2013 Feb 18 Sanjay Subrahmanyan HKVenkatram HSSudheendra PGururaj @ rAgiguDDa , Bangalore

01 telisi rAma cintanatO pUrNacandrikA Adi tyAgarAja

02 manasA etulOrthune malayamArutha rUpaka thyAgarAja

03 rItigauLa AlApane followed by nannu viDachi kadhalaku rA rIthigowLa 
chApu thyAgarAja

04 evvarE rAmayya gAngEya bhUShaNi dESAdi thyAgarAja

05 marugElarA O rAghavA jayanthashrI Adi thyAgarAja

06 kalyANi AlApane followed by enduku nI manasu karagadu kalyANi Adi tyAgarAja and tani

07 Enna rakShisO nInu dEvara dEva shubhapantuvarALi Adhi Purandara dAsa

08 mAsil ayOdhyayil  lullaby in tamil,  rAgamAlika nIlA rAmamurthy

09 jAnAti rAma tava nAma slOlka suraTi rAmA daivamA rAga rAga suraTi tyAgarAja

10 Eru mayil Eri bAgEshri k chApu aruNagiri nAThar

11 nI nAma rUpamulaku mangaLa sourAshtra Adhi thyAgarAja

The program was a part of 3 day festival to commomorate ArAdhana of purandara dAsa, kanaka dAsa and tyAgaraja. This was the 10th year and hence the organisers wanted to have a grand finale to the festival. There cannot be a better choice than Sanjay to do the honours.

Expcted to be a short affair as the concert was supposed to start at 7. However, it started at 7:20  burning into the precious concert time by the previous speaker ( a mutt head whose lecture and AshIrvAdam went on till 7:10)

But when the master started.. it was all sixers and boundaries from the word go.

The kalpana swaras flowed freely as he presented telisi rAma. The flow continued over to malayamAruta...presented in its composed form without any new elaborations.

The first AlApana came with rItigaULa ... not so commonly heard by Sanjay as he sings rItigULa aTa tALa varNa more often. Even though it lasted for about 6 minutes, the feeling was eternal !

nannu viDachi was presented at an apt viLamba kAla speed. Vid Sudheendra and Vid HK Venkatram complimented the master very well. It was very evident with the smiles exchanged between the master and the accompaniments.

gAngEyabhUshani and jayanthashri came in as fillers, with kalpanAswara embelishment for evvare rAmayya.

kalyANi was fit in into a 15 minute AlApane which was followed by enduku nI manasu. neraval and kalpana swaras were elaborate the song to almost 25 minutes.

What next follwed was a smooth transition into tani and it was one of the best ones that I heard in recent times. I'm a novice in tani, but i could still appreciate the intricate patterns.

Enna rakshiso  was presented after a brief 5 minute vote of thanks.

mAsil ayOdhyayil a rAgamAlika by nIlA rAmamurthy began the closing affairs for the evening.. felt it would be the mangala song as it was a lullaby.

http://www.indianhindunames.com/tamil-thalattu-paatu-lullabies-songs.htm

A shlOka ( jAnAti rAma) followed next as fillers before tyAgarAja composition in suraTi. 

AruNagirinAthar composition in bAgEsri was the last of the songs before he quickly switched into mangaLa.

A good set of songs fit into the shortened concert. Overall a good concert to cherish for a long time. Thanks to the mAster and his team.

Even though the hall was small, there was good publicity to the program that ensured full attendance.

Pictures from the Concert:

2013 Feb 11 Dr.SudhaRaghunathan EmbarKannan NeyveliSSkandasubramanian RRaman

This was the final concert of the festival. This was preceeded by an award ceremony where Vid Sudha Ragunathan was awarded "sangIta vEdAnta dhurINe"

