Tyagaraja, Todi, Rama

Early hours of Saturday,
7 Jan, 2017,

1:17 AM.

No sign of any sleep. My mind is totally awake since I haven't prepared the complete list to be sung in my concert, day after tomorrow. Thus, the ray of insomnia.

I planned to sing Todi, one of the most popular raga-s of Indian music and also one of my top favourites. At first, I decided "Aaragimpave". Then I jumped to "Emi Jesithenemi". And then, I wandered over "Koluvamare". 

And then I came across a beautiful composition of Sri Tyagaraja, "Ninu Vinaa, Sukhamu Gaana, Neeraja Nayanaa". I remembered learning it so long ago that I hardly remember anything. 

So, I began brushing it up. 

In a raga, every composition is so different from another. There are inumerable aspects like the emotion, the sandarbham, the itivrittam, the tone of the words, the gait of the compoition and many more. 

"Ninu Vinaa, Sukhamu Gaana.. Ninu Vinaa, Sukhamu Gaana.." !!

While singing these lines, one does not feel like moving from them because of the emotion of the pure joy imbibed in it. I was singing the pallavi for almost 45 minutes!

Enthoo sukham! Entha sukham? - Eelaagani Vivarimpalemu! Svaanubhavavedyame!

"Manasukenthoo Aanandamai....." This line literally looks like a swing to me. The svara-s move so beautifully and just pamper your heart, like never before. And then "Pulakarinchagaa...." which concludes the line.

And then comes my most favourite "Rupamu, Prataapamu....." 

Sri Tayagaraja is so charmed by Rama and tries to portray Rama's appearance to us in his words. We can see and feel Rama.

"Sarachaapamu" sounds exactly like a big Dhanus (bow), and almost a visible Rama in front of us, preparing it for his next target!

Needless to say, "Sallaapamu" is so obvious with the special Gaandhaara preserved for it all this while!

The Gaandhaara at "Karunaa rasa paripoorna" is so perfect for the emotion of Karuna. 

I always wonder, can there ever be an alternative for the particular svara-s he used for some particular words. For example,

Paluku Kanda Chakkera - S G M P , P S , , which sounds like a Sugar Candy!

Evarura? Ninu vinaa - G P D R S , , which sounds literally like a Question!

Gopikalakai Kondanettaleda -N S G , mp m G S , - which sounds like lifting the Mountain!

There is so much in all these kirtanas. We all know it but it is a beautiful reminder again and again which reminds us that it is like the Akshaya Patra which keeps giving and like the Ganga which keeps flowing forever.

"Raaga Rasika, Raaga Rahita"

Rasikatvam and Raahityamu are opposites which almost mean attachment and detachment.

The way he uses phrases for each of them is so so clever and so apt!

The Gaandhaara used in the word "Raaga" in the phrase "Raaga Rasika", is so joyous, mesmerising and flowy. 

The Gaandhaara used in the word "Raaga" in the phrase "Raaga Rahita" tilts upwards, suggesting to reach a higher level, leaving the attachments and also reaches the Taara Sadja, which I interpret as a journey towards the Ultimate.

So much Todi at once. So much Todi just all over me. It began to feel like, my whole room and my bed is smoked by Tyagaraja and his Todi.

So much beauty and aesthetics! So much joy, such a beautiful Bhaavam! What a Wonderful usage of Adjectives!

I wish everyone this joy of so much of beauty, striking you at once!

Here is a small attempt to Visualise Tyagaraja, Todi and Rama.

Balamurali Krishna - The Legend that Lives Forever

Irrecoverable Loss for Indian Music.

A Legend goes back to his origin, Goddess Saraswati Devi.

He is an ARTIST par excellence, par beauty, par comaprisions, par any humane calculations.

He is the one who can show you a Vishwaroopam along with the most innocent baby's giggle you might have ever heard.

Sri #BalamuraliKrishna Garu is a kind of person who doesn't just do his job (to sing) and walk off the stage.

He sits with you. He smiles at you. He questions you. He pampers you. He stirs your beliefs, mentalities, approaches and mindsets. 

