Star of Mysore - Dust by a star and a rising star by S.R. krishnamurthy

It was an interesting violin duet concert by a star and a rising star on Sept.23 at the vontikoppal 8th cross ganapathi music concert series. mysore M. nagaraj and his son N. karthik were on stage, accompanied by veterans K.V. prasad on mrudanga and B. shashi shankar on ghata. karthik has passed his teens a year ago. his gurus are his grand father S. mahadevappa, father nagaraj and under these stalwarts. karthik is occasionally seen on platforms with his father nagaraj or grandfather mahadevappa, may be, as a sort of training to give him the experience of the platform. this is a major platform for the youngster. The concert began with the second most popular composition on ganapathi `vinayaka nannu' in hamsadhwani, adi tala, a kruthi by veena kuppaiyer. (the most popular composition on ganapathi is of course vatapi ganapathim). ora chupu chuchedi nyayama (kannada gowla-adi tyagaraja) was the next. both the compositions were prefixed with a neat alapane and swara prasthara. nagaraj took up a beautiful alapane in bilahari leading to `paridanamichchite' of patnam subramanya lyer. it was the turn of young karthik to show his prowess and alapane in pantuvarali, which he did in a successful manner. he could bring out the raga's essence. The composition was the popular `appa rama bhati' of tyagaraja. the rendering contained a neravalat kapi varidhi and a calculated swara prasthara `seethamma mayamma' was taken up in madhyama kala, before the main raga shankaradharana. this raga is particularly a favourite of the artistes as it gives them ample scope for expansion. if a good artiste minds, he can go on expanding this raga for hours together. the gluent solo alapane by karthik was no less than that of a seasoned artiste. the colours and shades of the raga were exposed by him in his inimtable way. the composition of shyama shastri `sarojadalanetri' is another popular kruthi in this raga. after some neat sangathis in the pallavi and good expressions of sahitya, the duo did a neraval at `sama gana vinodini', followed by a pattern of swaras incorporating a number of rhythmic permutations and combinations that ended in some avartanas in decreasing length. a rhythmic tani avartana by prasad and shashi shankar followed. This month, senior violinist mahadevappa completed 80 years and on the same day nagaraj completed 50 years. both were honoured by hanumanna nayaka dore, vice-chancellor of music university on behalf of the trust, on this occasion. Incidentally karthik is also completing 20 years today (Oct. 3). Rajeevi raman, a recipient of rajeev gandhi national award as the best woman entrepreneur, also a patron of the trust, was honoured. The concert came to a conclusion with `jagadodharana' of purandhara dasa and `tanga teera virajam' of raja gururajachar


