Harvard Arts Festival

It is with shaky-knees and a lot of apprehension that I walked towards the Holden Chapel on the Harvard Yard. The Harvard ARTS FIRST Festival was host to a mind-boggling array of performances from opera to improv, jazz to err.. well Carnatic music. The Holden Chapel was a delight to perform in, good accoustics; thanks to tedious remodeling that has made the space a haven for the unamplified voice. We were to perform without microphones. Ala, the olden days in Mylapore sabhas with no 'mikasura'. I wasnt too anxious because Carnatic singers are put through a lot of amplification/microphone crap. I am now used to singing deaf with no feedback.. not being able to hear the violin, not being able to hear myself.. not being able to tell the mridangist to like take it easy. I assumed it cannot be that bad. But in the end, it was just fine. Also, mysteriously a lot of people showed up; all Harvard alumni or professors sorta people I thought..going by the amount of salt-n-pepper in their hair. But well. That was that. A big thanks to Suhas Rao and Ullas Rao for accompanying me. Jai ho!

Carnatic musician

Pictorial representations of a twitching Carnatic musician ...where twitching is directly proportional to the distance between the intended swara and the apparent apasruti swara that managed to eject from his/her epilectic vocal cords. The name for the aforementioned vocal epilepsy being gamaka.

On Bhakti

An excerpt from Raghava R. Menon's book, "The Musical Journey of Kumar Gandharva":

" It could be said without the slightest exaggeration that it was Kumar Gandharva who brought Bhakti Sangeet back into our music. Bhajan singing is not Bhakti singing. Kumar used to say - it is not the subject of God in the lyrics of the Bhajan that makes it Bhakti Sangeet - but the man singing it"

True words.

Thyagaraja Festival, May 9-10th, Salt Lake City

It is with fond memories and warm expectancy that I announce this year's Thyagaraja Festival. Partly, because I have been involved with the festival's planning more intimately this year, than last year. As usual, Ramachandran uncle's immaculate planning and efforts are on to ensure that the festival runs smoothly. Kutcheribuzz.com carried a small press release of this festival at:

http://www.kutcheribuzz.com/kbusa/events.htm#188

Reproduced here:

Thyagaraja festival at Salt Lake City, USA

This Mother’s day weekend, May 9and 10, 2008 Salt Lake City’s quiet mountains will welcome Spring with the annual Thyagaraja Festival.
At the LDS Center, 951 E 100 South, Salt Lake City.
Started in 1997, the Thyagaraja Festival bring artistes and art lovers across the Salt Lake Valley, United states and Canada to an intimate celebration of Carnatic music.

The event this year will feature artistes including Maharajapuram Srinivasan, Sankaran Mahadevan, V. K. Arun Kumar, Deepti Navaratna and Kumar brothers along with several others who will pay their tribute to Saint Thyagaraja under the artistic direction of violinist Mullaivasal G. Chandramouli. The event is partially sponsored by the Utah Arts Council.

More details can be had from the website : http://slc.thyagarajafestival.com

I am both excited and nervous to be giving the inauguratory concert on May 9th at 6.30 pm (see Festival menu below). I am indeed nervous to be even opening my mouth in front of Maharajapuram Srinivasan, the torchbearer of the Maharajapuram throne. My parents are going to be watching me live for the first time in the US on such a platform also...and boy! what an evening that will be!! Hope the microphones behave and I hope there will be a feedback speaker this time - talk about fears of a performer. Took a trip down memory lane and could not help but post an older picture at the same festival. The playfulness captured in this picture between me and Swaminathan Iyer is very dear to me.

I am so looking forward to the smell of dhoopam, kanchivaram sarees, mridangam thuds and some adrenalin in the air.

Find this year's festival listings and more at : http://slc.thyagarajafestival.co

Annamacharya Day at Salt Lake City

Reproduced from what was submitted to kutcheribuzz.com:

On April 12th 2008, the snow-claden mountains of Salt Lake City woke up to the warm strains of Sankeerthanas on the occasion of Annamacharya’s 600th Jayanthi Utsavam at Ganesha Temple of Utah. The morning began with local artistes offering their tribute to Annamacharya, followed by a grand concert by Shri Ashok Ramani, Shri Guruvayur Dorai and Smt. Deepa Ramachandran. In a string of short performances that showcased the talents of eminent local artistes, several popular kritis, as well as, rare Annamacharya compositions were sung by Sunitha Avasarala, Deepti Navaratna, Sudha Velamuri, Subba Laxmi Sriram, Vijay Jonnavittula, Aravind Mokkarala, Swarna Pokala, Hima Bindu Pagidimarri and children.

In the post-lunch session, Shri Ashok Ramani enthralled audiences to a Carnatic music concert with the prominent compositions of Annamacharya such as Nanati Baduku Natakamu (Revathi), Okapari Okapari vayyaramu (Kharahara priya) and well-known favourites such as Vande Vasudevam (Sriraaga) and Muddugare Yashoda (Kurinji). Blessed with an agile voice and an expansive manodharma, Shri Ramani kept the audience in rapture with his inimitable music. He was ably supported by Shri Guruvayur Dorai, one of India's senior-most exponents of the Mridangam, who treated the music enthusiasts to a scintillating tani-avartanam in the latter part of the concert. Smt. Deepa Ramachandran, who is a native of Salt Lake City accompanied the senior artistes with great grace.

This was followed by a short concert by Shri Vikram P. Sundararaman, a disciple of Sangita Kalanidhi Sri T.K. Govinda Rao. Blessed with a resonant voice and a fertile imagination, Vikram took the listeners through a garland of Annamacharya compositions. He was accompanied by Shri Swaminathan on the Mridangam and Smt. Deepa Ramachandran on the violin.

