Cherthala Ranganatha Sharma @ Nadasurabhi Cultural Association 23rd July 2023

Vocal : Cherthala Ranganatha Sharma

Vocal Support : Mrs Mohana Sharma

Violin : R Raghul

Mrudangam : N C Bharadwaj

Morsing : Bhagyalakshmi Krishna

List:

01 chalamEla (varNam ) – shankarAbharaNam – aTa – Swathi Thirunal

02 lambOdarAya namastE – varALi – khaNDachAp – Dikshitar ( A )

03 shAradE vInA vAdana vishAradE – dEvagAndhAri – Adi – Papanasam Sivan ( A )

04 ninnu vinA gamari – pUrvikalyAni – mishra chAp – Shyamashastry ( A,N,S )

neraval @ ‘nannu brOcuTaku cinta dIrci vEgamE’

05 varasikhi vAhana – supradIpam – Adi – Thyagaraja

06 tyAgarAja yOga vaibhavam – Ananda bhairavi – rUpakam – Dikshitar ( O )

07 sharaNam vijaya saraswati mAyE – vijaya saraswati – Adi – Muthaiah Bhagavathar ( S )

08 shankarAchAryAm – shankarAbharaNam – Adi – Subbarama Dikshitar ( A,N,S,T )

neraval & swara @ ‘ parama jnAna lata-Ala vAlam’

09 sAgara shayana vibhO – bhAgEshrI – Adi – M D Ramanathan ( O )

10 thillAna ( taka dhIm tadhIm nAdru dhIm tadhOm) – dEsh – Adi – Lalgudi Jayaraman

11 shLOkam ( mangaLam kOsalEndrAya ) – dEsh

 

Cherthala Ranganatha Sharma @ Gayana Samaja, Sri Rama Lalitha Kala Mandira Music Festival , 09 Jan 2020

Vocal : Vid. Cherthala Ranganatha Sharma

Violin : Vid. H K Venkatram

Mrudangam : Tumkur Ravishankar

Morsing : Bharadwaj Shatavalli

List

01 sarasijanAbha ( varNam ) – kAmbOji – aTa – Swathi Thirunal

02 gaNapatiye karuNAnidhiye – kharaharapriya – Adi – Papanasam Sivan ( A,S )

03 ennaDu jUtunO – kalAvati – Adi – Thyagaraja

04 parimaLa ranganAtham bhajEham – hamIr kalyANi – rUpakam – Dikshitar ( A,N,S )

neraval & swaras @ ‘gagana sadrsham abjakaram gajarAjakSEmakaram’

05 natajapAlini naLinakAnti – naLinakAnti – Adi – Tanjavur Sankara Iyer ( S )

06 dhyAnamE varamaina – dhanyAsi – Adi x 2  – Thyagaraja ( A,N,S,T )

neraval & swaras @ ‘dharanu velayu shrI rAmuni kOri’

07 dEvAdi dEva shrI vAsudEva – sunAda vinOdini – Adi – Mysore Vasudevachar

08 RTP – nATakurinji – khaNDa tripuTa , khaNDa naDai , +3 aksharam eDuppu

pallavi line ‘ sharavaNanai muruganai guhanai ninai nI, orArumuganai dEvAdi dEvanai ‘

rAgamAlika swaras in  dEsh?, behAg, sahAna, sindhubhairavi

tani Avartanam

09 nAri maNi ( jAvaLi) – khamAs – Adi – Dharmapuri Subbaraya Iyer

10 Ongi ulagaLanda uttaman – Arabhi – Adi – Andal

11 bArO krSNayya – mAND+rAgamAlika-  Adi – Kanaka Dasa ( A )

12 thillAna ( takadhIm tadhIm ) – dEsh – Adi – Lalgudi Jayaraman

—

I close my eyes and hands and whispered ‘parimaLa ranganAtham, please’. He couldn’t have heard me, but it worked.  I did not want to listen to another  ‘shailavi hArA’ (sic) again. Would have accepted a gAngEya vasanadhara, reluctantly. Parimala ranganatham is seldom heard in concerts these days. When you have it with all that additional garlands added in the form of a grand alapana, fabulous neraval and swaras,  the effort one takes to make time and attend a concert on a week day, suddenly made a lot more sense.  It was beautifully delivered. I cherished every bit of the hamirkalyani.

