Malladi Brothers, Gokulashtami Series, Unnati Centre 15th Aug 2011

Vocal : Malladi Brothers ( Sriram Prasad & Ravikumar)

Violin : V V Ravi

Mrudangam : Lakshminarayana Raju

Ganjira : A S N swamy

Songlist:

01  ninnE kOri Unnada ( varNam) – kAnaDa – Thiruvottiyur Thyagayya  ( O )

02  srI nAthAdi guruguhO – mAyAmALavagauLa – Dikshitar ( A , S )

03  nAda sudhA rasambilanu – Arabhi – Thyagaraja  ( S )

04  pAlintuvO pAlimpavO – kAnthAmaNi – Thyagaraja ( A, N, S )

       neraval & swara @ ‘ paripUrNamaku bhaktimArgamE yani bhAvinchina thyAgarAjanuta’

05  slOkam ( sAndrAnandAvabOdha..) – dwijAvanti – Melpathur Narayana Bhatathiri ( from Narayaneeyam)

        chEtAshrI bAlakrishNam – dwijAvanti – Dikshitar

06  shivAya namamendru – kuntaLa varALi - Papanasam Shivan?  ( O )

07   ninnE nammi nAnu – thODi – Shyama Shastri ( A, N, S, T )

         neraval & swara @ ‘ kAmAkshi kanjadalAyadAkshi’

08  antharangamellA  srI hariki – husEni – Annamacharya  ( O )

09  bhaja bhaja mAnasa rAghavEndram – tilang – Kamalesha Vittala

10  dharma shravaAa – durga – Purandara Dasa

11  Ee vELa nannu brOvarA – khamas – Bhadrachala Ramadas

12  lAli yugavayyA – kEdAra gauLa – Thyagaraja

13 iyam swathanthra bhArati – rAgamAlika – ??

14 mAdhava mAmava – nIlAmbari – Narayana Theerthar

15  sLOkam ( mangaLam kOsalEndra & guruvAyupurAdhIsham) – madhyamAvati 

A satisfying concert after a long time. Every thing was falling in place. The selection of kritis to the participation of accompanying artists and the crowd. Cant pick one or two highlights of the evening.  Was it the Varnam, the outstanding Arabhi swaras , mesmerising alapana by Ravikumar for kAnthamani, the grand Thodi , the tani avartanam or those post main pieces.

It was set to be a grand concert from the varnam itself. Longish and detailed varnam set the stage for the rest to come. The choice of Mayamalavagaula krithi was interesting and appealing. The real effect started with the Arabhi kriti and what a piece it was. The duo, enthralled with some outstanding swara singing, with some brilliant support from violin and mrudangam vidwans.

Kanthamani was a surprice. Ravikumar presented a brilliant alapana, with equally brilliant support from V V Ravi. The kriti pAlintuvo ( I heard this before by the same team, few years back at Odukathur Mutt – I guess during Gokulashtami series in 2007 or so) was very good with detailed neraval and swara. 61st Melakarta raga, Kanthamani, is very appealing. After a melodious dwijavanti and a fast paced Kuntalavarali, Sriram Prasad started thOdi alapana. I was prepared to listen to ‘Srikrishnam bhaja manasa’, but the choice was Shyama Shastri’s Ninne nammi nAnu. The alapana and violin return were very good through the predictable lines. The neraval and swara were also good. Tani Avartnam by the ‘first time in Bangalore’ Vidwan Lakshminarayana Raju was a continuation of the great work he had been doing through out the concert, with ASN Swamy chipping in with his credentials.

Post main had a stream of kritis, typical of their style. Annamacharya, Purandara Dasa and bhadrachala Ramadasa kritis followed apart from a requested nilAmbari. In all, a fabulous concert by the team.

 

Sudha Raghunathan @ Unnati Center , Gokulashtami 08 Aug 2009

Vocal : Smt Sudha Raghunathan

Violin : Mysore V Srikanth

Mrudangam : Neyveli Skandasubramanian

Ghatam : Smt Sukanya Ramgopal

Song list:

01 ninnu kOri  ( varNam) – mOhanam – Poochi Srinivasa Iyengar

02 swAminAtha parupAlaya – nAttai – Muthuswami Dikshitar  (S )

03 hari nArAyaNa – kEdAram – Purandara Dasa

04 mOkshamu galadA – sAramati – Thyagaraja 

05 sharaNam bhava karunAmayE – hamsavinOdini – Narayana Theerthar ( A,S )

06 eTi yOchanAlu – kiranAvali – Thyagaraja

07 dayamADU ranga dayamADu – kalyANi – Purandara Dasa ( A,N,S,T)

       neraval & swara @ ‘ ihaparadali nInE indira ramaNa’

