Sumitra Nitin @ Nadasurabhi , ‘Karnataka Vaibhava’ , 18 Aug 2019

Vocal : Vid. Sumitra Nitin

Violin :  Aditi Krishnaprakash

Mrudangam : Nikshit Puthur

Ghatam : Ganesh Murthy

List :

01 mana mOhana (varNam) – mOhanam – aTa – Muthaiah Bhagavathar ( O )

02 ugabhOga ( ninnanE pADuvE ninnanE pogaLuvE ) – bEgaDa – Purandara Dasa

gajavadana pAlisO – bEgaDa – Adi – Vijaya Vittala Dasa ( S )

03 sulabha pUjeya mADi – gAngEyabhUSaNi – khaNDa chAp – Purandara Dasa ( A )  – set to tune by Tanjavur Kalyanaraman

04 bhajana sEya rAdA – dharmavati – rUpakam – Mysore Vasudevachar (A,N,S )

neraval & swara @ ‘bhajanasEya rAdA O manasA shrI rAmuni’

05 cintayAmi jagadambam – hindOLam – mishra jhumpa – Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar

06 shAradE karuNAnidhE – hamIrkalyANi – mishra chAp – Chandrashekhara Bharathi (A) – set to tune by R K Shriramkumar

07 nArAyaNenu manavE narahariya nene manavE – kAmbOji – Adi x 2 – Kanakadasa ( A,N,S,T ) – set to tune by Neela Ramgopal

neraval & swara @ ‘ tiru mantravanu japisu  tiru lAmbanava dharisu’

08 panca bANuDu nApai veDalina (jAvaLi) – rAgamAlika (thODi, AbhOgi,shankarAbharaNam,kAmbOji, sahAna) – Adi – Mysore Sadashiva Rao

09 makkaLa Attava nODiri – behAg – Adi – Rajee Krishnan ‘Arasi’

10 thillAna ( nAdiru diru dhIm tadhiraNA ) – behAg – Adi – Veena Venkatagiriappa

11 mangaLam shrIrAmanukku shubha mangaLam – vasanta – Mysore Sadashiva Rao

shLOkam ( mangaLam kOsalEndrAya ) – madhyamAvati

Full justice to the theme of ‘Karnataka Vaibhava’.  Very impressive selection of kritis and composers. Full marks on that count.

I love when some one sing an ugabhoga/shlokam/viruttam preceding to a kriti. A nice build up to the composition. Begada swaras were good.

Nice alapana of dharmavati. Almost every ‘karnataka’ composers have composed in dharmavati and each of them are a gem. Hence it was difficult to predict which one will she choose to sing. I had, finally, zeroed in on ‘bhajanaseya’ and wasn’t wrong.  Interestingly, the neraval was done at the pallavi line.

Chintayami jagadambam seems to be a favourite in every thematic concerts. I guess, it is the tAla variety helps its way through. Nice kriti, though.

Solid kamboji alapana, very detailed, typical build up with slow, short, lower octave phrases and as progressed some beautiful takes, as expected in the mid and higher octaves. Surprised with the choice of the kriti. As she said, it is fit enough to be presented as main. Brilliant neraval and two speed kalpana swaras ( I thought she concluded rather soon, it could have been a bit more detailed ). Percussion team had a enthusiastic tani avartanam. Nikshit Puthur is growing in stature and is improving ( from where I heard him last).

Sadashiva Rao’s compositions, which was missing from the list until then, made a rocking appearance. The 5 raga javali was great and listening for the first time in a concert ( there is a youtube video of Shrikantham Nagendra Shastry ).  Two behag compositions, Arasi’s nice little piece and Veena Venkatagiriappa’s thillana were sung before mangalam. Again, a rare one ( 95% of the concert will have nI nAma rUpamulaku, next 4% will be between bhujaga shAyinO and patiki hArati rE and the balance 1% is split between a few others) in Vasanta from Mysore Sadashiva Rao.

Very well prepared and presented concert. I look forward to these special concerts and was very happy in the end.

 

Vani Satish at Nadasurabhi , Karnataka Vaibhava , 19 Aug 2018

Vocal : Vid Vani Satish

Violin : Mathur Srinidhi

Mrudangam : Trichy G Aravindh

Ghatam : G Omkar Rao

List:

01  jaya jaya jaya jAnakI kAnta – nATa – Khanda Chap –  Purandara Dasa  ( O,S )

02  gOvindA ninna nAmavE chandA – janasammOdini – Adi – Purandara Dasa

03  Enu dhanyaLO lakumi entha mAnyaLO – thODi – Roopakam – Purandara Dasa ( A,N,S )

neraval & swara @ ‘ sarvatrAdi vyAptanAda sarvadOSa rahitanAda’

04 nInE gati nInE mati nInE svAmi – madhuvanti ? -khanda chap –  Purandara Dasa

05 Enu sukrtava mADidaLu yashOdE – nIlAmbari – mishra chAp – Vadiraja ( O )

06 dAsa dAsara maneya – hindOLam – khanda chap – Kanaka Dasa ( A )

