T M Krishna, Music Academy

T M Krishna - Vocal
Mysore Manjunath - Violin
Karaikkudi Mani - Mriangam
V Suresh - Ghatam

Music Academy. 27th December 2007. 7 pm


Photo courtesy: Sri S Hariharan, Mumbai.

sAmi daya jUDarA - kEdaragauLa - Adi
srI nAtadi guruguhO - mAyAmALavagauLa - Adi - MD (short sketch, S)
ElA nI daya rAdu - aTANA - Adi - T (short sketch)
tillai cidambaram - pUrvikalyANi - misra cApu - GKB (R)
amba paradEvatE - rudrapriyA - kaNDa cApu - Krishnaswamy Ayya (S)
mari mari ninnE - kAmbhOji - Adi - T (RNST)
vADinEn vADi varundinEn - viruttam/pAsuram in sahAnA, varALi, kharaharapriyA, suruTTi, hamIr kalyANi
tUmaNi mADatu (Thiruppavai) - hamIrkalyANi - Adi - ANDAL
krishnam kalaya - mukhAri - Adi - NT
nI nAma rUpamulaku - saurAshTram - Adi - T

a grand concert. amazing kAmbhOji. nice purvikalyani. refreshing svaras in rudrapriya and mmg. tmk was in great form.

the violinst was good in parts. KRM and VS were good.

Lakshmi Rangarajan, Music Academy

Lakshmi Rangarajan - Vittal Ramamurthy - Manoj Siva - Narasimhan

Music Academy. 27th december. 4:15 pm

karuNimpa - sahAnA varnam - Adi
guruvaru mahimalu - Anandabhairavi - Adi - WVB (S)
ninnu nEra nammi - pantuvarALi - Adi - T (RNS)
EtAvuna nEccitivO - yadukula kAmbhOji - - T (short sketch)
bOgIndra sAyinam - kuntaLa varALi - kaNDa cApu - ST
mahAgaNapatim vandE - tODi - rUpakam - MD (RST)
mAl marugA - vasantA - Adi - PS
RTP - kharaharapriyA - kaNDa tripuTa ???

nice concert. The yadukula kAmbhoji kriti was quite emotive. all the other kritis were rendered well also. manodarmam was good as well. accompanists lived up to the expectations and made it a nice concert

Trichur Brothers, Mylapore Fine Arts Club

Trichur Brothers - Avaneeswaram Vinu - Trichur Mohan - Venkatasubramanian

MFAC
27th December 07. 3 pm

varNam - saraswathi - Adi
jambUpatE - yamunA kalyANi - rUpakam - MD (short sketch)
brOva bAramA - bahudAri - Adi - T (RS)
nIraja sama nIla
srI satyanArAyaNam - shubapantuvarALi (R

the brothers have a strong voice. they have a good alignment to sruthi. their kriti renditions are good. however, one found alapanais having a heavy hindustani influence.

dint stay for the full concert

Nandita Ravi, Music Academy

Nandita Ravi - Anayampatti Venkatasubramanian - Srinivasa Rao

Music Academy.
27th december 2007. 12 noon

inta mODi - sArangA - Adi
sari evvarE - srIranjani - Adi - T (S)
guruguhAya - sAmA - Adi - MD (short sketch)
mundu vEnukA - darbAr - Adi - T (R)
nItu pAdamE gati - pantuvarALi - rUpakam - PP (NS)
entanutsu - sankarAbaraNam - Adi - Subbaraya Sastri (RST)
mOsamAyE - Ahiri - misra cApu
mOdi jEsevElarA - khamAs - Adi

a very nice concert. the alapanais of darbAr and sankarAbaraNam were both handled exceptionally well by the main artist. All kritis were rendered beautifully. the svarams were all measured quite nice. it was a very classical affair.

the violinst was a little lacking at many places. the mrudangist was good.

Prasanna Venkataraman, Music Academy

Prasanna Venkataraman - T Hemamalini - P Jayabhaskar

Music Academy
26th December 2007. 12 noon

sAmi ninnE - srI rAgam - Adi - Karur Devudu
santAna gOpala krishNam - khamAs - rUpakam - MD (S)
rAmA nI vAdu konduvO - kalyANi - Adi (tisra gati) - T (RNS)
eppaDi manam - husEni - cApu - AK
durusuga - sAvEri - Adi - SS (RNST)
vazhikku tuNai - viruttam in kApi
shanmukanE - kApi - rUpakam - Neelakanta Sivan

A nice concert. The AlApanais were both done beautifully. The svarams in khamas were neat and had nice patterns. The neraval and svarams in kalyANi and sAvEri were done beautifully. There was an amazing sense of planning and perfect execution totally aparent in the concert. The accompanists were good also.

