As per lists on the internet, this has been sung in HusEni, saHAnA or vasantA by artists. If it was indeed rendered in HusEni, then it is my shortcoming in not being able to differentiate between mukhAri and HusEni rather than the singers' presentation.

Anahita and Apoorva in full flow, along with Apoorva Krishna and Rohit Prasad

The main for the kutcheri was kalyANi, which was initially taken up by Kumari Apoorva and then completed by Kumari Anahita. Once again the elaboration was impeccable, with the upper stAyi singing of Kumari Anahita taking the cake. Vidushi Apoorva Krishna played a detailed version in response and also repeated some nice phrases, which were sung by the duo. Saint Thyagaraja's karu vElpulu nIku sari was sung in medium tempo - first time I am hearing this composition. They presented wonderful kalpanaswarams in variety of korvais, in turns, before a very nice tani avartanam by Shri Rohit Prasad.

The final song was parulanna mATa in kApi, a jAvaLi composition of Dharmapuri Subbaraya Iyer, set to rUpaka tALam. I am hearing this after a long time and am reminded of an article that I read in The Hindu about two decades ago. If I am not mistaken, as per that article, this composition is originally set to a tALam of 17 beats, but is being sung in rUpakam (an extension of a phrase by a beat makes it a nice 18, which would be tisra-nadai rUpakam). Musicians / rasikas who know more about this may kindly share the specific information, and if I am mistaking some other composition for parulanna mATa, kindly correct me.

It was a gratifying concert where-in other than the shubhapantuvarALi and kApi pieces, I heard all the others for the first time. Looking forward to these artists to be promoted to next levels and getting more time for performance of full-fledged kutcheris.

Excellent concert of Vidwan Prasanna Venkatraman in MFAC

21 December, 2019, Friday

Accompanied by Vidushi H M Smitha on violin, Shri Manoj Siva on mridangam and Shri B S Purushothaman on kanjira

Having heard quite a bit about this artist, who is currently mentored by Sangitha Kalanidhi Sanjay Subrahmanyan, we decided to attend his concert at the Mylapore Fine Arts Club, TAG Auditorium. Shri Prasanna Venkatraman started the concert with a nice warmup rendition of the darbAr varnam, calamEla, a composition of Shri Thiruvottiyur Thyagayya. Shri Prasanna's voice was well settled right from the word go. He then took up the Shri Gopalakrishna Bharathi composition sivalOka nAtanai in mAyAmALavagowLa. He unfurled his vidwat in the neraval at 'arpa sugattai' and followed it up with very good kalpana swarams. Vidushi H M Smitha accompanied very well in both the neraval and kalpana swarams.

Prasanna Venkatraman and team in full flow

The first rAgam taken for detail exploration was udayaravicandrikA a.k.a. shuddha dhanyAsi (as known in the current trend). Shri Prasanna gave a very good sketch of the rAgam followed by Vidushi Smitha's nice follow-up. Saint Thyagaraja's statement of the eternal truth - 'How much ever one has learnt, whatever places one has visited and seen; every single man among them is still a slave to the one wearing bangles' - was the composition sung in this rAgam. Yes, it is enta nErcinA that was sung, followed by very brisk kalpana swarams. One tidbit about the translated version of this song in thamizh - Dr. M Balamuralikrishna has presented about 12 Saint Thyagaraja kritis in 2 CD set. This song's lines in that set, (enta nErcinA) in thamizh as sung by the Maestro are - ettanai kaRRALum ettanai kaNDAlum; attanai AnROrum aRangin adimayE.

kalAvati kamalAsana yuvati of Shri Muthuswami Dikshitar was the next item that Shri Prasanna sang, which we thought would be the filler before the main song. However, he sang another fast paced composition, vararAgalaya of Saint Thyagaraja in cenjukAmbhOji following the kalAvati song. Shri Prasanna took up mukhAri for the main fare of the evening. It was very well elaborated in a steady build up. He has a style of his own, but at one or two points, there was a bit of influence of Shri Sanjay's mannerism and some phrases. Vidushi Smitha also presented a melodious mukhAri after which kArubAru of Saint Thyagaraja was rendered in a relaxed speed. The kalpanaswarams in mukhAri were also well covered before a superb tani avarthanam. Both the stalwarts Shri Manoj Siva and Shri Purushothaman enjoyed the exchange, which was a nice treat to watch.

Shri Prasanna immediately took up a rAgam tAnam pallavi exposition in mOHanam. It is quite difficult to pack all these into two hours and fifteen minutes and hence the AlApanA was a nice crisp one from both him and the violinist. The tAnam was also a nice show of his voice and skill, followed by the pallavi 'kanaka sabEshA jagadIshA nataNa prakAshA' set to Kandajati Triputa Talam in tisra naDai. He sang kalpanaswarams in HindOLam, nATTakurinji and bEHag.

