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Section Synopsis (MARCH 2007)
NEWS & NOTES
Koochipoodi festival by Potti Sriramulu Telugu University - V.A.K. RANGA RAO
 Potti Sriramulu Telugu University, Hyderabad, organised a five-day festival of dance at Koochipoodi village, from 22nd to 26th December 2006. I was there on all the days, attending all the morning seminars, some of the afternoon sessions which were more social thanksgiving to-dos, and most of the evening sessions, devoted to two or three dancers/institutions.
Apart from the local dance guru-s, many performers from all over India, belonging to different styles of classical dances, scholars and a sprinkling of the showbiz glitterati turned up. I stayed at nearby Pamarru (less than thirty-minutes away) as a guest of my publisher Dr. R. Bhargavi who published a collection of my weekly 'Alapana' columns. As she had provided me with a chaffeur-driven car, left at my disposal, I had no trouble adjusting to the varying times of commencement of the sessions.
Incidentally, that was the only chafing point of the whole thing. For various reasons, nothing started on time. I was taken excellent care of by Dr. Alekhya (a staff member), Dr. S. Gowrisankar and Dr. Bhaktavatsalu Reddy, the registrar. Some of the guests were housed at Koochipoodi, some in nearby Movva and a few in an-hour away Vijayawada. The premises were clean, the toilets-a five-minute walk away but well-kept, and the food served three times a day, tasty and wholesome if not cordon-bleu. And yes, one of the attenders at the buffet was a blithering baboon, who did not know what was on the table. But after the initial ire, it formed a part of the entertainment at least as far as I was concerned.
The two awards by the University were given to Vempati Chinna Satyam (Siddhendra Natyacharya) who was not present and Vedantam Satyanarayana Sarma (Siddhendra Nartana), who was. In addition, two dance guru-s were felicitated each day.
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Mukteswar Dance Fest in Bhubaneswar - TAPATI CHOWDHURIE
 Bhubaneswar, known in ancient times as the Ekamra Kshetra, literally meaning mango orchards, is famous for its Mukteswar temple. The Mukteswar temple complex was the venue of a unique festival of Odissi dance conducted from 14th to 17th January under the aegis of the Orissa Tourism Department. Here connoisseurs had the opportunity to witness some of the best in Odissi dance. While Aruna Mohanty, Kabita Dwivedi, Leena Mohanty and Kumkum Mohanty danced solo, Sutapa Talukdar, Kasturi Pattanaik, Guru Ramani Ranjan Jena and Ranjana Gauhar performed with small groups. Madhavi Mudgal, Sharmila Biswas, Aloka Kanungo and Ratikanata Mohapatra performed with large groups.
Veteran dancer Aruna Mohanty opened the dance festival with offerings to Goddess Durga. In a dramatic start, the dancer turned towards the temple and offered her obeisance to the Lord's consort. Adorned in a pink costume, the dancer's combination of pure dance and expression elevated the audience to the realm of divinity.
Clad in a mustard yellow costume with a matching green blouse, Kabita Dwivedi started her solo programme with a mangalacharan to Meenakshi, and went on to present items extolling Devi.
Leena Mohanty, a disciple of Deba Prasad Das and Durgacharan Ranbir, performed abhinaya for a Govinda Damodara stotra after the opening Siva stuti Deva deva Maheswara of Bilwamangala.
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The Fringe Festival Curated by The Youth Parliament - - A SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
 More than eighteen artists were invited to showcase their work at the fourth 15-Minute Fringe Festival held on the 26th and 27th December 2006, at the India Habitat Centre in Delhi The Fringe showcases presentations by up-and-coming performers as well as established artists, without any editorial controls or thematic limitations on their presentation. The event was presented by Kri Foundation and Kat Katha and curated by The Youth Parliament.
The two-day festival was compered by puppeteer Anuroopa Roy with Magarina the crocodile puppet. The festival which opened with the harmonies of a young choir called Artistes Unlimited, featured professional artists as well as amateur performers. Himani Rana presented dance without music, titled Within Me and Within You. Jaya Prabha Menon showcased an interesting combination of classical dance and Kalari to explore aspects of childhood. Ritesh Khokar presented an innovative musical performance combining piano, Kathak and tabla.
