Friday, August 21, 2009

Mridangam Arangetram - Prem Seetharaman

Prem Saidas Seetharaman successfully completed his Mridangam Arangetram under the guidance of Guru Sri S. Ramakrishnan in the Amaturo Theater in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Saturday, Aug 8, 2009. The function was presided by Poovalur Sri Srinivasan, a reknowned Mridangam player and a Professor of Music at University of North Texas.

“You ain’t seen nothing yet” – not exactly a grammatically correct sentence but when a British Prime Minister can use it, I sure can. As we crossed, went around or jumped over obstacles Jayanthi and I would say “whew, passed that one. It will be smooth sailing from this point forward”. But they kept coming. We were forced to change the singer a few times and each time due to unavoidable circumstances. Mridangams had to be changed so many times it would put the costume changes in a dance performance to utter shame. These mridangams were flying all around the world, took car journeys, train trips and I think one of them spent a night at the hospital. Customs officials were probably worried about the spread of H1N1 through these mridangams. Our thanks to Sri Bakthavathsalam Sir, Sri Mali Sir, Ramakrishnan and his brother’s family, my cousin Raju, my mother, Jayanthi’s sister Chitra and her husband Vijay, Ananta Shankar, Chetan, Harija, Sivakumar and Saheelan for juggling them successfully. The mridangam maker Sri Muruganandam must be wondering why so many arangetrams were planned so close together in the same family. We even kept Lord Ganesha guessing until the last moment which mridangam will be used for the performance. I felt like Regis was asking me at every stage – “Final Answer?”

It was lunch time on the day before Arangetram. The brochures are printed, backdrop for the stage done, Prem has completed several rounds of practice with the singer, banners printed, program flow prepared, cameras locked and loaded, costumes ironed, travel plans done – nothing could go wrong, right? Wrong. I just started my lunch when I got the fateful call from Broward County Public Library where we were planning to have the Arangetram. Some part of the building was flooded and the entire building is shut down. The building will be closed for the next few days and the show cannot go on as planned in that auditorium.

Let me tell you – our South Florida community really came together to help solve a crisis like this. Our heartfelt thanks to Lakshmi Subrahmanyam, Jayashree Sivaraman, Vidya Doraiswamy, Ashoka Bharadwaj, Madhu Chandrasekaran, and many more for calling to find a place. Lakshmi found the Amaturo Theater and even negotiated the price for us. Within three hours we were signing the contract with the new auditorium and making plans for the performance. Big thanks to Usha/Narayanan couple for organizing a telethon and making positive contact with all invitees. Thanks to Prasad from Woodlands for accommodating to the catering rules of the new place by organizing a team for boxing the food. Sridhar, Chetan, Rajesh and Srikant worked tirelessly to distribute the boxes.

Vijayamma oversaw the decorations with volunteers like Madhu, Usha, Ramaji and Murali. Sound check was done, slide show of Prem’s life from “6lbs to 6 feet” started, people were streaming into the theater and the Arangetram was underway. The program went on beautifully. Jayanthi and I woke up from a nightmare and went into a dream.

"Don't plan everything, leave some for God" - Swami Nithyananda.

Ms. Viji Ranganathan, a South Florida resident, who is a Bharatha Nrithyam dancer and a Carnatic singer has written a review of the arangetram in her blog - http://bharatividya.blogspot.com/

Below is the review of the program by Mrs. Anu Aji, a South Florida expert Rasika.

By Anu Aji:

Ever since I received the beautiful invitation for Prem Seetharaman’s Arangetram I was looking forward to the event on August 8, 2009. Given my love for the instrument, and love of Thani Avartanams, I was very enthusiastic about attending my first ever Mridangam Arangetram.

The Guru (Teacher): Dr. S. Ramakrishnan has been an integral part of the music scene in South Florida for three decades, enriching the lives of many in the community. He is not only a performer but also a teacher of percussion instruments, predominantly, Mridangam. It is a known fact that people travel, every week, from far away places to learn Mridangam from him. Several of his students have gone on to become graduates of this art. It was Prem’s turn to join those ranks, with his Arangetram.

