T K Govinda Rao, Nada Inbam

T K Govinda Rao - R K Shriram Kumar - K Arun Prakash

Nada Inbam
24 Dec 08. 6:15 pm

ninnu kOri - mOhanam - Adi - RSI (varNam)
Ananda naTamADuvAr - pUrikalyANi - rUpakam - NS (RS)
giri rAja sutA - bangALa - Adi - T (S)
O jagadambA - Ananda bhairavi - Adi - SS
enta vEDu kondu rAghavA - sarasvati manOhari - Adi - T (NS)
karuttil ennALum koLLuvAi - kAmavardini - Adi (RS)
tani
nIrajAkshI kAmAkshI - hindOLam - rUpakam - MD
mOkshamu galadA - sAramati - Adi - T (S)
durmArgacarA - ranjani - rUpakam - T (S)
saraguNa pAlimpA - kEdAragauLa - Adi - RSI (R)
engu nAn selvEn ayyA - dvijAvanti - kaNDa cApu (S)
bAlagOpAla pAlayAsumAm - bhairavi - Adi - MD (RNS)
tani
bArO krishNayyA - rAgamAlikA - Adi
arum ponne maNiyE - viruttam in senjuruTTi, nAdanAmakriyA, sindhu bhairavi
manju nihar - kAvaDi chindu
tillAnA - hamsAnandi - Adi
nI nAma rUpamulaku - saurAshTram - Adi - T

It was an excellent concert. A Marathon 3 hours and 15 minutes affair of absolutely creative yet vintage classical music. From the varNam that was rendered in 4 different speeds, each piece was absolutely moving. The neraval and svarams in sarasvati manOhari, the first main pantuvarALi, the second bhairavi, the kEdAragauLA in between, all of it was marvellous. Each song was flowing and all of us were totally moved. The accompanists were very good and played according to what was being sung. Perfect match of everything made it an unforgettable concert.

T K Govinda Rao, Musiri Chambers

T K Govinda Rao - S Varadarajan - N Manoj Siva

Musiri Chambers
14 Dec 08. 10 AM

varNam - mOhanam
sambhO mahAdEva - bauLi (S)
teratIyaga rAdA - gauLipantu - Adi - T (S)
sItApatE nA manasunA - khamAs - Adi - T (NS)
chEsinadella marachitivO - tODi - Adi - T (RNS)
tani
ADa hOdEyalli makkaLu - rAgamAlikA - rUpakam - PD
tillAnA - bEhAg - Adi
arum ponnE maNiyE - senjuruTTi, nAdanAmakriyA, sindhu bhairavi
vaNkAra mARbil - sindhubhairavi - kaNDa cApu - Thiruppugazh
manju nihar - kAvaDi cindu
srI vENugOpAla - kuranji - kANDa Ekam - MD
tillAnA - sindhubhairavi - tisra Adi
nI nAma rUpamulaku - saurAshTram - Adi - T

Listening to Sri Govinda Rao has always been a amazing experience for me. To listen to him again at Musiri Chambers on a lazy December Sunday Morning was only nostalgic. It was the same venue and the same man on the occasion of my first every concert listening/blogging experience 5 years ago. It was only re-living that experience.

I dint want to miss the opportunity and went to a concert, though i knew i would be late. As i entered, the svaram in bauLi were flowing. The gauLipantu was rendered well.

The khamAs kriti was rendered well with two rounds of neraval and svarams, once during the kriti and once after the kriti was over. However, the approach to both the bouts of neraval and svarams were totally different from each other and each in its own way were amazing. The main todi was a classy affair. It was just too good.

Sri Govinda Rao extended his love for khamAs with the dEvarnAma which began in khamAs and then went on into other rAgams. With the tillAnA, if one expected to wind up, he wasnt yet happy to finish.

The elaborate viruttam and a couple of pieces in madhyama sruthi were rendered and after that he was pleased to finish off with another tillAnA.

