Category Archives: Miscellania

Vijay Siva’s concert for SRLKM at Gayana Samaj, Bangalore was a classic  marked by clear diction, good patantharam  (training), and a judicious selection of kritis of different composers.

Here is the list of songs that was presented at the concert –

1. Karikala – Saveri – Dikshithar

2. Orajoopu joo – Kannada Gowla – Tyagaraja (neraval at the line “dheena raksha..” was a good choice”

3. Guruvina – Pantuvarali – Purandara dasa (raga alapana and swaras rendered)

4. Brovavamma – Manji – Shyama Shastry

5. Ramakatha – Madhyamavati – Tyagaraja (Here was the classic neraval Baama mani at the anupallavi with swara)

6. Seethamma – Vasantha – Tyagaraja

7. RTP – Kambodhi – “Kancha padam thanjam yena Anjal yedhu Nencham adhu Senchadai panchanadha” in Misra nadai Rupaka talam. The RTP ended in a ragamalika with Bowli, Amirkalyani, Kathana koothuhalam

8. Somasundareshwaram – Shuddha Vasantham – Dikshithar

9. Divyaprabandham (ragamalika)

10.  Harivasarala – Sindhubhairavi – Purandara dasa

11. Tirupugazh – Purvikalyani

Charulatha Ramanujam on the violin was phenomenal. Neyveli Narayanan on the mridangam and Amrit on the kanjira gave a neat thani avarthanam.

The spring festival of music by Sri Rama Lalitha Kala Mandira began today at the Bangalore Gayana Samaja with a scintillating concert by Bombay Jaishree. Here is the concert list –

1. Jaya Jaya Swamin – Nattai – Narayana Teerth

2. Tulasamma – Devagandhari – Tyagaraja

3. Bhuvaneshwariya – Mohana Kalyani – Muthiah Bhagavathar

4. Dhaarini Telusu – Shuddha Saveri – Tyagaraja

5. Shankari Neeve – Begada – Subbarayar Shastri

6. Emi chesithe – Thodi – Tyagaraja

7. RTP – Kaapi & Behag ending in a ragamalika Hindolam, Vaasanthi, Hamsanandi and Yaman

8. Tarangam

9 Tillana – Desh – Lalgudi Jayaraman

The first item in Nattai was a brisk opener with kalpana swaras for the pallavi. Tulasamma in Devagandhari created a meditative ambience. An outstanding alapana in Mohana Kalyani followed by Bhuvaneshwariya was an instant hit with the crowd, swaras sung for the pallavi. This was followed by a quick rendition of Dhaarini Telusu and then she began Begada. There’s the standard Begada sung by musicians, with predictable sangatis/sancharas. But here she came up with some unusual patterns handling them with great finesse. H.N.Bhasker was a stalwart accompanist and supported her at every point throughout the concert. In the Begada piece, neraval was at the usual line in the charanam (“kanakadri sadhana dheena”) but surprisingly she took up kalpana swaras for the pallavi. A novel approach (and welcome). Emi chesithe nemi, Tyagaraja’s piece in Thodi set to Misra Chapu was an unusual choice and beautifully rendered with swaras for the pallavi (no neraval). The thani avarathanam by Patri Satish Kumar (m) and Anirudh Atreya (k) was energetic and brilliant.. The RTP in Kaapi and Behag set to Tisra Triputa (nada pallavi) showed trademarks of a Bombay Jaishree concert – effortlessly switching ragas at any point with great ease both at taanam, swarams and ending in a ragamalika, elevating the concert to higher level. The audience was in a trance. Last year when I heard Jaishree at the same festival I thought nothing could top the Saama-Sivarajani RTP in that concert. But I was wrong!

This article originally appeared in the Metro Plus edition of the Hindu

There’s a nip in the air as the jeep winds its way up the hill. A herd of Sambar stands in the middle of the road. Our driver brings the jeep to a halt. The largest of the deer stares hard at us.

It almost seems as if he’s debating whether to let us pass. It’s an uncanny feeling as we lock gazes. Without warning, he turns his head and leads his companions into a thicket of bushes. As the driver sets our jeep in motion, I realise that my toes are tingling from the encounter.

I am at Biligiri Rangaswamy (BR) Hills with my family. The two-hour drive from Mysore saw us climb almost 3,000 feet above sea level. The bustle of the city is a distant memory. It’s a silent world but for the occasional rustle in the dense underbrush of the deciduous forests that surround us.

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