The Sishya (Disciple): Prem Seetharaman has been Dr. Ramakrishnan’s disciple for over a decade. In addition to playing Mridangam, Prem also plays several other musical instruments like Cello and Guitar and he is academically very accomplished. A recent graduate of Coral Glades High School, going on to Northwestern for college studies, he plans on majoring in Engineering and Music Composition.

The Artists: Prem, of course, was the main artist of the day playing the Mridangam. The ensemble included Mrs. Geetha Rajashekar, a disciple of the venerable Mrs. D.K. Pattammal on Vocal - our own Mr. Sanjay Chandran on the violin and Dr. Ramakrishnan on the other percussion instrument, Khanjira.


The Compositions: The compositions / Kritis were from a very interesting, wide gamut of composers from various eras – from the famous Sanskrit poets like Kalidasa, Jayadeva, Tamil Poets – Arunagiri Nathar, Neelakanta Sivan, Papanasam Sivan to all the well known composers of recent eras, such as Purandara Dasa, Thyagaraja, Deekshitar, Swathi Thirunaal, Patnam Subramanya Iyer as well as contemporaries like Sri Lalgudi Jayaraman and last but not least, Prem’s father, Sri. Seetharaman.

The Concert: Prem’s sister Deepa Seetharaman was the MC for the event. The concert started, pretty much on time, with the ceremonial lighting of the lamps by Mrs. Revathi Iyengar.

I will just highlight couple of pieces here. A good rendition of Varnam in the Raga Kalyani set a nice stage for what was to come. Prem warmed up quite well during the Varnam. That was followed by Vatapi Ganapathim. Kalpana Swara/Neraval for that Kirtana provided good scope for the percussion Jugalbandi of Prem and Ramakrishnan and added a nice dimension to the total performance. Ananda Nadam Aduvar, a classic piece full of rhythm, provided ample opportunities to showcase Mridangam talents. The crowd pleaser, Raghu Vamsa Sudha, was well received by the audience.

The main piece of the concert was Saranava Bhava in Madhayamavathi for which Prem played the Thani Avarthanam. Audience got a preview of the upcoming Thani, during Kalpana Swara/Neraval of that composition. As is the normal for Thani, there were several rounds of plays in various Kalams (or tempos) between the Mridangam and the Khanjira players, with a crescendo at the end.

The RTP (Ragam, Thanam, Pallavi) in Begada in Misra Chapu Thalam also added another facet to the concert.

Throughout the concert, Prem and Ramakrishnan were feeding off each other’s energy, complementing one another. The “Mukthayams” (or the ending beats on each composition) were spot on.

The excerpts from Kalidasa’s Shyamala Dandakam (‘Matha Marakatha’) as a prelude to ‘Jaya Jaya Devi’ added a very nice touch.

Mrs. Geetha Rajashekar, was very appreciative of the event and made every effort to highlight the important aspects during the concert as it pertained to Prem. Sanjay, as always, provided great support on the violin.

Dr. Ramakrishnan besides accompanying on Khanjira, provided support also as the teacher during the concert – be it guiding thru playing the beats with his hands or adjusting the Shruti (pitch) of Mridangam to ensure a great debut performance for Prem.

The concert covered a variety of Thalams including Rupakam, Misra Chapu and Kanda Chapu, and various tempos within Adi that well showcased Prem’s talents.

Other highlights:

At the last minute, the concert was moved from Broward Library to the Broward Center for Performing Arts in Ft. Lauderdale, due to a flood in the library building. I could only imagine nerve wrecking moments the Seetharamans must have faced while trying to find a new venue at a short notice. But all is well that ends well.

As mentioned earlier, Mrs. Geetha Rajashekar sang Mr. Seetharaman’s own composition ‘Thenpuvaga’ set to Raga Shivaranjani. This composition was about our beloved Shiva Vishnu Temple and thus made it even more personal for us. We as a community are still discovering many talents of this family.