A complimentary DVD consisting of 1008 Annamacharya Keerthana audio songs compiled by Shri Ramesh Babu Naraparaju was distributed to attendees, as an effort to spread the musical message of Annamacharya’s compositions. In a truly collective effort, the programme was organized by Shri Dev Avasarala with the support of SGHTU (Sri Ganesha Hindu Temple of Utah), ICC (India Culture Center), IFU (India Forum of Utah), UTS (Utah Tamil Sangham) and SLC Kannada Koota.

Tyagaraja Festival - 2007

"His name is Chittoor Ramachandran, call him uncle" - sounded Shyam's sonorous voice on the phone. I nervously dialled 'uncle's' number and introduced myself. "Ohh, if you are Shyam's friend, we have to welcome you to Salt Lake City' he said. At the Tyagaraja Festival this year, I saw what one man's dedication, love and determination to foster music can do. I have been testimony to uncle's meticulous planning that starts way ahead of the festival. Every small detail and need is addressed. It is but a herculian task to organise such a festival and uncle manages to ace through it every year. In addition to providing a platform for local talent in Utah, the Tyagaraja Festival features artists from India every year. The thing I loved about the festival was its intimate setting. I feel proud to be included in this family of artists and kala-poshakas.

This year's prime concert was none other than Padmashri Dr. N. Ramani accompanied by the highly energetic Simushnam Rajarao and Sri. Nagai Muralidharan. Thanks to some last minute hassles, I missed Smt. Rajarajeshwari Bhat's concert and Shyama Krishnan's performance. My personal favourite in the morning's concerts was Ashwin Krishnakumar's concert. He is humility personified - his flute can sculpt vistas never imagined before. What drew me to his music was it was a product of unprocessed love. Very few people's music flows from that sacred space within- that spot from which music flows unabashed. If I were to describe that day in one word, it would be - inspiration. Sitting amidst the parched lands of New Mexico, I was only too eager to scoop up all that I could - I was more Carnatic-starved than I imagined. The laya-packed Pancharatna Ghostigayana and Tara Bikkasani's 'Bhaktimargam' were spectacular.

As for my concert, it was a haze. With my cold and blocked ears, I could hardly hear what I was singing. I considered it my training to sing without feedback speakers, if ever! Swaminathan-'ji' and Deepa Ramachandran were delightfully supportive on and off stage. My decision to sing Bindumalini was rather brave I thought, but went off well. By the time it hit me that I was indeeed performing (considering I was so drugged by that time), I was doing the Bindumalini swaraprastara act and had to wrap up with a devaranama!

In all, this festival meant a lot to me. It gave a focus to my otherwise disordered practice routine (read singing at 1am to my neighbour's glee or screaming in the laboratory when I am dissecting rat retinas!). It also re-opened my performance streak here in the US. Performance, I must say is an addiction - blame dopamine. Once again, I cannot thank Ramachandran uncle enough for this event in my life and Shyam Kumar - my friend, philosopher and guide for opening these doors for me.

Are all raagas born equal?

Are all raagas born equal? Maybe in Saraswati's perception but out here in the Carnatic world, there are ghana raagas, viaadi raagas, vakra raagas, bhashanga raagas, upanga raagas, nishantya raagas and so on. Why, there is almost an elaborate caste system in Raagas ! I have been a curious bystander to Raaga discussion on the net and in person. Some say sampoorna raagas are the best, because they have a lot of 'scope' for extempore improvisation. Or maybe because it is relatively easy to create patterns in them, as opposed to a vakra raaga. Also, I often hear Carnatic wannabes talk about certain raagas as prestigious - as being the very essence of Carnatic music. Very often, some raagas are called 'light' raagas, while some raagas are 'weighty'. What exactly is the basis of this classification? To me they are all colours, some stain crimson red, some blue and some violet. I often wonder if this stems from a need for falsified prestige and hierarchy, when there needs to be none. Every raaga is a being in itself. How can one say the world is beautiful ONLY because there is an Anadabhairavi? Also, the fact that Anandabhairavi is a beautiful raaga is a legitimate qualification in itself. One need not corroborate it by saying it is a weighty raaga and hence it is beautiful. Music is a garden, a place where only orchids are grown is called a nursery. I call this - "One who can sing Bhairavi has learnt Carnatic music" syndrome- the nursery affliction in Carnatic music. Why be obsessed with a huge lotus? Isn't the jasmine equally pretty? There is a place and time for everything. What a needle can do, a sword cannot. What a Todi can portray, maybe a Karnaranjani cannot; but conversely, what a Karnaranjani can, a Todi certainly cannot. Why the need to draw lines and be chauvinistic about Raagas, like with everything else in life. The most common gripe against such democratic thought is that, certain raagas are ghana raagas because there is a lot to say in that raaga. Since when did quantity matter? Some raagas can be more eloquent without the expanse of a ghana raaga. This brings us to another question, since when did music become a matter of 'saying more'. Sometimes less is more. Why do we need pickles and side dishes, if the essence of Indian cooking is in the curry alone. I feel awkward when people say, if someone knows Raaga X, then they have learnt Carnatic music. Such a gross misappropriation and extrapolation. Mastery over some raagas is not mastery of anything. It is just mastery of those raagas alone. Every raaga has its edges. There cannot be a standard rule for all raagas, and applying such automation will only make raagas seem pedestrian. Some raagas need boiling, some raagas need cooling, some raagas are express take-outs, some have to be marinated for years, some need frying and some are best served raw. Like the avid bhojana rasika, the fun is in having it all, there is no need for upper caste/ scheduled caste categorisation. Just slurp and burp, sway with a Sahana, wail in a Shubhapantuvarali, ignite the spirit with a Pantuvarali and get some jazz out with a Bilahari. Dont be stuck with a Shankarabharana always.