The accompanists were both at home in following the main artist. They were faithful in embellishing the music and also showing their prowess in a fitting way during their solo versions.

It was a wonderful morning concert and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

T K Govinda Rao, M N Kandaswamy Day

T K Govinda Rao - H N Bhaskar - T K Murthy - B Sivaraman

MN Kandaswamy Day, Raga Sudha hall
13th June 2008. 6:15 pm

sAmi entani - suruTTi - tisra Ekam (varNam) (short sketch)
tera tIyaga rAdA - gauLipantu - Adi - T (S)
shankari nIvE - bEgaDa - rUpakam - Subbaraya Sastri (RS)
sArasAksha paripAlaya - pantuvarALi - Adi - ST (NS)
marivEra dikkevarayya - shanmukhapriyA - Adi - PSI (RNST)
nA morAlakimpa - dEvagAndhAri - rUpakam - T
vEnkaTa saila vihArA - hamIr kalyANi - Adi - SubbarAya Sastri (RS)
kaNamum maravAdhE - sAmA - Adi - AK (S)
Adaya srI raghuvara - Ahiri - Adi - T (S)
arum ponnE maNiyE - viruttam in bilahari, kApi, sindhu bharavi
venkaTAcala nilayam - sindhubhairavi - Adi - PD
tillAnA - gambIra vANi - Adi - TK Govinda Rao
nI nAma rUpamulaku - saurAshTram - Adi - T

It was one superb concert. From the grand varNam, each piece was rendered very beautifully. Everything fell in place. The AlApanais were as usual very innovative and refreshing. The neraval were extensive. I was mesmerised by his one Avarthana svarams. The number of patterns which kept coming were just endless. The violinst was giving good replies. Sri Murthy was playing very well, in complete tandem with the main artist. Sri Sivaraman ably supported him.

T K Govinda Rao, Nada Inbam

T K Govinda Rao - Vocal
Radha Ramji & Prasanna Venkataraman - Vocal Support
Charulatha Ramanujam - Fiddle
T K Murthy - Mridangam
B Sivaraman - Mridangam
Ganesan - Tampura

SVK Birthday Series
Nada Inbam, Raga Sudha Hall.
16th April 2008. 6 pm

sarasijanAbha - kAmbhOji - aTa (varNam)
mEru samAna - mAyAmALavagauLa - Adi - T (S)
ikanainanA moravina - pushpalatikA - Adi - TN (NS)
nA morAlakimpa - dEvagAndhAri - rUpakam - T
evarani - dEvAmrutavarshini - Adi - T (S)
tani Avarththanam
bArayyA venkaTaramaNA - sAvEri - misra cApu - PD (RS)
kaNamum maravAdE - sAmA - Adi - Ambujam Krishna (S)
bhaktara manEgE bArO - sung as slOkam in mAND
bArO krishNayyA - mAND - Adi
venkaTAcala nilayam vaikuNTa puravAsam - sung as slOkam in sindhubhairavi
venkaTAcala nilayam - sindhubhairavi - Adi - PD
arum ponnE maNiyE - viruttam in senjuruTTi
manju nihar - kAvaDi chindu
antakana dUtarigE - rAgamAlikA - kaNDa cApu - PD
hari samaraNE mADO - yamuna kalyANi - Adi - PD
pAhi rAmacandra rAghavA - yadukula kAmbhOji - rUpakam - T
tillAnA - gambIra vANi - Adi - TK Govinda Rao
nI nAma rUpamulaku - saurAshTram - Adi - T

That was an amazing concert. Sri Govinda Rao was just out of the world. All those present had an experience of a life time. It was just amazing. The renditions of each of the pieces and the manOdarmam were just too good. The svarams in mAyAmALavagauLa were amazing. The pushpalatikA nerval and svarams were beautiful. The sAvEri AlApanai and swarams were awesome. The svarams in dEvAmrutavarshiNi and sAmA were both fitting and gelled well. The violinst, Smt. Charulatha, was good and gave appropriate replies to the veteran. Sri Murthy was playing very much in tandem with the music and it was a treat to watch these two veterans perform together. Sri Sivaraman also ably assisted in adding effect to the concert.

