Ganesh and Kumaresh, Saarang Classical Night

Ganesh and Kumaresh - Violin
Ramesh - Mrudangam
Giridhar Udupa - Ghatam

valaci - navarAgamAlikA varNam - Adi
nIlAcalanAtam - sumadyuti - Adi - MD (RS)
nAda sudArasambila - Arabhi - rUpakam - T (R)
nannu vidaci - rItigauLa - misra cApu - T
tatvameruga taramA - garuDadvani - rUpakam - T
vAsudEvayani - kalyANi - Adi - T (RS)
tani
kAvaDi cindu - bEhAg
tillAnA - sindhubhairavi
nI nAma rUpamulaku - saurAshTRam

The Concert was a fitting programme for the Saarang audience. The AlApanais were well structured with quite a few classical phrases well interspaced with gimmicky and catchy phrases. There was even an exchange of phrases like a korappu during the main kalyANi AlApanai. The kriti selection was good and the song list was a bit off beat. The vocal rendition of 'nannu vidaci' by rItigauLa was good also. The svarams were in predominantly mel kAlam and there were very many catchy phrases and some really fast pace svarams.

The percussionsts followed the main artists thro' out the concert and played followed the kritis. There taniyAvaradanam was very good with quite a enjoyable phrases. The final korvai was very good.

R Vedavalli, Akashvani Sangeeth Sammelan

R Vedavalli - Vocal
V Sumitra - Vocal Support
R K Shriram Kumar - Violin
Neyveli R Narayanan - Mridangam
Madippakkam A Murali - Ghatam

Akashvani Sangeeth Sammelan 22nd January 2006 9:30 pm to 11 pm

sAmi ninnE - kannaDa varNam - Adi - paTNam subramaNya iyer
tanamIdanE - bhUshAvaLi - Adi - T
Evari ccirirA - madhyamAvati - Adi - T (RS)
kailAsanAtEna - kAmbhOji - misra cApu - MD (RNS)
pranatArtiharAya - sAmanta - Adi - MD
R T P - bhairavi - kaNDa tripuTa
'sAradE visAradE mudham dEhi' rAgamAlika svarams in aTANA, sAmA, bEhAg
tani
vANiponthu - kAnaDA jAvaLi - rUpakam - tirupati nArAyaNasvAmi

The concert was a very well structured one. The main artists did justice to all the pieces she took. Though there was an obvious hurry in not being elaborate in some places for the race against time, the concert did leave an impact. The AlApanais of kAmbhOji, madhyamAvati and bhairavi were very well handled. The tanam was good also.

The svarams were not very elaborate, still they were very good. A very good song list which was selected and to fit all of it inside a one-and-half hour slot with the announcements and introductions thrown in, it was quite amazing. Though very precise, there was no compromise for any of the items during the concert.

The Accompanists were good also. They gave full fledged support to the main artist. A very fulfilling concert.

Trivandrum Venkataraman, Podhigai TV

This morning Trivandrum Venkatraman played vINai on podhigai TV between 8:30 and 9:30 am.

I dont know who the accompanists were. It was a DD, Thiruvananthapuram telecast.

AnandAmrutakarshini - amrutavarshini
O jagadamba
parama pAvana rAmA
visvEsvara darisan - sindhubhairavi

The AlApanais for both Anandhabhairavi and pUrvikalyANi were very good and had a lot of rare sancarams. I enjoyed the full telecast, though i could not sit and listen attentively, there was a lot of beauty in his playing.

tyAgarAja

Today is pushya bagula panchami. The panchami which comes after the full moon in thai month.

This is the holy day when tyAgarAja svAmi attained samadhi on the banks of kAvEri river in tiruvaiyAru.



This year, the 159th Aradhanai of the saint composer is being celebrated. The history behind these celebrations and the feud which have happened the past over the same will run into volumes and is very well known.

Today, it is organised by one body, but in absolute chaos. There is no order in the way people come and perform or in the way arrangements are made. When one sees the utsavam on the TV, one is more tempted to just shut the idiot box than to listen to what is being made into a cacophony.

The composer has done a lot of service to the mankind thro' his rama bhakthi and the treasure of kritis that he has composed. Many of them have been tampered now to suit thy ear. The ones which are in original form are not given the true merit.

I pray to Saint tyAgaraja and to Sri Rama for showering blessings to one and all. Nothing else, but these blessings can bring some sanity into the Aradhanai Celebrations.

This is my 100th post on this blog.

Vijay Siva, Asthika Samajam Thiruvanmiyur

Vijay Siva - R K Shriram Kumar - Trichy Sankaran - V Suresh

Asthika Samajam, Thiruvanmiyur - Amara Bharathi

3rd January 2006 6:30 pm

Ekadantam bhajEham - bilahari - misra cApu - MD (NS)
sItamma mAyamma - vasantA - rUpakam - T
srI lalitE kAnci nagara nivAsini - bhairavi - Adi (2) - aNNAsvAmi sAstri (RS)
mAkElarA vicAramU - ravicandrikA - Adi - T (RS)
jambUpatE - yamuna kalyANi - tisra Ekam (2) - MD (N)
nATimATa maracitivO - dEvakriyA - Adi - T
kAmAkshI gaurI - sAvEri - Adi (2) - PS (RNS)
tani
mAtADa bArathEnO - khamAs - misra cApu
mAyammA - Ahiri - Adi - SS
sAradA bhUjangam - naLinakanti, nATTaikuranji, srI, kIravANi, latAngi, sAmA, jagan mOhini, cArukEsi - Adi sankarA
Eru mayil Eri viLaiyADu mugam - Ananda bhairavi - tiruppugazh
nI nAma rUpamulaku - saurAshTRam

The concert was good and from the first piece, displayed the class of the artist. The bilahari kriti was good with nice neraval and svarams at 'pAkashAsanArAdhitam'. A short and sweet bhairavi led to the rare kriti with nice svarams at the pallavi line.

ravicandrikA was shown from the first phrase. Though a bit short, it was well rendered and kriti with svarams with svarams in mEl kAlam were good. jambUpatE was rendered with a lot of bhavam and the neraval at 'sarvajIva dayAkara shambhO'.

The main sAvEri AlApanai was very good and the kriti with neraval and svarams at 'AmO unakku yen mEl parAmukham' were done extensively. The khamAs kriti and Ahiri kriti were rendered very well. The sharadA bhujangam slokam in 7 ragams was good also.

The violinst was good all thro' the concert and gave sensible accompaniment thro' the concert. The mridangist played according to the kriti and the sangatis. He was very good thro' the concert and the tani was very nice also. The Ghatam artist was good and ably assisted the mridangist.