Vijayalakshmy Subramaniam Concert

Barack Obama is the next President of the United States, a truly historic moment in our lifetime. What does that mean to the budding Carnatic musicians and Bharatha Natyam dancers growing up in the United States? No, I am not going to talk about party policies and politics. Leave that to the talking heads on TV but look at the symbolism in this.

I think Barack Obama stands for three powerful symbols that are so meaningful to the first generation American citizens like our kids – heritage, skin color and unusual name.

Look at the way his Kenyan, Indonesian and Black heritage were portrayed so negatively on TV and Internet. Every time I see those pictures of Barack in a traditional African garb, I conjure up images of our children in Indian costume berated by the American media. Obama is probably the first president who can make some halfway decent moves on a dance floor. Now imagine a president who can do Bharatha Natyam or sing in Varali. Regarding skin color, I recall conversations over 20 years ago about career growth or lack thereof among Indians in the US corporations. It may have been true or a self imposed glass ceiling at that time. But over the years, many of us have shattered those glass ceilings and succeeded in our professions. Barack Obama seals the deal by proving once and for all that skin color is not a factor in American politics even at the highest of levels. His eloquence in describing his black heritage will serve as an example for all Indian Americans. Let us take unusual names, people are getting used to names like Dr. Sanjay Gupta on CNN and Bobby Jindal, the Governor of Louisiana (no spell check errors for the names “Sanjay” and “Gupta” but “Jindal” is not recognized, get with it Microsoft). We are also starting to see Indian characters popping up in TV sitcoms and movies (in not exactly flattering roles). Despite, Indian names are not exactly household names. The only saving grace is that the first names of most of our kids are no more than three syllables. Barack Obama, you have surely shattered through this name barrier. Even the staunchest of Republicans (you know who) among our midst will have a soft spot for the achievement of Barack Obama, a first generation American, who can relate so much to our own kids. I can’t remember who said it, but it goes like this – “Success of Barack Obama’s presidency will be defined by whether he acts as a black President or as a President for all who happens to be black”. How true - let us wish him well.

Days are not too far off for another Indian American to run for a high office. But keep in mind, those pictures from Navarathri Kolu or Karwa Chowth or videos of Bharatha Natyam recitals or our kids moving to “kuthu songs” (fast numbers from Bollywood or Kollywood) like “Naakka mukka” or even worshipping in our sacred Temples will be dragged through the mud of negative campaigning. Precepts of polytheism and reincarnation will be ridiculed. The guest lists from our various functions will be mercilessly parsed, investigated and suspected. Publications from the various associations and blogs like this will be thoroughly vetted and new “intentions” invented.

That’s ok, kids. We are stronger than all these. We are ready to support you. Go get’em.

Mrs. Vijayalakshmy Subramaniam Concert:
Violin – Avaneeshwaram Vinu
Mridangam – Shertalai Ananthakrishnan

The singer carried the concert on her sheer musical talent and well trained voice. Sometimes it felt like she was the only one on stage while the supporting artists dissolved into background. Overall, I felt the singer delivered an excellent performance and many among the audience thought so as well. Most notable was the complete ease with which she delivered the songs and alapana however niravals and swarams are not demonstrated to be her strong suit. But I was very surprised to hear comments like “not impressed” from some within the knowledgeable South Florida audience.

For sure, I would like to hear her again but with stronger accompaniments. While Ananthakrishnan on the Mridangam gave an energetic thani avardhanam but playing for songs could have been more inspirational. Mridangist demonstrated some impressive modulation of volume on his instrument. Vinu the violinist was somewhat tentative throughout the concert. His playing was less than impressive for the first several songs and then warmed up a bit. I have heard from a professional violinist that playing violin to a female singer is difficult. That could be at play here.