T K Govinda Rao, RK Venkatarama Sastry Birth Centenary Celebrations.

T K Govinda Rao - V V Ravi - T K Murthy - T V Vasan

R K Venkatarama Sastry Birth Centenary Celebrations.
Raga Sudha Hall
12th November 2007. 6:30 pm

entaninnE telupudurA (pada varNam) - khamAs - tisra Ekam (2 kaLai) - Subbarama Dikshitar (short sketch)
O jagadambA - Anandabhairavi - Adi (2 kaLai) - SS (S)
gnAnamosagarAdA - pUrvikalyANi - rUpakam - T (NS)
bhuvinidAsuDanE - srI ranjani - Adi - T
rAma bANa - sAvEri - Adi (2 kaLai) - T (RS)
tani Avarththanam
kaNamum maravAdE - sAmA - Adi (S)
arum pon maNiyE - viruttam in yamunA kalyANi, sindhu bhairavi
bArO krishNayyA - rAgamAlikA
manju nihar - kAvaDi chindu
tillAnA - gambIra vANi - Adi - TKG
caraNa kamalAlayatai - senjuruTTi - kaNDa cApu - Arunagirinathar
nI nAma rUpamulaku - saurAshTram - Adi - T

Amazing concert. Sri Govinda Rao was his usual best with amazing svarams all thro' the concert. The sAvEri and khamAs AlApanais were too good. The kritis were rendered well. The pUrvAngam and the uttarAngam of the concert were both equally enjoyable making it a concert to remember for a long time. The accompanists were good and played a very supportive role to make the concert a very memorable one.

T K Govinda Rao, Asthika Samajam, Thiruvanmiyur

T K Govinda Rao - V L Sudarshan - Trichur Narendran - B S Purushottaman

Amara Bharathi, Asthika Samajam, Thiruvanmiyur
Thyagaraja Aradhanai Festival
13th Feb 2007 6:30pm

ninnE bhajana - nATTai - Adi (NS)
telisi rAmA - pUrNacandrikA - Adi (S)
kadalEvADu - nArAyaNagauLa - Adi (S)
nI vADa nE gAna - sArangA - kaNDa cApu (RS)
mOkshamu galadA - sAramati - Adi (S)
mOhana ramA - mOhanam - Adi (RS)
nArAyaNa hari - yamuna kalyANi - Adi
nI nAma rUpamulaku - saurAshTRam - Adi

I reached late while he was doing the neraval for the nATTai kriti. The svarams were good. The pUrNacandrikA kriti was rendered with all the 3 caraNams and a nice round of svarams. The nArAyaNagauLa kriti was nicely rendered with a nice round of svarams. The sArangA AlApanai, though a bit short was beautiful and the kriti was rendered beautifully with a quick round of svarams. The sArAmati piece began with the anupallavi and was rendered with nice sangatis and a round of svarams.

The main mOhanam AlApanai was off beat from a regular AlApanai one gets to hear in a concert. It was good. The kriti was rendered beautifully with an elaborate round of svarams at the pallavi line. The concluding piece in yamunakalyANi and the mangaLam, both of which were rendered in madhyama sruthi, were nice also.

Sri Govinda Rao gave a nice concert with quite a few nice things to carry back. He was ably supported by his accompanists all thro' the concert who were all good in their individual parts and also on the whole.

T K Govinda Rao, Nada Inbam

T K Govinda Rao - S Varadarajan - Guruvayur Durai

Nada Inbam, Raga Sudha Hall
27th December 2006. 6:30 pm

abhimAnamen - bEgaDa - Adi - PSI (short sketch, S)
ikanaina nA - pushpalatikA - Adi - Tirupati Narayanaswami (NS)
sivakAma sundarI - jagan mOhini - rUpakam - GKB (S)
mInAkshI mE mudam - pUrvikalyANi - Adi - MD (RNS)
mundu vEnuga - darbAr - Adi - T (RS)
tani
vEnkaTa saila vihArA - hamIrkalyANI - Adi - Subbaraya Sastri (RS)
bArO krishNayyA - mAND
tillAnA - gambIravANi???