Most astonishing & my favourite thing in him is that, *He ridicules rules* !! in the most Perfect way possible, Yet sounds So correct, so fine, so much IN IT !!

He is not a person. It is MAYA. His music is the Fly of his Maya, without Boundaries, just like Krishna Maya.

His music sets you free !!

It is poetry filled with the fragrance of Lord Krishna's Maya and decorated with his sweet Flute Vaadyam and that which speaks *Tatvaalu*.

One of his greatest contributions to the World is that,
He showed what all an Indian Classical Musician Could do with Music !!

It is so coincidental that I have posted my picture with him just a few weeks ago. I am blessed to have seen him Live for once, in my life!
I have grown up with his music. He was a big part of my life, my passion, my idea and definition of what "Art" is. I feel so proud for being an Indian Classical musician and extra proud of the fact that, He is a Telugu Vidwan.

One question that used to hit me (probably all of you would agree with me) and now it will hit me forever, is,
How couldn't #BharatRatna get attached to him even now?

However, His music is Vishwa Ratna, a Gem for the Universe itself, as I believe.

Remembering some of my most favourite works of his :
Nagumomu - Abheri,
Omkaaraakaarini - Lavangi,
Amma Ninu Korina Korikalu - Khamas,
Hari Rasama Vihaari - Hindola.

Tatvaalu :
Ninu Vidichi Undalenaya - Yadukula Kaambhoji
Emi Seturaa Lingaa - Saalaga Bhairavi.

All time Ever Green Film Songs :
Oogumaa Ooyala - Bhakta Prahlada
Aadi Anaadiyu Neeve Deva - Bhakta Prahlada
Salalita Raaga Sudha - Nartana Saala

Hopefully, whoever is reading this post, will goto Youtube immediately on your new tab and listen to some of these Gems!

Instead of hashtags #RIPBalamurali, let us choose to celebrate his ever-green music today !

#BalamuraliKrishnaLivesForever
#BalamuraliFanForever #MusicUnitesTheWorld #IndianMusic

- Sruthi Ravali Manda

Harikatha - హరికథ

Dear all,

Its time for a typical Telugu summer! 

We Invite you to a 

Grand, magnanimous, 16-day Harikatha of

"Harikathaa Chakravarthy" & "Kathaagaana Kalaa Kovida"

Sri KOTA  SATCHIDAANANDA SASTRY Garu

on "MAHA BHAARATAM"

Professor G. S. N. Raju garu, Vice Chancellor of Andhra University, will Inaugurate the program on May 10th, i.e., Saturday.
Venue - Sri Krishna Vidya Mandir School, Dwaraka Nagar, Visakhapatnam.
Everyday (May 10th to May 25th) evening at 6PM.


I personally want to quote my own experiences with Harikatha here.. I was hardly 10 years old, when I first heard Harikatha. Thanks to my dad, it was Kota garu's. I remember, it was held in the open ground beside Siva Aalayam, Steel Plant, VSKP.

We had it for 21 days!! On Bhaaratam itself..

I was always interested in traditional arts like literature, music, naatakam, etc. According to my observation, Harikatha is a unique art form, which is a mixture of Music, Dance, Drama, Humour, Poetry, Literature, Philosophy and many more. In general, Any artform is independent of the others and it will have its own applications. But, Harikatha is a very tough, perhaps the most difficult form, because it is a mixture of many. 

It needs lots of expertise on many arts, viz., music, drama, humour, philosophy etc.

Kota Satcchidananda Sastry garu entertained my grand father's generation... He enlightened my father's generation (my dad heard many of his kathas, from the age of 10) and I'm very fortunate, to be able to see him in my younger days. 
I'm indebted to mom & dad forever, for having given me the Cultural Base, to be able to relish any art forms on par with them.

Thankyou dad, for letting me know what Harikatha is, at young age itself.

I request everyone reading this, to come for the harikatha and please show to your children what it is, what its value is.. 

Kota Garu is presently 80 years old.. He is the most Senior Harikathakulu presently, I guess.
We never know when we would get chance to hear him again. 

I should mention here, 

"Harikathaa Pitaamaha" 

Sri Ajjada Aadibhatla Naarayana Daasu garu.

