Category Archives: Music

Happy Birthday Rahman!

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Wishing A R Rahman and his son a very Happy Birthday! 🙂 May they be blessed with a long, healthy and musical life filled with loads of happiness.

A.R.Rahman – Well, is there anything more to write about the man, his music and what it means to me? This was the thought I was having for the past few days. And that’s when it struck me how I can ever say that I have written everything about his music when he continues to give us new, wonderful compositions year after year?! Besides, hasn’t it been really a long time since I wrote about his music? Anyway I couldn’t think of any specific thing to write. Then all of a sudden, I started wondering if at all there is any mood/situation for which there is no song composed by Rahman. And that’s when song after song of Rahman’s came to my mind and thus was born this post. 😉 I know many have already written lists like this but it’s always a pleasure to remember Rahman’s songs and write about them. 🙂 Here follows the list of songs that came to my mind when I thought about different situations/moods. I know this list is incomplete and I have missed out a lot of songs. So please do add more songs to the list that follows.
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Bhageshri again!!!

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Sanjay Subrahmanyan – Vocal
Nagai Muralidharan – Violin
Mannargudi Easwaran – Mridangam
B.Sreesundarkumar – Khanjira

Where & When? – Vidya Bharati (Bhairavi Gana Sabha) on 5th January

Concert Duration: 2.5 hrs

Songs List:
1. Varnam – Bhairavi
2. Ninnaadanela – Kannada – Swarams at Ninnaadanela
3. Ramanatam – Pantuvarali – Alapana, Neraval & Swarams at kumaara guruguha
4. Vaa velavaa – Taanaroopi – Alapana, Swarams at vaa velavaa
5. Daasa vilasa – Kambhoji – Alapana, Swarams at Daasa (Main piece)
6. Neerajaakshi – Hindolam – Raaga outline
7. Oho Kaalame – Sahana
8. Oorile (viruttam) – Kapi, Bhageshri
Nanda tanaya – Bhageshri
9. KaaNa vaendaamo – Sri Ranjani
10. Tillana – Sindhu Bhairavi
11. Mangalam – Sowrashtram

Sanjay and Nagai Muralidharan combination seems to be creating magic this season and this concert was no different! 🙂

These days Sanjay seems to be singing many not-so-often or rather rarely heard raagams. It was taanarupi in today’s concert. It was amazing! The kriti in Kannada and the Pantuvarali that preceded it were well-rendered by Sanjay. The Kambhoji alapana lasted some 15+ minutes. It was only last week that I heard him sing Kambhoji as the main. I liked today’s Kambhoji more than the earlier concert’s.

Every time Sanjay sings a Bhageshri in the end, I forget everything else and it’s only his Bhageshri RTP that’s there on my mind! What an RTP it was!! Today’s Bhageshri especially was so reminiscent of the Bhageshri Raagam Taanam Pallavi since not only did he sing the viruttam in Bhageshri, the mini raaga alapana in between the viruttam & the song had touches of the RTP too! I liked the song, nandatanaya. With the moving kaaNa vaendaamo that he sang next and Oho Kaalame that preceded it, I felt as though I had gone back to the Kalarasana concert where he sang those as well. 🙂

I loved the Sindhu bhairavi tillana. Incidentally, he sang it in yesterday’s concert too.

With Sanjay being in top form this season, these days, each concert of his is a treat for the audience. 🙂

A musical beginning

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In what has been otherwise been a worst year when some of the things which I wished had never happened, happened, the one good thing about 2007 is that it has been a musically very satisfying year for me. In the beginning of 2007, I never thought that I would go for so many concerts or I will become even more passionate about Rahman’s and Carnatic music or I would write so much about music! Is there any better way than ending that year and welcoming the new one on a musical note?