ಪಾರಂಪರಿಕ ಸಂಗೀತೋತ್ಸವ

ಎಸ್ ಪಿವಿಜಿಎಂಸಿ ಟ್ರಸ್ಟ ವತಿಯಿಂದ ಹಿಂದೂಸ್ತಾನಿ ಗಾಯಕ ಮಲ್ಲಿಕಾರ್ಜುನ ಮನ್ಸೂರರ ಶತಮಾನೋತ್ಸವದ ನೆನಪಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಸೆ.11 ರಿಂದ 26 ರವರೆಗೆ 49ನೇ ಪಾರಂಪರಿಕ ಸಂಗೀತೋತ್ಸವ ಆಯೋಜಿಸಲಾಗಿದೆ. ಸಾಂಪ್ರಾದಾಯಿಕ ಅಭಿಜಾತ ಕಲೆಯನ್ನು ಜನರತ್ತ ಒಯ್ಯುವ ವೇದಿಕೆಯಾಗಿ 49 ವರ್ಷಗಂಳಿದ ಕಾರ್ಯ ನಿರ್ವಹಿಸುತ್ತಿರುವ ಎಸ್ ಪಿವಿಎಂಸಿ ಟ್ರಸ್ಟ ಈ ಬಾರಿಯೂ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮ ಹಮ್ಮಿಕೊಂಡಿದೆ. ಸಂಗೀತ ದಿಗ್ಗಜರು ಬಂದು ಸಾಂಸ್ಕೃತಿಕ ರಾಜಧಾನಿಯ ರಸಿಕರಿಗೆ ಗಾನ ರಸಾಮೃತವನ್ನು ಉಣಬಡಿಸಲಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಸೆ.11ರಂದು ಕೃಷ್ಣಮೂರ್ತಿ ಮತ್ತು ವೃಂದದಿಂದ ನಾದಸ್ವರ, 12ರಂದು ವಿದುಷಿ ಎಸ್.ಸೌಮ್ಯ, ವಿದುಷಿ ನಳಿನಾ ಮೋಹನ್, ವಿದ್ವಾನ್ ಎಚ್.ಎಸ್.ಸುಧೀಂದ್ರ, ವಿದ್ವಾನ್ ಎಂ.ಗುರುರಾಜ್, 13ಕ್ಕೆ ಪಂಡಿತ್ ರಾಜೀವ್ ತಾರಾನಾಥ್, ಪಂಡಿತ್ ರವೀಂದ್ರ ಯಾವಗಲ್, ವಿದ್ವಾನ್ ಮೈಸೂರು ಎಂ.ನಾಗರಾಜ್, ವಿದ್ವಾನ್ ತಿರುವಾರೂರು ಭಕ್ತವತ್ಸಲಂ, 14ರಂದು ವಿದ್ವಾನ್ ಪಟ್ಟಾಭಿರಾಮ ಪಂಡಿತ್, ವಿದ್ವಾನ್ ಮೈಸೂರು ಎಂ.ನಾಗರಾಜ್, ವಿದ್ವಾನ್ ತಿರುವಾರೂರು ಭಕ್ತವತ್ಸಲಂ, ವಿದ್ವಾನ್ ವ್ಯಾಸವಿಠಲ, 15ಕ್ಕೆ ವಿದ್ವಾನ್ ಪ್ರದೀಪ್ ಕುಮಾರ್, ವಿದುಷಿ ಚಾರುಲತಾ ರಾಮಾನುಜನ್, ವಿದ್ವಾನ್ ಜಿ.ಎಸ್.ರಾಮಾನುಜಂ, 16ರಂದು ವಿದ್ವಾನ್ ಭರತ್ ಸುಂದರ್, ವಿದ್ವಾನ್ ನಾಗೈ ಶ್ರೀರಾಂ, ವಿದ್ವಾನ್ ಬಿ.ರವಿಶಂಕರ್, ವಿದ್ವಾನ್ ಶಶಿ ಶಂಕರ್, 17ಕ್ಕೆ ವಿದ್ವಾನ್ ಎಂ.ಬಾಲಮುರಳಿಕೃಷ್ಣ, ವಿದುಷಿ ಅಕ್ಕರೆ ಶುಭಲಕ್ಷ್ಮಿ, ವಿದ್ವಾನ್ ನೈವೇಲಿ ನಾರಾಯಣ್, ವಿದ್ವಾನ್ ಜಿ.ಎಸ್.ರಾಮಾನುಜಂ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮ ನೀಡಲಿದ್ದಾರೆ.


