Palani Smt. Deivakunjaram, Nadasvaram Concert, Music Club IIT Madras

Palani Smt. B. Deivakunjaram - Nadasvaram
Trichy Sri Sankar - Nadasvaram Support
Gudiyatham Sri Annamalai - Thavil
Gudiyatham Sri Srinivasan - Thavil

Music Club IIT Madras
28th March 2007 6:45 pm

gajAnanayutam - vEgavAhini - Adi - MD (short sketch)
parama pAvana - ranjani - Adi - Meesu Krishna Iyer (short sketch)
vAncatOnu - karnaranjani - rUpakam - HMB (R)
bhajana sEya rAdA - dharmavati - rUpakam - MV (RS)
sadAnanda tANDavam - bahudAri - Adi - Achutta Dasa (R)
sentil ANDavan - kharaharapriyA - rUpakam (R)
cEsinadella maracitivO - tODi - Adi - T (RS)
tani Avarththanam
enna kavi pADinAlum - sivaranjani - Adi - Anayampatti Adisesha Iyer (short sketch)
gOvindA ninna - janasammOdini - Adi - PD
enna tavam - kApi - Adi - PS (short sketch)
kurai onRum illai - rAgamAlikA - Adi - Rajaji
maguDi
tuLLumada vETkai - hamsAnandi - Adi - Thiruppugazh
madhyamAvati short sketch

Smt Deivakunjaram comes from the family of Mridangam Maestro Palani Subramaniya Pillai and is one of the Palani Sisters. Her concert for the Music Club IIT Madras, was very good and filled with classicm It was another classical example of hidden talent in unknown pockets of the world. She had chosen quite a few rAgams closely associated with each other, and yet pulled it off with a hitch.

The concent began with a nice short sketch of vEgavAhini and the kriti was rendered well. The short sketch of ranjani and the piece were very enjoyable. The first AlApanai of the concert, karnaranjani was very enjoyable and the kriti was rendered well.

The dharamavati AlApanai was a surprise, for it was just a few minutes after a ranjani piece. However the AlApanai was done in a very elaborate fashion showing quite a few nice sancarams. The kriti was rendered beautifully with a round of svarams to follow. The bahudAri piece was good also.

The AlApanai of kharaharapriyA was very elaborate again. It was very indicative of being the main piece of the evening. The kriti was rendered with a lot of bhavam. However Smt Deivakunjaram chose to not play svarams and started off with an elaborate AlApanai of tODi. She had played quite a few very intricate and enjoyable sancarams and made it very interesting. The kriti couldnt get better. cEsinadElla on nAdasvaram, immortalised by TNR, was tooo good to hear. The svarams which followed were also very elaborate and had quite a bit of intricate kaNakku and a nice kOrvai. The next half an hour, was an illuminating tani. It was one of the best tanis one has heard. The patterns they exchanged very very nice and the korappu started from 4 Avartanams and the final kOrvai was pretty long as well.

All the post tani pieces were rendered very nicely. The maguDi left a lot of us keep a watch on the windows.

To sum up, it was a very enjoyable concert and it gives more reason to believe that the real talent in music actually lies untouched and not even found, let alone, getting recognised.

Will there be a day when such deserving artists make a name for themselves? or is it probably better for them to stay unnoticed and hence uncorrupted?

V V Srivatsa, Lec-dem for Shanmukhapriya

V V Srivatsa - V Sanjeev - K R Ganesh

Lec-Dem on rAgam shankarAbaraNam with reference to Trinity Compositions.

Shanmukhapriya. Swami Hall. R A Puram
27 March 2007. 6:30 pm

The compositions that were rendered:

svara rAga sudhA rasa
buddhi rAdu
Emi nEramu
bhakti bikshamiyyavE
sadAsivam upAsmahE
sundarEsvarAya namastE
dEvi mIna nEtri

parts of dakshinAmurtE, akshaya linga vibhO, sri kamalAmbhikA

It was a very informative programme.

