Good concert
Contributed by Dr.Raji Rao Ph.D., Indira Nagar, Chennai-600020

Sankari Krishnan's concert for Sri Kapali Fine Arts at Sastri Hall, Mylapore, on December 22 was marked by her adherence to classicism in both raga essaying and krithi singing.The highpoint of her concert was the Kamboji alapana followed by a soulful rendering of "Thiruvadi Saranam" of Gopalakrishna Bharathi with Niraval and swaraprasthara at "Edutha Janmam".

The song selection and sequencing for the kutcheri as a whole was well planned covering a variety of ragas and composers. Able support was provided by Padma Sankar on the violin and B. Sivaraman on the mridangam. Notwithstanding the fact that it was a working day the concert was attended by an apprecitive audience albeit small in number.

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Christmas Eve Kutcheri by Neyveli Santhanagopalan
Contributed by Sri Priya Sriram

It was Christmas Eve in Chennai and the fragrance of marigolds mingled with the smell of auto fumes in the air. A cool, temperamental breeze traipsed by, as we passed brightly lit shops and hotels, festooned grandly with garlands of white lights on Teynampet, Pondy Bazaar Road. The heart of the city pulsated before us throbbing with life, as we headed back from a memorable concert by Neyveli Santhanagopalan with Vittal Ramamurthy on the violin and K. Arun Prakash on the mridangam, organised by Sri Kapaali Fine Arts at Srinivasa Sastry Hall, in Mylapore.

The evening commenced with a Begada varnam. The artistes warmed up with 'Raa Rama Inti', in Asaveri and a rare kriti, Paridhaapamu in Manohari, one of the last songs Tyagarajar composed. The hall was packed. Except for the occasional sputtering of an aged fan, on the ceiling, and the itinerant ring of a recalcitrant cell phone, solely melody permeated the hall.

The artistes truly hit their stride with a leisurely, savouring alapana of Nalinakanthi, which would be the light green of spring’s unfolding hopes if it were a colour. The alapana by the vocalist was met by a soft-spoken, cajoling response by the violinist, whetting the audience’s appetite. It was with universal delight, that the audience greeted 'Mana Vyala Kim', like an old friend. The sprightly, fast paced neraval at 'Karma Kaantha Maadha' was in beautiful contrast to the pace of the raga alapana. Just as a charcoal portrait is brought out with a few choice strokes, so too the embodiment of the raagam was delineated with a precise, economic yet melodious choice of kalpana svarams. By the end of the piece, there were precious few feet that were not tapping and very few heads that were not nodding in time to the music.

Light hearted Nalinakanthi was followed by the deep grandeur of Thodi, like the ocean swells in the midst of the Pacific Ocean, far from land’s eye. The alapana was filled with a musicality as changeable as the variegated shades of the ocean on a sunny day. The song rendered was 'Kaarthikeya Gowri Thanayaa', with svara kalpanaa rendered at the svaraksharam beginning of the charanam, 'Malmarugaa Murugaa Shanmugaa Guhaa'. The rapport between the artistes culminated with a truly impressive finale to the Thodi kalpanasvaram, a koraippu with alternating questions and answers, by vocalist and violinist, dispatched at a brisk pace that did not sacrifice the jeeva prayogams of the raagam.

The crescendo of Thodi was followed by a bhajan in Tamil, 'Raama Naama Thudi Maname'. After the main raagam, this pleasant interlude was like the froth of the shoreline after the deeps of the ocean. A bhakthi filled viruttham in Bhimplas, which included a salute by both vocalist and violinist to that gem of a composition in Abheri, 'Bhaja Re Re Maanasa', was followed by Swathi Thirunaal’s Thillana in Dhanasri. Here and there, the rendition of the thillana was woven with Hindustani stylisations, like fine gold threads in the braids of a dancer.

In a fitting tribute to India’s diversity, we enjoyed an excerpt from Aandal’s devotional hymn to Lord Krishna, the Thirupaavai, on Christmas Eve. The evening drew to a close with pieces in Madhyamaavathi and the benedictory Maithrim Bhajataa, composed by Kanchi Sankaracharyar. As the audience filed out into the balmy Mylapore night, it was with a sense of having been refreshed and rejuvenated, as by a baptismal bath in a waterfall, whether at Niagara Falls or Kutraalam.