Filmmaker Vaani Arora screened 'Kinjal', a short film about a young girl in a working class environment in rural Ahmedabad. Sandeep Kumar Sharma provided comic relief for the evening with a brilliant satire. Anirudh Nair and Misha Singh introduced the theatre practice of script reading. Steps For Change presented an excellent play based on a script written by street children themselves. Andrew Hoffland displayed his talents in presenting different accents along with mouth percussion instruments.
A combination of dance and poetry was showcased by Charu Shankar. Danish Hussain presented Dastangoi, the captivating traditional art of Urdu story telling. The two-day extravaganza which was an intricate mix of classical, contemporary and the progressive, exposed the 'unnecessary boundaries' drawn around art.
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COVER STORY
Palghat T.S. Mani Iyer - Born for the mridangam-Sriram. V
 Sometime in the 17th century, a Raja of Palghat is said to have invited to his kingdom many Brahmin families belonging to the Tanjavur region. They were to inculcate learning and culture into the area. These families settled in 96 villages of the Palghat district and greatly enriched the place. Many of their descendants rose to high positions in administration, business and other walks of life. Several shone as musicians. But the man who was to prefix the district to his own name and make it immortal in percussion was Mani Iyer, the mridangam maestro.
Palghat TS Mani Iyer was born on 12th June 1912 at Pazhayanur, Tiruvilvamala Taluk, Palghat District to Sesham Bhagavatar and Anandambal as their second son. The couple had many children of whom some died early and two sons (Mani Iyer and a younger brother) and two daughters survived into adulthood. Sesham Bhagavatar was a vocalist in the Harikatha troupe of Mukkai Sivaramakrishna Bhagavatar, a famous exponent of the art form. Mani was christened Ramaswami at birth after his grandfather who was a school teacher besides being a good singer.
 Born as Mani Iyer was to acquire fame in the field of percussion, the forces that control fates could not have selected a better place for his birth. Tiruvilvamala, a village on the southern side of the Bharata Puzha (river) was well known for its Panchavadyam performers. 'Maddalam' Venkicchan and Konthai were famed practitioners of the percussive arts and the former was in particular greatly celebrated; receiving awards from the Maharajahs of Travancore and Cochin and the Zamorin of Calicut. Speaking of Mani's talents in later years, Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar said that owing to his having absorbed the patterns of Maddalam and Chendai in his infancy by hearing these players, he incorporated them in his own mridangam playing. Mani Iyer himself later said in an interview that from the age of two, the beats of the percussion instruments used in the neighbouring temple filled his being and entered his heart.
Accompanying Sivaramakrishna Bhagavatar meant frequent visits to Palghat for Sesham Bhagavatar and so the family moved to Kalpathi when Mani was around three or four. Mother Anandambal noticed that it was percussion that attracted Mani as he invariably began jumping when his father sang and the intervals between the jumps was remarkably precise. He also had the habit of producing rhythmic patterns on any available surface. Father Sesham Bhagavatar began scouting around for a good teacher.
 The first formal lessons were begun by Chathapuram Subba Iyer, a well known mridangam vidwan of the area (see box- The Gurus of Mani Iyer) when Mani was six. He was also sent to a conventional Malayalam school around this time. Within a few months, Mani made rapid progress on the mridangam and his talents were noticed by LS Viswanatha Iyer of Alappuzha, an amateur mridangist who was considered to be an authority in the finer aspects of laya and who would lend percussive support on the mridangam or kanjira whenever vidwans from Madras Presidency came to Palghat to perform. He began guiding young Mani on performing for various kalapramanas and pallavis.
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Off to a spectacular start-Chennai Sangamam -KARTHIKA GOPALAKRISHNAN
The fiery splendour of the inauguration ceremony on the 20th February promised a cracker of a celebration at the week-long 'Chennai Sangamam'. In a setting that seemed carved out of the IIT Campus' woods, Thotta Tharani's ornately gilded stage formed the backdrop for 'Sangae Muzhangu'- a 90-minute musical by film director Vasanth. 'Sangae Muzhangu' was a visual and musical chronicle of the journey from the Sangam era to modern-day literature, using poetry, music, folk arts and dance performances. The function kicked off with the theme song, "Chennai azhagiya Chennai, idu Vangakkadalin tinnai," with lyrics by Vairamuthu, tuned to music by Deva. 'Sangae Muzhangu' went on to blend verses from epic poetry with a fusion of folk and Western music. Paul Jacob's ensemble made up of guitars, veena and mridanga complemented the nagaswaram, harmonium and parai (drums). Violinist V. Raghava Rao, singer Yogeswaran, folk artist Dr. Gunasekharan and vocalist Kovai Kamala, who sang a Kavadi chindu, also contributed to the music.