Star of Mysore - A serene beginning by S. R. Krishna Murthy

Sri prasanna vidya ganapathi mandali charitable trust (SPVGMC trust in short) or popularly known as vontikoppal 8th cross ganapathi, has come a long way in its musical path. this year it is one short of the golden jubilee celebrations, which is going to take place next year. The skeleton of the ganapathi pendal here is a permanent one occupying a small stetch of 8th cross of vontikoppal, which is renamed as vani vilasa pura. the pendal will be constructed every year on this skeleton, into a rain proof auditorium. ganapathi will be installed in this pendal, in front of which the platform for the artistes will be made. The `who is who' in music field have come here to perform during the last 48 years. this year also there is an array of musicians, in the programmed list, to entertain the audience. it is heartening to see that emphasis is given to youngsters this year. the person behind this great endeavor is C.R. himamshu, grandson of legendary violin legend mysore T. chowdaiah. The trust has made it a tradition to invite a top ranking police officer of the city for the inauguration of the musical fair. this year, P. rajendra prasad, DCP, was the chief guest for the formal inauguration function, in which industrialist and trust president K.V. murthy presided. The first day's kacheri was by S. sowmya of chennai. she is a double post graduate in chemistry (iit chennai) and in music (university of madras). she is one of such rare persons who discontinued her ph.D. studies for the sake of music. she had an enviable opportunity as she was initiated to music by her father Dr. srinivasan, a chemical engineer, who had a passion for karnatak music. later she came to the wings of Dr. S. ramanathan. she furthered her knowledge with T. mukta. today she is among the top ranking vocalists of the country. Sharanu siddhi vinayaka (gowla-adi-purandhara dasa) provided her a good start for her concert, followed by shiva shiva shiva enarada (pantuvarali-rupaka-tyagaraja), with a brief neraval at bhagavatulanu poshinchi, both appeared to be wee bit speedy. the next one ela nee dayaraadu (athana-adi-tyagaraja) was started from the anu pallavi. an alapane was also there and a brief swara prasthara. amba neelambaree a vilamba kala kruthi was taken up in a controlled speed, unlike the earlier two. this composition in raga neelambari, set to adi tala was composed by ponnaiah pillai. the sancharas contain the unmistakable nadaswara bani, which the singer used here and there. certainly this concert. maal muruga shanmuga (vasantha-adi-papanasham shivan) was sprightly. she took up malaya maruta for detailing. the alapane demonstrated her crispness and ability to bring out the colours of the raga even short phrases. the composition smaraneyonde salade of purandara dasa set to rupaka contained a neraval in the line sakala peethada yatre, again mostly in short phrases. but she was successful in conveying what she wanted to the audience. The swara prasthara was not too prolonged. another madhyama kala kruthi sudha madhurya bhashana (sindhu rama kriya-adi-tyagaraja) with a brief swara (which normally not attempted) and bhajane re manasa (abheri-adi-mysore vasudevachar) were taken up before the main raga for the evening, kambodhi, in RTP. the alapane delineation of kambodhi was good. The Akaras and the Brikas added flavour to the Alapane. The Tana was good. She took up a pallavi line Erala swamy paguvaru for Neraval. The Neraval was qualified to be a text book piece to the students and it did not fail to entertain the audience with Trikala singing and singing in different Nades. Swara contained a Ragamalike, where nearly a dozen or so different, but clearly defined Ragas were interwoven without a gap. The Muktaya mathematics was excellent. The concet ended with a Vadiraja Kruthi Ee Muddu krishnana (Durga), a javali of Dharmapuri Subba Rayaru Smara Sundaraanguni (Faraj) and the famous Tillana of Swati Tirunal in Dhanashri. The concert was technically an excellent one, though sometimes the voice appeared to be coming out with some restraint. The exemplary accompanying team consisted of Nalina mohan (violin), H.S. Sudheendra (Mrudanga) and M. Gururaj (Morching). Sudhindra stole the show with excellent variation and modulations. It was like a singing Mrudanga, to borrow a phrase from the great man GTN. Gururaj was also an Nalina Mohan displayed her talent during her term.


ಪ್ರಜಾವಾಣಿ

ಹಿಂದೂಸ್ತಾನಿ ಗಾಯಕ ಮಲ್ಲಿಕಾರ್ಜುನ ಮನ್ಸೂರರ ಶತಮಾನೋತ್ಸವದ ನೆನಪಿನಲ್ಲಿ ನಗರದ ವಿ.ವಿ. ಮೊಹಲ್ಲಾದ ಎಸ್ ಪಿವಿಜಿಎಂಸಿ ಟ್ರಸ್ಟನಿಂದ ನಡೆಯುತ್ತಿರುವ 49ನೇ ಪಾರಂಪರಿಕ ಸಂಗೀತೋತ್ಸವದಲ್ಲಿ ಸೋಮವಾರ ಪಂಡಿತ್ ರಾಜೀವ್ ತಾರಾನಾಥ್ ಹಾಗೂ ವಿದ್ವಾನ್ ಮಂಜುನಾಥ್ ಅವರಿಂದ ನೆಡೆದ ಸಂಗೀತ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮ ಮನಸೂರೆಗೂಂಡಿತು.