Dr Srivatsa began with a slokam by Adi shankara on Rama. He explained the philosophical meanings involved in the name of the ragam. He highlighted that Tyagaraja has used shankarAbaraNam a tri-sthAyi rAgam while Dikshitar and Shyama Sastri have used it only as a dvi-sthAyi rAgam and Dikshitar has used the tArasthAyi more while Shyama Sastri has used more of the mandara sthAyi.

Existance of 45 trinity compositions was placed on record (2 shyama sastri, 10 dikshitar and 33 tyagaraja kritis). Also, the pre-trinity compositions were all listed. Dr Srivatsa quoted sAranga dEva in telling that the rAgam is indeed very very old and has been with the music world since a long time. He also said, that this is one of the few rAgams which has been quite similarly handled by all the three of the trinity. Dr Srivatsa also listed the percentage of usage of each of the svarams amongst the trinity.

Dr Srivatsa also sang a kriti by krishnasvAmi ayyA, which starts as shankarAbaraNa, and a pallavi gOpAla iyer kriti, which he said was a musiri favourite. He also sang parts of quite a few dEvarnAmAs and said there are atleast 30 hari dAsA pieces which have come down with shankarAbaraNa tunes in the oral traditions.

Dr Srivatsa also presented one of his own compositions, parAtpara, in shankarAbaraNam set to kaNDa rUpakam.

bharath

PS: Points mentioned here out of memory. E & O E

T N Krishnan, Music Academy

T N Krishnan - Thirvarur Bakthavatsalam - Vaikkom Gopalakrishnan

Smt Saroja Mani Memorial Endownment Concert, Music Academy
26th March 2007. 6:15 pm

dEva dEva kalyAmi - mAyAmALavagauLa - rUpakam - ST (RNS)
endukku nirdaya - harikAmbhOji - Adi - T (R)
kalaiyai pera - mOhanam - Adi - Suddhananda Bharati (RS)
sukhi evvarO - kAnaDA - Adi - T (RS)
tani Avarththanam
heccarika gA rA - yadukulakAmbhOji - kANDa cApu - T (short sketch)
rAga AlApanai of simmEndra madhyamam
tAnam in simmEndra madhyamam, dvijAvanti, bEhAg, danyAsi, bEgaDa, shanmukhapriyA and simmEndra madhyamam
chinnan chiru kiLiyE kaNNammA
rAmanai taruvAi - sindhu bhairavi - Adi - AK (R)
suruTTi short sketch
nI nAma rUpamulaku - saurAshTram - Adi - T
madhyamAvati short sketch.

The concert began with an elaborate mAyAmALavagauLa AlApanai and the kriti was rendered with a fittingly elaborate round of neraval and svarams at 'jAtarUpa nipacEla'. The harikAmbhOji AlApanai was followed by a nice rendition of the kriti.

The mOhanam AlApanai was played with some really interesting patterns and kriti, which i dint know and was told by some rasika sitting behind, was rendered with a quick round of svarams. The kAnaDA AlApanai was very moving the kriti was rendered with a lot of bhavam and an elaborate round of svarams.

The short sketch of yadukula kAmbhOji and the kriti, rendered in a faster tempo than usual were good. The simmEndra madhyamam AlApanai was very elaborate and promising for a rather elaborate pallavi. The tAnam which followed, were Sri T N Krishnan also played some parts of the rAgams like AlApanais, was also very elaborate and set up the mood for an elaborate pallavi. However, Sri T N Krishnan chose to play the Bharathiyar song, as he was finishing the tAnam. The sindhu bhairavi and suruTTi were good as well. Sri T N Krishnan gave a nice concert. His advancing age hasnt taken away much of his music.

Sri Bakthavatsalam was very accomodative and played with amazing anticipation. His was playing in a very enjoyable fashion, and his usual upbeat tempo was missing. He was ably supported by Sri Gopalakrishnan. The tani they shared was nice as well.