01 vanajAksha ninnE kOri varNa mandhAri Adhi mysUru vAsudhEvAchAr
02 sharaNu siddi vinAyaka saurAshtra miSra cApu purandhara dhAsa
03 jaya jaya jaya jAnaki kAntha nATa khaNDa chApu puranDhara dhAsa
04 hari nArAyaNa hari nArAyaNa kEdAra Adhi purandara dhAsa
05 kalyANi AlApane followed by 06 kELenO hari tALenO kalyANi Adi p.dAsa
06 paluku tEnela talli AbhEri annamAcArya
07 baNTu rIthi kOlu vIyavayya rAma hamsanAdha dhEshAdhi thyAgarAja
08 tODi AlApane followed by cEsinadella maracitivo tODi Adi thyAgarAja and tani
09 hE gOvinda hE gOpAla dEsh sUrdAs
10 kurai ondrum illai rAgamAlika rAjAji
11 man ki Ankhen sAi bhajan
12 BhAgyAda lakshmi bAramma Sri Eka p.dAsa
13 nI nAma rUpamulaku mangaLa sourAshtra Adhi thyAgarAja

2013 Feb 09 Vishaka Hari CharulathaRamanujam HSSudhindra SukanyaRamgopal

Musical discourse on Srirangam Vaibhavam.

I have never attempted writing a review of harikatha. Certainly one thing that I appreciate in Visaka Hari discourse is the explanation of circumstances under which a song was composed and the meanings associated with each sangathi in pallavi / anupallavi / charaNa. Gives me a better understanding of the krithi itself.

2013 Feb 08 RamakrishnaMurthy KShriramkumar KArunPrakash Anirudh Atreyya RLKMSpringFestival

I was already late by 3 songs..when I entered the hall. .All I could enjoy was the cream of the concert.. as listed below

05 mAmava mInAkshi rAjamAthangi varALi mishra chApu m.dhIkshithar
06 sOundara rAjam AshrayE brundhAvana sAranga rUpaka m.dhIkshithar
07 trilOka mAtA nannu brovu parAju cApu shyAma shAstri
08 kharakarapriyA AlApane followed by chakkani rAja mArgamu kharaharapriya Adhi thyAgarAja and tani
09 rAga tAna pUrvikalyANi nATa gauLa Arabhi varALi shrI
10 pallavi pUrvikalyANi miSra cApu rAgamAlike bEgade kApikanakiddaikku mOhabeshan darishanam kaNDAl kalittiru me (?)
11 Adum chidambaramo ayyan kuTTadum bEhAg gOpalakrishna bhArati
12 nInyAko ninna hangyAko RMK janjhUTi punnAgavarALi nAdanAmakriya Sindhubhairavi Adhi p.dhAsa
13 rAmachandrAya janaka mangaLam kuranji bhadrAcala rAmadas

2013 Feb 06 SanjaySubrahmanian ASRVinu MAEaswaran SVenkataramana RLKMSpringFestival

01 nera nammithinayya VarNa kAnada k Ata pUchi shrInivAsa iyengAr

02 mallAri gambhIranATa khaNDa tripuTa

03 aTANa AlApane followed byparama pAvani mAmava aTANa Adhi aNNAsAmi shAsthry

04 pantuvarALi AlApane followed by enna gAnu rAma bhajana kAmavarDhini rUpaka bhadhrAchala rAmadhAsa

05 shaNkarAbharaNa AlApane followed by manam vaittu aruL tA sundari varadAyaki shaNkarAbharaNa Adi Anai Ayya and tani

06 ninna nambide nIraja shyAma mukhAri purandara dhAsa

07 rAga kAnaDa

08 tAna kAnaDa kAmbOdhi janaranjani AbhEri

09 pallavi kAnaDa khanDa tripuTa+1 beat 2kaLaisri rAma ravikulAbdhi sOma sujana manObhirAma

