Nageswaran, I am very happy you have become a very active member of the forum. Are you from Bangalore? gobilalitha

Gopilalithaji,

Thank you for your encouraging words. I reside at Chennai and visit Bangalore often to be with my first son MR.N.karthik. He resides at J P NAGAR sixth phase.

Regarding being an active member. Perhaps "a new broom sweeps well" proves the proverb to be true. (To be taken in the lighter sense).

However, having listened Carnatic music for nearly 5 decades as a True Rasika of music, I have assimilated lot of information about music, made friends with musicians, and having a friends' circle of many leanered, simple, helpful gentlemen like Coolji. Perhaps my brain is full and wanted to discharge the many good things stored in my memory. It is also a sort of "Malarum Ninaivugal"

..

I was just enjoying an RTP of Madurai Somu in dharmavati from Sangeethapriya. During the alapana there is another singer, a student possibly, accompanying him with a very good voice. I wonder if anyone could identify the 2nd singer? There is an endearing moment where Somu touches the tara sthayi dhaivata and remarks to his student "try your level best"!

http://sangeethapriya.org/Downloads/somu/mccsm/10_rtp_dharmavati.mp3

sri.Kazhugumalai Kandasami used to give vocal support to SOMU in kutcheris , probably you might have heard him gobilalitha

Dear Rasikas, inviting you to a 1975 Concert of Madurai Somu with M. Chandrasekharan-Guravayur Dorai-MAK Murthy-H.P. Ramachar-Nagaratnam posted on http://chowdaiahandparvati.blogspot.com/.

In many places in our narration, in various posts, we have been introducing hyperlinks to many famous landmarks and people (example Maharaja's college in the current one narrated by M.V. Krishnaswamy one of its great Alumnis) all of which surrounded where "Parvati" once stood and all of which made Mysore such a great seat of culture and learning. The city which once blossomed under the Wodeyar Maharajas was a city of tranquility, peace and grace all of which is disappearing fast and we are not sure of what it is being replaced with, today. We are hoping that through the music, words and historical accounts of some of these men and women who brought happiness through their art, we can still get a semblance of that era. So, please do read some of the links.

Dear Rasikas,
It is our pleasure to invite you all again to a "Parvathi" concert of April 5, 1971 with Vidwans Lalgudi Jayaraman on Violin , Palghat Raghu - Mridangam and H.P.Ramachar - Khanjira.
http://chowdaiahandparvati.blogspot.com/

Thank you.

cpblog
Thanks for all your efforts .
Long Long ago I had mentioned in rasikas about my spending a summer with my aunt in of the rooms in Chowdiahs bungalow.The rooms built for his disciples . Then after a couple of years when I visited Mysore , my friend Dr Narahari took me there by surprise ( He had remembered the postings ) and asked me if I knew that place . And believe me , I was so distraught !!
Memories came flooding in. A young Ambareesh would ask me if I would like a ride in an old car parked in that garage . How little I knew about its owner ! That car would not start by itself . The gate would have to be opened and the car rolled down in neutral gear .but that momentum would not suffice . It would now roll on the main road , down right upto Ballal(?) Hotel and only at the bottom of the road would it have enough strength to kick itself to life . I watched movies at some Gayathri theatre or sat and watched Tennis matches being played in a nearby club .
So I can understand the pain in your words . But isnt it the pain in you bringing out such a lovely site which is a work of art in itself . Keep on and May you have the strength to do the utmost .
Oh ! Boy what a bathroom that bungalow had ! Huge pots ( Handey , we call it ) And the never ending baths . I could bathe my entire street in Nungambakkam today with the water I used for myself . Those bansuris to keep the fires underneath going .
Those kings had some style. One must acknowledge. If their Court Musicians could live that way . And what a garden too.
Memories . Memories.
http://www.mediafire.com/?s6s2npj5692jqcp
I am full of Chowdiah Today . Please rename this track as Manakkal - TC - Madurai Krishna Iyengar instead of GNB-TC

Listening to the power behind Manakkals voice , I cant help wondering about the ravages of time

Dear Sri "mankuthimma"('avare') or should we say Respected Sri Coolji?

(1) We have not understood the cause of the morphing in your names, but how can one forget the vignette of your earlier posting on your visit to T. Chowdiah's house (such a rare treat).