Rudrapatnam Brothers, Nadopasana

Rudrapatnam Brothers - M Chandrasekaran - Umayalpuram Mali - B S Purushottaman

Umayalpuram Swami Bhagavathar Memorial Concert, Nadopasana, PS High School
24th March 2007. 6:30 pm

vidulaku mrokkEdA - mAyAmALavagauLa - Adi - T (S)
divAkara tanujam - yadukula kAmbhOji - catusra Ekam - MD
ninnuvinA marigaladA - rItigauLa - rUpakam - SS (RS)
AragimpavE - tODi - rUpakam - T (RNS)
kshitijA ramaNam - dEvagAndhAri - Adi - MD
naDaci naDaci - kharaharapriyA - Adi - T (RS)
tani Avarththanam
karuNajUDa ninnu - shrI rAgam - Adi - SS
nI nAma rUpamulaku - saurAshTram - Adi - T

Rudrapatnam Brothers gave a very classical and enjoyable concert. The short sketch of mAyAmALavagauLa by Sri Thyagarajan was nice. The kriti was rendered very nicely with an elaborate round of svarams. The yadukulakAmbhOji kriti which followed was rendered in a very moving fashion.

The rItigauLa AlApanai by Sri Taranathan was very nice. The kriti was rendered with a nice round of svarams. Sri Thyagarajan's tODi elaboration was very well done. The kriti was rendered nicely with a nice round of neraval and svarams at 'sAramaina divyAnnamu shaD rasayuta bhakSaNamulu'.

The dEvagAndhAri kriti was rendered in a nice way. The main kharaharapriyA AlApanai by Sri Taranathan was nice. The kriti was rendered with a round of svarams at the pallavi line. The tani Avarththanam was followed by the shrI rAgam piece and the mangaLam.

Sri Chandrasekaran was good and in usual self. His essays of the rAgams and replies during the neraval and svarams were very nice. Sri Mali was good thro' the concert. Sri Purushottaman was good thro' the concert as well.

Alathoor S Venkataraman, Nadopasana

Alathoor Venkataraman - S Varadarajan - Thanjavur Kumar

Umayalpuram Swami Bhagavathar Concert, Nadopasana, P S High School.
23rd March 2007 6:30 pm

sarasUDa ninnE - sAvEri - Adi - KVI
sItA manOhara - ramAmanOhari - Adi - T
siddhi vinAyakam - cAmaram - rUpakam - MD (S)
pAhimAm srI rAjarAjEsvari - nATTai - Adi - SS
sarasIruhAnana rAma - mukhAri - Adi - T (R)
enduku nirdaya - harikAmbhOji - Adi - T (RNS)
srI mAtAh - bEgaDa - Adi - MD
kAruvElpulu - kalyANi - Adi - T (RS)
tani Avarththanam
OmkAra pancharasukhI - rAgamAlikA - Adi
pada sarasamu - kApi - Adi
candrasEkarA - sindhubhairavi
nI nAma rUpamulaku - saurAshTram - Adi - T

The concert began with a nice rendition of the varNam and the ramAmanOhari kriti. The cAmaram kriti was rendered with a nice round of svarams and the rare nATTai piece was rendered well.

The mukhAri AlApanai was very nice, the kriti was rendered beautifully. Sri Venkataraman's elaboration of harikAmbhOji was very beautiful. He rendered the kriti very nicely with quick neraval and nice svarams at 'dharalO nIvai tyAgarAjupai'. The bEgaDa kriti was rendered in a moving fashion.

The main kalyANi AlApanai was done in a nice fashion. The kriti, another rarity in concert circuits these days, was rendered nicely with many sangatis and elaborate round of svarams at the pallavi line. The rAgamAlikA which followed was nice as well.

Sri Venkataraman gave a nice concert with quite a few not-so-popular pieces carefully chosen and rendered them beautifully. Though there were some problems with his throat and voice, his concert was very enjoyable.