We all just heard about him. But did not get chance to hear him.

Let us not make our children feel the same, in their future.

*Treat this as Personal Invitation. Bring your children for the program. 
*Let them see such an inspiring personality at young age.


Invitations:

"షేర్ ఖాన్ అస్తమయం"

In these days, movies started to run only because of Artists like Kota, Bharani, Prakash Raj, Srihari, Nazar, Rao Ramesh, etc.

I feel elated at the fact that, even young actors like Rajeev Kanakala, Sunil, Subbaraju, Ajay, Shafi also proved themselves to be listed in this category.

Definitely one among the very few capable & true artists of Telugu cinema,

Srihari is an "impact-winning" actor.

(I don't use the word "award-winning" because it is merely a physical recognition - which I don't consider as the only measure for actor's strength).

Telugu Cinema had lost a true artist who had great, unexplored potential. He would have been a great treasure-like source of performance for writers, if he were alive.

I regret that Telugu writers could not use his potential to the fullest extent yet.

I always hoped for a Pouraanikam with artists like Srihari, Mohan Babu, Jr. NTR, Rana, Prabhas, Anushka and all the character artists I listed above.

I saw Srihari efficiently playing the roles of a clown, villain, comedy-villain, emotional police officer, responsible brother, a great friend and many more. 

When I saw the news, I immediately remembered his words at Magadheera audio function 

"I can retire after this film".

That one sentence shows that he is a pure artist.

"SHER KHAN"

When I watched Magadheera, I truly became a fan of 2 things -  

Rajamouli's work & the character "Sher Khan".

I felt the character "Sher Khan" in Magadheera similar to "Vibheeshana" (of Raamayana).

The dialogues of Sher Khan still echo in my ears..

* The scene where 

Sher Khan is impressed with the valour of Kala Bhairava and (as he gives a word to Randev Billa that he would help him) and the tears in his eyes reflect his helpless position,

* Sher Khan's respect for Kala Bhairava is displayed when he performs the Anthima samskaram to 

Bhairava's diadem.

* Though Sher Khan's dialogues show the end (Suryastamayam shown - symbolises the death) of Bhairava's character (followed by great BGM of M. M. Keeravani), they indicate the entry of the hero

immediately.

The character itself is epic-like. Its portrayal itself is a big task. 

Elevating that character needs lots of study and trials. 

Srihari's performance satisfies the audience with completeness of action and his dialogues not only beautify his own character but elevate Bhairava's character.

Its an uncompensated loss to Telugu movies. Nobody can replace Sher Khan aka Srihari.

May His Soul Rest in Peace.

T. M. Krishna - Review - Part 4

Ghana Raagam - Mix of all the 5 Raagams - Naata, Gowla, Aarabhi, Varaali & Sri :

Jagadaanandakaaraka - Naata :

Krishna then chose  "జగదానందకారక"  [Jagadanandakaaraka], the 1st pancha ratna krithi of Tyagaraja. He sang ghana ragam (a mix of the 5) for few minutes and then rose to the Pancha Ratnam.

The swaram of the pancha ratnam was presented only on the violin and the saahityam by both. This type of presentation is striking and was felt very apt. It suits the pancha ratnas in a unique manner. The beauty of the swaras was felt to the core during Sriram's play of the swaram. The literary genius in Tyagaraja was worshipped when both Krishna and Sriram Kumar presented the saahityam. 

I strongly feel that, this method should be adopted by all musicians who feel that, the effect of over all concert matters and not just the vocal artist (I do not want to use the word main artist here).

Arvind Ranganathan's Mridangam turn was fascinating. His fingers danced on the mridangam and every beat was heard clearly. Kudos to his clarity in hand!! 
His patterns were nice and provided a good laya-base for the concert. His Mohara was steadfast and catchy. It was like a thriller. His following of krithis was also laudable. 
He contributed to the laya-dharmam of the concert. He matched and improved Krishna & Sriram Kumar's unbreakable unity effect.


