Yet another trip to Madras got over. As always, I landed with a long list of things to do like meeting some old friends, visiting some of my favourite places, going on a long drive, etc. But do you know that there is only so much that you can do when what you really seem to want is to have a recap of your erstwhile daily life in Madras?!
Sitting inside the aeroplane waiting for it to take off, here I am, thinking back to how, as always, there is that feeling of not having had enough time at home, in Madras. Four hours away from now, the home in Singapore beckons. There will be chores to be done and unpacking and sorting/arranging of all the loads of luggages that I am now carrying with me. The next couple of days are going to be crazy days.
Sanjay Subrahmanyan’s Kutcheri at Sri Krishna Gana Sabha
On 25-12-2017
Duration: 2 hrs 30 minutes
Violin: S Varadarajan
Mridangam: Neyveli Venkatesh
Morsing: Bangalore Rajasekar
1. Madhirakshi (varnam) – Bhairavi – Ata
2. Varalakshmim Bhajare – Sowrashtram – Adi – Swarams
3. Ananda Sagara – Garudadhwani – Adi – Alapana, Swarams at Ananda
4. Ananda Kootthadinaar – Kalyani – Rupakam – Neraval at Ananda Kootthadinaar Ponnambalam thanile
5. Dharini Telusu – Suddha Saveri – Adi – Alapana, Swarams at Dharini
Tani Avartanam
6. ULLam Urugi – Kanakangi – Rupakam
7. RTP – Harikambhoji
Pallavi – Orumaiyudan Ninandu
Swarams in
8. Paaril Uyarndha Nilam (viruttam) – Patdeep, Ananda Bhairavi, Mohanam, Pantuvarali, Patdeep
En Taai Vaazh Enum – Patdeep – Adi
9. Mangalam
Sanjay continued this Season’s special of singing new (at least to me) varnams with Madhirakshi in Bhairavi in this kutcheri too. Varalakshmim Bhajare was next given a leisurely rendition with some slow swarams too.
An elaborate alapana of Garudadhwani had the audience guessing what the raaga was, all the while enjoying it. I don’t remember having listened to Garudadhwani and was happy to hear a new raagam. Of course, in a Sanjay’s concert, it doesn’t matter if a raaga is familiar to you or not. All raga alapanas are always engrossing when he sings it. He even incorporated the raga aarohana and avarohana in this Alapana. Varadarajan also played a brilliant alapana.
Tyagaraja’s Ananda Sagara was the composition that followed. The swarams in Garudadhwani completed the learning experience with a full picture of the raagam presented.
Like any composition on The Dancing Lord of Chidambaram, Ananda Kootthadinaar was also sung with so much feel by Sanjay with the neraval adding in more feel.
The elaborate Suddha Saveri (Dharini Telusu) had all the happiness exuded by this raaga. A part of the audience launched off on an applause at the end of the anupallavi which is usually reserved for the end of a song. Did they forget that the Charanam is still left?
The Tani Avartanam started with the usual Neyveli Venkatesh style playing. Morsing is always enjoyable and I was happy to hear the Morsing Tani. The entire Tani Avartanam was packed with delightful rhythms.
A composition with its lyrics and the raagam it is set in both so moving is Suddhananda Bharati’s uLLam Urugi in Kanakangi. Sanjay gave the feel and the apt pace that this song deserved to be sung in.
The RTP was in Harikambhoji with the pallavi line being ‘Orumaiyudan’, the classic Ramalinga AdigaL song. I wished that post the RTP Sanjay would sing the song itself in the Kapi raagam he usually sings it in.
Yet another composition of Suddhananda Bharati made its way into today’s concert with Sanjay singing ‘En Taai Vaazh Enum’ next. A very moving patriotic song, it drew a huge applause from the audience, especially at Vaazhiya Bharatame.
The concert concluded on this patriotic note with Mangalam following next.
Yet another superb concert from Sanjay and team!
