N.C. Vasanthakokilam

Carnatic Musicians
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rshankar
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Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:26

Post by rshankar »

Does anyone have access to NCV's biography? The only reasonably detailed one is the one on Sangeetham.com by R. Guy. But I was wondering if there was one with more personal details were available: her birth, early years, and her guru(s), and when she died etc...
CML, any info??
Thanks.
Ravi

rshankar
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Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:26

Post by rshankar »

CML,
I have been itching to ask: who named her vasanthakOkilam, and why? As far as I can tell, her name was Kamakshi. Did she start performing concerts after DKP?
Thanks.
Ravi

meena
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Joined: 21 May 2005, 13:57

Post by meena »

shankar

Nagappattinam Chandrasekaran Vasanthakokilam, yes her given name was Kamakshi acc. to Randor Guy article.

cmlover
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Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:36

Post by cmlover »

Shankar

meena may be able to give you randor guy reference. Vasanthakokilam was the stage name. Her life was really sad. She was cheated and died of penury. She has acted as the wife of Haridas in that movie with MKT. Do watch it if you have access. I have heard her in concert a few occassions and instantly fell in love. with her voice and demeanor. Fate is the hunter :](

meena
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Post by meena »

shankar
reading ur post, i get the pic. that u have read the article.

heres the article if u missed or others who are interested:
Deleted
Last edited by meena on 06 May 2008, 05:13, edited 1 time in total.

cmlover
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Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:36

Post by cmlover »

meena
You are opening an old healed wound. I had clippings of most of the oldies including copies of Bapuji's precious Harijan. When I sailed to NA I left them in the custody of my relatives who without knowing the value thinking they were junk gave them away to the old-paper vender for "pEreechampazham". They also gave away my (and my dad's) precious collection of old 78 rpms. That was one of the greatest tragedies in my life :](

rshankar
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Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:26

Post by rshankar »

CML,
I understand your pain!
I wish that people like my mother who appear to be such die hard fans of NCVs had saved some memorabilia. My mother was also a fan of Savitri Gansesan, but had nothing more to tell me other than the fact that she died young and was 'marked' for greatness had she lived.

Meena,
In that Snageetham article (which was not truly very complimenntary), I think it is said that she was from Palghat: That is in variance with what you have posted: Nagapattinam....


The other inference I drew from that article on NCV on Sangeetham was the fact that 'there, but for the grace of God, and Sri Sadasivam, was Smt. MSS as well'. Because, all else being equal, it looks like it was just those two that allowed one to be elevated to the status of a veritable deity, and the other to die in penury of TB.

cmlover
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Post by cmlover »

Shankar

here is a one-liner worth remembering:

Savitri Ganesan to MMI was like MLV to GNB!

If SG had lived MLV would have met her competition! It is our loss!

param
Posts: 255
Joined: 21 Oct 2005, 14:19

Post by param »

I have downloaded two sets of recordings of NCVasantakokilam and would be glad to upload if anyone is interested. Pls advise

sumram99
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Post by sumram99 »

Param:

Please do so. I am an admirer of her voice!

rshankar
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Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:26

Post by rshankar »

Param,
Please do. I am sure that CML and others (her name sake VK for one!) in addition, would be interested....
If any you have access to the songs she sang for movies, they will be appreciated as well. All I have from teh movie series is 'kalaivANi aruL purivAi'.
Ravi

vasanthakokilam
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Post by vasanthakokilam »

I have downloaded two sets of recordings of NCVasantakokilam and would be glad to upload if anyone is interested. Pls advise
That will be wonderful Param. Thanks.

meena
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Joined: 21 May 2005, 13:57

Post by meena »

Sorry rasikas

Smt. NCV links will NOT be u/l . - made aware its a commercial recordings. Please check carnatica.net for album purchase and details. Thanku

Lakshman
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Post by Lakshman »

Param: Would you be kind enough to list the songs of NCV that you have downloaded? Thanks.

param
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Joined: 21 Oct 2005, 14:19

Post by param »

Lji - the songs in the compilation are:

Sundari Nannindarilo in Begada
Paamalai in Harikambhoji
Ananthanatanam in Kamboji
Sarasadhalanayana in Khamas
Yenpalli Kondeerlya in Mohanam
Yelavatharamu in Muhari
Mahalakshmi in Shankarabharanam
Thanthai Thai in Shanmukhapriya
Maaye in Tharangini
Antharangamellam in Vachaspati
Needhayaradha in Vasanthabhairavi

Regards,

Param

Lakshman
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Joined: 10 Feb 2010, 18:52

Post by Lakshman »

In addition to what you have posted I have another commercial CD that has the following songs:
niddiraiyil vandu, Ashai koNDEn vaNDE, varuvAnO vana kuyilE, anda nAL ini varumO, yArO vandennai, pAngAna shOlai, tittikkum shen tamizh, kaddanuvAriki, bhArata pATTenum, kuzhalOshai kETkudammA, piLLai prAyattilE, udaya sundari, Arva tIyAl, ANDavan, kalaivANI aruL puivAi, shen tamizh Osahi and tillai sthalam.

ninjathegreat
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Post by ninjathegreat »

Are there any recordings - Commercial or otherwise - of Savithri Ganesan?

