Carnatic Music and its inherent strengths

Vid. Madurai Somasundaram 1977

Reflections by Shri R. Sachi

We are very glad to share a spectacular concert of Vid. Madurai Somasundaram from the 1977 Ramanavami series at Parvathi. Rasikas are quite familiar with our love for this unique vocalist. He brought to Carnatic music an energy and creativity unmatched. He exulted in the company of great accompanists. He engaged the audience in an inimitable empathy. He sang songs we wouldn’t hear from anyone else perhaps. He made up songs for the occasion at will. He wore his heart on his sleeve. He left a deep imprint on our hearts.

This concert is no exception. We are unable to catalogue the names of composers for many items. But suffice it to say that we attribute it all to Vid. Madurai Somu. Because these songs live and breathe through his musical genius. He also thrives on some excellent violin and mridangam accompaniment by the very melodious Vid. Chalakudy Narayanaswamy, and the energetic Vid. Tanjore Upendran. Not to forget Vid. Seshagiri das-Khanjira, and Vid. Krishnamurthy-Ghatam. Egged on by the redoubtable Vid. Somu, they all combine to create impactful percussion at several points in the concert.

Vid. Somu also refers affectionately to Sri. K. Srikantiah, and sings a song on the lord Srikantheshwara of Nanjangud. Vid. Somu attributes his melody-soaked music to Saint Thyagaraja’s guidance, and at once launches into Ragasudharasa. His approach elicits many bursts of encouragement and applause from the audience. If you see closely, the photo below shows the world-famous writer R.K. Narayan (bespectacled) sitting at the edge of the stage with characteristic intensity.

The major ragas in this concert are Thodi and Kharaharapriya.

At the end of it all, we can only feel bemused by the inherent richness of Carnatic music. What variety, what lyrical abundance, what an expanse of ragas and talas, what a scope for improvisation, for team work and finally spectacular peaks of aesthetic pleasure. Only a great World Cup tournament of the beautiful game football, in exuberant Brazil, can approach to being a distant parallel to our beloved Carnatic music.

Concert Details

Madurai Somasundaram -------- Vocal
Chalakudy Narayanaswamy ----- Violin
Tanjore Upendran ------------ Mridangam
Sheshagiri Das -------------- Khanjira
M.A.Krishnamurthy ----------- Ghatam
on 6-4-77 at "Parvathi" during Sri Ramanavami Music Festival.

Song List

01 Varnam- Thilang? ***
02 Vallabha Mahaganapathe-Gomethakapriya ***
03 Manasuloni-Varamu-Thyagaraja ***
04 Pasupathi Shankara-Dakshayani ***
05 Thodi alapana ***
06 Rama Bhadra Ra Ra-Thodi-Bhadrachala Ramadasu ***
07 Evarani-Devamruthavarshini-Thayagaraja ***
08 Ragasudarasa-Andolika-Thyagaraja ***
09 Kharakarapriya alapana ***
10 Chakkani Raja- KHP-Thyagaraja ***
12 Srikanantheshwara-Sindhu Bhairavi ***
13 Bhajamana Bhajare-Jhinjhuti? ***

Their Violins Sing of a Great Tradition

Lalgudi Krishnan and Vijayalakshmi Violin Duet
K PuttuRao Memorial Concert 2013

Shri R. Sachi reflects :

We are very happy to share with rasikas worldwide this beautiful concert of the well-known Lalgudi siblings. Last year witnessed the passing of the great legend Vid. Lalgudi Jayaraman. Visitors to this blog would know the deep and decades-long bond between the home of Parvathi and the Lalgudi family. It was therefore only fitting that the violin duet concert of Lalgudi Krishnan and Vijayalakshmi should be a major attraction during the K Putturao Memorial Festival 2013.

The most appropriate way to describe the music of the brother-sister duo is that their violins sing. And they sing pure Carnatic music in the Lalgudi bani. And most importantly the violins sing of a wonderful tradition in their family as well as the guru-shishya parampara of Carnatic music starting from Saint Thyagaraja.

The concert features a rich traditional Lalgudi fare, commencing with his varnam composition in Bhauli to his tillana in mishra Shivaranjani. The major selections are Kambhoji- O Rangashayi, the Thyagaraja classic and Rangapuravihara- the Dikshitar classic. Both these are dedicated to Ranganatha, the lord of Srirangam. Srirangam is one of the great temple towns of the world. This temple has attracted the inspired devotees over millennia, from Andal to Ramanuja to Kulashekhara Alwar to Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to Saint composers Thyagaraja and Muthuswami Dikshitar and many others.

