RAmnAd pUchi srInivAsa ayyangAr

Carnatic composers (other than performing vidwans)
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keerthi
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Post by keerthi »

Champion composer, student of PatnAM Subrahmanyayyar, teacher of ariyakkudi..

genius VAggeyakAra, he has invested each krti with a special new vision, 'darshana' of the rAga..

1. His kAnaDa varNam, nera nammiti, is the viribhONi of kAnaDa..
2. srI-raghukula-nidhim is a grammar of huseni, exuding sweetness and fragrance and mellow radiance..
3. energetic quickies like the dEvamanOhari 'nIkElanA' and the sAranga 'Rama ninne nammithini'..
4. the kEdAragaula masterpiece, 'Saraguna pAlimpa' which is an auditory painting, a virtual landscape with so many layers..
5. the lovely tillAnas in paras and yadukulakAmbOdi..


I resist the temptation to write more, for fear of this turning into a monologue..

I think he hasn't been discussed here so far ..

arasi
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Post by arasi »

You said it so beautifully!
And Sri venkatESam! A tODi incomparable!
Apart from hearing it from AriyakkuDi and his students, I can never forget listening to it sung by PUci's other chEla Namakkal Seshaiyyangar sing it so beautifully in his house in pazhaiya MAmbalam. I was ten, may be? We were standing in the hall, and I don't remember how it came about, and he burst into the song, even the madhyama kAlam sung slowly, with such sukham, after ALL these years, I hear him, and every time I hear it in a good concert, I melt...

ragam-talam
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Post by ragam-talam »

keerthi, better late than never. thanks for this thread.
Ariyakudi used to sing a Poochi classic, Parthasarathi in Madhyamavati.

A list of Poochi's kritis is here: http://www.karnatik.com/co1043.shtml

arasi
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Post by arasi »

ragam_talam,
I did not see Namakkal Seshaiyyangar's name among pUcci's students in that link! How little do we know of many worthy vidvAns in the history of CM! Interestingly, we do have a record of the song pArtasArathE by his student VVSadagopan...
Last edited by arasi on 09 Jul 2009, 02:43, edited 1 time in total.

ragam-talam
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Post by ragam-talam »

Interestingly, we do have a record of the song pArtasArathE by his student VVSadagopan...
Really? Do you have this recording? Or does anyone else? It's a masterpiece.

prashant
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Post by prashant »

keerthi wrote: 2. srI-raghukula-nidhim is a grammar of huseni, exuding sweetness and fragrance and mellow radiance..
One of the all-time greats in husEni, with an incredible CiTTaswara teaching the student every relevant piDi in this rAgA. It's a pity that this song is pretty much extinct on the concert stage now.

He also excelled in Anandabhairavi - 'sadbhaktiyu galga jEsi' and the varNam 'rA rA sami' are both great songs. The varNam especially is very sweet.

shri venkaTESam, as arasi mentioned, is a must in every musician's tODi repertoire. 'mAra janakam mAdhava nAmakam' is one of the classic niraval lines...

Other great compositions: anudinamunu, a definitive bEgaDA which MSS and Nedunuri explored in great detail, KVN's favorite sAmaja varadA nIku in suddhasAvEri, marulukonnAdirA which KVN used to sing so soulfully, nijamugA rAmA, a deep kIravANi which Smt. Vedavalli sings very beautifully, veganIvu, a Voleti favorite, and let us not forget one of the cornerstones of pUrvikalyANi, parama pAvana rAmA.

Looking at the list of compositions, there appear to be many in rare(r) rAgAs: nArAyaNagauLa, saraswatimanOhari, naTabhairavi, saurASTra etc. Wish some of today's front-line artistes would pick them up and render them in concerts...
Last edited by prashant on 09 Jul 2009, 13:39, edited 1 time in total.

arasi
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Post by arasi »

Prashant,
Just like you to bring in an exhaustive list and explain the beauty of the krutis! Not that I know much (as you do at this young age), but I am reminded of some of what you aptly point out as highlights in some of the krutis. How did anudinamu escape me? I was lucky enough to learn it from Sankara Sivam!

r_t,
Hope someone on the forum would oblige us with that enta vEDukontu. The old link that padren had kindly posted is no more there.

knandago2001
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Post by knandago2001 »

An interesting profile on Srinivasa Iyengar by V Sriram
http://archives.chennaionline.com/enter ... poochi.asp

