Being a music lover decided to go to concert of TMKrishna accompanied by RKShriramkumar violin,MannargudiEaswaran mridangam and KVGopalakrishnan Kanjira.on the occasion of 119th birth anniversary celebration of PapanasamsivanRasikarSangam held at NaradaganaSabha main Hall on 26th sept 2009.
The programme started late as the birudu ceremony of Sri MKChandrasekaran and prize distribution ceremony programme overstretched. Heard the prayer song sung by Kum Aishwarya Shankar ( Narayana sama adi ) which was well rendered by this teenager from Kolkata : I understand she is a disciple of Indra Ranganathan and presently from Smt SugunaVaradachari. She gave a good start to the ceremony and her song was well appreciated by all members present on dias and hall. She also bagged the EAV Narayani ammal Tambura prize this year.

TMKrishna started his kutcheri with 1st song of Sri Papanasam sivan " Unnai Thuthikka in Kuntalavarali set to adi tala. The kalpana swaras which followed was really like brilliant showers of rain.

Next he sang Kaa Vaa Vaa in Varali adi . There was a slight slip instead of charanam he once again started with anupallavi but quickly corrected himself. Nevetheless the song was well rendered with full voice modulation and control.

Next to follow was a brief alapana of devagandhari followed by Sharade in adi

Sri Janakipate in karaharapriya set to adi was in medium tempo and the kalpanaswaras at pallavi was really an aural treat.

The alapana of nattakurinji was the crowning glory for this concert. It was well rendered and explored to the full extent possible. However surprise again !!! The main item was a Pada varnam " swami naan undan adimai" in adi. The neraval was done at edukadapallavi and its charanam sahityas which was different than the usual concert padhathi. It was similar to a dance performance giving the varnam the prime place. I hope in future this shall be TMK's style of concert singing. Nevertheless Krishna and his accompanists kept the audience spell bound with their performance.

Saravanabhava in Shanmugapriya was really sung in fast tempo and it really reminded me of Sri Semmangudi mama.

Kaana Vendamo in Sriranjani was next. This was sung keeping in mind the sahitya bhava at a slower pace than usual but sounded good.

Finally he sang "" Vazhiya SentamizH'' and finished the concert.

To conclude a brilliant concert of Sivan compositions by TMK ably supported by veterans and this concert shall remain in my memories forever.

oh varNam again. i heard that he sang kambodhi atta tala varnam as main in navaratri mantapam concert on 21st.

Natakurinji main should have been a treat!

Perhaps this is one way of attention seeking trying to do things different from conventional norms.
The standard practice in the navarathri mandapam concert is to sing the navarathri kriti for that day with an elaborate ragam, thanam, nereval and swaras. It is probably the first time and the first musician to break the norm/tradition, if what is stated is correct.
All in the name of innovation

It is only time that TMk takes mangalam for a main piece and end the show.

Dear musicfan_4201

Just a clarification

TMK did not sing the varnam as the main piece at navarathri mandapam. He, in fact, did sing the navarathri krti Devi Pavane in Saveri with an elaborate ragam thanam neraval and svaram as you have mentioned. He sang the Kambojhi ata thala varnam as the sub main.

Rithvik

TMK in his concerts at Unntai clarified the points that you have raised where he sang Viriboni varnam as main. Trying to do things different from conventional is not his way of innovating. He is trying to give importance to varnam by singing as the main piece.

If Ariyakudi Iyengarval was listening to this stuff from heavens above. One can not imagine what would be his reaction to such innovations.......!!!!!!!

why does a composer write (compose) anubandham for a varnam or any prabandham ? great scholar ra satyanarayaNa sir says anubandham in viriboni is written so as to give completeness in lyrical context but musicians have left it as it obstructs the flow.. does shri krishna said anything about it. i left that concert after that brilliant tani by harikumar

I 'imagine' that he would empathise with TMK having probably faced the same problems himself.
Lets not pass judgment on what tmk has done...especially if we havent attended the concert.
@musicfan_4201 the varnam was not composed with the intent of being a concert opener. This is a modern trend if anything, mangalam is exactly what the name suggests and has always been at the end of the concert.

Amen Rasika911 !!!

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Couple of points here .... MDR is on record about "Nee Nama Roopa Mulaku" that it is a complete kriti of the saint, for which alapana and swara prasthara also can be done! He himself has sung a reasonably elaborate alapana for this, albeit at the end of the concert.

Also, Pt Jasraj almost always BEGINS his concerts with the sloka "Mangalam Bhagavan Vishnu, Mangalam Garudadhwaja" ... so the position of the Mangalam is reversed.

A funny take on commencing with the Mangalam is given by Nagesh in a movie whose name I forget ... he does a harikatha in the movie, and commences with the Mangalam ... when asked why, he says "the elders have said that all tasks should be commenced with 'mangala karam', and anyway I am not sure if I will be able to finish the harikatha, so let me get the mangalam out of the way"

Javali at the beginning, Varnam in the middle and RTP at the end is like dictionary the only book that has climax in the beginning, end in the middle and preface at the end. Just for fun please!