It is difficult, or perhaps impossible, to truly understand how the Hindu temple tradition, the bhakti movement, and the offering of classical music to the lord, have shaped the Hindu worshipper. We can only feel immeasurable pride and gratitude in respect of this tradition.

Concert Details

Lalgudi GJR Krishnan and Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi ------- Violin Duet
Ravishankar ------------------------ Mridangam
Shashishankar -------------------- Ghatam
on September 1, 2013 during K.Puttu Rao Music Festival.

Song List

01 Arunodayame-Bhauli- Lalgudi Jayaraman *** 02 BrovaBharama -Bahudari-Thyagaraja *** 03 RangaPuravihara –BrindavanaSaranga-Muthuswami Dikshitar *** 04 ManasunilpaShakti –Abhogi- Thyagaraja *** 05 BhajareBhajamanasa -Kannada -Thyagaraja*** 06 MaaraVairiRamani-NasikaBhushini – Thyagaraja *** 07 O Rangashayee-Kambhoji- Thyagaraja *** 08 Bhajan-Meera-Bagesri *** 09 VenkatachalaNilayam- SindhuBhairavi –Purandara Dasa *** 10 Tillana -MisraShivaranjani – Lalgudi Jayaraman ***

PS: we regret the audio disturbances at the beginning of the concert.

A Concert to Remember

Vid. T.V. Sankaranarayanan, Ramanavami 1986

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

Song List

01 Yochana-Durbar- Thyagaraja ***
02 Brochevarevarura-Khamach – Mysore Vasudevacharya ***
03 Raju vedale-Todi- Thyagaraja ***
04 Mohana Raga ***
05 Mohana Rama-Thyagaraja + Tani(cut) ***
06 Bantureeti- Hamsanada - Thyagaraja ***
07 Neene doddavano- Revathi- Purandara dasa ***
08 Shloka- Kedaragowla, Kapi, Hamsanandi + Srinivasa – Papanasam Sivan ***
09 Dasarathasuta- Jaunpuri-Vanamamalai Jeeyar ***
10 English note- Muthiah Bhagavatar ***
11 Mangalam ***

Ruminations of a Rasika

Reference to Vid. K.V. Narayanaswamy, 1978 Ramanavami

R.Sachi: Transcriptions of conversations with Sri K. Srikantiah

K. Srikantiah - Moments of Inspiration

" I wish to share my unbounded joy after listening again to the 1978 Ramanavami concert recording of Vid K. V. Narayanaswamy that we have just posted.

To preface my specific comments, let me share how I have been blessed by Lord Rama to enjoy the greatest of Carnatic music from 1940s in the best of places including the holy setting of Thiruvaiyyaru, as well as all the leading sabhas such as the Madras Music Academy. I have had a close acquaintance with all the stalwarts including Mysore Vasudevacharya, Chowdiah, Ariyakudi, Chembai, GNB, Mani Iyer, Semmangudi, and almost all others of that generation. Lord Rama granted me the opportunity to arrange many of their concerts at home, and our tradition of Ramanavami music festival continued for many decades with five generations of male and female artistes.

To make good concert recordings for posterity was not an easy task. As the tapes were scarce, I had to get them from America. The old faithful Philips reel-to-reel recorder has been serving the cause of Rama all these years.

I say all this as a prelude to expressing my feelings about the latest posting of the KVN 1978 concert.

I am simply overwhelmed by its impact.

I just heard it again after the posting. It gives a feeling like being flanked on one side by the might Himalayas and on the other side by the endless ocean. KVN has risen to Himalayan heights in his raga alapana of Kharaharapriya. The way he has rendered the song, with the neraval on the line "manasuna talachi mai marachi" gave me goose bumps.

His swaras took me to a different world. And Raghu - with his deep strokes like the roar of the ocean, throughout the concert! Particularly in the Kharaharapriya krithi, at the start of the anupallavi, and during neraval and swaras, his strokes are simply masterful.

This is such a wonderful concert that I have to express my feelings of endless gratitude to Lord Rama. One should be really fortunate to enjoy this level of music. I wish more and more Rasikas partake of this feast. "

Thyagaraja’s Ecstasy of Devotion

Vid. K.V. Narayanaswamy, 1978 Ramanavami

An appreciation from R. Sachi

During this Ramanavami season, it is our great pleasure to share with rasikas a fine concert by the Sangita Kalanidhi Palghat K.V. Narayanaswamy. KVN, as he is affectionately called, is an eternal favourite of Carnatic music lovers around the world. As the most famous Shishya of the most famous legend in CM, Sangitakala Shikhamani Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, KVN is the torchbearer of a truly classical tradition that gives deeply enriching, aesthetic and devotional, experience to every listener. KVN had perfected his art to maximise the lasting beauty of classicism, eschewing all dramatics and frills. He came across in person as someone who lived this spirit 24/7 as they say these days.