Radhika-Rajnarayan
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Post by Radhika-Rajnarayan »

There are these 2 delightful kritis of 'Poochi' Ramanathapuram Srinivasa Iyengar - a lovely one in Megharanjani ( janya of 15th MEla Mayamalavagoula, Arohana - sa-sri- ga-ma- ni sa, avarohana - sa-ni-ma-ga-ri-sa), called 'Karunito kaapadu', and a 'rollicking' brisk one, in Saranga ( I call it a delicious jilebi of a piece - it literally goes round and round like a jilebi), called 'Rama ninne nammiti'.

http://www.mediafire.com/file/0nzimu0yynn/06-Rama ninne nammiti-Saranga.mp3

This is a link to a vocal rendition of the item - the vocalist is my son Dev Rajnarayan, and this was at the small private 'arangetram' we organised in Bangalore in the year 2000 - he was 19 then. Just a small note - he strated the item at a speed which I was afraid he wouldn't be able to manage the chittaswaram - but he did!
It's a lovely 'intermediate' or even 'early' piece for a concert.

keerthi
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Post by keerthi »

prashant wrote: He also excellent in Anandabhairavi - 'sadbhaktiyu galga jEsi' and the varNam 'rA rA sami' are both great songs. The varNam especially is very sweet.
who sings this varNam..? is there a living pathAntara..?

prashant wrote:Other great compositions: a marulukonnAdirA which KVN used to sing so soulfully, nijamukha rAmA, a deep kIravANi which Smt. Vedavalli sings very beautifully, veganIvu, a Voleti favorite, and let us not forget one of the cornerstones of pUrvikalyANi, parama pAvana rAmA.
Absolutely.. and nirupamAna and kommarO and sarasamulAdE.. and mariyada teliyaka nE..

NijamugA rAma is an incredibly good piece.. deserves to be sung more often..

paramapAvana.. I heard R.K.srIkanTan sing it once, and thinking of it gives me gooseflesh (the good, happy kind!).. whAt good sAhityaM.. what an original tune.. What a chittaswaraM..!
prashant wrote:Looking at the list of compositions, there appear to be many in rare(r) rAgAs: nArAyaNagauLa, saraswatimanOhari, naTabhairavi, saurASTra etc. Wish some of today's front-line artistes would pick them up and render them in concerts...
I remember seeing a list of LP-s and there is one with salem chellam IyengAr, RSI's pra-shishya singing the naTabhairavi piece..

I think Prof. SRJ sings the mEgharanji piece KaruNatODu.. About which vAsudEvAcharya has an interesting anecdote..

The versatile RSI has composed a kAvadicchindu, a thOdi krti to commemorate the coronation of George V - satatamu brovumayya cakravartini..

He created Suraranjani along the lines of his guru's KathanakutUhalam.. Veena DoreswamayyangAr played this one often.. And AriyakkuDi?/ B.rAjaM composed a lakSaNa gItam in this rAga on pUchi ayyangAr..

Sadguru swAmiki is a lovely tribute to tyAgayya in a rAga he reveled in..

KVN sang his kAnaDa, pUrNacandrika and paras tillana-s often..

knandago2001
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Post by knandago2001 »

isn't mariyada teliyakane a javali attributed to Patnam?

gmohan
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Post by gmohan »

arasi wrote:Prashant,
Just like you to bring in an exhaustive list and explain the beauty of the krutis! Not that I know much (as you do at this young age), but I am reminded of some of what you aptly point out as highlights in some of the krutis. How did anudinamu escape me? I was lucky enough to learn it from Sankara Sivam!

r_t,
Hope someone on the forum would oblige us with that enta vEDukontu. The old link that padren had kindly posted is no more there.
Here it is, enta vEDukontu
http://www.mediafire.com/file/mjiezrznnwk
Last edited by gmohan on 09 Jul 2009, 13:51, edited 1 time in total.

prashant
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Post by prashant »

keerthi wrote:
prashant wrote: He also excellent in Anandabhairavi - 'sadbhaktiyu galga jEsi' and the varNam 'rA rA sami' are both great songs. The varNam especially is very sweet.
who sings this varNam..? is there a living pathAntara..?
Yes, absolutely. This varNa is in the repertoire of Sangita Kalanidhi Smt. R. Vedavalli. I am not aware of a concert or commercial recording, though...

