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August 16, 2005
carnatic concert gripes
...so after attending a carnatic concert yesterday; i am still pondering over carnatic musicians refusal to name the song and its details (like ragam, talam, composer etc) that they perform to the audience before, after or whenever!...they very rarely do it and after attending quite a bit of concerts; i am very disturbed about this. i usually end up asking many people around me and by the time the concert is over; quite a few of them dont remember (since most of them are geriatrics :))...i get lucky sometimes if i go with experienced, learned disciple of this music genre but how many times do i have this priviledge..?
..how will they attract the new generation of passive listeners who are not the hardcore minority ?
shouldn't they also share some stories, background or tidbits about the compositions since they have learnt from the great vidhwans and surely these will generate more interest about the songs ?
won't i enjoy the nuances and the intracies of the ragam more if i know beforehand?
i hear the reasons from the carnatic fanatics that justify this by saying that rasikas (concert goers) must be able to detect/find out the ragams by the alapanai's or by the songs..and they say that there are enough clues..that is fun they say! but i do not buy this. they also say that the perfomers do tell if its a rare or a unusual ragam or composition and thats sufficient and i should be satisfied with this generosity thrown my way..yeah..be at their mercy!!@%$#^$#%&^
why can't they be like their hindustani counterparts who give the details most of the times?
Posted by ananth at 07:48 PM | Comments (0)
August 15, 2005
sirkazhi siva chidambaram, chembur fine arts, chembur, bombay
nityashree mahadevan was scheduled to perform tonight at the chembur fine arts society and i confirmed by phone with the auditorium contact there a couple of hours before the concert.but when we showed up at the door; we were told that she bailed! #@$@#%#@#$@#$...so angry! since pandit jasraj, mandolin srinivas and pandit shiv kumar sharma were performing at the NCPA in a classical fest called tiranga the same time ~ had passed on that since it was so far away in the city and nityashree being pretty good; compromised on the choice for the distance.
..anyway! sirkazhi siva chidambaram was the replacement and since we had come so far; apprehensively decided to stay on~
i wasn't sure of what to expect since i had never heard of him but was told he is a son of a famous tamil musician, sings carnatic and film songs..i was utterly feeling out of place for the first couple of songs since he appeared very jerky without a flow and in my opinion; seemed breathless and constipated!..maybe its the male carnatic singing style with lower pitches and sudden stresspoints..anyways..he had me totally in it when he sang a song in ananda bhairavi (one of my favorites) and his main piece; a abdul kalam poem in kambhoji ragam...with excellent solo (and jugal bandi) contributions from his accompanists in violin, ghatam, morsing and mridangam ~
his setlist as much as i could compile with help from others ~
1: ragam abhogi - evari bothana (varnam)
2: ragam saurashtram - sri ganapathim (keerthanam)
3: ragam ananda bhairavi - poomel valarum annai
4: vande matram enbhom (being independence day)
5: thyagarja song (still investigating which one :))
6: ragam atana - some swatantra song in tamil
7: ragam narayanagowlai - (mutthuswamy dikshitar song)
8: folk song
9: ragam suddha simantini - sri janaki ramana (thyagaraja)
10: ragam kambhoji - main piece - (based on a president abdul kalam azad patriotic poem)
11: patriotic tamil song by bharathiyar
12: devotional kannada song on chamundi
13: devotional tamil song on murugan
14: devotional malayalam song on sri guruvayoor appan
15: devotional self composed hilarious tamil song on murugan but based on bombay suburb names and similar sounding muruganisms
16: couple of film songs (one from karnan)
17: ragam madhyamavati composition to finish up
overall..i felt it was an average concert from my street joe (or street srinivasan :) perspective..being a casual carnatic listener and concert goer..not too into film, semi-classical or ultra devotional songs! not too into male carnatic artists ~
....didnt seem as i was part of his listening audience as i looked around the auditorium..an older profile who listened to his father in the yesteryears in film, folk and traditional music......similar styles, sounds and mannerism i was told..
Posted by ananth at 10:09 PM | Comments (0)
August 13, 2005
nashik and environs
a two day outing to nashik to visit friends; my shoes looked like this after a rainy day trek through muddy paddy fields and forested hills to view some waterfalls..
the hills on this monsoon day around trimbakeshwar are beautiful..extension of the western ghats which at the moment are shrouded in low lying clouds and mist. the paddy fields are green and verdant with the rains being plenty and the air is as fresh as it can ever be...
browse my mp3 player for some raag malhar composition while i sit down to pen the trips moments and landscapes...here ya go ~
Posted by ananth at 07:33 PM | Comments (0)
August 02, 2005
books i just finished...
Posted by ananth at 09:30 PM | Comments (0)