2016 Aug 28 SanjaySubrahmanyan S Varadarajan Neyveli Venkatesh Alathur Rajganesh @ SVT Malleshwaram

Vocal: Vid. Sanjay Subrahmanyan  

Violin: Vid. S Varadarajan 

Mridanga: Vid. Neyveli Venkatesh 

Khanjari: Vid. Alathur Rajganesh 

Venue: Sri Venugopalakrishna Swamy Temple,  Malleshwaram

Occasion: Gokulashtami Celebrations

01 sAmi ninnE nammina nApai varNa kAmavardhini Adi ShatkAla narasayya

02 ini oru kaNam shrIranjani rUpakA pApanAsam sivan (S ) 
Swara @ ini oru kannam and Yadukula tilaka

03 kaNDEn kaNDEn swAmiya bEDikoNDe kannaDa chApu p.dAsa (A, S) 
Swara @ kanDe

04 sOundara rAjam AshrayE brundhAvana sAranga rUpaka m.dhIkshithar

05 vErevvare nIvEgati surUTi Adi tyAgarAja (A)

06 tatvamerugataramA garuDadhwani rUpaka thyAgarAja (S)

07 bAla gOpAla bhairavi Adi m.dIkshithar (A, N, S, T)
Nereval @ vainika gAyaka 

08 karpUram nArumO khmAs aNDAL nAciyAr tirumozhi

09 viruttum (UrilEn kaaNi yillai)
rAgamAlika in kAmbOdhi, kApi, bEhAg, karnAtaka dEvagAndhAri 

10 bridAvanam iduvO uyar karnATaka dEvagAndhAri ?  shuddAnanda bhArati

11 nijagAdasa  sindhu bhairavi Adi Jayadeva Astapadi (24th Poem)

12 engum niraindhAyai kurinji pApanAsham shivan

13 nI nAma rUpamulaku mangaLa sourAshtra Adhi thyAgarAja

The overcast day bore the best weather for a concert (or for the lazy bums - a cup of chai and hot bajji/ Bonda). I chose the former, to witness the master in his new avatar. I believe the music has also reached that level of popularity.

Notwithstanding the possible troublesome ride through the Sunday market at Malleshwaram that leads to the venue (Being the last weekend before another pair of festivals next weekend) expected to be entertained by the not so KARNAtick jam on the road. The ride offered a different experience.

Being at the venue earlier than standard lead up time, provided ample opportunity to catch up with a few online friends who share similar music taste.

While the stage was still being setup by the mic-man, was in for a pleasant shock to see simple amplifiers and nothing else that lead the cables to the mics. Wondered if this would be sufficient to create ambience for a great evening. That was complimented by down to earth Vid. Sanjay who as usual, did a couple of seconds of throat check before starting off the flood for the evening.

I had the prime spot to witness the happenings of the evening, 10 ft across the stage right in front of him (as the picture indicates my perspective)

Raising directly to the tAra sthyAyi, the pantuvarALi varNa brought in the first whiff of what was in the store (like the oggaraNe at home) for the rest of the evening.

Making way for a shudda- madhayama krithi, the ini oru kaNNam krithi in shrIranjani kept me in tangential thinking mode as I was prActicing AbhOgi earlier during the day.  The occasion being KRISHNA JANMASHTAMI, the krithi aligned to the divine mood of the day. The interesting swara patterns switching between ini oru kaNNam and Yadukula tilaka made the presentation much more attractive.

kannaDa AlApane followed by a kannaDa song "kaNDEn kaNDEn swAmiya bEDikoNDe" amongst the large populace of Tamil audience was a nice choice. Who else is a better choice than sangIta pitAmaha to praise Krishna.

Soundara rAjam in the sedate pace (I don’t think Sanjay can sing slower than this !) restored the energy levels of the artists as well as the audience. Would have loved AlApane in brindAvana sAranga, but you cannot ask for more when the best was next in store.

Whenever I drive to a concert, I'm in a dilemma on placing a request for a specific song. Today too I experienced the same (surUTi and bhairavi were on my mind). As a second thought, just pulled back myself allowing the master to present his choice than we pushing and distorting his list for the day.

