2022 Apr 15 ShantalaSubrahmanyam SVSahana AAKSharma BRRavikumar@ VaniSchool

Flute: Vid.ShantalaSubrahmanyam 

Vina: Vid. SVSahana 

Mridanga: Vid. AAKSharma 

Ghata: Vid. BRRavikumar

Participation: Online Audience

Occasion: 29th Annual Sree Ramanavami Sangeethotsava

Venue: Vani School, Basaveshwara Nagar, Bangalore

01 chalame jEse varNa nATTakuranji Adi mulavIDu rangaswaMi nattuvanAr

02 tuLasidaLa mulachE mAyAmALavagowLa rUpaka tyAgarAja (A)

03 janani ninnu vina rIthigouLa ChApu subbarAya shasthry (A)

04 nannu pAlimpa mOhana Adhi tyAgarAja (A)

05 anupama guNAmbudhi aTANA k.cApu tyAgarAja

06 rAga tAna pallavi simhEndramadhyama k.tripuTa (sampagodu vighnaraja)(T)

07 venkatAchala nilayam sinDhubhairavi Adhi puranDhara dhAsa

08 nI nAma rUpamulaku mangaLa sourAshtra Adhi tyAgarAja

2017 Apr 10 BharatSundar MatturSrinidhi SAshok BRRavikumar @ SRSM

Vocal: Vid. BharatSundar 
Violin: Vid. MatturSrinidhi 
Mridanga: Vid. SAshok 
Ghata: Vid. BRRavikumar

Occasion: 79th Ramanavami Sangeethotsava / Sree Rama Seva Mandali
Venue: Fort High School, Bangalore


01 evaranI nirNayinchi dhEvAmruthavarshiNi Adi tyAgarAja

02 marivEre dikkevvaru laTAngi khanda chApu patNam subrahmaNya iyer  (N, S)
nereval @ monarincha

03 sharaNam sharaNam enrAnE  saurAshtram  arunAchala kavirAyar (A)

04 ninnAda nEla nIrajAksha shri rAma kannaDa Adi tyAgarAja (O)

05 koluvaiyunnADe kOdanDapANi bhairavi Adi tyAgarAja (A, N, S, T)
nereval @ toli karma 

07 rAmanai bhajittAl mAND Adi pApanAsam sivan

08 venkatAchala nilayam sinDhubhairavi Adi p.dAsa (A)

09 nI nAma rUpamulaku mangaLa sourAshtra Adi tyAgarAja

2016 May 03 Bangalore S Shankar Charulata Ramanujam KUJayachandra Rao BR Ravikumar @ SRSM

Collage:

Vocal: Vid. Bangalore S Shankar  (BSS)
Vocal Support: Vid. Shankar Ramani (SR)
Violin: Vid. Charulata Ramanujam  (CR)
Mridanga: Vid. KUJayachandra Rao 
Ghata: Vid. BR Ravikumar 

Occasion / Venue: 78th Ramanavami National Music Festival, Sree Ramaseva Mandali, Fort High School 


01 chalamEla jEsEvura sArasa varNa shankarAbharaNa khanda Ata swAthi thirunAL

02 siddhi VinAyakam shaNmukhapriya rUpakA m.dhIkshithar (A, S)
Swara @ prasiddha gANa nAyakam 

03 bhajarE rE mAnasa shrI AbhEri rUpaka x2 mysore vAsudevAcAr (O)

04 shrI venkatEsham tODi chaturaSra rUpaka pUci srinivAsa iyengAr (A, N, S)
Nereval @ mArajanakam mAdhva nAmakam 

05 srIdhara keEshava nArAyaNa kalyANa vasantha Adi nAdOpAsana srInivAsan (O)

06 pakkAla nilabaDi kharaharapriyA tripuTa tyAgarAja (A, N, S)
Nereval @ tanuvu che bandhana 

07 akhilAndEshwari rakshamAm dhwijAvanthi Adhi m.dhIkshithar

08 RTP shankarAbharaNa chaturaSra triputa 2 kaLai 1 beat eDupu
pallavi line: dAsharathe karuNA payOnidhe inakula tilaka
tani

09 rAgamAlika shlOka
shringAram kshitinandini ... khamAs
vIram  dhanurbhanjane..  aTANA
kAruNyam bali bhOjane..  sahAna
adbhuta rasah sindhou..   rEvati  
hAsyam  shUrpanakha...   mOhana 
bhaya maghe..  ranjani   
rOudram rAvaNa mardane.. KApi  followed by 

