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Birthdays & Anniversaries
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On young artists
From the Times of India
http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31807&articlexml=Return-of-rakti-ragas-promises-more-melodies-09012017006015
The return of Rakti
http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31807&articlexml=Return-of-rakti-ragas-promises-more-melodies-09012017006015
The return of Rakti
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Birthdays & Anniversaries
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Season of hope
The music season was a traumatic one after the loss of maestro
M Balamuralikrishna, the death of former chief minister J Jayalalithaa and the devastation caused by cyclone Vardah. Miraculously , the city was quickly back on its feet. Music indeed proved a soothing balm for all those intrepid souls who left their worries at home, and somehow managed to pay for concerts, coffee and tiffin post-demonetisation.The artists were slow to start, but warmed up as the December festival progressed.
M Balamuralikrishna, the death of former chief minister J Jayalalithaa and the devastation caused by cyclone Vardah. Miraculously , the city was quickly back on its feet. Music indeed proved a soothing balm for all those intrepid souls who left their worries at home, and somehow managed to pay for concerts, coffee and tiffin post-demonetisation.The artists were slow to start, but warmed up as the December festival progressed.
Keen followers of Carnatic music will easily recognise the word rakti. Rakti ragas are those commonly considered ragas that offer a musician ample scope to paint them in all their colours on a wide canvas. But the word also invokes an image of emotion or bhava. It really refers to melody and the emphasis of melody rather than the more intellectual aspects of music. Some of the wise old men and women of Carnatic music have been heard saying that all our ragas are rakti ragas, and it is up to the musician to invest any raga with that magical quality . The exceptions are the so-called scalar ragas which gave birth to the scales identified by man, while rakti ragas may owe their origin to the melody already inherent in music.
I must explain this long preamble. In recent years, old fashioned critics and rasikas like me have been complaining about the increasing accent in Carnatic music on technical brilliance at the expense of soulful rendering of ragas in all their expansive beauty. In short, we were bemoaning the loss of rakti. I for one was finding this trend evident in a number of musicians who had captivated many of us with the great emotional quotient of their music less than a decade ago, when they arrived on the scene like a breath of fresh air. Not only were they slowly turning into automatons that could thrill audiences with briga fireworks and swara-tala wizardry, they were influencing a whole new generation of musicians, who were bent upon impressing the world with their vocal sorcery or instrumental sleight of hand.
I went into this season with much trepidation, expecting more of the same from today's established stars who had dazzled us two decades ago. I was not wrong, for many of them gave the impression of having plateaued in their pursuit of frenetic applause for their speed and virtuosity . Gone apparently was their ability to immerse themselves in the joys of “raganess“, as eminent writer Deepak Raja calls it. The whole experience was depressing.
But the tide turned. Young musicians, who had only last year embraced the philosophy of Speed thrills, had evidently listened to their own inner voices or advice from caring mentors. They seem to have realised that speed can also kill creativity and damage your voice beyond repair. Young voice after young voice thrilled us with their return to nature with a vengeance, so to speak, proving that timely course correction can save them from premature decline in their musical ability. Many young musicians, both male and female, gave weighty performances in which raga was king. They have not neglected the more complex segments of our music either, it seems. Some of their ragam-tanam-pallavi renderings would have passed the sternest tests of experts in the field. Yet they have succeeded in redefining rakti in a way only young voices and hands and fingers can. They give us hope for tomorrow.
(First published in the Times of India, Chennai)
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Birthdays & Anniversaries
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Birthdays & Anniversaries
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The January season!
By V Ramnarayan
The December season continues! It has spilt into 2017 so seamlessly that it has been a perfect continuum. And somehow the whole cutcheri experience has all of a sudden become more relaxing, less driven by anxiety that even as you are listening to one, you are missing another or two happening at the same time.
The first of these was a Rithvik Raja concert with two senior accompanists in RK Shriramkumar (violin) and K Arunprakash (mridangam) at the Asthika Samajam, Venus Colony, Alwarpet. I had missed the concerts of Rithvik during the prime season, when a couple of my friends described him as a much improved performer. I was looking forward to this concert, but to my disappointment, the sound system at the samajam was so bad that I was unable to make out the quality of the music, and left half way through the concert. I frequently gained the impression that both the voice and the violin were off key. The mridangam too was heard only some of the time. Strangely, a friend,
TT Narendran, the critic, who was seated in another wing of the premises, actually had a good word for the acoustics. A day or two later, I met Rithvik who assured me that on stage the sound from the monitor was perfect. I do hope to catch one of his concerts in a better ambience soon.
TT Narendran, the critic, who was seated in another wing of the premises, actually had a good word for the acoustics. A day or two later, I met Rithvik who assured me that on stage the sound from the monitor was perfect. I do hope to catch one of his concerts in a better ambience soon.