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CORRECTION -

After communicating directly with the singer, found out that the Meera Bhajan was actually in Ragam Lalit. There were considerable internal discussions about the ragam being Lalitha, Lalit or Shubapantuvarali. Hopefully this puts an end to the discussion. I have made the corrections in the text as necessary.
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This was a relatively short concert with no RTP. Let us go to the song by song discussion:

Saveri Varnam – very clean delivery, set the tone for the concert
Jaya Jaya in Natai and Khanda Chapu thalam – a repeat song from the previous concert, but a much better version
Kanda Choodumi in Vachaspathi – good rendering of the song and kalpana swarams; violinist is still warming up; some good combination of strokes by the mridangam
Needa Sulabu in Malayamarutham – very catchy, folksy ragam; singer showed a great range and sang with ease across the octaves including higher pitches
Brovaramma in Neelambari – possibly the best song in the concert. Great show of bhavam and very meditative rendering of the song. Singer had excellent control over her voice
Sri Lakshmi Varagam a Deekshithar krithi in Abhogi – the elaborate alapana fooled us into thinking that this is going to be the main piece. Delivered some brilliant alapana phrases showing her mastery over the ragam. Violin alapana was excellent for the most part. The entire orchestra starting to come together
Karthikeya Kangeya in Todi – being in the middle of Kanda Sashti it was a great song choice. I was initially a little doubtful on the ragam choice for an afternoon concert. But the bhavam shown by the singer kept us all really engaged for the entire length. The singer instinctively knew the audience and gave a measured length of alapana without overdosing. Mridangist played nicely with the flow of the song and his volume control was unique. The Thani was one of the most energetic displays I have seen – brilliant. He demonstrated deftness of his hands, speed, clarity and control. Great job. A fly came out of nowhere during the Todi and sat mesmerized in front of the singer through the entire the alapana.
Saramaina in Behag – another nice delivery
Jago Bansiware a Meera Bhajan in Lalit – very few Carnatic musicians can sing Hindi songs without butchering one of my favorite languages. Vijayalakshmy was one of those exceptions having been brought up in Delhi she had a great command over the language. Thank you.
Nara Sukham in Kanthamani – gave a workout to the rasikas in identifying the ragam. Finally it was confirmed by the singer.
Bala Murali Krishna’s Thillana in Amrithavarshini – Royal mess at high speeds.

The season for professional artists from India in Florida has ended for this year. Season in India will begin soon. Don’t despair, subscribe to Jaya TV for $5.95 per month and listen to MMU (Margazhi Maha Utsavam). All the leading musicians will be on, one kutcheri per day. It is worth it.

Shiva Vishnu Temple Varshikothsavam will be on Nov 7, 8 and 9. Cultural activities such as music/dance/drama from the local talent on Saturday Nov 8.


See you all at the Varshikothsavam

Sangeetha Swaminathan Concert

“What do Carnatic music concert and gall bladder operation have in common?”

Ask the South Florida mridanga vidwan Dr. S. Ramakrishnan. During the alapana time he opened the guts of the mridangam, using some strange looking sharp tools took some parts out, then put some parts in, tapped around and finally sewed up the outer skin. Now it is good as new. Operation was a success and the patient did not die. Encouraged by this success, he took his second mridangam and did a similar operation during the alapana of the main piece in Karaharapriya. Dr. Ramakrishnan explained later that sometimes the instruments can get very finicky and not keep the pitch throughout the concert. Thanks to Dr. Ramakrishnan, those of us who enjoy the alapana portion of the concert got some opportunities to listen to a little more elaborate alapana sessions. He was kind enough to add a write up on the “operation” – please review the Addendum.

Most of the readers know that Dr. Ramakrishnan is not a medical doctor. He is a Mathematics professor at the University of Miami who is dedicated to the art form of mridangam. In addition to his full time professorship, he is a full time mridangam teacher and a serious concert player at professional level. He dedicates the entire proceeds from his mridangam classes to the Shiva Vishnu Temple of South Florida demonstrating his commendable dedication to the art form, the community and religion.

Mridangam, however, does not always get the respect it deserves. During concerts in India, people just walk out of the concert hall taking the start of the Thani Aavardhanaam as a signal to leave. In the recent days, there has been a decline in this trend which is encouraging. Stalwarts like Semmangudi used to make a plea to the crowd not to leave during the Thani. We have also seen the other extreme with mridanga vidwans losing it after seeing the disgusting habits of the masses.

