Padams

Aruna Chandaraju wonders why padams are not heard often?

From The Hindu article:

Chitravina Ravikiran holds:

“Most artistes are daunted by its demands — a super-slow tempo which calls for great breath control, a platinum-like voice which doesn’t lose intensity even when modulated to the thinnest, and a mind capable of grasping its microscopic details.”

Sakuntala Narasimhan:

“Brinda took nearly one year to teach us the famous Sahana padam because it was so difficult.”

Sripada Pinakapani:

“Vilambalaya rendition keeping tautness intact is the vital requirement in padams. And in this age when unnecessarily speedy renditions by performers are common and accepted, where pyrotechnic displays draw applause, and where many students are in a hurry to ascend concert-platforms without acquiring perfect breath-control, where is the atmosphere for padams to flourish?”

(Thanks Manu for bringing this article to my attention - Shencottah.)

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Carnatic Concerts in Chennai

For carnatic concerts' schedule in Chennai, listed for every month till January 2008, visit this page now, and then regularly to see the updates.
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Sruti

Sruti is India's leading monthly magazine, started in 1983, devoted to Indian classical music and dance.

Contact details:

The Sruti Foundation,
9, Cathedral Road,
Chennai - 600086, India.


Subscription details:

One year - Rs.360 (including postages) - in India.
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Shri. Dhandapani Desikar

Mogadalai always gives you great many links to materials which you would have missed for sure. Thanks for all those posts by him. In fact, I am planning to collect a selection of those links and make it a single post or web page!! Those links should not be lost in the maze of labels and posts.

Here is the link (Mogadalai's post is here) to Sriram Venkatkrishan's article in The Hindu.

From The Hindu article:

...Born in 1908 at Tiruchengathangudi in Thanjavur district, Mr. Dhandapani Desigar learnt Thevaram, Tiruvachagam and Tiruppugazh from his father. Desigar hailed from a family that boasted of a strong Oduvar lineage with father Muthiah Desigar and grandfather Murugiah Desigar being well known exponents...

...Later he learnt music formally from nagaswara vidwan Sadayappa Pillai. He also learnt Tamil hymns from his uncle Manikka Desigar. His first concert was at a fairly young age at the temple town of Tirumarugal...

...He learnt Isai from Kumbakonam Sri Rajamanikkam Pillai for about five years...

...The resultant financial difficulties mad e him seek refuge in his sister’s house in Kumbakonam and there he began learning music from Pillai. A warm friendship was to spring up between guru and sishya, so much so that when they were both given the title of ‘Isai Perarignar’ by the Tamil Isai Sangam in 1957, the guru did not in any way feel slighted and both cheerfully accepted the honour...

...Given his penchant for Tamil hymns, he was cast in and as ‘Thayumanavar’ (1938), ‘Manikkavachakar’ (1939) and ‘Nandanar’ (1942). The last, made by S.S.Vasan, was the greatest hit of Desigar’s film career and credit for this was shared by him with Papanasam Sivan for his wonderful music. Desigar also acted in a film with a Vaishnavite theme, ‘Tirumazhisai Azhwar’ (1948), besides singing playback in ‘Mudhal Thedhi’ (1955) and ‘Tirumanam’ (1958). His tune for the song ‘Tunbam Nergayil’ in the film ‘Ore Iravu’ (1951) is a work of genius...

...In the 1940s, Desigar, to quote The Hindu, became one of the pioneers of Tamil Isai (Tamil Music) movement and composed songs in Tamil. Such was his love for Tamil that he did not think it unusual to sing songs in that language in T iruvaiyaru during the Tyagaraja aradhana of 1946. The conservative element, however, did not like it and after he finished, organised for a purification rite at the Samadhi!...

...After a successful tenure of 15 years at the Annamalai University, Desigar left rather suddenly in 1970 and returned to Madras for a life of domestic bliss with his beloved Devasena. He remained associated with the Carnatic Music College (now the Isai Kalluri) and also with the Tamil Nadu Sangeetha Natak Sangam (now the Eyal Isai Nataka Manram) till his death...

...M.M.Dhandapani Desigar had passed away on June 29, 1973...

...It was the end of a long life that had been dedicated almost in its entirety to the propagation of Tamil Isai...