The final song rendered was composition of Kanakadasa 'bArO krishnayyA' in a rAgamAlikA beginning with mAnD rAgam. A flawless concert we enjoyed.

If one were to point out any shortcoming, we can say that there was not enough neraval on the mOHanam pallavi. Maybe that could not be fit into the short time, but in my opinion neraval can be given priority over rAgamAlikA kalpanaswarams. Shri T N Seshagopalan, in his lecture demonstration on Pallavis at the Pallavi Darbar of 2018, had mentioned that the most important part of a good rAgam tAnam pallavi is the extended neraval on the pallavi. I agree with this thought, and hence hope that all artists give more weightage to the neraval. They can trim other parts of RTP when their is paucity of time.

Shri Prasanna Venkatraman has a very good voice and superb control over it. We will definitely show our patronage to his concerts as it is very much worth enjoying his good music.

Ashwath Narayanan sings to full house at Raga Sudha Hall

Accompanied by Vidwan S Varadarajan on Violin, Maestro T V Gopalakrishnan on Mridangam and Shri Alathur T Rajaganesh on Kanjira

(9 December, 2018)

We can fathom that Shri Ashwath Narayanan is an accomplished artist by the crowd that assembled at Raga Sudha Hall on the Sunday evening. Many rasikas were standing outside and peeping through the windows to see if they could find an empty seat. The better indication about the entire team is that about dozen other musicians were attending the concert, among whom could identify Shri Bharath Sundar, Smt K Gayatri, Shri Aditya Narayanan.

The concert began with a brisk rendering of the kalyANi rAga varnam "vanajAkshi". He then followed it up with a brisk rendition of "shiva kAmasundari" in jaganmOHini, which was also at a good pace. The vidwans were in good flow and were enjoying each other's music as well as the small innovative sangatis or subtle plays at different points of the song. Shri Ashwath Narayanan included a nice set of kalpanaswarams before the first big item. Shri TVG showed his knowledge of the compositions as well as decades of polishing of the skills by giving such a subtle accompaniment appropriate to each kriti. Shri Alathur T Rajaganesh played a subdued role and sometimes had to be goaded by the Maestro to play further and play more.

Ashwath Narayanan and team, in full flow

Shri AN took up aTAnA for a very good AlApanA. Given that this rAgam cannot be easily fit into any structure but has a beautiful swaroopam drawn by the many compositions in it, this was a commendable AlApanA. Vidwan Varadarajan stuck to his role of playing an appropriate AlApanA in length, but brought out all the beauty of aTAnA within the time that a violinist is expected to play compared to the main artist. Ela ni dayarAdu was the song chosen, with the standard start at the anupallavi 'bAlakanakamaya'.

After the three faster paced songs, it was time to slow down and relax with cEtashri bAlakrishnam in dvijAvanti. The short AlApanA prior to it by Shri AN was followed by a crisp and beautiful one by Shri SV. The composition was sung with lot of bhava, which was appreciated by the Maestro TVG as well. The next song was kaDaikkaN vaittennai ALammA in bEgaDA. This was also rendered in a relaxed fashion before a fast paced paramapurusham Hrdaya bhAvayatam. I had not heard this one before and was wondering that it was not really paras rAgam which was the closest I could associate with. The lyrics revealed that this is in lalitapancamam rAgam.

Eagerly looking forward to the main song for the evening, we were treated to the regal shankarAbharanam. Shri AN's AlApanA was very elaborate and enjoyed by Shri TVG too. Shri SV's version was again kept within a shorter timeframe but brought out the full scope of the rAgam, showing his tremendous knowledge and experience. swara rAga sudhA was the chosen kriti which was presented well, including an extended neraval at kamalanupai. Then followed a free flow of kalpanaswarams. The tani avartanam was excellent with a nice exchange between the mridangam and kanjira. Nuances from the enormous experience were played and there was good response too from Shri Rajaganesh.

Shri Ashwath Narayanan made everyone relax with viruttam in kApi, sindhu bhairavi, beHAg and bAgEshri rounding it up with a nice rendition of Shri M D Ramanathan's sAgara Shayana vibhO. Shri TVG again appreciated this very much, as, if I am not mistaken, he is a contemporary to Shri MDR. The concert was closed with the pUrnacandrikA rAgam tillAnA and mangaLam. The Maestro placed his hand on Shri Ashwath Narayanan and blessed him at the end of the concert during the applause.