First notes of surUTi made me appreciate my 6th sense. Déjà vu. The best zone of the concert began unfolding as both the artists started improvising the rAga. As it went past 15 mins, started getting clues of a possible RTP for the evening. Devoid of popular songs praising lord Vishnu, Vid. Sanjay's choice for the day was "verevvare nIvegati" praising the other form of Vishnu. Was thoroughly disappointed when the presentation ended without any nereval / swara embellishments! It would have been interesting to see what was the best spot for a nereval. (I could not find another rendition of this composition in my library !). After my recent learning on presentation of dEsAdi tAla, this was the first live experience of seeing one, without any disturbance between me and the artist.

tatvameruga tarama with detailed swara prastAra provided yet another opportunity to Vid. Varadaraj to prove his "BEING SHADOW" capabilities, when the last set of swaras were almost 2 minutes long, which I believe he replicated note-to-note !! God Bless these artists with great health and energy to keep the audience on their toes. Agree with a fellow rasika, on the whole composition being "sung in a carnival spirit" 

Bhairavi notes poured out the suspense for the evening. Expected an RTP / bAla gOpAla. The detailed AlApane was methodical and classy. The heaviness of the rAga was leisurely traversed wide and deep, more paving way into a krithi than an RTP. bAla gOpAla and his all musical antiquities were delineated in various sangatis, with nereval taken up at vainika gAyaka. A very interesting choice, deviating from the popular spot in the earlier part of the krithi. The swaras too occupied a greater part of manodharma. The swara patterns ending with " ma pa da" was well replicated and refined by Vid. S Varadaraj.

Tani started with a brisk "arudhi". The second round was very elaborate with khaNDa naDe which extended to khanda triSra. Which was a risky attempt but well managed at last. The korapu was in triSra naDe. Tani Avarthane was finally concluded in a beautifully modified mohra and a muktAya in triSra.

20 mins of tail included karpUram nArumo, viruttum in bEhAg, nijadAsa, engum niraindhyAyai - some of Sanjay's favourites for Bangalore audience. While he declined to honour the organizer’s request of RTP, good justice was done in viruttum and sindhubhairavi AlApane that preceded nijagA dAsa. Each of the compositions praising the lord of the occasion.

Sanjay's eye for detail and his musical sensibilities were both on display in the charanam of brindAvanam iduvO. His differentiated use of "ka" and "ga" in the word "kAnam" to denote the Brinda"Vanam" and then as "gAnam" for the Lord's music - veNu gAnam to be specific - was really noteworthy

Vid. Neyveli Venkatesh adhered to a soft (sowkya) style of accompaniment all through. Varna was followed almost perfectly. Being a regular accompaniment, this is an added advantage. All others krithis were followed without disturbing the main artist's mood and imagination. The same continued in the main piece as well. Accompaniment to the swarAs was really appreciable.  The accompaniment to the nAma-sankIrthana was very soothing and well-balanced with melkAla naDais. Mukthayas to all songs were simple and accurate.

AlApanes themselves occupying more than 55 mins in a 3 hr concert itself is an indication of justice done to each rAga chosen for the day. In a marathon 14 years of continuous appearance at the temple for "gITa sEVA" Sanjay has never repeated a song on this stage - an indication of growing repertoire with Guru and Almighty blessings. 

A memorable evening with Sanjay once again. Can’t wait till November when we get to listen to him twice !

2016 Aug 17 RamaksrishnanMurthy LRamakrishnan ManojSiva SukanyaRamgopal @ Unnati

Vocal: Vid. RamaksrishnanMurthy 
Violin: Vid. LRamakrishnan 
Mridanga: Vid. ManojSiva 
Ghata: Vid. SukanyaRamgopal 

Occasion:: 39th Gokulashtami Celebrations at SGBS Trust / Unnati

01 sadguru gajAsya  ...bEgaDe shlOka followed by
nAda tanumanisham chittaranjani Adhi thyAgarAja (S)
Swara @  nAda tanumanisham 

02 nIlAyatAkSi nIvE jagatsAkSi paras tiShra tripuTa ShyamaShastri

03 nenaruncinAnu anniTiki nidhAnuDani nEnu nIdu mALavi Adi tyAgarAja (A, CS, S)
swara @ nenarunchi nAnu

04 pankaja lochana kalyAni swAthi thirunAl (A, N, S)
Nereval @ brindAvanAntakrita 

05 swAmi mukhya prANA yadukula kAMbOdhi rUpaka p.dAsa

06 shrI rAjagOpAla bAla sAvEri Adhi m.dIkshitar (A, CS, N, S, T)
Nereval @ nArAyaNa tAraka divya 

07 rAga tAna pallavi ChaturaSra tripuTa khaNDa naDai eDupu 2 akshara (or one beat) before samam
Pallavi line: AhObilaharim naraharim sadA AshrAye. . mAlOlam murArim

