"Sandhya Ragam" - Concert Reviews by Sandhya Shankar

Sho(w)banal ! Sri Ranga Ranganathan .. yes that is the song which gave the young girl who acted in that film the name Mahanadi Shobana. Now, is this a good thing for someone aspiring to be a Carnatic singer is a debate for another day.   Last week I heard her for the first time at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. It is just that, when you have so many options in Chennai especially during the season, I never gave Shobana a place in my list of choices. It’s not any prejudice or bias, it’s just that too many choices and too little time. I have heard her voice chanting the ‘Kanda Shashtri Kavacham ‘ in full volume at some roadside temple. Somehow, temples blasting music has never met my approval. Instead of creating an environment conducive to spiritual awakening, it used to only disturb my trail of thought. Also, having grown up listening to either Sulamangalam Sisters or my mother chanting Kandha Shashti Kavacham, no other person’s rendering caught my fancy. Same as in the case ...

‘O Some‘ crowd for O S Arun ! One of the early childhood tales, we all have heard is that of the Hare and the Tortoise. The moral of the story was: Slow & Steady Wins the Race. Many years later, I modified this story to suit my corporate training programs. After all, that is creative liberty coupled with occupational needs. Fortunately, nobody accused me of distorting the story. The reason being that I am not a famous personality ....yet ! My story extends beyond the tortoise winning the race. After losing the hare does some root cause analysis and realised that being competent is not enough, and one needs self discipline and focus in order to win. So, the hare suggests another race in which it doesn’t relax but just runs with grit and reaches the goal post in no time. Now, the tortoise realises it’s limitations, which is even if it runs to the best of its ability, it can never win against a determined hare. So, it smartly calls the hare for a third race where it suggest...

Future Present - Ashwath Narayanan   ‘Future Present’.. Before anyone doubts my English Grammar, I must assure them, that did I study English at school and had a mother at home who made us do hundreds of exercises from Wren & Martin, even during our holidays. I am doubtful if today’s school children use Wren& Martin, atleast mine didn’t !   Ashwath Narayanan is the future of Chennai’s Carnatic music who is singing in the present ! His concert at Bharati Vidya Bhavan   was a compact offering of songs, well chosen and well delivered.   He started the concert with a traditional Varnam in Kalyani ‘Vanajakshi‘. Anyone who has had some formal training in Carnatic Music would have inevitably learnt this Varnam along with Mohanam and Hamsadhwani. More Varnams you learn, stronger is your foundation in music. And a Varnam is a kind of a yardstick to determine the competence of the singer.   Ashwath is certainly someone to watch out for, after all he is ...

This King can Sing ! I must admit, that it was for the first time, that I was hearing Prince Rama Varma’s concert. And I came with back with a feeling of having attended a lecdem (lecture demonstration) program and an interesting one at that.   To explain myself better, when he sang a Varnam in Ragam Shanmugapriya composed by the inimitable Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna, who was incidentally one of Prince Rama Varma’s teachers, he gave an elaborate background to it . Rather than dissect and discuss Prince Varma’s singing, I must mention that there was so much value add in the form of explaining the swaras of the composition and the way Dr. Balamurali had his unique way of composing songs. Almost everyone knows Dr Balamurali’s fascination for himself. Like Prince Rama Varma mentioned smilingly that Balamurali Sir was a big fan of Balamurali himself. To the extent, he even created a Ragam and named it after himself. Prince Varma was witty & amusing while narrating this an...

Mother of all stories - Vishaka Hari That any program of Vishaka Hari will be packed with people is a given. Ever since she made her debut as a Harikatha exponent in 2006, there has been no looking back for her. Several Carnatic musicians who had made an entry after her have already exited. What is it that keeps this lady still at the top of the game, drawing people to her program?  It’s clear that she is an expert story teller, and a competent Carnatic musician with a strong people connect. Now, is that enough to last more than a decade? I think, it is also because of her audience demography. They mostly comprise middle or upper middle class Tamil Brahmin. Again, for an average ‘TamBram’, academics play a critical role in their lives, career choices, marriage and that even decides their social standing. How often does one come across a young lady clad in a nine yards madisaar?  Enter Vishaka Hari a qualified Chartered Accountant, who is able to strike a balan...

Tugging at the heart strings, the Rajhesh Vaidhya way! The exquisite Veena instrument in my childhood home in Bangalore still lingers in my memory. There were many Veena(s) at home, since my paternal grandmother used to play the instrument. Yet my grandmother’s prized possession was this special one placed on its ivory stand, looking absolutely grand and regal. It had ivory work all over and she had a story behind it. Apparently, when she was a child, the Mysore Maharaja was so impressed with her talent, that he gifted her with this Veena. Sadly, none of her children or grandchildren took to playing this instrument. Today, after three generations have passed on and with the family having dispersed all over the globe, nobody knows where this Veena is and with whom.   I had gone to the inaugural of the Music festival at Bharati Vidya Bhavan which started with Rajesh Vaidya’s Veena recital .   This man has got magic in his fingers and he knows it. It wa...

And there was Kaushiki too! My first serious encounter with Hindustani Music was as an 8 year old child, when I heard Pandit Bhimsen Joshi sing. To this day my brother & myself love Pandit Bhimsen Joshi’s singing especially Kannada Devaranamas written by Purandara Dasa in Hindustani style. Unfortunately this didn’t result in my learning Hindustani music, barring a few Meera bhajans, because I grew up in an environment saturated with Carnatic Music. Some rare occasions of attending concerts by Pandit Jasraj, Parveen Sultana, Kishori Amonkar and Sanjeev Abhayankar was my limited romance with Hindustani Music. So, when I heard that a popular musician like Kaushiki Chakraborty was giving a concert at Music Academy, instantly I decided to attend it .   It was a very grand ensemble of musicians Fazal Qureshi (son of the famous UstadAllah Raakha) on the tabla, Rakesh Chaurasia (nephew of Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia) and Gino Banks (son of Louis Banks) on t...