Sri Govinda Rao's concert was a very fulfilling one. He was, as his usual self, flowing with spontaineity and his imporvisational capablities were very very inspiring.

The concert began with a short sketch of bEgaDa and abhimAnamen, which i was hoping, was sung with a beautiful set of svarams. The pushpalatikA piece was nicely rendered with a nice neraval at 'karuNinci nIvu kApATa lEdA' and svarams. The jaganmOhini piece was very good. The svarams were nice also.

As Sri Govinda Rao, started singing pUrvikalyANi, i was a bit reluctant, as this was the second AlApanai of the ragam I got to hear, in as many hours time. But, given Sri Govinda Rao's creativity and ideas, i had to pay attention the rAgam in a short while, as he started off. It was quite different from the earlier one, which Sri Balasubramanian's. Each being good in its own way. BB's was filled with gamakkams and a lot of bhavam. TKG's was very very creative and explorative. His inclusion of some hindustani-style phrases, gave a different flavour to the rAgam. I was praying that it should not be the same kriti. Alas, it was. TKG's mInAkshi mE mudam was strikingly different from the earlier one. His on-the-spot sangatis along with the regular sangatis one gets to hear were all good. What stood out was the stunning neraval at 'madurA puri nilayE maNi valayE' for 20 minutes, which included 10 minutes of 'sama kAla neraval'. It was very logically built and very very inspiring. As he started singing the svarams in pUrvikalyANi, clock was closing towards 8 o clock. One had made up, one's mind to expect a tani after the kriti.

It wasnt the main piece. When Sri Durai finished the Avartanam after the pUrvikalyANi piece, Sri Govinda Rao, started a rAgam which i wasnt sure if it was darbAr or nAyaki. His second phrase however reassured, it was indeed darbAr. Sri TKG confessed it was the first time, he ever attempted to elaborate darbAr, while he has tried singing nAyaki umpteen times. The AlApanai was very good. A darbAr main, was something i have been longing to hear for ages now. It was fulfilled y'day. His 10+ min AlApanai of the rAgam was very nice and his creativity and ideas were very inspiring. The AlApanai was very indicative of the kriti that was going to come. The kriti was rendered beautifully with a nice round of svarams. In between the AlApanai he sang a few of snatches of nAyaki, here and there, and explained some of the the subtle differences between the two.

As the tani ended, it was 8:45, for somebody expecting a couple of tukkaDas, there came a hamIrkalyANi AlApanai. Here again, some of the hindustani-style phrases gave an added effect to the rAgam. The kriti, was rendered with a quick round of svarams at 'kaNTini'. With very heavy heart, i had to leave as he was singing bArO krishNayya, as it was getting quite late. An amazing concert for a man, who is nearing his 80s. All the neraval and svarams were good. All thro' the concert, most svara prastharams were only one avarthanam long. With just one avartana svarams, the amount of creative and the number of phrases he could produce were just too good.

Sri Varadarajan on the violin, was very good. His support at the concert was very sedate and he gave exact replies to the main artist and tried to follow him as much. Sri Dorai was, needless to say, too good. His playing for each kriti and the sangati and each kind of neraval were amazing. The tani very very nice also.