For the past few years, there is a special program held at Music Academy on the New Year’s Eve where many Carnatic musicians, old and young, give solo as well as group performances. This is the first time I am going for that. It was organized by Carnatica.
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Sanjay Subrahmanyan’s Concert

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Sanjay Subrahmanyan – Vocal
S.Varadarajan – Violin
Harikumar – Mridangam
Udupi Sridhar – Ghatam

Where & When? – Mudhra on 28th December

Concert Duration: 3 hrs 5 min

Songs List:
1. Nee Vanti (Varnam) – Nilambari – Ata Taalam – Raaga outline
2. Brocheva – Sri Ranjani – Swarams at Brocheva
3. Sudhamayi – Amritavarshini – Alapana
4. Abhimaana – Begada – Alapana, Swarams at Abhimaana
5. Enneramum Undhan – Devagandhari
6. Srinivasa – Karaharapriya – Neraval & Swarams at Kamalajaa manohara sreekara karuNaarasa jaladhara (Main piece)
7. KaNmaNiye – Saaranga – Raaga outline
8. Raagam Taanam Pallavi – Gowlai
Taanam in Gowlai, Nattai, Aarabhi, Varali and Sri
Pallavi: karuNai varumo kancha nammai kaattharuLa un
9. Nagumomu – Abheri
10. Modi jesavelara – Khamas – Raaga outline
11. Vizhikku thuNai (Viruttam) followed by Manadhirkkugandhadhu – Sindhu Bhairavi
12. Mangalam – Sowrashtram
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Double Bonanza!

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Yesterday I went to both Sanjay Subrahmanyan’s and T.M.Krishna’s concerts. 😀 I am so happy that I got to hear my favourite singers back to back.

Sanjay Subrahmanyan’s Concert
Accompanists:
Mysore Nagaraj – Violin
K.Arun Prakash – Mridangam
K.V.Gopalakrishnan – Khanjira

Where & When? – Bharat Kalachar on 27th December at 4:00 pm

Concert Duration: 2.5 hrs

Songs List:
1. Varnam – Kalyani – Ata Taalam
2. Parakela – Nattakurunji – Swarams at Parakela
3. Bhuvinita – Sri Ranjani – Alapana, Neraval & Swarams at padamule
4. Aadum Deivam – Kambhoji – Alapana, Neraval & Swarams at thirupaadham thanjam ena unai adaindhaen (Main piece)
5. Raagam Taanam Pallavi – Subhapantuvarali
Pallavi: ambikai jagadambikai varaaLidho srutiyodu layamum tharaaLidho – Ata Taalam
6. Jaanati Raamam followed by Raamani Bhajitthaal – Maand
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Sanjay Subrahmanyan’s Concert

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Sanjay Subrahmanyan – Vocal
S.Varadarajan – Violin
Neyveli B.Venkatesh – Mridangam
Bangalore Rajasekar – Morsing

Where & When? – Krishna Gana Sabha on 25th December

Concert Duration: 2.5 hrs

Songs List:
1. Varnam – Begada – Ata Taalam
2. Sri Kanchinayake – Asaveri
3. Rama ninne – Saaranga – Alapana
4. Jaya Jaya Padmanabha – Manirangu – Alapana, Swarams at Jaya Jaya
5. Meru Samana – Mayamalavagowlai – Alapana, Neraval & Swarams at galamuna shobhillu kanaka bhooshanamula (Main piece)
6. RTP – Gowrimanohari
Pallavi – darishanam kidaikumo natarajan dayanidhe un – Swarams in Sahana, Bowli, Nattakurunji
7. Vazhi maraitthirukkudhu – Nattakurunji
8. Naadi thedi – Bhagesri
9. Mangalam – Sowrashtram

I generally avoid going for concerts at T.Nagar. The very thought of the traffic there usually stops me from going for concerts there. But after that Bhageshri, I was not able to resist going to Sanjay’s concert at all! Besides the fact that Varadrajan was playing for Sanjay was too tempting to resist.

I liked the selection of raagas for this concert. Begada varnam and the Asaveri kriti, both of which am hearing for the first time, were too good. I loved the Saranga and Manirangu alapanas. Jaya Jaya Padmanabha in Manirangu was so beautiful and the swarams in the end were awesome.

