Vegavahini Vijayaraghavan, Musiri Chambers

Vegavahini Vijayaraghavan - Vocal
Anusha Pradeep & Lakshmi - Vocal Support
V V Srinivasa Rao - Fiddle
Trichur C Narendran - Mridangam

Musiri Chambers
25 Jan 09. 4 pm


Photo Courtesy: Smt. Rajeswari Thyagarajan

vINApustakadhAriNIm - vEgavAhini - misra jhampa - MD
saRRE vilagi irum - pUrvikalyANi - rUpakam - GKB (RNS)
srI jAnakI manOhara - Isa manOhari - Adi - T
cEta srI bAlakrishNam - dvijAvanti - tisra Ekam - MD
rAma nI samAnamevaru - kharaharapriyA - rUpakam - T (RNS)
gajavadanA sammOdita vIra - tODi - Adi - KE (RS)
tani
valapudAsa - varALi - misra cApu
kuvalayAkshirO - gauLipantu - misra cApu
adi nI pai - yamunA kalyANi - Adi - DS
samayamidE rA rA nA sAmi - bEhAg - rUpakam - PSI
jAnAti rAma - slOkam in sahAnA, shanmukhapriyA, bEgaDa, suruTTi
nI nAma rUpamulaku - saurAshTram - Adi - T

The evening of 25 Jan 09 was an evening to cherish for a life time. The concert of Smt. Vegavahini Vijayaraghavan that evening would be one i would never be able to forget. A concert of a life time that those who missed would loose permanently. Everytime I think of the concert, i get goosebumps and tears start rolling out of my eyes. The chaste and pure music from the most regarded legacy was something that would prevail in the minds of those who were present for a long time.

The audience were totally spell bound by the stunning music which would keep lurking for a lifetime. The opening piece, vINApustakadhAriNim, in the rAgam after which the singer should have been named, was so perfectly rendered with each precise gamakkam so preciously preserved and presented. The AlApanai of pUrikalyANi which followed was very moving. The kriti with neraval and svarams at 'bakthiyil kaRai kaNdavan pArththup pArththu uNdavan' were all totally out of the world. The next two numbers, both were rendered with their pristine beauty. The dvijAvanti piece, another master piece of the school was rendered so movingly.

The AlApanai of kharaharapriyA was truely one of its own elite kind. The kriti with neraval and svarams at 'paluka palukulaku tEnelOluku mATalADu' were all totally building up the expectations for a main that would lift the audience to the trans state. The majestic tODi with 'gajavadanA sammOdita vIra' were so occupying your mind that i really struggle to verbally express the feeling that came to me while listening. The svarams at 'vasutAta pura' were perfectly fitting.

To sing kharaharapriyA and tODi back-to-back for sub-main and main in itself is great. As if that was not enough came the next two pieces in varALi and gauLipantu. The two padams were rendered in true classical gait and they were as they should be from the family which holds the authority in them. The jAvaLis and the viruttam were all very very moving. I was only sad that the concert ended too soon.

At the end of the two-and-half hours, i only wanted to listen to more of the music from this great person. The accompanists were totally perfect and they played the right way to be able to embellish the effect of such great music. They were so perfectly matching and together to the vocal music that one finds it tough to put them out separately and discuss.

I am totally wordless to express the richness of this vocal recital and have been short of words to put it exactly in black and white. Any degree of superlatives would still not reach where the music reached.

S Varadarajan - Fiddle Solo, Nada Inbam

S Varadarajan - Fiddle
B Ganapathiraman - Mridangam

Sangeetha Kalanidhi Marungapuri Gopalakrishna Iyer Memorial Violin Festival
Nada Inbam, Raga Sudha
20 Jan 09. 6 pm

