RECOGNITION FOR EX-CALCUTTANS

We all respect our elders, and our admiration for them increases when they achieve such feats as to make themselves shining examples for generations to follow………… the happiness is manifold when they are people who you have known closely. It gave us great pleasure and a tremendous sense of pride to see the front page articles in The Hindu Friday Review, on two people who we have known since our Calcutta days. First up, Smt Bhuvana Natarajan, Bhuvana mami to us, who has been honoured with the Sahitya Academy award for Tamil translations of Bengali works, in particular of Asha Purna Devi. Amazing! And just today The Hindu Friday Review carried an article on Sri N Gopala Sundaram, who has translated the entire Tiruppugazh in English, and this has been brought out in the form of a book titled “The Glory of Lord Muruga.” We are sure to get Gopal Mama’s autograph on our copy.


Please see below the links to the respective articles:
Grand Culmination
Stupendous Work

THEMATIC CHAMBER CONCERT

A Thematic Chamber Concert was presented under the auspices of our organization Veenavaadhini, based on the Bhooloka Panchalinga Krithis of Muthuswamy Dikshitar. All the Kritis, representing the five elements i.e. space, air, fire, water and earth were sung and played by us on the veena. Sri Trichur Narendran accompanied us on the mridangam. Rajani Arjun Shankar provided word-by-word meaning and narration to each of the krithis. The background comprising of paintings of the great genius Late S Rajam, pictorially depicting each of the kritis, were made by Aparna Shankar. The two-hour programme consisted of the following kritis:

1. Ananda Natana Prakasam – Kedaram – Akasha Kshetra (SPACE)
2. Sri Kalahastisha – Huseni – Vayu Kshetra (AIR)
3. Arunachalanatham Smarami – Saranga – Agni Kshetra (FIRE)
4. Jambupathe –Yamuna Kalyani – Appu Kshetra(WATER)
5. Chintayamakandamula – Bhairavi – Prithvi Kshetra(EARTH)

The Hindu, Mylapore Times and Kutcheribuzz carried a byte about the programme. It was well attended and well received, and we are enthused to present more of such programmes in the near future. We thank all the rasikas for having attended the concert and making it a big success. And thanks Arjun for the pictures, and Parameswaran and Latha for video recording the event!

Given below are reactions from some rasikas who had attended the programme:

"I attended the chamber concert and it was really memorable. A dedicated presentation by the vainika-s. Special mention must be made of Smt Rajani's commentary which gave lot of insight into the supreme compositions of Dikshitar. It was a n excellent idea to have veteran S Rajam's paintings (of Panchalinga) in the background.

The efforts put in by JJ to internalise the kritis and presenting them authentically in Veena, was quite evident in their rendering.
Trichur Narendran's Mridanga support was something special and enhanced the aesthetic appeal.

I rate this among the best thematic concerts of the season!"

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"The narration, AlApanA-s, tani, and, above all, kRti renditions that adhered to MD sampradAya, were all excellent. It was especially pleasing to listen to chintayamAkandamUlakandam in grand chowkam, with the first line ending on M rather than the usually-encountered version."
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"It was a very nice concert. In fact, with narration and posters about each piece, it was a whole project rather than just a concert. Everyone had put in a lot of work for the benefit of the listeners.

Each piece was in a slow speed, making a contemplative atmosphere for the entire performance. Trichur Narendran never made any effort to hurry things along, but contributed to the mood perfectly.

The program was well attended, with the room being full, but not uncomfortably so; just right.

As a note of curiosity: not one song was in Adi Talam, which must be a very rare event. Misra, Khanda and Rupaka talams were represented."

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"A wonderful evening wherein everything fell in place. Jaysri's Yaman Kalyani alapanai was superb and was within the framework of Jambupathe. Jeyaraj played a lovely Bhairavi preceding chintayamAkandamUlakandam and also a brief tanam. Smt Rajani Arjun Shankar's narratives were well researched and crisp. Trichur Narendren is a class apart. His accompaniment was apt for the occasion and considering the fact that all the kritis were slow paced, he controlled the pace admirably."

ARTICLE IN "AMUDASURABHI" MAGAZINE

Anuradha Kannan of Podhigai TV fame recently authored an article for the reputed Tamil Magazine AMUDASURABHI titled "Karuviyum Kalaingargalum," featuring various carnatic artists and their relationship with the instrument they played. We were asked to write about our bonding (more appropriately, obsession!) with our veenas. Given below is our writeup in English from which has Anuradha interpreted the piece for the article.

