VEENAVAADHINI CHAMBER CONCERT

Veenavaadhini recently showcased two chamber concerts. First was a vocal concert by Vivek Sadashivam and second was a Veenai concert by Revathi Sadashivam, of Bangalore.

Vivek began with an Adi Tala Varnam in Saveri, Sarasuda. This was followed by a melodious rendition of a Thyagarajar composition, Rama neepai Thanaku, in Kedaram, in Adi Talam, with a few brisk swarams. Next he sang a raga alapanai in the ragam Varamu and followed it with Papanasam Sivan’s well-known Tunai Purindarul, with intricate swaram patterns. Next, Muthuswami Dikshitar’s fast paced Ramachandram Bhavayami, in the ragam Vasantha, with swarams, livened up the mood. The highlight of the concert was Shyama Sastri’s Birana Varalichi in the ragam Kalyani, set to Tisra Nada Adi Talam. Through his extensive raga alapanai, Vivek wonderfully brought out the beauty of the
ragam. He sang neraval in the line “Shyama Krishna sodari gowri parameshwari girija” in the charanam. The concert was fittingly ended with Bharatiyar’s Varuvai Varuvai Varuvai Kanna.  KJ Dileep's accompaniment on the violin was superb. He exhibited admirable versatility and professional expertise.

Revathi began with Thyagarajar’s Shashivadana in the ragam Chandrajyoti, in Adi Talam. Next was Muthuswami Dikshitar’s Parvathi Kumaram, set to Roopaka Talam, along with swarams in the Pallavi. This was followed by Devi Brova Samayamidhe, a Shyama Sastri composition in Chintamani, a rare ragam. This was followed by raga alapanai and tanam in the ragam Simmhendramadhyamam, a favourite of most vainikas. The song she chose was Ninne Nammiti, composed by Mysore Vasudevacharya. This formed the main piece of the concert. She wound up with the popular Annamacharya compostion, Muddugare Yashoda, in Kurinji, set to Adi Talam, followed by a Purandaradasar composition, Rama Mantrava Japiso, in Adi Talam. Bhagyada Lakshmi Baramma in Madhyamavati served as an apt mangalam.   The concert was short but crisp and impactful.

Miami Ramakrishnan who accompanied on the mridangam for both concerts , is a math professor at the Miami University.  He has been the face of mridangam in Miami USA for several decades. His accompaniment was very neat, unobtrusive and polished.

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MELAKARTHA WORKSHOP

This year's Veenavaadhini Summer Workshop conducted by Smt Jaysri Jeyaraaj Krishnan was on The Carnatic Melakarta System. The intricacies of the Melakarta System including its evolution, its correlation with the Veena Mela structure, swara positions, Katapayadi Formula of Nomenclature, Chakra Nomenclature etc were discussed. Each of the 72 mela ragas were explained using the veena. Representative Kritis of Muthuswamy Dikshitar from the Bana Chakra were also taught vocally during the workshop. The songs included:

1. Sharavati Thatavasini - Sharavathi - Mela #25
2. Palayamam Parameshwari- Tharangini - Mela #26
3. Sourasenesham - Sourasena - Mela#27
4. Neelakantham Bhajeham - Kedaragoula - Mela #28
5. Brihadeeshwaraya Namaste - Shankarabharanam - Mela #29
6. Naagabharanam Nagajaabharanam - Naagaabharanam - Mela #30

VEENAVAADHINI STUDENTS PROGRAMME

On 21 April, Mr and Mrs Parameswaran’s sprawling house in RA Puram played host to an event
featuring several young students of vocal and veena music, where the youngsters showcased their
talent and skills developed over years of practice and hard work. Melodious young voices were
interspersed with soothing strains of the veena.

The performers, Aditya, Mythri, Aparna, Monica and Harini performed songs such as Ananda
Amritakarshini, Maha Ganapate, Sundarataradeham, Siva Siva Siva, and Sabhapatikku. This was
followed by a brief performance by Dr Latha Parameswaran, the host, which showed as much
verve and energy as the blooming young students.  She presented Deva Deva Jagadhishwara in Purvikalyani and Kaliyuga Varadhan in Brindavani.