viribhONi ninnEkOri - bhairavi - aTa - PA
ninnu jUchi - saurAshTram - Adi - PSI
durmArgacarA - ranjani - rUpakam - T (RS)
srI rAmam - nArAyaNagauLa - Adi - MD
AnandAmrutakarshiNi - amrutavarshiNi - Adi - MD (RS)
viDAjAladurA - janaranjani - Adi - T
heccarikagA rA rA - yadukula kAmbhOji - kaNDa cApu - T (RS)
gAnamUrtE - gAnamUrti - Adi - T
pAlincu kAmAkshi - madhyamAvati - Adi - SS (RNS)
tani
gOvardhana giridhAra - darbAri kAnaDA - Adi - NT
idhu tAnO tillai talam - bEhAg - Adi - GKB (rendered in a fast tempo)
manadirkkugandadu - sindhubhairavi - Adi - TSI
nI nAma rUpamulaku - saurAshTram - Adi - T
suruTTi short sketch

It was a very good concert. Each piece was rendered effortlessly. They had all the sangatis rendered perfectly and the manOdarmam parts enhanced the piece. Each rAgam was rendered in an amazing way. The neraval, svarams were all very good also. The mridangist played with great anticipation and in line with the compositions. It was a very enjoyable concert.

R K Shriram Kumar, Fiddle solo, Nada Inbam

R K Shriram Kumar - Fiddle
Manoj Siva - Mridangam
Balaji - Tambura

Sangeetha Kalanidhi Marungapuri Gopalakrishna Iyer Memorial Violin Festival
Nada Inbam, Raga Sudha
19 Jan 09. 6 pm

chalamEla - shankarAbaraNam - aTA
teratIyaga rAdA - gauLipantu - Adi - T (S)
O jagadambA - Ananda bhairavi - Adi - SS (R)
sarasa sAma dAna - kApi nArAyaNi - Adi - T (NS)
kAru bAru - mukhAri - Adi - T
Azhi mazhai kaNNA - vArALi - Adi - ANDAL (RNS)
srI subramaNyAya namastE - kAmbhOji - tisra Ekam (2 kaLai) - MD (RNS)
tani
manasI dussam - Ahiri - misra cApu - ST
sAramaina - bEhAg - rUpakam - ST (R)
krishNA nI bEganE - yamunA kalyANi - misra cApu - PD (R)
anRu ivvulagam - sindhubhairavi - Adi - ANDAL
nI nAma rUpamulaku - saurAshTram - Adi - T
suruTTi short sketch

It was a very good concert. Each piece was rendered precisely with lots of bhavam and incorporating a lot of enjoyable sangatis. The AlApanais were very fitting to the the piece presented and they were very moving. The neraval and svarams were all very good also. The percussion support was very appropriate over all making it a very enjoyable concert.

Vidya Kalyanaraman, Music Club IIT Madras

Vidya Kalyanaraman - Bombay Anand - Kumbakonam Swaminathan

Music Club IIT Madras
7 Jan 09. 6:45 pm

sadA bAla rUpApi - slOkam in nATTai
jaya jaya jaya jAnakI kAntha - nATTai - kaNDa cApu - PD (S)
srI lakshmI varAham - AbhOgi - Adi - MD (short sketch)
dEva dEva jagadIsvara - pUrvikalyANi - Adi - ST (NS)
cittam irangAdEnayyA - sahAnA - misra cApu - PS (R)
trilOka mAtA - paras - Adi - SS
bhakti biccamiyyavE - shankarAbaraNam - rUpakam - T (RS)
brOva samayamidE - gauri manOhari - ADi - GPV
RTP - varALi, mOhanam - kaNDa tripuTa (2 kaLai) 1/4 eDuppu, 4 akshara aridi
ambigai jagadambigai varALidO - mOhana punnagai purindu -
tani
paravasamAyanurA - nAdanAmakriyA - Adi - WVB
UrilEn kANi illai - pAsuram in sindhu bhairavi, hamsAnandi
tillAnA - hamsAnandi - Adi - Srimushnam Raja Rao
nI nAma rUpamulaku - saurAshTram - Adi - T
sriyatkAntAya - madhyamAvati

It was a very good concert. All pieces were exceptionally well handled. Each kriti rendition was weighty and crisp. All the rAga AlApanais were beautifully handled touching all the essential phrases and adding all the essentialities to make it very appealing. The neraval and svarams were well done too. The pallavi, set in different rAgams for the pUrvAngam and uttarAngam, was rendered quite elaborately and with trikAlam and tisram. The accompanists did a wonderful job in accompanying the main artist. They gave fitting patterns during accompanying and during their solo versions.

