Music Season - First Half 2007

Octogenarians and septuagenarians clearly stole the show during the first half of our music season in South Florida.

Sangeetha Kalanidhi Sri. M. Chandresekar gave yet another scintillating performance in front of our knowledgeable audience. Magic happens when he puts his bow to the violin. The violin he uses is certainly a global treasure. Sri M. Chandrasekar interacts with the audience with a child like smile and an outward expression of his love for the music. He was listening intently during the introduction speeches and showed a profound reverence when names of stalwarts were uttered with whom he has shared stage over the past several decades. His rendition of “Thaaye Yashoda” in Thodi was fantastic and our very own Dr. Ramakrishnan on the Mridangam was excellent. The ragams he chose were apt for the time of the concert and his delivery was flawless. We all have seen the audience requesting specific songs, but rarely would have seen the main artist requesting a song from the supporting violinist, his own daughter Smt. Bharathi!

Visit from Sri Unnikrishnan was his first to South Florida. He demonstrated his superb training in the field and his command over the Ragas. His voice continues to be his main asset. It was a bit strange to see a Carnatic musician having wearing a feedback earpiece during the entire concert. Later, I understood that it is possibly because he has done considerable amount of work in the movie industry. Sri Unnikrishnan chooses some rare ragams in his concerts and this time he chose to sing his RTP in Sarasaangi. After listening intently for several minutes I gave up. This ragam stumped even the resident experts Mrs. Anu Aji and Mr. Narayanan. In the discussions that ensued I found out that the singer was apparently moving between Charukesi and Sarasangi. Why do some singers resort to slow ragams like Bhairavi for a 4PM concert as the main piece? I was fighting several big yawns and so were many in the audience. Was the singer mixing a little Mukhari with Bhairavi or was it just me thinking that or was it my sleepy head? But when the song started there was no mistake. In my humble opinion while his training and delivery were excellent Unnikrishnan lacks a bit in the “bhavam” department.

My son Prem, who is a cello player and an avid listener of the western classical music, really enjoyed the concert from the violin brothers Ganesh and Kumaresh. Harmonizing between the violins is a rare treat among carnatic musicians. It takes enormous talent for them to play a few notes apart without making a mistake. You distinctly hear both the instruments. Their signature rendition of Raga Pravaham was excellent where the importance is given to the violin playing and the ragam but it is not based on lyrics. After about the three-quarters of the way through the concert, I was wondering is he going to play a main piece or is the whole concert a sequence of “thukkada”? He finally played a short version of an RTP. The songs and even the alapana were faster than a traditional concert. Dr. Ramakrishnan during his vote of thanks called the concert “a nice entertainment” and I could call it a “Light Classical Concert”.

Mrs. Seetha Doraiswami was nothing short of phenomenal on the Jala Tharangam. Until now I have only heard the instrument on the radio. It is a rare treat to watch the instrument being set up and played and that too from a player who is 80-years young! It takes a lot of energy and precision to play the instrument. She played Vathapi Ganapathim in Hamsadhwani which seems like made for Jala Tharangam. It is very educational to watch her set up the dishes in front of her and adjusts the water levels in each based on the notes in the arohanam and avarohanam. The set up needs to be changed for every song. The mridangam player, Abhishek Raja, and harmonium player, Ganavya Doraiswamy, were both her grand children! She played Sudhamahi in Amritha Varshini and true to the myth the very next day it rained in several parts of parched Florida! Other ragams selected were excellent like Swagatham Krishna in Mohanam. Mrs. Doraiswamy, hats off to you! Abhishek gave a spirited thani and our very own multi-talented South Florida student Ganavya has so far demonstrated her skills in singing and Harmonium playing. We await her dance performance next!

A request for the South Florida audience – it is great to see our little fans coming to these concerts, but parents please, take off those cute little anklets during the concert. When these girls run around the auditorium, it makes me wonder – is it a dance concert or a music concert!

B. Seetharaman
May 27, 2007