On 24-12-2017
Duration: 2 hrs 45 minutes
Varadarajan – Violin
Neyveli Venkatesh – Mridangam
K V Gopalakrishnan – Khanjira
1. Ninne Kori (varnam) – Asaveri – Ata
2. Munnavane yaanai mugatthavane (viruttam) – Hamsadhwani
VaaraNa mukhavaa – Hamsadhwani – Swarams at munnavane
3. Etula Brotuvo – Chakravaham – Alapana, Swarams at Etula
4. Kaakka Unakkirakkam – Kharaharapriya – Started at thookkatthile unadhu kaalinai maravaamal
5. Sri Subrahmanyaya – Kambhoji – Alapana, neraval and swarams at Vasavadi
Tani Avartanam
6. RTP – Danyasi – Taanam in Janaranjani, Kannada, Subhapantuvarali
Pallavi – Varada Venkata Gopala – Misra Chapu
7. ? – Khamas – 4-beat taalam (Eka taalam put in different style or something else??)
8. Japat Japat Hari Naam – Ragamalika with Maand, Sivaranjani, Behag, Sindhubhairavi – Brief Alapana of Maand – Adi
9. Theruvinil (Tiruppugazh) – Sururtti
10. Mangalam
The classic Sanjay – Varadarajan – Neyveli Venkatesh combination was back in this Narada Gana Sabha concert with K. V. Gopalakrishnan on the Khanjira. So it was a given that we were in for some classic treat today.
At two and a half hours duration, Narada Gana Sabha kutcheris are always shorter in duration compared to a majority of Sanjay’s kutcheris during the December Season. So at the end of the first 45 minutes itself, Sanjay had already completed four pieces and had started the Kambhoji alapana. But if you thought any of these pieces might have sounded rushed, it definitely didn’t. Raagams can be presented concisely too and that’s what happened.
I don’t remember having listened to the nice Asaveri varnam with which the concert started. The entire varnam was sung in a single kaalam.
A nice viruttam with all the feel early in the concert and a brief yet mind-blowing fast Hamsadhwani kalpana swarams which made one wish it would go on for some more minutes adorned VaaraNa mukha.
An elaborate Chakravaham Alapana bringing out all its nuances and the kriti Etula Brotuvo presented very well replete with kalpana swarams were very satisfying reminding me of Sanjay’s Chakravaham RTP from an old Charsur cassette.
Kaakka Unakkirakkam Illaya is one of my favourites sung by Sanjay and, as always, his rendition of it was quite moving. I only wished an alapana or a neraval had accompanied it.
At the end of 45 minutes, started alapana of the main piece of the day – Kambhoji. It is not only one of my favourite classic raagams but also one of my favourites sung by Sanjay with his renditions of songs like Tiruvadi Charanam topping the list.
A very elaborate Alapana which went on for fifteen minutes was filled with oodles of ‘aahaa’ moments! While the audience at Brahma Gana Sabha seemed to have taken Sanjay holding on to a higher octave note for a good stretch during the main Alapana, for granted, the audience here gave an applause, though not as loud as erstwhile.
The kriti, Shri Subrahmanyaya, was itself was sung so well with the moving neraval further adding on to the beauty of the composition. There was the janaranjakam aspect again when traces of the ‘Saraswati Sabatham’ song, ‘Kalviya Selvama Veerama’ made its way into the neraval.
The opening R G S phrases of the swarams, the more melodious swarams that followed and the fast swarams becoming more and more enjoyable as the climatic finish of the swarams approached were all absolutely brilliant.
When the Tani Avartanam started, Sanjay had already sung the Kambhoji for about 50 minutes with never even a second of it boring.
Neyveli Venkatesh’s tani avartanam started off with a lot of different stuff than his usual patterns and was very enjoyable with Gopalakrishnan on the Khanjira too giving an equally enjoyable experience.