K Bharat Sundar, Music Club IIT Madras

K Bharat Sundar - M Rajiv - K S Ramana

Music Club IIT Madras
6 Jan 09. 6:45 pm

viribhONi ninnEkOri - bhairavi - aTA - PA (short sketch, S)
vallabha nAyakasya - bEgaDa - rUpakam - MD
ETi janmamidi hA - varALi - misra cApu - T (RNS)
sarasa sAma dAna - kApi nArAyaNi - Adi - T
vinatA suta vAhana - jayanta sEnA - Adi - T (R)
sarasvati namOstutE - sarasvati - rUpakam - GNB
dEvi jagatjanani - shankarAbaraNam - Adi - ST (RNST)
RTP - kIravANi - Adi (2 kaLai)
kancadaLAyadAkshI kAmAkshI kamalA manOharI tripura sundarI
rAgamAlika svaram in kamalAmanOhari
tsallarE rAmachandruni - Ahiri - misra cApu - T
tillAnA - khamAs - Adi - LGJ
adala sEDanAr ADa - kalyANi, Anandabhairavi, sAmA, suruTTi - one rUpakam followed by one kaNDa cApu - Thiruppugazh
nI nAma rUpamulaku - saurAshTram - Adi - T

It was a very well presented concert. All the kritis were rendered beautifully also taking care of sensible splitting of sAhityam. The AlApanais were done in a elaborate fashion and included all the classical phrases. The neraval and svarams were all done with effortless ease. The vocalist excelled himself in both kalpitam and manOdarmam parts and made it a good concert. The accompanists were good and added to the concert very effectively

Bombay Prashant, Sriranjani Trust

Bombay Prashant - C S Anuroop - R Ramkumar

Sriranjani Trust, Swamy's Hall
6 Jan 09. 4:30 pm

karuNimpa idi - sahAnA - Adi (RS)
danyuDevvaDo - malayamArutam - Adi - PSI (NS)
malariNai tuNaiyE - rItigauLa - rUpakam - PS (R)
maragata maNi varNa - varALi - Adi - T (RNS)
parama purusham - lalita panchamam - kaNDa cApu - ST
dakshiNAmUrtE - shankarAbaraNam - misra jhampa - MD (RST)
Ethirugananu - nAdanAmakriyA
shAradhA bhujangam - rAgamAlikA
patiki hArati rE - suruTTi - Adi - T

It was a great concert. The AlApanais of rItigauLa, varALi and shankarAbaraNam were all done with deep classicism. The kritis were rendered well. The neraval svarams were all very good also. The accompanists did a wonderful job in playing their parts very sensibly.

Music Season 2008

Period taken into consideration: 29th November to 5th January
Number of concerts sampled ~ 50

i. Best Concerts (in no particular order)
Alamelu Mani at Raga Sudha
Mysore Balakrishna at Music Academy
R Vedavalli at Raga Sudha
Rama Ravi at Raga Sudha

ii. Best Singular Renditions (in no particular order)
1. nAgasvaram AlApanai of AbhOgi and a tAnam which followed, with the accompaniment of thavil at Nanganallur Anjaneyar Temple, on 2nd January preceeding the evening deeparadhanai.
2. chAyA ranjani RTP by D Vardhini for Chennai Fine Arts.
3. ravichandrikA AlApanai with niravati sukhadA by Chingleput Ranganathan at Raga Sudha Hall.

ii (b). Forgettable Renditions
many many...

iii. Best Violin Accompaniment (in no particular order)
Vittal Ramamurthy for Rama Ravi & Chingleput Ranganathan
RK Shriram Kumar for R Vedavalli & T K Govinda Rao
(all the above at Raga Sudha)
Ambika Prasad for D Vardhini for Chennai Fine Arts
N C Madhav for Manda Sudharani at Nanganallur Maruthi Bhaktha Samaj

iv. Best Mrudangam Accompaniment
Vellore Ramabadran for Rama Ravi at Nada Inbam

iv (c). Best tani: Guruvayur Dorai & Thirupunitura Radhakrishnan in the concert of Trivandrum Venkataraman at Raga Sudha Hall.