keerthi
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Post by keerthi »

knandago2001 wrote:isn't mariyada teliyakane a javali attributed to Patnam?
correct.. My mistake..

prashant
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Post by prashant »

I have always heard of a famous rendering of the sArangA piece by Smt. MSS, but have never actually been able to find it. Could someone [Kji?] upload it here if not commercial?

arasi
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Post by arasi »

Mohan,
Thank you for 'enta vEDukontu'. You readily posted it-without any 'veDukO'Tam!

r_t,
Here it is--

coolkarni
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Post by coolkarni »

...
Last edited by coolkarni on 23 Nov 2009, 20:43, edited 1 time in total.

Radhika-Rajnarayan
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Post by Radhika-Rajnarayan »

Thank you, that was a treat this morning!

prashant
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Post by prashant »

A very nice rendition of veganIvu by Voletigaru... the singing in the CaraNam especially is outstanding, with some incredibly creative piDis from this master of suraTi rAgA.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/j5hlc0
Last edited by prashant on 10 Jul 2009, 13:52, edited 1 time in total.

prashant
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Post by prashant »

Thank you for the sArangA, Kji!!!

vs_manjunath
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Post by vs_manjunath »

Even the Mohana Raga Adi Tala Varnam of pUchi is so nice. Especially the Swaraprastharam G,g-rgr sr GG-pdddsrGG-gdpgrGG-sdpgr.......

There is also a Ananda Bhairavi song which ARI used to sing which has a lovely C.swarams.
Last edited by vs_manjunath on 10 Jul 2009, 16:36, edited 1 time in total.

vs_manjunath
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Post by vs_manjunath »

Can rasikas provide link to Thodi song- "Sri Venkatesham Varam"

Thanks in advance.

sr_iyer
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Post by sr_iyer »

As prashant has indicated, the rendition of vEganIvuvAnirammanavE by Sri Voleti is extremely beautiful.

In the book "Compositions of Ramanathapuram Asthana Vidwan Sriman Poochi Srinivasa Iyengar" edited by Salem Sri Chellam Iyengar, the jAvaLi vEganIvuvAnirammanavE has a ciTTAsvaram, which has been indicated for rendition between anupallavi and pallavi as well as each of caraNams and pallavi. Since the foreword by Sri CV Narasimhan mentions that the author had in his possession, notations written by the composer as well as the author's father, I would assume this ciTTAsvaram was composed by Sri Poochi. Any other examples of jAvali-s with ciTTAsvarams?

keerthi
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Post by keerthi »

sr_iyer wrote:Any other examples of jAvali-s with ciTTAsvarams?
There is a ragamAlika javaLi by mysore sadAshiva rao, which begins 'Sarigadu maunamu sArasakSa' and there are chiTTAswaram interludes after each rAga..

Lakshman
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Post by Lakshman »

keerthi: Do you happen to have the lyrics of this rAgamAlikA jAvaLi?

Lakshman
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Post by Lakshman »

vs_manjunath:

Link to shrI venkatESham varam:

http://sangeethamshare.org/ksj/D-K-Patt ... --Todi.mp3

vs_manjunath
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Post by vs_manjunath »

Lakshmanji- When we click on this link, it does n't take us to the particular song.

It takes us to 'sangeethapriya' Home Page.

If u can kindly let me know who has shared this file of DKP, it will be little more easier.

This song is not available under DKP in Sangeethapriya home page.

Sorry to bother u once more.
Although the link provided refers to - ksj, I am unable to latch on to any ksj under the CONTRIBUTORS.
Last edited by vs_manjunath on 15 Jul 2009, 12:59, edited 1 time in total.

Lakshman
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Post by Lakshman »

Here is the link for download:

http://www.sendspace.com/file/4secpd

vs_manjunath
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Post by vs_manjunath »

Thank U.
Last edited by vs_manjunath on 15 Jul 2009, 15:34, edited 1 time in total.

sr_iyer
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Post by sr_iyer »

Thanks keerthi for the info. Would be interested in hearing this if an audio version is available.

