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)