T K Govinda Rao, Nada Inbam

T K Govinda Rao - R K Shiram Kumar - K V Prasad

Nada Inbam, Raga Sudha Hall.
22nd August 2006. 6 pm

ninnE bhajana - nATTai - Adi - T (RNS)
teratIyaga rAdA - gauLipantu - Adi - T (S)
telisi rAma - pUrNacandrikA - Adi - T (S)
paridAnamiccitE - bilahari - kaNDa cApu - PSI (RNS)
Ema ninnE - mukhAri - Adi - SS (RS)
tani Avarttanam
Ananda sAgara - garuDadvani - Adi - T (short sketch)
srI visvanAtam - caturdasa rAgamAlikA - Adi - MD
kaNamum maravAdE - sAmA - Adi - AK (S)
antakana dUtarigE - rAgamAlikA - kaNDa cApu - PD
manju nihAr - mAND - misra cApu - kAvaDi chindu
caraNa kamalAlayattai - senjuruTTi - kaNDa cApu - kAvadi chindu
nI nAma rUpamulaku - saurAshTRam - Adi - T

The concert began with a beautiful elaboration of nATTai and 'ninnE bhajana' was rendered with a nice ciTTai svaram, beautiful neraval and measured svarams at 'sItAnAtha sakala lOka pLalaka tyAgarAja sannuta'. The gauLipantu kriti, 'teratIyaka' which followed was good and the svarams were displaying the raga bhavam. 'telisi rAma' was rendered with all the caranams though the usual ciTTai svaram was missing. However, kalpana svarams followred.

Bilhari was the first major Alapanai. The ragam was elaborated very well and all the aesthetic beauty of the ragam was brought out. 'paridAnamiccitE' was rendered with amazing neraval and svarams at 'rokkamicchutakunE mukkaNTi celikAnu'.

The mukhAri AlApanai was very beautiful and 'Ema ninnE' was a treat to hear. It was rendered with a lot of bhavam and a round of svarams. The garuDadvani short sketch gave a good flavour of the rAgams. 'Ananda sAgara' was rendered beautifully with sparkling ciTTai svarams.

'srI visvanAtam' was rendered beautifully. 'kaNamum' in sAmA, a TKG favourite was good with nice svarams. The second rAgamAlika, 'antha kaNa' was rendered in a set of hindustani style rAgams and was good also. The two kAvaDi chindus were beautiful also.

Whenever one has to write a write-up about a concert like the one in consideration, one falls shorts of words for in the first sentence itself one exhausts all available superlative adjectives and it gets tough to find better words to describe pieces that followed. Else, one goes terribly repetitive in describing each piece. I usually tend to get very repetitive.

Sri Govinda Rao gave a really amazing concert and was at his creative best. His voice was co-operating and was quite audible right from the first piece, thanks to the double microphone. Sri Shriram Kumar was very accurate in following the vocalist in each sangati and kriti and even during the neraval and svarams. His AlApanais were fitting also. Sri Prasad played very aptly to accompany the pieces and was able to play well for each sangati sang. His tani was beautiful also. He showed a few nice patterns and also, his korappu to the beginning of 'Ema ninnE' was very enjoyable.

T K Govinda Rao, Asthika Samajam Thiruvanmiyur

T K Govinda Rao - Vocal
M Chandrasekaran - Violin
Palghat Suresh - Mrudangam

Asthika Samajam, Thiruvanmiyur at Amarabharathi on 16th Feb 06 6:30 pm

Thyagaraja aradhanai series.

ragunAyakA - hamsadvani - Adi (RS)
appa rAma bhakti - kAmavardini - rUpakam (NS)
evarani nirNayincirirA - dEvAmrutavarshini - Adi (S)
vidhi shakrAdulaku dorakunA - yamunakalyani - rUpakam (RS)
rAga ratna mAlikacE - rItigauLa - rUpakam (RNS)
tani
sAntamulEkA - sAmA - Adi (S)
pAhi rAmacandra rAghavA - yadhukula kAmbhOji - rUpakam
nI nama rUpamulaku - saurASTRam - Adi
mangalam kOsalEndrAya - madhyamAvati

The concert started with a short and crisp expansion of hamsadvani and the kriti was rendered well with nicely structured svarams in various nadais. The kAmavardini kriti was rendered with the usual vigour with neraval and svarams at 'kapi vAridhi dATunA kaliki rOta gaTunA'. The kriti in dEvAmrutavarshini was rendered in an amazing kAlapramANam which was too good and so were the svarams.

