Another priceless gem from the "perspicacious wisdom" (pun intended!) of yours truly: "The real sense of humor lies in the ability to laugh at one's own miseries and tragedies".
By the way, this post commemorates the 25th post of this blog. Yo Yo Yo!!!
Monday, January 26, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Sri Mambalam Siva and Pt. Hari Prasad Chaurasia
Yesterday I had the opportunity of listening to Sri Mambalam Siva and Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia at the inaugural function of Virasat 2009, organized by SPICMACAY, Hyderabad. The open-air program was conducted in the grounds of Hyderabad Public School, Begumpet with a beautiful backdrop of artistically lit school buildings. Lot of children from various schools of the twin cities attended the program.
The program started with the Nadaswaram program of Sri Mambalam. In his brief one-hour concert, he played standard carnatic ragas like 'Bangala' and concluded the program with 'Vandemataram' and 'Raghupathi Raghava Rajaram'. The concert by Pandit Hari Prasad was very interactive. He posed lot of questions to the school children and conversed with them. He played 'Yaman' alaap and asked the students to identify the raag. He then played the popular bhajan 'Vaishnav Janato'. He promised chocolates to any student who can sing the bhajan. He concluded the program with the 'Pahadi' raag. Panditji was accompanied by Anuradha Pal on tabla.
Panditji made the youngsters laugh with his witty remarks. And at the same time, he drew their attention towards the richness of Indian culture. When very few students could identify the bhajan 'Vaishnav Janato', he played 'Jingle Bells' on the flute which made everyone clap. Then he remarked that everyone knows about this rhyme but very few know our known traditional bhajans. The program concluded with a question-answer session of the students with Panditji.
I recorded some of the songs which you can find below. You can download all the songs in a single zip file.
If there are any copyright issues for putting the MP3s for free download, please let me know. I will remove the access to files in that case. I am hoping that the MP3s downloaded from here are ONLY for personal use and will NOT be used for commercial purposes.
Panditji made the youngsters laugh with his witty remarks. And at the same time, he drew their attention towards the richness of Indian culture. When very few students could identify the bhajan 'Vaishnav Janato', he played 'Jingle Bells' on the flute which made everyone clap. Then he remarked that everyone knows about this rhyme but very few know our known traditional bhajans. The program concluded with a question-answer session of the students with Panditji.
I recorded some of the songs which you can find below. You can download all the songs in a single zip file.
If there are any copyright issues for putting the MP3s for free download, please let me know. I will remove the access to files in that case. I am hoping that the MP3s downloaded from here are ONLY for personal use and will NOT be used for commercial purposes.
- Nadaswaram by Mambalam Siva
- Vandemataram by Mambalam Siva
- Raghupathi Rajaram by Mambalam Siva
- Yamal Aalap by Pt. Hari Prasad Chaurasia
- Vaishnav Janato by Pt. Hari Prasad Chaurasia
- Pahadi by Pt. Hari Prasad Chaurasia
Thursday, January 15, 2009
The First Ever Carnatic Movie - Margazhi Raagam
Wow! That was my expression when I looked at this mind-blowing idea of a carnatic concert as a movie. Margazhi Raagam is a 110 minute movie, featuring the carnatic concert of T.M. Krishna and Bombay Jayashree. The teaser on the website says: Now, you won’t close your eyes to listen to music - you will open your eyes to a new musical experience! It is released very selectively I think. Cannot wait to get hold of the DVD!
Upcoming Music Programs in Hyderabad (Jan-Feb 2009)
[Update: K. J. Yesudas program on 24th Jan at Lalitha Kala Toranam]
As the new year begins, Hyderabad is geared up to have a great music season ahead. The music lovers of Hyderabad will be treated with the music of eminent artists in the form of Thyagaraja Aaradhana festivals and annual festivals of many organizations.