Ramasubramanian M.K
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Post by Ramasubramanian M.K »

Keethi,Congrats on a masterful summation of a great vaggeyakara-Ariyakudi faithfully followed his Guru's footsteps--the Poorvikalyani krithi-Paramapavana is a gem. That whole lineage of Thyagaraja that preceded Poochi Iyengar--Patnam Subramania Iyer,manambuchavadi venkatasubbier(Patnam's guru and a relative of Thygaraja--- were brilliant innovators each in their own way--drawing upon Tygaraja's compositions and then embellishing them with their own originality.
Patnam's Kadanakuduhalam(inspired according to prevailing legend by his casual listening to the parade music in Fort St. George in Marina Chennai).This raga did not exist in the Trinity's time. What is amazing is that normally the immediate sishya parampara would be loathe to deviate much from the Master- and yet Patnam deviated--his two krithis in Lathangi is a sharp contrast to Thyagaraj's E Diname
Sudhinamu both in terms of its gait and rakthi--each defining in its own way the richness of a melakarta raga which traditionally was a Nagaswaram artiste's forte(one would have noticed Nagaswara Vidwans generally prefer Prathimadhyamam ragas--the reason I am told by several vidwans is that the instrument finger placement for the suddha Madhyamam is intricate and that the great TNR overcame it by applying wax partially to the hole). Sorry for the digression. Back to Patnam and Poochi .
Patnam had sishyas each of whom turned out to be giants--Tiger,Poochi and then towards the later years Mysore vasudevachar( digression and an anecdote on Patnam-Vasudevachariar relationship)--Vasudevachar had heard about Patnam's reputation and hence trekked to Tanjore all the way and unknowingly knocked on Maha Vaidyanatha Iyer's house( I must mention that both Maha and Patnam were contemporaries and "friends: but equally awed mutually by each other's talent/prowess so that there was a friendly rivalry between the two) mistaking it for Patnam's house--he realised his mistake and when he recovered and showed up at patnam's doorstep--somehow word had reached Patnam that there was a young man who knocked on Maha Vaidyanatha Iyer's house--Patnam immediately assumed that the boy had been rejected by Maha Vaidyanatha Iyer and that he has come to patnam only as a second choice!! Irate,he finally agreed to take him but was never convinced that Vasudevachar was genuine--he delayed teaching him it is told and left all the chores to him teaching Poochi and Tiger so that Vasudevachar had a late start but lived long enough to justify his own lineage and his won individuality(Brocheva in kamas,Bhajare in Abheri etc).

Back to the narrative-- Vasudevachar in his Khamas krithi has used Kakali Nishadam-- a prayogam that Thygaraja did not use in his own two compositions in Khamas--Seethapathe and Sujana Jeevana(but Dikshithar used in his kritis but sparingly). Normally this would have flouted the tradition but posterity will judge how pleasing and elegant the Kakali Nishadam-- accentuated by Mali in his flute. Likewise patnam in his Navaragamalika varnam(Valachi) in the Sriragam para uses the alpadhaivatam(spare usage) in Pa Da Ni Pa Ma Ri Ga Ri Sa whereas Thyagaraja did not use the prayogam in his Sriraga Kritis(the pancharathna kriti Entharo and Namakusuma) because the Shastras deemed the prayogam as alpadhaivatam(permitted as an occasional refrain but not to be repeated endessly!!). The point I am trying to drive is that tradition and innovation have always coexisted very well in Carnatic Music and if judiciously blended(therein lies the trick!!) will enhance the apeal of the raga and the krithi.
More on these subjects if the reasikas are not bored-----

"Ramesh" -M.K.Ramasubramanian.

arasi
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Post by arasi »

Au contraire, please continue. There are no digressions in your post. While we are keen on anecdotes on the musical giants, how much more interesting it is to hear that their lives intersected!
Did not know about Patnam and the beach bandstand music. What a lively rAgam kadana kutUhalam turned out to be! Of the later compositions in that rAgam, I love the varNam SaraNAgata vatsala by Calcutta Krishnamurthy.

