I came across this tag in SK’s blog. For a change, a tag that had questions that interested me. Here goes the tag.

Q1. Are you happy/satisfied with your blog, with its content and look?
Yes about the look part of it. I like the theme of my blog so much that I don’t have the heart to part with it and give my blog a new look. 😛 As for the content, well, I wish I had more time so that I can write much better and write more.

Q2. Does your family know about your blog?
Yes.

Q3. Do you feel embarrassed to let your friends know about your blog or you just consider it as a private thing?
Nope. My blog has only the things that I discuss with friends. Besides, all my close friends already know about my passion for Carnatic, Rahman’s music and Mani Ratnam’s movies, which are the primary contents of my blog. But still, I wouldn’t tell everyone about my blog.
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• Why is it that every time I want to catch a MTC bus, I reach the bus stop just in time to see the bus leaving?

• Why is it that every time I go to a shop where a sale upto 50% is on, the dresses I choose have only a 5% discount or worse, no discount?

• Why is it that some people forget that two people are actually supposed to sit in a two seater in a bus? If you are sitting on the window seat and move a little to give place, they sit so comfortably that you will eventually find yourself squeezed in narrow space.

• Why is it that some people who have their umbrellas open, hold it at such a low height that every time a person under an umbrella passes by you, you need to bend down in fear of getting hit by it?

T M Krishna – Vocal
Akkarai Subhalakshmi – Violin
Arun Prakash – Mridangam
B S Purushottaman – Khanjira

Where & When? – Sivagami Pethachi Auditorium (Brahma Gana Sabha) on 5th December

Concert Duration: 2.5 hrs

Songs List:
1. Terateeyagarara – Gowlipantu – Swarams at Terateeyagarara
2. Sri Valli – Natabhairavi – Started at Anupallavi (Devata saarvabhouma)
3. Amba Neelayadakshi – Nilambari – Alapana
4. Sabapathikku – Abhogi
5. Enduku Dayaradura – Todi – Alapana, Neraval & swarams at Tyagaraja Vinuta taaraka charita (Main piece of the concert)
6. Bogeendra Sayeenam – Kuntalavarali
7. Janaranjani RTP – Pallavi: Paahimaam Sri Rajajeshwari in Kandajathi triputa Taalam – Swarams in Varali, Sahana, Mukhari, Janaranjani
8. Rama Jogi – Khamas
9. Pittham theLiya – Senchurutti
10. Vande Mataram – Desh – Raaga outline of Desh
11. Mangalam/Nee Naamarupamulaku – Sowrashtram
12. Shriya Kaantaaya – Surutti
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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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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 – 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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“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that took our breath away!”

– This quote that almost all of us would have got in forward mails, is a favourite of mine.

Since I wanted to know whose quote it was, I did a Google search came to know from here that the original quote was:

“Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by every moment that takes your breath away”

The original is good too.

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 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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Being a person who hardly watches 4-5 new movies in theatre every year, I generally wait for a movie to be screened on TV to watch it. And that too these days, since all the new Hindi movies are shown on TV within 6-7 months of their release itself, I get to watch those ‘soon’. So after a long time, I watched a ‘new’ Hindi movie on TV last Sunday – Cheeni Kum telecast on Sony. The main reason why I wanted to watch this film even though I knew the story will never appeal to me was the cast and the crew of the film.

What I liked in the movie:

• Tabu, whose acting I have always admired, suited the role so well and as usual has given a wonderful performance. I loved her costumes too.
• P C Sreeram’s cinematography!
• Ilayaraja’s songs and BGM were brilliant! And what with Shreya Goshal singing the songs! I didn’t like Vijay Prakash’s singing (song – Cheeni Kum) though.
• Dialogues were good too here and there.
• The kid acted well too
• The climax when Amitabh repents that he was selfish and didn’t wish for the recovery of the girl

What I didn’t like:

• The second half was dragging and boring.
• This became yet-another-movie with the introduction a kid with a terminal illness. How many times have we been made to sympathize the characters on their deathbed, trying to appear cheerful and as though they are enjoying their lives even though they know their end is nearing soon??
• Tabu telling her father that she will marry Amitabh even if her father kills himself!
• Amitabh’s line of reasoning to Paresh Rawal didn’t appeal to me either.

So how did you all like the movie?