Jan-Apr 2010 Music Concerts

My father always believed that the Sannidhyam or the Divinity of the Moola Vigrahas in temples will continuously increase. As more and more devotees visit the temple, the veda mantras were chanted and regular abhishekams are performed the vigrahas will gain radiance as years roll by. During the growing years I don’t remember paying much attention to these concepts, at least, so I thought. Surprisingly I remembered those words recently. Even more surprise, those words were true.

Perceiving the growth in Sannidhyam on a vigraha that is hundreds are years old like the Mylapore Kapali Temple is very difficult. However, the temples in the USA are only a few decades old. Some of us might have seen them built from the foundation stage. As the years roll by, the divinity surely increases. Many of us living in South Florida surely feel that inside our Shiva Vishnu Temple. As you walk in, you feel the walls are reflecting the Veda Mantrams like Rudrams and Purusha Suktham. The divinity increase is more perceptible when we visit temples after a while. Two good examples from our recent temple pilgrimage to the temples in the Tampa area. Shirdi Sai Baba statue at the Inverness Temple has grown more life-like and the Sannidhyam of the Sathyanarayana Temple in Tampa has definitely grown at least according to my perception and many who came with us on the trip. Let us talk about the trip first and then the concerts.

It would have been a very strange sight for any onlooker to witness about 100 well dressed Indians (and two Spanish ladies) milling around a little after 5AM on a movie theater parking lot a little South of the Shiva Vishnu Temple in S. Florida. A few tables were set on the pavement, food boxes were stacked up and more being packed. Idly, Pongal and varieties of chutneys were packed in those food boxes. Janevi was at the center of the hurricane coordinating the packing effort – Indian food for adults and sandwiches for children. Ravi and Rajesh were busy taking attendance to ensure no one is missed. Two gigantic luxury buses with signs “Shirdi 1 and Shirdi 2” were waiting for departure with the drivers bewildered at the amount of food and the prep work. Yes, we were on the annual pilgrimage to the Inverness Shirdi Sai Temple in Inverness, FL. Drs. Shanti and Sundaram were the masterminds and the main sponsors behind the operation.

The trip to Inverness is becoming more and more popular every year. Even with two buses this time, it was not possible to accommodate all the people who wanted to go. Some ended up coming by themselves in cars. May be next time we will have 3 or 4 buses. The main attraction for us, of course, is the beautiful Shirdi Sai Temple at Inverness. We also make it a point to visit another temple in the area. This time it was the Sathyanarayana temple in Tampa. We always add some culture to the trip with a concert. This time we were graced by Sri Sanjay Chandran on the violin, which I will talk about later. In addition, there is the non-stop feeding frenzy, I mean literally - breakfast, lunch, snacks, coffee/tea, dinner and after dinner snacks. As if that is not enough, some of us mobbed the Starbucks during rest stops. It was a cruise on wheels with Indian culture, religion and spirituality thrown in.

As we entered the Inverness Temple the priest was chanting the Veda mantras. Several from our group joined in the chanting of Rudram, Chamakam and the Sukthas. It was a truly divine experience. Vijayamma’s son Gopi and his wife Kaja were among those who performed abhishekam to the Utsava vigraham of Shirdi baba. Kaja gave birth to a baby boy within three days after the trip and was appropriately named Abhishek Sai, what a nice blessing. The arathi songs in Shirdi Sai temples are always captivating. Unlike traditional temples with the Garbha Griha, Shirdi Sai temple was quite open with devotees having freer access and view.

After lunch, we had Sanjay’s wonderful violin concert and a few bhajans. In the meantime volunteers boxed our dinner and we were on our way to Tampa. I am visiting the Sathyanarayana temple after a gap of several years. I stepped into the temple and WOW. We could feel that the deities have gained more radiance. My father said that it is a reflection of the true devotion and discipline of the devotees who frequent that temple. It was amazing to see a proof of that concept in real life. I would love to hear your views on this.

Faith in God is good but not in GPS. On the way back our driver decided to take the scenic route following the GPS route designed for bullock carts. Late by about an hour, we reached back. Overall it was great. Let us go to the concerts:

Sri Sanjay Chandran – Violin concert accompanied by Sri Venupuri Srinivasan on the mridangam

Both Sanjay and Srinivasan accepted to play at the Shirdi Sai temple at the very first request. This surely has been a blessing for both of them to play in the presence of Shirdi Sai Baba for He surely listens and actually plays through the artists themselves. Sanjay chose very appropriate songs and ragams for this afternoon concert after a heavy meal. He is also an expert in measuring the receptivity of the audience and delivers. Sanjay is a naturally charismatic player and engages the audience into active listening. I have heard Sanjay many times and it is no secret that I am one of his fans. In my opinion this concert was one of Sanjay’s best.

