"Sandhya Ragam" - Concert Reviews by Sandhya Shankar

Abhangamala During the 2019 - 2020 Margazhi month, there was one particular video which was going viral on WhatsApp. It was not anything remotely like the ‘Kolaveri’ or ‘Jhimki Kammal’ songs. It was of a young girl called Sivasri, among a group of people going around Mada Veedhi of Kapaleeshwar Temple in Mylapore, singing Namasankeertanam!  Instantly, she became a rage among the Kutchery going crowd. It was evident that the girl had immense talent and was trained in Carnatic Music. Obviously, the sensation was limited to a certain segment of people, for it's meant for those who are interested in this genre. Well, I being one of them, when I heard that she is performing at a private residence, on Feb 8th, I rushed straight from Bangalore into the host’s house, looking tired with disheveled hair and crumpled clothes. My entry, of course got the unintended attention, momentarily distracting everyone from Sivasri.  She started with a Namavalli ‘Narayana Naraya...

Trinity by Madras Players Remember Aamir Khan's film 'Lagaan' which was a big hit ? While we can attribute it to good film making, one of the reasons was that it had all the right ingredients like 'Cricket' and the 'Freedom Movement' ! Now these two as a combo with the right treatment is bound to be appealing. Likewise, the English play 'Trinity' by Madras Players had the right mixture in right proportion of Carnatic music & good storytelling. I had first seen it in 2018 at Museum Theatre and recently I saw their ‘extended’ version of the play, during the rehearsals before their US tour. I was particularly curious about the fact that the original 90 minute play had been extended by another 30 minutes at the behest of the US organisers. In an era where everything is becoming smaller and having a shorter life span, this is surprising. Like 5 day Test Cricket became ODI and then came T20 and there is some talk about 100 ball cricke...

  ' YUVA' Namasankeertanam This program was one of its kind, where the students of the music school ‘Ganapriya’ presented an evening of Namasankeertanam, on January 12th 2020 at Sringeri Mutt Hall, R.A.Puram.  One would wonder what a group of teenagers or even younger Children would have to do with Namasankeertanam... infact I can’t think of my kids at that age (or even now) sitting among the audience let alone perform in such an event.  Hey, just incase anyone has a doubt that they are atheists or agnostic, I need to clarify that it is not so, it’s just a matter of interest or choice! And here I see a bunch of kids all appropriately dressed sitting and delivering 2 hours of melodious and Bhakti filled Namasankeertanam.  I think the credit must go to their teacher Bhagyalakshmi Suresh, whose own experience with Bhakti has brought her to train her students not just in Carnatic music but also launch them in a field rarely chosen by children. T...