Very informative article. One thing struck me in the article. Sriram has quoted The Hindu too often, I think. Citing the source is a good practice when you refer information and materials that are not known widely; and also in support of your opinions and ideas. But he even quoted The Hindu to write "Desigar acted in Tamil pictures, wrote The Hindu."!!!!!!!

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Bangalore Sri Ramanavami Music Concerts Schedule

Seshadripuram College Sri Ramanavami Music Festival

Sri Ramanavami Concert Series - Fort High School Grounds, Bangalore

69th Sreerama Navami Celebrations, 27-March-2007 to 03-May-2007, Govt.Junior College, Fort High School Grounds, Bangalore 18.

27-March-2007, 6:45 PM - Kadri Gopalnath, A.Kanyakumari, B.Harikumar, N.Amruth, B.Rajasekhar

28-March-2007, 6:30 PM - K.J Yesudas, Mahadeva Sharma, B.Harikumar, T.K Radhakrishnan

29-March-2007, 6:30 PM - Suma Sudhindra (Veena), Shubhendra Rao (Sitar), Anoor Ananthakrishna Sharma, Ravindra Yavagal

30-March-2007, 6:30 PM - Dr.N.Ramani (Flute), Nagai Muraleedharan, K.V Prasad, N.Amruth

31-March-2007, 6:30 PM - Sanjay Subrahmanyan, Nagai Muraleedharan, Guruvayur Dorai, M.A Krishnamoorthy

01-April-2007, 9:00 AM - A.Kanyakumari (Violin), K.V Prasad, N.Amruth, B.Rajasekhar

01-April-2007, 6:30 PM - Hyderabad Brothers, Mysore Shrikanth, D.S.R Murthy, D.Mohite

02-April-2007, 6:30 PM - Vidyabhooshana, M.A Krishnaswami, K.V Jayachandra Rao, B.N Chandramouli

03-April-2007, 6:30 PM - S.Sowmya, Embar S.Kannan, H.S Sudhindra, Sukanya Ramgopal

04-April-2007, 7:15 PM - T.N.S Krishna, Jyothsna Shrikanth, M.T Rajakesari, Shrishailam

05-April-2007, 7:15 PM - Vijayalakshmi Subrahmanyam, Usha Rajagopal, M.T Rajakesari, Guruprasanna

06-April-2007, 6:30 PM - O.S Thyagarajan, T.K.V Ramanujacharulu, Umayalpuram K.Sivaraman, D.Mohite

07-April-2007, 6:30 PM - Ranjini & Gayathri, Nalina Mohan, H.S Sudhindra, Sukanya Ramgopal

08-April-2007, 6:30 PM - Gundecha Brothers (Hindustani Drupad Style Vocal)

09-April-2007, 6:30 PM - M.S Sheela, Nalina Mohan, C.Cheluvaraju, B.R Ravikumar

10-April-2007, 7:15 PM - Pantula Rama, M.S.N Murthy, C.Cheluvaraju, A.S.N Swamy

11-April-2007, 6:30 PM - Anuradha Madhusudanan (Veena), C.Cheluvaraju, D.Mohite

12-April-2007, 6:30 PM - Trichur V.Ramachandran, Mysore M.Nagaraj, Mannargudi Easwaran, M.A Krishnamoorthy

13-April-2007, 6:30 PM - Nityasree Mahadevan and Party

14-April-2007, 6:30 PM - Mysore M.Nagaraj & Mysore M.Manjunath (Violin Duet), Thiruvaroor Bhakthavalsalam, B.N Chandramouli

15-April-2007, 6:30 PM - U.Srinivas & U.Rajesh (Mandolin Duet), H.K Venkitaram, Thanjavur Govindarajan, S.V Ramani

16-April-2007, 6:30 PM - Bangalore S.Shankar, Parur M.A.Krishnanswamy, C.Cheluvaraj, M.A.Krishnamurthy

17-April-2007, 5:00 PM - Manda Sudharini, Charulatha Ramanujam, M.T Rajakesari, Krishna Prasad

17-April-2007, 7:15 PM - Sikkil Gurucharan,H. K.Venkataram, Praveen V, Sreeshailam

18-April-2007, 6:30 PM - Vijay Siva.N, R.K.ShriramKumar, Manoj Siva, B.R.Ravikumar

19-April-2007, 6:30 PM - T.V.Shankaranarayan an, Nagai Sriram, B.Harikumar, Alathur Rajaganesh