10 mODi jEsevElara nA idukada jAvaLi khamAs Adi Pattabhiramayya

11 Vanna madangal shuzh tirukkottiyur - rAgamAlika in kAnaDa hamsAnandi suraTi Adi Periyazhvar

12 tumbam nErkayil dEsh Bharatidasan

13 gidu na dhiku thillAna dhanashrI Adhi swAthi thirunAL

14 nI nAma rUpamulaku mangaLa sourAshtra Adhi thyAgarAja

2013 Feb 05 TMKrishna RKShriramkumar KArunPrakash GGuruprasanna RLKMSpringFestival

01 rAvE himagiri kumAri kanci kAmAkSi varada tODi Adi syAma sAstri
02 nArAyaNa gauLa AlApane  followed by shrI rAmam ravikulAbdhi sOmam nAraAyaNa gauLa Adhi m.dhIkshitar
03 phalamanjari  AlApane followed by sanAtanA paramapAvanA phalamanjari Adi tyAgarAja
04 nagna vipina nagna gagana tapO magna mEdini kalyANi rUpaka.Vilamba PuTiNa
05 vAgadIshawari gAngEyabhUshaNi kIravANi kApi
06 shrI mAtrubhUtam trishiragiri kannaDa m.cApu m.dIkshitar
07 Tani mrudanga khanjira khaNDa dhruva 2 kaLai.
08 Arabhi tAna followed bychAlakalla lAdu konnA soukhyamEmiraA Arabhi Adhi thyAgarAja
09 bArO krishNayya mAND Adhi kanaka dhAsa
10 viruttum rAmAya rAmachandrAya kannaDagauLa
11 sogasu jUDa taramA kannaDa gauLa Adi tyAgarAja
12 krishNA nI bEgane bArO yamuna kalyANi chApu vyAsa rAya
13 nenjukku nItiyum punnAgavarALi Subramanya Bharati
14 nI nAma rUpamulaku mangaLa sourAshtra Adhi thyAgarAja

2013 Feb 03 BombayJayashree EmbarKannan RamanaMurthy KVGopalakrishnan @ RLKM Spring Festival

01 vallabha nAyakasya bEgaDa rUpaka m.dhIkshithar
02 mundu vEnuka Iru prakkala doDai mUrkharahara darbAr Adhi tyAgarAja
03 shubhapantuvarALi AlApane followed by ennALu urake shubha pantuvarALi m.cApu tyAgarAja
04 sogasujUDa taramA kannaDagowla rUpaka tyAgarAja
05 kAmbOdhi AlApane followed by O rangashAyI kAmbOdhi Adhi thyAgarAja and tani
06 rAga tAna dEsh hamIrkalyANi
07 pallavi dEsh hamIrkalyANi khanda tripuTa
varade shArade sakala shubha dE sharadindu vadane pAhi
08 giridhar dwAre mOre gOri puriyA dhanashri Adi swAti thirunAL
09 rAgi tandIra rEvati Adi p.dAsa
10 tillAnA yamunAkalyANi lAlgudi jayarAman
11 nI nAma rUpamulaku mangaLa sourAshtra Adhi thyAgarAja

Bombay Jayashree presented a neat concert at RLKM. Over the years she has developed a successful formula about her concert planning, song list so that rasikas get a balanced concert.

As usual she started with a brisk opening number "vallabha nAyakasya" in bEgaDa with a short sketch of raga. Moved to darbAr, "mundu vEnuka" of saint thyAgarAja with no neraval or swaras.

After presenting two brisk rAgAs and kIrtana  she moved to soul stirring  subha pantuvarAli rAgA AlApana and presented saint thyAgarAja's ennALu urake presented swara prastara for the pallavi line" ennAlu urake evaru" ending alternatively with "ennAlu urake" and" evaru". It was a +1 for me as I could recognize the rAga in its initial phrase as compared to 2 learned audience who sat next to me.

Filler before main was another thyAgarAja kIrtana  in kannaDagowla, "sogasujUDa".

She selected "kAmbOdhi" for the main. She is one of the few leading vidushis who always present one of the big six as main (KalyANi, kAmbOdhi, shankarAbharaNa, tODi, kharaharapriya, bhAiravi).Mostly she prefers kAmbOdhi, karaharapriya frequently followed by tODi and kalyANi.

After the masterly kAmbOdhi  AlApana, what followed was thyAgarAja's "O rangashAyi". Niraval at bhUlOka vaikuNTam and swaraprastara. The song was presented in a sedate rhythm with swara prastAra switching into supersonic delivery and transitioning into tani. Tani avarthana was really good.

rasikAs always looks for a RTP from Bombay Jayashri as she is master in presenting the same. This time she presented RTP in dEsh, raga alapnana in dEsh, tana in dEsh, bAgEshri and hamIr kalyANi. Pallavi line was "varade sharadhe" which she has presented in Bangalore few times ..but in this concert she presented pallavi and swaras  again in 3 ragas dEsh, bAgEshri and hamIr kalyANi. Rasikas had a wonderful experience in listening to her melodious voice  presenting pallavi in 3 ragas and the smooth transition from one raga to another ,her usual back forth oscillation between all 3 ragas.

