Committed to Classicism

Vid. Pattabhirama Pandit, Putturao Memorial 2013

An Appreciation by R. Sachi

The many excellent young vocalists shining in Carnatic music today bring credit to a continuing tradition. One of the best examples is Vid. Pattabhirama Pandit. We quote from a 2014 review in the Hindu:

“Pattabhirama Pandit, trained under the extraordinary maestro K.V. Narayana Swamy, is undoubtedly a Carnatic vocalist who needs to be taken seriously. Having had his early lessons from Vallabham Kalyana Sundaram and S. Ramanathan, Pattabhirama Pandit’s music is backed by sound training, honed by talent and competence which makes him a musician of immense merit.”

Pandit is a well-placed technology professional as well as a busy musician. Such parallel careers can flourish only with a deep commitment to tradition and classicism. His guru, the great KVN, was also several times featured in Parvathi concerts over 3 decades. Sri K. Srikantiah, in his vote of thanks, handsomely compliments Pandit’s music with the KVN stamp and his take-off in Kharaharapriya, which incidentally is a favourite raga of Parvathi audiences!

The violin accompaniment in this concert is ably provided by the young Karthik, son of Vid. M. Nagaraj. The mridangam and ghatam accompaniment in this concert by Vid. Shivashankara Swamy and Vid. Manjunath are also commendable.

Concert Details:

Pattabhirama Pandit ------------------- Vocal
N.Karthik ---------------------------------- Violin
Shivashankara Swamy --------------- Mridangam
Manjunath ------------------------------- Ghatam
on 31-8- 2013 during K.Puttu Rao Music Festival.

Song List:

01.ChalamelaJesavayya-Natakuranji-Rangaswami *** 02. Sadinchane-Aarabhi-Thyagaraja *** 03. DinamaniVamsha-Harikamboji- Thyagaraja *** 04. Tyagaraja Yoga Vaibhavam-AnandaBhairavi- Muthuswami Dikshitar *** 05. Deva Deva Jagadeeswara-Poorvi Kalyani- Swathi Thirunal *** 06. Rama Neeyeda-Kharaharapriya- Thyagaraja *** 07. Gopalaka PahiMam-Revagupti- Swathi Thirunal *** 08. Shloka & Hari Hara Ninnanu-Sindhubhairavi- Purandara Dasa ***

Spreading the Fragrance of Haridasa Literature

Vid. Vidyabhushana – K. Puttu Rao Memorial Concert 2011

We are happy to share a special concert focussing on the compositions of Haridasas, from the 2011 festival. Aptly, the concert features the inimitable Vid. Vidyabhushana, in the company of Vid. H. K. Narasimha Murthy (Violin), Vid. Shivashankaraswamy (Mridangam), and Vid. Ramanujam (Ghatam).

We share the following information from Wikipedia:

Sri Vidyabhushana is a vocalist from Karnataka. He sings devotional songs, chiefly Haridasa compositions, and carnatic classical music. He has hundreds of albums to his credit, mainly devotional songs in Kannada, and has given many concerts all over the world. His first album was the extremely popular "Dasara Padagalu" and the 100th - "Tanu Ninnadu Jivana Ninnadu". Performing for more than 20 years, he has traveled to many countries including a successful tour across the length and breadth of USA in 1999. He was honoured with the title of Sangeetha Vidya Nidhi in 1994. He was also conferred an honorary doctorate by Hampi University.

Sri Vidyabhushana began to learn music when yet very young, from his father late Sri Govindacharya , and for several years was an ardent disciple of Sri B. V. Narayana Aithal of Udupi. In the later years he got training from the famous musician, Sangeetha Kalanidhi Sri R. K. Srikantan and then from the well known exponent T. V. Gopalakrishnan of Chennai.

He continues his constructive activities in music, and the spread of devotion and service to the community through "Bhakti Bharathi Prathistana", a trust for which he is the founder trustee. This trust conducts extensive musical programs to commemorate Shri Purandara Dasara Aradhana and other events.

He is a native of Dakshina Kannada district. He lives with his wife and two kids in Bangalore. He was the pontiff of Subrahmanya Matha, before becoming a full-time singer.

Concert Details

Held at Jaganmohan Palace, Mysore on 2 Sept. 2011 during the K. Puttu Rao Memorial Festival.
Vid. Vidyabhushana – Vocal
Vid. H. K. Narasimha Murthy – Violin
Vid. Shivashankara Swamy – Mridangam
Vid. Ramanujam - Ghatam

Song List
01.AdiyaliGajamukhana -Mohana-Purandaradasa ***02. Sarasiruhanayane Sarasijasane –Amritavarshini- Thyagaraja *** 03-NeenupeksheyaMadi –Charukeshi-Kanakadasa*** 04.Dangurava Sarihariya- Aarabhi-Purandaradasa *** 05. NijaDasavarada- Kalyani-Patnam Subrahmanya Iyer *** 06. Chanchalisadiru- UdayaraviChandrike- Madhva *** 07. IshtuDinaEeVaikunta- Shuddha Dhanyasi-Kanakadasa *** 08. LokaBharitano- Mand- Vadiraja*** 09. IsabekuIddu- Amritavarshini- Purandaradasa *** 10. RamaNamavaNudiNudi- YamanKalyani- Purandaradasa *** 11. RogaharaneKripaSagara-Revati- Jagannathavitthala Dasa*** 12. KavaDaivavu- SindhuBhairavi- Purandaradasa *** 13. BhagyadaLakshmi- Madhyamavati- Purandaradasa ***

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)