Enriching music and enthralling dance - B. RAMADEVI
Isha Yoga Centre, situated at the foothills of Vellingiri Mountains near
Coimbatore, recently organised a unique festival of music and dance, aptly
named ‘Yaksha’. It showcased some of the most exquisite samples of Indian
music and dance in an ambience the artists basked in.
A beautiful temple dedicated to Linga Bhairavi, the goddess representing
female energy, has been built adjacent to the already well-known Dhyanalinga
temple at the Isha Yoga Centre, and this festival followed the consecration
of the deity.
The vocal and instrumental concerts were conducted in a lovely pandal, just
in front of the sanctum sanctorum of Linga Bhairavi, overlooking the three
huge faces of Siva carved in stone, with innumerable lamps glittering in
the background. With neatly-arranged, spotless cushions, courteous volunteers,
and the ubiquitous cell phones either silenced or switched off, listening
to the music there was an experience one would cherish.
Tyagaraja aradhana 2010 in Tiruvaiyaru
- MANNA SRINIVASAN
The 163rd aradhana mahotsavam of Tyagaraja was held at Tiruvaiyaru from
2nd to 6th January with the usual fervour. The turnout was huge. Coming
so close to the music season in Chennai, it was a continuation of the
music soaking experience, even if the prime slot presentations were
compressed to 20 minutes each.
Devotees aplenty from other states thronged the place. The contingent
from Karnataka, particularly Bengaluru, was prominent, making up for
the depleted number from trouble-ridden Andhra.
The excellent water flow in the Kaveri contributed to the atmosphere.
The well-synchronised group rendition of the Pancharatna kriti-s on
the morning of Bahula Panchami reflected the improvement mode set last
year. Haridwaramangalam Palanivel, the secretary of the sabha and mridanga
vidwan Srimushnam Raja Rao deserve praise for taking the necessary steps.
Winding queues were seen hours before the scheduled start of the main
event at 9 am.
VISAKHA MUSIC ACADEMY
40th annual festival of music and dance
- A SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
Visakha Music Academy organised its 40th annual festival of music and
dance from 27th November to 3rd December 2009 in Visakhapatnam. The
festival was inaugurated by Satguru K. Sivananda Murty of Ananda Vanam.
The title ‘Sangeeta Kala Saagara’ was conferred on renowned Carnatic
musician Sudha Ragunathan and vidwan Madurai T.N. Seshagopalan, and
‘Natya Kala Saagara’ on Bharatanatyam exponent Rajeswari Sainath. A
gold medal and citation were presented to the awardees. The talented
duo Malladi Brothers – Sriram Prasad and Ravi Kumar were presented the
M.S. Subbulakshmi award. The Dwaram Venkataswamy Naidu award was instituted
this year. It will be presented every year to a renowned violin artist.
The first award was bestowed on vidwan Dwaram Durga Prasda Rao, noted
violinist and retired Principal of M.R. Govt. College of Music, Vijayanagaram.
The award comprises a cash award of 10,000 rupees and a citation.
The music festival included concerts by all the awardees as well as
by other artists. The concert by Mandolin U. Shrinivas was dedicated
to the memory of Visakha Academy’s former Treasurer P. Rama Rao, who
made a significant contribution towards what Visakha Music Academy is
today. There was a jugalbandi concert by B. Sankara Prakash (veena)
and Purbayan Chatterjee (sitar).
In a morning session, Dr. T.V. Sairam, president, Nada Centre for Music
Therapy, presented a lecdem on ‘Raga Therapy’. The concluding day featured
a tani avartanam by Guru Karaikkudi Mani (mridanga) and Bangalore N.
Amrit (khanjira) followed by a Bharatanatyam recital by Rajeswari Sainath
and her daughter Vaishnavi. Mridanga artist Mandapaka Nagalakshmi received
the Artist of Distinction award. Cash awards and mementos were presented
by vidwans T.N. Seshagopalan and Karaikkudi Mani to the young artists
who participated in the youth festival.
Every day the festival attracted connoisseurs of music numbering about
800 from different walks of life. The audience enjoyed the meticulously
organised week-long festival.
