I arm: * Prof. H.V. Krishnanmurthy JcCicitatedjor his 50 years’ service to Karnatak Music Central Sangeet Natab Abademi Award Winners Saxophone maestro Kadri Gopalnath Vocalist M.A. Narasimhachar sU ddjaad tfztpcrtfcrtsfe rt: down'd? s';. o3joje.’3? t nscQ diisssa &o£dd didcadcdad drtrdkd ddro&d adjarradd ~dodddaA d;3: B ‘ -5 _) -S d53>rdq5) ra»d d.sre/d.do., &cd;«?ddd;, wo dc£3.ddi did; nsdiera diktfo&d wcad.Qrrcr o cjs-b^j ~ o q do 33d; ofo?&drtS/d; dja&* wdiS3drtja«f*jd. dadjazSofc Sdid ddafFdcⅆ dd^rtoo deeded d H va w «< -£ ddi.^d 73 docd cad, ddj3rradd. d^d d;Sod a3d;nao; • So dq^d dqra rfeddova rodrA* dddad.8 sader di3;dd£rt$nan adddofc wcdedc 5 '-' *> n ^/ o o qfddrttf ddTarra. • d^rd,* desa.d add TOod.dca.n d?d dcaad. 3274 d8drrrttf£ d.x.6.73 #ja?d do 33d. • d:Lva da.docdnan £do. ddd?d roo&rrfdi. 4000 dodd dad diktfdfcort dja. 400 tfjaet 43 t ~J ej dddO ddd?d. U 1 “ • 15000 d05d o&idtfort d.ddd ddded. 8000 d05d »ad o5;;dSOrf 8 cdja.,£ 2 a* dddc-d. eJ w _o tJ S • d.BrSddan dcd;?d tod d 8?3FUSd deJrtv'C d-adcaA 7 5 d;dr djadr dc33,ardocd;rt^ wdcd. • dd'ddi. txdd d^dcrt 20 d.aa. dda^rrttfirt w$f 8 dd^j dja.2 &a?u. • ddd dkd d.da. cJ;dod 15000 wsd^dcd rt drttf;. dja.60 Sjaeti ddd£ 60000 wdd; $ U U ^ -> didrttf dddfd. • dOLdd iudd8rfrt wdid.tdd dad: drtrrttf eolraert ddd. oj w • dd dorttf; drtdd added; dfddan dddd;rt$od iradrddSd wddao; d ?53d. • ddp?dcS; uz^rt'-JC do d^a.arcd; tfjsead dd d^t.3 50 oed 500 s?. ddv. • dJad.dDtf saoa d.da. d~ ardcjiOrf djs.250/- d;d; 2 >d otU3 dda 3r-.d;Cw1 d.t.500/- 0 3 — 0 5ii53 2?J3 ? 33 ddd . -i »-j r • crad.dSi aid 17017 ar d oar^ didrttfd; rt;d:dxdi, wddi 7628 d;dri$rf d;d;sad. o^ej j a *< w rrad;fP53dd.arf s?jad adjad;. dn:r aoded d djafia^nac^ cJja?a?5. -J ' 4) ^ c3 j • 37116 ddea^ntOrKd ddd?d d?dU3Ad. wdd£ 9284 dirtV; d;d; 27 832 d-d33od 45 « S - - 43 do?frt^r? dfOcad. w -3oao3 wdad 4- o^Jdd rr L a;?rt ddddi.ddri3A 33,299 r^d dd^rr; stdenao 28,910 djarar. dja. 66.60 ^A?ti addd d^Acd 8'vAd;d nr s»?r: ddfdd Sd; addonsA d-t.10.28 f?3?L’ dddi 4318 ^ la r* d;d ddjirra. dd; dijasidjad wdd.dvad dd, dd;;33ai5 d.aa dd;cd. deadddd d.a^a, rt,d d;d; dd;:33cj: did; ros?dV£> c~332;od ddjarrasa.A 27 cidrt^l300 derttf «so5;.. d-a.110 . 04 -D r^, O — » Vo £.3?l' dd di 53d;n30 d nd. Zij n -/ iS^ZTliti -JZ^F Karnataka's only English International Journal on music and dance j|| GUNAGRAHI/ DECEMBER-2003 9 Editor General Karnataka Kata Sri Dr. M. Surya Prasad Phone : 2253975 Associate Editors : Usha Kamath Ph : 5598886 K. Ramamurthy Rao, Mysore Ph : 0821-371899 B. L. Manjula, Ph : 5519227 Chief Patrons :S.K. Lakshminarayana (Babu) Mysore, Ph : 0821-513414. V. Krishnan. Ph : 3345665 Dr. A.H. Ramarao, Ph : 6691175 M. Bharadwaj, Ph:08182-222051 H K. Ganesh, Ph : 56702763 . H. Kamalanath, Ph : 6612244 Principal Advisers :Dr. R. Sathyanarayana, Mysore 0821-567891 T.S. Parthasarathy, Chennai, 044-459005 Guru Maya Rao, Ph : 2261816 Mattur Krishnamurthy. Ph : 3346404 Shyamala G. Bhave, Ph : 3443900 Admn. Executive : Dr. H.N. Shivaprakash, Ph: 6672189 Advisory Council : Dr. Manjunath Bhat Ph : 6647654 Durga C. Avarthi. Ph : 5298954 T A S. Mani, Ph : 3441515 K. Balasubramanyam, Chennai, Ph : 0444992474 H.N. Suresh, Ph : 3347918 C. Cheluvaraj, Ph : 3328361 Prof.K.E.Radhakrishna. Ph: 3321641 Guru H.R. Keshavamurthy Ph: 3320903 Pt. Parameshwar Hegde, Ph: 3310039 Pt. Vinayaka Torvi, Ph : 3305701 Dr. Vasundara Doreswamy, Mysore. Ph : 0821-542814, Ranjani Ganeshan, Ph :6615127 Legal Adviser : C.Satyanarayana Shastri, Vol. VI Issue 7 December-2003 Admn. Executive yanarayar Ph. 6620: EDIT0RIAL0FFICE: •H U N I K 0 T I', NO, 8, S E C 0 N D CROSS ' 0PP. SRINIVASA H ANDIRAH, • BALEPET B A N G A L ORE - 560 053. PH : 0 80- 22 5 3975 e-mail: gunagrahi@yahoo.com^lnnsuBraprasad@yahool.com Subbarama Dikshitar From the Editor General Reviews Samudhra and other news Nada Surabhi festival Advertisement Leisure Correspondents: INLAND : Bangalore - N. Ananthapadmanabharao, Ph : 5532658. Kusuma Rao, Ph : 3222593 Katte Sathyanarayana Rao, Ph : 3604663 Mysore - K.Raghavendra Rao, Ph: 0821 513517 Dr. V. Nagaraj, Ph : 0821-51 1 1 33 Mumbai-B. Nagabhushan, Ph: 0251-2472475 FOREIGN : California : Malathi Iyengar Ph: 81 8 788 6860. Nacheketa Sharma - Ph : 001 -650-960-6906 Lavanya Dinesh Ph : 717-576-8295 *We Welcome all unsolicited material but do not take responsibility for the same. If these are to be returned postage should be included. ‘Letters are welcome ‘All rights reserved. Nothing may be printed in whole or in part without the written permission of the publisher. ‘The editors and publishers of Gunagrahl do their best to verify the information published but do not take responsibility for the absolute accuracy of the information. The opinions/views expressed by individual authors in articles published are not necessarily those of Gunagrahl. Articles. Photos. Write-ups. reports may also be sent to the following address : Editor General, 446, Jaraganahalli P.O. J.P. Nagar, Kanakapura Main Road, BANGALORE - 560 078. 