The ultimate treat of the evening was a 12 minute yamunakalyANi AlApanai. The AlApanai took one complete round of the rAga svarUpam and it was too good to say the least. The kriti taken up couldn't get rarer. 'vidhi shakrAdulaku' was rendered with absolute bhavam and it was just ecstacy to listen to the kriti and the svarams which followed.

The main course was even more interesting and enjoyable. rItigauLa was elaborated to all its limits. All sancarams that could show the rAga svarUpam were interwoven in the AlApanai. The kriti was rendered very well with neraval and svarams at 'bhAgavatOttamulu gUDi pADE kIrtanamulaTa'. The sAmA kriti and svarams and yadhukula kAmbhOji kriti were rendered in true TKG style.

To go to a TKG's concert, one must go with a mindset which will not expect anything from the voice. All those who entered the hall with the same mindset will definitely agree with me that it was a rare treat to listen to him singing.

Sri M Chandrasekaran on the violin was his usual self. He was visibly clueless during all parts of the yamunakalyANi. One could actually see him sitting enjoying all that TKG did that he forgot to play when his turn came, more than once.

Palghat Sri Suresh played with good anticipation. One was quite worried as to how a man could sit in such an uncomfortable position for not less than 2 hours and play so good. His tani was good also.

T K Govinda Rao, Nada Inbam

T K Govinda Rao - B U Ganesh Prasad - Srimushnam Raja Rao

Nada Inbam, Raga Sudha Hall. 15 December 2005

abhimAnamEn - bEgaDa - Adi - paTNam subramaNya iyer (RS)
ikanaina nA - pushpalathikA - Adi - tirupati nArAyaNa svAmy (NS)
vEnkaTa saila vihArA - hamIrkalyANi - Adi (2) - subbarAya sAstri (RS)
bOgIndra sAyinam - kuntaLavarALi - kaNDa cApu - svAti tirunAL (RS)
kaNamum maravAdE - sAmA - Adi (S)
kArubAru - mukhAri - Adi (2) - T
R T P - tODi - catusra jAti tripuTa tALam (kaNDa naDai) 5 aksharam eDuppu
'neratA marulu koNTi vANipai sAla sadAnanda'
taniyAvartanam
pallavi continued in catusra jAti tripuTa tALam (tisra naDai) with 3 aksharam eDuppu
Adaya srI raghuvara - Ahiri - Adi (2) - T
manju nIhar - kAvadi chindu - rUpakam (tisra naDai)
pAhi rAmachandra rAgavA - yadukula kAmbhOji - tisra laghu
nI nAma rUpamulaku - saurAshTRam

The T K Govinda Rao concert at nAda inbam was one of the best concerts one has heard, to say the least.

The brisk bEgaDa short sketch and the kriti gave a brisk start to the kriti. The pushpalathikA piece which followed was good in all aspects. The neraval and svarams at 'karuNinci nIvu kApATa lEdA' were very well structured.

The hamIrkalyANi AlApanai was vintage stuff. One could clearly appreciate a classical difference in the AlApanai compared other AlApanais of the ragam. The kriti was rendered with a lot of bhavam. Svarams were rendered at both 'kaNTini kirini' and the pallavi line. Sri Govinda Rao was not satisfied with one round of svarams in both kAlams at the caraNam line that he sang yet another mutually exclusive set at the pallavi line. It was very enjoyable.

What was next was an elaboration of kuntaLAvarALi. The ragam which is usually considered fit for a filler or a tukkaDa did have scope for an AlApanai when the person singing is Sri Govinda Rao. The kriti and superb, well structure svaram which followed at the pallavi line were good.

The sAmA kriti was nice with svarams. The mukhAri kriti was moving and filled with bhAvam.