In tukkadas she presented a short sketch of purya dhanashri and followed by swati tirunal's giridhar dwAre mOre gOri,then purandara dasa's rAgi tandIra. She ended her concert with her guru's yamuna kalyani tillana and mangalam.

Embar Kannan gave a wonderful support to vocalist and his "shubha pantuvArali","kAmbOdhi" alapanas were listening pleasure.

Ramana Murthy and KV Goplakrishnan (replacing Anirudh Atreya who was scheduled artist), played at apt decibel to match the pace and volume of the main artist.

Overall it was an evening to remember.

Courtesy: Global Rasika

2013 Jan 27 PantularmA MSN Murthy BRSrinivas RaghavendraPrakash @ Bangalore Gayana Samaja

Had heard about the artist edurition, but was never a witness to it. Even though a poorly attended cocnert ( I always crib that Bangalore Gayana Samaja never markets its monthly concert .. and this one was no different !) the delivery was impeccable !


01 sarasija nAbha ninnu varNa kAmbOdhi khaNDa aTa swAthi thirunAL
02 vallabha nAyakasya bEgaDa rUpaka m.dhIkshithar
03 kalavati alapane followed by ennaDu jUthuna kalAvathi Adhi thyAgarAja
04 nIkela dayarAdurA kathanakuthUhala mysore vAsudEvAcarya
05 shrI rangapuravihAra brindhAvana sArangA rUpaA m.dikshitar
06 varAlandu kommani nAyandu gUrjari Adi tyAgarAja
07 kalyANi Alapane and tAna followed by talli ninnu nera nammi kalyANi m.cApu shyAma shAstry and tani
08 barayya ranga barayya krishna kapi Adi p.dAsa
09 tambUri mITidava bhavAbdhi dATidava sindhubhairavi eka p.dAsa

10 yehi murare maND
ehi murare kuñjabihari
ehi pran?atajana bandho
he madhava madhumathana varen?ya
kesava karun?a sindho
rasa nikuñje guñjati niyatam´
bhramarasatam´ kila kanta
ehi nibhr?ta patha pantha
tvamiha yache darasana danam
he madhusudana santa
shyunyam kusumasanmiha kunje
shyunyah kelikadambaha
deenah keki kadambaha
mridukal naadam, kil savishaadam
roditi yamuna svambhaha
nava niraja dhara syamala sundara
chandra kusuma ruchivesa
gopigan?a hr?dayesa
govardhana dhara vr?ndavana cara
vam´sidhara paramesa
radha rañjana kam´sa nis?udana
prana tistavaka caran?e
nikhila nirasraya saran?e
ehi janardana pitambara dhara
kuñje manthara pavane

10 darishina mAyinnu shriramulavari darshana nAdanAmakriyA Adi badrAcala rAmadasa
11 nI nAma rUpamulaku mangaLa sourAshtra Adhi thyAgarAja

2013 Jan 2: Akkarai Sisters, Nalina Mohan, BS Prashanth, Bhargava Halambi @ Ramalalita Kala Mandira

  
01 Era nApai inta caukasEya tODi patnam subhramanya iyer
02 jaya jaya ramAkAntha gauLa
03 ambA kAmAkshi bhairavi swarajathi miSra cApu shyAma shAstri
04  vasantha Alapane followed by parama purusha jagadhIsha jaya jaya Vasantha Adhi swAthi thirunAL
05 pantuvarALi Alapane followed by rAmanAtham BhajEham kAmavardhini rUpaka m.dhIkshitar
06 aTu kAradA nI palka manOranjani Adi tyAgarAja
07 rAga tAna pallavi in tODi followed by tani
Pallavi line : vElavane ninadu padamE varavenDum mayil ??
08 gOvardhana giridAri darbArikAnaDa tripuTa nArAyaNatIrtar tarangam
09 nI nAma rUpamulaku mangaLa sourAshtra Adhi thyAgarAja


First concert for me in 2013, it was a good start with 3 hrs of bliss from the sisters. Highly energetic concert highlighted by their experience of various top grade vocalists, the kalpana swaras were free flowing throughout their performance.

Will look forward for their next performance in Bangalore