3 The following are excerpts from an article written by ProfV.Raghavan (1908-1979). Sri Subbarama Dikshitar (1839-1906) [The Composer and Author of “Sangita Sampradaya Pradarshini”] In the history of Indian music in mod- em times, four musicologists stand out most prominently; but for their pioneering labours the continuity in our musical tradition would have been seriously impaired and the revival in the ait that took place would have suffered in quality and substance. In the North, it was first Rajah Sir Sourindra Mohan Tagore and then Pt.Bhatkhande; in the South, Sri A.M.Chinnaswami Mudaliar first and then Vidvan Subbarama Dikshitar. The last was perhaps the greatest as he was an immediate scion and successor of the great composer Sri Muttuswami Dikshitar ( 1 775- 1 835) and him- self a musician and composer, “the direct rep- resentative of one of the most scientific of our Beethoven and Mendelssohn families”, as Sri Chinnaswami Mudaliar described him. His Sangita Sampradaya Pradarshini can be com- pared to a huge and permanent dam which impounded and preserved the music of the golden age of Kamatic music. Practising musi- cians, theorists, editors and publishers of re- cent times have been continuously drawing sus- tenance from it. Subbarama Dikshitar would not have undertaken this magnum opus but for the prompting and insistence of Sri Chinnaswami Mudaliar, a Superintendent at that time in the Madras Government Secretariat, a Christian with a consuming passion for Kamatic music. Having started on his gigantic project of presenting Oriental Music in European No- tation, he sought out representatives of the di- rect shishya-parampara of Tyagaraja like Walajahpet Krishnaswami Bhagavatar and wrote out 800 pieces of Tyagaraja and other composers in Staff Notation, checking his scripts with the aid of violinists trained in West- ern music who were asked to play them by sight. Chinnaswami Mudaliar circulated widely the first issues of his “Oriental Music”. The public response was meagre though leading men of culture, as also the Press, did praise him for his monumental undertaking. The pub- lication and Mudaliar’s undaunted pursuit of his objective produced a result of momentous significance, namely his coming into touch with the Ettayapuram Samsthanam and the court- musician there, Vidvan Subbarama Dikshitar. In The Hindu and in the pages of Oriental Music, these two figures, Subbarama Dikshitar and Chinnaswami Mudaliar, corresponded; the former called the latter an avatara-purusha and the latter, accepting the former as Guru, got him thrice to stay with him in Madras and to enlighten him further on the science and art of Kamatic music and the intricacies of the raga system, and the gamaka-s, in particular. Subbarama Dikshitar thus stayed with Mudaliar for a period of three to four years in all and helped him to write down many of the compo- sitions of Muttuswami Dikshitar. The Rajah of (Continued on page 6) 4 From the Editor General 1 t , / ft • r Accompaniment in music recitals If a man is known by the company he keeps so is a musician. He just cannot get along with anyone. Generally, solo singers or instrumentalists, always let the oganisers of concerts and conferences know in advance the accompanists they favour on the percussion and melodic instruments like violin, mridanga, tabla, sarangi or harmonium as the case may be. Something going amiss in such a pre-arrangement makes them jittery and uncomfortable. I A delayed flight to Delhi of the tabla wizard Zakir Husain a couple of years 'ago put the flautist Hari Prasad Chaurasia in a spot and he was forced to play ia prolonged alap till Zakir appeared on the stage. It is true that because of I repeated exposure both the soloist and his accompanist get to know each other’s pulse —the heartbeat of each other’s art and creation. Each begins to forestall the other’s next move and the listeners reap a rich harvest of joy. When on the other hand, the two mismatch, the outcome is not difficult to imagine. You might have seen a cartoon with a tabla player about to hammer the singer’s head with an uplifted drum and the latter doing likewise with his tampuras. The main artistes just cannot put up with what in their opinion is bad accompaniment. One remembers having heard ‘Abey kya kar rahey ho’ and many other outbursts in the course of some broadcasts and public perfor- mances. Once the late and peerless sarangi player Gopal Mishra who was not in an altogether sober state of mind, while giving a ‘Lehra’ to Lallan Babu, a pakhwaj player of Bihar at the Red Fort, Delhi, provided a variable, unsteady melodic line to the latter’s solo, who as a result either overstepped or fell short of the tala’s target. An exchange of hot words ensued. Another musician went on the stage to mark the rhythm with hjs hand beats and see the recital to its end. With some noble exceptions, the gentle art of musical accompaniment, in the North has