Sangeetha Sivakumar, Mylapore Fine Arts Club

Sangeetha Sivakumar - VVS Murari - B Ganapathiraman - Papanasam Sethuraman - S Ganesan

Mylapore Fine Arts Club
25th December 2007. 9 am

sarasuDa ninnE - sAvEri - Adi - KVI (varNam)
makElarA - ravicandrikA - Adi - T (S)
Ananda naTana prakAsam - kEdAram - misra cApu - MD
sEshAcala nAyakam - varALi - rupakam - MD (RNS)
eTiyOcanalu - kiraNAvaLi - Adi - T
tiruvaDi caraNam - kAmbhOji - Adi - GKB (RNST)
RTP - sAvEri - catusra jhampai (2 kaLai) 3 akshara eDuppu 3 akshara aridi
'karimora vina lEdA harE krishNA'
rAgamAlika svarams in mOhanam, janaranjani
smara sundarAnguni - paras - Adi - DS (jAvaLi)
nenjukku nIdiyum - sindhubhairavi - misra cApu - Bharathiyar

The concert was very nice and pleasing. The svarams in ravicandrika were very good and kept the pep. The kEdAram kriti was very moving. The varALi affair was perfectly presented and neat and good to the ear. The kAmbhOji AlApanai was very elaborate and done in a highly classical fashion. However, one was expecting a heavier kriti. The neraval and svarams were nice also. The sAvEri AlApanai and tAnam were leisurely and rendered very beautifully. The pallavi was rendered with the usual anulOmam and pratilOmam. The svarams were rendered in the mEl kAlam only. A few kalpana svarams in the kIzh kAlam were being missed. Smt Sangeetha's voice was in good shape and she could communicate well with the audience. Sri Murari was good in all parts of the concert. His varALi outshowed the subsequent two AlApanais. Sri Ganapathiraman was very good thro' the concert. His playing for the kEdAram kriti needs a special mention. He was ably assisted by Sri Sethuraman. Their tani was nice also.

G Seethalakshmi, Nada Inbam

Trivandrum G Seethalakshmi - Shertalai R Sivakumar - Nanjil Arul

Nada Inbam. Raga Sudha Hall.
24th December 2007. 6 pm

praNamAmyaham - gauLa - Adi - MV (S)
aruNAcala nAtam - sArangA - rUpakam - MD
padmanAbha pAhi - hindOLam - Adi - ST (RS)
ninne nammitinayyA - simmEndramadhyamam - misra cApu - MV (RNS)
varuvArO varam taruvArO - sAmA - Adi - GKB
rAma kathA sudhA - madhyamAvati - Adi - T (RNST)
maulau gangAm - slOkam in hamsAnandi, sahAnA, varALi
kA vA vA - varALi - Adi - PS
tillAnA - danAsrI - Adi - ST
bhujagasAyinO - yadukula kAmbhOji - rUpakam - ST (mangaLam)
sriyatkAntAya & svasti prajApya - suruTTi

A truly amazing concert. I enjoyed thro' the concert. Each piece was rendered very beautifully. All the svarams were rendered beautifully. All the AlApanais were done quite elaborately and it was pretty moving. The neraval were all measured. Each and every phrase had the raga bhavam intact. Though she had a some problems in reaching the upper register at times, it was no way hindering the music she was delivering. Full throated singing, sticking to tradition and giving classical music of the highest order, Smt Seethalaksmi, every rasika sit up and enjoy thoroughly.

The semmangudi school vocalist from Trivandrum stuck her school's first principles and gave a very very nice concert. The accompanists were good also.

Nandita Ravi, Narada Gana Sabha

Nandita Ravi - Ambika Prasad - Neyveli Ramkumar - Nerkundram Sankar

Narada Gana Sabha. Sadguru Gnanananda Hall.
24th December 2007. 2 pm

sarasijanAbha - nATTai - Adi - Parameswara Bhagavatar
ganAtAya namastE - gauLa - Adi - Ambi Dikshitar (S)
nAda suda rasam - Arabhi - rUpakam - T (RS)
paripUrNa kAmA - pUrvikalyANi - rUpakam - T (RNS)
abhayAmbikAyAh - kEdAragauLa - kaNDa cApu - MD
pAl ninaidUTTiDum - viruttam in varALi
ADiya pAdamE - varALi - Adi - GKB
karuNAkara mAdhava - bEgaDa - rUpakam - ST
tanayuni brOva - bhairavi - Adi - T (RNST)
rAma rAma rAma sItA - tilang - rUpakam - PD

A very measured concert. All the pieces were rendered beautifully. The strict adherence to the traditional padAndaram was very obviously seen thro' the performance. Each piece presented was presented with precision and everything falling in place. The manodarmam part was very nice also. All AlApanais were amazingly done. The neraval and svarams were done with the rAga bhAvam intact and in a nice fashion. The accompanists were good also.