On the one hand, we are 'so used' to certain things that we resent anything which happens to be different. Understood. Then again, changes in patterns, in life and art do happen and should happen. Those who make the changes are supposed to have deliberated over this, be convinced that the change works towards growth (progression). Even then, some work, some don't.
They better be good innovations. Again, how do we decide that? By our rasikatvam which again is a slippery thing because tastes differ, dependent on the rasikA's preferences, background, personality
Tradition is the strongest element here. As usual, food comes in handy for this. In a feast, food is served in a particular order. Which order? Depends on the tradition of the host. Rice first or all accompaniments first, after that spoonful of sugar at the head of the banana leaf?
Just because a few lines were lifted out of a song and traditionally made it as a finale feature, a song does not lose its existence. So, MDR was spot on. Personally, I do miss the prahlAda nAradAdi as that also was sung in a mangalam.
As Jasraj sings of mangalam at the beginning of a concert, it takes the place of an invocation. Is it merely the word mangalam that we are stuck with? In the forties and fifties, Suddhananda Bharathi's aruL purivAi karuNaik kaDalE was a popular invocation song. tangulagengilum mangalam pongavE is how the song ends.
Trees make woods. Woods contain individual trees. The point is, are we counting the trees or do we enjoy being in the woods? Of course, I am thinking of a walk in inspiring woods rather than the one which has a sign saying: this way to the woods, and there really isn't anything to take a walk in. I am trying to say, the newness better be something which makes sense and better still, takes CM forward...

Like Pt Jasraj, dancers from the vazhuvUr school (and some others as well) begin with a tODaya mangaLam (roughly translated as toDakka mangaLam - mangaLam at the beginning) - regardless of where it is placed, a mangaLam is something through which the artist explicitly seeks divine blessings and auspiciousness - so, technically it can be placed at either end. A pet peeve of mine is why only the mangaLam of prahlAda bhakti vijayam is considered as THE mangaLam. I love the one from naukA caritamu, the mangaLam of Sri dIkshitar's (vasantA), the gorgeous one of Bhadrachala Sri Ramadasa's, as well as Sri Annamacharya's.

Personally, for me a varNam can be an opener, or, can be a fully-fleshed out center piece (a la the pada varNams in a mArgam).

Ariyakudi laid down the format for a concert and audiences liked it. All artists adopted the same since the audience liked it. We are creatures of habit and we still like the same format.
Think of the artist's mind for a second. It is a very creative mind, thinking of creating something aesthetic, something new, something different all the time. Some ideas may be big hits. Some are not. We need the ideas. That is how a system evolves over time and keeps up with times. When Ariyakudi laid down the concert format, there must have been people at that time who loved the old formats and didn't appreciate the idea. But we all like the format now.
I am personally not ready for a varnam as a sub-main/main item because I am conditioned to listen to it in the beginning. In fact, even if someone skips a varnam and starts off with a Ganesha kriti, I am not very thrilled. I might change my mind if I listen to a live TMK concert...I don't know. TMK's varnam idea may not be a hit, but some other idea might work very well. Whether I like the idea or not, I appreciate the artist for being gutsy when he/she tries something new like that.

I have a question....what is edukadapallavi?

There is 'etthukkaDai swaram' -I know; may be the sAhityam preceding is is 'etthukkaDai' pallavi?

TMK has now made varnam singing at the middle as his style, innovation or whatever. Fine
one can accept as his forte. Unfortunately he doesnt seem to stop here. But by singing javali's in the begining, heavy kritis (like Chekkani Raja EnthaNinne etc) as openers he is only defacing the concert format. One cannot compare this what Ariyakudi did. Ariyakudi evovled a completely new model of concert format which completly differed from what was then prevailing way of concert. That's indeed innovation.
To repeat what I said in an earlier thread on a similar topic, if people think they can sing whatever
whereever and howsoever, that will only lead to chaos and destroy the structure of concert pattern.
If TMK wants change or show his innovative skills he should build a new structure and put to use
in his concerts. If that really works it will gain credence on its own accord. But mindless tampering of
time tested and widely accepted concert format in the name of innovation is only high
headedness.

I dont understand :S

What I meant was that the swarams occuring in the uttarAngam( 2nd half of the varnam) are called etthukkaDai swarams; the sAhityam preceding them is the caraNam; probably that is what is being referred to as the etthukkaDai pallavi.

Oh okay, now i understand...thanks

Purist I agree with what you say and in an interview with The Hindu sponsored by Sampardaya R.K.Srikantan Sir specifically mentioning TMK said that a varnam by definition has to be sung at the begining of the concert and not in the middle of the concert .I hope he takes note of such advice.It would be wonderful to see him sing the mangalam first so that no one need sit thru .... Bye Ragjay

RKS said it is not sampradayam to sing it at the start.
Have ther been other artists who have sung varnam in the middle of the concert?
I know TNS and Sanjay have tried it anyone else?