generally generated into a veritable cockpit, in which blows and counter blows are freely exchanged and each musician tries to outwit the other. To accompany is a subtle, gentle art in which the accompanist not only traces the melody but in a succinct and suggestive manner stirs the imagination of the performer, inspires fresh ideas in him and even show the way to unexplored paths of melody but never at the expense of the main performer. In this regard, it is noteworthy that Kamatak music, one feels has evolved a really healthy tradition of accompaniment, which does not encourage either obtrusiveness or passivity on the part of the accompanist. Sad demise: H.Shyamalamba, an ardent lover and patron of classi- cal music, a traditional housewife and the inspiring wife of H.Kamalanath, President, Bangalore Gayana Samaja passed away last month. GUNAGRAHI condoles her sad and sudden demise. ■Karnataka Kala Sri Dr. M. Surya Prasad. ■■■■■■■■■II GUNAGRAHI/ DECEMBER-2003 (Continued from page 6) Ettayapuram in Tirunelveli District had been an ardent patron of Sanskrit learning, of Tamil schol- ars and poets, and of musicians and astrologers and, seeing the indications of glory there, told Baluswami Dikshitar that Subbarama Dikshitar would be a second Muttuswami Dikshitar and that Baluswami should adopt him as his own son. The circumstances that led to the fruitful friend- ship and co-operation of Subbarama Dikshitar and Chinnaswami Mudaliar have already been recalled. Mudaliar had laboured hard, faced acute difficulties, and had reached a stage where he was unable to publish all the material that he had written down. Mudaliar’s eyesight had also been seriously affected by his labours and he was unable to publish the Dikshitar pieces he had reduced to notation with Subbarama Dikshitar.’s assistance. On the occasion of the installation on the gaddi of Jagadvira Rama Venkateshvara Eddappa, Rajah at Ettayapuram, in 1 899, Mudaliar visited Ettayapuram and per- sonally appealed to all those who mattered, in- cluding the Rajah himself, to ensure that his un- fulfilled mission would be completed by the Samsthanam. He said that Subbarama Dikshitar should be urged and helped to publish in nota- tion, at least in the Telugu script, the entire mu- sic of the Dikshitar school. Subbarama Dikshitar himself records that Mudaliar’s appeal was that Subbarama Dikshitar should put down in writ- ing and notation everything that he knew, with- out hiding anything. To quote from the English Preface by C. Nagojee Rau (a well-known fig- ure in music circles in those times) to the origi- nal Telugu edition of the Sampradaya Pradarshini, “Sri Subbarama Dikshitar, though unwilling at first to part with what he naturally regarded as a precious heirloom to be jealously guarded and retained in his family, yielded in the end to the wishes of his master and patron, the Rajah". Sri Nagojee Rau adds, “To what extent we are in- debted to the gentleman named above (i.e Mudaliar) could be realised if it be remembered that BrahmaSri Subbarama Dikshitar is now an old gentleman and that his great learning and knowledge and the store of music literature in his possession would, in the course of nature, have been lost to the world in a few years if this work had not been published now”. Subbarama Dikshitar worked on this book Sangita Sampradaya Pradarshini for more than four years. Its printing began towards the end of December 1901 and while it was in progress, to quote the words of the Tamil Preface by R. Srinivasa Iyengar to the original edition, “Matangi Devi, presiding Deity of Music, drew to Her own World Her beloved Devotee Sri Chinnaswami Mudaliar”. (To be concluded in the next issue). ( ' ; 'n It is a happy thing to note that the Central Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi, the presti- gious body actively engaged in the activities pertaining to music, dance, drama, has bestowed its esteemed award on two of the great musicians of Karnataka. Veteran vocalist M.A Narasimhachar and the saxophone maestro Kadri Gopalnath are the awardees. GUNAGRAHI congratulates them. v 6 HE m' A - X M. ¥ i REVIEWS Dr.A.II.Kama Rao & Sudha Rao page Harmonious Karnatak music gered tiers were well reechoed by the violinist Dr.Natarajamurthy. The expositions in detail jvere like greased lightning with phrases traversing the oc- Producing Karnatak music in the harmonium is a difficult task. The subtle gamakas can not easily be reproduced in the keyed-instrument. C. Ramadas, who is also a violinist, is ac- tively engaged in rendering harmonium recitals. He im- pressed the rasikas with one such recital at Adarsha Bhavana auditorium during the Adarsha Navarathri Sangee- totsava. The raga elongation in Athana for “Sri Mahagana pathini” covered all the comers of the raga. The concert was lively in a delightful spurt of precise tones, showering out dazzling cascades of artistically patterned phrases. Beautiful, artistic, technique-oriented and most