The concert started with a flawless rendition of the ever popular Vathapi Ganapathim in Hamsadhwani. This was followed by Sri Saraswathi in Arabhi. The audience was now sitting up straight wanting more. Keep in mind the audience is not exactly the same crowd that comes regularly to Carnatic concerts in South Florida and it is even tougher to maintain their interest level. Everything came together that day with divine blessings. Sanjay may have even converted a few film music fans to Carnatic music fans that day. He played the main piece in Kalyani including a brief alapana and a short thani avardhanam by Venupuri Srinivasan. Sanjay enthralled the audience with the fast paced Raghu Vamsa Sudha in Kadana Kuthoohalam and gave an excellent rendition of Jagadodharana in Kapi. Sanjay has told me about his own Thillana composition and I requested him to play it in the presence of Shirdi Sai Baba. It was in the thrilling Bhageshwari ragam. Nice composition, I am sure we would all like to hear it again. I probably missed a few songs but you get the picture – it was great.

Venupuri Srinivasan usually plays mridangam with flair and that day was no exception. He is a versatile artist who plays for music concerts, dance programs and also has exposure to the film industry playing in A.R. Rehman’s troupe. He is another charismatic mridangam player. It will great for the duo to play a full length concert.

In spite of the stature of these artists, they both agreed to play under a make-shift environment within the temple premises. It shows their dedication to the art and devotion to Bhagwan Shirdi Sai Baba. They are truly blessed.

During the concert, some of the devotees noticed a garden snake inside the temple premises. We were told that it was Naga Sai which has made the temple its home and is harmless. We were all relieved Sanjay did not play Punnagawarali.

Sri S. Arvind – Vocal, Sri Sanjay Chandran – Violin, Sri S. Ramakrishnan – Mridangam

Overall, my impression is that the concert took some time to reach peak performance. The team took time to come together and find their timing. RTP in Brindavana Saranga was amazing. The last four songs of the concert including the Thillana in Bhageshwari were well rendered. Let us go to song by song analysis –

Begada Varnam – started strong with a good voice but the team did not settle together.
Jaya Jaya in Natai/Kanda Chapu – Very popular song in a pleasing ragam. Singer needed to work with the associates. Some miscues during the swara passages.
Ka Va Va in Varali/Adi – Started with the virutham, nice variations. Artists are starting to have some fun interacting with each other. Some audience interaction will also be good. Everyone was comfortable with this song, mridangam especially came out nicely.
Kailasa Natha in Kambodi/Mishra Chapu – Very pleasing alapana by the singer and the violinist. Neraval was done at the place in the song where the name of the ragam comes, very clever. Arvind demonstrated his strong foundation in carnatic music training.
Kadana Kudoohala Ragame – very clever lyrics written in praise of Meenakshi. But the team is not yet together.
Main piece – Parama Pavana Rama in Purvi Kalyani/Adi – I felt that the Alapana by the singer needed more punch. Sanjay usually does a good job with Purvi Kalyani and did not disappoint us. Thani by Dr. Ramakrishnan was enjoyable. The team continues to struggle with finding their timing
Bodhendra Sayeenam in Kunthalavarali/Kanda Chapu – peppy song.
RTP in Brindavana Saranga in Thisra Thriputai Thalam Khanda Nadai – Out of the world. This is one of my favorite ragams and so I am usually a bit biased, but I felt the alapanas by both singer and violinist were fantastic. The thanam part started and the mridangam joined in, refreshing. The team finally found their timing. Another clever sahithyam with the name of the Ragam at the beginning of the song. You can see the running theme in the song selection by the singer. Ragamalika section included Valaji, Chandrakauns, Hamsadhani, Basanth Bahar, Sindu Bhairavi and Durga. Overall fantastic rendition
Man Ki Ankhen Kholo – the bhavam stood out in this song
Bhageshwari Thillana in Adi – well rendered

Smt Peddada Suryakumari – Vocal, Sri Sanjay Chandran – Violin, Dr. S. Ramakrishnan - Mridangam

Let me start with the highlight of the concert. At the end of the song on Bhagawan Sathya Sai Baba (Uyyala Looguma in Yamuna Kalyani) the singer announced in a very thrilling voice that she found vibhoothi appear on the pages of her lyrics book. She only spoke in Telugu. Though some of us could not clearly understand what she was saying, her language sounded so beautiful.

The singer’s strong suit is rendering bhajans and light carnatic songs. She has a very mature soothing voice soaked in unmistakable bhakthi rasam. However when it comes to rendering classical carnatic music songs something was amiss.

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)

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

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.

Preview - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deFPhcFXYm0
Tejas Ramalingam - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aa1ztGafXFo
Tejas Ramalingam - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DRSdYpg01M
Shreyas1 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoB8vb76eq0
Shreyas2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoB8vb76eq0
Prem1 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zdhTtS7Wcw
Prem2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pj92xAwiUc
Sharada - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ag6m6as9xC4

Branavan1 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyBbNU1UUdM

Branavan2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIiDDJHu-1g

Tejus Rao - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7KHtizc9v4

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.

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).