Ragamalika. ..hindOLa. ..AbhOgi. ..atANA. .ranjani. . NAgaswarAvali... Malayamaruta. . bhupAla...mOhana. .nIlAmbari. .kannaDa... Sindhubhairavi .. sAranga. . SurUTi 

08 eppo varuvArO jOnpuri Adhi gOpAla krishNa bhArathi

09 viruttum rAgamAlika
Shrutva gunan - Bhagavata - bEhAg 
Ai murali - Shikshastaka - darbAri kAnaDa 
Kasturi tilakam - Krishnakarnamruta-surUTi

10 jalaja bandhu suraTi chApu swAthi thirunAL followed by mangaLam kOsalEndrAya in surUTi

Earlier this week, while conducting a workshop on quality for the young guns who recently joined my team, I had set them a challenge of ability to compile for the first time (without any second attempt) the code they write. Quite a few of them raised their eye brows that its next to impossible/ inhuman to achieve that level of perfection during coding. I’m 200% sure, if Vid. Ramakrishnan Murthy had taken a vocational career based on his education, he would have delivered the same with ease. On the other hand, I could have asked my new colleagues to attend his concert to see how he delivers it each time he takes the stage and set a new definition of perfection.

I came out of the concert hall with a similar feeling, that I could exemplify this (real life example than referring to hearsay sources) in my next training sessions.

In simplest words, I would say this was THE BEST concert that I have attended till date in this year. He has set new levels of benchmark in each of the 5 concerts that I have attended.

Being an early bird to the hall, on a midweek day of a short work week fetched me a cozy front row seat to witness 2 Ramakrishnan(s) deliver one of the most memorable concert of the season / year. The curtains rolled over on the strike of the 18.00 hrs., we were already treated for a few voice test samples, indicating what was in store for us.

A bEgade shlOka paying Obeisance to guru to grant all energy for the concert, (more on this by RSachi @ http://www.rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=27182) paved way for a Chittaranjani composition in praise of Shiva. The flow of swarAs from both Ramakrishnan's was mellifluous. The uninterrupted flow lasted for a greater portion of the presentation making it a leisurely start.

The second presentation was devoted to Shiva's consort of Nagaikaaronam temple, a Shakti pITa of the sapthavitanga sthalams. The blue eyed boy of the day praised the blue eyed mother through the krithi nIlAyatAkshi, as bhakti poured out of the sangatis of the Pallavi. There was no need for embellishments for us to feel the fullness.

Though its customary (ARI School) to have the first detailed AlApane for the third song, mAlavi was a short AlApane that preceded nenarunchara, the Eka rAga krithi of tyAgarAja. The chiTTeswaras and the kalpana swarAs were delivered at ease.

Surprise detailed AlApane came in for kalyANi krithi pankaja lOchana. It turned out to be sub-main of the concert with audience applauding both the cause (vocal) and the effect (violin replies) with equal fervor. The mood set for the krithi was carried through well with apt accompaniments on percussion, with immense control exercised on both decibel and the content.

Though Anandabhairavi as a rAga resonates well with me (I have heard this version by Bellary Raghavendra), the yadukula kAmbOdhi version (tuned by RK ShriramKumar) of swAmi mukhya prANa evoked similar resonance in me. The additional info of kshetra composition was added bonus to swaying audience.

My desire for more sAvEri in the previous concert was satisfied with the team dwelling in soulful sAvEri. Vid. Ramakrishnan Murthy swayed all three octaves with ease and LR following him like a shadow. Vid. L Ramakrishnan being a new comer on CM arena here in Bangalore had already made audience take a note of his virtuosity. Listening to the concert blind folded, one could have mistaken him to any other veteran in the field. The music was so deep that audience forgot to applaud as the hall reverberated in crests and troughs through the ocean of sAvEri. Those 15 minutes were far into the seventh sea of the musical world.

An apt krithi praising the deity of mannArguDi, srI rAjagOpAla, the sAvEri epic by muttuswAmi dIkshitar, also adding another to the list of composers for the day. The neraval was profound, the accompaniments added their luster with their respective illustrious bAni brought out the best combination for the day. Though I have not had fortune of

listening to yester year masters, this just reflected a 21st century combination of their respective gurus enthralling the audience.

Well-paced innumerable cycles of mELkAla neraval and kalpanA swarAs paved way into a gripping Tani. Both Vid. Manoj Siva and Vid. Sukanya Ramgopal brought out their best to add to already decked up sAvEri. Post Tani, the second charana of the song was presented to bring an end to the most divine hour of the evening.