The stage was very tastefully and traditionally decorated. The Nandi statue carrying Mridangam on his back was not only very symbolic, but also very adorable.

The concert concluded after the Seetharamans felicitated all the artists and other well wishers on the stage, with a dinner.

Final Thoughts

I have been to several events hosted by Jayanthi and Seetharaman and their dedication and commitment to authenticity and tradition always comes shining through and this occasion was no exception.

With a strong foundation in academics and art education and the love and support of such a close knit family, a bright future awaits a talented young Prem. This community wishes him the very best in his studies.

I am looking forward to a ‘Seetharaman Family Music and Dance Show’ one of these days.

Here’s the list of compositions from the concert:

Varnam-Vanajakshi in Kalyani (Adi)
Vathapi Ganapathim in Hamsadhwani (Adi)
Thulasi Dala in Maya Malava Gowle (Rupakam)
Ananda Nadam Aduvar in Purvi Kalyani (Rupakam)
Raghuvamsa Sudha in Kathana Kuthoohalam(Adi)
Saravana Bhava in Madhyamavathi (Adi) - Main
Rama Rama in Vasantha (Adi in Tisram)
Ragam Thanam Pallavi in Begada (Mishra Chapu)
Jaya Jaya Devi in Valaji (Adi)
Sancharath Adhara in Raga Malika (Adi)
Muzhuday Unarndavar Yaro in Behag (Adi)
Shiva Vishnu Temple Song in Shivaranjani (Adi)
Thillana in Revathi (Mishra Chapu)
Thiruppugazh in Bhageshree (Kanda Chapu)
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Monday, June 1, 2009

Prof. V.V. Subramanian and VVS Murari Violin Duet


Father and Son violin Duet: Prof. V.V. Subramanian and V.V.S. Murari
Mridangam: Thiruvaarur Bakthavathsalam

When true professionals enter the stage and take one look at the audience some sort of a transformation takes place in them. It really does not matter their physical state before entering the stage. This is true for dance, music, acting, sports etc. True professionals will also give their 100% at every performance. Such was the professionalism exhibited by the artists in this concert. These artists had come on a red-eye flight from California with very little sleep even after arrival due to jet lag, time change and weather change. In addition, they were at the tail end of their tour with South Florida concert as their last. They had all the excuses in the world. But each one of them demonstrated a will to make the South Florida concert the best concert of their tour. On behalf of the attendees I would like to tip my hat for your professionalism and extend our heartfelt appreciation for delivering one of the most memorable concerts.

Kudos to the organizers, the size of our audience has grown significantly. We have always been proud of the quality of our audience but now we have the quantity as well. Mrs. Anu Aji, our resident carnatic music expert made it a little easier to update the blog by writing out the commentary for the concert. Thank you, Mrs. Aji.

by Mrs. Anu Aji
There are good concerts, great concerts and truly memorable ones. The memorable ones are those where one can rave about the individual pieces one heard several years later.
V.V. Subramanian and VVS Murari, Bakthavathsalam concert falls in that last category. I had only heard Prof. VVS only as an accompaniment, most notably with MS, in my younger days. I had not heard VVS Murari at all. So I had no idea what to expect.

The concert started much later than the scheduled time. When it did start without a Varnam, frankly I was a little disappointed. I am a great fan of Varnams and a believer that a Varnam sets the tone for a concert. But soon the disappointment dissipated as I found myself engrossed in the melody that filled the auditorium with a truly time tested, comforting rendition of Vatapi Ganapathim.

The wait time for the artists’ arrival was well worth it. The details of the tribulations the artists faced on their journey to Miami, and the fact the string broke from the violin amid concert didn’t faze them a bit, are more attestations to their greatness.