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Mood, music and musings. . .
Contributed by Krishna Srinivasan, Minneapolis, USA

On Dec. 23, 2006 at Sri Krishna Gana Sabha on Dec 23, 2006.

Bombay Jayashree exposed a mature and melodic rendition of karnatic music at Sri Krishna Gana Sabha on Saturday with excellent support from JV and Karthik on percussion. Jayashree's Sahana was worthy of comparison with the version rendered by the incomparable MDR. The icing on the cake was that she chose to sing the song Giripaye after her alapana. The song was appropriately sung in choukka kala. The kalpana swaras that followed was also sung at the same choukka kala for the most part keeping pace with the overall structure of the song itself. This was followed by the main piece in Maya Malava Gowla (ragam tanam pallavi) with kalpana swaras in Kanada and Mohana Kalyani to name a few.

This concert was followed by a masterful performance by Ravikiran on the Chitra Veena. Ravikiran was in his elements despite the lack fan presence. Ravikiran is one of the very few artists who pays no heed to the quantum of fans and performs at an extremely high level of erudition. After a resourceful strumming of the raga Begada, he queried the audience to find out the main raga of the previous performance to avoid repetition. An audience member recalled and told the sabha and the artist that it was a ragam-tanam-pallavi in Maya Malava Gowlam. Following this cue, Ravikiran proceeded to play Sahana alapana followed by Giripaye!

The pinnacle of the evening was reached at the end of Ravikiran's Sahana piece. It was a day to rejoice for karnatic music fans to have heard two renditions of Sahana where the latter sure outsmarted the former.

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Master comes of age
Contributed by A.Ramanathan, Abhinav Gardens, Chennai 600015

Those who heard the concert of Master M.Balamuralikrishna at Ghokale Hall, for Chennai Fine Artson Sunday 17.12.06 will acknowledge he has come of age. Junior now added to his name redundant. The other is a Maestro. Starting with the sahana piece 'Karunimpa' he sang Intaparaka in Mayamalagowla. Sri Venkatesagiri in Surutti followed. He delineated Shanmukapriya competently with the piece Mamava Karunaya. He elaborated at 'Kamitha Dana lola' with appropriate swaras. The next in Arabi was neat and tidy. It was the rendering of Begada piece which drew repeated applause. He was on the 4.50 to 6.15 p.m. slot which was inadequate. He concluded the concern with Kalyana Gopalam Karunala vasam in Sindhu Bhaivari. Padma Shankar's sketches of Shanmugapriaya and Begada on the violin were brilliant.

S.Gopikumar on the mridangam gave good support. Here is a musician who calls himself Junior but possessed talents matching seniors, with all round improved. He needed recognition and promotion.

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Vedavalli concert: vintage delight
Contributed bySivapriya Krishnan

Sangita Kalanidhi R.Vedavalli recently performed for Naada Inbam (Raga Sudha Hall).

A concert par excellence, a soul-filling experience from the veteran, which had a wonderful mix of rasa , bhava and grammar!

Opening with Vanajaaksha, Reetigoula varnam she went on to sing ennadu nee in Vachaspati, Krishnananda Mukunda Murare in Gowlipantu, Rama nee samaanam evaru in Karaharapriya, Mogadochi (Padam) in Sahana, Viruttam, Lali in Neelambari and tillana.

What was noteworthy about the concert was the artiste's presentation of her erudition and knowledge in a format that a rasika would enjoy, thus making it an elevating experience.

An expansive essay of Vachaspati, and Karaharapriya ragas was not only a treat to the ears but also a great learning guide for an aspiring student / singer. Such an intense exploration of the ragas with the right balance of bhrigas and gamakas punctuated at the right spot was stunning and elevating at the same time.

The soulful rendition of Gowlipantu with the Suddha Madhyama prayoga, proved that a raga sung in its original format can still be very pleasing to the ear. Similarly, the Sahana padam was filled with rasa bhava. The Tanam in Karaharapriya was like an engine running in full form with a measured gait, with the correct use of the word Tanam Anantam, instead of (Thanom Thom) etc...

Swaras though seemed so easy to the listeners, were filled with intricate laya variations without the arithmetic calculation dominating or interfering with the presentation. Neraval was done with expert variations and the ragas were explored to the maximum in both Vachaspati and Karaharapriya.