N. RAVIKIRAN
Ambassador of Carnatic music - V. RAMNARAYAN
Chitravina N. Ravikiran is a child prodigy who has evolved into a maestro in his field. He astounded scholars and musicians with his amazing knowledge and musicality even before his third birthday. He was twice blessed – with the right genes as a grandson of Gottuvadyam Narayana Iyengar, and with the perfect environment with his father Narasimhan sacrificing his own career as an instrumentalist to nurture Ravikiran and his siblings and a cousin. Born in 1967, he started his performance career as a lisping vocalist but switched to playing the gottuvadyam in 1979. With his grandmother and mother enriching his childhood days with the great puranic tales of India’s spiritual heritage, Ravikiran knew even as a boy of 12 the significance of the songs he had begun to compose. He has continued to compose kriti-s, tillana-s and music for opera. He has made it his life’s mission to bring to light the wealth of music composed by Oothukadu Venkata Kavi. He has been experimenting with new forms of music, by combining elements of Carnatic music and the western tradition of orchestration and harmony. He calls it Melharmony. He has been a pioneer of e-teaching of Carnatic music.
The Ravikiran we see now is a mature musician – one of the great Indian instrumentalists – but also a committed propagator of his magnificent legacy, taking it to all parts of the world, often the lone representative of Carnatic music in festivals of world music. He has embraced technology to the extent of using it to productive purpose, retaining the original ethos and spirit of his music. His students in India and abroad are devoted to him and his teaching methods with absolute loyalty. He is involved in fusion experiments both here and abroad. He is an inspired speaker on music with a sophisticated vocabulary he has apparently cultivated over the decades to a point it seems spontaneous and natural. His is often the most respected voice in any seminar or symposium on classical music in which the other participants are leading exponents of other traditions of music. In a recent panel discussion on Indian classical instrumental music and instrument making, for instance, he provided some original insights into the making and maintenance of instruments. (Among other things, he urged research by material scientists into the improvement in the volume of the chitraveena. “How can such a huge instrument produce such low volume when a small instrument like the violin can be so much louder?”). He is the author of numerous books on music.
The annual Natya Kala Conference is one of the most anticipated events of Chennai’s Music & Dance Season. Since 1981, dancers, scholars, critics, and other rasika-s have faithfully congregated at Sri Krishna Gana Sabha to dissect, debate, and discuss Indian classical dance. This year’s conference, entitled “Dance Matters”, was convened by Dr. Ananda Shankar Jayant, and it examined dance in India over the past sixty years and its relevance today. The inclusion of non-classical dance styles and dance in the media was also a unique feature of this six-day conference.
Past-present continuous
The conference was inaugurated by Jayant Kastuar, secretary of the central Sangeet Natak Akademi, who sportingly delivered an impromptu speech deputising for the absent chief guest D. Purandeswari. It was followed by a plenary lecture by Dr. Sunil Kothari entitled “Where do we go from here?” The lecture was meant to chronicle the spread of classical dance since the 1950s and introduce the contemporary issues the art faces. However, Dr. Kothari focused mainly on his experiences as a dance scholar, and he only briefly touched on the future of classical dance at the end.
The next session, “Changing Kinetics”, began with a superb presentation by Toronto-based dancers Hari Krishnan and Srividya Natarajan that showcased how Kittappa Pillai adapted solo Bharatanatyam for the stage. By incorporating torso thrusts and full body stretches, he expanded the reach of certain adavu-s so that they covered more space. Firm footwork, strong aerial movements, and crisp jati-s were other distinct features that added vibrancy to his style and made it suitable for male dancers. Hari and Srividya concluded their presentation with an excerpt from a Tanjavur Quartette swarajati (Chakravakam; Roopakam) that was reworked with novel spatial arrangements.
Here's a quiz question for you, kiddo!” said the old man.
"Shoot!" I said in reply.
"Ela needaya radu in Athana; Tondar anjum kaliru in Kambhoji; Kotinadulu dhanushkotilo in Todi; the viruttam Kannane podum, podum; Sadasiva Brahmendra’s Smaravaram varam and Sinattavar mudikkum; Tullumatha vetkai, Tiruppugazh". My old friend went on and on.