Special Recognition for Best Ghatam/ Khanjira Player:
KV Gopalakrishnan for the tani he played with Shertalai Anantakrishnan in the concert of Chingleput Ranganathan at Raga Sudha Hall

v. Congeniality Prize for Most Popular Ragam of the Season
pUrvikalyANi - 18 times. i m soon going to define carnatic music at 'pUrvikalyANi'
(accounted only if there was some manOdarmam part attached to the kriti. not included are tukkaDas and the number of times just a kriti in pUrvikalyANi rendered)

v (b). Raga I Missed the Most during the Season
shankarAbharaNam - heard it just twice
bhairavi

vi. Concerts I Wish I had Attended
TNS at Mudhra, for the Ahiri RTP he had sung there.

vi (c). People i wish i had heard atleast once during the season.
Sanjay, TNS, Sowmya, R K Srikantan, Parassala Ponnammal, Nedunuri Krishnamurthy

vii. Best Sabha Food
usili sEvai at Vani Mahal GnanambikA Stall.
ashOka halwa at MFAC canteen

viii. Best Listening Environment
First (tie): Raga Sudha Hall & Music Academy Main Hall (downstairs)
a distant Second: Tattvaloka

viii (b). Worst Listening Environment
MFAC (too noisy), German Hall - IFAS (acoustically not so great)

ix. Word/ Name of the Season:
pUrvikalyANi.


I pretty much ended up at Raga Sudha Hall on many days and enjoyed almost all the concerts there.


I cant take any more of pUrvikalyANi. Wherever i went, pUrvikalyANi chased me and hit me hard.

Chaitra Sairam, Music Club IIT Madras

Chaitra Sairam - Karaikal Venkatasubramanian - Delhi Sairam - H Prasanna

Music Club IIT Madras
5 Jan 09. 6:45 pm

chalamEla jEsEvayyA - nATTakuranji - Adi - Rangaswamy Nattuvanar (short sketch, S)
sarva vigna haraNa - AbhOgi - Adi (short sketch, S)
mAra vairi ramaNi - nAsikA bhUshaNi - rUpakam - T (RNS)
srI mAtrubhUtam - kannaDa - misra cApu - MD
O rangasAyI - kAmbhOji - Adi - T (RNS)
tani
RTP - mOhanam, kalyANa vasantam - kaNDa tripuTa (2 kaLai) 1/2 eDuppu, 6 akshara aridi
mOhana muraLIdhara gOpalA - muraharA giridharA jagan-
dEvakI tan kula kozhundE - rAgamAlikA - Adi
Adana pADuvE - hamsAnandi - Adi - PD
bhAvayAmi gOpAla bAlam - yamunakalyANi - kaNDa cApu - A
tillAnA - sindhu bhairavi - Adi - LGJ
nI nAma rUpamulaku - saurAshTram - Adi - T
suruTTi short sketch

It was a very good concert. The AlApanais of nAsikA bhUshaNi, kAmbhOji, mOhanam and kalyANa vasantam were all done in a strictly classical fashion. The rAga bhAvam was intact and renditions were very good. The kritis were rendered well with the right stresses. The neraval and svarams were all very good also. The Pallavi with different ragams for the pUrvAngam and uttarAngam was neatly presented. The violinst was very good and did well in providing perfect accompaniment. The percussion Department was well handled and they made sure there was no dull moment.

