Category Archives: Carnatic Music

T M Krishna’s Kutcheri

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T M Krishna – Vocal
Ganesh Prasad – Violin
Mannargudi Easwaran – Mridangam
Purushottaman – Khanjira

Where & When? – Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan on 3rd December

Concert Duration: 2 hrs

Songs list:
1. Nada Tanumanisam – Chittaranjani – Swarams at Sadyojatadi
2. Paahi Sri – Ananda Bhairavi – Raaga outline, Swarams at Paahi Sri
3. Manavyala – Nalinakanti
4. Tyagaraja Palayasumam Sri – Gowlai – Alapana, Neraval at Yogadi Sri
5. Sevikka Vendum – Andolika
6. Mohanam – Ra Ra Rajeeva Lochana – Alapana, Swarams at Ra Ra (Main piece of the concert)
7. Shatakaram (shloka) – Ragamalika (Varali, Kapi,?, Behag)
Smarajanaka – Behag
8. Kaana vendaamo – Sri Ranjani
9. Krishnam Kalaya Sakhi – Mukhari
10. Vaazhiya Senthamizh – Madhyamavati
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A Concert Marred by Poor Sound System

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T M Krishna – Vocal
Sriram Parasuram – Violin
Umayalpuram K Sivaraman – Mridangam
Sree Sundarkumar – Khanjira

Where & When? – Narada Gana Sabha on 2nd December

Concert Duration: 2 hrs

Songs list:
1. Varnam – Sri Raagam
2. Munu Ravana – Todi – Raaga outline – Swarams at Raja raja
3. Tyagarajaya Namaste – Begada – 7 min Alapana, Swarams at Tyagarajaya
4. Velaiyya Dayavillaya – Saveri
5. Upacharamulanu – Bhairavi – 11 min Alapana, Neraval at Kapata nataka (Main piece of the concert)
6. Modijesi Velara – Khamas
7. Sringaram (viruttam) – Ragamalika – Mayamalavagowlai (Veeram), Sahana (Karunyam), Hamir Kalyani (Hasyam), Atana (Rowdram), Jonpuri (Shantam)
Sapashya – Jonpuri
8. Nadandha KaalgaL nondha – Sindhu Bhairavi
9. Was a raaga outline of Surutti sung by TMK at the end??
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Sanjay Subrahmanyan’s Kutcheri

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Sanjay Subrahmanyan – Vocal
S Varadarajan – Violin
Neyveli Venkatesh – Mridangam
Anirudh Athreya – Khanjira

When & Where? – Music Academy Mini Hall on 1st December

Songs list:
1. Sami nee rammanave – Kedaram
2. Bhavanuta naa hridayamuna – Mohanam (Swarams at Bhavanuta)
3. Nee madhi – Ananda Bhairavi
4. NaaDaaDina maata – Janaranjani (Neraval & Swarams at talaku vaccina bAdha talapAgaku – hope the lyrics is correct)
5. Korina Varamosagu – Ramapriya (Neraval at Sari Vaariko)
6. KaaNa kaNNaayiram – Nilambari
7. Raa Raa Raghuveera – Atana
8. Shantamulekha – Sama (Swarams at Shantamu) (Main piece of the concert)
9. Vishweswar Darshan kar – Raagamalika (Sindhu Bhairavi and two other raagams I couldn’t identify at that time)
10. Haritasulu vedale – Yamun Kalyani
11. Pittam theLiya – Senchurutti
12. Mangalam – Sowrashtram
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Akkarai Sisters – Violin Duet

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Akkarai Sisters – Subhalakshmi & Swaranalatha – Violin duet
Tiruvarur Vaidyanathan – Mridangam
S Karthick – Ghatam

When & where? – Dakshinamurthy Auditorium on 29th November

This happens to be the first concert of the Sisters I am going to. I went to this concert too only an hour after the concert had started. In complete contrast to the previous concert, this time I was the only one sitting on a whole row. So I was able to enjoy the concert without any disturbances. The sisters were playing swarams in Latangi when I reached. Here’s the partial song list: (As usual, in case anyone knows the full list, please do let me know)

1. Mariveregati – Latangi
2. Manavyala – Nalinakanti
3. Mariveregati – Ananda Bhairavi
4. Sankarabharanam – (didn’t know the song!) – the main piece of the concert
5. Kalai amudam – Neelamani – composed by the sisters’ grandfather, Sivasubramania Pillai
6. Sindhu Bhairavi (don’t remember the song)
7. Tillana – don’t remember the raaga

While all the alapanas were played by Subhalakshmi, Swarnalatha joined her in playing the songs and occasionally swarams. Apart from Sankarabharanam and Ananda Bhairavi alapana, a raga sketch was played for Nalinakanti and Sindhu Bhairavi.