"I got it!"
"What do you know?"
"You are listing the songs in a GNB concert, aren't you?" I proudly answered. "A brisk start with Athana, Yadukulakambhoji as the sub-main raga, followed by Todi as the main raga; viruttam; and finally Tiruppugazh.
"You got it all wrong because you didn’t wait for me to complete the list. You didn’t let me tell you that the national anthem was the last song!"
"I thought the national anthem was only played at the end of a film!"
"Yes, it was a film all right, the first one in which GNB acted. The list of songs reads like a concert programme, doesn't it?"
INDIRA PARTHASARATHY A Tamil author who seems to think in English
- V. RAMNARAYAN
The Padma Shri award has been belated Presidential recognition of Indira Parthasarathy’s literary achievements. He has been a prolific writer in Tamil for nearly 50 years, his short stories novels and plays the result of one of the keenest
eyes around for politics and the political in our lives. He has a healthy skepticism bordering on cynicism, his penchant for wry humour leavening it somewhat. His deep understanding of Vaishnavism has led him beyond personal faith to an all-questioning search for deeper meaning and the creation of some exciting plays and novels like Nandan, Ramanuja, The Comrades of Jesus, even Aurangzeb. While plays are probably his favourite medium, his novels and short stories too are easily adapted for theatre, as he revels in fashioning sparkling conversation among his characters, full of repartee and literary and political allusions.
There is a hint of tragedy in all of Indira Parthasarathy’s works, lurking beneath a veneer of comedy, though he has never perhaps written a true tragedy of epic proportions or a rip-roaring comedy.
The one probable exception is Krishna Krishna, a monumental work by him, perhaps the most profound expression of his worldview. It is a modern re-examination of the intellect and philosophy, not to mention the compassion, of the blue god. In the foreword to the novel, the author says, “Krishna is a metaphor; he fulfils the dark and lurking desires in our deep Unconscious and represents the collective vision of the community as a whole.”
In February 2010 the Central Sangeet Natak Akademi selected Pandit Jasraj and a few other artists and scholars to receive its Fellowship also known as Akademi Ratna. On this occasion, we publish an interesting appreciation of the Hindustani music maestro which throws light on his human qualities.
His human side
I have known Pandit Jasraj from my childhood days. Just 24 then, he used to visit our home in Kolkata to teach my elder brother Nataraj – and, later, my younger sister Lakshmi – Hindustani music. I was too absorbed in my studies to develop any interest in music, but Panditji’s personality fascinated me, and we became good friends. Even though he has now reached the pinnacle of success in his profession, Panditji has not forgotten those times, and takes enormous trouble to keep up the friendship with me and other members of our family.
New to Hindustani music when they moved to Kolkata from the South, my parents were very impressed by a half-hour recital on AIR of Pandit Jasraj and his brother and guru, Pandit Maniram. My brother, who was then 16, expressed a desire to learn music from ‘this voice’, so my parents inquired about and located Pandit Maniram’s home. Jasrajji readily agreed to come to our home twice a week to teach him.
Each year, the Carnatic music scene in Chennai is enriched by the arrival of a score or more of talented young musicians in the performance circuit. Many are from Chennai, while a few are from other parts of Tamil Nadu, and other States as well. Other countries too contribute their share.
Many of these young musicians are drawn from well-to-do middle class families; the legacy of successive generations of professional musicians has dwindled considerably. Many do not even have a family background in music. All of them pursue academics but have by themselves discovered the joys of music and have been hooked inexorably to it.
sruti.com
The 163rd aradhana mahotsavam of Tyagaraja was held at Tiruvaiyaru from
2nd to 6th January with the usual fervour. The turnout was huge. Coming
so close to the music season in Chennai, it was a continuation of the
music soaking experience, even if the prime slot presentations were
compressed to 20 minutes each. 
Visakha Music Academy organised its 40th annual festival of music and
dance from 27th November to 3rd December 2009 in Visakhapatnam. The
festival was inaugurated by Satguru K. Sivananda Murty of Ananda Vanam.