Cheers
Ninja

meena
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Post by meena »

Changed moi mind, deleted the articles i had collected and posted here :/
Last edited by meena on 24 Dec 2007, 08:37, edited 1 time in total.

rshankar
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Post by rshankar »

Thanks Meena for all of these links. Randor Guy is amazing with his ability to ferret out forgotten details and anecdotes.
I wonder if anyone has records of songs from krishNa vijayam and the other movies Guy mentions...

mahakavi

Post by mahakavi »

By the way the original name of Randor Guy is Rangadorai which was anglicized to Rangu Dory and then turned into an anagram "Randor Guy."

ksrimech
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Post by ksrimech »

ma Sa subbulakSmi used to ask Randor Guy mAmA something like "endApA azhagA rangadurainnu peru vecchirukALE, adu enna Randor Guy, nannAvE illa".

meena
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Joined: 21 May 2005, 13:57

Post by meena »

DELETED
this is acc. to dool.com forum post:

DELETED
So i guess the story goes ... :D

There is a brief write up abt him on sify no mention abt. his name change.
Last edited by meena on 07 May 2008, 10:44, edited 1 time in total.

arasi
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Post by arasi »

Thanks Meena (AND Randor Guy)!
I do think NCV was good looking! I agree with Guy when he says she was not that photogenic, but she looked lovely on the concert stage, with flowers on her hair, jasmine nestling with kanakAmbaram! I do not remember her being fat (surely, not as fat as south indian movie queens of olden days! T.R.Rajakumari--whom she was billed with in Sivakavi--definitely was of the extra-large variety!
In my view, MSS grew beautiful as she grew older, with her music and spirituality. NCV was attractive too.

Ah, and that one of a kind voice...

Lakshman,
From your list it is evident that she has sung very many thamizh kritis.

vasanthakokilam
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Post by vasanthakokilam »

What Randor Guy does not mention is intriguing..Whatever happened to K. Subramaniam who was in Calcutta then? Did he look them up after his return? Did he play any role in NCV's subsequent entry to the cinema world. From RG's description, it did not look to be so but it is interesting that she somehow managed to get into films anyway.

rshankar
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Post by rshankar »

Meena/Lji:
You would not by any chance have the lyrics to porumai kaDalAgiya bhUmA dEvi, would you?

meena
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Joined: 21 May 2005, 13:57

Post by meena »

sorry shankar,
Porumai kadalaagiya she has rendered it in her last film krishna vijayam

check ur email.

Sreeni Rajarao
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Post by Sreeni Rajarao »

I had heard that the name change from Ranga Dorai to Randor Guy was to deal with a situation where Ranga Dorai had a lot of his submissions (cartoons?) rejected by magazine editors. I do not know how true this story is, or if I am even talking about the same Randor Guy.

arasi
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Joined: 22 Jun 2006, 09:30

Post by arasi »

VK,
I understand what you are asking. As you know, there are no answers. A cinema song goes like this: vidiyin viLaiyADal (Chittoor nAgaiyyA's). It is all a matter of fate. I would quickly amend, a matter of 'how things turned out to be'. Why? I don't want to turn NCV's thread into a religious/spiritual enquiry: are you a fatalist? :)
A biography is not history. So many points of view, missing pieces, emotional aspects AND, 'vidiyin viLaiyADal' too!

I was a child then, and until I read it here, I did not know Sachi was not married to her. He was visible in the concert in a way that after all these years, I still remember his face. he would flit around the place, orchestrating things. 'veLLIk kUjA' used to be the moniker for performers' husbands. Artistes, specially the Iyengar sort used kUjAs for whatever they drank while they performed (today's water bottle)--a lidded jug with a screw top to keep the beverage hot. A must- when you traveled. Well, he could have employed someone to carry the kUjA, I suppose, since he was a wealthy promoter. While I remember NCV's sweet voice, Sachi's face too, I have not forgotten. When I think about it now, it was exactly in the way one of the present day's gifted young star's father prances about the place, controlling things...
Last edited by arasi on 03 Jun 2007, 07:46, edited 1 time in total.

meena
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Post by meena »

Deleted
Last edited by meena on 06 May 2008, 04:40, edited 1 time in total.

arasi
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Post by arasi »

Thanks, Meena!
She IS pretty, isn't she?

meena
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Post by meena »

yeah VERY pretty.

rajeshnat
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Post by rajeshnat »


arasi
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Post by arasi »

Rajesh,
Sriram Venkatakrishnan brings his usual flair for nostalgia in penning this piece about Spring Cuckoo NCV. He calls her a spring nightingale.
Our own spring cuckoo would be delighted to read this.
This picture of NCV does very little justice to her. I remember her to be a very attractive looking woman.

pgaiyar
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Joined: 27 Jan 2007, 07:59

Post by pgaiyar »

30-Nov-08

Dear All:

Can anyone please upload the NCV version of Unnai allal vere gathi of Kotiswara Iyer in Simmendramadhyamam?. God bless you all.