Sri Varadarajan on the violin played very well in accordance to the main artist and gave very fitting replies. All his AlApanais and svarams were nice. Sri Kumar on the mrudangam, played well nicely with nice anticipation. His tani was nice as well.

T N S Krishna, Sringeri Bharathi Vidhyashram

T.N.S. Krishna - Ambika Prasad - B. Sivaraman - N. Guruprasad

Sringeri Bharati Vidyashram. Ramanavami Concerts
19 Mar 2007, 6:30 pm

gnAnAnanda mayam (slOkam) - hamsadwani - vEdAnta dEsikan
jalajAkshA (varnam) - hamsadwani - Adi - mAnmbuchAvaDi venkaTa subbaiyer (S)
brOvabAramA - bahudAri - Adi - T (S)
shObanE - pantuvarALi - misra chApu - T (A)
veyyOn oLi tan mEniyil - kamba rAmAyaNam viruttam - madyamAvati
alakalalla lADaga - madyamAvati - rUpakam - T (AS)
EtAvunarA - kalyANi - Adi - T (ANST)
vEndanai kandanai (viruttam) - brindAvana sArangA
kaliyuga varadan - brindAvana sArangA - Adi - PT
dhIm tArE nArE nArE (tillAnA) - hamsAnandi - Adi - HMB
nI nAma rUpa mulaku (mangaLam) - sowrAshTram - Adi - T

i must also add that the AlApanai of pantuvarALi in madhyama sruthi preceeding the shObanE was very moving. the madhyamAvati was very nice as well.

I had to leave as he started the kalyANi AlApanai.

Thanks to ram for the full list.

Madurai G S Mani, www.rasikas.org meet

Madurai G S Mani - M A Sundareswaran - Manakkal Sriram

www.rasikas.org meet
17th March 2007. 6:30 pm

inta chalamu(varnam) - begadA - Adi - Veenai kuppier
varaguNa gambIra gajavadanam - kAnaDA - Adi madurai GS Mani
tarunam eedammA - nAsikAbhUshaNi - madurai GS Mani (R,S)
karunasamOdhamu neevE - mAyAmALavagauLa - madurai GS Mani (R,N,S)
neraval sketch in "mAyupravaghamu"
rajendra kanye girisutE - suddha sAranga - madurai GS Mani (R)
melukO melukO mAthangi talli - bauLi - madurai GS Mani
mayilvahananE mAl - natabhairavi - madurai GS Mani (R,S)
tani Avarththanam
A "emotive" lecdem on this abhang by madhwamuneeshwar.
tooo mAza etumAnana?? - sALagabhairavi - madhwamuneeshwar
supa pAgath thAmthoShani - pahadi (R)
nAlai varum enru nambalAmA - chandrakauns - madurai GS Mani
slokham - khamAs
darisanu lOkhanum shyam - khamAs - tukkarAm
pratyankirA bhagavathim - nAdarAmakriya - MD
talaci nantanE nA -mukhAri - T
slokham + viruththam - combo
"pOnarkanchi" - bhavani +shankharabharanam + ? + valaci+ briindavan sAranga (all in slokham)
nilai yetra thanniL ninrAlum - sindhubhairavi(viruththam)
chidambaranai digambaranai gangAdharanai - sindhubhairavi - Madurai GS Mani
Speech by neyveli santhanagOpalan.
Mangalam

it was a nice evening. i knew almost none of the songs. just the varnam and the dikshitar kritis were familiar ones. dint know any of the pieces.

I had to leave when he began the slokam.

The varNam was rendered well. The AlApanai of nAsikAbhUshaNi was good. M A Sundaresvaran good in all his replies to G S Mani.