But, South Florida rasikas should be very proud of themselves. I have not seen a single one leave during the thani in any of the concerts here. On the contrary, some of us look forward to it. The active participation of the South Florida rasikas keeping the thalam is noteworthy. Especially in this concert, the thalam for the RTP was Khanda Jathi Triputa in Khanda Nadai (a cycle of 9 beats in which each beat is a khanda chapu talam of 5 beats). As Mrs. Sangeetha Sridhar said in her closing remarks, the thalam gave quite a workout to the audience (not to mention the artists). To listen to a song snippet in this thalam – click on the link below, http://www.esnips.com/doc/8b1c6b2a-d161-4f83-910f-5ea28a870411/Lalgudi_KhandanadaiPallavi.

Over the years, I have developed a keener appreciation for Mridangam, one of the most difficult instruments to master. Thanks to the personal relationship I have developed with Dr. Ramakrishnan and my son, Prem, for taking up mridangam with him.

Can we come up with a powerful slogan rasikas to stay through the Thani? Something along the lines of “It is cool to stay in school”.

Mrs. Sangeetha Swaminathan Concert:

The concert was like a good wine – got better with time. Sangeetha is a very promising youngster and Carnatic music is safe in the hands of such artists. Being a disciple of Sudha Raghunathan, there was no shortage of “brigas” (micro notes) in her swaras, niravels and alapanas. Alapanas were crisp and song selection was simply superb. Violin by our local maestro Mr. Sanjay Chandran was fantastic. Every artist on stage gave their full by simply performing their hearts out. When this happens, it is guaranteed that the audience will have an enjoyable experience. With local artists as support and not enough practice as a team, the trio put out a memorable performance, hats off for a job well done. How I wish every artist troupe who come to South Florida to give their full like these artists have done? Here are the concert songs:

Navaragamalika Varnam
Jaya Jaya in Natai and Khanda Chapu thalam – solid rendering of kalpana swarams. Sanjay did a terrific job in supporting
Naa Jeevadhara in Bilahari – it has been ages since I heard this on a live concert. What a refreshing, peppy song. Sangathis (variations) were excellent. Ramakrishnan seemed to enjoy playing mridangam for this song
Kavalai Ellam in Saraswathi – violin alapana here was noteworthy. The singer got derailed in a couple of places during the alapana. More bhavam (emotions) in the voice to go along with the sahityam (lyrics) would have helped. In some places the voice sounded a bit nasal.
Kanchadalaya Dakshi in Kamala Manohari – singer showed a lot of bhavam here and concert is starting to look up
Main piece – Chakka Ni Raja in Karaharapriya – Singer rose to her full height. All artists got to their full form. Both the singer and the violinist worked very hard to render an excellent alapana. Karaharapriya lovers (not I) got to enjoy some more alapana time because of Dr. Ramakrishnan’s on stage mridangam operation. Bhavam faculty is still a bit weak and the singer becomes a bit tentative at high pitches. Thani was very spirited. Dr. Ramakrishnan tried a few unique combinations that kept the audience and his mridangam students enthralled.
(U)Ma Ramanan in Hindolam – good demonstration of the brigas in this song. The ragam offers a lot of scope for briga.
RTP in Lalitha and Khanda Jathi Triputa in Khanda Nadai – Best song of the concert. The singer signaled to Ramakrishnan to join in with the mridangam during the thanam part offering a nice touch. More and more performers are adding mridangam during the thanam part of RTP. The voice had warmed up very well by this song. Violin had brought out some hindusthani patterns which was refreshing. In the ragamalika section of the RTP we had Revathi, Saramathi and Vaasanthi. For the novice the thalam may sound like Khanda Chapu – watch out.
Kanda Naal Muthalay in Madhuvanthi – singer was in a zone
Chidambaranai Digambaranai in Sindhu Bhairavi – excellent even at high pitch.
Concert ended with Kurai Onrum Illai, Nanda Nandana and finally with a Thillana in Revathi.