11 shringa purAdhIshwari shAradE kalyANi Padmacharan (AV Krishnamachar)

12 manave mantralaya shudha sarang Adhi AVKrishnamachar

13 tirupathi vEnkata ramanA sindubhairavi Adhi purandaradAsar

14 thillAna (Dhim nanana tillillana tillana) brindAvani Balamuralikrishna

15 nInAma rUpamulaku mangaLa sourAshtra Adhi thyAgarAja

I recently came across a graffiti: "Music isn't like sports or modelling. Its not something that if you dont reach your goals by age of 25, you're finished. Your playing will only get better as you gow older and wiser. The best music days are ahead of you." If this was designed,with someone in mind, it was the junior RTP concert that was going on as I entered sabha yesterday. Dr. Seshaprasad was practicing something true to his profession: PRACTICE ON THE JOB !!. [ Nice business practice - cause toothache in the audience when they grind their teeth on hearing the "Bhairavi" - the treat them :), Pun intended ].

It was a  "trial and terror" concert when he was attempting to sing bhairavi ! He was almost demonstrating how not to sing on stage ! I may save the ears and teeth of others by sharing this piece of experience, that I pray others should not undergo. Hope he will grow more experienced and tinkered by his next concert :). However, appreciate his efforts to balance his vocational committments and passion. 

As the main artists occupied the stage, Subtle and short mic check indicated the voice sounded fine fettle. An indicator of good things to come around in the evening after a trecherous 30 mins of the junior concert. 

The concert started with a sedate and soulful rendition of the popular shankarAbhara varNam (2 swAti thirunAl starters in 2 days), with each line being sung twice and in two speeds. Vid Shankar Ramani (SR) filled in the silence by is Guru / Father during the very first piece, to indicate he was up there to face the challenges of the day.

I feel it was a brilliant choice to fill in a partimadhyama rAga + AlApane to bring the twist on the very second song of the evening in form of shaNmukhapriya / chAmara. The raga, kriti rendition, and swaras (shared with his son) were soulful. As against the recent brickbats on the sister duo, the pATAntara was perfect and diction was pretty clear, creating goose bumps all around. Very well done ! . The first two songs created a grand concert atmosphere. Evidently, BSS was in fine form and with and all Bangalore team of accompanists, he was giving his best. They were doing their 110% too.

With a brief outline, bhajare re mAnasa was more a filler (as against being a main serving by other artists). During charaNa, while most artists don't aspirate the Dha - so it sounds like vadanam, instead of vadhanam, I could hear clearly it was vadhanam (meaning slain)! Hadn't noticed this subtle difference though I have heard the kriti multiple times.  MVA technically wags a finger at rAma to call spade a spade. 

Then came the second detailed Alapane of tODi. Both BSS and SR shared the AlApane as the dug tODi deeper and deeper. Modelled after his father, SR showed his creative abilites. The team on the stage, decided to deviate from the standard tyAgarAja staple songs, and picked up pUchi SrinivAsa IyengAr's compositions, that is not usually heard in concert circle these days. My hopes for a different kriti was fulfilled. 

The sedate neraval at mArajanakam mAdhva nAmakam was nice, swaras - short and sweet in first speed added to the beauty of the rendition. The bhAva was maintained throughout the rendition.

Next was a tribute to late sri. nAdOpAsana srInivAsan. His composition in kalyANavasantha evoked both beauty and bhakti bhAva. While the outline of kalyANavasantha was being sung, expected something different as the list till then was providing sufficient clue. Without much embellishments, this one more like a filler.

kharaharapiryA was elaborated in all its glory. Father-Son duo traversed all 3 registers to reveal the beautiful facets of this majestic raga. The abundance of shArira helped effortless rendition evoked awe. The prayOgAs in the madhya sthAyi showed his versatility and comfort zones in the octave. Mandra sthyAyi occupied quite less space in the whole AlApane. BSS was enjoying himself all along was evident in the smiles on his face and shabhAsh towards his son and CR, inspite of being a very serious artist on stage. It was complimented by the birds chirping in the roof almost following the rAga crests and troughs in same shruti !

Pakkala nilaBadi was rushed through . 2 rounds of nereval and few cycles of swaras directly in 2nd speed indicated that there was another main to come through. Right after the swaras the rest of the charaNas were delivered without any space for tani.

