In Memoriam: Flute Vidwan N. Ramani

Reminiscences by K.Srikantiah

" In the passing away of N.Ramani recently, not only have we lost a veteran Flutist, but I have also lost a dear friend. He has left behind a void in the carnatic music world which is indeed very difficult to fill. Yet another illustrious musician from my generation has passed into eternity.

My association with Ramani lasted for nearly five decades. He used to be a regular performer at the Ganesh and Ramanavami Music Festivals in our house.

As a person, Ramani was generally a man of few words, soft-natured and dignified. But there was always that sense of humour lurking behind that quiet nature. His music was comprehensive with melody (which is the first requisite for a flutist), vidwat, manodharma and balanced class-mass appeal. No wonder he was always a crowd-puller.

I vividly remember Ramani sitting on the stone bench in the lawns of our house after a three-hour concert, all by himself, rewinding and playing his own music in his head, enjoying the finer parts.The musician enjoying his own music seemed to me the mark of a true artist !

The melody of N.Ramani's flute will always echo in my mind and ears.

May Lord Rama bless his soul with eternal peace. "

We urge Rasikas to take in a fill of the Maestro's great Concerts that were performed in "Parvathi", chronologically, over the '70s:

DATE - Accompanists - Link

April 19, 1970 - K. Alagiriswamy - violin, U.K. Sivaraman – Mridangam, M. Manjunathan - Ghatam
http://chowdaiahandparvati.blogspot.com/2010/11/when-god-beckons-to-man-flutes-eternal.html

March 25, 1972 - Chalakudy Narayanaswamy - Violin, Vellore Ramabhadran - Mridangam, H.P.Ramachar - Khanjira
http://chowdaiahandparvati.blogspot.com/2012/09/a-rare-artiste-n-ramani.html

Sept 12, 1972 - M. Chandrasekharan - Violin, Vellore Ramabhadran - Mridangam, K.S. Manjunath - Ghatam
http://chowdaiahandparvati.blogspot.com/2013/10/establishing-instrumental-solo-concert.html

April 17, 1973 - M. Chandrasekharan - Violin, Vellore Ramabhadran - Mridangam, K.S Manjunath - Ghatam
http://chowdaiahandparvati.blogspot.com/2010/03/great-flautist-master-vidwan-dr-n.html

April 4, 1974 - M.S.Gopalakrishnan - Violin, Tanjore Upendran - Mridangam, K.S.Manjunath - Ghatam
http://chowdaiahandparvati.blogspot.com/2011/03/worship-through-music-dr-n-ramani.html

April 22, 1975 - Chalakudy Narayanaswamy – Violin, Vellore Ramabhadran – Mridangam, H. P. Ramachar – Khanjira
http://chowdaiahandparvati.blogspot.com/2012/03/remembering-god-without-list-of-demands.html

April 19, 1981 - M.Chandrasekharan - Violin, Srimushnam Raja Rao - Mridangam, M.A Krishnamurthy - Ghatam
http://chowdaiahandparvati.blogspot.com/2015/08/enriching-carnatic-music-through.html

Instrumental Tribute to the Great Masters

Vid. Emani Sankara Sastry 1973 Ramanavami

Reflections by R. Sachi

We present this festive season a wonderful instrumental ensemble- the redoubtable maestros Vid. Emani Sankara Sastry and Vid. M. S. Gopalakrishnan, accompanied by Vid. Guruvayur Dorai and Vid. Manjunath. They performed to a full house in the Ramanavami festival of 1973 at Parvathi, Mysore.

The concert has a wonderful flow of melody and a beautiful dialogue between the two masters, Emani and MSG. Emani fills the concert with musical masterpieces from Saint Thyagaraja and presents his trademark virtuoso melody, combined with great musical understanding between the accompanists. MSG produces his trademark violin responses, filled with an incomparable sweetness and matching the main artiste’s manodharma, throughout.

The main ragas are Vachaspati, Shankarabharana and Shanmukhapriya. Of course there are Jagadanandakaraka, Ganamurthe, and Nadaloludai, songs made famous by Emani’s renditions on many occasions. But the raga elaborations and song presentations in Vachaspati and Shankarabharana are vintage classics. The RTP in Shanmukhapriya is warrants that we will listen to it a few times to soak up its beauty. The Tanam is unforgettable.

The Thyagaraja composition in Vachaspati celebrates Lakshmana’s devotion as a true karma yogi. His construction skills when he erects the hermitage in Panchavati are so impressive that Rama feels ecstatic. He embraces Lakshmana and says Lakshmana’s deep empathy, righteousness as well as craftsmanship are such that Rama feels the presence of their dear father in Lakshmana! The hermitage construction is wonderfully described by Valmiki, the Adikavi:

Come, let us relive this vintage concert!

Concert Details

Emani Sankara Sastry --------------- Veena
Parur M.S.Gopalakrishnan ------------- Violin
Guruvayur Dorai -------------------------- Mridangam
K.S Manjunath -------------------------- Ghatam
on 19-4-73 at Parvathi

Song List

01 Jagadanandakaraka-Nata- Thyagaraja *** 02 Shobillu Saptaswara-Jaganmohini- Thyagaraja *** 03 Vachaspati –Kanta Judumi-Thyagaraja *** 04 Nadaloludai -Kalyana Vasantha –Thyagaraja *** 05 Nee Bhajana-Nayaki- Thyagaraja *** 06 Swararagasudha- Shankarabharana – Thyagaraja *** 07 Shanmugapriya RTP *** 08 Surdas Bhajan(Emani sings with Veena) *** 09 Folk song(Emani sings with Veena) *** 10 Krishna nee begane- Yamuna Kalyani- Vyasaraya *** 11 Japa (Veda) *** 12 Mangalam ***