For those of you seeking music, you may find some under 'Audio' (below) or in an index regarding the others under the 'Audio Postings' Label . We will either be embedding some concerts of the Vidwans in the 'Audio Postings'section itself or providing pointers to the appropriate posting in which they could be found
Vid.TV Sankaranarayanan, Ramanavami 1996 at 'Parvathi'
Excerpts for the Parvathi Finale
Long before cricket pundits understood this, the doyens of Carnatic music sensed it and created a concert format where tempo rules supreme. Indeed, in a Carnatic concert worth its name, there is never a dull moment. Some score at such a breeze that they garner applause like boundaries at will, thrills filled to the gills.
The T.V. Sankaranarayanan brand of Carnatic music celebrates tempo better than perhaps any other brand. Endowed with a robust and sonorous voice, his music always soared relentlessly like his famous pose with raised hands. When accompaniment was good, the sustained tempo was matched by musical values and made every concert memorable. This current concert audio being uploaded for the Parvathi Finale is no exception! The excerpts capture the best of music with many stellar songs enhanced richly by teamwork, another feature of good cricket.
Charukeshi is celebrated grandly, and Ganesh Prasad excels in the Darbari Kanada piece building up to the famous Govardhana Giridhara. The mridangam is very melodious with fine anticipation. The little bit of Tani in the excerpt is enjoyable. Unfortunately, we are unable to trace the name of the Ghatam artiste.
Happy Listening!
Concert Details
Parvathi Festival - Sri Ramanavami, Jaganmohan Palace - March 31, 1996
The goal of human life, according to Sanatana Dharma, is to see divinity in everything. But where to make a start? The best place is where there is great music. When good music is in the air, divinity descends instantly.
यच्च किञ्चित् जगत्सर्वं दृश्यते श्रूयतेऽपि वा।
अन्तर्बहिश्च तत्सर्वं व्याप्य नारायणः स्थितः॥
The Upanishad declares that Lord Sriman Narayana is present in all that we see and hear around, inside and outside. To experience this, music is a great way.
This experience is palpable for everyone who ever attended a Parvathi concert in person or virtually through this blog. This is the opinion of rasikas that we hear all the time.
We start the Parvathi grand finale with a tribute to the late legend, Sangita Kalanidhi T. V. Sankaranarayanan (1945-2022). In his six-decade-long active career, he has come and performed many times in Parvathi, with stellar accompaniments too. His most recent appearance was in 2011. Here, we feature an excellent, full-length concert from the 1998 Sri Ramanavami festival at Parvathi. The accompanists viz. Vidwans Mysore Nagaraj, Arjun Kumar and Ramanujam have enlivened his mercurial delivery.
When one listens Sri. TVS, one visualises the sacred horse Ucchaishravas rising from the milky ocean, and flying into the skies. An unmatched beauty with adornments and bells, the horse sets our hearts racing. It is the same effect in Sri. TVS's music.
Sri. TVS filled every moment of his music with vibrancy, energy, melody and pace. He batted like a T20 titan. His song choice was easy on the listener, not taxing the brain but satisfying the soul. His trademark sarvalaghu swaras were never boring. Inheriting that ability from the one and only Sri. Madurai Mani Iyer, his uncle, Sri. TVS added verve, resonance and raciness to his music.
In this concert, we get a wholesome treatment of Purvi Kalyani, Charukeshi and Darbari Kanada, and realise that this vidwan is no less than any Hindustani doyen in extracting the Bhava in these ragas. Mysore Nagaraj matches him in melody and verve. The tani is sparkling.
The song in Purvikalyani is composed by Smt.Ambujam Krishna of the TVS family who received the sahityam in divine visitations. It has been tuned by Vid. Musiri Subrahmanya Iyer. We feel that the song is so evocative that we want to share the words here:
We offer our heartfelt tribute to the legend Vidwan Sri. T. V. Sankaranarayanan. May his Atma be blessed by Bhagavan for all his service to Carnatic music. May rasikas continue to preserve his legacy through listening to his great music.
