A pull at the heart strings Scintillating concert by Jayanthi Kumaresh

------------------------------   By Vidhya Mahadevan

When there is unison of creativity and technicality and the music is soul-filling, that is an ultimate concert experience and Jayanthi Kumaresh’s performance for Narada Gana Sabha’s Margazhi Festival exemplified this. 

Invoking Lord Ganesha, she began the concert with Gajananayutham in Chakravakam (Vegavahini in Dikshitar school) and added a rich garnish of swarams to enhance the composition. Pallavi Seshaiyer’s Entani vinnavintura in Urmika, a janya ragam of Simhendramadhyamam, followed. Her clarity in sangathis and the pace of the krithi brought out the beauty of the ragam very well. Jayanthi’s alapana of ragam Sama was a picture of serenity and calmness and led into Annapurne Visalakshi by Muthuswami Dikshitar in Adhi thalam. 

She next presented the 45th Melakartha ragam - Shubapanthuvarali. An artist shines when they lead the listener to look beyond just the notes and absorb the essence of the ragam in its entirety. Jayanthi’s incredible raga essay, the silence between the bhava-laden phrases and the poignant glides took us on a beautiful journey into the soul of the raga. Ennalu Urake, a nindha-stuti by Thiagaraja was the chosen kriti and her rendition conveyed the frustration expressed by the composer where he questions Rama for being so unconcerned. The detailed kalpana swarams and kuraippu was elevating. Her rendition of Papanasam Sivan’s Kapali in Mohanam provided a complete shift in the musicscape that she created. 

There are so many lessons to be learnt while listening to established artists and one of them is creating a song list which catered to various rasas and this concert’s repertoire addressed the key ones - bhakti, shanti and karuna rasa. 

She then presented a ragam, thanam and pallavi in ragam Bahudari. The garland of raga phrases woven together with soulful glides made for an impactful alapana. Her mastery over the instrument music was highlighted in her ragamalika thanam where she shifted the Gandharam from Bahudari (S G3 M1) by one note to Suddha Dhanyasi (S G2 M1) to Arabi (S R2 M1) and then to Saveri ( S R1 M1). The raga shifts were seamless and the kaleidoscopic rendition of thanam in varying speeds was spellbinding. A lilting pallavi and a melody-percussion dialog came next. Kalpana swarams came with the same Gandharam shift but with new ragams - from Bahudari (S G3 M1) to Varamu(S G2 M1), Brindavana Saranga (S R2 M1) and then to Revathi ( S R1 M1). 

Perform in an instrumental concert is much more challenging than a vocal concert, and both K.U. Jayachandra Rao on Mridangam and Trichy Krishnaswamy on Ghatam demonstrated their percussion expertise with this in mind, providing an exciting and sparkling thani avarthanam and allowing the tones of the veena to bloom during the krithis. 

Kanda Naal Mudhalai in Madhuvanti, Lalgudi Jayaraman’s Thillana in Khamas and Kamakshi Lokasakshini in Madhyamavati by Shyama Sastri brought the serene evening to a close. 

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Sanjay Subrahmanyan Announces Free Access to All Episodes of Sanjay Sabha on YouTube

Renowned vocalist Sanjay Subrahmanyan announced in a recent Social Media post that he will discontinue YouTube channel memberships. This significant change means that all episodes of the four seasons of "Sanjay Sabha" will now be freely accessible to everyone.

The initiative, originally launched during the pandemic when performance opportunities were scarce, has garnered immense support from his dedicated audience over the past four years. Expressing his gratitude, Sanjay acknowledged the invaluable patronage of his members which inspired him to build a direct connection through "Thamizhum Naanum" and "Sanjay Sabha Live" shows.

Moving forward, Sanjay Subrahmanyan will continue to offer more concerts and videos on his channel at regular intervals, ensuring his fans have free access to his performances. 

Margazhi Maha Utsavan Telecast from Dec 15, 2024

The telecast of the Silver Jubilee series of concerts of Margazhi Maha Utsavam will begin on Dec 15, 2024.

Telecast will be on STAR  VIJAY TELEVISION HD/SD, every morning 6.30 am during weekdays, Monday to Friday

Every evening at 7 pm the unedited full concerts will be streamed on https://youtube.com/RagamalikaTV  Monday to Saturday.

The series starts with the nadaswaram concert by Thirumeignanam Brothers TKR Ayyappan & TKR Meenakshi Sundaram. With Idumbavanam Manikandan and Panapakkam Tamil SElvan - Tavil. This concert is exclusively on the YouTube channel.

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Sruthi Laya Kendra Winter Music Festival - Dec 15, 2024

Sruthi Laya Kendra of Guru Kaaraikudi Mani is holding its 37th Winter Music Festival on Dec 15, 2024 at Arkay Convention Centre, Mylapore.

As part of the festival, Nandhikeswara Utsav, award presentation and a music concert are scheduled.