The performances on stage represented the ancient texts differently, with Geoffrey Vardon's dance ballet performing for Andal's poetry; and Narendra-Mahalakshmi of the Avigna troupe dancing for verses from the Kuruntogai. Snatches of tappattam, peria melam, poikaal kudirai, karagattam and kavadi conveyed the richness of the Tamil folk arts. The frenzied show by the drummers of the peria melam troupe from Pappampatti drew enthusiastic whistles and applause from the audience.
Twelve-year old Vijaykumar, a kuduppattu performer said, "I have been learning this art for the past two years from my father. We are happy to be given this opportunity to perform at this function, because usually such chances are rare." The icing on the cake was actor Prakash Raj's spirited rendition of Chief Minister Karunanidhi's verses.
In his address to the crowd, the Chief Minister expressed his satisfaction over such a mega event being organised. He hoped that, in a few years, it would grow to become a festival conducted by the people themselves.
Mylapore - Day 1
The intimate atmosphere of the Chess Area at the Nageswara Rao Park in Mylapore provided the stage for a series of events organised as part of the festival. "The performance by the Akkarai Sisters at the park this morning was a real treat. The festival is catering to the needs of all the people, the urban and the townsfolk. This is an opportunity for city dwellers to understand the rural background better," said Doraiswamy, a professor of English at Vivekananda College, Mylapore. "The only problem is, since the events are happening simultaneously, one cannot go to all the places as it is difficult to move from one area to the other," he said.
The folk performances scheduled for the evening, comprised naiyandi melam and karagattam by the Sakthi Folk Cultural Centre, Dindigul. By early evening, people had taken their seats on the few plastic chairs provided; while others sat on chess tables and on the concrete circular platform surrounding the banyan tree. As more people filed in, the organisers provided mats to sit on.
This was followed by a Carnatic music concert by Bombay Jayashri. Manoj Siva, the accompanying artist on the mridanga, said, "This is the first time I am playing in a park. I have heard that in North India they regularly conduct morning concerts in parks." According to violinist V.V.S. Murari, the festival was an amazing concept. On comparing it with the December season, he said that it was probably too much for the public to take. "Maybe for the season to be more powerful, the duration of each concert could be reduced to 90 minutes and the kutcheri season itself stretched from November to January," he said.
The organisers of the festival considered it a radically new approach for leading musicians to agree to perform in parks. "This idea conveys a sense of celebration. An auditorium makes a concert an exclusive event; the profile of the audience is limited to a particular segment," said singer Bombay Jayashri.
Sure enough, when the concert started, the chess area of the park was packed. It was a rare opportunity for many in the audience to be seated two steps away from the performer.
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The Music Academy dance festival
More on `Season' 2006-07 Some noteworthy events -V.V. RAMANI
The Music Academy with its 'Hindu' flavour brought about 'seasonal' changes. Those attuned musically were also given a visual treat of dance. Amidst applause, brickbats, appreciation and critiquing, the veterans danced. Any function of this stature will obviously come under public scrutiny and the voices in the gallery never wasted a moment. Every aspect of the dance and the dancer was discussed. There were whispers in the gallery about the dancer's aesthetics, the heavily made-up face, the garish costumes, unaesthetic size of the dancer and so on.