The dhanyasi main was continued from where he left us at hamir kalyani. Some of the early phrases of the alapana were absolutely moving. This is how one has to build on. Soak us in the nester of the raga, take us through the journey, through the contours and ups and downs of the valleys, those mesmerizing heights, the dissents to a perfect landing.  Venkatram was also brilliant yesterday.  On the other hand, it was easy to predict the composition knowing his preference for this kriti. Another classy neraval, a bit longer than the one for hamirkalyani, followed with the standard two speed kalpana swaras befitting the main.

There was more to come in the form of Pallavi. Natakurinji alapana, standard fair for 7-8 minutes. Decent tanam by both the artists. A little complex structure of the  pallavi – the mix of talam, nadai, eduppu and arudi, making it a bit interesting to see them mastering.  Trikalam, especially was found the supporting artists trying to measure up to the main artist as he paved his way through in various speeds.  Ragamalika swaras were good,with the sindhubhairavi part receiving a lot of applause. The percussion duo had a second go, albeit shorter,  with their tani avartanam. The main avartanam after the dhanyasi was a commendable effort, especially from Tumkur Ravishankar.

Earlier, the concert jumped to a serious phase with the second kriti itself. He had a short alapana of kharahapriya and a rather heavy rounds of swaras at the end, setting the stage for the grander things to come.  Post main included a short alapana of mAND for before bArO krishnayya.  Interestingly, he closed the concert with the thillana.  There was no mangalam, as one would expect.

It was another top notch concert for me, yesterday. The hameerkalyani and the dhanyasi alapana made my evening.

 

Cherthala Ranganatha Sharma @ Mohanam, Kongad 17th Dec 2016

Vocal : Cherthala Dr.Ranganatha Sharma

Violin : Palakkad R Swaminathan

Mrudangam : K Jayakrishnan

Ghatam : Vellattanjur Sreejith

List :

01. mEru samAnA – mAyAmALavagauLa – Thyagaraja ( O,S )

02. cherarAvadEmirA – rItigauLa – Thyagaraja ( A,S )

03. kOrina varamosagu – rAmapriya – PAtnam Subramanya Iyer ( A,N,S )

neraval & swara @ ‘sari vArilOna nannu chauka jEya valadu nIdu’

04.  shrI kamalAmbikAh param – bhairavi – Dikshitar ( A,N,S,T)

neraval & swara @ ‘shrIkaNTha viSNu virinciAdi janayitryA’

05. bArO krSNayya – rAgamAlika – Kanaka Dasa ( O-mAND )

This concert was part of the felicitation function of one of the leading singers of Kathakali, Kottakkal Madhu, at his home grounds( the place where he hails from). The two day events enriched by performances of some of the leading artists in Kathakali, Percussion as well as Classical Music fraternity was an awesome opportunity for any connoisseur or lover of art to participate. I could manage to be part of the day two, by  shear luck and it was worth the effort on all count.

Back to the concert, which was the morning session of the day two, was a fitting tribute to a fellow musician and friend by Dr. Ranganatha Sharma, who had participated in a few fusion ( or juganbandi if you may) concerts with Kottakkal Madhu himself. Luckily, this concert wasn’t a jugalbandi. Ranganatha Sharma, as one would expect, presented a top class concert with some high caliber support from the supporting crew, especially the percussion duo. Swaminathan, was good most part but left me wanting for more at times.

