The Charge of the Youth Brigade

Vid. Sanjay Subrahmanyan
1993 Ramanavami Concert, Parvathi, Mysore

Narration by R. Sachi

They say nature abhors a vacuum. There’s proof for this statement in Carnatic music. Just as the great doyens of the 1930’s-1950’s were winding up their act on Planet Earth, God decided to bring forth a new brigade of Carnatic stars. Between 1965-1975 (arbitrary dates), a number of future Carnatic stars were born, in different parts of India, all to converge towards great teachers of Carnatic music, hone their skills with great perspicacity, and climb on to the concert stage early and attraction attention.

This youth brigade have gone on to prime time slots in all major Vizhas and festivals. They have forayed into film music to garner Oscar nominations. They are beginning to win the Sangeetha Kalanidhi titles ahead of much older musicians. They have inspired alternative film makers. They have gone and performed in war-ravaged Sri Lanka. They criss-cross the globe, publishing their “Fall” and “Spring” tours on websites and microblogs. They explore multi-lingual repertoire. They enthusiastically feature in CM-HM_Jazz jugalbandis. They sing four-plus hour RTP concerts. In other words, they drive home the point that all’s well in Carnatic music.

A leader of this “who’s who” youth brigade is Vid. Sanjay Subrahmanyan. Mr. K. Srikantiah recognized his talent early and is highly impressed by Sanjay's style of singing, with his depth of classicism and brisk flow of creativity. Sanjay has sung 3-4 times during Parvathi Ramanavami celebrations. Mr. Srikantiah still remembers the 'Sahana' which he has sung in the 1993 concert we feature here.

[ Courtesy: The Hindu ]

In a recent profile, the Sruti magazine states that Sanjay was first sent to learn the violin from Vid. V. Lakshminarayana, at the age of seven. A bicycle accident and a broken wrist later, he took up vocal music. Thereafter, his grandaunt, Rukmini Rajagopalan (student of Parur Sundaram Iyer and Papanasam Sivan) shepherded and nurtured him. He later came under the dynamic guidance of the renowned musician-teacher Calcutta K.S. Krishnamurthi, who stoked Sanjay’s creative urges and groomed him to become the kind of free spirited performer he is today.

Sruti also states that interestingly, Sanjay never had the experience of a traditional gurukulam (and the resulting pathantharam or style imbibed during such an experience) for any prolonged period of time. By his own admission, he was drawn to the music of some of the most legendary musicians of earlier generations. One can sense the influences in his music – G.N. Balasubramaniam, Madurai Mani Iyer, Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, M.D. Ramanathan, Ramnad Krishnan, S. Kalyanaraman, and at times, even T.N. Seshagopalan. Nevertheless, there is not a hint of imitation in his music, only an original amalgamation and recreation of the styles which inspired him. Sanjay has of late been learning from a nagaswara exponent Semponnarkoil S.R.D. Vaidyanathan.

It is no exaggeration to say that Sanjay commands a huge and devoted fan following of three generations of Carnatic rasikas around the world.

Concert Details

Sanjay Subrahmanyan ------------- Vocal
T.T.Srinivasan ------------------ Violin
P.G.Lakshminarayan -------- Mridangam

Held on April 7, 1993 during Ramanavami festival in Parvathi, Mysore
(we regret we can’t find a photo from the concert)

Song List

01. Sarasuda (Varna)- Saveri- Kotthavasal Venkatarama Iyer *** 02. Samayamide -Kedara-Patnam Subramanya Iyer *** 03. Brochevarevarura-Khamach – Mysore Vasudevachar *** 04. Needu chranamule- Simhendramadhyama-Thyagaraja *** 05. Vandanamu- Sahana – Thyagaraja *** 06. Kaddanuvariki-Todi – Thyagaraja *** 07. Sapashyat Kausalya - Jonpuri -Panchapakesha Sastri*** 08. Jinjhuti Tillana- Veene Sheshanna *** 09. Thrippugazh - Harikambhoji- Arunagirinathar *** 10. Pavamana - Saurashtra- Thyagaraja ***

SPECIAL NOTE : We record our heart-felt condolence on the sad passing away of the great musician and teacher Prof. T.R. Subramanyam. His concert held in Parvathi in 1973 that we have shared here earlier is an all-time favourite.

We intend to post shortly another great concert of this wonderful scholar-musician. May his soul rest in peace.

Establishing the Instrumental Solo Concert in Carnatic Music

N. Ramani, Ganesha Festival 1972

Text Courtesy: R. Sachi

We are happy to feature here another lovely concert of the evergreen favourite Dr. N. Ramani. Held during the Ganesha festival in 1972, the concert offers delectable fare typical of the golden years of instrumental concerts in Carnatic music.

Vidwans (L to R): Vellore Ramabhadran, K.S. Manjunath, N. Ramani, M.Chandrasekharan

There have been several narratives of the way instrumental music concerts made their impact on the Carnatic music scene from late 1950’s. Of course there were many stalwarts wielding the bow, or flute or veena, even before, who had established themselves as path-breakers. Then of course there were the Nadaswaram vidwans who not only commanded respect but were emulated in several major Banis of vocal and instrumental music - especially for their raga elaboration and swara rendering.