The senior brigade breezed in with a vengeance sweeping the viewers off their feet. The morning series was reminiscent of 'Bhoole Bisre Geet' bringing with it memories of art that was based on tradition, simplicity and classicism. As always, Padma Subrahmanyam was in complete control on the first day of the series, displaying her mastery over her art. Her heightened dramatic prowess which makes her dance distinctive was seen in full measure. Her gestural variations for the 'kili' (parrot) was spellbinding and viewers could even clearly visualise the tail feathers of the parrot. Chitra Visweswaran transported the viewers to a higher plane with her focus on bhakti while rendering a Meera bhajan. Lakshmi Viswanathan's mastery over abhinaya was evident throughout her performance. Noteworthy was her use of diagonal movements on stage- alternating between Krishna and Kuchela in the Kuchelopakhyanam sequence. Anita Ratnam made an impact with her excerpt from Neelam where her abhinaya skills came to the fore. Dancing in a static position for one of the songs, she was framed by a series of hanging lamps which added an aesthetic touch. Shanta and V.P. Dhanjayan evoked the poetic mood of Jayadeva in their ashtapadi sequences, Vyjyanthimala Bali's majestic rendering of Syama Sastry's swarajati Amba Kamakshi brought out the grandeur of the composition. The clean adavu-s, and crisp teermanam-s combined with her hallmark grace and strict adherence to tradition left an everlasting impression. Rhadha's performance was yet another vintage classic, bringing out the grace of the Vazhuvoor bani. A fitting finale was C.V. Chandrasekhar's performance where he proved that a seventy plus body can still create magic. His Sankara rudra roopa mesmerised the audience, and they responded with a standing ovation which he so richly deserved. The vintage series thus stood testimony to the fact that vintage- whether in cars, wine or in art, is definitely 'a class apart'.
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A Walk Down Memory Lane The inspiring saga of the Music Academy -MANNA SRINIVASAN
 The short matter of fact account in the festival souvenir does not reveal the full story of the eight-decade old 'Sangeeta Vidwat Sabhai', better known as the (Madras) Music Academy. This organisation, now enjoying a stature of pre-eminence for its record of service to the cause of preservation and promotion of Carnatic music and Bharatanatyam, and also pioneering activities in research, publication and related fields, has gone through stages of severe struggle and faced many hardships which it has managed to overcome with a sense of mission. Presently well ensconced in its own premises with an imposing structure, located in one of the busiest crossroads of the metropolis, it had a nomadic existence till the early sixties, pitching its tent in many different places.
It was left to the indefatigable cultural historian and heritage buff, the 'Walk and Talk' expert Sriram V., to reconstruct the journey of this institution through a driving-cum-walking tour, covering many of the different spots and venues where the Academy functioned. Scores of Academy aficionados and some foreign visitors took part. They could visualise the momentous developments as they stepped into the 'historic' spots as they are today. The chronology, the crucial initiatives, the significant developments and many related aspects were all narrated in a lucid and lively style.
The tour was arranged on Sunday the 17th December, 2006. The eager participants had to assemble in the present premises of the Academy at 6 am. Sruti was well represented, with a Trustee and the Editorial team- executive, roving et al. Sriram took command, feeding the seriously inquisitive early birds with appetisers, kindling their enthusiasm.
The plaques on both sides of the original main entrance (the VIP entrance and the foyer being later additions) tell about the laying of the foundation stone in 1955 by the then Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru and the opening of the auditorium in 1962, by Jayachamaraja Wadiyar, then Governor of Mysore and Chairman of the Central Sangeet Natak Akademi. The 'grihapravesam' in December 1961 witnessed a musical tribute by a galaxy of musicians.
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Plays need performance: Indira Parthasarathy -V. RAMNARAYAN
 Indira Parthasarathy is the nom de plume of R. Parthasarathy, an outstanding writer in Tamil. Born on July 10, 1930 in Chennai, Parthasarathy has written several short stories, plays and novels in Tamil. Many of these have been translated into Indian and foreign languages. As we go to press, his English translation of his Tamil novel Krishna Krishna is scheduled to be released.
A few months ago, Magic Lantern staged Indira Parthasarathy's play, Mazhai a psychological drama that deals with the deep undercurrents of insecurities, fears, fragile relationships, even a hint of incest, that run through an Indian middle class family. The performance took place at TAG Centre, TTK Road, Chennai, as part of the South India Heritage series of programmes. V. Ramnarayan engaged Indira Parthasarathy and Pravin in a conversation that discussed the staging of Mazhai as well as issues concerning contemporary theatre in general. Here are some excerpts:.
Ramnarayan (R): Why did you choose to perform Mazhai, which is one of the older plays of Indira Parthasarathy?
Pravin (P): Among the plays by Indira Parthasarathy that Magic Lantern has wanted to do, Mazhai suited the TAG Centre auditorium best. It has a small stage and smallish hall. As the play has a cast of just four actors, we could control it well given the setting.
 R (to I): Why did you choose Magic Lantern to do the play?