The main course of the concert was the pallavi in tODi. The two stage AlApanai would have been not less than 20 minutes. It was display of the capablities of the veteran, what is the exact way to sing each note of the rAgam was clearly shown while punctuating the AlApanai with quite a few classical phrases. The tAnam was good as it was rendered and was made better by Sri Raja Rao who provided very sensible accompaniment to the tAnam. The pallavi rendered in kaNDa naDai first and in tisra naDai after the tani was very good. One guesses, it to be an on the spot rendition. The anulomam, pratilomam part was also well executed.

The next piece was another surprise to me. Hearing a kriti as heavy as this Ahiri one, right after one hour and ten minutes of tODi was really exciting. The kriti was very well rendered and moving.

The kavaDi chindu and yadukula kAmbhOji piece were nicely rendered as well. Sri Govinda Rao had something different even in the always heard mangalam. His rendition of the piece in mEl sthAyi was amazing.

Sri Govinda Rao was his usual self on stage. Passing some comments on stage. His voice, with the usual restrictions, still could easily travel thro' the two octaves and showcase intricate phrases and sangatis all thro' the almost three hour concert.

Sri Ganesh Prasad was just sticking to the main artist in all aspects. He provided good accompaniment all thro' the concert and followed Sri Govinda Rao almost like a shadow in most occasions. His solo versions were also good.

Sri Raja Rao was on a mission to make the concert more enjoyable. His playing according to each sangati and the sensible accompaniment thro' the concert was very much appreciable. His accompanying the tAnam made it very much enjoyable.

Over all the concert was a display of what is good music and where it rests. Senior vidwans like Sri Govinda Rao are people whom we dont get to hear often. As pointed out by somebody in yet another thread about Sri Srikantan, even leading organisations like the Music Academy have forgotten veterens of the kind after decorating them with Sangeetha Kalanidhi. When one gets to hear people of this stature, one keeps wondering as to will it be possible of today's creme-la-creme to be consistent to this extent about half a century from now.

T K Govinda Rao, Nada Inbam

T K Govinda Rao - S Varadarajan - Srimushnam V Raja Rao

sAmi yentha - varNam - suruTTi - tisra Ekam (2 kaLai) (rAga sketch and svarams)
ninnE bhajana - nATTai (rAga sketch and svarams)
telisi rAma - pUrNachandrikA (svarams)
kA vA vA - varALi (Alapanai svarams at pallavi line)
enna gAnu rAma bhajana - kAmavardini (neraval and svarams at 'sannudinchi srI rAma')
bAlagOpAla - bhairavi (AlApanai, neraval and svarams at 'drONa karNa duryOdanAdi')
taniyAvardanam

He sang all the three caraNams of telisi rAma. His rAga sketch of suruTTi and nATTai were very good. The varALi AlApanai was well rendered. The 15 minute bhairavi AlApanai starting from the thAra shadjam was of a different flavour.

Sri. varadarAjan's accompaniment was very good. He played along with the main artist. Sri Raja Rao also played well. I had to leave after the tani and do not know what else was there...

T K Govinda Rao, Nada Inbam

TK Govinda Rao, MA Krishnaswamy, Melakaveri Balaji. May 9th

nyanamosagarAdA - pUrvikalyANi (n,s)
abhimAnamen - bEgaDa(s)
parithanamichidhE - bilahari(r,n,s)
saravaNa bava - kannaDa - papanAsam sivan
pAhimAm ratnAcala nAyaka - mukAri(r,n,s)
tani
maravaka vE - sAmA(n)
manju nihar
tillAnA - gambIravANi
nI nAma rUpamulaku - saurAshtram

a good concert for those who strive constantly for good quality music. i reached late and do not know if he did an Alapanai for pUrvikalyANi which was apparently the first piece. the accompanists i personally felt could have done a bit better job. his expansions of mukhAri and rendition of the kriti constantly reminded on of musiri's renditions.