ವಿಜಯ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ

ಮೈಸೂರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಸೋಮವಾರ ಎಸ್ ಪಿವಿಜಿಎಂಸಿ ಟ್ರಸ್ಟ್ ಪಾರಂಪರಿಕ ಸಂಗೀತೋತ್ಸವದ ಅಂಗವಾಗಿ ಪಂಡಿತ್ ರಾಜೀವ್ ತಾರಾನಾಥ್ ಸಾರೋದ್ ಮತ್ತು ವಿದ್ವಾನ್ ಮೈಸೂರು ಎಂ.ಮಂಜುನಾಥ್ ವಯಲಿನ್ ಜುಗಲ್ ಬಂದಿ ನಡೆಸಿದರು.

Star of Mysore - A jugalbandi in unison by S.R.Krishnamurthy

The second day programme on sept. 13 at sri prasanna vidya ganapathi seva mandali charitable trust or the 8th cross ganapathi was a jugalbandi by two world class artistes. Pt. rajav taranath on sarod and mysore M. nagaraj on violin gave a memorable jugalbandi recital they were accompanied by veteran percussionists Ravindra yavagal on tabla and K.U. jayachandra rao on mrudanga. The maestros, one from hindustani kirana gharana (or should I say as maihar gharana?) and the other belonging to the traditional but improvised mysore bani, have met for the first time on stage. they played in such tandem as though they have played together since ages. that is the beauty of indian classical music, since roots of both hindustani and karnatak classical music is same. it is a misnomer to call this sort of concert a jugalbandi, in the virtual sense of listening to two different instruments. it was just a classical duet with two instruments. A question came to my mind. what is a jugalbandi, after all? A definition says that it is the inter-twining of two different solo musicians, either vocal or instrumental. it necessarily need not be from the two different system of misic. the jugalbandi of pt. ravishankar and ustad ali akbar khan are well-known. jugalbandi of M. balamurali krishna and pandit bhimsen joshi is cherished in the memory of the connoisseurs still. I have even come across an item in the internet, a very rare encounter of two it giants, one from the orient (india) R. narayana murthy and the other from the occident (US), bill gates, in a dialogue, termed as jugalbandi, therefore the objective of a jugalbandi is to bring two specialists in different styles, having common goal, for the benefit of the society in gereral. here it was music. The jugalbandi at the ganapathi pendal was unique. they played only two ragas together, lasting nearly two and half hours. the first one, kalyani was initiated in an alapane on the violin by nagaraj rajiv picked up the yaman in his turn of alap. then onwards, there was no way of telling who gave a lead or who followed. the caliber of the artistes was so high, even the violin was playing the hindustani and sarod produced karnatak style. the jod taken by rajiv and the tana by nagaraj was very impressive. coming to the khyal part, pallavi on the karnatak, a simple musical phrase was coined on stage in teen taal (adi tala). it was only a carriage and the musical part was individual talent. the second raga bhairavi and sindhu bhairavi set to deep chandi and tishra triputa talas in hindustani and karnatak (7 matra or beats) respectively, was an extraordinary presentation. The organisers SPVGMC trust are celebrating their 49th consecutive annual programme this year in memory of mallikarjuna mansoor, whose centenary celebration falls this year. they had planned to honour an eminent hindustani musician this year. A small programme after the first raga was held to honour Dr. rajiv taranath. after the deliberations, the tani avartana was taken up by the percussionists, ravindra yavagal and jaya chandra rao. both are from bangalore and have played together many times. they have formed a perfect coordination in playing individually or in tandem. at the end of the concert, rajiv taranath, in an informal talk spoke to this columnist. ``this type of music has no man-made barrier. it can be played in mysore, chennai, mumbai or in delhi. people will forget that there are two systems of music.'' Totally it was a rare opportunity for mysoreans to listen to such a wonderful jugalbandi, eliciting such a rare comment from none other than rajiv taranath.

