Sanjana Chandran successfully completed her solo violin
Arangetram (more like an awesome concert) on Jul 17, 2017 at the Rose and
Alfred Miniaci Performing Arts Center in Fort Lauderdale, FL.
Sanjana just completed middle school and will be going to
ninth grade. Many of us in South Florida
has seen her grow into this fantastic talent.
Clearly Sanjana is the best Carnatic Violin talent in North America in
her age group and even above her age group.
Sanjana is a prodigy, period – God bless her. Jayanthi joins me in showering our blessings
to this talented child. May Sanjana get
everything her heart desires and continue to grow her musical abilities.
I have often wondered how prodigies come into being. One can argue Sanjana’s dad, Sanjay Chandran,
is an awesome violin player and the daughter is following his footsteps. We have also seen mother handing down dance
talent to her daughter. But there is
something more to it than just family background. We have seen talent does not always get
handed down generation to generation and we have also seen talents come out of unlikely
places. So, how does this work? The answers are in Hindu Scriptures, more
specifically in Vedantic texts. We are
all born with certain tendencies – the technical term used for tendencies is “Vasanas”. The belief is that we choose to be born in an
environment conducive to fulfil our vasanas.
These vasanas exert pressure on each of us to take up certain fields and
if there is encouragement we blossom.
Just imagine if Sachin Tendulkar was forced to play volley ball the
world would have lost a top cricketer. Even
if we don’t get the encouragement early on, the vasana pressure is relentless
and it will come out later in life when we least expect it. So, as parents, we should all watch for the
natural talent exhibited by our kids and provide our support. It could be in the field of mathematics,
writing, music, sports, computers, science or whatever. Each kid is unique with specific innate
talent. Our congratulations to Sapna and
Sanjay for spotting and nurturing Sanjana with her skills. All right – let us go to the concert, I am
going to stop calling it an Arangetram.
Sanjana played with seasoned percussion players Dr. S.
Ramakrishnan on the Mridangam and Dr. Ravi Balasubramanian on the Ghatam. But she was not intimidated at all – in fact
Sanjana overshadowed them with her sheer skill.
Sanjana demonstrated that she clearly understood the ragas she was
presenting masterfully. Music is all
about conveying emotions and Sanjana clearly understood that when presenting the
songs. The song choices were fantastic
and the ragas had the entire spectrum from speed to being meditative. Entire audience was completely engrossed in
the performance and Sanjana enjoyed playing every song. The main piece was in Sankarabharanam, a real
delight with all the accoutrements – an elaborate alapana, neraval, swaras and
thani. After watching a lot of reality shows
we have all become critics, but none of us could find even a single instance of
off-key in Sanjana’s violin. In the
second half, we were joined by Sanjana’s cousin Agasthya on the flute – another
pure delight. Agasthya was only 11 years
old and what a joy, God bless you. We
learned a lot from the MC, Sunita, who kept us engaged through the concert.
Varnam in Todi/Adi – Era napai
Very melodious start to the concert. Sanjana picked up confidence as she went
on. Nice transition from first to second
kalam (speed).
Sri Maha Ganapathi Rava Thuma in Gowle and Mishra
chapu
Sanjana has settled down and is completely relaxed. She was very comfortable with the ragam. Very elaborate song with beautiful swarams.
Akhilandeshwari in Dwijawanthi/Adi
Really beautiful alap that captivated the audience. Start of the song sounded like a seasoned professional.
Expression was so amazing it brought
tears to my eyes. It was clear she
enjoyed playing the song. Connected with
the audience with the emotion in the song and once that happens, ladies and
gentlemen, it is real music.
Gnanamu sagarada in Purvikalyani and Rupakam
Wow, no other words. Deft handling of the bow. She knew the intricacies of the raga well. Sometimes it felt like there were two
violinists on stage one for each percussion artist as she switched between
octaves for Ghatam and Mridangam.
Bhogendra sayeenam in Kundalavarali and Kanda Chapu
This is always a crowd pleaser being a fast number and
Sanjana played it elegantly. Felt like
we were sitting in front of a seasoned artist.
Ka Va Va in Varali and Adi
Sanjana’s expression during alap is remarkable. This song is in a pleading tone inviting Lord
Muruga. She brought out that emotion as
meant by the poet. She completely
overshadowed the seasoned percussionists and they were happy to be
overshadowed. The song put the entire
audience in a meditative mood.
Brova baramma in Bahudari and Adi
This was another fast number. The Professors, I mean the Percussionists,
seemed to enjoy themselves. Lot of scope for them in the song.
Saroja dala nethri in Sankarabharanam and Adi
I just stopped taking notes and being completely engrossed
in the beauty of the song.
Sankarabharanam is considered one of the “ghana” ragas and it has been
played for eons by stalwarts. The
expectation is always very high when this raga is chosen. The artist will have to put their full into
it and show that they understand the nook and cranny of the raga. Sanjana did complete justice to this raga and
song. She started with a bright alap and
went into the song confidently. The
swaras and neravals were at a professional level.
Thani
Just awesome by the dynamic percussion duo.
Manavyala kim chara in Nalinakanthi and Adi
During this song Agasthya joined in with his Flute. Sanjana
by now owned the stage and she was a picture of confidence. Effortless delivery,
nicely done.
RTP in Keeravani and Kanda Jathi Triputai
Very mature alapana and very soulful. Flute alapana
blew every one away making us look for Gopi's and cows to come through the
doors anytime. They both took us to a meditative state bringing the
thoughts down to practically zero state.
The concert closed with Krishna nee begane baro in Yamuna
kalyani and mishra chapu, Chinnanchiru kiliye in raga malika, English note and
finally Bhagyatha lakshmi baramma.