of the times aesthetically- pleasing musical phrases floated out of the keyed instru- ment descending in space, spi- raling upwards again, then twirling downwards, always following the path shown by his raised left hand index finger. “Sarasa saama daana” and “Sogasujoodatarama’’ in stag- taves smoothly. Seasoned Anur Dattatreya Sharma (mridanga) and A.V.Kashinath (khanjira) rose to the occasion in enriching the recital. Ramakanth regales The seasoned singer R.S. Ramakanth with vast stage experience did comparatively well in his performance for Bangalore Gayana Samaja during the 35 ,h music confer- ence. One wished there was more depth in his singing. It was also intriguing to see him sing referring to sheets of pa- per on the stage. T.KV.Rama nujacharyalu (violin) gave a creditable account of himself as an accompanist. Young H.S.Sudheendra on mridanga imparted lively and strong laya backing and Dayananda Mohithe on ghata was useful. As the son of veteran vocalist R.K.Srikanthan he is gifted in many ways. This got itself re- flected in the appropriate se- lection and their execution of compositions. A Patnam Subramanya Iyer’s varna in Devamanohari gave a fine start to the recital. An interest- ing Jayachamaraja Wodeyar krithi “Chintayami satatam” in Dheeravasantha was enriching. Apt to the day he sang Vaara krithi by Dikshitaron Shukra (“Sri Shukra Bhagavatam” set to Pharaz raga) in a majestic tempo. His vistaras in Sriranjini (Sogasuga mridanga talamu) and Hindola (Neerajakshi Kamakshi) spoke of his equip- ment and industry. Thyagaraja’s “Nannuganna talli” in an enjoy- able Kesari raga kept up the tempo. He impressed the rasikas with his detailed Dhanyasi. Thyagaraja’s quaint krithi ‘Nee chitthamu nishchalamu” was endearing. Ramakanth reached the acme of his artistry in presenting raga, tana and pal lav i (“Chakkani Saamikidi manchi samayamidi ra nedu”) in the frame of mishra jhampe tala. The tani avartana by Sudhindra and Mohithe was excellent. Splendid Srinath It was refreshing to hear the seasoned flautist T.R.Srinath’s recital at Sri Sharada Pravachana Mandira, 7 || GUNAGRAHI/ DECEMBER-2003 Jayanagar held under the ban- ner of Suswaralaya College of Music and Kalashritakalpaka. The two-day annual festival of the College was marked by the honouring of the veteran mridangist M.Vasudevarao and release of a CD and an audio-cassette rendered by veteran singer Padma Gurudatt and brought out by the College. He was accom- panied by young H.N. Bhaskar (violin) and the giant of mridanga Dr. T. K.Murthy (mridanga) and seasoned B.S.Purushottam( khanjira). The atatala Bhairavi vama was the first item rendered with great relish. The pallavi and chittaiswaras were presented in two kalas and the following charana and ettukadais came before us in madhyamakala. Uttukkadu Venkata subba iyer’s “Sri Vighnaraja” in Gambheera Nata was mellif- luous. There was not a single false note or blurred passage and it was all music of classi- cal divinity when “Vinathasuta vahana” in Jayanthasena raga by Thyagaraja was rendered in a crisp gait. The thrusts he invested into the delineation of Poorvi Kalyani were apt to the ragabhava. Shyama Sastry’s demanding krithi “Ninnuvinaga mari” set to viloma chapu tala had the artistic ingredients of twists and turns which rattified the ragaswaroopa.. The kalpanaswaras bore the stamp of his originality with a taut rhythm. “Hechcarikaga raara” (Yadukula Kambhoji) and “Evarani” (Devamritha karshini, both Thyagaraja krithis) evoked a pleasurable experience. Hindustani Kapi (“Inthasowkhya”, Thyagaraja) and Kokilapriya (a raga, tana and pallavi (“Nannu borovarada Sri Ramachandra” in trishra tripude and trishra nadai) were effective. The pallavi-essay brought to light the inexhaust- ible potentialities of the artiste. Srinath’s blowing technique was precise and sustained the tonal purity and classicism. His tuttukkaras could easily and correctly relate the sahitya of the songs to the avid rasikas. His mastery over the flute came in bold relief. Both the raga and sahitya bhava of Behag and “Kandu dhanyanaade” was endearing. Manju Bhargavi mesmerises Kuchipudi natya belongs to theatrical dance tradition. It is highly accessible to audiences because of its narrative style 8 and its fusion of movement and dance technique with mime (abhinaya). Expert danseuse Manju Bhargavi enthralled the lovers of dance with her neat and tidy Kuchipudi natya at the SSMRV Dental College audi- torium under the aegis of S VN Music academy. The whole gamut of the Kuchipudi form namely content, technique, music, decor, costumes and make-up everything was au- thentic and rewarding. Her nritta was sprightly and she gave wide scope to abhinaya through gestures and facial expression which appealed to the audience. Her entry and exits were stylised and she walked on the stage on a given gait in two or three speeds. This enabled the rasikas to grasp in the very entry of the dancer, her command over the tala and