This concert also features the famous combination of KVN and Raghu. This combo is as proverbial as the famous Ariyakudi-Palghat Mani combo. Other examples are MSS-TK Murthy and Ravi Shankar-Alla Rakha. Indian classical music places great emphasis on rhythm or tala (Srutirmaata layah pitaa). So when such a great combination of a lead performer and percussionist clicks, we get decades of great musical excellence, based on a musical rapport at the gut level. This is a bonus in this concert too.

KVN and Raghu collaborated and taught together at a US university during the ‘60s. Here is the disc cover of their famous LP, brought out with an introduction to South Indian music:

Coming to this concert, it is full of rich melody and song repertoire. Spanning major ragas eg. Shankarabharana, Kharaharapriya, Mohana, and Todi (a rare Tillana), KVN delivers his trademark raga alapanas, neraval and swaras in a succinct manner. The shlokas and the Kannada padas are suffused with devotional fervour. Talking of which, the famous krithi Nanu Palimpa, expressing Thyagaraja’s ecstasy of devotion, is rendered with a lot of verve. This krithi is reported to have been composed by the saint on beholding a beautiful painting of Sri Rama, painted by one of the Walajapet disciples Pallavi Ellayyar and carried on foot over a long distance to be presented to the saint. The meaning of this song as given in The Spiritual Heritage of Thyagaraja is reproduced below:

"NANU PAALIMPA" (Mohana)

Oh Lord of my Life! Have you come walking all the way to bless me,knowing fully the unexpressed secret longing of my heart, that to have a vision of your lotus-eyed face is the sole purpose of my life! You have been gracious enough to appear before me with a body resplendently blue colored, adorned in the chest with strings of pearls, with shining bow, and arrows in hand and accompanied by Sita.

We therefore feel blessed to be able to share this concert with Rasikas.

Concert Details:

K.V.Narayanaswamy ------- vocal
T.S. Veeraraghavan ------- Violin
Palghat Raghu ----- Mridangam
K.S.Manjunath ---- Ghatam
on 24 -4-1978 during Ramanavami Festival at "Parvathi", Mysore.

Song List

01 Bhaktibhiksha-Shankarabharana- Thyagaraja *** 02 Kharaharapriya Raga *** 03 Pakkala nilabadi-Kharaharapriya – Thyagaraja *** 04 Rangapuravihara- Brindavana saranga- Muthuswami Dikshitar *** 05 Nanu Palimpa-Mohana- Thyagaraja *** 06 Shlokas – Khamach, Mayamalavagowla, Behag, Sindhubhairavi *** 07 Harihara ninnanu- Sindhubhairavi – Purandaradasa *** 08 Kandu dhanyanade- Behag- Kamalesha Dasa *** 09 Tillana –Todi –Poochi Srinivasa Iyengar *** 10 Mangalam***

Ingredients of delicate artistry in Carnatic music

Vid. S. Sowmya – Ramanavami 1995

An appreciation from R. Sachi

We are pleased to share with rasikas a fine vocal concert from the 1995 series, by Vidushi S. Sowmya.

S. Sowmya is a Carnatic music vocalist as well as a vainika. She learnt music initially from her father Dr. Srinivasan, and later from Dr. S. Ramanathan and Smt.T. Muktha. In 1998, Sowmya co-founded Carnatica - an institution dedicated to classical music and dance instruction, archival, talent search and other related activities. She co-authored the first comprehensive reference CD-ROM on Carnatic music, Nadanubhava. She is also a visiting professor at the Advanced School of Carnatic Music of the Music Academy Madras.

S. Sowmya is a distinguished alumnus of IIT Madras with postgraduate qualifications in chemistry. She has been awarded a PhD for her research into the technical aspects of mridangam design and construction. We learn also that she is on her way to acquiring a PhD in Sanskrit from Madras University.

While listening to this present concert, we are to be forgiven for forgetting all these academic accomplishments of this distinguished vidushi. What shines forth is a high order of delicate artistry honed under great teachers including two legendary maestros. We feel her music is suffused with a rare quality in Carnatic music called “saumya” guna or delicate artistry.