20-April-2007, 6:30 PM - Lalgudi.G.J. R.Krishnan & Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi( Violin Duet) Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman, D.Mohite

21-April-2007, 6:30 PM - Priya Sisters(Shanmukhapr iya & Haripriya) & Party

22-April-2007, 6:30 PM - Kunnakudi R.Vaidyananthan( Vioiln Solo) & Party

23-April-2007, 6:30 PM - Bombay Sisters (C.Saroja & C.Lalitha), Charulatha Ramanujam, K.R Ganesh, Sukanya Ramgopal

24-April-2007, 6:30 PM - Sudha Raghunathan & Party

25-April-2007, 6:30 PM - Shashank.S (Flute), Embar S.Kannan, Sathish Kumar, N.Amruth

26-April-2007, 6:30 PM - Neyveli Santhanagopalan, V.V Ravi, Thiruvarur Bhakthavalsalam, N.Amruth

27-April-2007, 6:30 PM - Madurai T.N Sheshagopalan, S.Varadarajan, K.V Prasad, Giridhar Uduppa

28-April-2007, 6:30 PM - Mysore Manjunath (Violin) & Vishwamohan Bhat (Mohanaveena) , Sathish Kumar

29-April-2007, 5:00 PM - Malladi Brothers, Embar S.Kannan, K.V Prasad, Giridhar Uduppa

30-April-2007, 6:30 PM - N.Ravikiran (Chitraveena) , Akkarai Subbalakshmi, Thiruvaroor Bhakthavalsalam, Vaikom Gopalakrishnan

01-May-2007, 6:30 PM - Bharathanatyam By Shobhana (Film Actress) & Party

02-May-2007, 6:30 PM - Kathak & Bharathanatyam By Nirupama & Rajendra

03-May-2007, 5:00 PM - Ragavaibhavam (80 artists) lead by Kunnakudi R.Vaidyanathan

Divine Connection

A R Rahman, as told to Atul Sethi of The Sunday Times, writes,

Music is my means of connecting with the divine. What cannot be put into words, can be expressed through music. There are countless names of God, which we cannot utter simultaneously, but through a soulful composition, we can experience the whole power of God’s presence amidst us. When I was composing for my first film Roja, I often went into a spiritual vacuum where nothing else mattered except the music. At those times, I felt connected with a supreme power. That is why I credit whatever success has come my way to the Almighty. For artists, I believe that this manifests itself in the form of inspiration which helps you create something wonderful. I often work through the night because that is when I feel closest to the divine. As a composer, I have often felt that life’s experiences – both good and bad – have greatly added to my compositions.

My belief in Sufism has helped me emerge as a stronger person and has given me the equanimity to view life objectively. When I visit a dargah, I feel a sense of peace enveloping me. I also believe in the power of prayer. My daughter was diagnosed with a hole in her heart when she was born. However, by the time she was two, the hole vanishes without any operation. It was considered nothing short of a miracle.

The magical voice

Lakshmi Viswanathan writes in The Hindu,

A great voice is an unforgettable phenomenon of human experience. M.S. Subbulakshmi was gifted with such a voice. Millions have heard her singing and millions more will do so in the decades to come. Her voice does not merely represent Indian music at its best, but it also symbolises the truth in human endeavour.

We might all ask ourselves the question: what is our individual contribution to humanity. And we might find the answer elusive. For, perhaps, we might not have been conscious of doing something for the betterment of the world all our lives. Subbulakshmi was a perfect example of the individual who consciously contributed the one thing she knew best, to make this world a better place for all. And that was her music …

… What brought about that magic when she sang that made people forget themselves, forget even her, and reach out to that spiritual truth, however unattainable that may be to the ordinary mortal?

There is a saying in Tamil, which can be roughly translated as: Touched by the fragrance of the flower, even the chord used to string it together smells sweet. One can say that Subbulakshmi's music and personality made many lives "fragrant" by mere contact. She exuded a friendliness, humility and extraordinary strength that needed no words to elaborate.

… How does one celebrate the life of such a great artist and a greater human being? Is it enough to sing her songs or dance to them? Is it enough to speak of her in innumerable forums? Is writing about her, an adequate tribute? These questions come to my mind, when I am in deep thought.

I think it is important for thinkers and intellectuals to lead the way for making future generations realise the importance of great individuals who have shaped the cultural destiny of India.