Ramasubramanian M.K
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Post by Ramasubramanian M.K »

Attn.Arasi-thanks for the encouragement--now you are going to regret your indiscretion!!! Continuing on the Poochi topic,one of his kritis in the raga Navarasakannada(neepadamule gathi) was perhaps inspired by Tygaraja's two known kritis--Ninnuvinna and Palukukanta--what a contrast between these two kritis of Tyagaraja in terms of tempo,raga rakthi-Swathi Tirunal a contemporary of Thyagaraja(1813-1847)--note that they died in the same year although the Maharaja was only 34 years old--there is an anecdote I heard from one of my granduncles--who was a connoisseur and a raconteur of anecdotes (carefully culled from whatever little records that were available those days).It appears Swathi Tirunal had heard so much about the Saint that he desired to meet him(One of his court artistes Govinda Marar had spoken about the saint to the King) and when he was told that the saint would not undertake a trip to Thiruvananthapuram decided to travel with his retinue of soldiers and guards all the way to Thiruvaiyaru and just when he was within 10 miles or so from Thiruvaiyaru, there was political upheaval in Thituvananthapuram that the Maharaja had to beat a hasty retreat without meeting the saint and was very regretful. When Thyagaraja heard about the whole thing he is reported to have commented prophetically that perhaps we would be seeing each other soon and as fate would have it they seem to have died within a few days or months of each other .
Back to the Poochi saga-after his Navarasakannad krithi, later on Vasudevachar too composed a krithi in the same raga(the name escapes me,readers help!!). So did Swathi Thirunal--Vande Sada Padmanabham--coming to modern times we have Sivan's Nan Oru Vilayattu Bommayya(seemingly composed in anguish after losing heavily in gambling) It is amazing to see in those days when the opportunity to publicise kritis thro concerts were few and far between opportunities for the musicians sharing and exchanging ideas were few, how the thread of experimentation and innovation have grown Carnatic Music. An interesting personal anecdote about Papanasam Sivan.

In 1968,when I was in Bombay my father( Late Mr.K.S.Mahadevan--the Music Critic for Indian express chennai and before the Secretary of the Shanmukhananda Sabha in Bombay in the Fifties) and one Mr.K.J. Natarajan--a top executive in State Bank of India ) arranged a chamber benefit vocal concert of Sivan(he was 78 and frail with a lack-lustre voice). The concert was in Mr.KJN's bank flat in Nepean Sea Road--he was ably accompanied by her Daughter who was in Bombay at that time or perhaps visiting at that time. It was a 2-hour concert enjoyed by the cognoscenti(unfortunately a mass concert could not be arranged because of his failing health.Sivan always was delighted and commented upon how DKP and DKJ made his compositions sparkle much more than he had seemingly put into them. Sivan as we all know by now saw both penury and riches(frittered away thro gambling) but was always a God-fearing,tradition-respecting composer.
In 1990 the centenary of Sivan's birth was celebrated in Chennai-my father was to be one of the chief guests for the function- I did not attend the function myself but my father showed me a diary of Sivan(given by his grandson Ashok Ramani) maintained in the late thirties when Sivan's flag was flying high in the Cinema world(Sevasadanam etc). It was an Hoe and Co Diary(which was one of the few companies well-known for Calendars and diaries in those days). The diary would have an entry every day- there would be a song written in one half of the page and the other half will be full of vegetables list bought from the market how much he paid for them etc,and also the railway fares to mayavaram in annas(16 annas make one rupee)--this will be followed by a laundry list-- 4 dhotis,three towels etc(Dhobis used to make "house calls"to collect clothes for washing!!)--all without leaving an inch of empty space--how selfless he was would be revealed by the fact that diary had no personal references about his troubles or whatever ailed him that day--infact if Govt wants to gather data on inflation and prices in Chennai those days this diary would be the most reliable document they can lay their hands on!!!!!! So much for Sivan-more anecdotes about others later if readers so wish and desire!! Being a late entrant to this forum,my son living in California actually introduced me to this site I am mighty impressed with the fund of info available.

May our tribe increase!!!!

rajeshnat
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Post by rajeshnat »

Shri ramasubramanian,
Nice to hear you about the anecdotes of shivan and Puchi Iyengar. Your father was a great critic writer. You have a great writing style would be nice if you group all anecdotes about shivan and open in the thread of pApanAsam sivan .
Back to the Poochi saga-after his Navarasakannad krithi, later on Vasudevachar too composed a krithi in the same raga(the name escapes me,readers help!!).
The krithi could be Karunichi nannu .

arasi
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Post by arasi »

Some of your descriptions, including the brand of the diary and PS's penchant for the horses are familiar to our generation. nAn oru viLayATTu bommaiyA is a popular song but not my favorite. I feel too much angst is in it and I wish he had sung it as
'azhuvadaik kEtpadAnandamA' instead of 'alaRuvadaik kETpadAnandamA'. It is heart-rending. To me, the song pales in the face of so many of his other beautiful songs. balakrishnan pAda malar was talked about and listened to in the Favorite Songs starting with 'B' thread a few days...