I may get some flak for this from the Karaharapriya lovers but it is not exactly my favorite ragam. It is a personal thing, nothing to do with the artists. Madhu, local singer, has promised to convert me into a lover of the ragam. I am all ears.

Navarathri season just finished. South Florida tradition continues and expands. Jayanthi joins me in wishing you all a happy, healthy and prosperous Deepavali.

See you all at the next concert

Addendum by Dr. Ramakrishnan –

To clarify what I did, let me "spill the guts". The mridangam that I "operated on" first, is a new mridangam that arrived less than two weeks prior to the concert at a shruthi of 5 (the pitch of the singer). Within four days, the pitch was down to 4, and the Saturday evening before the concert, the pitch had come down to 2! (Sorry, Deepa for using the exclamation mark; if you wish you may interpret it as the factorial sign.)

All this is not entirely uncommon, as the hide and straps of a new mridangam are extremely sensitive to temperature and light changes (like a newborn). In India, the mridangam's owner would take it to the mridangam pediatrician several times (as many visits as needed, sometimes spanning a period of months) before exposing it to the world of concerts. This being infeasible here, I performed an emergency insertion of dowel sticks (of a larger diameter than is usually desired) in the straps, to bring the pitch up to the desired level, at 12:30 am Sunday.

While the operation seemed successful, within seven hours, the patient showed further signs of decreasing pitch. I tried to fine tune the instrument with a minor adjustment of the dowel sticks. It seemed to work. However, as I started playing the first song, the patient pitch came down again. I had no choice but to do a more major adjustment of the dowel sticks. Anticipating the possibility of such difficulties, I kept as a backup, an older instrument that had settled between 4 and 4.5. I decided that I should increase its pitch to 5 so that I don't have to struggle with an unsettled mridangam throughout the concert.

Such situations can arise for professional players from Chennai too, but usually they would have a disciple or some other help take the mridangam away from public view to do the needful and bring it back to the artiste within a song or so. Unfortunately, I couldn't do that. By the way, what I ripped was the decorative wrap on the mridangam. The velcro at its ends perhaps heightened the drama. I was only working on the surface of the mridangam and was clumsily struggling to steer the noises emanating from the operation, away from the microphones. I wish I could have prevented all this distraction. I am reminded of what my mridangam friend Ramesh (AIR Chennai staff, disciple of Karaikudi Mani) used to say, " Cheh....Intha thozhulla vandu mattinduttomenna irukku." (“Heck - why did I get caught in this profession”).

Ramakrishnan

Sikkil Gurucharn Concert and Jeyaraaj/Jaysri Veena Duet

“What have you done for me lately?” – A popular question, especially in America.

It is a question we ask and answer in our daily lives. If I am late in submitting a commentary for a concert, I am on the receiving end of the same question. No one is immune to it. Sure, it prevents grass from growing under our feet but the stress takes a toll on our lives. Different people have different ways of dealing with stress. My father, in spite of all the stress he faced had some simple formulas for stress management – be religious, have a sense of humor, keep good company, enjoy carnatic music and enjoy good food. “When you are angry eat one jangry” – he would say. Jangry is a beautiful looking South Indian sweet dish in a pleasing crimson color. It takes a lot of skill and care to make those intricate circular patterns by extruding dough directly onto boiling oil. The fried dough is taken out of the oil with precise timing and then soaked in sugar syrup. You would put on a couple of pounds just for looking.

My father was also full of surprises. One day he suddenly announced that he is planning to build a house in “Govindapuram” and eventually move there. It is a village near Kumbakonam in South India. We were up in arms, as we were worried about medical facilities in such a place for this ‘jangry’ eating diabetic. Being a stubborn man all his life, my father went ahead and made an investment in a group development project there. His attraction to Govindapuram was, of course, the environment of Bhajans and religious activities. But, he never made it there. After his lifetime, my mother gave the investment away to charities.