Though the Tani was detailed, the elite and engrossed audience were not deprived of a RTP. A brief VOT paved way into take off notes of bilahari. RTP Pallavi line dedicated to another avatAra of vishnu - narasimha / abhObila was well intertwined into the Pallavi line to bring in the rAga mudra. The tricky 2 akshara before samam added luster to the unending series of rAgamALika swarAs that were poured alternately by Vid. Ramakrishnan Murthy and Vid. L Ramakrishnan.

Vid. Ramakrishnan Murthy and team demonstrated Eppo varuvaAro could also be presented in an evocative pace. It was presented at a pace, as though he had a train to catch a week later. It certainly opened up another melodious facet of both the composition and the rAga. A grand tribute to KVN bAni here.

While we were wondering what next (as it was nearing scheduled closing time of the concert), Vid. Ramakrishnan Murthy presented a meditative set of 3 shlOkAs in rAgamALika, finally drifting into jalaja bandhu.

Vishnu, Krishna and Narasimha with AnjanEya, Shiva and Parvati would have certainly wished for taking front row seat for such an evocative concert.  No doubts these artists will scale heights, and I’m fortunate to be a contemporary to be alive to listen to them in person. No regrets being born late while such splendorous music is on offer now and then.

Thanks to Unnati for organizing such wonderful evenings. God Bless all.

PS: May be one of the tamburi artists could be more attentive and disciplined on the stage. It was quite evident of the careless strumming of tamburi from my seat.

2016 Aug 09 GJRKrishnan Vijayalakshmi TumkurBRavishankar UNGiridharUdupa @ Unnati

Violin Duet: Vid. GJRKrishnan Vijayalakshmi
Mridanga: Vid. TumkurBRavishankar 
Ghata: Vid. UNGiridharUdupa 

Ocassion:: 39th Gokulashtami Celebrations at SGBS Trust / Unnati

01 nIvE gatiyani niratamu ni padamule mammiti naLinakAnti Adi Lalgudi Jayaraman (O)

02 muddumOmu ElAgu celangEnO sUryakAnta tALa thyAgarAja(O, S ) 
Swaras @ muddu mOmu 

03 vENugAna lOluni ganavEyi kannulu gAvalene kEdAragauLa rUpaka thyAagaraja (A)

04 marugElarA O rAghavA jayanthashrI Adi thyAgarAja (O)

05 shrI rangapuravihAra brindhAvana sArangA rUpaA m.dikshitar (A, S)
Swara @ Sankata harana gOvinda 

06 shankari shamkuru candramukhi sAvEri Adi syAma sAstri (A, S)
Swara @ Shambhavi Sarasija Bhava Vandite Gauri

07 mOhana rAmA mukhajita mOhanam tyAgarAja (A, N, S, T)
Nereval @ mOhana rAma

08 RTP rasikapriyA chaturaSra tripuTa 2 Kalai Edupu 1.5 beats ??
rAga grahabedham into hamsanAdam

Pallavi Line: Krishna mukunda murAre vENugAna rasikapriya 
RAgamAlika swara in kAnaDa, varALi, KuntalavarALi, Sindhubhairavi

09 tIrAda vilayAttuppillai rAgamAlika mahAkavi subramanya bArati

10 bArO KrishNayyA mAND Adhi KanakadhAsa

11 tiruppugazh dwijAvanti Adi AruNagirinAthar

12 tillAna mOhankalyANi Adi LGJ

13 nI nAma rUpamulaku mangaLa sourAshtra Adhi thyAgarAja

What are the benefits of being a fan of aesthetic music? There are no rewards for the guesses. You are treated to your heart's content with sampradAya sangIta, to an exclusive audience without the disturbance from the so called gallery crowd who thong the auditorium (I don’t know why, they love to come to disturb others through their chit-chat!), and get to occupy VIP reserved seats to get the best view of the artists on the stage.

Being a working day, had to plan the whole day at office to make myself available to attend this long awaited concert. When I attended TMK's concert a couple of days back, tried out the METRO option to reach the venue. Not a great experience though. In the name of convenience, I almost spent an additional 2 hrs away from home!

The hopes were high on the torch bearers of Lalgudi bAni. It was tradition all over, meditative to the core and there was something melodiously new and refreshing about the way each song was presented and improvised. Well, that’s what makes a great artist.