I: I was very impressed by their commitment to theatre. Kumaravel was my student at Pondicherry University and Magic Lantern had consulted me on numerous occasions.
P: He was adviser for many of our productions: Tamil versions of Camus' Caligula, Moliere's Tartuffe, Dario Fo's Anarchist and so on.
I: I was surprised by the rousing response of a Mylapore audience to Mazhai, despite the unconventionality of its theme. It was an eye-opener to me.
P: Mazhai works at several levels. It has a huge amount of psychological drama, but has been constructed meticulously. It combines elements of Greek tragedy with pure psychological drama. It took us two to three readings to grasp its nuances and deliver the lines exactly as the playwright intended.
R: Were you both happy with the acting?
I: They delivered the dialogues well, did a professional job.
P: I was reasonably happy with the acting. Of course, the actors will get better the more they perform the play. We need to do some ten shows to polish the acting. We can then perform the play exactly as the playwright intended, even exceed his expectations, to such an extent that he may wonder, 'Did I really write all this?
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Off to a spectacular start - Chennai Sangamam
Book Review
Enchanting Echoes through the Corridors of a Golden Age -P.K. DORAISWAMY
VOICES Within, Carnatic Music: Passing on an inheritance. By Bombay Jayashri & T.M. Krishna with Mythili Chandrasekar. [MATRKA - Block 2, 1A Tarangini, 3rd Seaward Road, Valmiki Nagar, Chennai 600 041. www.matrka.org English. Edition 2007. Hardbound. Pp. 177. Rs. 1900 or US $ 43 (postage extra)].
Voices Within, authored by Bombay Jayashri and T.M. Krishna with Mythili Chandrasekar, is a veritable collector's item (provided, of course, like most such items, the collector can afford it!). It is the story of seven- shall we say The Magnificent Seven- landscape-makers, or more correctly, landscape-changers, of Carnatic music. In the words of the authors, "They were musicians who were entrepreneurs. They dared to dream, to try, to take the road less travelled and in so doing, they revolutionalised the system, shaped its growth, raised performing standards and left their indelible mark on the musical firmament". The musicians chosen are Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, T.N. Rajarathnam Pillai, Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, G.N. Balasubramaniam, Palghat Mani Iyer, M.S. Subbulakshmi and T.R. Mahalingam. The beautifully drafted generic description of self-realisation (reminding one of Kipling's "If.") given at the beginning of the book admirably epitomises the personalities of these seven: "To recognise the gift within, to see what others don't, to listen to the urge of the inner voice, to go where dreams beckon, to dare to change the context, to try to stand for something, to create your own idiom. this is to have realised The Self ".
The get-up of the book is beautiful; the photographs are stunningly realistic and virtually leap at you; and the writing throughout drips with the authors' unconcealed excitement and reverence but at the same time optimally balances spice and substance. The personalities are not blindly deified and we are allowed glimpses of their feet of clay but stopping well short of appearing scandalous. This is neither a collection of matter-of-fact, full-fledged biographies of these seven nor a musicological critique of their music though it does combine interesting biographical details with references to the unique aspects of their music and the bases of the musical greatness of each. In the words of the authors, "Voices Within is to be read not for information but for perspectives. It is not a collage of biographies but an offering and a sharing, and a passing on of an inheritance". This is consistent with T.M. Krishna's (and apparently also Jayashri's) well-known abiding respect for the Carnatic musical tradition which made him say at last year's seminar organised by The Hindu Friday Review: "When I sing Todi, it is not my creation. All my musical ancestors who created and developed it are singing through me".
There is a brief background piece on Tanjavur, the cradle of Carnatic music and the royal patronage there which nurtured the music and produced hundreds of musicians and made many villages' names a surrogate for the musicians who hailed from them, such as Semmangudi and Maharajapuram, and how the concert format which evolved after the age of the Trinity gained ground during the twentieth century and instead of being mainly scholarly chamber concerts in private houses became accessible to the public through temple and sabha concerts, and how the centre shifted from Tanjavur to Chennai as royal patronage declined and public support became important.
Did You Know?
This is with reference to the song Manmatha leelayai mentioned in Did You Know? (Sruti 268). According to another version, the 'congratulation trail' started with the duo (Musiri and Semmangudi) first going to the singer, M.K. Thyagaraja Bhagavatar, who gave the credit to the lyricist, Papanasam Sivan, who in turn, passed it on to the music composer/director G. Ramanathan, who humbly attributed the source of his inspiration for the raga, to the kriti Aadamodi galade of Tyagaraja!