Alamelu Mani, Rukmani Arts & Music Trust

Alamelu Mani, Sarayu Srinivasan - V V S Murari - B Ganapathiraman

Rukmani Arts & Music Trust
22nd December 2007. 6:30 pm

pankajAkshi ninnE - pUrvikalyANi - Adi (varNam)
panca mAtangamukha - malahari - rUpakam - MD (S)
nIlAyadAkshI - paras - tisra tripuDa - SS
gIta vAdhya naTana nATakapriyE - nATakapriyA - Adi - TSI (RNS @ 'mAra kOTi sundarEsapriyE')
amba nIlAmbari - nIlAmbari - Adi - PP (R)
srI ramya citta - jayamanOhari - Adi - T
ninnE nammitinayyA - simmEndramadyamam - misra cApu - MV (RNS @ 'pannakEndra sayanA pannakAri vAraNA')
manasA manasA - vardini - rUpakam - T
srI lalitE kanci nagara nivAsini - bhairavi - Adi - AS (RNS @ 'nIlAbja daLa lOcanE sadAsruta dAsajana rakshaNE')
nittiraiyil soppanattil - pantuvarALi - Adi (padam)
dalatsukoNDa - kuranji - misra cApu (padam)
vagalAdi bodanaluku - bEhAg - misra cApu - TN (jAvaLi)
nI nAma rUpamulaku - saurAshTram - Adi - T

All the kritis were rendered perfectly. Each gamakkam falling in place with atmost precisions. The concert started with a rare varNam in pUrvikalyANi. The three elaborate pieces nATakapriyA, simmEndra madhyamam, bhairavi were all very good. The AlApanai for nATakapriyA was very nice and reflected the rAga bhAvam from the beginning. AlApanais of simmEndra madhyamam and bhairavi were very well done. The neraval in all the kritis very elaborate and moving. The svarams for rare ragams like malahari or nATakapriyA or popular rAgams like simmEndra madhyamam and bhairavi, were handled with equal ease and the felicity with which Smt Alamelu handled them was just too good. All the kritis were rendered very emotively. The padams and javALi were also amazingly rendered.

All the goodness of a perfect chamber concert were perfectly realised at this concert. Many eminent artists and senior teachers of music were present and enjoyed the music thoroughly.

J B Sruthi Sagar, Parthasarathy Swami Sabha

JB Sruthi Sagar - R Raghul - N C Bharadwaj

Parthasarathy Swami Sabha
22nd December 2007. 12:30 pm

sAmi ninnE - pantuvarALi - Adi varnam
srI pArthasAratinA
lalitE srI pravidda srImati (RNS)
sri mahAbala - sAranga malhar
mOhana rAma (RNST)

nice concert. The main artist seems to have nice ideas and good blowing as well. an youngster to watch out in future. Accompanists were good.

Rama Ravi, Music Academy

Rama Ravi, Nandita Ravi - Meera Sivaramakrishnan - Thanjavur Kumar - Thirukkannapuram Sowrirajan

Music Academy. T T K Auditorium
22nd December 2007. 9:15 am

ninnE kOri - kAnaDA - Adi - VK (varNam)
vinatAsuta - jayanta sEnA - Adi - T (S)
Ananda naTana prakAsam - kEdAram - misra cApu - MD (S)
jenmamenduku - malayamArutam - Adi - Manumbuchavadi Venkatasubbaiyer (RN)
tuLasi bilva - kEdAragauLa - Adi - T (RS)
niranjanamE - srIranjani - rUpakam - Achyuta Dasa(S)
kAmAkshi gauri kAncipuranAyaki varadAyaki - sung as a slOkam in sAvEri
kAmAkshi gauri - sAvEri - Adi - PS
srI venkaTesA - phalamanjari - Adi - T?
rAmA nI vAdu konduvO - kalyANi - Adi (tisra gati) - T (RNS)
tani Avarttanam
tAru mAru - nATTaikuranji - Adi (javali)
tiruvotriyUr tyAgarAjan - aTANA - rUpakam - Ghanam Krishna Iyer (padam)
sakhi prANa sakuDiDi - senjuruTTi - dEsAdi (4 kaLai) (jAvaLi)
hari smaraNa mADo - yamunA kalyANi - Adi - PD

A very classical concert. Very well planned concert.

All the AlApanais were done in a very scholarly and aesthetic fashion. Not an extra frill. The svarams were all in perfect alignment with the rAga bhavam. The concert was exceptionally handled by Smt Rama Ravi.

Smt Meera failed to reach the expectations on many occasions.

Sri Kumar was good. His playing was, as usual, very accomodative. Sri Sowrirajan was nice also.

Parassala Ponnammal, Carnatica's Samarpanam

Parassala Ponnammal - Vocal
Trivandrum G Seethalakshmi & Bama Kannan - Vocal Support
Avaneeswaram Vinu - Fiddle
Trivandrum Vaidhyanathan - Mrudangam

Carnatica's Samarpanam. Swamy's Hall.
21st December 2007. 7 pm

Theme: Travancore as a seat of music.