VEENA AND US

Ever since we remember, music has been a part and parcel of our lives. During the impressionable stage of our lives, we had been exposed to music steeped in aesthetics and classicism.

Veena has had a revered place in our families and hence it was no surprise that we decided to take up the instrument as a vehicle for our musical expression.

Due credit should go to our revered teachers who have given us a completely unique perspective of the mother of all instruments – the Veena.

To us this instrument has ceased being an inanimate object for long. It is our best friend and it actually “talks” to us every day. It seeks constant pampering. If we fail to practice for a day, there is a sense of discomfort when we play on the instrument the next day. It feels as if the instrument seeks not to respond to our touch!! It needs coaxing and cajoling before it starts responding.

However when we are stressed or troubled, it is our Veena that we turn to. During such times of distress, playing the Veena gives us a lot of comfort and restores equanimity and peace. Surprisingly, under such stressful conditions, it is our friend that sympathizes with us; it needs no coaxing at that point. Playing the Veena becomes a completely de-stressing activity and the environment is filled with positive energy.

When you have such a friend, one would like to increase its tribe. Not surprisingly we have acquired a number of Veenas over the years, and many of these acquisitions can be aptly described as “impulsive”. But we have no regrets in indulging in such an impulsive act!!

Each instrument that we have is very, very special. Our music room is filled with a variety of Veenas, mostly the Tanjore variety. We have indeed built a family of Veenas.

There is one particular Veena that was presented by a music connoisseur for a token amount of Re 1. It is a Tanjore Veena and is more than a century old. It is embedded with ivory strips and the Veena has a unique tonal quality of its own. We are very partial towards this instrument and do not encourage anyone to touch the same. It is only available as a visual treat. Such is our attachment to Veenas that our possessiveness leaves our kith and kin, often, a trifle embarrassed!!

The need for enhanced sound and portability made us look to avenues whereby we could use electronics in a more purposeful manner. In this endeavor, we found great enterprise in Radel Electronics, who have created the Sunadavinodini, an electronic and portable version of the Saraswathi Veena. We have been using this instrument for our concerts in India and abroad. The public response has been very positive and we have had a number of impromptu Q&A sessions on this with members of the audience, particularly from the overseas communities.

However, when we play in solitude in our prayer room we use the original acoustic veena(without the contact mike) but for a concert, as professionals it is our duty to ensure that the clarity and volume of sound reaches every nook and corner of the auditorium and for us the electronic veena has been a boon.

Though we keep indulging in our hobby of collecting veena there are some identified ones which are handled specifically by one of us. They are more a personal possession and are seldom used by the other - not even during practice. This brings more familiarity to the instrument. We are not comfortable with outsiders touching or playing our instruments but we do make an exception for our own students and allow them to play on some of our Veenas especially during concert engagements.

Our Veenas are our treasure. There is an inextricable bond. Veenas, by design, are very fragile and one needs to spend a lot of time and care in keeping them clean and in perfect tune. They demand a unique sense of responsibility from you. Not a single day goes by without our realizing how much our veena has enriched our life, right from bringing us together as life partners, to giving us the opportunity to serve the cause of Carnatic music in our own small way. It thus goes without saying that our Veenas are and will always remain our best friends forever.

Jeyaraaj and Jaysri

OBITUARY

January 5, 2010 was one of the saddest days for the carnatic community. Veena Vidwan Trivandrum Venkataraman died in a car accident. He was one of the all-time great vainikas. For a man of such great vidwath and capabilities, he was a very humble and unassuming person indeed. Everytime we met, he would treat us with a lot of warmth and a personal touch that was very unique to him. We will definitely miss him. Even as we write this, we are still to come to terms with this cruel act of fate. He received the Sangeetha Kala Acharya this year from the Music Academy just a few days before his death. May his soul rest in peace. Our deepest condolences to his family and his sishyas.

VEENA FASHIONISTAS?