Early in the Tani Avartanam, Gopalakrishnan was seen using his khanjira like a fan making one wonder if all the bright, colourful lights adorning the stage were radiating too much heat.
The filler between the main and the RTP was the classic Telisi Rama in pUrnacandrikA sung in a very fast tempo. While the composition, the chittaiswarams and, of course, the raagam in itself are so very blissful, if that bliss is to be served at its peak, it has to be during the concluding ‘rAmA’! Just for those few seconds of absolute bliss replete with all the highs and beauty of pUrnacandrikA, I wouldn’t have wanted to miss this concert.
A gripping RTP in Danyasi followed with delightful taanams in Janaranjani and Kannada and a soulful taanam in Subhapantuvarali.
The pallavi comprised of the names of the day’s accompanists – Varada Venkata Gopala. A quick round of swarams concluded the RTP.
A nice song in Khamas later came a soulful composition of Swati Tirunal, Japat Japat, a ragamalika. The song had a fitting finale with the line Japat Hari Naam Manuja in all the raagams in the ragamalika.
Then came a joyous Tiruppugazh in Surutti, the words of which seeming to indicate an important day in our state being commemorated.
As the concert concluded with Mangalam, this turned out to be yet another most fulfilling concert of this Season! I am excitedly waiting for the next concert at Sri Krishna Gana Sabha.
Nagai Sriram – Violin
Tanjavur Murugabhoopathy – Mridangam
Perukkavu P L Sudheer – Ghatam
1. Chala (varnam) – Kedaram – Ata
2. Nee Bhakti Bhagyasudha – Sriranjani – Swarams at Nee Bhakti
3. KonDal vaNNanai – Yadukula Kambhoji – Alapana
4. Chintayamaam – Bhairavi – neraval at anga soundarya vijitha vadanam, swarams at Utthunga Kamaneeya Vrusha Turangam
5. Gangeyavasanadhara – Hamir Kalyani – Alapana – swarams at Gangeya – Tani Avartanam
6. Chittam Irangadhadhennaiyya – Sahana
7. Saramati RTP – Kandanai vandanai sei maname thandhaiyaai thaayaai vandharuLum – kaNDa jati tripuTa – Swarams in Neelambari, Reetigowlai, Chalanattai, Sindhubhairavi
The concert started with the not-so-often heard varnam in Kedaram. While the song nee Bhakti Bhagyasudha itself was very beautiful, the kalpana swarams in Sriranjani which started off with a very leisurely pace short swarams and slowly moved on with increasing tempo and ran through multiple cycles complemented the song very well.
A very beautiful, unhurried Yadukula Kambhoji alapana was followed by konDal vaNNanai.
A wholesome rendition of the Panchabhuta kriti, Chintayamaam in Bhairavi with a neraval at anga soundarya brought out the bhava and the beauty that Dikshitar’s kritis have. The icing on the cake was the fast swarams at Utthunga Kamaneeya Vrusha Turangam. What a brilliant rendition this entire piece turned out to be!
With a contrasting feel and all beauty personified was the raaga that followed Bhairavi – Hamir Kalyani. Sanjay was in no hurry and sang a leisurely alapana exploring the raaga in all its beauty. The soothing feel of Hamir Kalyani was fully brought out. The violin too matched the Alapana. Gangeyavasanadhara is a classic song by Sanjay and the kalpana swarams further added on to the beauty of the composition. The swarams ended with several rounds of classic Sanjay-style brigha-filled swarams.
This season Sanjay has been having different percussionists for each concert and each one has been having nice Tani Avartanams in different styles.
The evergreen composition in Sahana, Chittam Irangadhadhennaiyya, was an absolute joy to listen to as always.
Then came the much-awaited part of the Kutcheri – RTP. The mesmerizing Saramati was the chosen raagam. As Sanjay explored the raagam in-depth traversing its notes with an ease and effortlessness that comes with expertise, experience and knowledge, I lost myself in the moving crescendos that this raagam is filled with.
