Musical Genius is always through Divine Grace

Vid. Mandolin U. Shrinivas 1984 'Parvathi' Ramanavami Concert

Review by R. Sachi

We are pleased to share yet another wonderful concert of an unprecedented genius in the Carnatic world, Mandolin Shrinivas. Shrinivas was almost a member of the Parvathi family.

Nowadays we are presented a number of youngsters hardly ten to twelve years old, as prodigies. They are also compared to Mandolin U Shrinivas. But we think at Parvathi that there can be no other musician like him. He did not have a family tradition in Carnatic music, nor rigorous training from infancy, nor influential patronage. He emerged from the rustic hinterland on to the concert stage through sheer effort and more importantly, divine grace. His success, his enchantment, and his leaving us destitute through his early passing away, are all part of a unique “divine leela”.

There is this famous shloka of how Goddess Saraswati confers literary and musical gifts like a mother breastfeeds her child:

saṅgītamatha sāhityaṁ sarasvatyāḥ stanadvayam |
ekamāpātamadhuram anyadālocanāmṛtam ||

So a Shrinivas is nurtured musically by Divinity in ways we cannot fathom.

In this 1984 concert, where he is ably assisted by senior musicians like Sri. Govindaswamy, Sri. Upendran, and Sri.Venkatram, we see the early signs of his genius, through his rendering a wide variety of famous compositions with panache.

His choice of the song, “Marivere” appears to be his constant prayer to the Goddess for grace.

Come, let us enjoy the concert without further ado!

Details

U.Shrinivas....... Mandolin
M.S. Govindaswamy... Violin
Tanjore Upendran... Mridangam
Bangalore Venkataram.... Ghatam
On April 10, 1984 at 'Parvathi' during Sri Ramanavami Music Festival.

Song List 01. Vanajaksha Atatala Varnam - Kalyani –Pallavi Gopala Iyer *** 02. Srimahaganapathi – Gaula – Muthuswami Dikshitar *** 03. Raghunayaka – Hamsadhwani –Thyagaraja *** 04. Endaromahanubhavulu – Sriraga- Thyagaraja *** 05. Saraswathi raga *** 06. Anuragamule – Saraswathi – Thyagaraja *** 07. Marivere – Ananda Bhairavi – Shyama Shastri *** 08. Niravadhisukhada – Ravichandrika – Thyagaraja *** 09. Todi alapana *** 10. Tana+Kaddanuvariki – Todi-Thyagaraja *** 11. Enta muddo – Bindumalini – Thyagaraja *** 12. Raghuvamshasudha – Kadanakutuhalam – Patnam Subramanya Iyer *** 13. Jagadoddharana – Kapi- Purandaradasa *** 14. Baro Krishnayya – Ragamalika – Kanakadasa *** 15. Thillana – Desh – Lalgudi Jayaraman *** 16. ? -Sindhu bhairavi -? *** 17. Thriuppugah – Hamsanandi – Arunagirinathar *** 18. Mangalam ***

Manasa Guruguha – The Intellectual’s Delight in Carnatic music

Vid. Hemmige S. Prashanth
K. Puttu Rao Memorial Concert 2014

A Review by R. Sachi

We bring to all our rasikas a fine vocal recital of the young musician, Vid. Hemmige S. Prashanth, from the 2014 K. Puttu Rao Memorial Festival, held at Jaganmohan Palace, Mysore.

Sri. Prashanth is a graduate in electrical engineering and pursues a career in technology, in addition to being a keen student and performer of Carnatic vocal music. He has trained under a great master- Sangeetha Kalanidhi K.V. Narayanaswamy- for a number of years. A sincere effort to seek out a great teacher is often rewarded by Providence by addressing the needs and aptitudes of the student by taking him to an appropriate Guru who embodies mastery, insight, and grace. That is the message of the Bhagavadgita which says

Bg 4.34
tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā
upadekṣyanti te jñānaṁ jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ

Meaning : Know THAT by long prostration, by question, and service, to the "wise" who have realised the Truth. They will instruct you in (that) 'Knowledge.'

The quintessence of Sri Palghat K.V. Narayanaswamy’s music was melody, balance, finesse, and subtlety. We can see many instances of that in the concert finely presented here by Vid. Prashanth, in the able company of Vid. Govindaswamy on the violin and Vid. Srinivas on the mridangam and ... on ghatam.

An important composition presented in this concert is “Manasa Guruguha” composed by Sri. Muthuswami Dikshitar in Ananda Bhairavi. Sri. Dikshitar, an incomparable composer, offers through his works constant delight to any intellectual who takes interest in Carnatic music. Sri. Dikshitar represents many confluences:

1. Musical confluence of Carnatic and Hindustani music.
2. Spiritual confluence of Adavita, Sri Vidya Upasana, and Guruguha/Skanda Upasana.
3. Combination of intricate metrical structures woven into a composition along with subtleties of the raga bhava.
4. Samskrita and scriptural erudition harnessed to elaborate on the Bhakti marga.