07 hari chitta satyA – jOnpuri – Adi – Purandara Dasa

08 mAnava janma doDDadu – pUrvikalyANi – Mishra Chap – Purandara Dasa ( A,S,T )

09 kSIrAbdhi kannike – rAgamAlika – Adi – Purandara Dasa

10 nArAyaNa ninnA nAmada – shudha dhanyAsi – Khanda Chap – Purandara Dasa

11 ugabhOga ( ninna bhaktarendelisida? ) – nAthanAmakriya

dAsana mADiko enna – nAthanAmakriya -Adi – Purandara Dasa

12 tAraka bindige ( muNDige ) – tilang ? – Adi Tisragati – Purandara Dasa

13 shLOkam ( vandE mukundam ) –  kApi

jagadOdhAraNa – kApi – Adi x 2 – Purandara Dasa

14 shLOkam ( man manObhISTha  on Purandara Dasa) – madhyamAvati

mangaLam jaya mangaLam – madhyamAvati – Adi – Purandara Dasa

Special day and a special concert by Vidushi Vani Satish.  It was announced as a Purandara Dasa compositions concert, hence the setting was clear. She did more than justice to the theme ( despite including a couple of other Dasa Composers).  Many familiar compositions, but when the Karnataka Singers perform, they have a different feel to them.

She started with a beautiful rendition of the Nata kriti. I found it very refreshing from the usual lot that we hear. The swaras followed was good too. An average thodi alapana, short too. But she sang some commendable neraval at ‘sarvatrAdi’ and few rounds of swaras. Couple of not often heard compositions came, one of Vadiraja set in neelambari. Nice little kriti seeped in bhakti. Not sure who set this to tune, but was a few imperfections at places. Another short alapana of hindolam, which was good.

Pruvikalyani was the main and it was obvious that the choice is going to be mAnava janma. The alapana was detailed and very well constructed and sung. Srinidhi was also chipped in with some nice work. There was no neraval, but the swaras were done in elaborated ,two speed presentation. Young perussion team did a good job through out, played a commendable tani avartanam.

Lot more had to come post the main. Ugabhoga, a mundige, couple of shlokas ( one on Purandara Dasa).  True to her strength, they were all sung beautifully.

 

Harini & Sharada , Karnataka Vaibhava @ Nadasurabhi 20th Aug 2017

Vocal : Bangalore Sisters ( Harini & Sharada)

Violin : Nalina Mohan

Mrudangam : B R Srinivas

Ghatam : Srishylan

Thematic Concert on Mysore/Karnataka Composers

01. shLOkam ( Om nama: praNavArthAya)

mAtE malayadhwaja ( daru varNam) – khamAs – Adi-Muthaiah Bhagavathar

02 shrI mahAgaNapatim bhajEham – aThANa – Adi-Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar ( A,S )

03. gangAdhara tripurahara – pUrvikalyANi –  Roopakam – Mysore Sadashiva Rao ( A,N,S )

neraval & swara @ ‘ahi bhUSaNa amaravana aja sannuta badarIvana’

04. ikO namma swAmi – maNirang – mishra chAp – Purandara Dasa ( O )

05. sadA sAranga nayanE – ranjani – Adi – Yoga Narasimham ( A )

06. mari mari vacunA – kAmbOji – Adi x 2 – Mysore Vasudevachar ( A,N,S,T )

neraval & swara @ ‘rAmuni mahima nEn Emani pogaDudu’

07. karEdarE barabAradE guruvE – janasammOdini? – Adi – Kamalesha Vittala

08. bArO namma managE – vasanta – Purandara Dasa

09. thillAna ( nAdru dru dhIm takaNu dhIm ) – chandrakauns ? – Anoor Ananthakrishna Sharma

10. mangaLam – saurAStram/ madhyamAvati – Thyagaraja

Another one of a meticulously planned concert in the ‘Karnataka Vaibhava’ series at Nadasurabhi. What is heartening to see is the freshness in the selection of compositions, instead of singing the ‘safe’ kritis.

To me the high point of the concert was the pUrvikalyani kriti. Sadhashiva Rao’s master piece was sung wonderfully. The neraval was classy, the kalpana swaras that followed were superbly done. Kamboji main, for the second day in succession, this time with a different take. Mari mari vacuna is not heard these days, apart from Malladi Bros. There was again detailed neraval and swaras here.

Yoga Narasimham’s ranjani composition and the thillana of mrudangam maestro Anoor Ananthakrishna Sharma were new to me. What was again impressive to listen and watch was the way B R Srinivas accompanied the main artists. He, I thought, had a wonderful performance. Nalina Mohan was in her usual self, however her return alapana’s were shortish for most of the ragas.

This is a great initiative from Nadasurabhi and I observed they bring new artists each year , presenting newer compositions as a result.