The next evening, I took in two concerts, both by young singers. The first of them, by Mayuri Vasan—my old cricketer friend L Vasan's daughter from Irvine, California—who is a student of Delhi Sundararajan, was at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Mylapore. Mayuri showed much improvement in her voice and aesthetics from the last time I had heard her, but, suffering from a sore throat and cough, she had a few hiccups, in an otherwise promising concert. She had impressive violin accompaniment from Aarushi, a disciple of Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi. Mridangam by a young man was pleasantly underplayed. Mayuri, who is also pursuing western classical music can make a mark in Carnatic music, if she listens to a great deal of good music, practises long and hard on the fundamentals of manodharma, with a particular emphasis on aesthetics, her voice and her kriti rendition being her strong points. A long stint at Chennai and bonding with the young musicians here should help her cause. This has been the case with many US-bred musicians who have made the grade here.
Vidhya Raghavan, another young NRI musician, who moved to Chennai a few years ago, gave us a lovely recital at this quaint little hall on PS Sivaswami Salai. It was an impressive performance by this diminutive vocalist, who seems to have internalised the essence of the numerous aspects of Carnatic music, whether raga, lyrics, or tempo. She sang in a clear voice with a proper dose of akaram, and we can expect her voice to get stronger in the years to come. Her focus on stage, too, was admirable. Vidhya gained much from the excellent sound management by Charsur, of whose Margazhi festival the concert was a part. Vidhya is a disciple of TM Krishna and many of her senior fellows were present at the audience as was Sandeep Narayan, Sanjay Subrahmanyan's prime disciple, lending the concert a warm sense of camaraderie. Vidhya was also the beneficiary of top class accompaniment by Akkarai Sornalatha (violin) and veteran Neyveli Narayanan (mridangam), who seems to revel in encouraging young talent.
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Birthdays & Anniversaries
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A musical homage to Ariyakudi
By Alepey Venkatesan
Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, a doyen of Carnatic music, may truly be hailed as the musician of the 20th century, not only in light of his monumental contributions to the growth of concert music but also because he was a margadarsi (inspiration and role model) for other great musicians who appeared on the scene in the trail he blazed.
The significant contributions of Ariyakudi include the unique style of singing he fashioned, the modern concert structure/format of which he was the architect (a structure/format which has stood the test of time and is still in vogue in 99% of the music concerts being performed today), his rich and varied repertoire and his vast and significant work in tunesmithy.
Ariyakudi’s influence was not limited to his own disciples. His musical ideals, aesthetic values, voice delivery style, technical prowess, concert plan and other virtues of his musicianship have left a deep and wide impression, spanning generations of musicians drawn from diverse schools of music.
The 50th anniversary of the demise of Ariyakudi falls on 23rd January 2017.
Carnatica, in association with the Ariyakudi Legacy Centre, will be presenting a musical homage under the overall theme Sri Ariyakudi: the Legacy Lives On.
In the fitness of things, this musical homage is to be paid by generations of singers, hailing from different schools of music. It is with this idea that various singers have come together to participate.
Programme of Events
Theme | Date and Time | Venue | Speech | Music |
Ariyakudi’s Tunesmithy | Saturday 21 January 2017, 6 p.m. | Arkay Convention Centre, Luz, Mylapore, Chennai | Alepey Venkatesan | · Rendering of Tiruppavai by Vaishnavi Anand and Shruti Jayaraman (Disciples of Alepey Venkatesan) · Vidushi Dr. S. Sowmya presents Arunachala Kavi’s Ramanatakam(Participating singers: Bharat Sundar, Aswath Narayanan, K. Gayatri) |
The Ariyakudi Bani | Friday 27 January 2017, 6.30 p.m. | Smt. Sivagami Pethachi Auditorium, Alwarpet, Chennai | · Lecture on “The Ariyakudi Bani” by Alepey Venkatesan Chief Guest · Sri. N. Gopalaswami, Former Chief Election Commissioner and Chairman, Kalakshetra, releases the DVD “Compendium on Ariyakudi” by Alepey Venkatesan Guest of Honour · Padma Bhushan Awardee Sangita Kalanidhi Vidushi Smt. Sudha Ragunathan receives the first copy | The Ariyakudi Bani Concert by Vidushis Ranjani & Gayatri |
Ariyakudi’s Pallavis | Saturday 28 January 2017, 6 p.m. | The Mylapore Fine Arts Auditorium, Mylapore, Chennai | · Alepey Venkatesan speaks on Ariyakudi’s Pallavis | Ariyakudi Hits and Pallavis by Alepey Venkatesan and Abhishek Raghuram |
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ITC Samman for violinist N. Rajam
By Shilpi Sambhamurty
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| (photo by Shilpi Sambhamurty) |
The ITC Samman 2016 was conferred on violin vidushi (Dr.) N. Rajam during the 38th ITC Sangeet Sammelan held in Kolkata from 2 to 4 December 2016. A stalwart of Hindustani music, Rajam is one of the seniormost disciples of the late Pandit Omkarnath Thakur of the Benaras gharana, and follows the gayaki ang. The award was presented by Sanjeev Puri, COO of ITC Ltd. in the presence of Ravi Srinivasan, Executive Director of ITC Sangeet Research Academy, Kolkata.