Let us stop and think a little deeper on this. It is actually visionary “reverse migration” move. Migration for opportunities is common among all ambitious youngsters. Our forefathers may have moved from villages to cities seeking opportunities. In subsequent generations, some of us have moved to different countries. Now the world has become one big village. Communications through e-mail, instant messaging, VOIP phones and telephone have become cheap or even free. Super long distance non-stop flights are common. May be it is time to do some reverse migration – not just to the place you grew up but all the way to the roots of your ancestry.

Some of us NRIs dream of going back to India for retirement. Let us face it, only a few of us will actually get there. If you are one of ones to get back to India, where will you go – Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai or Delhi? Good luck - more stress awaits you there such as endless set of activities, traffic, cost and pollution. With medical advances and communication facilities, Govindapuram may be a viable option. Reflect on it. Let us talk about the concerts.

Sikkil Gurucharan Concert: When the e-mail from Shiva Vishnu Temple Cultural Committee came about Sikkil Gurucharan’s concert, I quickly went online searching for some song samples by him. They were fantastic. I asked my cousins and friends in India about him and got glorious reviews.

But at the end of the concert, I had one question in my mind to Gurcharan and you guessed it – “What have you done for me lately”?

With Nagai Sriram was on the violin and Neyveli Skanda Subramanian on the Mridangam it was a great team with some brilliant moments but my overall impression was “out of focus”. The concert started well with Kanada varnam and at high speeds Gurucharan was brilliant. The first three or four songs were good and then the concert started to sag. The low point of the concert was the beginning of the main piece - Alapana in Kamas was shaky. Sure he tried to make up but the damage was done. The alapana part of the RTP in Hemavathi was a big yawn. I looked around the auditorium to find about 25% of the initial crowd had vanished. But when the mridangam joined in the Thanam part the mridangam the concert started to pick up some momentum. Violin by Nagai Sriram was solid not stellar. However, it was not good enough to resuscitate the concert. Mridangam was the saving grace. Sri Skanda Subramanian was consistent through the concert.

Carnatic music enthusiasts of South Florida deserve better from these visiting artists. They should give their full whether they are on the tail end of their tour or a Sunday concert. May be the Committee can find a gentle way of passing on the message to the visiting artists.

Jaysri-Jeyaraaj Veena Duet:

“Satisfying” – was the word that came to my mind after listening to a unique husband/wife veena duet with South Florida’s own Dr. Ramakrishnan providing the mridangam support. It was great to see such a wonderful coordination and understanding between a husband and wife pair, no kidding. Now, if only we can bring that same coordination and understanding in our homes – well dream on.

If you close your eyes and listen to them it is hard to tell the veena players apart. They were so close to each other in talent level and style. It is a whole different ball game if you opened your eyes. Jeyaraaj was very engaging with the artists, audience and the sound engineers while Jaysri was stoic. I remember seeing her smile only on two occasions during the entire evening.

At the end of the concert, the artists were gracious enough to describe the special veena and answer some questions. The frets and the strings in the electronic veena were identical to the Saraswathi Veena. The sound was amplified electronically making the instrument manageable in size and easy for the traveling musicians. The instrument also had a built in sruthi box. For the purists, the sound would not have been as rich as the traditional Saraswathi Veena.

Song and ragam selections were superb. Here is the list:

Ata thala varnam in Bhairavi

Gajananayutham Ganeshwaran by Muthuswamy Deekshitar in Vegavahini (Deekshitar nomenclature for Chakravaham) – effortlessly played, great coordination between the artists, excellent alapana. Dr. Ramakrishnan gave a great support

Raghu Vamsa Sutha by Patnam Subramania Iyer in Kathana Kuthoohalam – an all time favorite of all music lovers. Even to those occasional carnatic music listeners this toe-tapping joyous number with some western overtones is very enjoyable. The song was so joyous it even made the female artist crack a smile.

Sri Saraswathi Namosthuthe in Arabi – During the alapana the artist lost some focus, could have made it livelier.