When Nauka Charitram, the opera in Telugu, composed by Tyagaraja was presented, some orthodox parasite pundits raised the objection that there was no authoritative basis for the theme. At the instance of Walajapet Venkataramana Bhagavatar, one Kavi Venkata Suri, his disciple in music and an erudite scholar, also from the Saurashtra clan, composed on the same theme in Sanskrit verse, writing it on old palm leaves and presented it as the authority, achieving the desired effect!
Manna Srinivasan
Chennai
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CD Review -Record Rack
-LALITA RAMAKRISHNA
VAISHNAVA KSHETRA. By T.M. Krishna. Vocal. (Live concert of the Compositions of Ambujam Krishna rendered at Narada Gana Sabha). [Charsur Digital Work Station - CDW 102 C. Rs. 50].
Accompanists:
R.K. Sriramkumar - violin; K.V. Prasad - mridanga; S. Karthick - ghata.
Leading young vidwan T.M. Krishna offers eight kriti-s of Ambujam Krishna on eight principal Vaishnava kshetra-s.
The first kriti Ranga Sree Ranga (Asaveri, Roopakam) is a poignant offering to the Lord of Srirangam tuned by the late maestro Semmangudi. T.M. Krishna brings out the subtle curves and the delicate flavour of the raga. Asaveri suffuses the kalpana swara at the end of the song and Krishna desists from showcasing clever combinations. Sriramkumar's swara kalpana on the violin follows the same pattern of medium paced bhava laden rendition. Krishna revels in handling the subtle sruti-s of Sreeranjani raga in Karumugil vannam. This is an offering to the Lord at Badrinath tuned by K.R. Kedaranathan. I congratulate Krishna on his finesse in the prayoga of 'ni' which is a starting note of this raga for its seminal phrases. The delicacy and microtonal sruti value of this swara in the various colours it takes on with each phrase is clearly perceived and explored by the vocalist.
The song Tiruvadi darisnam is on Tirupati and T.M. Krishna has tuned this lyric in Devagandhari raga. Krishna uses the srotavaha yati for the beginning phrase rendering it as "Vanden - thedi vanden - darisanam thedi vanden - un tiruvadi darisanam thedi vanden - Tirupathi vazh Sree Venkataramana." Swarasthana suddham is a great challenge in Indian classical music because a swara is always in dynamic motion as it interacts with other swara-s in a raga phrase. Purity of note is not jut a matter of holding a note in a prolonged karvai. We remember the awe evoked by "MS gandharam" when her voice lingered on the tara sthayi ga. But it is even more of a challenge to follow accurately the shakes and curves of gamaka-s in the swara patterns of Devagandhari. Krishna fufills our expectations with his purity of raga delineation.
Ambujam Krishna's words are evocative and they come alive in Krishna's skill with raga setting. In the phrase "Govinda ena koovi azhaiporkku", the word "Govinda" is rendered three times to simulate 'calling out'. The essence of Devagandhari can be heard in every phrase of the song.
Satre tirumbum chella pillai (tuned by the late S. Ramanathan in Kalyani, Adi) addresses the utsava moorti at Melkote (Tiru Narayanapuram). The copy by V. Sriram in the inlay card of the cassette describes a fascinating legend about this vigraha. The utsava moorti was taken away by a Muslim king and given to his young daughter as a toy. Saint Ramanuja traced the idol and convinced the sultan that the idol should be restored to its original place. When Ramanuja was challenged to identify the idol among many others, he called out to the Lord as "Chella pillai", and the idol revealed itself to him. The king's daughter followed Ramanuja as he carried away the idol and she stayed on at Melkote and attained mukti. Ever since then she is revered as Bibi Nachiar.
The second side of the cassette starts with Kandu kali teernde (tuned by K.R. Kedaranathan in Keeravani raga). The raga swaroopa suffuses this kriti from the very first opening gambit. The song celebrates the Tirumohar shrine (close to Madurai) with its deities Kalamegha Perumal and goddess Mohanavalli. The Lord in this shrine is fashioned to show great beauty of face and form to remind his devotees of the One who assumed the fascinating form of Mohini.