keerthi
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Post by keerthi »

sr_iyer wrote:Thanks keerthi for the info. Would be interested in hearing this if an audio version is available.
If you mean the rAgamAlikA javaLi, I don't have an audio clip.. Vid. nIlA RamgOpal of bangalore has an organisation - nilambari, which has brought it out in a cd,I hear, sung by Vid. srIkAntam nAgEndra sAstri.. you can try and contact them..

Ramasubramanian M.K wrote:Patnam had sishyas each of whom turned out to be giants--Tiger,Poochi and then towards the later years Mysore vasudevachar( digression and an anecdote on Patnam-Vasudevachariar relationship)--Vasudevachar had heard about Patnam's reputation and hence trekked to Tanjore all the way and unknowingly knocked on Maha Vaidyanatha Iyer's house( I must mention that both Maha and Patnam were contemporaries and "friends: but equally awed mutually by each other's talent/prowess so that there was a friendly rivalry between the two)....
.....................................................
-Patnam immediately assumed that the boy had been rejected by Maha Vaidyanatha Iyer and that he has come to patnam only as a second choice!! Irate,he finally agreed to take him but was never convinced that Vasudevachar was genuine--he delayed teaching him it is told and left all the chores to him teaching Poochi and Tiger so that Vasudevachar had a late start but lived long enough to justify his own lineage and his won individuality

Sir,
Vasudevacharya, in his 'nA kanDa kalAvidaru' - available in English translation, 'With masters of melody' by Vasudevacharya's grandson, S.Krishnamurthy, says -

When I left Mysore, I had been told that my guru's house was adjacent to the pranatartihara temple.... I hesitated before the house on the right.. I stood there dothering for some time and finally called out : Guruji, sir!.......

The door was thrown open instantly. ...A majestic figure stood at the door
...I felt I was in the presence of Lordc Parameswara.. 'Yes, who are you?' he asked in Tamil. Even as I fumbling for words asked "where is Patnam Subrahmanya iyer's..?"... his face became red with anger. Without a word he slammed the door in my face.


Later he went to the house to the left of the temple, met Patnam and gave him the letter of introduction from H.H. chAmaraja woDeyar.

After a few inquiries, patnam says 'I shall teach you with pleasure. I shall also write to your maharaja accordingly.'

He also mentions that the Tiger only learnt sporadically from Patnam Iyer, when Patnam visited the Tacchur singrAchArlu brothers.. Tiger himself has mentioned in a trichy radio broadcast that he learnt from 'Photographer' Masilamani.. He was not undergoing gurukulavAsam with Patnam.

Elsewhere he mentions that he (Vasudevacharya) was one of Patnam's later disciples. pUchi ayyangar was already a performing artist, and wasn't V's co-student..

Ramasubramanian M.K wrote:Back to the Poochi saga-after his Navarasakannada krithi, later on Vasudevachar too composed a krithi in the same raga(the name escapes me,readers help!!).
Again from the above source, -

'When poochi visited mysore on the occasion of the wedding of H.H. Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV,....
....... I sang first and his performance followed....
...When I sang one of my kirtanas 'janakendrasutapriya'in Megharanjini raga, poochi who was sitting close by, looked amazed. I could not guess the reasonfor it.

at the end of my recital, pUchi started his, and in due course, came to a kirtana 'karunatO nannu kApadu rama'. He looked at me and smiled. It was my turn to be amazed.
Both our kirtanas were exactly alike!...
..............When he concluded.. I hastened to apologise.. I had no idea...Sheer coincidence...I shall change it and set the piece to some other rAga, I said.'

pUchi said - Why should you Acharya? what is the harm? shouldsn't two composers have similar manodharma? What about Akshayalingavibho and manasuswadheena..don't they resemble each other.... If anything, it proves that we share the blessings of our guru equally. replied Poochi
Last edited by keerthi on 23 Jul 2009, 13:43, edited 1 time in total.