A two hour concert, planned very well by the singer, without trying to fill in the list with many short pieces. Each compositions presented was given its due weight and respect. The brisk meru samana with few rounds of swaras, short and nice alapana for reetigaula, a much more detailed ramapriya alapana and a classy , formidable effort with bhairavi. Fabulous planning and execution. Bhairavi alapana was very special, mostly around the slow , longer phrases, not attempting the fast paced, bhriga-laden phrases ( barring a super impressive take towards the end of the alapana), the meticulous build up deploying on those moving slow patterns of melodious bhairavi were the highlights of the morning. Swaminathan’s return was more of the standard line, including those faster passages. Probably, the main artist sang with the idea of the kriti in mind and the violinist without the same. Dikshitar’s navavarana kriti as main was a glorious choice. The kriti, neraval as well as two speed kalpana swaras were top class. Percussion team demonstrated a commendable aniticipation and played exquisitely during the kalpana swaras. The duo, extended that to a well conceived tani avartanam.

The reetigaula and ramapriya , which preceded the main were equally good. Ramapriya alapana was again very good. There wasn’t much time left post the elaborate main. He indicated ‘one more’ to the organisers and concluded it with bArO krishnayya. To me, this concert shows the best of time utilisation in line with my personal preference, hence I was left with a great feeling. Brilliant artist, and a concert justifying his credentials.

 

Cherthala Ranganatha Sharma @ Nadasurabhi , 17 Jan 2016

Vocal : Cherthala Ranganatha Sharma

Violin : Vittala Rangan

Mrudangam : V Krishna

Ghatam : Sukanya Ramgopal

List:

01 mAtE malayadhwaja (varNam) – khamAs – Muthaiah Bhagavathar ( O )

02 tatvamariya taramA – rItigauLa – Papanasam Sivan ( S )

03 aTu kArAdani – manOranjani – Thyagaraja (A,S )

04  shrI kamalAmbikAyAm – sahAna – Dikshitar  ( O )

05 kAmAkSi kAmakOTi pIThavAsini – sumadyuti(simhEndramadhyamam) – Dikshitar ( A,N,S)

niraval & svara @’kamalEsha sOdari kamalAkSi nArAyaNi’

06 karuNAnidhi ilalO – thODi – Shyama Shasthri

07 Emi nEramu – shankarAbharaNam – Thyagaraja ( A,N,S,T )

niraval & svara @’ dIna bandhuDani dEvadEvuDani’

08 shLOkam ( yOgIndrANAm ) – sindhubhairavi, kApi, behAg, bhAgEshri

sAgara shayana vibhO – bhAgEshrI – MDR

09 nAma japan kyOn chOD diyA (bhajan) – madhuvanti – ?  (A )

10 rAma rAma rAma rAma rAmA ennirO – shubha pantuvarALi – Purandara Dasa

11 thillAna ( dhIm tana ta dhIm tanatana) – pahADi – LGJ

12 shLOkam ( mangaLam kOsalEndrAya ) – madhyamAvati

Dr Ranganatha Sharma’s music is to me is the reference to carnatic classical music. Powerful, natural voice with open singing, the clear and decipherable lyrics, the traditional path and musical aesthetics that goes with my appreciation, delectable ‘manodharma’ and a pleasant stage manners. Which is why I make a point to attend every possible concert of him in Bangalore. Yesterday was yet another display of his knowledge and skill.

While I thought the main was below par to his stature, the concert overall was again of a very high standard. A beautiful start to the concert with Mate malayadhwaja’; I wonder why not many people sing this more often. Quick reetigaula kriti and few rounds of speedy svaras set the concert in roll with the rest of them ramping up to the main artist.  Very good, albeit short, alapana of manOranjani came in ( he came in to the rescue by announcing the name) and as expected aTu kArAdani was taken. Very impressive svaras added to the kriti, with both vocalist and Vittala Rangan sang some nice svara patterns.