amba gauri giri kanyE - Arabhi - tisra tripuTa - Irayimman Tampi (pada varNam) (short sketch)
bhajAmahE srI vinAyakam - hamsadvani - Adi - Tulasi Vanam (short sketch, S)
pAhi nikhila janani - nATTai - Adi - Irayimman Tampi (short sketch, S)
srI bAlakrushNam pAhimAm - pUrvikalyANi - rUpakam - KC Kesava Pillai (RNS)
srI patE srI nArAyaNa - mukhAri - misra cApu - KN Gopala Pillai (RS)
varadE sashidaracEtOhAriNi - tODi - rUpakam - Irayimman Tampi (RNS)
tani Avarttanam
taruNi nyAn - dvijAvanti - misra cApu - ST
kAntanODu - nIlAmbari - rUpakam - ST (R)
kanaka maya - husEni - rUpakam - ST
iLa taLir sayanE - punnAgavarALi - misra cApu - ST
jalajabanduvumiha - suruTTi - misra cApu - ST
tillAnA - danA srI - Adi - ST
bhujaga sAyinO - yadukula kAmbhOji - rUpakam - ST (mangaLam)

The concert was just too good to express. almost everybody was speechless. Each alapanai was so refreshingly off beat and made everybody sit up. The neraval and svarams were so good. The kritis were all rendered beautifully.

I am totally speechless and wordless to write anything about this concert.

As somebody was remarking, "it needs an 85 year old lady, to make you sit and listen to a concert full of un-heard-off kritis and not loose interest." (my apologies to quote him, without taking his permisson)

each phrase in the alapanais was so moving. At this age, the azhuttham in her music is just mind blowing...

i cant write more.. i dont know what to write.

some pics from the concert.






acknowledgements to Mahesh Mahadevan, a grand nephew of Smt Ponnammal, who was with me at the concert.

Alamelu Mani, Carnatica's Samarpanam

Alamelu Mani, Sarayu Srinivasan - Amritha Murali - B Sivaraman - BS Purushottaman

Carnatica's Samarpanam, Swamy's Hall
20th December 2007. 7 pm

Theme: Brinda amma Bani

sumasAyaka - karnATaka kApi - rUpakam - ST (varNam)
srI gaNapatini - saurAshTram - Adi - T
nI bhajana gAna - nAyaki - Adi - T
srI mAtrubUtam - kannaDa - misra cApu - MD (RS)
kAntimati - kalyANi - rUpakam - SD (RNS)
inkevarunnAru - sahAnA - Adi - AS (R)
amba paradEvatE - rudrapriyA - kaNDa cApu
kaddanu vAriki - tODi - Adi - T (RNS)
tani Avarttanam
payyAda - nAdanAmakriyA - tisra tripuTa - K (padam)
adi nI pai - yamunakalyANi - Adi - DS (javali)
tillAnA - mandAri - Adi
kAraNamadAgavandu - shubapantuvarALi - 2 kaNDa cApu and 2 drutam - Arunagirinathar (thiruppugazh)
nI nAma rUpamulaku - saurAshTram - Adi - T
madhyamAvati short sketch

What a concert it was? The concert reminded of brinda amma recordings. All the kritis were rendered with perfect match to what brinda amma would sing.

The varNam was a very refreshing start to the concert. The saurAshTram kriti was rendered with the brinda style pidis. The kannaDa AlApanai was very moving. The kriti was rendered differently from the currently popular version. It was very nice with a beautiful set of svarams. The kalyANi AlApanai was totally classical. The kriti was rendered with some moving neraval and svarams at 'shAnta rUpamE hrudayani'.

The sahAnA AlApanai was amazing. The kriti was rendered very soulfully. The cittai svara - sahityam were rendered in the Brinda - Mukta style, with Smt Mani and Smt Srinivasan alternating the svarams and sahityam. The rudrapriya piece was rendered with amazing breath control, especially during the cittai svarams. The main tODi affair was great. There was neraval and svarams at 'arththambucE kinacE...'.

The padam, jAvaLi, tillAnA, tirupugazh were all amazing as well. I am short of words to express myself after this concert. The accompanists were good and supported the artist very well.

Prasanna Venkatraman, Nada Inbam

Prasanna Venkataraman - Charumathi Raghuraman - K V Gopalakrishnan - Anirudh Athreya

Nada Inbam, Raga Sudha Hall
20th December 2007. 4 pm

chalamusEya - pantuvarALi - aTa tALam - Anai Ayya(varNam)
bAlAmbikAyA - kAnaDA - Adi - MD (S)
jaya jaya padmanAbha - sarasAngi - Adi - ST (RS)
mInalOcana brOva - danyAsi - cApu - SS (RN)
Emani vEgintulE - husEni - Adi - T
O rangasAyI - kambhOji - Adi - T (RNS)
tani Avarttanam
jAnati rAmam - slOkam in kApi
jAnaki ramaNa - kApi - Adi - Vanamamalai Jeeyar
tillAnA - gambIra vANi - Adi - TK Govinda Rao

A very fulfiling concert from the young star vocalist. His manodarman was totally classical and made a mark in the rasikas' mind. AlApanais were all very carefully done with a concious effort to make them beautiful. The kritis were rendered nicely. The neraval and svarams were all nice as well. There was perfect planning in the concert as well. The accompanists were very supportive and added to the enjoyment of those present.