Though a few members in the audience left at varied times, the hall was back-filled by those waiting outside and listening - this happened over the entire duration of the concert. Overall a very good concert.

However, have to mention that there were a couple of slips in tara stAyi by Shri Ashwath Narayanan in aTAnA AlApanA, shankarAbharanam AlApanA and in kalpanaswarams of the same. This was a bit uncharacteristic of him. We could say an influence "tad bit" on the percussionists too, as they also missed one of their korvais each (Maestro TVG and Shri ATR) during the tani avartanam. Shri SV however was flawless in his bowing and sangatis throughout. Let us blame this on some superstition, like the artists leaving home during RahukAlam on a Sunday or some such  - because to my knowledge it was uncharacteristic of them.

These small blips did not affect the mood and quality of the concert at all. We can always enjoy this rising star, in my opinion.

December 2018 Music season - Tidbits - Part 1

Tidbits mid-season from here and there

(plus hits and bites on many everywhere)

Part 1 of . . .

December season has the musical highs, as well as the accompanying fun, awkward moments and woes. Here are some of them to chew on, mid-season.

A picture from the previous season - 30 December, 2017 - winners of best concert of the season

Why is it that some folks wear those overpowering perfumes and land up in a tightly packed small hall, which is already warmed up by the excited bodies in spite of the A/Cs going full blast? Boy o boy, was it a hit on everyone's nostrils and for some it struck the brain and probably nearly made them faint. Please folks, can you take it a little easy on the perfume in such places. Maybe you can try it in huge auditoriums, like NGS / MA, but please don't in the Raga Sudha Hall! You have some weddings too, like at Antila, that can present you with the right opportunity to overpower everyone within 3 floors of you.

Hindustani methods are mostly followed in every thani avartanam. That is my opinion. What do I mean by that, am sure you ask! Well, the presentation of the percussionists starts at a leisurely place, in vilambita kaalam and possibly a 2-kalai chowka taalam. However, as the different exchanges move forward, the taalam speeds up and soon the beats are closer placed. At the end of the kuraippus and korvai one can see the vast difference in the taalam as the singer / instrument player has to switch back to his/her 2-kalai chowka taalam in vilambita kaalam to finish the presentation of the item. It is very obvious at this time, though the earlier change of speeding up is very gradual and less noticeable. If we were to have an electronic taalam keeper, one will find that at times the taalam is at 1.5 times the speed - or they finish 1.5 avartanams near the end of the tani avartanam compared for every avartanam used during the start of the piece.

Now is that something to complain about - probably not. However I wonder whether the percussionists can do even more variations in more complex nadais, if the taalam were kept at the slow speed. It could give more scope to the mridangam, kanjira, ghatam and morsing players, if one were to keep the slow pace throughout. More complicated korvais and many more variations could probably be played with ease, don't you think in the vilambita kaalam?

It was not rare to see people reading magazines and newspapers in the decades ago, while enjoying the music. Though magazines were less of a problem, newspapers were a nuisance - noisy to open, flip, fold, etc. Now-a-days, of course it goes without saying, many are on their mobile phones to either post their opinions (minority) or keep checking news, social media, etc. (majority) It was interesting to see one gentleman in the 2nd row of a hall (already mentioned in that particular concert's notes) happily reading a newspaper. Probably he was doing it noisily, as a VIP from the first row had to step up to him and admonish him (after which the reader folded, and after a few minutes was out of the hall, probably bored without parallel activities). Though the mobile phone usage by others has not been bothering me much it has indeed made me wonder which gets priority in our brains - music or the masala? Your views please!

Can you identify the star on the dais, other than the violinist Shri B U Ganesh Prasad?

When we complain about the audience, it is OK, but couple of folks took the cake and ate it too, when doing on the dais - disturbing the concert. They ate it because they were the percussionists in the concert, when they decided to start chatting during the AlApana of the main artist. They kept at it for "longer than it can be ignored" duration and disturbed the main artist so much. The artist had to break off the AlApana and a stare at the mridangist had to set the 'concert ethics' right! I did not expect the lack of professionalism on the part of experienced percussionists (was this AlApana of a top artist so disinteresting). Ooh la la. If they were my friends I would have let it rip at them after the concert. However, I am just a lay rasika who should not poke nose into giving top artists some advice.

Back to the audience - we seriously really need to control our movements and respect the fellow rasikas. Sabhas need to do something to stop movements in the middle of songs. Like the volunteers in tennis matches, who stop movements in-and-out of the stadium except during the breaks between games, we need the sabhas to enforce the rule of in-and-out only during the gaps between songs. It is really annoying when the interruptions are frequent, especially in the "free concerts"... okay, okay... since it is free for me, I should bear with it? Oh wait. It is free for them too - does that mean they are going to run amok and trouble all rasikas? Hmmm... You decide folks.