The accompanists Shriramkumar on the violin and Neyveli Narayanan on the mridangam had an excellent rapport with the vidushi, who tested them and brought out the best in them, by both challenging them as well as guiding them. They too proved their mettle by continuously serving the volleys thrown at them.

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The joy that Vijay Siva creates . . .

A few artistes attract fellow musicians to their concerts.

Perhaps this happens because of the performer's choice of the pieces or innovations on the spot.

One such artiste is Vijay Siva - many senior musicians as well the up and coming are present at this kutcheris.

On Dec. 20, Vijay Siva presented a vocal concert for Sri Kapali Fine Arts at the Srinivasa Sastri Hall with Mullaivasal Chandramouli on the violin, Trichy Sankaran on the mridangam and V. Suresh on the Ghatam.

With two tamburas set to sruti, the concert reminded rasikas of the stage of by-gone days.

This Luz hall may well be part of the arts heritage of our city and though it is small it had space for many students of music who chose to sit on the floor, engrossed in Siva's music.

Many rasikas would have listened to the kriti in Sama in many of his concerts: the vasantha raga kriti Seethamma mayamma was brisk and beautiful.

Bhairavi as the main raga and Upacharamu that followed gave a grand colour to the concert.

It was also a nice gathering of rasikas - they looked forward to the tani avarthanam and applaused after every avarthanam.

Though the hall is bombarded by the chaos of evening traffic on the busy Luz Church Road and the audio system is not the best in the city, (wonder why the managers of this hall cannot get a large-hearted sponsor to fund a good system), the diehard rasika gets oblivious to the chaos outside and stays put for two and half hours.

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Sudha Sold Out!
Sudha Ragunathan at Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha on Dec. 20

Contributed by Padma Swaminathan

Next time you plan to attend Sudha Ragunathan's concert make sure, you call up the venue and ensure tickets are available. Else you would be disappointed like many who could not attend the concert on Wednesday at Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha.

I was at the mantap two hours before the concert, hoping to get tickets. Rasikas were told that 'only the Rs. 500 denomination tickets' were available. Not everybody will shell out that kind of money for a Carnatic concert. Deep Purple in Bangalore is sold for Rs.1500.(Well, now if Sudha Ragunathan performed only once in December and tickets were priced at Rs.250, Rs.500 and Rs.750, would there be 300 people ready to pay that price to be at this one and only opportunity? KutcheriBuzz would like to have your thoughts on this. mail to- editor@kutcheribuzz.com) Anyway, at the mantap many rasikas who could not get tickets were smart enough to go the canteen and enjoy the concert there, as long as you bought coffee every 20 minutes! The sabha managers are smart cookies - they did not allow the rasikas to sit outside the hall.

The concert that lasted for nearly three and half hours included a long pallavi in the raga Hemavathy. Rasikas did not leave the premises till the end. 'She maintained the tempo till the end,' said one rasika.

Rahul Iyer a music student from New York was around. He said, 'I landed yesterday and I have had a great music feast in 24 hours!' Many rasikas were extremely happy as Sudha continued to sing their favourites like 'Enna tavam' and 'Katrinile' though it was half past nine. A Sai Bhajan went out to one rasika. The concert was recorded by AIR and will be broadcast soon.

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The mood at Aruna Sairam concert
Contributed byV. Soundara Rani

Nowadays, if you want to be at a Aruna Sairam concert you need to be early at the box office.

At her concert at Sri Krishna Gana Sabha, in T. Nagar, on December 17 evening, we managed a few one - hundred rupee tickets and got the privelege to sit on the stage.

We haven't seen such a packed stage before.

The concert had a brisk start with a Abhogi varnam and for a change, there was no composition on lord Ganesha: instead, Aruna followed it up with Ranganathude in Sourashtram.

Then, Balakanakamaya in Atana stepped up the tempo of the concert. Unnaiallal vere gathiyillai amma in Kalyani was rapturous, with a short and captivating alapana by violinist Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi.

The main piece was Upacharamulanu in the ragam Bhairavi with neraval and swarams on the bit kapata nataka soothradari and thani avartanam by Vellore Ramabadhran on the mridangam and Purushothaman on ganjira. It held the audience spell bound.