We also congratulate the gods who will get to listen to him live, in person, and not through an online stream or archive!
Note: We have chosen to upload the entire concert in one single stream on Youtube for your uninterrupted listening pleasure.
***
Concert Details
T.V. Sankaranarayanan -------- Vocal
Mysore M. Nagaraj ----- Violin
Bangalore Arjun Kumar ------------ Mridangam
G.S.Ramanujam ----------- Ghatam
on 12-4- 1998 at "Parvathi" during Sri Ramanavami Music Festival.
Vid.TV Sankaranarayanan, Ramanavami 1974 at 'Parvathi'
Reflections by R. Sachi
Nothing enhances the value of music like nostalgia. And surely, it’s better to be nostalgic about the good music one enjoyed long ago rather than recall bygone memories with perhaps sadness. Music heard long ago can still remain in our hearts and give us much joy. This is one of life’s blessings indeed.
The good old days of Ramanavami music from Mysore are very much in our thoughts as we hear this vintage recording from Vid. TV Sankaranarayanan. A protégé of the great Madurai Mani Iyer, he came into his own strongly in the 1970’s. His concert at Parvathi in 1974 was a classic, with some wonderful accompaniment from the doyens.
The concert recording is not available in full, but we HAD to share these gems with rasikas worldwide. In these days of quantity, it is better to go back to those days of quality indeed!
Happy Listening!
Concert Details
T.V.Sankaranarayanan -------------- Vocal
V.Sethuramiah ------------------------Violin
T.K.Murthy--------------------------Mridangam
K.S.Manjunath ---------------------Ghatam
on 3-4-1974 at "Parvathi" during Ramanavami.
In this excellent concert, held more than 23 years ago, Vid. T. V. Sankaranarayanan gives a very classical recital in his energetic style with fitting accompaniment.
After presenting many great pieces, he sings this traditional shloka in a Ragamalika:
MEANING: I bow down to Lord Rama, the dark-coloured one, who is seated in a heroic posture along with his consort Sita, who hails from the kingdom of Videha, beneath the heavenly Parijata tree, under a golden canopy, on a flower bedecked gem-studded throne.
With Hanuman, the wise one, seated in front, Rama interprets the lofty scriptures to the sages present, while the sole subject extolled by the scriptures, the divinity incarnate Rama himself is resplendent, surrounded by his virtuous brother Bharata and others.
This shloka holds in its brief discourse all the essence of what Rama and Ramayana stands for. After he won the hand of Sita, the divine daughter of the enlightened king (Rajarshi) Janaka, Rama obeyed his father’s order (handed out under Kaikeyi’s duress) and spent fourteen long years in the forest. During that time, he played his regal role of upholding righteousness and protecting the good souls. He liberated, with the help of Sugriva’s army, Sita from the evil kingdom of Ravana and returned to Ayodhya. His virtuous brother, Bharata, lay in waiting, having served as his designate all these years, just to see Rama established on the throne. At the coronation of Rama, many sages gathered, along with that great hero among devotees, Hanuman, and Rama found the occasion to be appropriate to expound the scriptures to those present. The scene was truly a sight for the gods.
We can observe how the poet has woven in the virtues so many great characters in Ramayana as well as so many beautiful aspects of that moment of coronation. This was the high point in India’s celebrated ancient epic poem, Ramayana.
Saint Thyagaraja worshipped the Rama Pattabhisheka idols all his life. The great composer Muthuswami Dikshitar is stated to have composed his Manirangu masterpiece “Mamava Pattabhirama” when he visited Thyagaraja and witnessed his worship of those Pattabhisheka idols.
The themes of righteousness and devotion form the core subject of Carnatic musical compositions. The home of Parvathi has worshipped Lord Rama in his Pattabhisheka form under a Parijata tree for decades and served the cause of Carnatic music with devotion. This presentation of Vidwan T.V. Sankaranayaranan, with excellent accompaniment by vidwans Mysore Nagaraj and Harikumar, is another gem in Parvathi’s offering to rasikas.