Star of Mysore -Tranquil thodi and creative keeravani by S.R. krishna murthy

Pattabhi rama pandit is among the top-ranking vocalists today. this achievement has not come his way easily. being an it professional, one can understand how difficult it is to preserve the music he has painstakingly learnt from his guru palghat K.V. narayana swamy. it is to heartening to see that concert after concert, his eloquence is on the raise. He had been invited to sing on Sept. 14, the third day of ganesha festival celebrations at SPV-GMC trust or the vontikoppal 8th cross ganapathi pendal. it was a leisurely and lengthy (in recent days) four hours fifteen minutes concert. It reminded me of the journey of river sharavathi from its birth place to its confluence at sea. during my service, I had the opportunity to work in jog falls for several years. during this period, as part of engineering investigation, i have traveled along the bank of this river, mostly trekking and using vehicles only when the forest is impregnable and the mountain became hazardous. River sharavathi, after taking its birth at ambutheertha, flows through calmly till linganamakki dam, where it is held for some time before jumping down the magnificent jog falls. it has many rapids, turbulent flow along the course, which gives momenturn to its flow. in between, it generates electricity at SGS and MG generating stations, passing through pen stock pipes in great velocity, hitting the target, turbines and electrifying the entire state. even at the fag end, the river flows majestically upto gersoppa, where again it generates some more electricity; then on spreads its width, prepares itself to join the ocean. yesterday's concert was very similar to this. His concert also began with a calm note in bhairavi atta tala varna virubinii, of pacchimiriyum adi appaiah. it gained momenturn with paratpara parameshwara (vachaspathi-adi-papana-sham shivan). he also took a leisurely neraval at adiyandamilla here along with a brief swara. very leisurely flow of riti gowla led jananee ninuvina of subbaraya shastri, set to mishra chapu. maybe he remembered late that he is singing in a ganapathi pendal. as though to amend this lapse, he presented a beautiful shanmukha priya leading to siddhi vinayakam anisham of muthuswamy dikshitar. in fact, it looked as though it was the submain item of the concert, with neraval at the anu pallavi line and a dignified swara prasthara. The masterly and good gestures of mysore M. nagaraj, who accompanied him, could be felt at this stage when he lead the singer to enhance the embellishment of the raga. the flow of river sharavathi through the turbulences calmed down at linga-namakki dam to prepare herself to jump at jog falls. annapoorne vishalakshi (sama-adi-muthus-wamy dikshitar) gave this tranquility to its slowpaced singing. Thodi is a wonderful raga when sung properly. thodi, the main raga chosen for the day, was one of the best i have heard in recent days. the two-part alapane splitting at tara shadja and the compolasition dasharathe nee runamu of tyagaraja provided the platform for the eventual jump at the jog falls, which come in the form of neraval and swara prasthara. even his guru KVN would have come on stage to appreciate him. the calculations and modulations were excellent. the end of each sangathi of each cycle of swara had a well calculated different muktaya (ending). Swaras rolled out like the waters of sharavathi at the falls, in its four branches, thanks to nagaraj on violin, who was provoking the vocalist to extract something more. this is one example of how an accompanist can take the standard of a concert to higher levels. Tani avartana was another good thing that happened with our mysore youth tumkur B. ravi shankar on mrudanga and vyasa vittala on khanjira. that was the jump at jog falls. the only deficiency for not calling this as pallavi singing was that it did not contain the traditional tana. Already it was nearing ten in the night. after a vote of thanks, the audience were ready to leave the auditorium. but pandit announced that he would sing the RTP, that too in keeravani. mysoreans, who are used to going back to their homes by 9 pm, sat back. that was the essence of that captivating performance pandit gave that day. In between the two heavyweight ragas -thodi and keeravani-came a lighter raga jana ranjini as a breather in the form of vidajaldura (adi-tyagaraja). the raga in keeravani was again in two parts, split at the shadja most probably, as he felt it was very late, the singer did not elaborate in the manner as he would have liked. but whatever he did was again first class. Tana again displayed his skill and the birkas he displayed at moving between the sthayis and the swaras were remarkable. he took up a pallavi madhava sodari sundari, manonmani keeravani. after singing in trikala, the ragamalike came in pallavi line itself, instead of in swara prasthara. Ragamalike was unique in a sense as the word keeravani in pallaviwas replaced by the name of other ragas, kalyani, bhairavi, bhavani, neelambari and dharmavathi. this was followed by another intricately woven swara prasthara with his hallmark complicated mukthayas. Pattabhi rama pandit invariably remembers his guru before the end of his concerts, in the form of reciting a specially composed sloka. this was followed by sarvam bramhamayam (jan-jhutti-adi-sadashiva brahmendra). The conclusion came in the form of dhanashri tillana of swati tirunal, who was the ruler of travankur which is on the shores of arabian sea, where river sharavathi cinfluences. the mesmerised audience sat through upto eleven in the night. that was the quality of the concert presented by pattabhi rama pandit and nagaraj.