The rasikas lapped it up.

But as they always do, they wanted their requests.

Aruna expected this. 'avasyam paadaren!', she said with a trademark smile.

The line ethanai neram naan paduven in the Oothukkadu krithi Madananga mohana sukumara in Kamaas elicited a round of applause.

'I will continue with your favourites after a padam in gowli panthu,' said the vocalist.

Outside, rasikas who could not get tickets, sat in the lobby and enjoyed the concert on a TV set.

Yagnaraman and his team have arranged for CCTV transmission for all the crowd-pulling events.

Aruna sang Brindavana Nilaye, Venkatramanane baro seshachala in Saveri, which go well with the rasikas and Arthanareeswaram in Kumudhapriya: Nambikkettavar evanayya in Hindolam came flowing in her style. Then, the popular Bhaktha jana vatsale in Brindavana Saranga. This is vintage Aruna Sairam. It gets the rasikas in on a final note.

She began to wind up with Enna Kavi paadinaalum in Neelamani. The rasikas weren't in the mood to leave.

Backstage dance guru Anitha Guha was fidgety. The second part of her dance- drama had to roll. Thankfully, there weren't any stage sets to be fixed.

'Let me end the concert with the piece you have been requesting for when I last performed here,' said Aruna.

Yet another trademark song.

Maadu meikum Kanna, nee pohavendum - a favourite of the rasikas. They did not clap their hands. They preferred to listen.

As the 'nee poha vendum thaye' line slipped out, Aruna raised her hands in a 'namaste' gesture. The show had to end. Backstage, the fans had gathered in force.

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Stories and concerts
Contributed by Padma Swaminathan

Chennai Fine Arts' music fest is celebrated with a difference. It features young talents followed by a lec-dem every evening and a concert related to the lec dem.

An interesting lec-dem on Patnam Subramaniya Iyer by musicologist

Dr. B. M. Sundaram on Dec. 19 was an informative one.

Maha Vaidyanatha Iyer and Patnam Subramaniya Iyer hardly spoke to each other, though both lived in the same street in Thiruvaiyaru and were contemporaries then. Ever wondered why his name had prefix Patnam though he was from Thiruvaiyaru? B.M.Sundaram in his lecture at the Gokhale Hall, Mylapore talked about some of the unknown facets of the composer and the musician's life. The lecture was organised by Chennai Fine Arts during their annual festival.

Gifted with a vibrant voice, Patnam Subramanium Iyer learnt under Manambuchavadi Venkata Subba Iyer. He has composed many varnams and krithis. Unfortunately today we have only 116 of them. Sundaram said that we do not have any historical evidence of Patnam Subramaniya Iyer's life, but his disciple Gomathi Iyer had recorded some incidents, which is the only source of information.

A highly sensitive musician, his krithis reflected the mood when he composed. Stating an example he said once Patnam could not repay a loan of Rs. 500. So when he was ridiculed by the money-lender, he composed the krithi 'Intha Kante Kavala Naiya' in Kannada and the krithi reflects his mood.

"Today we find students learning from various teachers but Patnam Subramanium Iyer wanted his students to adhere to one bhani. It was recorded that Mysore Vasudevacharya who learnt under him was also infuenced by Maha Vaidyanatha Iyer and attended his concert without his guru's permission. The next day he found himself scorned by his guru and Patnam refused to teach him. However when persuaded by others he said he never had problems with Maha Vaidyanatha Iyers music. He knew vasudevacharya would easily get influenced by Vaidynatha Iyer's music and finally wouldn't follow one particular bhani. However he also believed that once a musician could differentiate and understand the nuances of music, he should attend other musician's concerts" said Sundaram.

It is believed that Subramanium Iyer stayed in Chennai for seven years to teach Salem Avvaiammal's daughters. This could be one of the reasons why he was called Patnam Subramanium Iyer. He never had progeny's but his disciples included vidwans like Tiger Vasudevacharya, Poochi Srinivasa Iyengar and many more. He expired on 31st Dec 1902 and was also called 'Abhinava Thyagaraja'. The lecture did not draw rasikas and the hall was almost empty except few vidwans like Dr.M.Balamuralikrishna, S.Rajam, and Suguna Purushottaman. The lecture was followed by a concert by Bangalore Shankar.

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