Parthasarathi un padam paninden kadai kann paartharul (Kambhoji, Khanda Triputa) tuned by T.N. Seshagopalan, gives a rich flavour of this raga. The pallavi opens with classic phrases (moorchana-s) of Kambhoji. The sahitya is remarkable in recreating the scenes of Krishna as the charioteer (sarathi) of Partha (Arjuna). The last line is particularly striking- Aval kuzhal mudindida sarathiyaai Parthanukku .un meni punnaga, pannpaadi, kondaadi (in order that she- Draupadi, may tie up her hair, you served as Arjuna's charioteer. and your body was injured. I celebrate you with raga music). Kalpana swara in vilamba kala enhances the mood of this kriti. However the double speed kalpana swara with its hurtling pace is intrusive. Parthasarathi at Tiruvallikeni (Triplicane) is in the form of Geetacharya in this temple. The Lord's face is pockmarked to show the scars he received during the Dharma yuddha.
Varkalai in Kerala near Tiruvananthapuram has an ancient temple of the Lord as Janardana. V.V. Sadagopan has set the tune for Jagattinai kaathidum Janardana agamam potridun ananda roopane, in charming Yamunakalyani.
A clarification about the pronunciation of Janardana. The 'da' in Janardana is the soft third 'da' of the Devanagari alphabet. It is in the third place of the fourth line in the consonant table of 'ka cha ta tha pa'. It should not be pronounced as Janardhana with the sound of the fourth aspirated "dha". Janardana means one who creates (jana) and one who activates (ardati). The fourth 'dha' gives the meaning of jana + ardha (half) and gives a distorted meaning.
The idol of Janardana is shown holding sea water in his right hand. The popular belief is that each year his hand moves closer to his lips and when ultimately his lips will touch the water it would indicate the dissolution (pralaya) of Kali yuga. The song refers to this in the line "Kara talam athanil kadal neer endiye Kali yuga mudivai kattum." Krishna's manner of singing these moving words linger on.
The last song Ayyan azhagan is a homage to Sundararaja of Azhagar kovil (near Madurai) also known as Azhagar. T.M. Krishna has tuned this lyric in Surati (Misra Chapu). The mood is that of sringara- Ayyan azhagan solai malaiku arasan. avanpaal meiyyal migu kondenadi. The words are that of a nayaki asking her sakhi to go to Azhagan (the handsome lord king of the mountains and forests) and bring him to her. Tell him of my attachment and that he should come at once if I am to be alive. Oru murai vandaal en uyir tarikkum endru uravu murai solli udan azhaithu vaadi is the madhyama kala sahitya which is a pleasing rhythmic finale. The word Ayyan is repeated three times and gives a great mood of affirmation to this group of bhakti filled kriti-s. The mangalam is an appropriate completion of this admirable group of songs.
Sriramkumar enhances the concert with sensitive violin support. Mridanga by K.V. Prasad and ghata by S. Karthick is muted and provides a continuity of rhythm in each song without being intrusive. Krishna's range of voice is impressive and he traverses 2 ½ octaves with absolute ease. His voice is evocative in the tara sthayi. He handles with great care the beginning swara of phrases and this is crucial to bring out the raga swaroopa. Sensitivity to tonal values (specially the sruti subtleties of raga-s), a keen intelligence and a gifted voice are his unbeatable assets. Since speed comes easily to him, he needs to curb this and use `uruttal' sparingly in bhava laden bhakti oriented pieces. Voice expertise has its place in alapana and in RTP because they provide the proper venue for full exploration of voice capacity. But a kriti requires great restraint and even the kalpana swara of a kriti should not stand apart like an attachment but meld into the sahitya line seamlessly. The integrity of the original lyric and the message it conveys is central in a kriti and the performer must discipline his creative impulse in order to bring out the complete bhava of the original.
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News you can Use
Died
S.V. Krishnan (71), connoisseur and patron of Carnatic music and promoter of young talent; founder of the cultural organisation Nada Inbam in 1974 in Coimbatore; conducted chamber concerts in Chennai; was the driving force in the construction of the compact and comfortable Raga Sudha Hall with good acoustics at Luz Avenue, Chennai in 1997, and its regular functioning till his death; 15 February, in Chennai.