R Vedavalli, Carnatica's Samarpanam

R Vedavalli - Akkarai Subhalakshmi - Vellore Ramabadran

Carnatica's Samarpanam. Swamy's Hall
19th December 2007. 7 pm

evarani - dEvAmruthavarshini - Adi - T
kshithijA ramaNam - dEvagAndhAri - Adi - MD (R)
ennADu nI - vAcaspati - Adi - PSI (RNS at 'ennaDu nI krupagalgunO')
caraNam caraNam - asAveri - misra cApu - AK
marivErE - shaNmukhapriyA - Adi - PSI (RNS at 'nannu brOvakayunduta nyayamA')
tani Avarttanam
srI rAma jaya rAma - yadukulakAmbhOji - kaNDa cApu - T
vAmE bhUmi suta (slOkam) - rAgamAlikA (kharaharapriyA, sAvEri, nIlAmbari, sindubhairavi, suruTTi)
patiki hArati rE - suruTTi - Adi - T

I enjoyed this concert a lot. The AlApanais of dEvagAndhAri and vAcaspati and shanmukhapriyA were all very scholarly and appealing to the soul. Her neraval, which is her forte, made the sAhitya bhavam felt. The svarams were all nice as well.

Accompanists were amazing as well.

Rama Ravi, Carnatica's Samarpanam

Rama Ravi & Nandita Ravi - Charumathi Raghuraman - Manoj Siva

Carnatica's Samarpanam. Swamy's Hall
19th December 2007. 5 pm

Theme: Shanmukhanubhavam

skandAya - slOkam in nATTai
svAminAta paripAlayAsumAm - nATTai - Adi - MD
guruguhAya - sAmA - Adi - MD
sentil vElavanE - kAmavardini - Adi - Lakshmana Pillai (RNS)
nAsar tan - bilahari - 3 kaNDa cApu 2 tisra beats 1 catusra laghu - Arunagirinathar (thiruppugazh)
mayUrAtirUDam - slOkam in hamIr kalyANi
purahara nandana - hamIr kalyANi - Adi - MD
srI subramaNyO mAm rakshatu - tODi - Adi - MD (RS)
tani Avarttanam
padari varugudurugudu - kAmbhOji - rUpakam (padam) - Vaideeswarankoil Subbarama Iyer
niRai madi mugamenum - hamsAnandi - Adi - Arunagirinathar (thiruppugazh)

It was an amazing concert. The slOkam in nATTai made a very refreshing start. The nATTai and sAmA kritis were both rendered amazingly. The pantuvarALi AlApanai was very good. The kriti was rendered with beautiful neraval and svarams at the pallavi line 'sentil vElavanE vandaruLvAyE'. The bilahari tiruppugazh was very moving. The hamIrkalyANi slOkam and the kriti in viLamba kAlam were both just out of the world. The main tODi AlApanai was soulful. The svarams were good. The concluding padam and tiruppugazh were nice as well.

Smt Rama gave a very classical concert with a traditional approach. All the kriti renditions were precise. The AlApanais were done in a very emotive fashion. The svarams had nice patterns also. Smt Nandita shared some parts of the tODi AlApanai and the neraval, svarams parts as well. She was following her mother like a shadow.

Kumari Charumathi was good in accompanying the concert. All her replies were good and matched up to the main artist. Sri Manoj Siva was his usual best embellishing each composition that was presented. His tani was nice also.

Sanjay, Nada Inbam

Sanjay Subrahmanyam - Avaneeswaram Vinu - VV Ramanamurthy

Nada Inbam, Raga Sudha Hall
18th December 2007, 6 pm

karuNimpa idi - sahAnA - Adi (varNam)
nIvaNTi deivamu - bhairavi - Adi - T (NS)
kAntimati - kalyANi - rUpakam - Subbarama Dikshitar
srI pArvati paramadvaita sivE - srI rAgam - Adi - Kunnakudi Krishna Iyer (R)
kailAsanAtEna - kAmbhOji - misra cApu - MD (RNS)
ennaDu jUtunu - kalAvati - Adi - T
muripemu galigE - mukhAri - Adi - T (RNS)
tani Avarththanam
maRRu peRRenakku - tODi - rUpakam
vizhikku tuNai - viruttam in sankarAbaraNam
kAdi mOdi - sankarAbaraNam - two tisra beats, one kaNDa cApu, one kaNDa Ekam. (tiruppugazh) (tAnam, neraval, svarams)
appan avadarittha - kharaharapriyA - Adi - PS
nI nAma rUpamulaku - saurashTram - Adi - T

Superb concert it was. From the varNam it was totally classical and enjoyable. All the kritis were rendered beautifully. The neraval and svarams at ' ADina ninnADavale gApADina ninnu pADavalegA' for the bhairavi kriti were good. The kalyANi kriti was awesome, and so was the srI rAgam AlApanai that followed. The kAmbhOji affair was totally classical and very moving. Neraval and svarams were sung at 'chAru sarashchandra kalAdharaNEna'. The mukhAri was completely handled with a lot of care. Thus it was very enjoyable. Neraval and svarams were rendered at 'ItulEni malaya mArutamuce gUDina kAvEri taTamandu'. Just as one was preparing for an RTP after the tODi piece, there came a viruttam to shut the doors for a possible pallavi. However, the viruttam was very elaborate and very very moving. As he began a tAnam after the viruttam, one was getting back the hopes of a pallavi. However, the tiruppugazh poured cold water on the hopes for a pallavi. Still there were some really innovative and moving neraval and svarams at 'thIdillAda mEviya sEvaR kodiyOnE" and anulOma pratilOma were done also.