laya. Her recital was full of nritta hasthas, charis and other nrithya sequences. In the unfolding of Usha Parinayamu (Reetigowla) by Chidambara Kavi taken from the Yakshagana her varied charis drew the attention of the cognoscenti. In this pravesha daruvu, Usha, the daughter of Banasura gives her self-intro- duction. Manju Bhargavi be GUNAGRAHI / DECEMBER-2003 M.Bharadwaj page i ;ame one with Usha Krishna Leela larangini, aworPTjnTlie lileot Krishna portrays Krishna’s life from childhood to adulthood in sev- eral hours’ duration. In one section of this piece called the Balagopala Tarangamu the dancer dances on a brass plate demonstrating her technical skill. Manju had selected one such bit. First she graphically presented the pranks of Krishna. Then she wove such patterns and movements as done on a brass plate but ac- tually without the plate. And later she took the brass plate kept in front of the stage and with joy and zest unleashed nritta of a high order. Earlier, her presentation of Thyaga raja’s first pancha rathna krithi “Jagadaanandakaaraka” in Nata merited commendation. Herdisiciple Keerthi did proud to her in portraying the great- ness of Devi on the basis of “Kanjadalaayataakshi”. Vedantham Srirama Sharma (nattuvanga), Rama Jagannath (vocal), NS Rao (flute), Nagaraj (violin) and Ganesh (mridanga) were the success- ful accompanists. Sheela scintillates The well-blossomed sangeetha vidwath of sea- soned singer M.S.Sheela ex- pressed through a strong, trained, melodious voice that cruised three octaves im- pressed the large audience at Bangalore Gayana Samaja. Sheela sang for M.A.Nara simhachar Music Foundation after being felicitated with the title “Gaana Varidhi” by Prof. S.K. Ramachandra Rao in the presence of the veteran vocalist M.A.Narasimhachar and other rasikas during the Foundation’s second anniver- sary celebrations. That she has an amazingly intuitive under- standing of the sookshmaas of classical music — the nuances that make a raga or a sangathi sparkle hooking the listener’s heart to its melody, came to the fore throughout her recital. Sheela opened with the famous Daru “Maathe Malaya dhwaja” (Khamach) with a fine chittaiswara. “Sharadaye karuna varidhiye” (Todi) by Vijayadasa not only helped her consolidate the smoothnes of her voice but also set the moods of the rasikas for the ensuing feast of music. The kalpanaswaras in the taut tech- nical framework of Iaya pro- vided another dimension to the concert. Without exaggeration of any aspect of Kamatak mu- sic raga, keerthana or swaras — she made her recital sound and solid. The raga ver- sion of Sriranjini (“Maru balka’’) was something like an appetiser for a full feast of Kamavardhini (Kashirama kriya) later for a Dikshitar’s majestic krithi “Ramanatham bhajeham”. She opened out a world of tranquility by singing “Sri Hari kaayo Karuna nidhiye” (Mahipathidasa) and “Saaramaina”. Dr.Jyothsna Srikanth (violin), Anoor Ananthakrishna Sharma (mridanga), Guruprasanna (khanjari) and M. A. Krishna murthy (ghata) successfully caught up with the grandeur of Sheela’s exposition. TVS shines Veteran vocalist T.V.Shankaranarayanan who is tipped for this year’s presti- gious “Sangeetha Kalanidhi” award of Music Academy, Chennai sang in his usual style and form. He delighted the rasikas at the SSMRV Dental College auditorium with his well-set track of performance || GUNAGRAHI/ DECEMBER-2003 held under the aegis of S VN Music Academy. V.Pra veen’s mridanga support was as usual spirited. Young N.Amrith, who has recently been elevated to the “A” grade by the Akashwani, came out with fly- ing colours as an accompanist of merit. He began with a Ganapathi Sachchidananda Swamiji’s composition “Jaya Jaya Ganapathi mangalkari” in Hamsadhwani raga. Soon he picked up the momentum with the kalpana swaras in varie- gated forms and patterns. “Gaayami tava naama nirupamam” was soothing. He dwelt upon Saranga Tarangini raga in detail and rendered GNB’s “Samana rahithe” krithi with chittaiswaras. He further beautified it with swaras. And the swaras around “ri" were really an audio treat. Thyagaraja’s prize-krithi in a rare Chyatarangini raga “Kripa joochutaku” was crisp. The delineation of Todi for his favourite rendition of “Taaye Yashoda” was superb. The myriad ways that he sang “Kaalini nilambi” compelled attention. The presentation of Shankarabharana for “Saro jadalanethri” and neraval at “Kori vachchina” was endear- ing. It was interesting to see the violinist prompting him when he forgot a line from the song. Nithyashree in her elements The Academy of Music led by K.K.Murthy, a renowned patron of classical music and the architect of the world fa- mous Chowdaiah Memorial hall held its annual two day Karthik Festival last week. Vocalists Nithyashree Mahadevan and Trichur V. Ramachandran were the artistes featured during the fes- tival. One of the prominent and well-equipped singers of the present generation Nithya shree Mahadevan was in her