The Sisters played quite well and I am looking forward to attending more concerts of theirs in the future.

Nithyasree’s Concert

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Nithyasree Mahadevan – Vocal
Raghavendra Rao – Violin
I. Sivakumar – Mridangam
S Karthick – Ghatam

A few years back, I used to look forward to attending Nithyasree’s concerts. But the last season, I found her concerts boring! So this concert on last Wednesday was the first concert of hers that I went to this year. I reached the venue (Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan) at 8 pm, a good one hour after the concert started, knowing well that I won’t get a place to sit. Nithaysree had just started singing an alapana of Abheri, yet another favourite raagam of mine.
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The December Music Season

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Is On! Yippee!!!! 🙂 Blame it on my laziness or whatever, I am now just copy pasting what I wrote in my blog last year:

It’s that time of the year again when there are so many concerts happening in every nook and corner of the city that you will end up being confused as to which one you should attend that day! No wonder Madras is the place-to-be for a Carnatic music rasika in the month of December!

A year has passed! Sigh! 2007 happens to be the year in which I have gone to the maximum number of concerts before the start of the season. Starting from tomorrow, there is a Sanjay or a TMK’s concert on most of the days! I wish I could attend all of it! Every time I look at the schedule of the concerts for the next one month, I am missing the half-yearly and the semester holidays all the more! 😛

Bowled over by Rhythm!

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A Concert by Take Four – Sri Vikku Vinayakram (Ghatam), Trilok Gurtu (Percussion), V Selvaganesh (Khanjira), R Prasanna (Guitar)

I reached Music Academy at around 6:50 pm for the concert that was to start at 7:15 pm and found almost all the seats in the two centre bays of the balcony, occupied. The first thing that struck me on entering the auditorium was the crowd. Having been to the Academy only for Carnatic music concerts, I have seen only the usual kutcheri crowds there. But on that day, everyone from a paatti in a 9 yard saree to a kid was there – crowd was something like the one at Saarang. As the concert proceeded, I wondered how the paatti would have liked it. 😉
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Sanjay’s Concert

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After missing concert after concert of T M Krishna and Sanjay Subrahmanyan for one whole month 🙁 , I finally went to Sanjay’s concert last Friday. The very thought of listening to Sanjay live after a long time had me excited the whole day and as expected, the excitement doubled up once the concert began. 🙂 With M.A.Sundaresan accompanying Sanjay on the violin, do I even have to say how the concert turned out to be? 🙂

Starting off with karuNai kadale in Kalyani, Sanjay then sang nannu kanna talli in Sindhukannada. A nice Reetigowlai Alapana followed next. Right after he started the song Paripalayamaam in Reetigowlai, I left the concert since I had some work and came back when he had started singing an alapana of Danyasi. After a couple of songs (Japa kusuma in Danyasi and Koniyadedu in Kokiladhwani) came the main piece of the concert – Maragatavalleem in Kambhoji. I got to listen to yet another wonderful Kambhoji by Sanjay! The icing on the cake was the Raagam Taanam Pallavi in Priyadarshini raagam that he sang right after the Kambhoji! I happened to know the existence of a raagam called Priyadarshini only on that day and it was amazing! It was only after this RTP that I came to know that the song that I had missed during the time I was not at the concert was Kamalamba navavarnam in Sahana replete with alapana, neraval and swarams! I missed Sanjay’s Sahana!!!! 🙁 All happiness at listening to a wonderful Priyadarshini gone! 🙁

After listening to aarukkum adangadha in Begada that he sang next, I got reminded of some of the wonderful Begada alapanas of Sanjay that I had listened to a few years back. I wish I get to hear him sing Begada as the main piece soon. The last song of the concert was a very beautiful Tillana in Ananda Bhairavi, yet another favourite raga of mine.

After attending such an excellent concert I was left confused as to which concert should I go to on Monday, Sanjay’s or TMK’s? Why did both of them have to sing on the same day at the same time? 🙁 Want to know whose concert did I finally go to on Monday? Wait for the next post 😉