Yes, yes, it is well known that people should switch off their mobile phones or put them on silent mode. But wait, we don't announce that anymore. That means, there are many who don't do it anymore. Every concert I hear a dozen or two interruptions by the mobile phone. Now, there are going to be one or two people who genuinely forget to switch off or switch to silent mode. An announcement before every concert should likely reduce these interruptions to one or two (by old person or two whose problem(s) we have to be sympathetic to). So, please organizers, continue to announce before every concert - it may really help (along with chaperones at the gates for the control of flow of people).

Back to sound advice. Or rather just observation of solace for the experts who are fighting every day with the equipment. If Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan itself has problems with the sound, at times, where we are supposed to have one of the best sound systems if not "the" best in Chennai, then what can we say about other sabhas, halls and kalyana mandapams. During the concert of Shri Abhishek Raghuram there was a hum heard, but I believe only on the dais, probably from the monitors (lucky for the rasikas in the seats). In the concerts of two vidushis Gayatris (K and V, latter after the first), there was feedback heard and at times for the rasikas too. However, this time it seemed to have been reduced if not eliminated after a while and multiple attempts - just tells us so much about the complexity of creating a re'sound'ing success.

OK, I will sign-off with a confession until the next hit-or-miss comments on everything but music. Except for a concert in Arkay CC, where I waited for a particular song to complete before entering, the few times I have been late to a concert, I have entered in the middle of the presentation wonly. We are like that wonly, when seats are likely to be gone in any delay of a few seconds. But I do try to avoid in case seating is not likely to be a problem and I happen to be late. Leaving mid-way is usually not a problem, as I leave only between songs or when the artists are re-tuning their instruments.

Shertalai Shri Ranganatha Sharma's brilliant concert constrained by time

Not enough time to showcase voice, skills and knowledge

at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan on 4 December, 2018

Allotment of just an hour and 15 minutes (or 1:20) for some top artists is very restrictive. Shertalai Shri K N Ranganatha Sharma's concert today at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan was one such, which was supposed to begin at 5 PM and end before the following 6:30 PM concert. On top of it, we had veteran maestros accompanying him like Mridangist Shri K V Prasad and Ghatam Shri Vaikom Gopalakrishnan. This time constraint we can avoid in some way, if possible - by providing at least a half-hour extra to make it at least a 2 hour concert.

Shri Ranganatha Sharma began the concert with a relaxed dEva dEva kalayA in mAyAmALavagowLa by Maharaja Swathi Thirunal set to rUpaka tALam. He sang short set of kalpanaswarams before concluding this piece. Then he presented a brief and crisp AlApanA of janaranjani. Expected the kriti on Lord Ganapathi as per structure of the 2nd song being in praise of Him. 'gaNapatE suguna nidE' of Harikeshanallur Shri Muthaiah Bhagavatar was presented as expected, including the chitta swarams.

4 December, 2018 - at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan

Another brief AlApanA in dEvagAndhAri was followed by shrI tulasammA of Saint Thyagaraja. With these three songs presented in relaxed manner, we were next expecting main presentation of the evening. Shri Ranganatha Sharma's style seems to start the main AlApanA in teasing manner (only my own opinion), where lay rasikas come to conclusion of one rAgam, before the full structure is unfurled. Today the AlApanA started with the uttarAngam sounding like vAcaspati. Only after a few phrases, with a slow descent to the shuddha rishabham he gave the picture of rAmapriyA (ramA manOHari as per Dikshitar school). He then launched into a very good AlApanA with standard structure of exploring the same.

I say this about his teasing manner, because in an earlier concert about a week ago, at Raga Sudha Hall, for Parivadini (you can read review by Shri Balasubramanian Gurumurthi), he started presenting the uttarAngam like kalyANi. Only when he descended to the shatsruti rishabham (R3) did we know that it was kOsalam - and it was a brilliant kOsalam on that day. Today, however, due to time constraints, it was a bit shorter presentation of rAmapriyA. The violinist also presented his version of AlApanA with skill and softness within the scope presented by the vocalist (please help in identifying the violinist). With both these rAgams, kOsalam on other day and today's rAmapriyA, I am convinced Shri Ranganatha Sharma needs better recognition and more time - it will be for the benefit of all rasikAs for sure.