Aligning to the age old concert tradition of singing varNa and main piece in the same rAga, shankarAbharana was the selected as the main rAga for the day. Multi stage development during rAga tAna exposed the embellished facets of shankarABharaNa. It was 3rd in the last 4 concerts as main for me !! After the rAga, a powerful tAna followed with a text book pallavi - 'dasharathe karuNA payonidhe inakula tilaka' - it was in chaturaSra tipuTa (2 kaLai), 1 beat eDupu, enabled BSS and his son to engage in subtle laya variations during the neraval. No rAgamALika ensured it was pure play shankarAbharaNa all through.

The Tani that followed was true to the fame the percussion duo. Each sollu was crisp and in its place. BR Ravikumar rose up to the challenge presented by Vid. KUJayachandra Rao very well after the first cycle of long solo performance. The entire RTP and Tani occupied the pride of place in the concert lasting almost an hour. It was already 9PM by then. It is heartening to see such an elaborate treatment for the RTP, especially in days of short (meaningless pallavis and short cycles of R and T, the entire exercise over before you realise it.) I have my own qualms over the arudhi of this pallavi. Thats a topic for some other time.

The ugAbhOga section saw a new piece being rendered for Bangalore audience today. Vid. BSS rendered rAmayaNa slOka which deals on navarasa of rama rendered well with appropriate rAga for apprOpriate rasa. Each stanza began with the rasa name and it a bliss point of the concert and rendered leisurely. Vid. CR complimented the rasa in her own style. One can bring out navarasa by raga as well as by the way you present. khamAs though an apt rAga for sringara rasa, hamIrkalyani or navrOz could have been better choice. However, its the manOdharma of the day that decides the rAga. vIra, kAruNya , adbhuta, hAsya, bhaya and rOudra rasAs were delineated with grace. BSS used kApi for both roudra and shAntha, but presented differently to bring the respective rasas. ranjani for bhaya and rEvati for adbhuta was brilliant.

Further tail pieces were filled with compositions in kalyANi, shuddha sArang, sindhubhairavi, brindAvani and staple pavamAna.

The support of the accompanists was great. CR (3rd time for me in this season) enjoyed herself to the fullest, presented contentment throughout the concert. Never stopped short of what she could deliver at her best. The smiles and nodding exchanges with the other artists was pretty easy to decipher - Only music and nothing else, and that too through teamwork. The entire percussion throughout the concert was great. BSS himself kept indicating his next move, helping the percussionist to design silence as required, bringing in a good level of surprising element.

This was a concert where the selection left a lot to be desired (why not something else other than recently covered rAgas on the same platform - This is always a challenge to late season artists), but it was offset by great rendition. Choice of shaNmukhapriya, tODi, kharaharapriya and rAgamAlika in shlOka offset the wanting feeling. One thing to note was the lack of any rakti rAga through the concert. Either they were mElakarthas/scalar ones. Hope for some of these changes as I attend next concert of this Father - Son duo next time.

All in all a great evening of classical music, to be remembered for a long time.

2014 Apr 29 Mambalam Sisters Dr.Hemalatha H S Sudhindra B R Ravikumar @ SRSM

01 dhEva dhEva kalayAmi mAyAmALavagouLa rUpaka swAthi thirunAL

02 shrI chAmundEshwari pAlayamAm bilahari Adhi mysUru vAsudhEvAchAr (o)

03 koluvaiyunnADe kOdanDapANi bhairavi Adhi thyAgarAja (A, N, S)

04 nIrajAkShi kAmAkShi hindhOLa rUpaka m.dhIkShithar

05 nAda sudhA rasambilanu Arabhi rUpaka tyAgaraja

06 shrI mAtrubhUtam trishiragiri kannaDa m.cApu m.dIkshitar

07 RTP pUrvikalyANi (R, T, N, S T)
Pallavi Line: kOdanDa rAmanai kalyANa rAmanai ninai paTTAbhi rAmanai
miSra tripuTa 2 Kalai, Edupu atIta 5 akshara

rAgamAlika swara: mOhana , bilahari , ??, rItigauLa , dhanyAsi, naLinakAnti, hamsAnandi??,  ??,  ?? , 

kadanakutUhala, bEhAg, hamIrkalyANi

06 Chandra chUDa Shiva Shankara pArvati darbArikAnaDa Adi PurandaraDasa

07 shloka (vasudEva sutam dEvam) nIraja daLa nayana vAsanthi

08 pAvana kAya rAghavEndra bEhAg viTTaladAsa

09 hamsAnandi tillAna

10 jAnaki ramaNage jaya mangaLam suratTi p.dAsa

2014 Apr 16 Dr.PantulaRama MSN Murthy HS Sudhindra BR Ravikumar @ SRSM

Vocal: Vid.Dr.Pantula Rama 
Violin: Vid.MSN Murthy 
Mridanga: Vid.HS Sudhindra 
Ghata: Vid.BR Ravikumar