The longest performance of the day belonged to Kamakshi and Meenakshi, who gave
an hour-long concert on compositions of Sri Tyagaraja on gods other than Lord Rama. They provided succinct explanation on the meaning of the songs, and sang with feeling. Many of the
kritis covered were rare and not heard very often, so it was a treat for the listeners who were in
rapture.  The songs featured were Sri Gananatham (Kanakangi), Varashikhi Vahana (Supradeepam), Ee Vasudha (Sahana), Narada Ganalola (Atana), Haridasulu (Yaman Kalyani), Gandhamu Puyyaruga (Punnagavarali), Vinayakuni (Madhyamavathi).

The compact crowd left pleased. The tasty prasadam at the end was also a factor, but the music was
the star of the day. The evening gave a small glimpse of the future of Carnatic music, in our school
and otherwise.

Report by Aparna Shankar

VEENAVAADHINI LISTENING SESSIONS

Madurai Mani Iyer

Tanjore S Kalyanaraman

LISTENING SESSIONS AT #12 SHANTI ENCLAVE

Advice to students of Carnatic music is simple – practice a lot, but also listen a lot. Listening
to masters of the art inspires and pleases, and also gives young learners ideas and a sense of where
they have to get.

This idea was taken forward by Veenavaadhini, by way of two evening listening sessions, of
Madurai Mani Iyer and Thanjavur Kalyanaraman respectively. Students and rasikas, young and old,
took part in the sessions of listening and analysis of the masters.

Madurai Mani Iyer needs no introduction, of course. A Sangita Kalanidhi awardee, he
gave full-house concerts till nearly the end of his life. His fan following was immense and later the
tukkada section of his concerts became more or less fixed. He was renowned for his pure voice and
sruti suddham. He was also a great human being.

The enthralled audience listened to pieces like Nada Tanumanisam, Dharini Telusukonti and
the immortal classic Kaana Kan Kodi Vendum. The latter was preceded by an alapana which seemed
simple but was very intricate. The presence and inputs of Sri Sriram Parasuram, and our Gurus Sri JT Jeyaraaj Krishnan and Smt Jaysri Jeyaraaj Krishnan enhanced the session.

If the creativity and sruti suddham of Madurai Mani Iyer stood out, for Thanjavur S
Kalyanaraman the following month it was his clarity. Each note shone like a gem in every phrase.
Students were enamoured by his bhrigas. He proved to be competent in all speeds – the transition
from a slow, meditative, contemplative Ganamurte to a racy piece was notable. The main piece was
a moving Shanmukhapriya. Towards the end, a piece played by S Balachander also made a cameo.
Through all this, time flew by without anyone realising. This was followed by a pot luck dinner.

This pleasurable form of learning was enjoyed by all, and will be taken forward in the
summer for a week.

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VEENAVAADHINI CHAMBER CONCERTS

In the past few months, Veenavaadhini hosted several Chamber Concerts.

Smt SIKKIL MALA CHANDRASEKHAR presented a grand 4-hour flute concert. It was billed to be a 2-1/2 hour kutcheri, but that day the music just flowed. Neither Smt Mala, nor the rasikas (including several young children) realized until 3-1/2 hours had gone that so much time had elapsed. Starting with the lilting Daru Varnam Mathe in Kamas, the eminent flautist went on to play Ganapathe Mahamathe in Kalyani with very impressive kalpanaswaram patterns. Then came a very classical Neelayatakshi in Paras. Madhayamavathi exposition for the kriti Nadupai brought out the raga swaroopa brilliantly with the choicest pidis. Theliyaleru Rama never fails to tug the heart strings. The Dikshitar magnum opus Sree Subramanyaya Namaste was presented in true Gayaki style, prefaced with an expansive Khamboji Raga alapana where the rasikas were completely immersed particularly in the mandra sthayi phrases. RTP in Shanmukhapriya came next. Both the ragam and thanam were very well etched; some classic veena phrases in the thanam were executed by both Mala and Akkarai Sornalatha, the violinist. Geetha Vadhya Natana Natakarpriye, Rasike was the pallavi line. The poorvangam was structured in such a way as to represent all the three speeds of Vilambakala, Madhayamakala and Drutakala. The trikalam and tisram segments were bang on target. The ragamalika kalpanawaram suffix featured ragams with a “priya” ending, like Kharaharapriya, Natakapriya, Ratipatipriya, Rasikapriya, Rishabhapriya and so forth. Of the lighter items presented in the concert, Saramaina was notable for a wonderfully spontaneous Behag alapana, and a beautiful reply by the violinist.