Main piece, Ninne Nammi in ragam Simhandra Madhyamam and Mishra Chapu thalam – Alapana was very meditative which was broken by an unintended supporting artist, a cell phone, please. The hand-offs between the couple were well handled. Dr. Ramakrishnan worked hard and gave a good performance during the Thani.

Pandurithi Kollu – Hamsanadam - Very clean delivery

RTP in Sankarabharanam – very inspiring alapana. Ragamalika during the thanam part was very unique –Sahana, Brindavana Saranga and Hamsanandhi. Thalam was Thisra Triputai (Laghu part has three counts followed by two Dhrithams for a total of 7-beats).

Radha Sametha Krishna in Yamuna Kalyani – very enjoyable

Govardhana Giridhari in Darbari Kanada

Lalgudi Thillana in Rageshree – the ragam stumped the crowd including the South Florida expert Mrs. Anu Aji.

My only gripe is that I wish I heard the concert in a Saraswathi veena. I am sure I will catch these artists in concert in India one of these days (or years).

Madhuri Arangetram

Orchestra -Left to Right (Sri Sanjay Chandran - violinist, Smt. Preeti Sunderasan - Flautist/Veena player, Sri Murali Balachandar - Mridangist, Sri Madhu Chandrasekaran - Vocalist, Kumari Madhuri Nagaraj, Guru Smt. Harija Sivakumar and Sri Saheelan Sinnarajah - special percussion instrumentalist)

Arangetram by Madhuri Nagaraj

On April 19, 2008 at the Sunrise Civic Center, Madhuri Nagaraj successfully completed her Bharatha Natya Arangetram under the Kalakshetra style.

I was in a bit of a dilemma, if this program should be considered as a performance of a mature dancer or as an Arangetram. Madhuri has enthralled the entire audience with her grace, confidence, speed, footwork and show of emotions. She has a firm grasp of Bharatha Natyam precepts and presented herself very well. Right after the musicians ended the invocatory song Ganesh stuti, Madhuri came to the center of the stage to start her performance with Pushpanjali. We all instinctively knew this program is going to be superb. Let us look at the program as an Arangetram first and then I will give some feedback reviewing as a performance.

As an Arangetram - Let me make it short and sweet – as an Arangetram the program scores very high, no question about it. Overall, Madhuri is a graceful dancer, her entrances to and exits from the stage are very clean, her stance is firm and her sense of symmetry is noteworthy. Madhuri instinctively knows her position on stage and centers herself. Madhuri must have practiced hard for the program and it clearly shows in her confidence and the way she made it seem effortless. Madhuri had a very mature show of emotions or bhava, has good strokes with striking poses. Mr. Pampa Narsipur said after the program “those who missed the program really missed it and those who witnessed the program will talk about it for a long time”. Could not have said it better myself.

Here is the list of songs for the program:

Pushpanjali in ragam Meghavahini – created a divine atmosphere on stage and in the minds of the audience. A nice preview of what is to come.

Alarippu – This dance demonstrated that Madhuri has truly mastered the fundamentals of this great art form. It has hand-eye-foot coordination, delicate movements of the face and rhythmic dance movements.

Gajavadana Beduve in Hamsadhwani

Jathiswaram in Amrithavarshini – Madhuri clearly demonstrated that she can put together basic patterns into attractive dance sequences. Guru Harija showed her skills in vocalizing the Jathis.

Natana Sabhapathi Kauthvam – in the powerful Ragam Revathi.

Varnam in Kapi – Orchestra deserve mention here for their superb rendition of Kapi. This the longest piece in any dance program combining all the talents learned over the years and years of training – footwork, speed, show of emotions, grace combined with ability to tell stories. Madhuri chose to four episodes from Krishna’s life from His unusual child birth to the Bhagavad Geetha episode. Very nicely done as the stories offered scope for a wide variety of emotions . Varnam lasted 25 minutes and I am sure the dancer would have gone for another 20 minutes.

Jagadodharana – in Kapi (again?). A beautiful Purandaradasa krithi on the motherly love of Yashoda over Krishna (again?).