Khamas :

Krishna shifted his gear to  "ఏరా? రారా"  [Era... Raaraa..],  a Javali in Khamas by Sri Patnam Subrahmanya Iyer. 
He chose some speedy phrases in the pallavi (sangathis) which caught us all very excited. Arvind's mridangam provided wonderful end phrases to this, which increased its effect to a great extent.


Slokam & Janaki Pathe :

Krishna attempted the slokam "Sringaram....." and sang it in raaga maalika. He seemed to be paying a tribute to Semmangudi during this. His fascination towards Semmangudi garu is evident in this. 

Krishna seemed to be completely carried away by the genius in Semmangudi, as anybody would love to. 

He continued the Sloka in various raagas, suiting various rasaas like hasyam, karuna, bheebhatsam, roudram, saantam etc. He chose Kalyani, Begada, Saranga & then Kharahara priya. [the phrase "muni jane" was sung in different beautiful swara patterns in kharahara priya like - pa da ni da, ma da ni da, sa da ni da]

He continued Kharahara Priya with Janaki Pathe, a composition of Sri Papanasam Sivan. 
[It is said that Sri D. K. Jayaraman used to sing it often].

The krithi had many good, beautiful adjectives (viseshanas) of lord Sri Rama such as - karunya jaladhe (ocean of compassion), jagadabhi rama, pattabhi rama, deena janaavana, sajjana paalaka (king of good people), neela mani nibha sareera , saaketha nayaka, etc.

I heard this krithi for the first time and loved it very much. Specially the phrase which swings like - Jaa...na      ki...     pathe.... 


Yaman - Sri Rama Chandra - Tulasi Das :

Krishna took up the bhajan of Tulasi Das. He seemed very much involved towards lord Rama (it is evident in his choice of krithis). 

He again went back to the state of tranquility in which he began his concert, with Kaanada. He rendered the krithi in a serene manner. 

Some phrases were dealt with slight shades of hindusthani. 
He proved that, he can sing in any manner without losing the classicism of his art. 

He continued in yaman the mangalam - with the slokam "Mangalam Kosalendraaya....."


He received a Standing Ovation from the audience and a big applause for few minutes altogether. He proved that he deserves it. 

He was very pleasant when he met the people after the concert. 
In the middle of conversation, he revealed that, he was at Himaalayas for the past 20 days..
The impact of Himaalayas and the mood of serenity reflected in his singing. 


I wish that, we get to hear more and more from a true musician like him. 


Sruthi Ravali

T. M. Krishna - Review - Part 3

Kaambhoji :

He directly moved to Taanam in Kaambhoji. This must be considered as the best part of the concert. Very soon he sent the audience into a trance, showering on them an immense and intense Kaambhoji. Everybody just preferred to close eyes and lose themselves into the blissful rain of Kaambhoji.

His Kaambhoji was incredible. His music charms all ages of people - children, adults and the old too. His prastaram was very apt and every single note was understandable for even kids of the age 5. The miraculous thing which delighted me the most was, all the kids in the auditorium sat silently, listening to his each and every swaram with complete attention and high curiosity towards his swaras. I haven't seen any children disturbing the concert.

He rose to the Gandharam and circled his flow around it with aesthetic ease which comforted us with balanced joy. Everybody was able to sing along with him, the patterns which he chose. In that way, it reached all in the auditorium. The divinity of the Raga Kaambhoji is explored and exhibited with so much of love. 


Here is a recording.....

He then shifted to Panchamam... He speeded up a little from there. It was very well represented. All nodded heads to the beautiful phrases. He himself was enjoying it and also getting involved deeper and deeper. 

The ends of the typical phrases like - namta namta naM tomta naM ta...... 
- (g m p,   g m p,    g m n d p D P.....) sounded special at some places because they were not the usual predictable tanam phrases of Kambhoji. 

It was a good & complete team play of both Sriram Kumar and Krishna. Sriram Kumar hardly missed out any phrase. He was almost playing each and every line, ably predicting what Krishna is going to sing. It is a feast to hear Vocal & Violin, having no difference and travelling the journey together, inspiring each other. They both were out of this world and took us out of it too.