usual elements. Though she seemed to have some voice problems in the upper regis- ters, the end-effect of her con- cert was positive. Adding glory to her renditions was her vio- lin-accompanist Dr.Jyothsna Srikanth. The laya pep was given by Shivakumar (mrid anga) and the evergreen ghata- player Sukanya Ramgopal. The raga alapanas and song rendering reminded me of her grandmother D.K. Pattammal. She launched her recital with a lively Kedara gowla varna (Samidaya). Narayana Teertha’s Bhoopali keerthana “Srimannarayana” and Thyagaraja’s “Smarane sukhamu” (Janaranjini ) were rendered heart-warmingly. A few bars of swaras for “Rama nama” were scholarly. It was rather disappointing to hear a Haridasa pada “Saamanya valla Sri Hariya seve” sans neraval and swaras and par- ticularly when the pada was prefaced with a detailed ragaalapana. Dikshitar’s “Neelotplambam” (Reeti gowla) and Shivan’s “Inda paramukha” showed her good grounding and kept up the tempo of the recital. Raga Dhanyasi was built up me- thodically. Her smooth flow- ing voice and good training made the rendition of Shyama Sastry’s “Meenalochani brova” an impressive exercise. Speedy virtuosity could also be noticed in the swaravinyasa. She mounted detailed raga alapana and a plethora of swaras for Thyagaraja’s krithi “Nannu paalimpa” and demonstrated her all round equipment. “Krishna nee begane baaro”, “Narajanma bandaaga”, a Tamil composition, a Meera bhajan and a ragamalika tillana accounted for the agenda of her recital. TVR resonates Veteran vocalist Trichur V.Ramachandran revealed his musical gifts on the second day of the festival. His rich and reso- nant voice and the birka-oriented sangathees had the genuine Karnatak depth, dazzle, sweep and subtlety. The imprint of his Guru GNB was conspicuous by its omni-presence. His concert backed up by talented violinist H.K.Venkataram and young mridangist Arjun Kumar began with the popular Begade varna. GNB’s “Kaliyuga varadane” (Nata) and Thyaga raja's “Entha raani thanakentha poni" (Harikambhoji) were endearing. “Srinivasa” (Sri ranjini) and “Ninnina” (Purandaradasa, Saramathi) could have been (Ranjani raga, GNB) was pleas- ing. But the singing of Thyagaraja’s “Rama katha sudha” (Madhyamavathi) was marred to a certain extent by the speed adopted by him. The kalpana swaras in particular seemed to feed his mathemati- cal appetite. Confident Reshu ■ Young and petite B.K. Reshu, trained under Jyothi Pattabhiram of Sadhana Sangama Dance cen- ter, exuded confidence and con- viction in exposing her latent tal- ents and correct understanding of the art of Bharatanatya. In her performance held at Ravindra Kalakshetra she successfully dealt with the varied aspect of the dance form. She gave a brief account of her nritta abilities in the Ganesha stuti “Ikshudanda ther blossomed in the Mohana swaraj athi. Reshu had opted for a Kannada varna by flautist Dwaraki Krishnaswamy. This padavarna beginning with “Bhuvanasundarana karetaare” had the theme of a Radha yearn- ing for Krishna. Though the jathis seemed to be simple Reshu executed them with full serious- ness. In the abhinaya portion she demonstrated commendable in- volvement. Yet another Krishna- theme was unfolded in the post- interval session on the basis of a Uttakkadu Subbaram’s Athana krithi “Madhura madhura Venugopala”. Mysore Yoganarasimha’s “Shivastuti “ in Vachaspathi raga was well ex- plored in rendering varieties of bhangis and innocuous nritta. Guru Jyothi Pattabhiram more effective with perfectly enunciated sahitya bhaava. Shyama Sastry’s Bhairavi swarajathi was sung with due regard to its majestic structure and gait. “Ranjani Niranjani” dhara” (Gambheera Nata) and artistically sketched the at- tributes of Lord Ganesha. Natesha Kauvthuvam (Hamsa- dhwani) was marked by inter- esting postures. Her nritta fur- (nattuvanga), Sharma (vocal). Venugopal (flute), Gurumurthy (mridanga), Madhusudan(violin) and Prasanna (morsing and khanjira) imparted lively sup- o- — Dr. RADHA BHASKAR, Seasoned singer, Editor of the reputed ‘Samudhra’ magazine dedicated to music, dance, drama and art cinema, published from Chennai, writes: Dear Dr. Surya Prasad, I have been reading your magazine ‘Gunagrahi’ regularly with considerable interest. The editorial of November issue is good foot for thought, specially for organisers. With such a profu- sion of concerts, without any consideration for quality, Karnatak music seems to be going in a totally different direction as if it is meant to entertain the masses. Since it is not looked at with the seriousness that is intended to go with the system, concerts have become mere get togethers where poeple come and go as they like. It is time something is done tocurb this trend. . — Dr.Radha Bhaskar, Editor, Samudhra. 