The ITC Samman comprises a citation, shawl, flowers, sweets, and a cheque for one lakh rupees. The award was first presented in 1978, and the list of recipients includes eminent musicians like Satya Kinkar Banerjee, Jamini Ganguli, Jnan Prakash Ghosh, Mushtaq Ali Khan, D.T. Joshi, V.G. Jog, Asad Ali Khan, Girija Devi, Ali Ahmed Hussain, T.N. Krishnan and L. Subramaniam.
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Lalitha Kala Vedika honours artists
By BuzyBee
Lalitha Kala Vedika organised a two-day event to celebrate its 21st anniversary in mid-2016 in Chennai. On the first day dedicated to classical music, the Lalitha Kala Vedika Gold Medal was presented to Sudha Ragunathan, and the Sri B.V.S.S. Mani Cash Award to Malladi Suribabu. Justice AR. Lakshmanan presided over the function, and Pappu Venugopala Rao and N.V. Subramaniam felicitated the awardees. The function was followed by a vocal concert by Amritha Murali. On the second day, the Lalitha Kala Vedika Gold Medal was presented to Leela Samson, and the Smt. B. Lalitharatnam Cash Award to Krishnakumari Narendran. R. Nataraj, MLA of Mylapore, presided over the function. 'Sruti' S. Janaki and ‘Cleveland’ V.V. Sundaram felicitated the awardees. The function was followed by a Bharatanatyam programme by Narthaki Nataraj.
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Birthdays & Anniversaries
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Birthdays & Anniversaries
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Birthdays & Anniversaries
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Birthdays & Anniversaries
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Assam Shrestho Award for Indira Bora
By BuzyBee
Sangeet Natak Akademi awardee and veteran Sattriya exponent Indira P.P. Bora received the prestigious Assam Shrestho Award 2016 for her lifelong contribution in the field of classical dance from The Telegraph Media Group. The award was presented to her by Rupali Ganguli, CEO and President of Apollo Hospitals Eastern Region, at Guwahati in November 2016
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Birthdays & Anniversaries
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Birthdays & Anniversaries
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Birthdays & Anniversaries
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Bharathi Ramasubban
Young voices
(Conversations with emerging artists)
2017 started off on a great note for vocalist Bharathi Ramasubban. Looking thrilled and elated about her Outstanding Junior Vocalist Award for her performance at The Madras Music Academy, Bharathi is looking forward to an exciting musical year ahead. Her grandmother was a direct disciple of one of the famous Carnatic composers of the 20th century, Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavatar. Her mother was also a music student and has a Bachelors in music. After her initiation to Carnatic music through both of them, Bharathi trained with Seetha Rajan and is now a disciple of PS Narayanaswamy .
Bharathi speaks to Sruti about her musical pursuit.
How has your learning experience been with PSN?
The classroom was never a formal space. With sir, I was always learning; in the car, under the pavazhamalli tree, even while buying betel leaves on Mada Street! In the midst of all the chaotic hustle and bustle, he would point out the smallest error in what I sang. “Andha sangati ya innum azhutthama padu! (Sing that sangati with more weight!)” he would say.
Sir was a stickler for ‘azhuthamana’ (weighty) open-throated singing, it did not matter whether I was singing in the car or in class – I was not to compromise on those qualities! Sir lets his students grow at their own pace and moulds us accordingly. He always insisted that listening to the old masters and your peers was the best and fastest means of learning.
In my initial years of learning from him, I would go for classes straight from school. I would look forward to our mini coffee and tiffin ritual before singing. I had classes almost every day; for music gave me the support and reprieve I needed from all the academic pressure. Sometimes it would be a solo class or at other times, there would be four or five of us singing together. It was all unplanned and spontaneous.
This spontaneity resulted in camaraderie amongst Sir’s disciples. He treated us and taught us the same. He taught us to be good musicians regardless of whether we decided to become performing artistes or not. When I was pursuing my undergrad studies at Stella Maris College, I was not sure if I would take up music as a full time profession but that had no bearing on how Sir taught me. He just let me grow organically.