We consider ourselves lucky for having got an opportunity, 15 years ago, to settle down in Chennai. Understandably so, since purely from the Carnatic Music performer's perspective, this has always been the place to be. And, we have come a long way, from those times of fighting our disillusionment on the veena scene in the then Chennai concert circuit, to now, where almost everyday a veena concert is happening somewhere in the city. What we need now is to gather more momentum and keep it going. There should be more people coming to listen to veena concerts not because "they feel the need to do their bit to encourage veena players" but purely because they feel this is what they would like to hear on a particular evening. The onus is very much on us to take it to that level. Aural pleasure is important. In the days of yore, veena was the only instrument known, so it might have enjoyed great monopoly. But now, there are so many more, which with their volume advantage are capable of instantaneously connecting with the average rasika. The veena losing out to the violin as an accompanying instrument is a case in point here. As vainikas, we also have another humungous responsibility....to preserve the gamaka-laden purity of carnatic music for which veena is the singular point of reference, particularly when it comes to Dikshitar Kritis. Over and above is the size of the Saraswathi veena, which itself daunts the organizer (who may be laden with the responsibility of transporting the artist and his/her veena from the airport, etc). He is probably thinking whether getting a van/truck to carry the instrument is worth the effort, or should he settle down to arrange some other concert which requires less paraphernalia. We have heard mridangam vidwans telling us that they have had real tough times lifting huge veena boxes while on overseas trips with lady veena artists!

In the past few years we have found a reasonable solution to these issues. We have been using the electronic veena. We are happy. We have not had to sacrifice the "vadya dharma." We have not felt the need to play something that we do not want to, just because it "sounds good" and instantly makes the average rasika connect. People in the audience do not have to guess what we are playing. They can hear. The mridangist does not have to tone down his volume to inaudible levels so as not to drown the music of the veena. We can carry/transport our instruments to anywhere in the world without much ado. All this ....... not because it is "modern" or we are some "veena fashionistas"..... but only because we want more people to be able to comfortably hear what is being played, not having the necessity to compromise on what is deemed classical, with the hope that not just "veena rasikas" but "all rasikas" of Carnatic Music can identify with music produced on the veena and connect with it. Clearly, we are using the option because it is available now, and it wasn't earlier.

Reproduced below is our letter published in The Hindu Friday Review as a rejoinder to a few lines published in a recent review of a young veena artist's concert. Also is given the link to our interview for Radel's Newsletter on our thoughts on the electronic veena and other related topics.

THE LETTER

Veena’s tonal quality

This is with reference to the review of Bhavani Prasad’s veena recital (Friday Review, September 4). We refer to a section where the writer has expressed the desire to see the traditional Saraswathi Veena being used increasin gly on the concert stage. The sound produced by a Saraswathi Veena is undoubtedly unparalleled in terms of melody. However, this is true only if the veena is used in its pristine form (i.e. no contact mike). The moment one uses a contact mike, the sound is no longer a result of its resonance from the hollow of the ‘kodam.’ It may be interesting to note that two veenas using the same microphone may produce a sound that may be as different as chalk and cheese. We are yet to see a perfect contact microphone that highlights the right tonal qualities of a Saraswathi Veena, with the exception of perhaps the instrument used by the great Vidwan S. Balachander. To reach out to a large audience, we have turned to the electronic veena as sufficient amplification is possible without much ado; tonal quality can be fine-tuned to suit the artist’s need; in case of a duet, the tonal representation of the two veenas is similar; and, the instrument can be easily transported.

Jaysri and Jeyaraaj

Chennai

The Radel Newsletter Interview - Click Here

AN INTERVIEW AND A CONCERT

June 28, 2009 was eventful. We were called to participate in an interview in the morning, and had a concert to perform in the evening.

We reached Nageswara Rao Park, Mylapore at 7:30 in the morning for an outdoor video interview by Mr D Murali of The Hindu Business Line for his YouTube Channel Pitstop4performers. The topics on which we were interviewed ranged from music, archiving, corporate sponsorship, banking, economic recovery, medical transcription, etc. The session lasted almost 2 hours. The ambience of the Park was fantastic, helped by lovely weather that day. Come to think of it, we have been visiting various cities lately, some of those actually known for their wonderful weather, but this summer Chennai has actually been more liveable than most of the others! An excerpt from the interview is embedded above. For the entire interview please click below.


Interview for YouTube Channel - Pitstop4performers

About the concert in the evening, the mridangam accompaniment of Shri Mannargudi Easwaran and upapakkavadyam of Shri N Govindarajan was special. Playing for Naada Inbam at Raga Sudha Hall is always great, and we were really looking forward to this one because of who the accompanying artists were. Before the concert, we got a call the same day in the afternoon from someone requesting us to play Jambupathe Mampahi of Muthuswamy Dikshitar in Yamunakalyani. We were only happy to oblige. It is one of our own personal favourites too!