Sahana piece which followed , to me, was the best part of the evening. A very short delightful raga sketch, leaving me in trance , wanting him to continue. But he sang one of the most moving piece of the evening with ‘shrI kamalAmbikAyAm’, Dikshitar’s  ‘navAvaraNa’ kriti. Shear ectasy.

Simhendramadhyamam alapana was decent, Vittala Rangan played some good phrases in his turn. Dikshitar’s composition again, with good rounds neraval and nice rounds of svaras. Last month, V R Dileepkumar sang the same kriti at the same venue. Karunanidhi ilalo, interestingly came in before the main. At times, it is good to listen to a ‘thodi’ sans any ‘prefix’ or ‘suffix’.

Shankarabharanam was main and from then it was evident a Thyagaraja composition is to come. The alapana was good, but I’ve heard much better ones from him. Choice of Emi Neramu was again interesting. I was expecting ‘endukku peddalavale’ or ‘svara raga sudha’. Emi Neramu is a shorter composition and probably wasn’t big enough for the day since there was no pallavi to follow. However, he sang very elaborate niraval at deenabanchudani , and finished it with some classy extensive take. The kalpana svaras again were of top class in two speed with some brilliant laya variations. The conclusion of the swaras were again very very good.

PRof V Krishna and Sukanya Ramgopal played a spirited tani avartanam post main. The percussion duo did a commendable job through out the evening. Vittala Rangan was very good, played most of the intrinsic laya patterns of the main artist ( except  some confusion towards the end of the shankarabharanam swaras) and played most of the alapana commendably.

Post main was first class. Shlokam in ragamalika was awesome ( he gave young violinist chance at the end of each sojourn) and MDRs masterpiece in bhageshri was a pleasure to hear.  A shortish alapana (without violin return) in madhuvanti? before a bhajan,  a devarnama in shubha pantuvarali and Lalgudi thillana in pahADi were nice selection. Shubha pantuvarali was sang in ‘madhyamashruti’, I think.  I am used to the Hyd Brothers version of the thillana, and found this slightly different ( it could be my conditioning). He concluded the concert with a shlokam in madhyamavati.

Another good concert from Sri Ranganatha Sharma.

 

Cherthala Ranganatha Sharma @ Odukathur Mutt , 01 Sep 2015

Vocal : Cherthala Ranganatha Sharma

Violin : Mysore Srikanth

Mrudangam : J Vaidyanathan

Ganjira : Anil Parashar

List:

01.  inta chAlamu – bEgaDa – vEnna Kuppiyer

02. siddhi aruL shivashakti bAlakanE – nATa – Neelakanta Shivan  ( S )

03. smaraNe ondE sAladE – malayamArutam – Purandara Dasa ( O,S )

04. parama krpA sAgari – yadukula kAmbOji – GNB (short Sketch)

05. E rAmuni nammitinO – vakuLAbharaNam – Thyagaraja ( A,N,S )

neraval & swara @ ‘ EkAntamuna sItA sOkOrchi jOgoTTa kAkAsuruDu cEyu’

06. inta tiru vaDivam – vasanta – Neelakanta Shivan

07.  gAngEya vasanadhara – hamIrkalyANi – Swathi Thirunal ( A,N,S,T )

neraval & swara @ ‘gAngEya vasanadhara padmanAbha’

08. sattalEni dinamu – nAganandini – Thyagaraja

09. RTP -nAtakurinji –  Khandajati triputa , khanda nadai , +1 eduppu(?)

pallavi line ‘ shambhO mahAdEva vibhO pAhi prabhO santatam svayambhO’

pallavi trikalam in nAtakurinji & pantuvarALi ( after pantuvarali swara)

rAgamalika swaras in pantuvarALi , surutti, bhAgEshrI , sOhini/ hamsAnandi

10. chentAr sAyaka rUpa – behAg – Irayimman Thampi

11. hari guN gAvat nAchUngi – dIpALi?? – Meera Bhajan

12. mangaLam – saurAshtram / madhyamAvati – Thyagaraja

Another fabulous concert by Sri Ranganatha Sharma. The smile and happiness on the faces as they were leaving the hall, were the testimony to what he delivered on this day. A sense of peace and tranquility prevailed. No exhilaration, no frown faces, no shuffling of the sequence; yet again another display of pure classicism. If you have substance, you dont have to engage in altering the form or devices to entertain the listeners. I only wish, he get more chances in Bangalore and the hall will have as many listeners as some of the lesser capable artist manage to gather.