11 || GUNAGRAHI/DECEMBER— 2003 SAMUDHRA’S 1st ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION Samudhra magazine( dedicated to music, dance, drama and art cinema) celebrated its 1st Anniversary on 16th November at Mylapore Fine Arts Club. It is the only magazine of its kind dealing with contemporary aspects of fine arts, so that one can understand the nuances of the art and enjoy it better. The anniversary issue of Samudhra was released by veteran actor ARS and received by A.Natarajan(former director, Doordarshan). Release of the Music directory-2004 Mudhra’s Music Directory 2004 was also released by Dr.Nalli Kuppuswamy Chetti and the 1st copy was received by eminent musician Aruna Sairam.This book contains names, addresses and phone no. of all Karnatic musicians, music organizations, music instrument shops and music related personalities, dancers, drama troupes etc. For details about the magazine or music direc- tory, contact - Radha Bhaskar, noted vocalist cum editor , Samudhra, 1 18 A Ramnaicken street, Nungambakkam, Chennai - 600034. Phone - 28220453/ 9840072821/ 311 63330 or visit- www.samudhra.com Cassette and CD for tiny tots ■ Veteran and versatile vocalist Saroja Natarajan of Bangalore has brought out an audio cassette / CD titled '* Ghana Daayini”, comprising of 20 small and simple songs of great composers like Dikshitar, Tyagaraja and Purandara Dasa. This is devised for the tiny tots, and rendered by the tiny tots, hoping to enthuse and encourage them to learn Karnatak Music. Before threatening the tiny tots with tough, dry but strong foun dation of Swarawalis, Alankaras, Geethas, Swarajathys and above all the toughest Vamas.Children can be taught these little pieces to inject -rhythm concept, shruti concept, voice and oc- tave range, repeating concept and above all confidence of sing- rs. Children will not only please the listeners by singing songs right away even before learning to read or write but they will also be motivated to learn further. If a child is exposed to ancient Karnatak music, which is of divine origin at a tender age of lisping infancy, the child will develop liking for the art. Please contact Saroja Natarajan on Tel. +91-80-5250618 or write to her at “Shankara Gana Nilaya,1009E, 17th E Cross, II Stage, Indiranagar, Bangalore 560038, Karnataka, India. Saroja Natarajan is a well known vocalist who has been in this field for over 5 decades and winner of many awards such as “Sangeetha Kala Ratna”, ‘’’Sangeetha Sharada”, besides Karnataka Kalashree from the Karnataka Sangeetha Nrithya Academy. Groomed by stalwarts like Mathoor Shankara Murthy (paternal uncle), Ariyakudi Ramanuja Ayyangar, Madurai Krishnan, Ayyalore Krishnan, Muniganti Venkata Rao of Kakinada and Ambe Dos Apte of Hyderabad (Hindustani) Saroja has given hundreds of concerts all over the country and toured many times to UK, Ger- many, France, Switzerland, Netherlands etc. conducting workshops, lecture-demonstration and also provided vocal support to Kuchipudi, Bharathanatya and kathak dancers.— Padma Thangavel. GUNAGRAHI / DECEMBER-2003 Nadasurabhi’s 10th annual festival held Padmaja Suresh and party on the 19 ,h was quite A 10-day Music and Dance festival was attractive, in spite of some technical problem in hosted by Nadasurabhi Cultural Association, the beginning. Koramangala, as part of its tenth annual festival, M.S.Sheela gave a very satisfactory concert, between 1 5 ,h November 2003 and 24 Ih November It was a soulful performance with well planned at the St.John’s Conference Hall. The festival fea- alapana and swara prasthara for Saveri and cx- tured all eminent artistes and was celebrated on a haustive Shankarabharana (Manasu Swaadhina - grand scale. It was the first of its kind in this part Thyagaraja). of the city Melody Queen Sudha Raghunathan attracted ° The fest was formally inaugurated on l5 ,h No- a full house for her concert. Starting with bril- vember 2003 by lighting the traditional lamp, by liant ‘Mathe Malayadhwaja (Daru of Muthaiah S. Krishnamurthy, musicologist, retd, station di- Bhagavathar), gave a number of interesting pieces, rector of AIR, Bangalore, and grandson of the The main ragaTodi was presented with full depth great composer, Mysore Vasudevacharya. The and Koluvamaragada was full of Bhava. Vibrant Presidential address was delivered by ‘Brahmamokate in the end raised the spirit of the K S S.Raghavan and a souvenir was released on audience. the occasion by Air Marshal P.M. Ramachandran. Veteran T.V.Shankaranarayanan’s concert was The inaugural concert was by R.K.Srikantran. pleasing and perfect in all respects. A brisk He presented a delightful concert, not deviating a ‘Saven’, a detailed Kambodhi(Marakatha Valli)and bit from the tradition. It was a purely classical his popular Brindavana Saranga RTP earned big treat with a detailed ‘Nata Kuranji’ and a RTP in applause. Mohana The next day, it was an eloquent and T.M. Krishna displayed his seasoned artistry, highly enthralling concert by T.N. Seshagopalan, His breezy Saveri Varna, leisurely ‘Man).’ and the highlight of the concert being Poorvi Kalyani ‘Bhairavi’(Balagopala)in totality and roller-coaster and a masterly rendering of RTP in Hindola, with f -item of swaras spoke much of h.s rich talent intricate swara prasthana. Then followed the and vigorous practice. pleasant violin duet by the famous Mysore broth- Senior artiste R.A.Ramamam on the conclud- es - Nagaraj and Manjunath. They gave a bril- ing day gave a good show too. A soothing liant. exciting performance. ‘Bhairavi’ ‘Kanakangi’ for a composition of Bellary (Upacharamulanu - Thyagaraja) was the piece de Seshaginachar, and a fine unhurried presentation resistance. Dr. N. Ramani’s mellifluous flute re- of 'Bhairavi’ for Rakshabettare of Thyagaraja had cital, on the next day, left the audience spell bound, classical impact. . The king of the instrument exhibited real mastery The Koramangala audience rejoiced the 10- in his presentation of 'Mohanam’ and RTP in day grand treat, which was all free, and were a , K •, happy lot in the end, looking forward for yet an- The Bharatanatya recital ‘Navadarshanam’ by other treat of the kind soon.-Harini Raghavan. N.Rajagopalan, IAS (Retd.), Carnatic Classicals, Author ‘Garland’ series, Chennai writes: I3ciir Sir The 'Legend of the Legendary’ of the Editor General ‘Gunagrahi’ in Nov. issue is a fitting tribute to veteran Dr.Semmangudi Srinivasa Ayyar. hailed for long as ‘Pithamaha’. Few had lived like him for the long span of 95 plus years, for 77 years after debut (at the age of 18); few had been on the concert stage for 75 plus long years and remained the most respected vidwan and Guru. Authorised Dealers: CENTURY AUTOMOBILES Shankar Mutt Road, SHIMOGA. Phones: 221643 270530 Fax: 08182-270530 14 1 .What do you know about Bliinna Shadja raga? 2. Give its scale? 3. Name the Thyagaraja-krithi in it? 4. What is meant by Bharatha Vakya? 5. What is a Bhashaanga raga? 6. Give examples for the above? 7. 1 low are the ragas classified in SOLUTION TO PHOTO QUIZ Hindusthani music? 8. What is a Bharya raga? ! ss !PO 9. What is Abhog in Hindusthani music? 10. What are the other parts of Abhog? SOLUTION TO QUIZ...15 ‘Miupims pun u.muiv 01 msnui |imi|isnpu!H uj /Cpopui i! |o tionaas duipnpuo:) aqi pun qi.moj aqx •snSu .1 n.Cmqq axij pouSissn arnuu.-iqi jo ipuo oi pun posiiiooao.i ojom sitfiu opmi xi$ •jiijanj su rmins :nj?n.i sjim n suuaiu A||iumrj x •a] o siuin t | •sjiiiau^i -si: 3 n>i o\u\ pnijissnp ojn snany •/_ pun doqquiRyj MAUjimin i> Xinnnq mpipsoR jo UAjn^njunj jo a>jus aqi joj sujuqauns pmjpmls in mou uSjaioj n sr>>|ni ipu|A\ i: 3 rj nXuuf n si i| c •SGiUBjp jo pun nqi in nimnmj ‘nqinjnqn jo jnouoq a; sos.inA joasjn.v (joimpnuaq oqx f • ^nuoinujURALins'.. v •s i a m d u s- s u d ui d j 3 j s •£ ■u'iiuim|(] *n|oui nqi tuojj p?\uop naiu n/Cunf n sj i| *| ANNOUNCEMENT 4 u Artistes, Authors and publishers are welcome to send two copies of their books/ cassettes/CDtfon Indian music (Kamatak, Hindusthani, Sugama Sangeetha, folk music etc) and Indian dance (classical and folk) to GUNAGRAHI for review. While every ef- fort will be made to acknowledge receipt of the same under “New Arrivals”, the deci- i sion to review a book/cassette/CD rests en- tirely with the journal. | . uThe Sabhas. Organisations, Institutions I '^and organisers are hereby requested to send die details of their forthcoming activities/ programmes as also the events held to get them enlisted in the current issue of GUNAGRAHI by post and/or through e- l mail on or before 8th of every month. 15 Gunagrahi RNI Regn. No. 69149/98 Monthly Journal Regn. No. CPMG/KA/BGS-92/2003-05 4 "i W U i R1 1997 tt fcNGAl o Friday: 9.30 a.m. to 1 .30 p.m. 4.00 p.m. to 6.30 p in. Saturday: 9.30 a.m. to I .(X) p.m. Old Sringcri Shankar Mult. 48. K.V.TcmpIc Street. Sulthanpet. Bangalore-560 053. Fh. 2389935. Fax 2389936 Monday to Friday: 10.30 a. in. to 2.00 pan. 3.30 p.m. to 6.00 pan. Saturday: 10.30 a an. to 3. (HI p m. ** Fully Computerised Branches for Providing Better and Faster Services. ** Most Convenient Bank Timings, both Morning and livening. *"* We pay attractive Rate of Interest on Deposits. ** Extra Interest on Deposits made by Senior Citizens. ** Deposits are covered with Insurance from Deposit Insurance Corporation of India. ** Demand Drafts issued to places all over India ** Safe Deposit Locker Facility Available. S.Sarvothama Ran Vice-Chairman Special Features ** Direct Clearing Facility. ** Intercity Clearing Service ** Electronic Clearing Service (ECS). High Value Clearing Participation Loans on National Savings Certificates (NSC) and Kisan Vikas Patras (KVP) with Super Fast Process. Most Reasonable Interest Rate on Sree Charan Nivas Housing I .oan Scheme. Distribution of Coins at Par. Corporate Agent for Life Insurance Corporation ol India. B.V. Dwarakanath Chairman ** ** SI M>V\ HOI ll»V\ Sri Charan makes Banking a pleasure Ownt'cl. Publish'd. Kdii.-d and Prinlnl by l)r. M. Surya Prasad ai "Mimikoli". No.8 r 2nd Cross. ( )|»|>. Srinivasa Vlaudirain. Bairpri. Bangalore - 500 058. Pimm* : 225:5975. Kditor General : Dr. M. Surya Prasad I