Mini season for TNS rasikas

Review of rasika_tns of the concerts of TNSeshagopalan



A mini season for TNS rasikas

A welcome off- season shower of music for the rasikas of TNSeshagopalan for four days! A shower is pleasant at any time that too if it rains honey and sugar! It was a feast for four days as in the marriages celebrated in olden days(nAlunAL kalyaNam)

Concert on24-2-2007at Hamsadvani

It was Dikshithar Day at Hamsadvani and there were all rasikas favourites featured in the concert. Sri Mahaganapathi in Goula was presented with beautiful svaras which was followed by Sankachakra in Poornachandika. Next was Anadhabhairavi with masterly strokes and proved to be a real anandha bhairavi as usual.The krti was 'Kamalamba samrakshathu mam ' one of the kamalamba navavarana.

TNS started Kumudakriya and while he was exploring the nuances of the raga the lights went off and so did the micraphone! This did not deterr TNS as his rasikas knew well, and he continued his heavenly alapana in the darkness and it was really an experience. There was pin-drop silence in the auditorium and the voice of TNS could be heard clearly because it is not mike-voice but mayakku- voice (with due apology to TNS for borrowing his own words) and there was loud applause when he finished.The current came only after he finished the krthi in Kumudakriya, Arddhanaareesvaaram and almost finished singing the next one also, Sri rajagopala in saveri.

Nagagandhari that followed was sparkling (lights came on then!) and he sang 'sarasijanabhasodhari.' Next was vasantha with the krthi "Hariharaputhram.' What followed next was the exotic feast of the day , the Brindavana saranga . There was real brindavanam with all the features described by Vedanttadesika in Yadhavabhyudhaya being present there, agaadhakaasaaram, deep lakes, maheenasashpam, thick vegetation, atheekshnasooryam, soft sun light, achandavaatham, pleasant wind etc.,abounding in all kinds of saranga,(Brindavane saarangaah), the bees, antelopes, lions and elephants, finally ending with the picture of the bow(Saranga) in the hands of Lord Soundararaja. Word fail me to describe the raga Brindavanasaranga expounded by TNS then.

Ambaneelayathakshi, another of the rasikas' favourites followed next and the main piece was Bharavi, Balagopala. The raga and the svara contained all the splendour as could be expected with TNS and the krthi had the extraordinary sweetness and beauty of neelaneeradha sarira of Lord Krishna.

The end piece was marked by 'anandhamrtha varshini ' and srivenkatagirisam in suruti and the concert ended with srikamalambike in sriragam.

The concert was a spectacular prism of three sangithakalanidhis,TNS,VR and MC.

Concert on 25-2-2007 at Mylapore Fine arts

The concert was arranged by YACD and TNS sang on the first day of their Tamiz isai festival.The speeches were going on and on making the everyone restless and the best and only relished speech was that of TNS in the end. He reiterated his stand that isai has no barriers of language or region. Thamiz isai , as defined by him, is tamizarin isai, tamizaraal valarkkappatta isai, which denotes carnatic music as a whole. The word Carnatic, he said means ancient and not belongng to any region.A good musician is one who touches the heart of the rasikas through his music irrespective of the sahithya which only adds to the flavour, only if, the musician has already established a rapport with his music.He said that he has been requested to sing Thyagaraja krthis even in the other states where the people do not understand the language and know only one word such as pakkala or evarani etc.He mentioned that when he went to Andhra he inadvertently started the Tamil composition 'ammaiyappa' which was well received inspite of the words not being understood. Similarly they asked him to sing 'kakkai cchiraginile' by saying only the word 'kakkai' TNS also said that there is no language present in raga alapana which is enjoyed by all as well as (if not more than) the song itself.This rasika cannot help feeling that such a comment on music is befitting and authentic coming from such a maestro of music as he is capable of producing navarasa with his raga alapana alone.

The concert started with the lyric of Subramania Bharathiar a viruttham,in beautifully expounded Nattai and the song 'ganapathi thaLai' in the same raga. Next was a composition of kavi kunjarabharathi, 'sami mayuragiri vadivela' in khamas. Poorvikalyani was the next raga which is one among the precious gems studded in the garland of TNS's music.It was delightul as usual and the thaniyans in praise of Andal, which usually he sings before any thiruppavai gave a clue as to what is following, that is 'koodarai vellum,'
the 27th thiruppavai.The thaniyan that begins with 'pathakangal theerkkum' which ends as 'kodhai thamiz ariyadha manidarai vaiyam sumappadhum vambu.' was delivered with gusto and expression that could be found only with TNS.