The curtains rolled up on the dot. Sticking to their tradition of announcing the songs, the first one, customary obeisance to Guru, the Sibling duo presented a refreshing naLinakAnti varNa without any additional kalpanA swarAs.

Then came the lilting muddumOmu, a brief AlApane to prelude and beautifully rounded off with kalpanA swarAs.

The first of the detailed AlApane came in form of a lilting kEdAragauLa, which showcased the rAga lakshaNa very well. The krithi was rendered nicely with few rounds of kalpanA swarAs.

The short outline of jayantaShri provided enough clue to the filler krithi " marugElara O rAghava" was in the queue

The next elaboration for the evening was brindAvana sAranga. It had all the rangu (colours) that the rAga could be decorated with. Brisk and leisurely sangatis in AlApane provided clue to the faster of the 2 masterpieces of muttuswAmi dIkshitar. The krithi " srI rangapura vihAra" was rendered soulfully. After a quick round of swarAs,

Without spacing with a filler, the duo dwelled into depths and breadths of sAvEri bringing out the best essence of yearning feeling. Felt like asking it to be followed up with a tAna before starting the kriti (as in a vINA concert), but felt a bit hesitant. "Shankari shamkuru" with a detailed neraval and swara prastAra was a treat. Of the 100 this concert scores, i would give this rendition itself 99.

The main course mOhana AlApane was quite elaborate and beautiful with duo sharing the mandra and tAra zones to compliment the sangatis of the other. The krithi "mOhana rAma" was rendered beautifully with neraval and swarAs at "mOhana rAma".

Vid. Tumkur Ravishankar was exact in his replies and played well with meticulously following the kriti and each sangati. Vid. Giridhar Udupa was good as well in adding his bit to the concert effect. The tani by the two percussionists was yet another separate treat.

With a brief VOT session (it was almost 2.5 hrs by then into the concert), the duo surprised the audience venturing into RTP. I would have been disappointed, if it were to be just a trailer, but they did not. The dwelled pretty well into raiskapriya. A overenthusiastic family seated behind me, prompting rAga names erring left right and center, too spoiled the mood during rAga tAna as they were continuously scratching their heads. graha bEdha into hamsanAdam was a treat to listen to and see the fingering.

Pallavi in chaturaSra tripuTa , 1.5 beat eDupu was rendered well embellished quickly with a set of rAgamAlika swaras

The post RTP course was filled with a rAgamAlika composition of bhAratiyAr, dwijAvanti tiruppugazh, on request mOhanakalyANi tillANa which were leisurely rendered.

The sibling duo were awesome throughout the concert and they well supported by the accompanists. A Pallavi billed into and extended time slot made the concert too good to remember for a long time. Well, it had everything that you could ask for in a violin concert.

 It will be a concert to remember for a long time.

2016 Aug 06 TMKrishna HKVenkatram KArunPrakash AnirudhAtreya @ SGBS / Unnati

Vocal: Vid. TMKrishna 
Violin: Vid. HKVenkatram 
Mridanga: Vid. KArunPrakash 
Khanjari : Vid. AnirudhAtreya 

Occasion:: 39th Gokulashtami Celebrations at SGBS Trust / Unnati

01 sarasa sAma dhAna kApinArAyaNi Adhi thyAgarAja (O, N, S)
Nereval @ hitavu matalento

02 yArukkAkilum bhayamA sunmmA sollattum bEgaDe padam  subbarAma Iyer ( A, S ) 
Swara @ parishamula 

03 vallabha nAyakasya bEgaDa rUpaka m.dhIkshithar (T, S)
Swara @ valli 

04 chANArO jAwaLi khamAs thanjavur chinnaiyya

05 rAga tAna pallavi mukhAri khaNDa tripuTa 2 Kalai 3 Beats Edupu, Tani
Pallavi: KAdhallippOm nAm anaivarum Aridhaana Manidha Vaazhvai
Ragamalika pallavi in : kIravANi, SrI, nAyaki, sahAnA, Sindhubhairavi

06 cEra rAvadhEmirA rAmayyA rIthigauLa Adhi thyAgarAja (A)

07 hE gOvinda hE gOpAla kAMbOdhi sUrdAs

08 paga gungurUrE mishra pIlu mIra bhajan

A couple of years back, after being bitten by the travel + shutter bug travelled to Jog Falls (after seeing innumerable number of photos online) to have a glimpse of the nature and the feel of gush of water down the 253 meter fall. However, to my disappointment, could see only a stream of water flowing through the fall which was no bigger than my rain water drain in my roof top. It was depleted off its grandeur on that particular day!