08 RTP – kharaharapriya – misra triputa , 2 kaLai

      pallavi line ‘ mAdhava kEshava gOvinda harE mukunda nErAyaNa harE harE’

     ragamalika swaram in valachi, pUrvi? , kharaharapriya

09 theerAtha viLayAttu piLLai - rAgamAlika – Subramanya Bharati

10 abhang (amrutaga nI gOre ??) - ?? – Thukkaram

11 viruttam ( pUjyAyE rAghavEndrAya)

      tungA thIra virAjam – yaman ?-  Kamalesha Vittala

12 kurai onrum illai – rAgamAlika – C Rajagopalachari

13 mangaLam – Sourashtram , madhyamAvathi – Thyagaraja

The final concert of the 15 day long Gokulashtami concert was yesterday. You couldn’t ask for more pleasing sight for the organisers as the hall, the projection TV rooms at the first floor and the basement was full with people. The concert was in the expected lines , to the satisfaction of the audience who throng to listen to her. The initial part were ordinary , execpt the alapana of hamsavinodini and a rare kriti that followed. Kalyani alapana was also a standard affair. However, I found the neraval pretty good.

The RTP was of top class. Both the alapana and the tanam was good so was the ragamalika swaras. Mysore Srikanth did a fins job, sitting with a serious looking face. Neyveli Skandasubramanian was enthusiastic and gave a good tani avartanam with Sukanya Ramgopal.

The post tani, surprisingly, was short as it was already past 9:30. She closed the concert with her signature kurai onrum illai to the waiting audience.

 

Sanjay Subrahmanyan @ Gokulashtami Concert, Unnati 04 Aug 2009

Vocal : Sanjay Subrahmanyan

Violin : Nagai Muraleedharan

Mrudangam : Mannargudi Easwaran

Ganjira : Guruprasanna

Songlist:

01 everEmi bOdhana ( varNam ) – sahAna – Patnam Subramanya Iyer

02 jaya jaya jAnaki kAntha – nAttai – Purandara Dasa ( S )

03 paralOka sAdhanamE – pUrvi kalyANi – Thyagaraja ( A,S )

04 idu nalla taruNam – shankarAbharaNam – Ramalinga Swami ( A,N,S )

      neraval & swara @ ‘  manida samaya mada vazhakkellAm mAindadE’

05 intha sowkhya – kApi – Thyagaraja  ( A,S,T )

       tani Avartanam

06 mAyamma – Ahiri -  Shyama Shastri  ( short Sketch and violin reply)

07 sharavaNabhava guhanE – kannaDa – Papanasam Sivan  (S )

08 RTP – nIlamaNi -  chatusra jathi triputa , 2 kaLai

    pallavi line ‘ Kuzhal inidu, yAzh inidu enbar, makkaL tam mazhalai sol kELAdavar’ 

    swaras in nIlamaNi and darbAri kAnaDa

09 nI ninaindal agAdadu unDo – darbAri kAnaDa – Periyaswami Thooran

10 ithuvO thillai chidambara kshEtram – sindhu bhairavi – Gopalakrishna Bharati

11 mangaLam – saurAshtram – Thyagaraja

Sanjay Subrahmanyan was one artist whi never disappoint you.  There would be something special in each of his concerts. This time was no different.  A Pallavi in Neelamani ( half the crowd hadn’t heard of a raga like this !) and an exquisite  kApi as main ( a neravl would have added colour to this brilliant piece).

Concert started with a not heard ( at least by me) varNam in sahana, and a quick Nattai krithi. First Alapana came albeit short, for pUrvikalyAni.  Detailed alapana came next with Shankarabharanam and he choose another unheard krithi of  Ramalingaswami , ithu nalla tarunam.  Personally, i would have preferred another weighty krithi , nonetheless , it had detailed neraval and some interesting swara patterns.

Kapi main was superb. The alapana was very very detailed and fresh. Nagain Muraleedharan continued in his turn with some good phrases. As usual, there was no neraval for the main , but some brilliant swara singing. Tani avartanam was also very good, with Guruprasanna matching to the master. I must had here, that for the first time in the series, percussion support was actively part of the proceedings. 

A pallavi in a rare raga was expected, and he announced Neelamani after few initial phrases. I haven’t heard any detailed rendering in this raga , and I found this very pleasent and nice. Tanam was fantastic , as ever. Few more unheard tail pieces concluded a very good concert by Sanjay Subrahmanyan and team.