I have no words to describe the Mayamalavagowlai alapana! I felt it had a soothing effect. I guess this was probably the first time I enjoyed Mayamalavagowlai so much. The Tani Avartanam was made all the more enjoyable by the Morsing.

After the Mayamalavagowlai came the part that I was waiting for – Raagam Taanam Pallavi and what an RTP it was!!! After the swarams in Sahana and Bowli when he started the Nattakurunji with the swarams M G S, the first thing that came to my mind was Sanjay’s excellent rendition of Vazhi Maraitthirukkudhu in a concert earlier this year and little did I expect him to sing it right after the swarams in Nattakurunji!! It was a moving rendition to say the least. Varadarajan was as usual, excellent on the violin throughout the concert.

As I had replied to a comment earlier, just when I was wondering that the previous day’s Bhageshri has finally left me after the wonderful Vazhi maraitthirukkudhu, the Bhageshri song that followed brought back the Bhageshri again and it was only Bhageshri again that continued to haunt me!

Sanjay Subrahmanyan’s Concert

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Sanjay Subrahmanyan – Vocal
Nagai Muralidharan – Violin
Tanjavur Ramdoss – Mridangam
T V Vasan – Ghatam

Where & When? – Rani Seethai Hall (Kalarasana) on 24th December

Concert Duration: 3 hrs 8 minutes

Songs List:
1. Varnam – Madhyamavati
2. Paramaatmudu – Vagadheeshwari – Swarams at Paramaatmudu
3. Ellaam Sivan Seyal – Vasanta – Alapana, Neraval at anjael anjael endru acchatthai poakkidum
4. attharuNam abhayam – Bhairavi – Alapana, Neraval at utthama piravi aLitthaai eL atthanaiyum naNRi illaiye
5. EkamranAtam Bhajeham – Purvi Kalyani – Alapana, Swarams at Omkara Rupam Sivam (Main piece of the concert)
6. Oho Kaalame – Sahana
7. Raagam Taanam Pallavi – Bhageshri
Pallavi: taaNDavam aadum tillai Natarajan tajum takajum takiTajum endru
8. Aadum Chidambaramo – Behag
9. Viruttam: Oorile – Kambhoji, PootthavaLe (Abirami Andhadhi) – Subhapantuvarali, Petra thaai thanai – Kurunji
Engum Niraindhirukkum – Kurunji
10. kaaNa vaeNDaamo – Sri Ranjani
11. Nee naamarupamulaku – Sowrashtram
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Jaya Max

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Isn’t Jaya TV’s new music channel, Jaya Max, good? Finally a channel where there are no irritating VJs and endless telephone conversations between the callers and the VJs. Besides songs from latest ones to late 70s ones are shown. But that was how SCV channel was earlier, before it became Sun Music. Hope atleast Jaya Max remains this way!

Sangeetha Sivakumar’s Concert

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Sangeetha Sivakumar – Vocal
R K Sriramkumar – Violin
Sherthalai R. Ananthakrishnan – Mridangam
Purushottaman – Khanjira

Where & When? – Narada Gana Sabha Mini Hall on 8th December

Concert Duration – 2 hrs

Songs List:
1. Varnam – Sri
2. Raama nannu – Harikambhoji – Neraval & Swarams at Mepula kai
3. Devi Brova – Chintamani
4. Ninnu vina – Poorvi Kalyani – Swarams at Paramalo
5. Nenarunchinaanu – Malavi
6. Sree krishnam – Todi – Neraval & Swarams at Shankachakradhara
7. Alaipayuthey – Kanada
8. Bare panduranga – Mand
9. Nee naamarupamulaku – Sowrashtram

This was one of the concerts that I felt was good in parts. Except for a slip in Purvi Kalyana swarams, Sangeetha sang well though I felt that her concerts that I attended last season were much better than this. But considering the way some of them sitting near me were enjoying the concert, I am not sure how many will agree with me. R K Sriramkumar was as usual excellent on the violin. Sangeetha’s Todi alapana was pretty good.