Having heard 3 different composers in first three songs, I was hoping for a Dikshitar song. He presented mAtanga shrI rajarajeshwari very well followed by extended kalpana swarams. Set to rUpaka tALam I was wondering if the tani avartanam may not be included in this part, even though the 1 hour mark was reached. Indeed that was the case and gave ambiguous feeling. Expectations of another main song while also wondering whether he will not be able to do justice to that song, due to paucity of time.

Shri Ranganatha Sharma then sang Saint Thyagaraja's composition in kalAvati, 'ennaDu jUtunO inakula tilaka' in brisk manner before taking up AlApanA in mOHanam. I am sure he is capable of a full-fledged presentation of this important pentatonic scale. He sang a good AlApanA though not elaborate enough to satisfy our thirst. Again the violinist played his interpretation in short and crisp fashion, before the song mOHanarAmA. This song included neraval and kalpanaswarams befitting a main song, followed by the tani avartanam. It was good to see that none stirred from seat at tani avartanam, even though it was already about 6:30 PM (time for next concert). Shri K V Prasad and Shri Vaikom Gopalakrishnan played a very good unhurried tani avartanam showing their knowledge and skills well - and it ended near 6:40 PM.

Shri Ranganatha Sharma then rounded off the concert with a brief sketch of beHAg followed by sAramaina. This was a very good concert, with a superb voice booming in the hall over the wonderful music system. The volume of the other 3 accompanying artists could have been set a bit higher, to make it a nice even concert. These sounded a bit subdued, compared to his voice, which was not fully recognized by audio team, even though there were a few indications from the dais for adjustments.

Shri Ranganatha Sharma has been added to my list of favorite artists especially after these two concerts I have enjoyed in span of a dozen days.

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.

Shri Vijay Siva - Sukha sangeetham at Rasika Fine Arts

As the last line of the Mangalam was sung, a brief drizzle tippity-tapped on the tin-roof, as though the Gods were clapping for the "sukha" sangeetam of Shri Vijay Siva. It was louder than the claps from the happy spectators.

Enjoyed the superb concert accompanied by Smt. Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi, Shri N C Bharadwaj and Shri Krishna, at J G Hindu Vidyalaya school. This concert was for Rasika Fine Arts on the evening of 29th December, 2017 - a nice Friday evening treat.

Shri Vijay Siva, Smt Vijayalakshmi, Shri Bharadwaj and Shri Krishna

Shri Vijay Siva opened with a short shlokam in Kalyani, followed by a mellow Sujana Jeevana in Kamas ragam. The sweet piece set the tone for the evening. He took up an elaborate alapani of Rishabhapriya next. The ragam's unique rasa was brought out well, as expected from a stalwart like him. Smt Vijayalakshmi played a compact follow-up. Thyagaraja's Mahima tagginchuko kovayya (kindly excuse mistakes in transliteration, if any) was the kriti that was presented, with brief neraval and detail kalpana swarams included.

Next he sang a slow and relaxing O Jagadamba in Anandabhairavi, a composition of Muthuswami Dikshitar. A short Shankarabharanam alapanai preceded Annai janaki vandale set to Misra chapu talam, Arunachala Kavi composition. With a quick tempo rendition of Paramukham enayya in Kharaharapriya (Papanasam Sivan composition), he set stage for the main song.

Saveri was taken up for the elaborate exploration, which was played well by Smt. Vijayalakshmi as well. Sri Rajagopala Bala, a Muthuswami Dikshitar krithi, was taken up. Full justice for the ragam was done with beautiful neraval and kalpana swarams, followed by a spirited tani avartanam between Shri Bharadwaj and Shri Krishna. Though the sound settings for the Mridangam was a constant trouble through entire concert for Shri N C Bharadwaj, the tani avartanam was in full flow. A separate post on "sound systems", "audio personnel", etc., will be posted later.

Standard pose during viruttams / Q&A

A viruttam in sevaral ragams followed next, ending with Behag as the last ragam, followed by Oruthi maganaai pirandhu in Behag. A bhajan on Vittala, with the cymbals (1 mandatory bhajan per concert seems to be his style) in Pahaadi (I am guessing, as it sounded like Shri Lalgudi Jayaraman's tillana in that ragam - and exchange of glances, with Smt. Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi makes me think it is right) was the penultimate piece.

The thiruppugazh, Marukkulaviya malaranai kodiyade valartta, set to Purvi kalyani rounded off the concert (tisra nadai rupaka talam). As mentioned above, the mangalam was about to be completed, when the claps started from the audience. However, a sudden louder clapping came from the drizzle on temporary tin-roof of the open-air pandhal. It seemed like the Gods themselves were applauding the concert. We were mighty pleased, for sure.