As the new year begins, Hyderabad is geared up to have a great music season ahead. The music lovers of Hyderabad will be treated with the music of eminent artists in the form of Thyagaraja Aaradhana festivals and annual festivals of many organizations.
| Date | Program | Artist/Group | Time/Venue | OrganizedBy |
| 15th Jan, 2009 | Sri Tyagaraja Aradhana Music Festival | 6:00 PM - Vocal: G. Lakshmi Surya Teja (Vizag) | Anand Nagar Community Hall, Khairatabad | Vignana Samithi, Hyderabad |
| 7:00 PM - Vocal: D. Vardhani (Vijayanagaram) | ||||
| 16th Jan, 2009 | Sri Tyagaraja Aradhana Music Festival | 6:00 PM - Veena: Ayyagari Syamasunder & Jayalakshmi | Anand Nagar Community Hall, Khairatabad | Vignana Samithi, Hyderabad |
| 7:00 PM - Vocal: Saraswathi Vidyardhi (Vizag) | ||||
| 17th Jan 2009 | Ruhaniyat, the Sufi and Mystic Music festival | Shabad singers, Mystic musicians, folk musicians, Bauls, Qawwals and the likes from across India | Ravindra Bharathi, Saifabad | Banyan Tree Events, Mumbai |
| 17th Jan 2009 | Carnatic Vocal | Vocal: Smt. Jayamangala Krishnamani | 6:30 PM, Keyes High School for Girls, Secunderabad. | Kalasagaram, Secunderabad |
| 17th Jan, 2009 | Sri Tyagaraja Aradhana Music Festival | 6:00 PM - Flute: Jayaprada Ramamoorthy | Anand Nagar Community Hall, Khairatabad | Vignana Samithi, Hyderabad |
| 7:00 PM - Vocal: Tulasi Viswanath (Rajahmundry) | ||||
| 18th Jan 2009 | Carnatic Vocal | Kum. Marty Vasantha Subbalakshmi | Sri T. Viswanathan Memorial Hall, Plot No. 59, Krishnapuri Colony, West Marredpally, Secunderabad. | Kalasagaram, Secunderabad |
| 18th Jan, 2009 | Sri Tyagaraja Aradhana Music Festival | 9:30 AM - Vocal: Mallela Krishnaveni (Australia) | Anand Nagar Community Hall, Khairatabad | Vignana Samithi, Hyderabad |
| 10:30 AM - Lecture Demo: T.R. Subrahmanyam (Chennai) | ||||
| 7:30 PM - Vocal: S.K.N. Renganathan Sarma (Madurai) | ||||
| 19th Jan, 2009 | Sri Tyagaraja Aradhana Music Festival | 6:00 PM - Jalatarang: Nemani Somayajulu | Anand Nagar Community Hall, Khairatabad | Vignana Samithi, Hyderabad |
| 7:30 PM - Vocal: Vamanan Nambudri (Trichur) | ||||
| 20th Jan, 2009 | Sri Tyagaraja Aradhana Music Festival | 6:00 PM - Vocal: M. Durga Seshu | Anand Nagar Community Hall, Khairatabad | Vignana Samithi,Hyderabad |
| 7:00 PM - Vocal: Sreyas Narayanan (Chennai) | ||||
| 21st Jan, 2009 | Sri Tyagaraja Aradhana Music Festival | 6:00 PM - Vocal: N.C. Rajalakshmi | Anand Nagar Community Hall, Khairatabad | Vignana Samithi, Hyderabad |
| 7:00 PM - Vocal: Modumudi Sudhakar (Vijayawada) | ||||
| 22nd Jan 2009 | Tamil Drama: Jeshtakumara | Veteran Stage Actor, Sri Koothapiran and his troupe | Ravindra Bharathi, Saifabad | SICA, Hyderabad |
| 23rd Jan 2009 | Tamil Drama: Abadhbandhavan | Veteran Stage Actor, Sri Koothapiran and his troupe | Ravindra Bharathi, Saifabad | SICA, Hyderabad |
| 24th Jan 2009 | Vocal Concert | "Padmabhushan" Dr. K.J. Yesudas | Lalitha Kala Thoranam, Public Gardens, Nampally | Sangam Academy. Donor passes available at Lalitha Kala Thoranam & Ravindra Bharathi. |
| 24th Jan 2009 | Carnatic Vocal | Sri T.M. Krishna | 5:30 PM, Keyes Girls High School, Secunderabad | Sharada Cultural Trust, Secunderabad |
| 25th Jan 2009 | Carnatic Vocal | Sri N. Vijayasiva | 5:30 PM, Keyes Girls High School, Secunderabad | Sharada Cultural Trust, Secunderabad |
| 26th Jan 2009 | Carnatic Vocal | Sri P. Unni Krishnan | 5:30 PM, Keyes Girls High School, Secunderabad | Sharada Cultural Trust, Secunderabad |
| 27th Jan 2009 | Carnatic Violin Duet | Akkarai Sisters | 5:30 PM, Keyes Girls High School, Secunderabad | Sharada Cultural Trust, Secunderabad |