I reached after the varnam. Neelakanta shivan’s kriti in Nata was on and a few rounds of swaras to add. I am so used to listening to the repeat of nata kalpana swaras in the same sequence from one artist to the other with no real variety. Malayamarutam kriti was also did not really make any ‘aha’ moment. Well, some kalpana swara phrases were impressive though. The kriti was sung in a slightly faster tempo. I would have liked it a notch or two lower. GNBs yadukula kamboji was pretty nice. I’ve heard him sing this a couple of previous occasions before.

4 kritis down and apart from a short Yadukulakamboji sketch there was no raga alapana until now. To me, the highlight of Ranganatha Sharma’s concerts are the way he explore the raga, the essence of it is beautifully delineat , carefully build and flourish in front of you  with exceptional clarity through the alapana. I could sense a mild strain in voice early on and he might have waited for the voice to warm up. The wait indeed had its good. What a brilliant vaklabharanam alapana that was. We were initially aligning our concentration to mAyAmALava gauLa, but soon realised we did not have to go that far, but stay a mEla lower. E rAmuni, removed the small doubt I had on my mind. This really changed the whole aura of the concert. An outstanding neraval at ‘ekantamuna’ added to the brilliant kriti singing. Kalpana swara, however, was much shorter to the overall build up until then. Phenomenal effort.

After another rare vasanta kriti of Neelakanta Shivan, he lunched into another emotive hamir kalyani alapana. Just as brilliant as the previous one. Mysore Srikant who did a phenomenal job through out the evening, was at his best here. I guessed venkata shaila to flow in, but gAngEya vasanadhara was even better. He did another great neraval at the pallavi line. I thought it is a bit tricky to sing neraval here, but he did not seem to have any trouble whatsoever. The kalpana swaras were again a cracker. Vaidyanathan and young ganjira artist played out a decent tani avartanam. Vaidyanathan was at his elements, and was accommodating the younger supporting artist. Some attractive time play was the highlight.

Again very carefully chosen naganandini kriti came before the pallavi. Two phase alapana of Natakurinji wasn’t grand but was very sublime and extracted essence. Tanam was pretty good. Though it is not appropriate to nitpick in such a great concert, I would have liked if he had selected a different pallavi line. The occasion was gokulashtami and the pallavi was apt for the Shivarathri series concert. I see very few artist take the occasion and location into consideration while planning their concert. TNS is probably the only exception to this. Having said that, the pallavi by itself was very very good. Trikalam was executed very effortlessly with some impeccable precision in a not so common talam and nadai. After natakurinji swaras he started the ragamalika swaras with pantuvarali and came back and did another pallavi trikalam in pantuvarali. I was expecting him to do so for the rest, but that did not happen. The last swara  sounded hamsanandi-ish, but I think it probably is a very close raga ( not sure if it was sOhini or sunAdavinOdini) to hamsanandi.

Post pallavi and the speeches was notable for the Irayimman Thampi’s javali ‘Chentar Sayaka Roopa’ in behag. I recently heard him sing this in a TV program, but this was better. A Meerabhajan concluded the concert.

Another gem of a concert again. Vakulabharanam, hamir kalyani and natakurinji as three main raga for the evening. Some very clever and impressive pick of the rest of the kritis , a few rare ones. No major ragas at all, but hey, who is complaining. Hope to see him more often in Bangalore.