REMEMBERING THE ONE AND ONLY "GNB"

A couple of months back there was an article in the Times Of India Chennai edition describing GNB Sir as the first poster-boy of Carnatic Music. We would like to go ahead one more step and say that he is Carnatic Music's only poster-boy. Even for people like us who were very not fortunate to have even a glimpse of him, let alone be able to attend his live concert, the very mention of his name is an inspiration. We would like to thank The Indian Fine Arts Society and Shri M subramanian for having given us the opportunity to perform in the Centenary Celebrations of Sri GN Balasubramanian.

After our concert senior vidwan Shri Trichur Ramachandran sang. His ritigaula alapana was one to be cherished for a long time to come.

It was an occasion where we could meet members of GNB Sir's family and Prof MS Swaminathan, himself a true legend, who had been invited to be the chief guest.

Below is the link to the report that appeared in the Friday Review of The Hindu Chennai Edition.

Genius Remembered - Click Here

ALL FOR A GOOD CAUSE

Sanatana Dharma Foundation, based in Dallas, USA, sponsored an All Women Instrumental Ensemble to tour 14 cities in the USA for raising funds; their noble objective being Vidya Daanam - Empowerment Through Education. The team was led by Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi on the violin, followed by Mala Chandrasekhar on the flute, myself on the Veena, Rajna Swaminathan on the Mridangam and Bhagyalakshmi on the Morsing. The concerts were all very well received. A huge word of appreciation for the sponsors who left no stone unturned to make the tour a success. Hospitality for us artists was overwhelming. We had a wonderful time. Here are some pictures taken during the trip from Bhagya's camera.... and my favorites include the one with the three of us in a jewelry store, New York City by night, and a stunning view of the snow-capped Iranian mountain ranges from the Air India flight on our trip back home.

A PROUD PRIVILEGE

Nadha Kala Vipanchee Award and Nalli Felicitation


It was a proud privilege for us to receive the award "Nada Kala Vipanchee" from the hitherto unparalleled giant of a musician Dr.M.Balamuralikrishnaji, and a double honour to have played a concert in front of him. Shri TN Seshan, the ex-Chief Election Commissioner of India was also present as guest of honour on the occasion. The event was organized by the Vipanchee Trust, whose founder is Dr. Balamuralikrishna and director is Dr. Saraswathi. Dr. Sudharani Raghupathy was awarded the Acharya Kala Vipanchee. Senior vidwan Shri Anayampatti Ganesan (Gana Kala Vipanchee) and Sri Injikudi Subramanyam (Vadya Kala Vipanchee) were amongst the other awardees for this year. A felicitation function was held by Sri Nalli Kuppuswamy to honour all musicians who had received titles from various sabhas this year.

Featured in this blog post below is an excerpt from an interview of Dr. BMK by the news channel NDTV, expressing his views on "tradition".

THRIMOORTHY SANGEETHA SABHA, POZHICHALUR

A very relevant report in the Kutcheribuzz website titled "Season in the Suburbs" prompted us to write this post. Thrimoorthy Sangeetha Sabha in Pozhichalur, Chennai, hosts its music season in the middle of November every year. The Secretary of the Sabha Sri R Krishnamurthy and most of the members of the audience have about 40-50 years of Carnatic Music concert listening experience. They do not stir out until the concert is over. We played our concert for them on November 12th with Mannarkoil Balaji on the Mridangam and Adambakkam Shankar on the Ghatam. The RTP that we chose to play was in Bhairavi with the words "Thyagarajaya Guruguhaya Syamakrishnaya Namaste, Sangeetha Trimoorthyai Namaste," the theme in keeping with the name of the sabha. The members of the audience know their music, are involved with the proceedings and are very appreciative.

It is one of those venues which has an old world charm of its own. Sri Thanjavur Ramadoss who had played mridangam for us here on a previous occasion, remarked "enga vadyarukku intha madri kottagai potta edam-na romba pudikkum," indicating that the great Palghat Mani Iyer used to enjoy playing in surroundings like this. The rasikas here connect like long lost friends; after the concert is over, you can overhear comments like "antha kalathile namma ellam GNB-na appdiye surrender, illaya?" It is a great feeling to be in the midst of such a crowd.