| 28th Jan 2009 | Carnatic Vocal | Kum. Nisha Rajagopalan | 5:30 PM, Keyes Girls High School, Secunderabad | Sharada Cultural Trust, Secunderabad |
| 29th Jan 2009 | Carnatic Vocal | Maharajapuram Sri S. Srinivasan | 5:30 PM. Keyes Girls High School, Secunderabad | Sharada Cultural Trust, Secunderabad |
| 30th Jan 2009 | Carnatic Vocal Duet | Malladi Brothers | 5:30 PM, Keyes Girls High School, Secunderabad | Sharada Cultural Trust, Secunderabad |
| 31st Jan 2009 | Carnatic Vocal | Smt. S. Sowmya | 5:30 PM, Keyes Girls High School, Secunderabad | Sharada Cultural Trust, Secunderabad |
| 4th Feb, 2009 | Carnatic Flute | Dr. N. Ramani | 5:30 PM, Keyes Girls High School, Secunderabad | Sri Chandrasekharendra Sangeeta Educational Society, Secunderabad |
| 5th Feb, 2009 | Carnatic Vocal | Sri Sanjay Subramanyam | 5:30 PM, Keyes Girls High School, Secunderabad | Sri Chandrasekharendra Sangeeta Educational Society, Secunderabad |
| 6th Feb, 2009 | Vocal Jugalbandi | Sri Ram Parasuram and Smt. Anuradha Parasuram | 5:30 PM, Keyes Girls High School, Secunderabad | Sri Chandrasekharendra Sangeeta Educational Society, Secunderabad |
| 7th Feb, 2009 | Carnatic Vocal | Sri O.S. Thyagarajan | 5:30 PM, Keyes Girls High School, Secunderabad | Sri Chandrasekharendra Sangeeta Educational Society, Secunderabad |
| 8th Feb, 2009 | Carnatic Vocal | Smt. Sudha Raghunathan | 6:45 PM, Keyes Girls High School, Secunderabad | Sri Chandrasekharendra Sangeeta Educational Society, Secunderabad |
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Rajasthani Folk Music
Today I attended a Rajasthani folk music and dance program oraganized by SPICMACAY. They presented nine compositions and for two of them traditional Rajasthani dance was performed. It was a team of about ten people. There were two lead singers, one dancer and accompanists to play traditional instruments that included Dhol, Kamayacha, Algoza, Poongi, Morchang and Khartal.
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Though I could not understand the lyrics of the songs that were sung, the music and the vocals were amazingly beautiful. The compositions had a natural innocence and joy, qualities which are difficult to find in this age of commercial music. The voice of the lead singers was deep and haunting. The person who was playing Khartal was an absolute joy to watch. The way he was moving his hands, his head and his entire body was in resonance with the beats he was playing. Morchang was played exceptionally well by a kid who may not be more than 10-12 years old. The two dances presented were good. The second dance was particularly good where in the dancer did some very difficult things like picking a money note with her mouth and two rings with her two eye brows simultaneously. Overall it was a nice evening. Only thing which I found missing in the performance was an introduction about the instruments and may be a bit more about the meaning of the songs that were being sung.
The audio of the evening is recorded and you can find it below. Due to the poor acoustics of the venue, the recording is not too good. There is some noise. The entire concert can be downloaded as one zip file.
If there are any copyright issues for putting the MP3s for free download, please let me know. I will remove the access to files in that case. I am hoping that the MP3s downloaded from here are ONLY for personal use and will NOT be used for commercial purposes.
The audio of the evening is recorded and you can find it below. Due to the poor acoustics of the venue, the recording is not too good. There is some noise. The entire concert can be downloaded as one zip file.