The vocalist was flowing thro' the concert. He was very creative and made everybody sit up and enjoy. The accompanists were excellent. The violinst was very good and gave fitting replies to everything. The mrudangist was very good and played very accomadatively. His tani was nice and had a very elaborate kOrvai to finish

K Bhaskaran, Nandi Fine Arts

K Bhaskaran - Madurai Balasubramanian - Kumbakonam Ramakrishnan

Nandi Fine Arts, Sri Venugopala Swami Temple Gopalapuram
17th December 2007 6:30 pm

sAmi ninnE - kAmavardini - Adi (varNam) (short sketch)
mahA gaNapatim - nATTai - Ekam - MD (short sketch, S)
sArasamukhi - gauDa malhar - rUpakam - HMB
varamulosaki - kIravANi - rUpakam - PSI (RS)
santAna gOpAla krishNam - khamAs - rUpakam - MD (short sketch)
ninnADa - kannaDa - Adi - T (short sketch)
nannu pAlimpA - mOhanam - Adi - T (RST)
pibarE rAmarasam - Ahir bhairavi - Adi - SB (short sketch)
nAda harE - cArukEsi - Adi - Jayadeva (Ashtapathi) (short sketch)
marukkulAviya - pUrvikalyANi - tALam of 9 aksharams. one vilOma catusra rUpakam and one mEl tALam. (Thiruppugazh)
bhAgyAda lakshmi - madhyamAvati - Adi - PD
nI nAma rUpamulaku - saurAshTram - Adi - T

Very Nice concert. All the pieces were rendered very well. Nice selection of songs also. The AlApanais of kIravANi and mOhanam were both full of enjoyable phrases interwoven to make them quite heavy. The svarams were all beautiful and had some involved kaNakku. The korappu were all good also. The short sketches were all quite crisp and nice. The violinst was good in parts. His fiddle kept going off sruthi. The mrudangist was ok.

Sri Bhaskaran seems to be a widely under-rated artist and deserves better patronage and audience. It was just a dozen of us when he began. The quorum rose by 100% as the concert proceeded. Lord Varuna decided to keep the crowd intact by showing up during the kannaDa piece. It was back to the same dozen when he finished.

T M Krishna, Ramana Kendram

T M Krishna - Mullaivasal Chandramouli - Trichy Sankaran - Alathoor Raj Ganesh

Ramana Kendram
13th December 2007. 6:15 pm


Photo courtesy: Sri S Hariharan, Mumbai

inta chalamu - bEgaDa - Adi - TT
tsAlagallADu - Arabhi - Adi - T (short sketch, S)
dalachina vAru - danyAsi - Adi - Subbaraya Sastri (RN)
kalAvati kamalAsanayuvati - kalAvati - Adi - MD
pAlintsu kAmakshi - madhyamAvati - Adi - SS (RNS)
tani Avarththanam
maulau gangAm - slOkam in mAyAmALavagauLa, kAnaDA, varALi, kannaDa
srI mAtrubhUtam - kannaDa - misra cApu - MD (S)
idu tAnO - bEhAg - Adi
aduvum solluvAL - saurAshTram - Adi (padam)
marubAri - khamAs - Adi (jAvaLi)
tillAna - paras - Adi
kAdi mOdi - sankarAbaraNam - two tisra beats, one kaNDa cApu, one kaNDa Ekam. (tiruppugazh)
mangaLam kOsalEndrAya - suruTTi

It was an amazing concert. One is short of words to express the feelings. each piece out showed one another.

The varNam was rendered very nicely. The short sketch of Arabhi was quite nice. The svarams were beautiful as well. The danyAsi AlApanai was just stunning. Some of the phrases were absolutely out of the world. The kriti was rendered beautifully with amazing neraval in trikAlam at 'sura ripu damana kumAra janani, karuNArasAkshi kaumAriyani sada'. The kalAvati kriti was quite emotive. For the main, madhyamAvati was elaborated very extensively showing all the nuances of the rAgam. The kriti was rendered very beautifully. Neraval was done in kIzh kAlam and sama kAlam alone at 'kAntamaku peru...'. After kalpanai svarams in kIzh kAlam with a korappu to thAra shadjam and kOrvai, Sri Sankaran and Sri Raja Ganesh played a very elaborate tani having all the naDais and a viLamba kAla korappu. Following the tani, were mEl kAla svarams and a korappu and kOrvai. After this, there was ultra short tani for about 5-6 Avarthanams predominantly in the dhurita kAlam.

The slOkam immortalised by SSI, was rendered very beautifully. It was quite a surprise to hear srI mAtrubUtam with svarams after the tani. It was very nice as well. The bEhAg was good. The majestic tamizh padam was given due justice and rendered very beautifully. The jAvaLi and tillAnA and the tirupugazh were all nice as well.