Reference:

1. The magic in her voice – Lakshmi Viswanathan

Fear of separation

Living legend Gangubai Hangal writes,

I was then a young girl. It was the Belgaum Congress of 1924 and the Mahatma was to grace the occasion. I was thrilled that I was going to sing before Gandhiji, but also scared stiff that I would be asked to clear all the plantain leaves after lunch, as I belonged to one of the lower castes. I sang. Gandhiji came up to me and blessed me. Pandit Sawai Gandharva was impressed too. On the one hand I was overjoyed by their appreciation, but on the other, I was paralyzed by the worst fears. I quietly walked up to my teacher and asked him if I had to sit separately for lunch and clear the leaves. He held me close, and said: "Nothing of the kind, don't worry..."

They were difficult times. But I am grateful to music in more than one way. It gave me a unique identity and pushed all other identities to the background.

From The Hindu, Suvarna Karnataka special issue, 2006

Mozart Praha 2006

Some of our ideas, thoughts, and feelings are forever entwined with a place and its ambience. We can feel a kind of aroma of a particular place in our thoughts. Those personal sensitivities to such fragrances, often, lead to a deeper exploration of ideas, thoughts, and feelings.

Mozart once said, "My Praguers understand me."

He also said, "My orchestra is in Prague."

That was a matter of pride for Praha. Why did he say that? What is the connection between Mozart and Prague? You have to just explore this website for more details.

If anyone wants to explore Muthuswamy Dikshitar and Tirunelveli or Muthuswamy Dikshitar and Madurai, the above website will give a nice outline for how to go about creating such thematic topics.

Ilaiyaraja inspired a Paavani RTP

Bombay Jayashri, in an interview, has said that Ilaiyaraja's composition paartha vizhi, from the movie Guna, was the inspiration for her Ragam-Tanam-Pallavi in the raga Paavani. The full article is available here.

In her words:

... And so I (the author) remind her (Bombay Jayashri) of an instance during a December season concert where she did stress her listeners out a bit, performing a ragam-thanam-pallavi in the unusual raga Paavani — the only reference point for which appears to be a film song, Ilayaraja’s Paartha vizhi from Guna. I wonder why she didn’t pick a Todi or a Sankarabharanam for the exercise — instead of making her audience work hard with her in trying to appreciate (leave alone enjoy) a familiar form with such unfamiliar content — and she says, “I’m a huge Ilayaraja fan. Paartha vizhi has been running in the back of my mind since I saw Guna. At the December concert, I am bored of constantly singing Todi or Sankarabharanam. I imagined the audience would be bored too. So I tried to do a pallavi with the word Paavani.”

Magic disappears

Ustad Bismillah Khan passed away.

1. The Hindu editorial
2. Violinist L. Subramaniam remembers
3. Gautam Chatterjee
4. Goutam Ghose remembers
5. On Wikipedia

Sangita Kalanidhi 2006

The Music Academy will confer the title Sangita Kalanidhi on vocalist Vidwan Madurai Shri. T. N. Seshagopalan at its 80th annual conference on January 1, 2007.

You may also see this forum discussion.

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M.S. Subbulakshmi

(September 16, 1916 - December 11, 2004)

The wonderful MS artwork is done by Maniam Selvan for the cover of Kalki, the weekly Tamil magazine (the latest issue dated December 18, 2005). There is also an article on MS by N. Vijay Siva in that issue. Click here for a tribute by Vatsala Vedantam. The links for other posts on MS in this blog are available here.

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From The Hindu article,

Today, September 16, is the birth anniversary of M. S. Subbulakshmi. Hers was a life of many towering achievements...

..Music critic Harold Schornberg of The New York Times praised MS's UN performance sky high and declared that "it would live in his memory forever."

It was a remarkable achievement and invokes awe even among present day jet setting musicians. But MS remained untouched by it all. She knew only her music and perhaps that is what gave her art that pristine quality which made it immortal.

From the book Kunjamma - Ode to a Nightingale,

..An interesting fact is that all the eminent vidwans from whom Subbulakshmi is known to have learnt songs to strength her repertoire were eventually honoured with the Sangita Kalanidhi title by the Music Academy. They are Mazhavarayanendal Subbarama Bhagavatar, Musiri Subrahmanya Iyer, Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, G. N. Balasubramanyam, T. L. Venkatarama Iyer, Papanasam Sivan, K. V. Narayanaswamy, K. S. Narayanaswamy, and T. Brinda..