Sumanasa Vanditha – An ashtaragamalika, a garland of 8 ragas in one song, with each raga representing one form of Lakshmi. At the end of the song Madhuri covered the entire stage posing as the eight different forms of Goddess Lakshmi. Well done. I was looking at the back of the brochure depicting the poses of each of the Lakshmi, very nice touch.

Antahpura Geetegalu – An imagination by a Kannada poet D.V. Gundappa of Belur temple carvings coming to life. After the program, I heard Madhuri talking fluently in Kannada. May be some day she will explain the beauty of the words as well.

Oorthava Thandava – in ragam Rishabapriya. Very powerful depiction of Shiva’s cosmic dance

Thillana – in Kunthalavarali. Dancer was like this energizer bunny that keeps on going and going and going and going. I think Madhuri must have pumped adrenalin by the bucket that day. She could have gone on for another four hours and so could the audience.

It was a really thrilling experience to sit through an arangetram of this caliber. I am sure many dancers and parents of dancers in the audience thinking “oh my God, she has raised the bar so high”. In one sense it is good to raise the bar. Another view is to look at this as a performance than an arangetram.

As a Dance Performance: If I were to write this up as a dance performance, I would be a bit more critical. With your permission, let me use this section to provide some feedback.

The dance pieces could have been more complex and more challenging. Most of the songs were set in Adi thalam, a bit more variety in thalams could have been more refreshing. While I realize that this Varnam can only go so long, Madhuri had the capability to go well beyond the 25-minutes mark. Themes were a bit repetitive revolving around Krishna and Shiva. Also repeat of ragams could have been avoided. Thillana could have been packaged better, especially among the musicians.

Arangetram is nothing more than a milestone in the path to perfection. In the case of Madhuri, Guru Harija has moved the milestone further up the path. But it is going to take a lot more to reach higher levels. Madhuri needs to pay closer attention to the timing of her strokes so they land precisely.

Regarding the program flow – limit the costume changes and avoid dead space.

Music: It is becoming an all too familiar scene with Sri Madhu Chandrasekaran singing, Sri Murali Balachandran playing mridangam and Sri Sanjay Chandran on the violin. It was good to see Smt. Preeti Sundaresan on the flute and Veena. Sri Murali was brilliant as usual. This time he brought a device that produced the sounds of thunder, drums etc. Switching between Kanjira, Morsing, Mridangam and this special device kept us thrilled. Sri Madhu performed at his peak with an excellent rendition of Kapi. Sri Sanjay and Smt Preeti provided excellent support. The musicians were really listening to each other and coordinating well making the whole musical experience awesome.

Dear Madhuri, first of all, Jayanthi aunty and I want to relay our heartfelt congratulations on your achievement. Gurus are meant to be impartial. They give their knowledge to all equally. But some of their students grasp more than the others. You have been one of the fortunate ones to learn a lot more from Guru Harija, great job. At some point in your dance career you should go to the source of Bharatha Natyam – India to learn a lot more and experience performing in India. Your potential is enormous in this field. Wish you the very best in everything you plan to do in your life. I certainly hope you will keep Bharatha Natyam as one of your focus. Someday, we will pay to watch you perform.

Congratulations are in order to Guru Harija and the parents Geetha and Ben Nagaraj.

Karunya-Lavanya Arangetram

On April 5, 2008 at the Coral Springs High School Auditorium, the beautiful Krishnan sisters completed their Bharatha Nrithya Arangetram.

Dancers are generally taught to smile to enhance their performance. But how do you smile when you are enacting a character like Manthara, the evil house maid of Kaikeyi in the epic Ramayana. Karunya Krishnan did a superb abhinaya (acting out) as Manthara during the Varnam. Another excellent rendition was her depiction of the abandoned wife of the prince Siddhartha who renounced the family and became Buddha. Karunya had a lot of scope to show a variety of bhavas (emotions) like anger, haplessness, total despair and finally understanding of the immensity of her husband’s spiritual destiny. The concept was Karunya’s brainchild; her grandmother, Mrs. Kamu Ayyar, created the verses; and Karunya performed it as a solo number – talented family. This was a well orchestrated unique dance item – great job. We surely have not seen the last of this particular dance. With more performance experience Karunya can continuously improve and show a lot more depth in the display of emotions.