The Ananda Bhairavi composition is one of the Guruguha Vibhakti kritis, wherein each composition, addressed to Guruguha or Subrahmanya, employs a certain Vibhakti form for the nouns (in this case, Dwitiya Vibhakti, called Accusative case in English).

In this composition, the individual intellect (Manasa) is advised to pursue the path of liberation, by first recognising the twin realities of the Avidya (=ignorance) enveloping us, and at the same time, the opportunity afforded by one’s human birth (with its perceptive, intellectual, and Sadhana potential). Both these realities are God’s creation. At the same time, the path of liberation is also shown by God, and He grants the removal of ignorance by one’s surrender to Him. When one is ready, the Guru, who is none other than the human form of the Divine, takes the disciple under his care and shows the way.

Come, let us enjoy this wonderful concert!

Concert Details

Hemmige S.Prashanth ----------- Vocal
M.S.Govindaswamy ---------------Violin
B.R.Srinivas ------------------------ Mridangam
?????---------------------------------- Ghatam
Held at Jaganmohan Palace on 1-9-2014 during Sri K.Puttu Rao Music Festival at Mysore.

Song List

01 Neranammiti- Kanada- Ramnad Srinivasa Iyengar *** 02 Ra Ra Mayintidaga -Asaveri- Thyagaraja *** 03 Kanjadalayatakshi- KamalaManohari – M Dikshitar*** 04 Manasa Guruguharupam –AnandaBhairavi- M Dikshitar *** 05 BirinavaraLicchivo- Kalyani – Shyama Shastri *** 06 BhogeendraSayinam- KuntalaVarali- Swathi Thirunal *** 07 Kaligiyunte Gada-Keeravani- Thyagaraja followed by Tani *** 08 Matadabaradeno- Khamach – Bangalore Nagaratnamma *** 09 Kandu Dhanyanade- Behag – Kamalesha Vitthala Dasa*** Mangalam

Thyagaraja shows the Right Royal Way

Vid. Neyveli Santhanagopalan
K. Puttu Rao Memorial Festival - 2012

TEXT BY R. SACHI

As the K. Puttu Rao Memorial Festival 2013 gets under way in Mysore, we are happy to share here the concert from the 2012 series of Vid. Neyveli R. Santhanagopalan.

Vid. Santhanagopalan (b. 1963, Tiruchirapalli) pursued musical training under many distinguished musicians including Chembai Anantharama Bhagavatar, Vid. Srirangam Ranganathan, Vid. Tanjore Sankara Iyer, and Vid. T. N. Seshagopalan. In 1985 he toured Russia along with Vid. Seshagopalan. His music is in great demand in India and abroad, as he is known for the purity of tradition, creativity and an attractive presentation style (* Ref 1) He is proficient on the veena and is a composer. He is also active as a panel judge in televised talent shows.

In this concert he is ably accompanied by Vid. Govindaswamy, Vid. Shivashankaraswamy, and Vid. Manjunath. Vid. Santhanagopalan presents Kamavardhini and sings “Sada Enna Hrudayadalli” in a very emotive way. This concert garnered a rave review that we had featured in the last year’s report ( * Ref 2 ). The main piece presented in the concert is the famous song “Chakkaniraja”in the ever-popular Kharaharapriya. In this song, Saint Thyagaraja extols the right royal way to salvation and says ( * Ref 3 ),

Thyagaraja also states how he shuns serving those on the evil path in “Durmargachara”. This Ranjani song is also featured in this concert.

Concert Details

K. Puttu Rao Memorial Music Festival, Jaganmohan Palace, Mysore – Sept. 2, 2012

Vid. Neyveli Santhanagopalan – Vocal
Vid. M. S. Govindaswamy – Violin
Vid. Shivashankaraswamy – Mridangam
Vid. Manjunath – Ghatam

Song List

01 Vanajaksha-Atatala Varnam – Kalyani – Pallavi Gopala Iyer *** 02 NadaTanumAnisham-Chittaranjani- Thyagaraja *** 03 Saadinchane-Aarabhi- Thyagaraja *** 04 SadaEnnaHrudayadalli- Kamavardhini- Vijaya Vitthala Dasa *** 05 Ramabhadra Rara-Anandabhairavi- Bhadrachala Ramadasa *** 06 Durmargachara-Ranjani- Thyagaraja *** 07 RamanakkuMananMudi-Hindola – Arunachala Kavi *** 08 ChakkaniRaja-KaraharaPriya- Kharaharapriya *** 09 Tillana-Behag - Papanasam Sivan