..The legendary Siddheshwari Devi came down from Benares and stayed with Subbulakshmi for a few months..She and Subbulakshmi had to be ready by 7:30 in the morning to go through a systematic riaz which involved singing the basic notes one hundred and eight times while Siddheshwari Devi kept count. The sessions went on until lunchtime..

Previous posts of MS series in this blog

M. S. Subbulakshmi - 015

M. S. Subbulakshmi - 014

M. S. Subbulakshmi - 013

M. S. Subbulakshmi - 012

M. S. Subbulakshmi - 011

M. S. Subbulakshmi - 010

M. S. Subbulakshmi - 009

M. S. Subbulakshmi - 008

M. S. Subbulakshmi - 007

M. S. Subbulakshmi - 006

M. S. Subbulakshmi - 005

M. S. Subbulakshmi - 004

M. S. Subbulakshmi - 003

M. S. Subbulakshmi - 002

M. S. Subbulakshmi - 001

Links

I came to know yesterday about this new blog on MS.

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Excerpts from the talk on MS at The Nehru Centre, London:

"Subbulakshmi... represented a continuity in artistic traditions, and because of her national status and charisma she was able to communicate to a wide variety of people through her music. She was truly a people's artiste."

The best tribute that India can pay to M.S. Subbulakshmi, the Carnatic music legend, is to institute chairs in universities for the study of and research on her work, according to her biographer Lakshmi Viswanathan. Speaking on the life and work of M.S. at the Nehru Centre, the author of Kunjamma — Ode to a Nightingale, described her as a "national treasure".

Read here a report by Hasan Suroor.

Sangita Kalanidhi 2005

The Music Academy will confer the title Sangita Kalanidhi on Violin vidwan Shri. M. Chandrasekaran at its 79th annual conference on January 1, 2006.

A post on MC is here. You may be interested in this forum discussion too.

BMK's Jaya Jaya Lalithe

Analyzing the etymon of names is an interesting endeavour. Some names that have been around for centuries will have different (often conflicting) root meanings, thanks to the cleverness of humans!!

Dr.M. Balamuralikrishna has christened a new raga Jaya Jaya Lalithe in honour of Tamil Nadu Chief minister Jayalalithaa.

The Chief minister conferred the title Gandharva Gana Samrat on him, and expressed wish to be born as his disciple if there was another birth. "I would like to learn Carnatic music under his tutelage and become such a great singer that my Guru will say 'sabhash' after hearing me sing," she said.

Note: What is the arohanam and avarohanam of this raga? Do let me know.

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The Telegraph reported as above. You also find a different version here. Kutcheribuzz reports as follows (emphasize mine):

The maestro composed and dedicated a new ragam to the Chief Minister with the pallavi "Jaya jaya lalithe..."!

The Hindu also reported like Kutcheribuzz.

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A.S. Raman, former Editor, Illustrated Weekly, wrote in an article:

"For her (MS), music continues to be what it has always been; an act of worship. To hear her music is to make oneself acceptable to the gods. She has by her total involvement in the abstraction called music demonstrated that music is not what merely pleases the ear, or appeals to the heart or stimulates the intellect; it is something more, something that makes one see God face to face."

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M.L. Vasanthakumari on MS in 1967:

The world need not learn about M.S. Subbulakshmi from me. Today her music is relished by people all over the world. I began to sing many years after she did. I think it would be impertinent on my part to analyse the music of someone who has received praises from my senior. As a child, I often met MS with my parents. She is today just what she was then. Despite all the fame, she retains a child's heart, a smiling face and pleasant speech.

Srimathi M.S. Subbulakshmi is extremely devout. Talking to her is to be heedless of time. She talks only about music and about other meaningful subjects. She never makes disparaging remarks about anyone. She is humble, respectful towards elders. She appreciates not only music, but the other arts as well.

I believe that her devotion to God, simplicity, unquestioning deference to her husband, reverence for seniors, her conviction that there is much to learn in the world, and her own desire to learn more - all these attributes have contributed to her illustriousness.

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Smt. Kishori Amonkar paid, perhaps, the highest tribute ever possible at the time when the Bharat Ratna, the highest honour in the country, was bestowed on MS by calling her the eighth swara of Indian Music.

(Source: Bhavan's Journal, Vol. 51, No. 12)