He adopted the technique of 'kondukootti' in that connecting the words as 'thamiz ariyadha, padhakangal theerkkum kodhai thamiz ,paramanadi kattum kodhai thamiz,vedam anaitthukkum vitthagum kodhaithamiz etc which emphasises the bhakthi aspect that cannot be dissociated from music and Thamiz, and the message is very clear.Besides, in the line 'Kodhai thamiz ariyaadha maanidarai vaiyam sumappadhum vambu,' TNS presented a vivid picture of the word 'sumappadhum' to show the burden on the earth by different inflexions in singing. The same technique in the pasuram also in singing the words 'paadipparaikonduYam peru sanmanam' and 'nadu pugazum parisil' reflected in the mind of rasikas the wide renown attained by TNS himself through sheer merit and the grace of the Lord through his nadhopasana(paadipparaikondu).

The next raga was sahana which was presented with its full grace and the composition of Vallalar 'thadittha or maganai thandhai aditthaal' in which the line 'aditthadhu podhum anaitthidal vendum' usually sung by TNS brings tears to the eyes of rasikas , and it was followed by 'Appa nAn vendudhal kettu' of Vallalar.The whole piece starting from the raga alapana till the end of the song was bhava-laden.

Then came the shower of manna. the most beautiful charu(thama)kesi.. I have heard charukesi by TNS few years ago in Meenakshi college and I cannot forget it even now But even if you hear the same raga two days in succession from TNS it still rings new and that is the charm of his versatality and indefatigable and incredible manodharma.TNS sang a Periazvar Pasuram, 'siruviralgal thadavipparimara,' one of the ten, describing the flute-playing of Krishna and the song by Ambujam Krishna 'Kuzalosai ketka manam vizaiyudhayya.' In brindavanasaranga of yesterday the rasikas had a mental picture of Brindaavanam and today it was an asthetically sensuous experience of it , a light and sound (oLiyum oliyum) presentation!

We saw the cows which forgot to move their ears by the words 'seviyaattakillaave,' and the sound of the flute of Govinda and of the accompanying melody of the cuckoo, all of which , depicted through expressive singing, became a direct experience. This was made into the main piece of the concert by the elaborate and fantastic raga alapana and exuberant svara, exuding expertise( the song was in jamba thala) and elegance. The rasikas were transported bodily to Brindavanam and witnessed the kuzlosai with all the paraphernalia. It was a divine charukesi , sung by a charu kesi, beautiful lion, of music on charu kesi, the Lord with beautiful locks who appeared ass a beautiful lion-Narasimha.

After a wonderful thani ( jambathala) bySrimushnam Raja rao and B.purushotthaman TNS sang the krthi 'Arabhimanam vaitthu' a raga malika with one line in each raga and svaras in the respective ragas.It goes without saying that TNS sang the different ragas with beautiful ragabhava,but in the end he sang kalpanasvaras in each raga with the raga name, in his own inimitable style, to the delight of the rasikas.

Next was the song of Mazavai Chidambara Bharathi, 'kanmaniye solladi' and TNS sang this in Kapi to the surprise of those who have heard this in saranga from GNB. But the kapi seemed to be the original raga and it is beautifully suited to the mood of the song and it was a new and exhilerating experience to hear TNS singing it., especially in the end when he sang the words 'kanmaiye' in different bhavas.

The last but not least before thillana was the thirppugaz 'erumayileri,' where TNS changed the gati alternatively from tisra to ganta and vice versa in each line. It was a cherry of the cake.The concert came to an end with the niroshta thillana of TNS.


Concert on 26-1-2007 at Ananthapadmanabhswamo koil, Adyar

The concert started with the Thyagaraja krthi 'aparadhmula' in Rasali, followed by 'sadhinchane' in arabhi.Next was the raga panthuvarali which is always a treat for the rasikas with the krthi 'sarasaksha' of swathithirunal. The svara singing at 'bhamini samudhaya' was taken up by both TNS and TNS Krishna, which is always a rich repast to the rasikas.

Then came the dvajarohana of the day, the dvijavanthi, which was really dvajavanthi, adorned with flag,hoisted by gaayakadhvaja, (the first and foremost among musicians), sporting a colourful flag, painted with masterful strokes.The krthi that followed was of course as it could be expected on the occasion, 'chetasri balakrishnam' of dikshithar.