Akshay Padmanabhan, Music Club IIT Madras

Akshay Padmanabhan - M Vijay - N C Bharadwaj

Music Club IIT Madras
4 Jan 09. 10 am

srI rAja mAtangi - suddha danyAsi - Adi - HMB
ElA nI daya rAdu - aTANA - Adi - T (short sketch)
gurulEkha eTuvaNTi - gauri manOhari - kaNDa cApu - T (RS)
natajana pAlini - naLinakAnti - Adi - TSI (RS)
srI kAnta nIyaDa - bhavapriyA - Adi - T
unnai allAl - kalyANi - Adi - PS (RNST)
RTP - simmEndra madhyamam - kaNDa tripuTA (1/2 eDuppu, 5 akshara aridi)
nI padamulE gatiyani nammiti srI rAmachandrA
rAgamAlikA svarams in srI rAgam, valaji, dEsh
Ala mAmaratin - viruttam in senjuruTTi, nAdanAmakriyA, sindhu bhairavi, mAND
ranga bArO - mAND - Adi - PD
tillAnA - darbAri kAnaDA - misra cApu - Tanjavur S Kalyanaraman
nI nAma rUpamulaku - saurAshTram - Adi - T

The kriti renditions were good. The manOdarmam parts were very creative. There were lots of innovative phrases which gave new looks to the rAgams. The accompanists were good.

Swarna Rethas, Music Club IIT Madras

Swarna Rethas - Arunachala Karthik - K S Ramana

Music Club IIT Madras
3 Jan 09. 4:30 pm

marachiTlunDE - bEgaDa - aTa - PSI
samayamidE - kEdAram - rUpakam - PSI (S)
pAmAlaikkiNai uNDO - hari kAmbhOji - Adi - PS (RNS)
ennALu UragE - subha pantuvarALi - misra cApu - T (R)
niravati sukhadA - ravi candrikA - Adi - T
bAla gOpAla - bhairavi - Adi - MD (RNST)
srI rAma jaya rAma - yadukula kAmbhOji - kaNDa cApu - T
nArayaNa naLinAyatalOcana - sAmA - Adi - PS
nanda tanaya gOvinda - bhAgE srI - Adi - PD
teruvinil naDavA - suruTTi - tisra tripuTa - Arunagirinathar
nI nAma rUpamulaku - saurAshTram - Adi - T

It was a very good concert. The vocalist did it all right. The kriti renditions were good and the AlApanais were well sung also. The neraval svarams were nice structured. The neraval at 'vaiNika gAyaka' for the main piece deserves to be mentinoed. The accompanists did a very good job and overall, it was a fulfilling concert.

Manda Sudharani, Sri Maruthi Bhaktha Samajam

Manda Sudharani - N C Madhav - Melakaveri K Balaji - C S Venkataraman

Sri Maruthi Bhaktha Samajam & Sri Phavaman Annadhanam Trust, Nanganallur
34th Hanumath Jayanthi Series, Rama Mandiram.
2 Jan 09. 6:30 pm

chalamEla jEsEvayyA - nATTaikuranji - Adi - Rangaswamy Nattuvanaar (R)
svAminAta paripAlayAsumAm - nATTai - Adi - MD (RS)
ADamODi galadA rAmayyA - chArukEsi - Adi - T (RNS)
rAja rAja rAditE - nirOshTA(putrikA) - Adi - HMB (RS)
rAmA nI samAnamevarU - kharaharapriyA - rUpakam - T (RS)
saravaNabhavA samayamidirA - pasupati priyA - Adi - HMB
RTP - pUrvikalyANi - misra cApu (eDuppu 1 aksharam before samam, 5 aksharam aridi)
apUrva kalyANi apAra karuNAtarangiNi (spread over 4 Avarthanams of misra cApu)
tani Avarththanam
parulanna mATa - kApi - rUpakam - DS
tillAnA - kuntala varALi - Adi - BMK
nI nama rUpamulaku - saurAshTram - Adi - T
madhyamAvati short sketch