Concert Details
T.V. Sankaranarayanan-------vocal
Mysore Nagaraj------------------violin
Hari Kumar------------------------Mridangam
on 24-3-91 during Ramanavami festival at Parvathi.
We are very happy to share a full Ramanavami concert from the 1986 series, by Sangeetha Kalanidhi T.V. Sankaranarayanan. This was a memorable concert in the company of stalwarts Vid. Lalgudi Jayaraman, Vid. Vellore Ramabhadran and Vid. Bangalore Venkataram. We have shared portions of this concert already, but we discovered the remaining tracks and felt compelled to share the full concert with rasikas worldwide, given the weighty offering by some of the greatest names in Carnatic music.
Concert Details
T.V.Sankaranarayanan ------- Vocal
Lalgudi Jayaraman --------- Violin
Vellore Ramabhadran ----- Mridangam
Bangalore Venkataram ----- Ghatam
on 23-4-86 at Parvathi during Ramanavami festival
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:
" 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... "
(Even, the great GNB himself passed away into immortality at a young 55, when the world wanted him to rule undisputed for another half a century? So, how do you reconcile ‘mere’ with sixty five years? )
Precisely. This is why we have this helpless notion that life sometimes looks like a travesty (maybe even as a ‘Maya’, if you like). Even though sixty five is not a small age (this writer has experienced that roll-over within his own lifetime), we are forced into using the word ‘mere’ in a relative setting; as applied to a man having exhibited a powerful vitality and passion while living, only to be found plucked into sudden nothingness where you would think the health and passion he displayed would propel him towards twice the longevity!
THE CONSUMMATE ATTORNEY
It used to be whispered, once upon a time, in the inner circles (that exists no more), that Kunigal Puttu Rao, in his day, was a ‘very shrewd’ lawyer who earned even the respect of ‘their Lordships’. He was the consummate and committed defense lawyer whose ‘client’ could do no wrong! He was known to have taken on cases of even supposed 'undesirables' ( a subjective view held by some members of a society on anyone outside their norms ), affording them the necessary protection under the law as owed to one’s citizenry. "You are not guilty until proven!" was an ideal he bought unto his heart and profession. He would be prone to bringing friends and clients home for a celebration after winning their cases, and it would be especially hard on the part of the matriarch of the family who had her own daily 'Niyama' to attend to, but whose services would be requested at all odd hours for food and other things on the arrival of an ‘a-thithi’ ( ah, you got it right! – that welcoming, feeding and honoring of a guest, who arrives with no prior appointment! – what an added refinement to an already great civilization! ).
Did Puttu Rao not ever smile? Perhaps not, unless you found him in the distinguished company of a Sir C.P. Ramaswami Iyer or an Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar! Could it be music? Could it be law?
A MAN'S MAN
What was a very deep mystery about “Parvathi”, the house that he built, was about how it ever ran! It was such a large and burgeoning household, which depended solely on just one income. Granted, K. Puttu Rao sometimes expressed the grit of a lion and his spouse, the erstwhile Parvathi (amma) no less in resilience than that of a tigress, the combined effect would yield, dominantly in no time, a large household of seven "ligers" with never ending demands associated with one's growing up; the phenomenal expenses of long term educational fees, the economics of food and clothing and transport, costs of private tutoring towards traditional language and arts, the impact of costly ceremonies to be performed as befitting each member of a traditional household, and the huge expenses that came to be associated with religious ceremonies. These would be held every other day, as determined by a crazy almanac, and culminating in invitations to a prolific number of guests, priests and entertainers.