Sri Krishna made every person sit and listen thro' the concert. There was a very deep classical touch thro' the concert. The kalpitam and manOdarmam were both astounding.

Sri Chandramouli was great. His playing for the kritis was nice. His replies during AlApanai, neraval and svarams were all on par with that of the main artist, adding to the goodness index.

Sri Sankaran was just tooo good. His playing for each kriti, each line, each sangati, was so appropriate and the anticipation was amazing. His tanis had a mix of all the naDais and a some really beautiful patterns. Sri Raja Ganesh was very good in supporting the veteran.

Vijay Siva, Nalinakanthi

Vijay Siva - S Varadarajan - Manoj Siva

Nalinakanti & Dept of Natya, MGR Janaki College
MGR Janaki College Auditorium
10th December 2007. 6:30 pm

varNam - bEgaDa
sogasugA mrudanga - srIranjani - rUpakam - T (NS)
mAnamulEdA - hamIrkalyANi - Adi - T (RS)
danyuDevvaDo - malayamArutam - Adi - PSI (RN)
mahA ratna pItE - slOkam in dEvagAndhAri
kshitijA ramaNam - dEvagAndhAri - Adi - MD
rAma rAma - vasanta - rUpakam - PD
Emi jEsitE - tODi - misra cApu - T (RNS)
tani Avarththanam
namastE shAradE dEvi - slOkam in naLinakAnti
shAradA bhujangam - naLinakAnti, nATTakuranji, srI rAgam, kIravANi, latAngi, sAmA, jaganmOhini, chArukEsi - tisra nADai
krushNam kalaya - mukhAri - Adi - NT
madivadanamADa - vaideesvaran kovil piLLaitamizh - viruttam in yamunAkalyANi, nAdanAmakriyA, sindhubhairavi
kAntamAm kadirkAmam tannil - sindhubhairavi - tisra Adi
thoNDu nigazhnda - bhairavi - tisra Adi - Bharatiyar
nirai madi - hamsAnandi tiruppugazh
nI nAma rUpamulaku - saurAshTram - Adi - T
svasti prajApya - saurAshTram

Amazing concert. The neraval and svarams in the pallavi line of the srIranjani kriti were good. The AlApanais of hamIrkalyANi and malayamArutam were crisp and very nicely done. The svarams in hamIrkalyANi with a korappU to both the madhyamams was just amazing. Neraval at 'vara mattaLa' for the malayamArutam kriti was amazing also. The slOkam in dEvagAndhAri was rendered soulfully. The main tODi AlApanai was very elaborate and pleasing. The neraval and svarams at 'vara mantramanyula kupadEshincatE' were done very well with a nice korappu to end the affair. The slOkam in naLinakAnti and the shAradA bhujangam were nice, with the tarangam to follow. The rAgamalika viruttam and the sindhubhairavi piece in madhyama sruti were moving. The bhairavi patriotic number and the tiruppugazh were nicely rendered also.

Sri Varadarajan was very good in all his replies to the main artists. His playing for the pieces was very nice. Sri Manoj Siva played with good anticipation. His tani was nice also

Suguna Mamis duet and SAFE Inauguration

The Music Fest of SAFE was inaugurated on Saturday at 4:30 pm at Sastri Hall. The chief guest was Sri N Murali, MD The hindu and President, Music Academy. It was presided over by Smt. Geetha Rajagopal, Director of Sampradaya. Sri Nadopasana Srinivasan, Trustee, welcomed the gathering. Smt Varalakshmi Anandakumar, Executive Trustee presented the annual report highlighting SAFE's music-related and other philanthropic activities. Smt Geetha in her presidential address hailed SAFE for all its activities and also highlighted the contributions of SAFE and its founder, Sri Ramabadran, towards the maintainence of Sampradaya. Sri Murali also appreciated the efforts of SAFE in helping the society. The Vidushis, Smt Rama Ravi, Smt Suguna Purushottaman and Smt Suguna Varadachari were felicitated at the occasion. 5 young students of music were presented with instruments as part of the Founder's 80th birthday celebrations.

This was followed by a concert by Smt Suguna Purushottaman and Smt Suguna Varadachari, with Smt Usha Rajagopalan on the violin, Sri Poongulam Subramanian on the mrudangam and Sri Guru Prasad on the ghatam. The concert began with Tyagaraja's 'samugana nilva' in Kokilavarali with kalpanai svarams. Smt Varadachari sang a very nice elaboration of suddha saveri. Swathi thirunal's navaratri kriti 'janani pahi' was rendered with beautiful neraval and svarams. Smt Purushottaman sang a crisp alapanai of bhavapriya with tyagaraja's 'srikanta neeyada' to follow. There were kalpanai svarams for this also. The main was bhairavi. Both the main artists shared the alapanai. The accopanists played well and added to the enjoyment of the concert.