Ramasubramanian M.K
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Post by Ramasubramanian M.K »

Great interchange on Poochi-Vasudevachar--his grandson Krishnamurthy who recently died(working in Kalakshetra) was a noble scholar-unpretentious,not throwing his weight around. An anecdote re: GNB/Vasudevachar. I have heard GNB mention how thrilled Vasudevachar was hearing GNB render Brocheva and I believe commented the composition looks much more grander than the composer had envisioned. Knowing the late GNB as anything but a vain,egotistical man I believe this compliment serves to show how a great composer can appreciate an embellished version of his own composition without taking umbrage that a junior artiste(which GNB was in the forties when he popularised the krithi and Vasudevachar was in his late seventies!!) had chosen to take liberties with his composition. As I had mentioned before in the Sivan anecdote, Sivan used to comment how richer and profound his krithis sound when DKP and DKJ render them. DKJ always used to mention how Sivan would send out for DKJ to come and sing his compositions--especially the new ones just to feel how they would sound and how in his youthful playful days DKJ used to play a truant to Sivan's overtures and how much he regretted not having been more respectful and attentive and how much he had missed by his boyish behaviour. These composers despite their soaring reputation also had the objectivity and honesty to acknowledge practitioners rendering their compositions with the devotion and feelings they have put into their compositions. The musicians likewise were discreet enough not to let their manodharma stray too much away from the spirit of the composition . Why am I saying this? I find recently when Sudha or Nithyashree render Kurai Onrum Illai(in my opinion patented by MSS) take some liberties and offer some breathtaking forays in some sangathis--no doubt admirable in their execution but somehow --to me atleast--dampens the spirit of how MSS has rendered without any excessive frills(true MSS was not the composer the tune having been set by the late Kadayanallur Venkataraman but the song has been indelibly associated with MSS ). I know younger readers would take objection to this line of thinking as stifling innovation and not willing to permit reasonable lattitude to artistes to use their own imaginations but over a six-decades of listening to stalwarts spanning four generations of musicians,I have found innovation is essential to growth of CM but has to be inserted appropriately preserving the spirit of the original. I have personally admired an artiste like Mali and TNR taking some liberties which have only added to the enjoyment. The story is told about TNR-- when he released his disc Yochana in Darbar raga, I believe towards the end in one of his great flourishes,he gently "brushes" towards Nayaki(the difference is in the Pa Da Nee Da Pa Sa for nayaki vs Pa Da Nee Sa for Darbar. When one of his admirers quizzed him about the appropriateness of the flourish, I believe TNR promptly replied (without formally acknowledging the infraction!!) in Tamil--Can there be a Darbar without a Nayaki!!) Rambled enough!! Apologies for the meandering prose!!

mohan
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Post by mohan »

Sriram V's article from The Hindu on 'Poochi'

http://www.hindu.com/fr/2009/07/31/stor ... 490400.htm

Sreeni Rajarao
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Post by Sreeni Rajarao »

I am compelled to make this correction in reference to post # 37 above:

Mr. S Krishnamurthy, Mysore Vasudevacharya's grandson is very much alive and doing well. He lives in Banaglore.
It was Mr. S Rajaram, Sri. Krishnamurthy's brother who passed away recently in Chennai.

Ramasubramanian M.K
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Post by Ramasubramanian M.K »

Dear Rajarao: My apologies for the error re: Vasudevachar's grandson. Yes-it was Mr.Rajaram--a man of extraordinary humility and dignity--met him thro my father in Chennai a couple of years ago.

rohithc911
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Re: RAmnAd pUchi srInivAsa ayyangAr

Post by rohithc911 »

Lakshmanji - I just saw this thread and was eager to listen to Shri Venkatesam by D.K.Pattamal. I'm actually planning on performing this song soon and wanted to listen to some older renditions of the song. I have one by KVN, Ariyakudi and a few by TMK. If you could provide some other recordings, I'd greatly appreciate it. Thank you so much in advance.