T K Govinda Rao at Nalinakanti

T K Govinda Rao - V L Kumar - T K Murthy

at Dr. MGR-Janaki college under the auspices of Nalinakanthi on 3rd April

viribhONi - bhairavi - aTa - Pachimiriyam Adiyappaiya
apparAma bhakti - kAmavardhini - rUpakam - tyAgarAjA
ikanaina - pushpalathikA - Adi
paritAna michidE - bilahari - kanDa cApu - patNam subramaNiya iyer
tani
evaranI - dEvAmrutavarshini - Adi - tyAgarAjA
maravakavE - sAmA - rUpakam - tyAgarAja
RTP - sAvEri - misra cApu - "varaTTum varaTTum manamE varaTTum iru manamE varaTTum padarAdiru manamE varaTTum"
tani
bAro krshNayyA - rAgamAlikA - Adi - kanaka dAsar
jamunA kinArE - dhrupad by mahArAjA swAti tirunAL
manju nihar
pavamAna

The concert with Sri. K S Mahadevan talking about the two sangIta kalAnidis to perform on stage and announcing the 75th birthday of Sri. TKG on 04/04/04. Following this Sri. T K Murthy had enlightened all present on his first concert (arangETRam) in 1934 when he was less than 10 years old where he instead of his guru accompanied Sri. Musiri iyervAL and on the various incidents and musiri's contributions that lead to it. He also recalled his second concert at the mysore palace during the navarAtri festival where he had played with subbarAma bhagavathar on request of rAja krshNarAja wodeyAr. He also recalled the techniques used by iyervAL in singing and keeping the correct kAla pramANam. He even sang a snatch of what he recalled. He said that iyervAL had such a auspicious hand that has made me live in sowkyam till today and Govinda Rao is the only person who can sing the same way as iyervAL and has an equally auspicious hand.

viribhONi was beautiful. kAmavardini was a nice tempo setting piece for the concert. the neraval and swarams for the pushpalathikA piece were beautiful. the bilahari Alapanai, kriti rendition, neraval and swarams were tooo good. TKG asked TKM to play the tani ('nEnga nannA vAsippELE konjam vAsingO') and quite a few of the ppl started to leave without knowing what they would miss. the rare dEvAmruthavarshini piece was aesthetic too. the neraval and swarams of the sAmA kriti were again nice. then came the grand sAvEri RTP. though a simple pallavi in a normal tALam TKG's rendition of the rAgam, tAnam and the pallavi are still ringing in my ears. then was the second tani again on TKG's request ('innoru tadavai vAsingO'). Though i do not know much about playing the mridangam, i did realise that the first and second tanis were distinctly different with nothing in common. the dhrupad of ST, was something i had not heard(off) before. i dont remember what rAgam he rendered it. bArO krishnayya and manju nihar were also trademark of TKG. in the end one felt the true meaning of TKM's words at the beginning of the concert. The excellent violin support of sri V L Kumar is notable. His phrases were fitting replies to TKG. on a lighter note he ended up finishing a few of the sanchAras which TKG had left aloof.

T K Govinda Rao at Musiri Chambers

It was a good sunday morning, Shri. T K Govinda Rao at Musiri Chambers was a enthralling concert.

1. mEru SamAna (S) mAyAmALavagowLa
2. Ananda natamAduvAr thillai pUrvikalyAni
3. pAlimsu kAmAkshi (R,N,S,T) madhyamAvati
4. ikagAvalasina balahamsa
5. mOkshamu galadA(he started off with the anupallavi) sAramati
6. tIruvadi caranam kAmbOdhi
7. Adaya shrI Ahiri
8. samugAna nilva kOkilavarALi
9. bAro krishnayya mAnd
10. Eppo varuvAro jOnpuri
11. kANa kaNAyiram nIlambari
12. pAhi rAmachandra rAgava yadhukula kAmbOdhi
13. manju nihAr
14. pavamAna

It was an exciting concert. Most cheeks had tears rolling down and every hand beating the tAlam. M S Ananatharaman on Violin and T K Murty on the mridangam were more adding to the flavour of the concert. TKG himself accepted that "vayasayiduthu" and also "maradhupochu, maathi maathi padaren". It was a concert which drove at least me to the height of ecstasy.

bharath