There was a family atmosphere on the stage and the mutual admiration and respect each one had for the other was self-evident. Most importantly Prof. VVS allowed Mr. Bakthavathsalam, two mini Thaniavartanams (one that followed Shiva Shiva Shiva Enarada and the other that followed Thiruppuzh) and a regular full length one that followed Mari Vere, to showcase his talents, is very noteworthy.
Mr. Bakthavathsalam demonstrated that he is equally adept at a fast paced Thani (after Shiva Shiva Shiva Enarada) as well as a slower one (after Mari Vere).

While they were playing the Anandabhiravi alapana, it seemed as though the artists had extracted the essence of that divine raga (if in doubt, check the name of the raga), and fed a dose of that very pleasant concentrate to the audience.

When they played Khamas I was almost sure that they were going to play Broche Va. While they didn’t play “my song”, they played an equally enthralling piece “Mathey Malaya Dhwaja Pandya Sanjathey”.

Check this link, the same song from the movie “Morning Raga” - http://bizfractals.com/lyrix/mathey-malayadwaja-lyrics-morning-raga.html

So all in all, I left the hall with a sense of gratitude, elation and I’m ready for their next tour.
End of comments from Mrs. Anu Aji

Song by song discussion:

Since Mrs. Aji has practically written out the commentary for the concert, I will just leave you with the list of songs for the record. Prof. VVS was apparently against recording songs on CD’s, his son VVS Murari and Sri Bakthavathsalam finally convinced him to record a CD. He even said during the performance “a concert should be in the records not in recordings”. So, here you go Sir, for the record:

Vathapi Ganapathim in Hamsadhawani – masters of yesteryears jumped out of the violin and sang for us
Nada Thanu Manisham in Chitta Ranjani – they make it look so easy
Himadri Suthey Pahimam in Kalyani – superb alapana
Govardhana Gireesham Smarama in Hindolam – Great coordination
Shiva Shiva Enarada in Panthuvarali – energetic
Matha Malayadhwaje in Kamas – Daru varnam, made up for the lack of varnam at start. Daru is pronounced with a short "a" (not like the punjabi word)
Mari Vere in Ananda Bhairavi – Divine
Saisha Mai Thumara Gulaam in Radha Priya – song and ragam composed by Prof. VVS
Sri Ramachandra Kripalu in Ragamalika (mishra Desh, Sindhu Bhairavi, Hamir Kalyani) – meditative
Thiruppugazh in Purvikalyani - devotion

At the end of the concert, Prof. VVS said that for his next tour he will start with South Florida – we will surely take you up on that offer.

See you all at the next concert
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Saturday, May 30, 2009

Neyveli Santhanagopalan Concert


Have you noticed how tall the senior students in Dr. Ramakrishnan’s mridangam class are? It became apparent during the photo-op at the end of the mridangam recital conducted by Dr. Ramakrishnan with all his students. My God – they are all six-footers. Remembering some past students it is the same story. Look at Vivek, Tarun, Vikram, Saheelan, both Tejases, Suhas, Nikhil or Prem all of them six-footers towering over their parents. Branavan, Shreyas and our South Florida darling Nannu have all had growth spurts in the recent years with still a lot of growth left in them. Someone should study this. Forget funding for research on pig odor in Iowa. Let us use the money for a detailed study on the impact of playing mridangam on the growth of Indian boys. We will first talk a bit about recital by Dr. Ramakrishnan’s students and then the concert.

The part of the recital that I enjoyed the most was the performance of the aspiring artists. Even after decades of teaching in South Florida, Dr. Ramakrishnan showed no signs of slowing down. On the contrary, he seemed to be enhancing his teaching methods. One could say that he is “rediscovering” himself as a teacher. The kind of depth shown by these new students is refreshing leaving even the senior students awestruck – “wait a minute, I never learned that”. These new students came in all ages – but hey, for the mature ones, if you are looking to become a six-footer better luck next life. These beginner class students were very enthusiastic in showing their mastery over the fundamentals of the thalams they were demonstrating both in “konnakkol” format and playing. “Konnakkol” as most of you know if the art of vocalizing the codified forms of mridangam sounds. I look forward to the days when South Florida community will have mridangam performances coming out of its ears within a few short years. Great job, all of you! Keep up the good work and practice.