Ask anyone for their list of favourite, happy raagams and you are sure to find Neelambari, Reetigowlai in their list. Completely contrasting to Saramati when it comes to the blissful bhava these raagams evoke, the RTP moved on to blissful mode in swarams in those. Some brilliant swarams changed the blissful mode to a meditative mode in Chalanattai and SindhubSanjay Subrahmanyan at Vani Mahal on 22-12-2017
Nagai Sriram – Violin
Tanjavur Murugabhoopathy – Mridangam
Perukkavu P L Sudheer – Ghatam
1. Chala (varnam) – Kedaram – Ata
2. Nee Bhakti Bhagyasudha – Sriranjani – Swarams at Nee Bhakti
3. KonDal vaNNanai – Yadukula Kambhoji – Alapana
4. Chintayamaam – Bhairavi – neraval at anga soundarya vijitha vadanam, swarams at Utthunga Kamaneeya Vrusha Turangam
5. Gangeyavasanadhara – Hamir Kalyani – Alapana – swarams at Gangeya – Tani Avartanam
6. Chittam Irangadhadhennaiyya – Sahana
7. Saramati RTP – Kandanai vandanai sei maname thandhaiyaai thaayaai vandharuLum – kaNDa jati tripuTa – Swarams in Neelambari, Reetigowlai, Chalanattai, Sindhubhairavi
The concert started with the not-so-often heard varnam in Kedaram. While the song nee Bhakti Bhagyasudha itself was very beautiful, the kalpana swarams in Sriranjani which started off with a very leisurely pace short swarams and slowly moved on with increasing tempo and ran through multiple cycles complemented the song very well.
A very beautiful, unhurried Yadukula Kambhoji alapana was followed by konDal vaNNanai.
A wholesome rendition of the Panchabhuta kriti, Chintayamaam in Bhairavi with a neraval at anga soundarya brought out the bhava and the beauty that Dikshitar’s kritis have. The icing on the cake was the fast swarams at Utthunga Kamaneeya Vrusha Turangam. What a brilliant rendition this entire piece turned out to be!
With a contrasting feel and all beauty personified was the raaga that followed Bhairavi – Hamir Kalyani. Sanjay was in no hurry and sang a leisurely alapana exploring the raaga in all its beauty. The soothing feel of Hamir Kalyani was fully brought out. The violin too matched the Alapana. Gangeyavasanadhara is a classic song by Sanjay and the kalpana swarams further added on to the beauty of the composition. The swarams ended with several rounds of classic Sanjay-style brigha-filled swarams.
This season Sanjay has been having different percussionists for each concert and each one has been having nice Tani Avartanams in different styles.
The evergreen composition in Sahana, Chittam Irangadhadhennaiyya, was an absolute joy to listen to as always.
Then came the much-awaited part of the Kutcheri – RTP. The mesmerizing Saramati was the chosen raagam. As Sanjay explored the raagam in-depth traversing its notes with an ease and effortlessness that comes with expertise, experience and knowledge, I lost myself in the moving crescendos that this raagam is filled with.
Ask anyone for their list of favourite, happy raagams and you are sure to find Neelambari, Reetigowlai in their list. Completely contrasting to Saramati when it comes to the blissful bhava these raagams evoke, the RTP moved on to blissful mode in swarams in those. Some brilliant swarams in Chalanattai and Sindhubhairavi changed the blissful mode to meditative and brought the RTP to a close.
I left the concert during Sindhubhairavi swarams with the Saramati still echoing in my mind.
As always, sitting back and listening to Sanjay effortlessly create masterpieces out of everything he sings turned out to be such an enriching and fulfilling experience!