Special mention must be made of the accompanying artists of the evening. They responded with willingness and vibrancy to the flow of the concert. Sornalata’s musical sense and aesthetics were noteworthy. Kalladaikurichi Sivakumar followed sampradaya by playing two thanis, one for the main Kambhoji song and another for the pallavi. His mridangam play had classical depth. The accompanists contributed to the success of the concert in good measure.

In the end, all rasikas left with the satisfaction of having heard an excellent classical sampradya-based concert.



GUHAN VENKATARAMAN of the USA presented a very sweet veena concert. Tutored by his mother Smt Lakshmi Venkataraman, a disciple of the very revered vainika Smt Ranganayaki Rajagopalan, Guhan has imbibed many of the hallmarks of that style, particularly with reference to Thanam playing. He exhibited good technique and sound manodharma aspects, and a very professional approach. Keeravani ragam, thanam and Kaligiyunte was the highlight. Veenavaadhini wishes the youngster all the best.






Sri KV RAMANUJAM, an excellent flautist, enthralled the audience with his nimble finger movements across the bamboo. His bilahari alapana and the treatment of the kriti Paritanamicchite was one of the best expositions that yours truly has heard in recent times. Thodi is a difficult ragam to play on both the flute and the veena. Sri Ramanujam brought out a scholarly image of the raga prefix to the Kriti Sri Krishnam Bhaja Manasa. Smt Meera Sivaramakrishnan was the supporting artiste on the violin and her vidhwath came to the fore in her solo versions.

The inimitable Umayalpuram Mali was the accomparying mridangam artiste for both the above concerts and gave brilliant support.

VEENAVAADHINI STUDENTS PERFOMANCES

The students of Veenavaadhini have been delivering concerts from time to time and the whole fraternity can take pride in their achievements. Veena Venkataramani gave two veena concerts in Delhi last year, the first being at the IILM campus, as a part of the ‘Festival of Young Talent’, organised by Sanatan Sangeet Sanskriti. The other was organised by the Delhi Tamil Sangam and a part of ‘Delhi 2010’, with former president and eminent scientist Dr APJ Abdul Kalam as the chief guest. On New Year’s
Day 2011, she performed at Rani Seethai Hall, organised by Kalarasa. She was accompanied on the mridangam by Manohar Balatchandirane for all three concerts.

Kamakshi and Meenakshi Ramamurthy gave vocal concerts at Virugambakkam Putra School in January 2010, Sai Baba Temple, Nagthammal temple in February 2011, Alwarpet Hanuman Temple in April 2011, Mylapore in January 2011 and Mantralayam in March 2011. They also performed twice in March 2011 for the Dasara Sahitya celebrations and Sahasra Deepalankarana Seva at Astana Mandapam, and the concerts were aired live on television.

Jayash and Manash Ramanathan had their arangetram in July 2011 at Tattvaloka Auditorium in T Nagar. They rendered all-time favourites such as Vatapi Ganapatim, Maanasa Guruguha and Annapoorne Visalakshi. This was followed by an excellent speech by chief guest and respected musician Sri Neyveli Santanagopalan. They were accompanied on the mridangam by Sri Neyveli Narayanan and on the Ghatam by Sri Trichy Krishnan.

One hopes these young stars will go far in their musical careers and enthral many listeners with their scintillating music.

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WORKSHOP ON DIKSHITAR'S NOTTUSWARAMS

Veenavaadhini conducted its annual summer workshop from May 27-29, 2011 in Chennai. The topic covered was Nottuswara Sahityams of Muthuswamy Dikshitar. All the 37 nottuswarams hitherto known were taught to about 15 enthusiastic participants. Smt Jaysri Jeyaraaj Krishnan conducted the course. Local newspapers Mylapore Times and The Hindu covered the event.