References

1. Karnataka Sangeetha Vishaya Vishwakosha – Dr. V. S. Sampathkumaracharya, (pub. D.V. K. Murthy, Mysore)

2. Report-on-Sri-K-Puttu-Rao-Memorial

3. The Spiritual Heritage of Thyagaraja- C. Ramanujachariyar (pub. Ramakrishna Math, Chennai)

Welcoming the Year with the “Madhura” Vani of Mani Iyer School

We are happy to bring you a recording of the concert by Vidwan T.V. Sankaranarayanan held in the Puttu Rao Memorial series in the Jagan Mohan Palace, Mysore recently. The vidwan is a great favourite of Parvathi rasikas, with his effervescent style and the bani of the great Madurai Mani Iyer. The world celebrates Madurai Mani Iyer’s centenary throughout 2012. As this blog is also a tribute to the great rasika Sri Puttu Rao and his legacy at Parvathi, we think it is fitting that we begin the new year by giving a great concert fare from Vidwan TVS just on the eve of Sankranthi. We would like to quote some fine words about Vidwan Mani Iyer from the Hindu:

2002 Birth Anniversary (http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/fr/2002/10/25/stories/2002102501340900.htm)

" A vidwan with a unique style, Madurai Mani had indeed cast a spell on the listeners of Carnatic music, young and old, connoisseurs and even the rickshawallahs of those times. People came in hordes to listen to his singing. They sat on the walls, on the floors and wherever they could find a place to sit or stand. They did not mind the inconvenience. They only wanted to listen to Madura Mani as he was fondly called. Madurai Mani was certainly Madura (sweet) Mani. His music was melodious. More than anything else, he enjoyed singing and that reflected in his personality both on and off stage. In fact he often eschewed lyrics that smacked of disillusionment with the world and other worldly matters. He firmly believed that music should enliven the listener. That was his conviction right from the start of his professional career as a musician, a joyous journey that began in 1924 at a temple Kumbhabishekam in the district of Ramanathapuram. He was 12 years old then. "

2011 Margazhi Season (http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/article2754050.ece)

From the pen of Vidwan Ravikiran:

" The torch-bearer of the Madurai Mani Iyer bani, T.V. Sankaranarayanan reminisces about his uncle's incredible repertoire, memory and musicianship. “Mama taught me numerous songs that one would have rarely heard him sing at concerts — Idisamayamura (Chayanata), Sanatana (Phalamanjari), Evarunnaru (Malavashri), Paramatmudu (Vagadheeshwari), Samukhana nilva (Kokilavarali), Namoralagimpa (Devagandhari), Etavuna nerchitivo (Yadukulakambhodhi), Nadachi nadachi (Kharaharapriya), Ninnuvinaga (Poorvikalyani), Durusuga (Saveri)... I can go on and on,” he says. “What is incredible is that he would not have revised these songs in 20 years but would access them from memory at will.” This was augmented by the celebrated mridangam vidwan T.K. Murthy. “At a concert in Delhi, Mani Iyer sang outstandingly but a critic, known for his inconsistent and perverse reporting, had a dig at him the following day for singing his usual fare. Mani Iyer just smiled but in another concert the same day, his list consisted of pieces that even I — who had accompanied him for several years — had never heard him sing. The critic, who also made it to the concert, apologized profusely!” TVS adds: “His voice had just the right balance between delicateness and weight and his sense of gamakas was impeccable. And the way he could hold any note almost endlessly was mesmeric! It would create an all-permeating tranquility that had to be experienced to be believed.” Anyone who has spoken to me about this distinguished musician has been unanimous in accrediting him as a human being of impeccable qualities. He was gentle, courteous, well-meaning, helpful to younger artistes, loving towards his disciples, committed to the art, and devoid of negativism even in jest. In short, as pitch-perfect in life as in music... "

THE CONCERT Performed on Sept 4, 2011 T.V Shankaranarayanan ----- Vocal Mahadevan (son of TVS) ---- Vocal support M.S. Govindaswamy -------- Violin C.Cheluvaraju --------------- Mridangam M.A.Krishnamurthy ------- Ghatam 01 Maha Ganapate Namo- Hamsadwani- Indira Natesan*** 02 Orajupuju- Kannada Gaula – Thyagaraja *** 03 Appa Rama Bhakti- Pantuvarali- Thyagaraja *** 04 Ee Pariya Sobagava- Ragamalike – Purandaradasa *** 05 ManasuNilpaShakti- Abhogi – Thyagaraja *** 06 Smara Janaka Shubha Charita – Behag – Swathi Thirunal *** 07 Marakathavallim – Kambhoji – Muthuswami Dikshitar *** 08 Virtuttam – Bageshree, Tilang *** Rama Rama Rama Enniro-Tilang *** 09 EnglishNote- Shankaraabharana – Muthiah Bhagavathar *** 10 EppoVaruvaro- Jonpuri – Gopalakrishna Bharathi*** 11. Mangalam ***