I have always loved travelling by train during day time since I can happily vEDikkai pAtthufy. From Madras to Mayavaram as the landscape changes from concrete jungle and dirty, smelly rivers like Cooum and Adyar to hillocks, hills, lakes including the huge Chengalpet lake and almost-dry rivers like Paalar to lush green fields and canals with the fields and water bodies inhabitated by cranes, storks and the like and cows and goats happily grazing in the open pastures, it has always been a nice, beautiful journey. The familiarity of the scenes and landscapes feel comforting to me.
Every time I take a train having overhead stretch in Singapore, it is this Madras to Mayavaram route that I remember. The views from MRT in Singapore predominantly comprise only of HDB apartments, private Condominiums and malls barring a few companies/offices. Cut back to the train journey in our vast country – isn’t it filled with nature’s beauty?
I also remember the train journeys in Europe – in the Belgium, Paris, Luxembourg regions. The countryside or so I think it was, were all very, very beautiful with nice independent houses having backyards with horses, gardens and slides and swings for the kids of the house. The cool weather further added to the beauty.
There was a time when I, as a child, wanted to travel by day train, Chozhan Express to Mayiladuthurai/Mayavaram and my mother used to say what a hassle it was to travel with kids during daytime along with, not to forget, packing food for the entire day.
Today, as I am now travelling by Chozhan Express, that too on a side lower berth simply because my daughter wanted to, I think back to how the very thought of day time travel felt tiring to me initially. Life comes a full circle indeed.
I think this word was given the additional meaning of someone visiting a doctor since an immense amount of it is required from them while waiting for their turn to see the doctor.
Sitting at the ophthalmologist waiting for my turn, I tell myself that I just should not launch off on that endless rant about how the last few trips to Madras became ones filled with way too many doctor appointments. Yes, I am grateful for the fact that these were all only for routine check-ups, speech therapy sessions and some dental procedures including surgical tooth removals. But I hate the fact that I have to wait for that trip to India to get everything from a routine eye check-up to a dental filling done. I see a lot of NRIs have all these eye doctor and dentist appointments as part of their India trip itinerary. No, I am not launching off on another rant about my preference for India or Madras. But all I crave for right now is for at least the next trip being one just for spending full-time with my parents and sister with no doctor visits or interruptions whatsoever. Maybe next year, just for that I should book a ticket at a short notice and come and enjoy for at least a week.
Sanjay Subrahmanyan at Bharat Kalachar
Violin: M. Rajeev
Mridangam: Palladam Ravi
Khanjira: Alathur Rajaganesh
Duration: 3 hours
List of Songs:
1. Sariyo (varnam) – Begada – Raga Outline
2. Tulasi daLa – Mayamalava Gowlai – Brief Alapana – Neraval and swarams at sarasiruha punnaga
3. Bhahudhari – Alapana – Unnadiye gati enradaindhen – swarams at unnadiye
4. Kumaraswaminam – Asaveri – Alapana
5. Kallu sakkare – Kalyani – Alapana – swarams at kallu – tani
6. Jaya Jaya Padmanabha – Manirangu
7. Shivashakti RTP – Shri Chakra Raja Nilaye Sivasakti Roopini – Triputa 2 Kalai – Swarams in Ananda Bhairavi, Manorama (a ragam created by Dr. M. Balamurali Krishna), Durga, Sivaranjani, Behag, Sururtti
8. Sollavallayo Kiliye – Ragamalika – Surutti, ?, Atana, Shanmukhapriya
9. Karpooram Narumo – Khamas – Raga Outline
10. Mangalam
The best part was, of course, the ragam taanam pallavi in Shivashakti! The entire piece had a meditative touch to it with the violinist too playing really well. The ragamalika swarams, as always, left a lasting impact of the ragams even though only a few minutes of it were performed. The Manorama swarams were absolutely moving!
Other highlights of this concert were the Mayamalava Gowlai neraval and swarams and Asaveri alapana. Bhahudhari alapana, though very nice, wasn’t as engrossing as the earlier Bhahudhari elaborations Sanjay has sung.