The day I was reborn...

Nattai,Saaveri,Thodi,Kalyani,Brindavana Saranga,Revati.....

...from the depths of my brain,someone called out these names in a jiffy..I searched around,wondering to myself, "Who are these people ?", "What business do I have with them ?", "Why do these names sound familiar ?" etc etc.The lights shone bright in the college auditorium,the summer breeze was fresh,dusk was just setting in,the huge open compound surrounding the college was slowly filling in with people, the evening was just about to begin...

...Iyer maami in an orange kancheevaram saree...recording thatha with his usual paraphernalia(some of my readers would know what this means!)...handsome guy in jeans who I met at a gathering last year...little girl with her mom and grandma....
...from the depths of my brain,I could recollect familiar faces,faces spanning over a decade,people who had put on weight,grown older,wiser,taller....

Tha Dhi Thom Nam...Tha Tha Dhi Dhi Nam Nam... Sa-Pa-Sa-Pa-Sa-Pa-Sa...
...from the depths of my brain, faint memories resonate with these primordial tunes of nature,of the decades of music that I have lived in,of a bygone era which I know only through these very tunes,of another life(perhaps in a previous birth),of something in the past that I cannot quite explain,nevertheless connect me to SOMEONE SOMEWHERE for an eternity!

The vocalist clears his voice,the violinist sets his shruti,the percussionists are ready, the tambura drones..Ga Ma Pa Ni Saa Ni Pa Ma Gaa Riiiii... "Nada" resounds from all over,I close my eyes..I can see a clear blue river,pure and pristine,paddy fields around it,scorching sun,bullock-carts,a sandy river-bed where stands a temple gopuram ,a man nearly 500 years old seated at the shrine,holding a tambura and singing 'Jagadaananda Kaaraka'...

from the depths of my eyes,tears flow...

Uncontrollable at first until the "newly-moved-to-London-excited-about-new-job" me takes over ,I return back to my composed self,determined more than ever to enjoy every minute I have in today's Carnatic concert by Sangita Kalanidhi T V Shankarnarayanan and party! Today,I vowed not to be furious over some things,like the kid who is being so noisy that I cannot possibly figure out between Darbar and Nayaki,or the lady to my side who is chatting away( read that as bitching about her daughter-in-law!) to a friend or that noisy bloke on the street who honks while the artiste is singing a beautiful neraval.. Today I figured where the noise lay-for all these years,it lay in my mind!! And I vowed not to be bothered,not now,not forever! I vowed to sit back,relax and enjoy the flight!!

As many of you,my dear readers, are aware, I have recently gone through a career change and for the last few months, I have been so busy that music has been completly neglected. The neglect is a one hundred percent from my side, especially in the last 2 months, when I was looking for jobs in London. I was determined to do my best in the job hunt and hence had abandoned any thoughts of being associated with music in any form until I get a new job. (Music is a distraction for me,it is my biggest weakness perhaps!) I am happy to announce that the ordeal is over, I have gotten a new job and am back now to what I love best.. CARNATIC MUSIC!!! And am in Bangalore for two weeks before I start my new life in London...

Today was officially my first association with a music concert after this horifying gap and it came in the form of a TV Shankarnarayanan Kutcheri in Seshadripuram for Ramnavami. What a start! Before I get back to London, I have a couple of weeks to spare in Bangalore and I could not thank Lord Sree Rama for bringing me over for his birthday party!! Now I understand why the job offer took over a month although the interviews got over very early,in retrospect,the timing was perfect! I was destined to be in Bangalore at this time,this week,this day... The Lord is my Shepherd, hahahaha...

Coming to the facts of the concert,it was brilliant as always. TVS is a vidwan who has enormous energy, his swarams, voice modulation and choice of ragas was excellent.
He brought in his son, the young and talented Shankar Mahadevan to sing at the sabha for the first time and I must say, the lad has a great futue! With a staunch classical voice,sampradayam and diction like his, the boy could give Sanjay a run for his money,perhaps!! ( Not quite :) :) but close)

On the mridangam was Sri Rajakesari and on the ghatam was Sri M A Krishnaswamy,both very good support and superb coordination during the thani. Though, I must say,the mridangam could have been slightly more loud,it seemed very faint and tiring at times.

If you put all the carnatic musicians on one scale of a balance and Sri Mysore Nagaraj on the other, you know what am talking about..Such a brilliant musician,what a style and what a tradition!! The superb sangatis of Thodi and Ravichandrika made a fashion statement!!

I would like to give a run-down on the concert list here..

Gajanana yutham followed by Pranathosmi - Nattai
Baarayya Venkataramana - Saaveri ( Swarams with nice finishing touches that brought out Saaveri raga completly)
Makelaraa Vicharamu - Ravichandrika ( Aalap,Swaram)
Yenduku Dayaraadhu Ra - Thodi ( Alap, Neraval)
Yetavunnaraa - Kalyani ( Alap,Neraval,Swaram and Thani - alap sung by Shankar Mahadevan)
Viruttam - Petravlum Nee in Brindavana Saranga with a brilliant rendition of Kaliyuga Varadhan (somewhere in the banks of Yamuna,I can hear this raga now!!)
Tirupati vasa Venkatesha - Hamsanandi
A viruttam in Revati cant figure out which one followed by a short ragamalika and
Rama Rama Yenniro
Mangalam

I WAS REBORN TODAY....I WAS REBORN TODAY... I WAS REBORN TODAY....


At the feet of master..at the feet of my guru
-Rekha