Schedule: 

2 pm - Nandhikeswara Utsav by Senior Disciples of Guru Kaaraikudi Mani

5 pm - Presentation of Guru Surajananda Award to 'Drums' Shivamani, Gowri Manohari Award to Bombay Gnanam

6.15 pm - S Mahathi - Vocal with H N Bhaskar (violin), Delhi Sairam (Mridangam), Anirudh Athreya (Kanjira)

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An Enthralling Prelude to Margazhi and Carnatic Music Season

-----------------------------   By Abirami Srivatsan

It’s that time of that year and Chennai’s most important music festival has begun. On Thursday,  December 5, 2024, Arkay Convention Centre set the stage for a brilliant concert by Aishwarya Vidhya Raghunath.

The concert began with a varnam in ragam Gowla and transitioned to a composition in Jaganmohini, Mamava Satatam Raghunatha. Moving further, she brought out Reethigowlai amazingly well. The composition is a magnum opus composition of Saint Thyagaraja - Chera Ravademira Ramaiyya. The sub-main part of the concert was Kalyani. She took up a rare composition by Tharangampadi Panchanaada Iyer - Birana Brova Idi Manchi samayura.

A short composition of Sri Muthu Thandavar - Kanamal Vinile Kalam Kazhithome in the ragam Neelambari provided a lilting interlude before the main part of the concert.

Then came the most popular raga Thodi, which can easily be the core raga of the season. The Mel Kalam and Keezh Kalam swarams , koraippu, korvais were very intricate and rendered very well. The song , a composition of Shyama Shastri one among the Carnatic Trinity Ninnenamminanu Sada Na Vinnapamu Vini Nannu Brovumu, with an exquisite Neraval in the line 'Kamakshi Kanchadalayathakshi ' was sung very well.

The concluding part of the concert was a javali in ragam Kamas  Marubari Talalenura by Dharmapuri Subbaraya Iyer. This javali is a favourite of Sri Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer and Aishwarya's singing evoked nostalgia of his rendition. The concert concluded with a blissful devara nama of Sri Purandara Dasa in ragamalika - Devaki Nandana Nanda Mukunda.

The accompanists Madan Mohan, Arun Prakash and N Guruprasad supported extremely well throughout the concert. 

~~~~ The writer is an aspiring Carnatic musician and a student of Carnatic music ~~~~

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A Captivating Evening of Music: Pranathi Ganapuram’s Concert

-------------------------------  By Deepa Iyer S

On the evening of December 13, 2024, Raga Sudha Hall in Chennai witnessed an unforgettable musical offering as part of Naada Inbam’s Sri T.A. Narayanan Memorial Concert Series. From 4 pm to 6 pm, the young and talented Pranathi Ganapuram, a disciple of Smt. Shyamala Venkateswaran, presented a thoughtfully curated concert. She was accompanied by Haritha Narayanan on the violin and Mathur Krishna Kumar on the mridangam, whose sensitive and skillful accompaniment enriched the overall performance.

The concert began with the varnam Sarasakshiro in Natakurinji, a rare gem in Misra Capu tala, composed by Ponniah Pillai. It set the tone for the evening, immediately capturing the audience’s attention with its unusual rhythmic choice. The progression of the repertoire demonstrated a careful blend of classical rigour and creative exploration. From Re re manasa in Nata to Sadacaleswaram in Bhupalam, the pieces unfolded seamlessly, each one leaving its own indelible mark.

One of the standout aspects of the evening was Pranathi’s focus on rare compositions, an admirable effort to highlight lesser-heard compositions. Her rendition of Evaru Manaku in Devagandhari, a composition from Tyagaraja’s Nauka Caritam, was especially striking. With a clean and powerful delivery, she brought out the poignant essence of the raga. 

For the sub-main piece, Mamava Minakshi in Varali, Pranathi chose the phrase “Shyame shankari digvijaya pratapini” for her niraval. Her main piece, Ika Nannu in Bhairavi, was another highlight of the evening. The niraval on the anupallavi, “Agadu seyuta niku nyayama rama”, was delivered with both technical precision and emotional depth, showcasing her ability to bring a balance of intellect and bhava to her performance.

The technical prowess of the vocalist was evident in pieces like Ni Padamule Gatiyani in Navarasakannada, a challenging composition with intricate chitta svaras arranged in syncopation. Pranathi handled it with impressive ease, demonstrating her command over rhythm and melody.

The concert concluded with Tedi Alaigiraye of Gopalakrishna Bharati in Nadanamakriya followed by Paravaikku Ettanai in Senjuruti, a Tiruppugazh set to tune by Sri Rama Iyer. The melody, bearing a striking resemblance to the style of a cindu, brought a sense of familiarity and joy to the audience. Was this arrangement by the composer intentional, given that both thiruppugazh and kavadi cindu are in praise of Lord Murugan? Regardless, it undeniably gave the rasikas the experience of listening to both forms in harmony.

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Pranathi Ganapuram’s performance stood out not only for its repertoire but also for the care with which it was executed. Her ability to present both the familiar and the rare with equal confidence and artistry left the audience deeply satisfied.