Suguna Varadachari, Shanmukhapriya

Suguna Varadachari - V Sanjeev - Vellore Ramabadran - B S Purushottaman

Shanmukhapriya, NGS Mini Hall
15th March 2007, 7 pm

vanajAkshirO - kalyANi - Adi - RSI
mEru samAna - mAyAmALavagauLa - Adi - T (NS)
E pApamu - aTANA - misra cApu - T (R)
entani nE - mukhAri - rUpakam - T (RNS)
mAl marugA - vasantA - Adi - PS
srI krushNam bhaja - tODi - Adi - MD (RNS)
tani Avarththanam
paravasamAyanurA - nAdanAmakriyA - Adi - WVB
tillAnA - gambIravANi - Adi - TK Govinda Rao
samayamidE rA rA sAmi - bEhAg - tisra Ekam - PSI
nI nAma rUpamulaku - saurAshTram - Adi - T
madhyamAvati short sketch.

The concert was preceded by a talk of "guru" by Sri R Krishnaswami. The concert began with a brisk rendition of the varNam. mEru samAna was rendered beautifully and elaborate neraval and svarams at 'gaLamuna shObhillu kanaka bhUSaNamula'.

The aTANA AlApanai was done in a very scholarly fashion. The kriti was rendered very beautifully with all the sangatis. However, Smt Varadachari chose to render them just once, if only she had rendered them all twice, it would have been more enjoyable. The mukhAri AlApanai was very nicely rendered. The kriti was rendered beautifully with elaborate neraval and svarams at 'kanulAra sEvinci kammani phalamula nosagi' with a quick vasantA to follow.

The main tODi AlApanai was done very elaborately and in a nice and enjoyable fashion. The kriti was rendered very nicely with elaborate neraval and svarams at 'shankacakragadA padmavanamAlam'

The nAdanAmakriyA and the tillAnA were rendered well. The jAvaLi which came as a request from the mrudangist himself, was rendered in a moving fashion.

Sri Sanjeev on the violin was good in parts. Sri Ramabadran was good in all parts. He was ably supported by Sri Purushottaman. The tani they shared was quite differently structured.

T N Seshagopalan, Music Connoisseur’s club

T N Seshagopalan - M A Sundareswaran - K V Prasad

Music Connoisseur’s club
Bharathiya Vidhya Bhavan Main Hall
6th March 2007 7:15 pm

vanajAkshI ninnE – kalyANi – aTa tALam – Rangaswami Nattuvanaar (S)
dayajUchuta – gAnavAridhi – Adi – T (R)
ekkAlatilum unnai – pUrvi kalyANi – Adi – Ramaswami Sivan (RS)
angArakam – suruTTi – rUpakam – MD (RNS)
azhagA azhagA – suddha dhanyAsi – Adi (kaNDa naDai) – AK (short sketch)
kshira sAgara – dEvagAndhAri – Adi – T (RS)
tani Avarththanam
mOhanavalli – mAnji – Adi – KKB
vaidEhi sahitam – slOkam in bEgaDa, hamsAnandi (madyamAvati), brindAvana sAranga, sindhubhairavi (chandrajyOti, Ahir)
rAmacandra prabU – sindhubhairavi – Adi – ST
tillAnA – khamAs – Adi
nI nAma rUpamulaku – saurAshTram – Adi – T
sriyatkAntAya – srI rAgam

As one entered BVB 5 minutes ahead of the schedule time, one was greeted with the presence of TNS and his accompanists sitting at the reception and nobody to take care. One could over hear TNS telling, ‘yaar organizer-ne therilaye’. The concert began about 20 minutes behind schedule, thanks to the dance that was happening before. Though he wasn’t happy with the reception he had received, the concert of TNS was nothing less than enjoyable.

The concert began with a nice rendition of the kalyANi varNam with a fitting round of svarams at the caraNam line. The next was a short AlApanai of --------- followed by the kriti, which were both good. The elaborate AlApanai of pUrvikalyANi was followed up with a nice rendition of the kriti with detailed round of svarams and some kaNakku at ‘irukka krupai seivAi’, the second line of the pallavi line.