-- Rohith

Lakshman
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Re: RAmnAd pUchi srInivAsa ayyangAr

Post by Lakshman »

rohith: The song by Pattammal is available here but right now the site is down for maintenance.

www.sangeethamshare.org/ksj/01.../05-D-K-Pattammal.html

satyabalu
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Re: RAmnAd pUchi srInivAsa ayyangAr

Post by satyabalu »

"pUchi said - Why should you Acharya? what is the harm? shouldsn't two composers have similar manodharma? What about Akshayalingavibho and manasuswadheena..don't they resemble each other.... If anything, it proves that we share the blessings of our guru equally. replied Poochi"-Great words!

satyabalu
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Re: RAmnAd pUchi srInivAsa ayyangAr

Post by satyabalu »

" recently when............. render Kurai Onrum Illai(in my opinion patented by MSS) take some liberties and offer some breathtaking forays in some sangathis--no doubt admirable in their execution but somehow --to me atleast--dampens the spirit of how MSS has rendered without any excessive frills"
In a similiar vein (but conversely) ,None is matching the spuritham in "Vilasitha PATTABHISHEKAM" in Bhaavayami raghuramam as much as what MSS has given to it!
Last edited by satyabalu on 10 Nov 2011, 20:38, edited 1 time in total.

satyabalu
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Re: RAmnAd pUchi srInivAsa ayyangAr

Post by satyabalu »

* RAmnAd pUchi srInivAsa ayyangAr » 10 Nov 2011 03:55
"Lakshmanji - I just saw this thread and was eager to listen to Shri Venkatesam by D.K.Pattamal. I'm actually planning on performing this song soon and wanted to listen to some older renditions of the song. I have one by KVN, Ariyakudi and a few by TMK. If you could provide some other recordings, I'd greatly appreciate it. Thank you so much in advance."
I can recollect having listened to Dr. Vijayalakshmy Subramaniam rendering elaborately as a part of her recent thematic presentation on Kshetra -Tirupathi.

sivachinta1965
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Re: RAmnAd pUchi srInivAsa ayyangAr

Post by sivachinta1965 »

dear Rasikas

I read somewhere that GNB used to get requests ( form the audience during last phase of his Kuchcheris) on singing the Poochi piece " Rama Ninne..... ( Saranga). What is so special abt this piece???

Siva

classicallover
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Re: RAmnAd pUchi srInivAsa ayyangAr

Post by classicallover »

Dear All,

It is needless to say that Shri. RS Iyengar proved to be a very worthy disciple for Patnam S Iyer. It is very commonly acknowledged that he had surpassed even Saint Tyaagaraaja with the Begada, Kedaragoula pieces. He was very much revered for his very imaginative composition on Saint Tyaagaraaja - Sadguruswamiki in Reeti Gowla, which was one of the first that was fit for rendering in concerts. That was the high point of his compositional calibre.

It was also told that the original notation of the Todi piece - Shri. Venkatesham is a replica of Dikshitar's Shri Krishnam Bhaja Maanasa, whose existence was not known to RSI ( info percolated through Salem Doraswamy Iyengar, father of Chellam Iyengar, Rangaraamaanuja Iyengar, etc..)

thenpaanan
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Joined: 04 Feb 2010, 19:45

Re:

Post by thenpaanan »

keerthi wrote: Vasudevacharya, in his 'nA kanDa kalAvidaru' - available in English translation, 'With masters of melody' by Vasudevacharya's grandson, S.Krishnamurthy, says -

He also mentions that the Tiger only learnt sporadically from Patnam Iyer, when Patnam visited the Tacchur singrAchArlu brothers.. Tiger himself has mentioned in a trichy radio broadcast that he learnt from 'Photographer' Masilamani.. He was not undergoing gurukulavAsam with Patnam.

Elsewhere he mentions that he (Vasudevacharya) was one of Patnam's later disciples. pUchi ayyangar was already a performing artist, and wasn't V's co-student..
Does Vasudevacharya describe the manner in which paTnam or pUchi sang? What their voices were like or what they preferred to perform in their concerts? We not only seem to lack any recordings (since they lived before recording was easy or widespread or taken kindly to) but also any verbal/textual descriptions of their singing techniques or approaches, compared to how much we seem to know about pUchi's breakfast preferences or paTnam's fights with mahAvaidyanAthaiyer :-).

-tenpANan

satyabalu
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Re: RAmnAd pUchi srInivAsa ayyangAr

Post by satyabalu »

Curious if I can have access to listen to "Paripalayamam Padmasane"
Harikamboji!

CRama
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Joined: 18 Nov 2009, 16:58

Re: RAmnAd pUchi srInivAsa ayyangAr

Post by CRama »

Paripalayamam Padmasane- the song in Harikambodi was sung by TNS in his recent concert in Madras AIR. This was the first song. This concert has been uploaded by TVG in Sangeethapriya.

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