 

Malladi Brothers , Gokulashtami Concert , Unnati, 1 Aug 2009

Vocal : Malladi Brothers ( Sriram Prasad & Ravikumar)

Violin : Mysore Nagaraj

Mrudangam : K V Prasad

Ganjira : Vyasa Vittala

Songlist:

01 vanajAkshi  (varNam) – rItigauLa – Veena Kuppaiyer  ( O )

02 paramEswara jagadIswara – nAttai – Muthuswami Dikshitar?  ( S )

03 rArA phaNishayana – harikAmbOji – Thyagaraja  ( A,S )

04 Eti janmamidi hA – varALi – ThyagarAja ( A,N,S )

       neraval & swara @ ‘ sAgara shayanuni tyAgarAjanutuni’

05 vara rAgalaya – chenchukAmbOji – Thyagaraja

06 rA rA rAjIvalOchana – mOhanam -  Mysore Vasudevacharya ( A,N,S,T )

      neraval & swara @ ‘ nIvE nA vibhuDani niratamu nI padamulanu neranammiti’

      tani Avartanam

07 viruttam ( sAndrAnandAvabOdhamaham..) – dwijAvanti

       chEtAsrI bAlakrishNam – dwijAvanti – Muthuswami Dikshitar

08 parAku mADade – sAvEri – Purandara Dasa

09 appan avatharitha – kharaharapriya – Papanasam Sivan

10 rAmavhadra raghuvIra – Ananda bhairavi - Bhadrachala Ramadas

11 (AnkhiyAn) hari darshan kE pyAsi - bhajan  – Surdas

12 Ee vELa nannu brOvarA – khamAs – Bhadrachala Ramadas

13 mAdhava mAmava – nIlAmbari – Narayana Theerthar

14 smaravAram vAram – kApi? -  Sadashiva Brahmendra

15 patiki hArati  rE – surutti – ThyagarAja

      srIyay kAnthAya

      mangaLam kOsalEndra – madhyamAvathi
 

Malladi brothers gave a good concert yesterday at the Unnati Center. From the initial short sketch of the Reetigaula was the indication for the rest to follow.  A not often heard Harikamboji kriti of Thyagaraja was the first detailed alapana.  Varali alapana and the neraval and swara was very good.  The amplification was disconnected for a while during the swaras , but that did not hinder the progress. Having a closed hall, helped the singers as it was pretty much audible even without the amlpification. Mohanam was the main raga of the day and Ravikumar did a splendid job with a detailed alapana supported by a good violin return. Ra Ra Rajeevalochana came as a surprise; this is for the second time I’m hearing this as the main kriti of the day. Neraval and swara that followed was also good.

K V Prasad was very good in his percussion support. He and Vyasavittala gave a superb tani avartanam. A long list of post main krithis followed before the mangalam.  After a week of concert, there was no RTP so far. Do we have to wait for Sanjay ?

 

Unnikrishnan , Gokulashtami Concert, Unnati Center 25 July 2009

Vocal : P Unnikrishnan

Violin : Akkarai Subbalakshmi

Mrudangam : Patri Satishkumar

Ganjira : A S N Swami

Song list :

01 sarasUDa (varNam) – sAvEri – Kottaivasal Venkataramana Iyer   ( O )

02 jaya jaya swAmi  - nAttai - Narayana Theerthar ( S )

03 pankajAkshanAm ramESan – thODi – Swathi Thirunal ( N,S)

       neraval & swara @ ‘ padmanAbha pAhi pAhi ennu lOka sanchayam’

04 parama pAvana pApa mOchana – ranjani – Meesu Krishnaiyer ( A,S )

05 upachAramulanu – bhairavi – Thyagaraja ( A,N,S,T )

       neraval & swara @ ‘ kapata nAtaka sUtra dhArivai’

       tani Avartanam

06 vishwEshwar darshan kar – sindhu bhairavi – Swati Thirunal (  O )

07 viruttam ( pachai mAmalai pOl ) -

       ODODi vandEn kanna – dharmavathi   – Ambujam Krishna

08 kAkai chirakinile – brindavana sarang   – Subramanya Bharati

09 eppaDi pADinArO – AbhEri ( karNataka dEvagAndhAri) – Sudhananda Bharati

10 mAnasa sanchararE – SAma – Sadashiva Brahmendra  ( O )

11 kuNidAnO krishna – hamsAnandi – Purandara Dasa ??

12 thillAna -  chandrajyOthi ?? – LGJ ?

13 vijaya gOpAla tE ( mangaLam) – surutti – Narayana Theertha

Uniikrishnan gave a good concert yesterday at the Unnati Center , starting their 32nd Gokulashtami Celebrations. Unlike his earlier concerts I attended, this time, I found it more aligned towards classissism and weight.  Thodi krithi of Swati Thirunal was the turning point. After an initial issue with clarity, he moved into neraval and swaras with some brilliance.  Ranjani Alapana was the best of the concert for me.  The violin reply was also apt. He choose a rare krithi from Meesu Krishnaiyer ‘parama pAvana pApa mOchana’, with a set of kalpana swarams.

The main bhairavi followed immediately, and the alapana was detailed and elaborate , so was the reply ( not the best). But, the krithi that followed was delivered with such a charm,  including the neraval and swaras. It was fantastic.  Patri Satishkumar was in outstanding form. His accompaniment was brilliant through out. He followed it up with a cracking tani Avartanam to a huge applause from the audience. 

The speech took long time , eating away to a possible RTP. Unnikrishnan closed the concert after entertaining few audience requests with a surutti mangalam. Overall a very good concert.