(2) Just as a record to all the Rasikas here, the house "Parvathi" that we talk of with music and pictures was the late house of the late Sri K. Puttu Rao and not T.Chowdiah's house. We are only offering a form of 'Tarpanam' to its spirit, through our blog pages. Because of Sri. K. Puttu Rao's fanatic devotion to Carnatic music (besides his other love for law where he became one of Mysuru City's most astute defense lawyers), he and T.Chowdiah became very close and respectful friends. Sri. Puttu Rao was also very munificent where music was concerned and he helped T.Chowdiah start the Ayyanar School of Music. They also shared a common platform in their love for the Bidarama Krishnappa Rama Mandiram in Mysore (You will see the inner beauty of this institution in some beautiful pictures posted on the Internet; Rasikas must also thank Prof. V. Ramarathnam's struggle in later years to raise funds and to restore its once pristine beauty). Having grown up in a house which was home to many of the great doyen's of CM, the father's mantle passed on to the son Sri. K. Srikantiah who drove his passion to the hilt. T. Chowdiah remained a steadfast friend to the family of the house of "Parvathi" till his last breath and the family repaid him with tributes in his honor.

(3) "I am full of Chowdiah Today ". Yes, Sir, we respect those sentiments and we have heard from many an elder from those times tell us that amidst all the crowd noise at Tiruvayyaru, there used to be an anticipatory hush and awe to Chowdiah's name and his majestic stride into the platform followed by thunderous claps as he would draw the very first bow to his 'Gandiva', whose instant effect was almost like an electric current passing through. Many a Vidwan who would accept to perform in Mysore, Coimbatore etc.would arrange their calendars according to Sri T.Chowdiah's availability. He was considered by every one of the great vocalists of his times as a true "Pakkavadhya Chakravarthi" [ Rasikas may also refer to Sri Arasi's comments, Sri. Coolji's many comments and those of others in the forums about TC].

(4) We are not sure what you mean here? We have no clue about this loading:
"http://www.mediafire.com/?s6s2npj5692jqcp Please rename this track as Manakkal - TC - Madurai Krishna Iyengar instead of GNB-TC"

(5) Finally, Moderator? We are talking Chowdiah in a Somu forum! If inappropriate, please feel to transfer this post or advise us.

Respectfully,
- CPBlog Team
(in USA, India, Singapore, Australia)

CPBlog team
1. Reducing myself to a humble Zero , bit by bit . In any case I no longer stay cool on most of the subjects these days .
Nothing more to the new name .
4.Reading about "we can still get a semblance of that era" I just got carried away by another rare moment with Chowdiah - initially I labelled the track as GNB and later had to modify it , correctly , as Manakkal Rangarjan. Since the tag would continue to show GNB , I thought I should let others know.
5.Yes I agree . These TC related posts can be moved to the Chowdiah thread .
on Second thoughts , Let it stay here . Manakkal and Somu were such great friends.

We shall remain inspired by your efforts to preserve this very rich heritage . Thank you so much.

Shri Raju Asokan has a wonderful collection of Shri Somu's renderings at this link:

http://www.esnips.com/web/MaduraiSomu

perhaps covering the entire renderings of Shri Somu.

venkatakailasam

This was wonderful....Chowdiah and Manakkal

ah ah! those kalpanaswaras-really the best. That galloping effect........
Thank you

'E'-SWARA-001-Madurai Shri. Somu-O rama entha ruchira-ppoorvi kalyani.flv

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksDmif4Wnh8

venkatakailasam

http://www.mediafire.com/?cq6j1ykk6clr5cb

Venktakailasam
Request you to use this track for mixing and reupload . reethigowla... if you are reading this , this can work as a balm for you .

mankuthimma sir,
Just a friendly reminder - you promised me more dhanyAsi and if it could be Somu's dhanyAsi, please!

mankuthimma - Thanks for sharing O rAma nI nAmam - class act.

"Request you to use this track for mixing and reupload . reethigowla... if you are reading this , this can work as a balm for you "

mankuthimma Sir,

I am having this with me. As somebody has posted this I, I have not attempted! I will do Mixing to this shortly.
No doubt this will be a balm to us all-rendered so well by Madurai Somu.

venkatakailasam

thanks
Real video of somu singing this song . Towards the end of his life , but a very forceful picture of what the man was.

http://www.mediafire.com/?y4aijxb4bbrct
not for the faint hearted Somu fan

Sri Venkatakailasam
I think you should mix for 'enna kavi padinalum' too. The rendering accompanied by Lalgudi !

The musical downpour of Vidwan Madurai Somu in "Parvathi", Mysore as recorded on April 11, 1973
with Vidwans Kazhugumalai Kandaswamy (Vocal Support), Lalgudi Jayaraman (Violin), Palghat Raghu (Mridangam)
and Vinayakram (Ghatam).

While this concert is vigorous and the audio effects excellent, it was recorded literally in pouring rain and and in places the music is terminated as the tape could not be restored.

But, please welcome to http://chowdaiahandparvati.blogspot.com/

Muruganai ninaindhu-Ragamalika...


composer..not known....radio recording...

rendered by Madurai Shri Somasundaram.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nrbv5-cHVSU

composed by Anaiyambatti Adisesha Iyer

Thank you...sir..

correction it is in raga- Shanmugapriya