Deccan Herald - Heritage music festival celebrated in mysore

The popular music season of mysore the ganapathi mahotsava (likesri ramanavami and krishna janmashtami) is back again. sriprasanna vidya ganapathi mahotsava charitable trust of V.V.mohalla is celebrating its 49th year of heritage music festival in memory of pt. mallikarjun mansur. on the 13th of september, a jugalbandhi of sarod and violin by pt rajiv taranath and vid mysore M nagaraj was arranged. ravindra yavagal (tabla) and A.U. jayachandra rao (mridanga) accompanied them. These two great musicians of our time though have not played many jugalbandis together, (this may be the 3rd or 4th time) displayed good amount of harmony. after a long expecting moments, the concert started with raga kalyani and yaman. As the pure and straight notes from sarod and the gamaka laden phrases from the violin filled the pendal, the squeaking sound of mike would dampen the spirit of both the artistes and the rasikas. nagaraj as though determined not to get disturbed unraveled kalyani in a stunning way. a visibly perturbed rajiv (by insects, lack of electric fan and mike) succeeded in pleasing his fans with his deep and sound playing. They both made the simple 'gat' shine with all the embellishments in their own laykari and tana patterns. sindhubhairavi too was absorbing. the sawal jawab of tabla and mridanga too was very attractive. Young and energetic pattabhirama pandit sang the next day along with mysore nagaraj (violin), tumkur ravishankar (mridanga) and vyasavithala (khanjira). the virile strength in his style results in a vibrant concert. This could be experienced right from the opening varna 'viriboni' (bhairavi-atatala) which had a frill of kalpana swaras too. krithis are sparkling in his rendering with sharp and innovative sangathis. 'amba janani' (reethigowla-misra chapu) and 'annapurne' (sama-adi) were example for this. the leisurely approach to raga Todi from lower notes of the middle octave embellishing every note with deep concern and utmost care brought out the raga bhava fully. his voice reached panchama easily in the higher octave. Tyagarar's 'dasharathe, in a slow tempo was soothing. A neraval at ''bhakthileni kavijaalavarenyalu'' was followed by intricate patterns of swaras. equally good was exemplary as though to inspire the young main artiste. another young artiste from the neighbouring state was pradeep kumar who sang with charulatha ramanujam (violin), H.S.sudhindra (mridanga) and G.S.ramanujan (ghata). he has a good voice and fertile imagination. He presented a number of krithis with kalpana swaras and alap. 'jayajaya janakikantha'', sogasujudatarama'', sakalagrahabala nine', 'kaalaharanamelara', 'vijayambike', 'akhilandeshwari' and the list goes on. A lengthy alap of dwijavanthi which exhibited his skills lacked in bringing the subtle nuances of the raga. the kalpana swaras had a number of permutation and combinations. More concert experience and inclusion of voice modulation shall bring the required raga bhava in his alapana. he also should be careful in rendering the lyrics properly. Dr. Rama V bennur "AS THE PURE AND STRAIGHT NOTES FROM SAROD AND THE GAMAKA LADEN PHRASES FROM THE VIOLIN FILLED THE PENDAL, THE SQUEAKING SOUND OF MIKE WOULD DAMPEN THE SPIRIT OF BOTH THE ARTISTES AND THE RASIKAS.