Ideas & Views

Vocal: Sikkil Gurucharan Violin: Nagai Sriram Mridangam: Skanda Subramaniam April 12, 2008, SSVT , Maryland Enthralling, exhilarating, etcetera, etcetera, .........well, exaggerating !! Sonorous voice, humble rendition (borrowing this word from a friend), scholarly choice of krithis, especially Kosalam and Natabairavi, too good a violinist, captivating everyone. What a Padaantharam! On the other hand, it took a few krithis for GC to rev up his confidence level. Could say this from one instance. Though he drove his Mohanam alapana towards Tara sthayi Ga, Ri , he could not push his attempts to strike those chords. So, he ended up in circumlocution for a while. The violinist deserves a special mention. Usually the violinist does not play the entire sequence the vocalist sings. But, Sriram is too smart to let the opportunity slip. He definitely stole the thunder. The concert was simply superb. Needn't and couldn't say more. Here's the list of krithis: 1. Kanada - Ada thala ...

A link for learning few krithis taught to the Cleveland Tyagaraja Aradhana performers: http://www.aradhana.org/sampradaya/2008/Prahlada%20Bhakti%20Vijayam/index.htm This is very resourceful of the organizing committee to host online and make them available to all learners for free. The lessons are precious especially because they are being taught by accomplished gurus like Smt. Suguna and Sri. P.S.Narayanaswamy.

Vocal concert of Sri. Sreevalsan Menon Violin - Sri. S.K.Narasimhamoorthy Mridangam - Kumari. Rajna Swaminathan March 29, 2008, SSVT , Maryland First, here's the list of songs: 1. Todi Varnam - Eranapai, Adi Talam 2. Atana - Sri maha ganapathim bhaje hum, Adi 3. Jaganmohini - Dayapayo nidhae mampahi, composition of Sadasiva Brahmendrar 4. Kannadagowlai - Sogasujuda tharama, Roopakam 5. Mandari - Ninnujeppa karanamemi manasa 6. Hamirkalyani - Kangeyavasanadhara Padmanabha 7. Varali - Ka Va Va 8. Sankarabaranam - Akshaya linga vibho, Misrachapu Neraval at "nayika sahitha...badari vanamoola" 9. Bairavi - RTP (45 minutes) Pallavi - "Govindanadi Mukundanadi Enak(kku) Avar Sondhamadi" Ragamalika - Behag, Hindolam, Sahana, Patiyar 10. Sankarabaranam - Karuna seivan endhu thamasam krishna, -a composition on Guruvayoorappan 11. Desh Bhajan - Harinarayana Govinda -a composition of his Guru Smt.Rajalakshmi Krishnan 12. Senjurutti - Sri Guruvayoopurae ...

The concert was scheduled at 5pm but began only at 6pm. And it was 10:30 pm when I drove back home and had dinner. It would be very kind on the organizers if they could schedule the concert at 3pm. The organizers definitely have to work at the timings. The mike system totally failed after the mike tests had been done and the artistes were about to begin. So, the concert was further delayed till the mikes were fixed. Though the screeching initially troubled the artistes and the audience, the mikes were set-to-go after few songs. Such incidences could not be predicted and the organizers have to be commended for their trouble-shooting skills and coordination. If not for them, many people from the front rows would have honestly got up and went to the back rows. It could be because of the poor mikes and lack of feedback for the artiste that the first few songs didn't impress me. Todi varnam especially, flagged the Todi spirit. My mind, the monkey, wouldn't stop from going back to M...

Carnatic Vocal Concert by Salem Sriram Feb 3, 2008, Sri Siva Vishnu Temple , Maryland This is not a review of the concert as I am not an expert or knowledgeable enough to write about Carnatic music. With an ear for appreciation, I am sharing my feelings and observations about the concert. Sri. Salem Sriram's concert marked the finale of two weekend celebrations of Sri Tyagaraja Aradhana at Sri Siva Vishnu Temple, Maryland conducted by Sri. Raju Soundararajan and his team of volunteers. Super bowl sunday took a toll on the strength of the audience but whoever stayed back represented a knowledgable core. Wrong choice of concert day for an amazing performer. I have not heard of Salem Sriram before and attended the concert only because I had nothing else to do and there is a carnatic concert happening nearby. I was very skeptical because the previous day's concert of Smt. Kiranavali was unsatisfying. But, during the mike test, Sriram sang few lines of 'Nadhopasana' and that...

Event: Dance Performance "about Her" Artiste: Dancer Anita Ratnam Venue: Lincoln Theater, Washington, DC Date: Oct 27, 2007 7:30pm Hosted by: Dakshina Dance Company It has been a long desire to see the performance of dancer Smt . Anita Ratnam in person. Have been tracking her schedule quite sincerely from the time I first heard about the artiste. My first acquaintance with her was her rave reviews in The Hindu Friday Review when I was in Pilani . I was very keen on hosting a dance show in Pilani through Spicmacay and contacted Smt .Anita by email while she was in Delhi, conducting a dance movement workshop for The Hindu Youngworld . We were out of funds that semester and the opportunity slipped out. Then, I read her interview with The Times Sunday Magazine while I was in Mathura , UP, India. My reverence for Anita grew leaps and bounds. I got more interested in meeting her and have a chat with her about the various art forms she is trying. At that time, she had not come ...

Event: Soorasamharam Harikatha Artiste: Sri.T.N.Seshagopalan Venue: Sri Siva Vishnu Temple , Maryland Date: Nov 11, 2007, 3pm Someone had told me that the maestro's voice is fading these days and that's why he is performing harikathas instead of kutcheris . I thought this could be the last opportunity for me to listen to my most favorite artiste, for the venue is close and I have time to attend too. I was very angry at myself when I got stuck in the Walmart queue. I didn't know whether to go or not. Jay somehow convinced and took me to the temple. We reached there at 3:30pm while the concert was scheduled for 3pm. We went straight to the sannidhanam instead of the auditorium and I had decided that there is no point going so late, having to pay $15. Jay went downstairs and forced me to go down with him to auditorium. The concert hadn't begun yet!!!! There was the artiste standing in the stage in his harikatha costumes and someone expressing apologies for the dela...