The senior students’ performances were really unique – a Thillana mala. It is a garland of Thillanas put together in refreshing ragams and thalams. Songs were rendered very nicely by our very own Sri Madhu Chandrasekaran. Madhu’s confidence in performing is growing day by day – nice job. Our local violin maestro Sri Sanjay Chandran gave a pleasing performance. Most importantly, playing to the caliber of Madhu and Sanjay is very motivating for these senior level students some of whom are ready to carry an entire concert. Below are the links on you-tube, thanks to Mr. Prabhakar Ramalingam.
Sharada Ramakrishnan deserves a special mention as a lone female student among a sea of six-footers and wannabe six-footers. Bucking the trend, Sharada is growing in this artform. Great job, keep it up. I hope more and more young girls are inspired to join and learn the art.
Tejus Rao - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-fXKVYKNtQ

Alright, let us discuss the concert.

Vocal - Sri Neyveli Santhana Gopalan
Violin – Sri S.D. Sridhar
Mridangam – Thanjavore Murugabhoopathy

Sri Santhana Gopalan’s bhakthi bhavam, demonstration of his devotion, was pouring throughout the concert. His devotion to the art form and religion was unquestionable. But overall, the concert was a “struggle”. The singer was trying to find his voice. The violinist was trying too hard – not sure if it was the microphone setting or the violin. The mridangist was struggling to find his timing and inspire the other artists. The audience was finding it a struggle as well. There is no question on the talent and training of the artists but today they failed to gel. Certainly there were moments of glory one would come to expect from the professional artists of this caliber. Let us go to song-by-song discussion.

Kanada Varnam in Ata thalam – warm up song, nothing spectacular.
Vatapi Ganapathim in Hamsadhwani – Bland. Singer’s voice sounded a bit nasal but picked up some momentum during the kalpana swarams. Struggle to find the voice begins. Mridangam was also struggling to keep pace and be inspirational
Ora Jupu in Kannada Gowla – is the orchestra coming together, may be? The singer was very comfortable with the song and he completely enjoyed the sahithyam (lyrics). Very nice show of bhavams.
Sada Enna Hridayadalli in Panthuvarali and Rupaka thalam – Singer was getting into the zone and the mridangam joined in nicely. Niravals were innovative. Violinist was having trouble keeping pace.
Ramanukku Mannan Mudi in Hindolam and Adi thalam – Violin was sub-par with several extra noises coming from the strings. Singer was really comfortable with this song. Niraval seemed to be his strong suit. He sang this so elaborately, we all thought it was the main piece.
Signature raga malika song – Good blend of many jana ranjaka (crowd pleasing) ragas – Arabhi, Ananda Bhairavi, Kalyani, Hamsadhwani, Saranga, Mohanam, Lalitha, Darbar. Same problems with the violin. Need to spend more time testing the environment.
Sanka Chakra, Deekshitar Krithi in Todi – This was the main piece. The singer’s delivery of the alapana was a bit distracting. The alapana phrases were too short with a lot of pauses. The interaction between artists is always a good thing but it could have been subtle. I found the experience very distracting. A continuous flow of ragam would have immersed the audience in the ragam. By this time, many members of the audience got a bit testy. Again, niravals ruled. Good patches of kalpana swarams and the thani avardhanam was good.
Thamboori Meeti Dawa – all time favorite, folksy number – a toe tapper.
Venkatachala Nilayam in Sindhu Bhairavi – I may be a bit biased, but I happened to like this ragam better when sung in Hindustani style. They take it to higher octaves and the Carnatic singers tend to be subdued. Nevertheless, nice delivery – best song of the concert
Meera Bhajan, Hari Guna in Yamuna Kalyani – Very nice and clean delivery. This was followed by a Thiruppugazh and concert ended with a Mangalam. Would have been wonderful if the concert just started instead of just ending.

I have missed the next two concerts and I hope someone else would do a write up for them.
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