Next was a quick rendering of the Thyagaraja krthi, 'ganamurthe,' and then the main raga of the day proved to be Kalyani., followed by the krthi, 'pankaja lochana,' of swathithirunal, as could be anticipated. The neraval and svara at 'sundarathararupa,' was verily what one could experience only from TNS and kept the audience spell bound inspite of the disturbances around. After that, the Lord Padmanabha who started out on His procession before the concert decided to comeback to listen to TNS and there was a lot of commosion outside and the concert ended soon afterwards with TNS singing 'bajare yadhunatham' and a thillana in kamas.TNS was accompanied by VVRavi on violin and Trichur Narendran on Mridangam.


concert on 27-2-2007 at Nayaki -kotturpuram

It was a marvellous concert and everyone of the pieces TNS sang was a gem.This was the apex of the mini season.

TNS started the concert with 'mayatheetha svarupini' in mayamalavagoula His acumen was seen in splitting the word mayatheetha as maya +atheetha. All the songs selected were those not frequently heard in his concerts.

The next one was the dharuvarnam of Mutthiah bhagavathar 'madhe malaydvaja' in kamas preceded by raga alapana of kamas. The kamas of TNS is always sukhamas,. The varnam was sung with pleasant and mellifluous .tonal inflexion, sukhamaana kamas.

Brovabharama in bahudharai which followed was sparkling like a lightning, fast and bright, with the racy svaras.

The concert today reminded one of a Tanjore painting of sangithadevatha, with the cloth being prepared with slow and soft Mayamaklavagoula and the drawing done by the kamas varnam. Bahudhari served as the sparkling semi precious stones that are used to decorate the drawing.

The main part of the painting was however done with the Hemavathi that followed. That is, the applying of gold foils over the image. The raga alapana was like melting gold and making it into foils. The shining gold (kanthimathee) was carefully laid on the portrait
and the deity shone with hiranyamanimayashobha, with the stones chiselled out by the master chiseller, sulakshana gana vichakshana thakshah and who added splendour by colouring( raga) the portrait.

Then the scene changed to set the stage for another chiseller, the one who created the Universe. Rasikas were treated with a presence of the Lord Krishna with His bewitching smile, when TNS started the song of Ambujam Krishna, 'Punnagai onre podhume' in Hamsanandi. This raga is one of the various gems that adorn the crown of glory of TNS and in this song rasikas could visualise the Lord descending , flying and walking to redress the harm done to his devotees. TNS sang the lines irangi ninrai , parandhu senrai and nadandhu senrai etc, and it was an illustration of his extraoordinary power in creating visual experience through his music. Words fail me to describe the effect that was produced and it could only be experienced. 'eelaagani vivarimpalenu tsalasvanubhavavedhyame,' to quote Thyagaraja which is the best I could do.

The next krthi was 'ramachandra needhaya' in suruti of Thyagraja as though in reaction to the mercy of the Lord,depicted in the previous song, in bhaktha paripalana. This krthi was presented in a manner that it was exuding of karunarasa.

There was a sudden change in the atmostphere perhaps to welcome the Nayaki that was arriving later, when TNS started the thodi composition of Papanasam Sivan, 'thanigai ivalar saravanabha.' I told my friend who is hearing it for the first time to watch out for the playful dance of the peacock and sure it came in the charanam,'thulli vilaiyadi varum thogai mayil mele.' If one could coin the term 'visual music,' it is what we experience when TNS sings.

After a short and sweet interlude, 'entha muddho,' the bindumalini krthi of Thyagaraja, it was the grand entrance of Nayaki, which was the nayakamani of the diadem of music presented by the Gayakasikhamani. The seasoned rasikas of TNS were awaiting for the raga as we knew that it would come as the performance was at Nayaki, Kotturpuram. But what came as a surprise was that it was rendered as RTP! And what a Nayaki it was! No wonder it was Sriranganayaki who featured in the pallavi, as nothing short of the portrait of the thAyar of Srirangam would have justified such a delineation of the raga. It is also interesting to note that this was the only RTP of this mini season. It was extraordinary to do so in such a raga like Nayaki as RTP for anyone else except TNS, for whom it is ordinary; as he has sung even minor ragas like Desh as RTP in the past.The raga was presented in all its nuances and entering the heart coursing through the veins it produced a warmth despite the chilling AC of the auditorium!The svaraprasthara was in ragamalika. comprising of nayaki, revathi,begada ahiri and the svaras in these ragas were in accordance with the main raga, melodious and gamaka oriented. Of course the svaras become impressive and expressive when sung by TNS and this was no exception.

The end part of the comcert considted of the dasaranama in behag, 'narajanmabhandhaga,' and the thiruppugaz 'alliviziyalum amd thillana in bilahari.

Thus ended the miniseason for TNS rasikas who left feeling un kuralosai ketka manam vizaiyudhayya.