Karunya, the elder of the two, was mature in showing bhava and abhinaya and the sheer number of years of training was evident. The much younger Lavanya was energetic, fast and agile. Lavanya was a source of support to Karunya and also showed what she was made of during some of her solo items. What a phenomenal opportunity at such a young age to showcase her talent. Lavanya had a good sense of sense of thalam and rhythmic movements. The sisters were taught in the unique style created by the dance genius and living legend Dr. Padma Subramanyam. Their guru, Mrs. Sangeetha Sridhar, was one of Dr. Padma Subramanyam’s direct students and a South Florida resident.

A two-person dance performance also offered some unique opportunities to choreograph the dances. The Krishnan sisters and the dance teacher took full advantage of this. Varnam, within the Arangetram performance is a combination of all aspects of the dance along with an opportunity to enact a story. The Krishnan sisters enacted several episodes within Ramayana during the Varnam. In a dance Arangetram or performance, Varnam is also considered an endurance test for the dancers as it is usually around 40-minutes. During their next performance, the sisters should both go the full length on stage for the Varnam performance.

The following are the dance items during the Arangetram:

Thodaya Mangalam/Pushpanjali
Alarippu with Thiruppugazh
Kavuthuvam (solo number by Lavanya)
Jathiswaram (the orchestra came beautifully together on this Kamaas song performed solo by Karunya)
Varnam in Kalyani (great scope for footwork, show of emotions, graceful dancing along a story line)
Angayarkanni in Karaharapriya (beautiful dance about a beautiful Goddess Meenakshi)
Nyayama Swami (fantastic lyrics by Mrs. Kamu Ayyar performed solo by Karunya – Great job)
Kavadi Chindu (good show of energy by Lavanya performing solo)
Thillana in Sumanesa Ranjani (unique raagam, brisk performance by both) and
Mangalam

Live music always enhances dance performance. On the mridangam Sri Murali Balachandar was simply superb from the get go. The clarity of sound in his strokes and flawless rhythm was truly a treat. Our very own Sri Madhu Chandrasekaran, with his powerful voice and tireless training over the years has blossomed into an excellent singer to support dance performances. His voice modulations were fantastic and he can capitalize on it more. Madhu is blessed with an ability to bring out the emotions of specific passages in his voice. Professional flautist, Sri V.K. Raman was terrific and I especially enjoyed his rendition of Kamaas and Kalyani. Another well known South Florida talent, Sri Sanjay Chandran on the violin showed his mastery over Kalyani and his alapana in Hamsanandi in the Carnatic style was refreshing. The songs were set to a variety of thalams, keeping up the interest levels. Kavadi Chindu in Adi thalam in Thisra nadai was very energetic.

The arrangements for the performance were great including stage decorations by Mrs. Vijaya Para. Mrs. Kamu Ayyar was brimming with pride to see her beautiful granddaughters dance to her beautiful lyrics.

Our community in South Florida is blessed with talented students, dedicated teachers, involved parents and encouraging audience. This is a great combination for sustaining an art form such as Indian classical dance on American soil. In addition, we have professional grade supporting artists to take the art to a much higher plane. It takes a lot of courage for the dancers to even accept for an Arangetram performance. The pressure for performance is enormous from the family, friends and most of all from the Guru. Young dancers who come forward and take on a challenge like an Arangetram performance learn a tremendously valuable lesson that will follow their entire life. It takes a lot of practice, perseverance and patience to master this art form. Most of all, it takes a total dedication to their teacher or Guru Bhakthi.

Karunya and Lavanya – As I always say to all aspirants of this great art form – continue to learn, perform and teach. Keep the dance as an integral part of your life, as it is a unique blessing. Jayanthi aunty joins me in blessing you both to achieve everything your heart desires.