01 manavi nAlakicha rAdhaTE naLinakAnthi Adhi thyAgarAja

02 baNTu rIthi kOlu vIyavayya rAma hamsanAdha dhEshAdhi thyAgarAja (A, S)

03 E rAmuni nammitinO nE vakuLAbharaNa m.cApu tyAgarAja (A, S)

04 sanAtanA paramapAvanA phalamanjari Adi tyAgarAja

05 parama pAvana rAma pUrvikalyANi Adhi rAmnAd shrInivAsa iyengAr (A, N, S)

06 palukavEmi nA daivamA pUrNachandrika Adi tyAgarAja

07 rAga tAna pallavi nArAyaNi, Adi 2 kaLai, 6 akshara after eDupu, Tani

Pallavi Line: ramanIvE brovavayya sadA varamolasagi srI

rAgamAlika Swaras : sahanA, darbAri kAnaDa

08 rAma rAma rAma sItA husEni rUpaka tyAgarAja

09 mAmava paTTAbhi rAma maNirangu M Eka m.dIkshitar



I had heard her previous concert at Gayana Samaja monthly concert attended by a handful of lucky rasikas and had been impressed so I made it a point to attend her concert this season. I wasn't disappointed.

With a brief setup delay, the concert started with an outline on naLinakAnti and directly dwelled to present manaiv nAlakincha.. without any elaborations.

After the first song, a brief alapana of raga hamsanAda was rendered The swaras in the second kalam rendered had very interesting combinations. Everything perfectly in place.

This was followed by an elaborate alapana of vakulAbharaNa which Im hearing for the first time.. and these are the simple reasons that attracts me to her concert. The kriti was rendered well with embelishment of quick swaras in 2 kalams were rendered.

Brief filler of phlamanjari brought a torrent wave. 

Next pUrvikalyANi was taken for elaboration which lasted for 10 minutes of each performers. She presented some unusual prayogams in the mandrasthayi.  Her ability to traverse mandra with such an ease just indicates the asura sAdhana that must have gone into shaping her music. 

While singing kalpana swaras she sang  in an innovative style. She sang first kala swaras suffixing with first part of the pallavi line and second kala swaras suffixing second part of the pallavi line alternatively. 

palukavEmi nA daivamA  in pUrNachandrika was a filler 

rAga tAna pallavi nArAyaNi, Adi 2 kaLai, 6 akshara after eDupu, Tani
Pallavi Line: ramanIvE brovavayya sadA varamolasagi srI
rAgamAlika Swaras : sahanA, darbAri kAnaDa

Dr Rama commenced in the higher registers and introduced some lovely phrases. In full flow of manOdharma, alapane and tAna singing demonstrated the completeness of her vidwat. Hardly few artists live upto this level of challenge in each concert they present. Dr Rama is one of them. The alapana was something special and hard to describe in words. 

It was apt that pallavi that followed, with its flowing nereval and sangatis. She sang the pallavi with the full energy it deserves. rAgamAlika swarams were beautifully sung. 


Tail pieces included  rAma rAma rAma sItA husEni rUpaka tyAgarAja and mAmava paTTAbhi rAma maNirangu M Eka m.dIkshitar . I had a beat skipped in my heart. Almost at 9.40 in the evening, taking up this majestic krithi, even without any elaborations, she did full justice to the bhAva that the krithi  deserved.

Had to leave after this... and as I understand she sang a sindhubhairavi krithi and mangaLa.

All the kritis in the list were abundantly soaked with bhakthi & full of bhavam. She was singing with so much of dedication and self-enjoyment. She has a very elegant stage presence without much of body movement as she traverses the octaves. It was wonderful to watch her bring out those special brigas and gamakams characteristic of her unique style. 

Needless to elaborate about MSN Murthy's violin accompaniment, exactly matching her style. Even HS Sudheendra on mridangam and B Ravikumar ghatam respectively accompanied her perfectly with a great demonstration of anticipation. It was a great comradrie on display as she kept lauding their playing all thro’ the concert, in appreciation. 

Good things dont come to an end.. It will stay in the mind for a long long time. 

It was an outstanding enthrallment and a well spent evening.