The word “saumya” in Sanskrit signifies the epitome of aesthetic evolution. The dictionary defines it as resembling the moon, placid, gentle, mild, auspicious, happy, pleasant, cheerful and even “cool”- the buzzword these days. In the Bhagavadgita, after beholding the Vishwaroopa, Arjuna is so badly stirred and shaken that Krishna decides to cool him down with his “saumya” appearance – bhUtvA punaH saumyavapuH mahAtmA (BG 11.50). Even in the lalithAsahasranAma, Devi is described as sAmagAnapriyA saumyA (v.168).

In this concert, a young and extremely melodious Sowmya sings so many beautiful ragas – Saveri, Athana, Begada, Vasantha, Pantuvarali, Anandabhairavi, Shankarabharana, Bageshri, Nadanamakriya…each song is presented with a delicate voice modulation which has the stamp of scholarship as well as artistic sensibilities of the highest order. The Begada krithi is a rare Kannada one, and the alapana (seldom attempted by women vocalists!) is like a beautifully painted landscape. The swaras in Pantuvarali and Shankarabharana show her solid vidwat. The Anandabhairavi song is her gentle tribute to the vainika-gayaka Muthuswami Dikshitar.

The accompaniments of Vid. Narayan, Vid. Sharma and Vid. Srinath add further charm to this concert.

So, let’s enjoy the wonderful music of Vid. Sowmya!

Concert Details

S.Sowmya ----- Vocal
S.V.Narayan ---- Violin
Ananthakrishna Sharma ---- Mridangam
Srinath ------ Ghatam
on 9-4-95 during Ramanavami at Parvathi, Mysore

Song List

01 Sarasuda-Saveri Varna - Kotthavaasal Venkatrama Iyer *** 02 Anupama gunambudhi -Athana- Thyagaraja *** 03 Nimma bhagya- Begada -Purandara Dasa *** 04 Rama Rama -Vasantha- Purandara Dasa *** 05 Shiva Shiva- Pantuvarali -Thyagaraja *** 06 Manasa Guruguha- Ananda bhairavi – Muthuswami Dikshitar *** 07 Swararagasudharasa- Shankarabharana –Thyagaraja *** 08 Shloka & Rogaharane –Bageshri – Jagannatha Dasa *** 09 Karunajaladhe –Nadanamakriya- Thyagaraja *** 10 Mangalam

In Memorium: Shri B.M.N. Murthy

The Hindu: The man who knows everything
[ http://www.hindu.com/lf/2004/03/15/stories/2004031508690200.htm ]

We live in a world today where it is not uncommon for a person in the media to likely interrogate you (when you discuss someone not given to essential mainstream) in a capsuled fashion such as “Can you describe this person in two sentences or less?”

In remembering Shi B.M. Narayana Murthy we would say “Yes” with an aplomb, though rather with a certain sadness today. He passed away last week.

“Yes, we can and we are honored that we knew him. He was a man who lived his whole life in dignity and treated all those whom he came across with that same said dignity”.

He was of course many, many things more, as we have leaned on him a few times ourselves in this blog to borrow some of his articles from that vast fund of his resourcefulness.

He had retired professionally as Chief Engineer, Life Insurance Corporation of India. But after his retirement he dedicated his entire time to guiding and informing "the younger generation" in India of the spiritual wisdom of their country, reminding them to know something of the great traditional lineage to which they belonged. Many of them did listen to their "Nani Uncle" and endeared themselves to him.

BMN Murthy - Chennai Industrialist A.N. Srinivasa Rao

He was a voracious collector from his youngest days of books and periodicals and a very well read person on “any subject under the sun” which could project a value. He applied himself by sharing his fund of knowledge in penning beautiful articles in not only jogging our memories but in introducing us to names and events about which we may have hardly known anything.

His house was a veritable library and we came to know of his prodigious writing when we realized that by July 2013, he had completed the penning of a staggering 700 weekly articles spread over a period of twelve and half years.

No subject would escape his serene mind . On music you could find him waxing on the mastery of a Veena Seshanna or a Madurai Mani Iyer; on religion it could be the exemplary teachings of a Chandrasekhar Bharathi or the MahaPeriyava of Kanchi; in poetry he would be at home equally to a Kalidasa or a Keats; or in a cheerful bid towards inculcating positive thoughts he would bring to our attention that "Poverty and Humble Beginnings Are No Impediments to a Success in Life". He would bring any number of examples to bear testimony to that in a Rt. Hon. V. S. Srinivasa Sastri, a Michael Faraday, a Charlie Chaplin or a Justice Kapadia.

We close with our prayers to the essential memory of a very decent and good man.