Added to all of this was a certain ‘strange’ notion cultivated by distant family members, that the house was the equivalent of a free ‘board and lodge’ house (a veritable 'chatram'). Members would show up from distant villages, first with a customary ‘note’ from some well known family head, claiming some filial connection with an accompanying request for some ‘temporary’ shelter, till a certain justified event could be completed. These initial short stays however always happened to get recycled, to the point where after a while, the person would be found to have happily ensconced themselves 'as a member' with now a stronger case than ever. There were also other 'member(s)' established under a natural duress, such as a widowed lady unable to support herself or a lady having been abandoned by a husband, or an orphan girl, whom the family came by in compassion, who had to be included as family till such time as she could be given away in marriage, or into another pasture of safe custody.
CARNATIC MUSIC'S GREAT AFICIONADO
Earlier, on many an occasion, we spoke of Sri. K. Puttu Rao's abiding passion for music and in his being at home to several stalwarts of Carnatic Music ( click ). We now add to that ever growing list, memories of some other stars in the CM firmament who graced "Parvathi" during his lifetime:
Immortal G.N.Balasubramaniam (GNB) in the house ! (click on photo to magnify)
Immortal Duo! Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar and Palghat Mani Iyer in the House ! (click on photo to magnify)
Immortals Manakkal Rangarajan and T. Chowdiah in the House ! (click on photo to magnify)
IRON FIST IN A VELVET GLOVE
Puttu Rao was known to be a strict disciplinarian, especially with his sons and his staff. Somewhere, however, over the years, people realized that while there might be that quick temper and a bark to the man, there was also the outer shell with a whole lot given to a softer side. This would be noticed, particularly during certain events and in its calculated moments. While pictures in the house, sometimes revealed an Oldsmobile, a Dodge Kingfisher or a Chevy Impala over the years, it would not be uncommon to find Mr. K. Puttu Rao trudging many a time on foot to and fro from Court.
At times, one would find him in a ‘tonga’, too, doing a back and forth from Mysore's great Devaraja market, with its myriad stalls of fruits or its beautiful stalls of sweet smelling Jasmine flowers. From here, he would invariably pick up beautiful hair adorning for his large retinue of daughters-in-law with whom he was ever conscious of doing the right thing in making them integrate seamlessly into his own family. He would even be seen, as the 'tonga' waited, at the cloth emporiums of Mysore’s main thoroughfare on Sayaji Rao Road, where he would indulge in some of his fancies; where he would pick up select pieces of cloth hoping for the benefit of a customized tailoring of immaculate shirts and coats that he wore with aplomb on himself. He would also be seen ordering rich blouse material (the 'Khanas') for all the Gods and the women folk of his own family. The whole thing would prove to be nothing more than a fanciful charade into an evening's outing; he would concoct an elaborate 'scheme' of seeming to tuck away all his treasures into some hidden compartments from preening eyes, only to realize, once again, the inevitable! It would all vanish, in no time, without nary a sign of the actual culprit (or culprits) ever being found from within that large contingent of humans that dwelt in that house.
M.L.Vasanthakumari was always regarded as 'family' ! Seen with Puttu Rao's pride - the daughters-in-law ! (Is there a young Sudha Raghunathan, too,somewhere there?)
Puttu Rao's zest for life, as we have indicated before, was not confined to just music and musicians alone, or on being God fearing to one's daily propitiation's. He was fiercely loyal and prone to take on various challenges of a social order, in order to do good. He worked with Mysore's several institutions and committees; with Mysore's City Cooperative Bank, Mysore Cooperative Society and many of its charitable Housing projects. He loved to battle in order to save institutions. Notable amongst these was the institution (pictures below) of which he was once both its Secretary and its President. He saved it from many a lender's hand, providing some deft legal maneuvering, but ironically died the very next day, after the courts had moved in his favor!
Bidarama Krishnappa Rama Mandiram in it's 'heydey' !
As with the tradition of our blog, we would also like to leave you with some music. What better than a video presentation of Padma Bhushan and Sangeeta Kalanidhi T.V.Sankaranarayanan (who will be casting his magic on the last day of the memorial concert), performing as he did twenty five years before! in "Parvathi", the house that K. Puttu Rao built and where he bequeathed his last!