I summarize my experience of yesterday's TM Krishna concert to something similar, albeit at a different scale.

On my way back, I was second guessing myself, was it the right time to visit the place. Though I had a mixed feeling on that day, at least for the drive all the way from Bangalore on smooth tarmac, A similar day saver for yesterday was HK Venkatram, and percussion duo of K Arun Prakash and Anirudh Atreya.

The inaugural concert at 39th Gokulashtami celebrations of SGBS Trust at Unnati began with a housefull (+ stagefull) audience packed at least 30 mins before the scheduled start of the evening affair. Though there was no mikasura appearance, a miniature form was the sound engineer assistant who could not differentiate between mid high (frequencies) with Mid / High Frequencies. That was a light moment at the beginning of the concert while the sound was being adjusted. Unbelievably all the setup was completed in much lesser time as compared to quite elaborate (loss of time) that I have experienced.

A small sketch of kApinArAyaNi paved way for the full flourished sarasa sAma dAna. While TM Krishna focused on neraval embellishments, HK Venkatram led the way in swara elaboration. The detailed affair brought out the best what one could deliver for KApi nArAyaNi. 

The sedate zone of the concert started with an elaborate AlApane of bEgaDe, through some detailed and exquisite phrases being leisurely  delivered. There was no confusion of any sort in recognizing what was being presented. A padam "yArukkakilum bhayama" by subbarAma Iyer aptly fit into the sedate mood set up during the AlApane. Its a tamil composition that fit the bill for a large Tamil speaking audience who were able to appreciate the emotions of the nAyaki to her nAyaka expressed in this composition. TMKs recent experiences of singing for dance performance must have helped him to pace it at ati ati viLamba kAla presentation. The voice co-operated well to stretch to 3 octaves bringing the best of bEgaDe during kalpana swaras.

One gentleman behind another friend of mine had started snoring in a matching madra shruti. Can't blame him for the situation. May be he was in bEgaDe trance.

To our dismay, I believe the chit that was passed on to the artists, requested for bEgaDe (concluded based on the facial expression of all the 3 main artists who saw the chit) , which was indeed obliged !!!!! 

tAna was elaborate and was well paced. I had started picking up the feeling of "bEgaDe overdose" but had to sit on.. Waiting for something more special to be offered. After the first 2 - 3 notes, TMK verified with others to check if that was what requested for ?? The tAna flourished in all possible directions bringing out the complete swarUpa of the rAga. It was followed up by "vallabha nAyakasya" which brought in pace back to the concert. 

chANAro (devoid from previous presentation on jANAro or was my ears in a different state of mind .. don’t know) brought out the best of the emotions khamAs could pack in for a jAvaLi.

MukhAri AlApane took everyone for a roller coaster ride. With my limited music gyan, recognized the first phrases to be near mAnji, while my (more learned than me) music friend VS who was seated next to me recognized the initial phrases to be around bhairavi. Then came a more distinct mukhAri chAya that stood with me for quite some time. Both Raga and tAna were dealt in detail. HK Venkatram returns to the vocalist was a treat to ears. 

The pallavi line with almost translates to "Let us all love this exalted human existence" may have been inspired by vocalist's recent award which has raised eye brows for all the controversial citation was presented. The rAgamAlika came in the pallavi line presentation that as swaras, which was a refreshing change to the routine swara rAgamAlika

HK Venkatram who was asked to present whatever was on his mind, took up lilting rItigauLa. In the same mood, TM Krishna took up a fast paced cEra rAva dEmira. Aligning to his usual experiment of ending the concert with a pretty grand krithi, I expected it to be the last delivery of the day. However, there was more confusion ensuing our way. 

kAMbOdhi / harikAmbOdhi duel kept running in my mind ( seems like even the organizers fell trapped to this as seen in their initial report on their FB page which was later amended - My comments on their page has been deleted too !!) as the next he govinda he gOpAla was presented 

A fast paced mIrA bhajan was presented as the conclusion of the concert. 

As I walked out of the hall, was wondering about a coughing kid right behind me at the concert hall. A budding mridangist, he has been coughing since last 4 years as I get to see him only at Unnati, and I wondered how is he still alive, with cough not getting cured !

As I mentioned earlier, a tougher 75 is not as appreciated as an easy 100* in cricket, this concert had individually and masterly presented pieces. However, at the end, was not able to get a completeness feeling as I left the concert hall at 21.15. May be because, I have attended far better concert of this artist!