If there are any copyright issues for putting the MP3s for free download, please let me know. I will remove the access to files in that case. I am hoping that the MP3s downloaded from here are ONLY for personal use and will NOT be used for commercial purposes.
Friday, January 9, 2009
A Memorable Concert by Hyderabad Brothers
The familiar voices of Sri D. Raghavachary and D. Seshachary filled me with a feeling of sanctity and holiness as I was listening to them at Ravindra Bharathi. The carnatic concert by the duo popularly known as Hyderabad Brothers was organized by SICA on 2nd January 2009 as part of their Golden Jubilee celebrations. While their concert included popular krithis like 'Tarunam Idamma' (Gowli Panthu), 'Bagayennayya' (Chandrajyothi), 'Ennadu Joothuno' (Kalavathi), they also presented rare numbers like 'Neekela Dayaradu' (Sarasangi) and 'Ethanai Sonnalum' (Saveri). The main piece of the evening was in Thodi with Shyama Sastry's 'Ninne Namminanu'. The rendition of the raga was elaborate with a perfect neraval and swaram. Another noteworthy presentation was Dikshitar's 'Parandhamavathi Jayati' in 'Dharmavathi'. The neraval 'Paramjyothi Vikasini Paramatma Prakashini' was executed excellently. The concert ended with Papanasam Sivan's 'Ennatavam Seydanai Yasoda' in 'Kapi' and 'Krishna Nee Begane Baaro' in 'Yamuna Kalyani'. The violin support by Surya Deepthi was melodious and his response to the vocals was commendable. Kaliprasad on mridangam and Shyamkumar on kanjira provided perfect percussion support that got reflected especially in the Taniavarthanam. Sri Seshachary was very active and enthusiastic throughout the concert cheering the accompanists with an occasional encouraging remark.
You can listen to the recording of the concert by following the links below. The entire concert can also be downloaded from file1 and file2.
If there are any copyright issues for putting the MP3s for free download, please let me know. I will remove the access to files in that case. I am hoping that the MP3s downloaded from here are ONLY for personal use and will NOT be used for commercial purposes.
You can listen to the recording of the concert by following the links below. The entire concert can also be downloaded from file1 and file2.
If there are any copyright issues for putting the MP3s for free download, please let me know. I will remove the access to files in that case. I am hoping that the MP3s downloaded from here are ONLY for personal use and will NOT be used for commercial purposes.
- Valachi Vachchi - Navaragamalika Varnam - Adi - Patnam Subramanya Iyer (MP3, Lyrics)
- Tarunam Idamma - Gowli Panthu - Adi - Shyama Shastri (MP3, Lyrics)
- Sabapathikku Veru Devam Samanamaguma - Rupaka - Abhogi - Gopalakrishna Bharathi (MP3, Lyrics)
- Bagayanayya Nee Maya Lentho - Adi - Chandrajyothi - Tyagaraja (MP3, Lyrics)
- Nee Kela Dayaradu - Khanda Chapu - Sarasangi - Ramaswamy Sivan (MP3)
- Ennadu Joothuno - Adi - Kalavathi - Tyagaraja (MP3, Lyrics)
- Parandhamavathi Jayati - Rupaka - Dharmavathi - Muthuswami Dikshitar (MP3)
Neraval & Swaras at "Paramjyothi Vikasini Paramatma Prakashini" - Ninne Nammi Nanu - Misra Chapu - Thodi - Shyama Shastri (MP3)
Neraval & Swaras at "Kamakshi Kanjadalayatakshi"
Thaniavartanam - Ethanai Sonnalum - Adi - Saveri - Vaidkeeswaram Koil Subbarayar (MP3)
- Muttavaddu Ra Nannipudu (Javali) - Adi - Saveri - Chinniah (Tanjavur Quartette)* (MP3)
- Ennatavam Seydanai Yasoda - Adi - Kapi - Papanasam Sivan (MP3, Lyrics)
- Krishna Nee Begane Baaro - Chapu - Yamuna Kalyani - Vyasaraya (MP3, Lyrics)
Bhavamana (Mangalam) - Adi - Sourashtra - Tyagaraja
Links: The review about the concert in 'The Hindu'.
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