N Ramani, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan

N Ramani - S Varadarajan - Thirvarur Bhaktavatsalam - Vaikkom Gopalakrishnan

Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
5th Dec 2007. 7 pm

chalamEla - nATTaikuranji - Adi - Rangaswami Nattuvanaar
vinAyakA - hamsadvani - Adi - Veenai Kuppaiyer (S)
dAriNi telusukONTi - suddha sAvEri - Adi - T (S)
bhajana sEya rAdA - dharmavati - rUpakam - MV (RS)
O rangasAyI - kAmbhOji - Adi - T (RS)
tani Avarththanam
karuNai deivamE - sindhubhairavi - Adi (R)
tillAnA - dhanasrI - Adi - ST
tiruppugazh
nI nAma rUpamulaku - saurAshTram - Adi - T

The concert started about 15-20 minutes late. The varNam and the first kriti with nice svarams were rendered very well in a fast tempo.

Sri Ramani was felicitated by the organisers and Sri Bakthavatsalam on the occasion for it was his 51st wedding anniversary. Thankfully it was only a 5 min break for the divine music.

The suddha sAvEri kriti was rendered with nice round of svarams. The AlApanai of dharmavati was good and so were the kriti and the svarams. The main kAmbhOji AlApanai was amazing. It was structured quite differently and was followed up with an beautiful rendition of the kriti. The svarams were nice also. The sindhubhairavi AlApanai and the kriti were rendered in the longer flute (base flute?).

Sri Varadarajan was amazing and his replies were very much up to what Sri Ramani played. Sri Baktavatsalam was his usual self, in keeping up the beat. He was well assisted by Sri Gopalakrishanan.

A concert to remember.

Malladi Brothers, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan

Malladi Brothers - Embar Kannan - Srimushnam Raja Rao - S Karthick

Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
5th December 2007. 5 pm

paramEsvarA - nATTai - Adi - MD (S)
manasA eTulO - malayamArutam - rUpakam - T (NS)
srI mAtrubhUtam - kannaDa - misra cApu - MD (RS)
kaLalanErchinA - dIpakam - Adi - T
dhyAnamE varamaina - danyAsi - Adi - T (RS)
tani Avarththanam
dEvi nIyE tuNai - kIravANi - Adi - PS
idara devatara - bahudAri - Adi - A
Adi dEva paramAtamA - sindhubhairavi - Adi - A

A nice concert. The highlight was the amazing danyAsi AlApanai. The svarams in nATTai reminded one of the pancaratnam. The neraval and svarams in malayamarutam were quite off beat and had some hindustani influences. The AlApanai of kannaDa and the svarams were nice also. All kriti renditions were good. They could have cut down a tukkaDa or two to finish on time, so that the next concert could have started on time as well.

Sri Kannan was good thro' the concert and gave fitting replies. Sri Raja Rao and Sri Karthick kept up the beat and played very nicely. The tani was nice also.

Kalpakam Swaminathan, Nada Inbam

Kalpakam Swaminathan - vINai
Hemalatha - vINai support
Padma Shankar - fiddle
T K Ramakrishnan - mrudangam

Nada Inbam, Raga Sudha Hall
1st December 2007. 6 pm

sAmi iti nIku (varNam) - kannaDa - Adi - PSI (short sketch)
vallabha nAyakasya - bEgaDa - rUpakam - MD (RS)
dAriNi telusukoNTi - suddha sAvEri - Adi - T
vinanAsakuni - pratApavarALi - Adi - T
brOva bAramA - bahudAri - Adi - T (RNS)
kOrinavara - rAmapriyA - rUpakam - PSI (R)
bruhannAyaki - AndALi - Adi - MD
mInAkshi mE mudam - gamakakriyA - Adi - MD (RTNS)
caraNu caraNu - senjuruTTi - rUpakam - Anai Ayya (R)
karpakamE - madhyamAvati - Adi - PS
tillAnA - dhanasrI - Adi - ST
suruTTi AlApanai

Amazing concert it was. varNam was rendered well. The bEgaDa AlApanai was rendered beautifully. the kriti had a nice round of svarams. the suddha sAvEri kriti was just amazing. the AlApanai of bahudAri was quite exhaustive with some really inspirational patters. the neraval svarams were nice also. rAmapriyA AlApanai was moving. AndALi was good as well.

The main course gamakakriyA was presented well. the AlApanai and tAnam were nice. The kriti was rendered well. neraval and svarams were good as well. the post-main items made a nice round up for the concert.

Smt Kalpakam Swaminathan was her usual best. moving AlApanais, stunning kriti renditions and amazing svarams. She played ciTTai svarams in begaDa, suddha sAvEri, bahudAri and rAmapriyA kritis.

Smt Padma Shankar accompanied according to the needs of the occasion. Playing the high volume fiddle, for the low volume vINai must have been quite tricky. She lived up to the occasion and played very amicably. She provided excellent support to the main artist. Thanks to the mic men, the audio levels were set in a way that we could hear both the instruments. Sri Ramakrishnan was very good and his patterns were nice. however, his vadhyam played quite a few tricks. He chose to not play the tani after mInAkshi mE mudam dEhi.