Chitravina N. Ravikiran is a child prodigy who has evolved into a maestro in his field. He astounded scholars and musicians with his amazing knowledge and musicality even before his third birthday. He was twice blessed – with the right genes as a grandson of Gottuvadyam Narayana Iyengar, and with the perfect environment with his father Narasimhan sacrificing his own career as an instrumentalist to nurture Ravikiran and his siblings and a cousin. Born in 1967, he started his performance career as a lisping vocalist but switched to playing the gottuvadyam in 1979. With his grandmother and mother enriching his childhood days with the great puranic tales of India’s spiritual heritage, Ravikiran knew even as a boy of 12 the significance of the songs he had begun to compose. He has continued to compose kriti-s, tillana-s and music for opera. He has made it his life’s mission to bring to light the wealth of music composed by Oothukadu Venkata Kavi. He has been experimenting with new forms of music, by combining elements of Carnatic music and the western tradition of orchestration and harmony. He calls it Melharmony. He has been a pioneer of e-teaching of Carnatic music.
The Ravikiran we see now is a mature musician – one of the great Indian instrumentalists – but also a committed propagator of his magnificent legacy, taking it to all parts of the world, often the lone representative of Carnatic music in festivals of world music. He has embraced technology to the extent of using it to productive purpose, retaining the original ethos and spirit of his music. His students in India and abroad are devoted to him and his teaching methods with absolute loyalty. He is involved in fusion experiments both here and abroad. He is an inspired speaker on music with a sophisticated vocabulary he has apparently cultivated over the decades to a point it seems spontaneous and natural. His is often the most respected voice in any seminar or symposium on classical music in which the other participants are leading exponents of other traditions of music. In a recent panel discussion on Indian classical instrumental music and instrument making, for instance, he provided some original insights into the making and maintenance of instruments. (Among other things, he urged research by material scientists into the improvement in the volume of the chitraveena. “How can such a huge instrument produce such low volume when a small instrument like the violin can be so much louder?”). He is the author of numerous books on music.
The annual Natya Kala Conference is one of the most anticipated events of Chennai’s Music & Dance Season. Since 1981, dancers, scholars, critics, and other rasika-s have faithfully congregated at Sri Krishna Gana Sabha to dissect, debate, and discuss Indian classical dance. This year’s conference, entitled “Dance Matters”, was convened by Dr. Ananda Shankar Jayant, and it examined dance in India over the past sixty years and its relevance today. The inclusion of non-classical dance styles and dance in the media was also a unique feature of this six-day conference. 
The next session, “Changing Kinetics”, began with a superb presentation by Toronto-based dancers Hari Krishnan and Srividya Natarajan that showcased how Kittappa Pillai adapted solo Bharatanatyam for the stage. By incorporating torso thrusts and full body stretches, he expanded the reach of certain adavu-s so that they covered more space. Firm footwork, strong aerial movements, and crisp jati-s were other distinct features that added vibrancy to his style and made it suitable for male dancers. Hari and Srividya concluded their presentation with an excerpt from a Tanjavur Quartette swarajati (Chakravakam; Roopakam) that was reworked with novel spatial arrangements.
Here's a quiz question for you, kiddo!” said the old man. 
The Padma Shri award has been belated Presidential recognition of Indira Parthasarathy’s literary achievements. He has been a prolific writer in Tamil for nearly 50 years, his short stories novels and plays the result of one of the keenest
eyes around for politics and the political in our lives. He has a healthy skepticism bordering on cynicism, his penchant for wry humour leavening it somewhat. His deep understanding of Vaishnavism has led him beyond personal faith to an all-questioning search for deeper meaning and the creation of some exciting plays and novels like Nandan, Ramanuja, The Comrades of Jesus, even Aurangzeb. While plays are probably his favourite medium, his novels and short stories too are easily adapted for theatre, as he revels in fashioning sparkling conversation among his characters, full of repartee and literary and political allusions.
In February 2010 the Central Sangeet Natak Akademi selected Pandit Jasraj and a few other artists and scholars to receive its Fellowship also known as Akademi Ratna. On this occasion, we publish an interesting appreciation of the Hindustani music maestro which throws light on his human qualities.