Prof. Dr. Sumati Mutatkar (90), veteran Hindustani vocalist, distinguished teacher, musicologist, academician and composer; Producer (Emeritus) at AIR and Doordarshan; Fellow of the Central Sangeet Natak Akademi (1979), recipient of the Padma Shri, the Kalidas Samman and many other awards; 28 February in Delhi.
Kumbakonam Rajappa Iyer (91), veteran mridanga vidwan and teacher, recipient of awards and titles including the Sangeeta Kala Acharya from the Music Academy; 5 March in Chennai.
Harold Powers (78), music scholar and ethnomusicologist, distin-guished academician, Fulbright Fellow who studied in Chennai and whose doctoral dissertation was on "The Backround of the South Indian Raga System", 15 March in Santa Monica, California
Tiruvengadu A. Jayaraman (73), Carnatic vocalist and teacher, disciple of Madurai Mani Iyer, recipient of the Central Sangeet Natak Akademi award (2004), AIR artist, 28 March in Chennai.
P.V. Subramaniam, popularly known as Subbudu (90), colourful and pioneering personality in the field of music and dance criticism, recipient of the Central Sangeet Natak Akademi award for Overall Contribution / Scholarship; 29 March in Delhi.
Guru S. Narmada (64), veteran Bharatanatyam guru, founder of the dance school Shakuntala Nruthyala in Bangalore, recipient of many awards including the Central Sangeet Natak Akademi award (2006), Shantala award, the Karnataka Sangeeta Nritya Academy award and the Rajyotsava award of the State Government of Karnataka, 30 March in Bangalore.
Remembering Sundaram
21st March 2007
V. Sundaram, Sruti's former business representative in Mumbai in the 1980s, passed away this day last year. His enthusiasm for promoting Sruti and through the magazine, the cause of classical music and dance was such that he came to be known as 'Sruti' Sundaram. His family, friends and the Sruti parivaar, remember him on this day.
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T. Muktha: The last bastion of an inimitable tradition
RAVI & SRIDHAR
 Only Pattammal and I are left now. Why should I live anymore?" This was the constant refrain of the veteran vocalist and doyenne of the Veena Dhanammal family, after her close friend M.S. Subbulakshmi passed away.
T. Muktha, of the renowned vocal duo Brinda-Muktha, passed away on the morning of Sunday, March 11th 2007. She was 92. Muktha is survived by her daughter Lakshmi and granddaughters Vardhini Prem and Uma Vasudevan
Tanjavur Muktha was born in September 1914 to Veena Dhanammal's fourth daughter Kamakshi. She was one among six children of Kamakshi and 13 grandchildren of Dhanammal. When Muktha was seven and elder sister Brinda nine, they were sent to Kanchipuram Naina Pillai for their musical education. In the four years that they stayed at Kanchipuram, Brinda and Muktha learnt as many as 400 compositions of Tyagaraja, a few compositions of Syama Sastry and Subbaraya Sastry and innumerable Tevaram and Tiruppugazh songs. Naina Pillai was satisfied with their progress and asked Kamakshi to take them back and polish their music in "your mother's incomparable bani".
Back home, Brinda-Muktha's aunt Lakshmiratnam became their guru. She taught them innumerable compositions of Dikshitar, Syama Sastry, Subbaraya Sastry, Gopalakrishna Bharati and their family treasure of padam-s and javali-s and moulded their music along the lines of their inimitable grandmother. A grateful Muktha would later in life give Lakshmiratnam's name to her only daughter. Dhanammal herself taught Brinda and Muktha about 30 to 40 compositions
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Young Talent
Nisha Rajagopal
Perhaps the most striking thing about 26-year-old Carnatic vocalist Nisha Rajagopal is her voice. And for one so young, she has a remarkable stage presence that complements her youthful good looks. On the kutcheri stage, she remains totally focused on her performance and has not developed any irritating mannerisms. At present a student of both P.S. Narayanaswamy and Suguna Varadachary, Nisha started her music lessons with her mother Vasundhra Rajagopal, herself an accomplished vocalist and a disciple of Gopala Iyer, a descendant of the famous composer Koteeswara Iyer. This was in Delhi before the Rajagopalans- Raju, Vasundhra and kids- moved to Canada.
Nisha's earliest memories of her involvement with Carnatic music have to do with driving down weekends from Toronto to Pittsburgh, where visiting vidwan T.R. Subramanyam taught.
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