But we can clearly see a golden era during 1960’s and 1970’s when instrumental solo concerts commanded audiences and appreciation from connoisseurs. Today, there is no dearth of young talent among solo instrumentalists. But somehow they seem to have yielded ground to vocalists for a number of reasons. In any case, the home of Parvathi was witness to many stellar concerts of doyens performing instrumental solos, starting with Mahalingam, Lalgudi, Ramani, Doreswamy Iyengar, Emani, Chittibabu, TN Krishnan, M Chandrasekharan, KS Gopalakrishnan, Sikkil Sisters, Mandolin Shrinivas, Mysore Manjunath and Nagaraj, and so on. Even in this year’s K. Puttu Rao festival, there were two instrumental concerts - the Lalgudi siblings on the violin and Chandan Kumar on the flute - to regale audiences. This Parvathi site is already a treasure of over 25 instrumental solo concerts and more are coming!

In this concert, we can sense the enthusiastic mood of the artistes right from the word go. The two songs on Vinayaka are rendered with aplomb. The rare Mandari krithi is presented with panache. In Mohana, the opening phrases are clearly from the Lalgudi Bani, which Ramani holds in high regard. Chandrasekharan is full of anticipation. Throughout this concert, his violin sings so sweetly that Ramani rises to even greater heights. Ramani suffuses each song with superb raga bhava. The listeners are treated to excellent renderings of Bhavanutha, Palinchu Kamakshi and then a fine Kambhoji RTP. There is a Tani in Vellore style also. The audience appreciation can be clearly heard in many places, especially during the ragamalika swaras and the lighter items.

We are sure you will immensely enjoy this offering, and we promise you more stellar concerts soon!

Concert Details

N.Ramani --- Flute
M. Chandrasekharan---Violin
Vellore Ramabhadran --- Mridangam
K.S. Manjunath ---- Ghatam

Held on Sept 12, 1972 at 'Parvathi" during Gowri-Ganesh festival

Song List

01-Viriboni-Bhairavi- Pachimiriyam Adiappayya*** 02-Vatapi-Hamsadhwani- Muthuswami Dikshitar*** 03-Gajavadana-Sriranjani- Papanasam Sivan*** 04-Endukitu Chapalamu - Mandari - Patnam Subramanya Iyer*** 05-Bhavanutha-Mohana- Thyagaraja*** 06. Palinchu kamakshi – Madhyamavati – Shyama Shastri*** Excellent Tani!!! 07-Evarani-Devamruthavarshini- Thyagaraja*** 08-RTP-Kambhoji ( ragamalika swaras -Shahana. Nilambari, Bowli, Darbari Kanada)*** 09-Tillana - Tilang - Lalgudi Jayaraman*** 10-Bhajan- Madhuvanti*** 11-Ashtapadi-Desh- Jayadeva*** 12-Thiruppugazh- Kannada _Arunagirinathar*** 13-Mangalam***

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)

2013 - K.Puttu Rao Memorial Music Festival

Inviting all 'Rasikas'

Respected Rasikas,

We thank all of you who honor us with your kind presence day in and day out on this blog. We wish through you, to include many others.

We further request you to make your kind presence felt at the observance below:

We also wish to thank many of the Vidwans and Vidushis who will be performing with their virtuosity and learning, in truth to their great tradition. We wish to thank many of their great lineages, in parents, grandparents and teachers who have imbibed in them.

As this occasion is for the remembrance of a great music connoisseur, the 'Pitru'( ancestor ) of our Host Mr. K. Srikantiah, we also invite remembrances of many of the great musical 'Pitru(s)', who were once with us, and who commandeered the very same platform.

A Vibrant Musician from Andhra – Nookala Chinna Satyanarayana

The year 2013 has witnessed already the passing of many doyens of Carnatic music. Vid. Satyanarayana passed away recently and we quote excerpts from The Hindu below.

Mahamahopadhyaya Padma Bhushan Nookala Chinna Satyanarayana was born in 1923 at Anakapalle in Andhra Pradesh. Nookala was spotted as a young talent and came under the initial guidance of Vid. Balamuralikrishna’s father, Vid. Mangalampalli Pattabhiramayya. At Vizianagaram he learned to play the violin from renowned musician Dwaram Venkataswamy Naidu. But the influence of Dr. Pinakapani made him take up Carnatic vocal. Nookala’s personality changed as a musician under Dr. Pinakapani’s tutelage.

Over the years, Nookala became an icon in the field of Carnatic vocal. His analytical approach to music was stupendous and he passed on the same to his students, making their knowledge of musical science complete. Ahead of his times, Nookala was engaged in comparative studies of western and Hindustani music, and was an active author and even teacher on Skype to his overseas students.

Sri K. Srikantiah draws our attention to a special quality of attractiveness in Nookala’s music and also his impeccable diction in Telugu and other languages. Indeed Nookala is a vibrant musician from the great land of Andhra Pradesh.