 

Dilip Simha & A K Jagdish @ Karnataka Vaibhava , Nadasurabhi – 19 Aug 2017

Vocal Duet : A Dilip Simha & A K Jagdish

Violin : R Achyutha Rao

Mrudangam : Adamya Ramanand

Ganjira : Anil Parashara

Thematic Concert on the Compositions of Harikeshanallur Muthaiah Bhagavathar

List:

01. mana mOhana (varNam) – mOhanam – aTa

02. durgAdEvi duritanivAriNi – navarasa kannaDa – Adi

03. lambOdara sOdara – kalyANi – sankIrNa chApu  ( A,N,S )

neraval & swara @ ‘ nA kOrina varamunu nosagi nannubrOvumu’

04. vancatOnunA – karNaranjani – Adi tishra gati  ( A )

05. mAnamu kAvalenu talli – sahAna – Roopakam ( A,S )

06. sharavaNa bhava – pashupatipriya – Adi

07. shivam haram sAmbam bhaja manasA – kAmbOji – Adi x 2 ( A,N,S,T )

neraval & swara @ ‘ shivam haram sAmbam bhaja manasA – sadA’

08. ANDavan darishanamE – jOnpuri – Adi

09. dhIm tAre nArE nArE ( thillAna ) – hamsAnandi

10.  shLOkam ( swasthi prajabhyA..) – madhyamAvati

Rain and flood affected Koramangala made it difficult for us to attend the concert. But I always like thematic concerts for one, it give a direction to the artists and audience and secondly, gets some of the not often heard gems are brought out of oblivion. However, it has to precede a clever planning and intelligence from the artists.

Muthaiah Bhagavathar, to be is one of the best ( if not the best) composers of the 20th century and has produced a vast number of compositions in various languages, complex tala structure and have credited with compositions in ragas created by him. True to the spirit of the evening, the artists should be given credit in choosing to sing the compositions in all the four languages and a variety of tala with a few popular and a few not often heard kritis.

It took a while for the duo to get into the groove. Initial pieces, where they had to sing together was a bit patchy. There were occasional slips later too. However, the pieces where they had to sing independently ( alapana , neraval and swaras) it was much better. The larger pieces were very good. As KSSR mentioned in his remark, the team excelled in neravals. Both Kalyani and Kamboji neravals were top class. The kalpana swaras were also very good.

The pick of the evening was the main kamboji kriti. Very rarely heard in concert, a gem in kamboji. Very aptly chosen pallavi line for neraval, the sangatis that followed in the anu pallavi and the eduppu.. this is a fabulous composition and the artists did a fantastic job here. Percussion support was vey good. Adamya is a seasoned artist and it is good to see him growing in stature as a matured artist. Anil Parashara was brilliant too.

 

Pavan Rangachar, Karnataka Vaibhava, Nadasurabhi 20th Aug 2016

Vocal : Pavan Rangachar

Violin : Nagaraj Mandyam

Mrudangam : Renukaprasad

List

01.  siddhivinAyakam sEvEham – mOhanakalyANi – Muthaiah Bhagavathar (A )

02. chintayAmi jagadamba – hindOLam – Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar ( A,S )

03. varalakSmi namOstutE – gaurimanOhari – Mysore Vasudevachar ( A,S )

04. kEshavanolumeyu Aguva tanakA – thODi – Kanaka Dasa (A,N,S,T)

neraval & swara @ ‘varavElApurAdi kEshavana smarisuvavanigE mOkSavu tappitE’

05. harihara ninnanu mechisa bahudu – sindhubhairavi –  Purandara Dasa

06.  shLOkam ( mangaLam kOsalEndrAya) – mdhyamAvati

First time listening to Pavan Rangachar in a concert. He has a very sweet, mellifluous voice, very similar to a play back singer or one used to hear in ‘light music’. His singing style is also matching to his voice. Not a typical open throat-ed powerful and stressing at appropriate places as we see in the classical singers. However, his ability  and manodharma is at par with the leading artists of the day and he presented a scholarly concert yesterday at Nadasurabhi.

First of all, he stayed to the theme of the concert, selecting and limiting his choices to ‘karnataka composers’. Even in that, he picked some interesting mix  and presented them very well. Concert did have a feeble start, with both mOhanakalyani and hindOLam did not really appeal to me. But, with the gowrimanohari kriti onwards, he seems to have found his rhythm. Short alapana, the kriti and the kalpana swaras are presented with such a command and it was pleasing to listen. Swaras were top class,too.

The main, thodi alapana was again done very well, especially some of the long fast paced , bhriga laden sangatis in ‘akara’. Couple of instances of improper breath breaks (he had a trouble during gowri manohari swaras as well) could have been avoided, especially  since he was on a smooth flow at that instance. Otherwise,his thodi was again of very high caliber. Kriti was a very pleasant surprise. I am a ‘sucker’ for long neraval lines and he did a wonderful job here. So was the kalpana swaras, which brought Sri Renukaprasad to limelight with some impressive accompaniment. He played a short tani avartanam suiting to the occasion. Concert concluded with a devarnama, post the main.