PSN must have shared some memorable anecdotes with you about his experience with the legendary Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer.
There are so many over the years! Sir once mentioned that Semmangudi mama had chided him for referring to a piece of paper during a concert – everything was to be memorised! He also shared with me how Semmangudi mama would sing any new song that he learnt every day for almost two months before presenting it in a concert. In order to internalise the composition, he would teach the songs to the sishyas and sing with them.
Did you start learning music with the intention of pursuing it full time?
Not at all. I used to perform just intermittently. I also took a year off to pursue a Masters programme in Biotechnological Law and Ethics at Sheffield, UK. I think it was the time away that gave me the perspective I needed. I enjoyed studying and made some life-long friendships in the UK, but music consumed me and I wanted to return to be as close to it as possible. I tried imagining myself in a law firm or a Non-Government Organisation but I knew that would not satisfy me. PSN sir jokes about how I found my Bodhi tree in England.
I am also ever thankful to RK Shriramkumar anna for being an invaluable family friend and guide. He has inspired me through his music and interaction as I made some important decisions in my life.
Even now, I am not entirely sure where my music pursuit is taking me, but I am loving this journey and there is no other ride I would want to trade it for.
Your concert listening experience – as a listener vs as a performer. How is it different?
There was a period when PSN sir used to perform chamber concerts on the 16th of every month at Mr Jagadiswaran’s residence at Abhiramapuram. It was an informal setting. Attendees included the veterans, stars of the day and up and coming musicians. He would accede to all our song requests. That, I would say, is my earliest instance of a listener striking a connection with the performer. I loved it. I wanted to soak in everything my Guru sang.
PSN sir always says that it is by listening to her seniors and peers that a musician grows and I have benefitted greatly from this advice. Listening with viveka is essential. As a musician now, I find it rewarding to gain insights into other artists’ thinking process and artistic sensibilities. It has inspired me and facilitated my growth as a musician.
As audiences evolve, so do their tastes. How do you ensure a fresh spin on your performances while retaining classicism?
As you know, our music is a blend of kalpita and kalpana sangita. Hence, I am consciously working on building a vast repertoire of compositions, rare and otherwise. Recently, many artists have taken to thematic presentations and I think this is great because it presents songs in a fresh way for the audiences. Apart from building a song repertoire, it is also important to think of new ways of presenting kalpana sangitam; taking new eduppus to sing niraval and swarams. For example, in the kriti Akshayalingavibho by Muthuswami Dikshitar, every line in the charanam lends itself to expansive and meaningful niraval elaboration. An artist can always explore new lines in the kriti to expand and improvise. I think this challenges the artists on stage and also provides something fresh for the audiences.
You are involved in several musical collaborations.
I have been a part of many of Shriramkumar anna’s lecture demonstrations and thematic presentations and sung with my fellow musicians Amritha Murali, Nisha Rajagopalan and Ramakrishnan Murthy. I was also part of a special concert along with Sowmya akka, Ramakrishnan Murthy, Bharat Sundar and Vidya Kalyanaraman for YACM’s silver jubilee celebrations. I also collaborated for a harikatha-kutcheri with Suchitra for Bharat Sangeet Utsav and learnt a couple of songs traditionally sung in the harikatha sampradaya. All these experiences have been enlightening, enriching and enjoyable.
Gowri Ramnarayan aunty and I have been part of two projects together. The first, her pet project, Oli Chamber Concerts was a yearlong celebration of the music of senior and young musicians in a mic-less, unamplified set up. This was a chance to enjoy pure, true sound and we visibly found musicians and listeners being more sensitive to it.
Gowri aunty, Anjana Anand and I collaborated for ‘Sakhi’, a confluence of dance, theatre and music to showcase friendship across cultures. I had to act and sing! I learnt all about body language and dialogue delivery. I thoroughly enjoyed learning what great poets and writers like Rumi, Kahlil Gibran and Vikram Seth had to say about friendship. My personal favourite was a kathakali padam in Navaroj that showcased the friendship of Krishna and Draupadi.
Lastly, indulge us and your readers. What is your go-to raga or song when you’re seeking a little comfort?
My go-to raga or kriti keeps changing with my frame of mind. This week’s raga seems to be Bilahari. My go-to song for the last six months has been Kamalasanavandita a nottusvara of Muthuswami Dikshitar’s. Medha, my 8 month old daughter is in love with it.
When I am feeling low, singing anything with my tambura calms my mind. Sometimes, while driving, listening to my favourite masters cheers me. I do have to admit though, listening to these giants is a bittersweet experience. The initial euphoria or bliss is quickly followed by a case of blues due to the unattainable standards that they have all set!
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