In this concert, we also feature Vid. M. A. Krishnamurthy on the Ghatam. This artiste also passed away recently. He was a very popular ghatam artiste and played with all the stalwarts of Carnatic music. Trained under Vid. P.G. Lakshminarayana, he played the mridangam as well as ghatam.

Sri K. Srikantiah recalls fondly his association with Parvathi and mentions that he must have performed over 60 times in Parvathi concerts over many decades. Vid. Krishnamurthy also served as a staff artiste on AIR, Bangalore.

Vid. Krishnamurthy’s cheerful presence on the concert stage will be missed by many.

The other stars featured in this concert are Vid. Palghat Raghu and Vid. T. Rukmini.

CONCERT DETAILS

Parvathi Ramanavami Concert, Mysore (12 April 1976)
Nookala Chinna Satyanarayana ------ vocal
T.Rukmini ------------------ Violin
Palghat Raghu ------------ Mridangam
M.A.Krishnamurthy ------------ Ghatam

SONG LIST

01. Vatapi –Hamsadhvani- Muthuswami Dikshitar 02. Bantureethi – Hamsanada – Thyagaraja *** 03. Brovabhaarama – Bahudaari – Thyagaraja *** 04. Nee pogadakunte- Shubhapantuvarali – Thyagaraja *** 05. Anaathudanu kaanu – Jingla – Thyagaraja *** 06. Ranganaathude – Sowrashtra –Ponniah Pillai *** 07. Kaddanu variki – Todi – Thyagaraja *** 08. Undedi Ramudu- Harikambhoji – Thyagaraja *** 09.Chellare – Ahiri – Thyagaraja *** 10. Ramakatha Sudha – Madhuvanti – Thyagaraja *** 11. Sri Ramachandra Kripalu – Tulsidas Bhajan *** 12. Kapi Madhuripunaa – Jayadeva Ashtapadi *** 13. Dooru Maduvarene – Behag – Purandara dasa ***

The Core of Carnatic Music’s Appeal is the Krithi

VID. MAHARAJAPURAM SANTHANAM - 1977 RAMANAVAMI CONCERT

AN APPRECIATION by R. SACHI

We feature this time a typical ebullient concert of Vid. Maharajapuram Santhanam. Vid. Santhanam established himself as a classical concert crowd puller in the ‘70s and ‘80s with his virtuosity, voice timbre, and concert repertoire. He was particularly popular in rendering the songs with sowkhyam and madhuryam, especially the ragamalikas. In this concert, we have a major example, Nalinakanti-mati, with a huge bouquet of ragas.

Gurvayoor Dorai, H.P.Ramachar, Maharajapuram Santhanam, M.Chandrasekharan

We feel that the principal appeal of Carnatic music lies in its ocean of krithis or lyrics. The krithis, especially of the Trinity, Purandara Dasa and other great composers, provides an incomparable fund of joy, with devotional meaning as well as musical richness. Many musicians confess that to master a raga, what they must do is learn and practice well the major krithis in that raga. So the krithi goes beyond just wordy delight. The krithi is in fact the infrastructure of Carnatic music.

Vid. Santhanam covers a wide array of krithis in this concert. From his favourites like Mohana and Garudadhwani, he also forays into many other popular numbers. His obvious delight in rendering the “Nalinakantimati” ragamalika is infectious. The accompanists- Vid. M. Chandrasekharan and Vid. Guruvayur Dorai, have provided spirited, innovative accompaniment. As we have said in this blog elsewhere, it is not difficult to understand why Vid. Chandrasekharan has been a perennial favourite for violin accompaniment. His totally committed, virtuosic, tonally nectarine, accompaniment has made many a concert in Parvathi memorable. Similarly, Vid. Dorai is a very solid mridanga vidwan and his deep and measured strokes always enhance the musical impact.

We also want to quote the translation from The Spiritual Heritage of Thyagaraja for the Garudadhwani song. Like many others, this song’s musical appeal somewhat hides the deep spiritual import of the saint composer’s thoughts:

It is only fitting that Saint Thyagaraja’s image adorns the stage in the photo of this concert.

CONCERT DETAILS

Ramanavami Festival, Parvathi (3 April 1977)

Vid. Maharajapuram Santhanam – Vocal
Vid. M. Chandrasekharan – Violin
Vid. Guruvayur Dorai – Mridangam
Vid. H.P. Ramachar – Khanjira

Song List

01. Seetapate----- Khamach- Thyagaraja *** 02. Samajavaragamana-Hindola- Thyagaraja *** 03. Tatvamerugatarama-Garudadhwani- Thyagaraja *** 04. Evarura-Mohana- Thyagaraja *** 05. Sloka & Lalgudi Tillana – Brindavani*** 06. Nalinakantimati-Ragamalika- Madurai T Krishnaswamy *** 07. Ragamailka – continued *** 08. Tungateera- Salagabhairavi – Kamalesha Vitthala Dasa*** 09. Bansiwale – Mohanakalyani – Swati Tirunal *** 10. Mangalam ***