Tanam at Panchamam & Daivatham :






The Taara sthaayi Tanam :

 



He was very immersed and involved in the taara sthaayi part. His capacity was clearly proved in the complexity of the phrases he sang. Throughout his singing, he maintained a peace. It reached climax after the tanam at Gandharam at Taara sthaayi. Even the Taara sthaayi panchamam & nishaadam were touched enough soothingly. Even his sighs were heard clearly! Sriram Kumar played with good momentum and impact and gave a good end to it. 

After he winded up the tanam and finished it, Krishna made a very clear announcement that, his Tanam in Kambhoji is an independent piece chosen separately without anything to be followed in Kaambhoji after. He even showed no interest in explaining / discussing the cause. 


This pattern seems beneficial to carnatic music in some aspects. 

Tanam is usually sung after a lengthy raagaalapana. After such a wide alapana, the tanam may exhaust the listener (I mean the audience of today). I don't mean to condemn or disrespect or harm the traditional concert format. I'm a pursuer of True Carnatic Music. So, I do not really mind to make it more approachable to people by adding any kind of modifications, with due respect to the tradition.

Some may find his format unusual, strange and also alien. But, if we consider his individual items separately, there is no space for any doubt.

Musicians like TMK have the ability to convince people against anything through their music. It seemed completely okay and the new format is refreshing and thought-provoking too.



[continued in Part 4]

T. M. Krishna - Review - Part 2

Continued.....

Todi :

Krishna chose Syama Sastri's  "రావే,  హిమగిరి కుమారి"  [Raave Himagiri Kumaari]  as his 3rd piece. He maintained the trinity order - Tyagaraja, Deekshitar & Syama Sastri in the pieces he took.

He started it in an unhurried way, the typical way of Syama Sastri. The audience were enthralled by his crystal clear rendition of the mandra sthaayi "Ga" and anu mandra sthaayi "Ni" too. Specially, the children were absolutely amazed at his ease & capability. 

In his Todi alapana, he did not touch any madhya sthaayi swarams above "Ga" for the first few mins. He concentrated deeply on the mandra sthaayi which comforted the audience with lots of peace, serenity & composure. His voice, at the depths of Todi, sounded like mandra sthaayi Veena vaadyam. We could feel the vibrations within ourselves.

Soon, he approached taara sthaayi. Graha Bhedam phrases were also heard. Somehow I felt the high down pour effect of Sri Semmangudi garu on him in his Todi. Semmangudi is such a persona, who effects the mood, creativity, emotion & maturity of any artist. It is wonderful to see Sri T. M. Krishna, inhabiting the rich tradition of Semmangudi's Raga presentation, and presenting it in his own way.

Surprisingly, there was not even a single krithi of high tempo such as - Bhogeendra Saayinam (Kunthala Varali), etc. Yet, the concert captured audience with its balanced vigor. 

The krithi in Todi, started on a very slow note, as according to its mood. It melted the hearts of people with its pleasing saahityam especially at the sangathi in its pallavi where it goes as - himagiri kumari (n g r n d m) - in mandra sthaayi. When the mandra sthaayi "Ma" was touched, it became "A moment of high vibrations and goosebumps".

Krishna did not compromise anywhere in the aspect of "classicism" of Todi. The strong, shaky "Ga"was simply perfect. Krishna's Todi elevated the mood and listening maturity of the audience.

Krishna almost got himself lost into the rendition. Both Krishna & Sriram Kumar were like Sangeetham & Saahityam, the 2 children of Goddess Saraswati - inseparable, yet individually valuable & unique.

Nerav was performed at the place  "కళ్యాణి... కంచి కామాక్షి, నీ  పాదమే దిక్కు"  [Kalyani... Kanchi Kamakshi, nee paadame dikku - raave himagiri.....] 

Check the recording below..




Krishna also did 2nd kalam Neraval in it, where he showed a capturing continuity in the lines. Arvind's support on the Mridangam was very comfortable. His phrases were brisk but soft and got mixed in the galaxy of Syama Sastri's Todi (His way of Todi).

Krishna did not take up swara kalpana in this. But it did not appear to be a flaw or a loss. On the whole, it looked complete and made long lasting impression in the hearts of rasikas.


[continued in Part 3....]