It was a very good concert. Smt. Sudharani was her usual creative self. Beginning with the varNam in 4 kAlams, with each phrase and each song she was getting more and more creative and yet well within the rAga bhAvam. Her kriti renditions were very good. The AlApanai, neraval and svarams were all very nice. Her mel kAla svarams and svarams in multi naDai were all very good. The korappu svarams in nirOshTA were very interesting. (she mentioned the rAgam is also called putrikA) The AlApanai in kharaharapriyA was very elabortate and had some graha bedam also. The AlApanai of pUrvikalyANi was short and sweet, while the tAnam was exceptionally outstanding. The accompanists did a great job in perfectly blending with the main artist. Kum. Sruthiravali, daughter of Smt. Sudharani lended vocal support and sang parts of chArukEsi AlApanai and svarams in nirOshTA.

Kalpakam Swaminathan, Nada Inbam

Kalpakam Swaminathan - Veenai
Nirmala Rajasekhar - Veenai Support
Umayalpuram Mali - Mrudangam

Nada Inbam
1 Jan 09. 6:15 pm

dAni sAmajEndra - tODi - Adi - ST [varNam]
vallabha nAyakasya - bEgaDa - rUpakam - MD (RS)
purahara nandana - hamIr kalyANi - Adi - MD (R)
giripai nelakona - sahAnA - Adi - T (R)
mAmava mInAkshI - varALi - misra cApu - MD (RTNS)
tani
parAkEla nannu - kEdAragauLa - Adi - SS
kaliyuga varadan - brindAvana sArangA - Adi - PT
jAnakI ramaNA - kApi - Adi - Vanamamalai Jeeyar
nainanumE siyA rAm - lalath - Adi - Tulsi Das [bhajan]
tillAnA - paras - Adi - RSI
jai jagadIsvari - kApi - Adi [abhang]
nADi tEDi - bhAgEsrI - rUpakam - Arunagirinathar [Thiruppugazh]
nI nAma rUpamulaku - saurAshTram - Adi - T
madhyamAvati short sketch

It was a wonderful concert. Each piece was rendered beautifully and with a lot of charm by the veteran. The crystal clear precision and the vintage feel of the music were totally moving. Each piece was a masterpiece in itself. The AlApanais, the neraval and svarams and the kriti renditions were all superb. Smt. Nirmala on the second veenai shared some parts of the tanam, neraval and svarams. Sri Mali was ever so supportive and played very well.

Suguna Purushottaman, Nada Inbam

Suguna Purushottaman - Rajani Ramakrishnan Arun - Thanjavur Kumar

Nada Inbam
31 Dec 08. 6:15 pm

gajAnanam - slOkam in hamsadvani
sankara hara priya - rAgamAlika - Adi - Suguna Purushottaman (varNam with all the 'priyA' ending rAgams) (Svarams in shanmukhapriyA, the rAgam of the caraNam)
ilalO praNathArthiharuDanucu - aTANA - Adi - T (RS)
suguNamulE jeppukoNTi - chakravAkham - rUpakam - T (RNS)
vAsi vAsi vAsi vAsi - sahAnA - Adi - Ramaswami Dikshitar (short sketch, S)
shrI kAnthanIyaDa - bhavapriyA - Adi - T (RS)
tulasi bilva - kedAragauLa - Adi - T (RS)
garuDA garuDA garuDA - garuDadhvani - Adi - Suguna Purushottaman (short sketch)
nI pAdamulE - bhairavi - Adi - PSI (RNST)
shrI rAma jayarAma - yadukula kAmbOdhi - kaNDa cApu - T
marukulAviya - pUrvikalyANi - tisra jhampai (tisra naDai)
nI nAma rUpamulaku - saurAshTram - Adi - T
mangalam kOsalendrAya - madhyamAvati

It was a fitting concert for celebrating the new year eve. Each piece was rendered with a lot of bhavam and the choice of rAgams and kritis were very very refreshing. The choice and presentation of each rAgam was excellent and the way in which each rAgam was handled was just tooo good. The pieces were all effortlessly rendered. The kalpitam and manOdarmam were both very inspiring and creative and yet vintage stuff. The accompanist were very good and did a fantastic job in accompanying aptly.