As TNS began the suruTTi, one could not help expecting angArakam as it was a Tuesday. The extensive, nice AlApanai was followed with a nice rendition of the kriti with quick neraval and svarams at ‘dInarakshakam pUjita vaidhyanAta kshEtram’. The suddha dhanyAsi kriti, tuned by TNS, which followed was good also.

As Sri TNS was getting ready for the next, it was anybody’s guess that what was coming up was the main AlApanai of the evening. However, not many could have expected dEvagAndhAri to be taken up. I was quite surprised. The AlApanai was done very elaborately and in an enjoyable fashion. The kriti which followed was rendered nicely with a fitting round of svarams.

The mAnji padam was nice. The rAgamAlikA slOkam ‘vaidEhi sahitam’ was rendered very elaborately with graham bedham done in hamsAnandi (to madhyamAvati) and sindhubhairavi (to candrajyOti and Ahir) and was quite enjoyable. The sindhubhairavi piece which followed and the tillAnA were good also.

Sri M A Sundareswaran on the violin was very good. His replies to TNS for each piece were amazing. All his AlApanais were very good and the neraval and svarams were all good also. His following of the kritis and sangatis were all very very nice.

Sri K V Prasad on the mrudangam was very good as well. His following of the kritis and his anticipation of the kriti and sangatis were all very good. His tani was good as well.

E Gayathri, Sri Anantha Padmanabha Swami Temple.

E Gayathri - vINai
Trichur Narendran - mrudangam
B S Purushottaman - kanjirA

Sri Anantha Padmanabha Swami Temple
2nd March 2007 7:00 pm

sObillu - jaganmOhini - rUpakam - T
jaya jaya padmanAbha - maNirangu - Adi - ST (RS)
manaviyAlakimparA - naLinakAnti - Adi - T
karuNA nidhi ilalO - tODi - Adi (tisra gati) - SS (RS)
OrajUpu chUcEdi - kannaDagauLA - Adi - T
mAravairi ramaNi - nAsikA bhUshaNi - Adi (tisra gati) - T (R)
pAlincu kAmAkshi - madhyamAvati - Adi - SS (RTS)
tani Avarththanam
kurai onRum illai - rAgamAlikA - Adi - Rajaji
veLLai thAmarai - phImpLAs - Adi
vaDavaraiyai - rAgamAlikA - Adi - Silapathikaram
durgA sUktam
anRu ivvulagam - sindhubhairavi - Adi - ANDAL
taruNi nyAn - dvijAvanti - cApu - ST
tandanAnA Ahi - bauLi - Adi - A
nI nAma rUpamulaku - saurAshtRam - Adi - T

The concert began a good 15-20 min late because of the beginning of the procession of Sri Ananthapadmanabha Swami. I noticed that the deity (utsava murthi) is quite a big one compared to most other places. Being the Day of Thirukkalyanam, there was a Unjal utsavam happening and a procession as well.

The concert began with a neat rendition of sObillu. The maNirangu AlApanai was good, followed by the kriti with a quick round of svarams and naLinakAnti kriti to follow.

The tODi AlApanai was decent. It was followed by a neat rendition of the kriti with a elaborate round of svarams. The kannaDagauLa kriti was well rendered. nAsikAbhUshaNi AlApanai was good and the kriti was rendered well.

The main madhyamAvati AlApanai and tAnam were good. The kriti was rendered nicely with an elaborate round of svarams and korappu. The post tani pieces were all rendered well. The rendition of durgA sUktam on the 4th string was very interesting to hear.

Smt Gayathri gave a nice concert. All the pieces were carefully chosen for the occasion of the concert. Also, being a friday, there was strong presence Devi kritis.

Sri Narendran was very good in playing for the kritis. He played nicely for the sangatis also and with good anticipation. He was very ably supported by Sri Purushottaman. The tani they shared was nice and was very differently structured.