Vidwan T.V. Shankaranarayanan is shown accompanied by Vidwans G.J.R. Krishnan (violin), M.A.K Murthy (Ghatam) and incidentally Vellore Ramabhadran who accompanied him first in his (TVS's) memorable debut on February 2, 1968!
Carnatic music is a continuing tradition that traces back to Sama Veda and the musical tradition started by sage Valmiki, the epic poet who sang Ramayana:
Sage Valmiki sang Ramayana, and his greatest audience was the eternal rasika and bhakta Hanuman, ever present under the Parijatha tree, engrossed in Rama nama.
Those in Parvathi, too, enjoyed the festive tradition of Ramanavami for over sixty years.
Maestros in "Parvathi" 1985
Vellore Ramabhadran, T.V. Sankaranarayanan, G.J.R. Krishnan.
[ In our featured concert from 1986, the violinist has been replaced by his father ]
Mysore Prabha, hailing from the home of Parvathi, made her foray into Carnatic music in 1986 and her first album was released by the legend of our times, Lalgudi G. Jayaraman.
[ Sri Lalgudi G. Jayaraman speaks in Tamil ]
You can hear Lalgudi explain what is so special about the ambience of Parvathi that made
[ Vidwan T.V. Sankaranarayanan in a recent photo - courtesy Kartik Pashupati ]
musicians give unforgettable music to eager rasikas year after year.
Coming to the concert featured this time. This concert held on the same day in 1986 is a superb example of Carnatic music's unbroken tradition. Vidwan T.V. Sankaranarayanan hails from the Thyagaraja-Muthiah Bhagavathar-Madurai Mani Iyer lineage. He became famous in the seventies as a gripping concert perfomer. The Hindu paid him a fine tribute describing his career as a joyous musical journey, when he received the Sangeetha Kalanidhi title from the Madras Music Academy in 2003. In this concert, he is accompanied by Lalgudi G. Jayaraman, a fourth generation musician in the Thyagaraja lineage. And they together create magic with the song Brochevarevarura by Mysore Vasudevachar, a disciple of Patnam Subrahmanya Iyer, continuing Thyagaraja's disciplic line. He was a frequent visitor and performer in Parvathi for many years.
In this concert, excellent percussion accompaniment is provided by Vidwan Vellore Ramabhadran and Vidwan Bangalore Venkataram.
Joyful Supplication – the hallmark of a blessed devotee
Brochevarevarura rendered elaborately by Sankaranarayanan, is lyrically and musically a shining example of joyful supplication, an attainment given to few bhaktas. Vasudevachar composed this masterpiece in Khamach (a raga synonymous with positive energy), extolling Rama's grace that readily showers on the devotee. Vasudevachar invokes the example of Hanuman, the unparalleled devotee with these words: vAtAtmajA-rcita-pAda.
Sankaranarayanan's concert begins with Yochana in Darbar, and builds up the mood of joyful supplication in Khamach. This mood continues in Mohana Rama. The concert climaxes in Revathi, wherein Purandaradasa tells the Lord that He is great but His devotees are even greater, able to summon Him at will and imprison Him in their devoted hearts. Purandaradasa gives the example of the boy Prahlada who could summon the Lord's incredible avatara of a man-lion out of a pillar!
Sankaranarayanan's Revathi is a brilliant outpouring, matched by Lalgudi's gifted exposition.
The ambience of this occasion, the music of T. V. Sankaranarayanan and Lalgudi G. Jayaraman, and the magnificence of Mysore Vasudevachar's composition – this is a real treat for all of us. What better way to begin 2011!
The Concert
T. V. Sankaranarayanan - Vocal
Lalgudi G. Jayaraman - Violin
Vellore Ramabhadran - Mridangam
Bangalore K. Venkataram - Ghatam
Held at Parvathi on 23 April 1986.