Regards

Guru

vasanthakokilam
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Post by vasanthakokilam »

Thanks r-t. That is quite an elaborate song. In the movie scene, the anthropomorphic portrayal of Vishnu with Lakshmi massaging Vishnu's legs is a bit amusing. Where is the purANic backing for that? :) Later on there was a camel along with elephants in the procession, I wondered why but the answer was forthcoming .. it was kamsan...north india... camel.. OK, alright!!

arasi
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Joined: 22 Jun 2006, 09:30

Post by arasi »

r_t,
Thank you for the vintage footage. Do you know the movie's name? NAradar is shown blown up on the screen because 'she' is the star!

VK,
It was common to see Lakshmi relieving VishNu of all the pain he sustained after all his travails which are listed in En paLLi koNDIR aiyyA which you know by heart! The turbulence in the sea was what amused me. Wonder if it was a float filled with air.They were bobbing up and down in that pool (?) as if it were the rapids!
Come! The camels very much belong there. Anomalies and anochronisms are part of our films. A tamizh warrior in chainmail and roman sandals...

ragam-talam
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Post by ragam-talam »

Arasi, the description at the info section says the film is 'Krishna Vijayam'.

Btw, what are the ragas in this song - kambodhi, bhairavi, s'bharanam?

Lakshman
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Post by Lakshman »

I thought I heard bilahari and nIlAmbari after kAmbhOji, then bhairavi and shankarAbharaNa.

bilahari
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Post by bilahari »

I'm not hearing kAmbOji at all? Just bilahari, nIlAmbari, bhairavi, sh'bharaNam. Very nice clip--thanks R-T!

vasanthakokilam
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Post by vasanthakokilam »

I think there is a 'm g p d s' in that bilahari segment which may have given the kambhoji impression.

Arasi: Yes, En paLLi koNDIR aiyyA was a clever device to tell the stories and bring them all together. Lakshmi has to be multi-tasking when Vishnu is zero-tasking ;)

That float appearing from under the water scared the heck out of me. Even more so, when it went under, I thought it was going to topple over!

ragam-talam
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Post by ragam-talam »

Lakshmi has to be multi-tasking when Vishnu is zero-tasking
VK, that's so funny! I have to remember to use this quote :)

I went back and listened to the clip, and yes I could hear the bilahari and nilambari this time! Thanks.

vasanthakokilam
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Post by vasanthakokilam »

this is a small detour from this thread... but why is that 'asarIri' providing such a specific piece of critical information to Kamsan? Whose side is that asarIri in anyway?

rshankar
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Post by rshankar »

VK - AFAIK, aSarIrIs are not supposed to be on anyone's side - they just predict what is to be...

venkatakailasam
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Re: N.C.Vasantha Kokilam

Post by venkatakailasam »

There is no postings for almost two years! This is how we forget people!!
Now you can hear her forgotten voice !

E'-SWARA-03-Smt. NC Vasantha kokilam-Kuzalosai ketkuthamma

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3n6lvbai5A

venkatakailasam
Last edited by venkatakailasam on 01 Mar 2011, 06:28, edited 2 times in total.

rshankar
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Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:26

Re: N.C.Vasantha Kokilam

Post by rshankar »

Very original, Sri Venkatakailasam!
By the way, we will never forget Smt. NCV as long as our very own 'spring-cuckoo' is around - IIRC, his ID on the forum was inspired by her!
A request - can you please correct her name? Her name is Vasantakokilam - no 'g'...Thanks!

venkatakailasam
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Re: N.C.Vasantha Kokilam

Post by venkatakailasam »

stand corrected! thank you.

venkatakailasam

satyabalu
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Re: N.C.Vasantha Kokilam

Post by satyabalu »


varsha
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N.C. Vasanthakokilam

Post by varsha »

Once, he was taken to a wedding by his neighbours. That served as the inspiration for a successful venture he’d start much later. Carnatic singer N.C. Vasanthakokilam was performing at the high-profile wedding — she was specially invited to Sri Lanka for it. She noticed how Muthukrishnan was enjoying her music, and kept talking to the young boy during breaks. That a renowned singer had noticed him pleased Muthukrishnan no end. He decided that whenever he started a restaurant, he’d call it ‘Vasantha’. “Actually, there was no Vasantha in my family,” he smiles.
.

http://www.thehindu.com/features/metrop ... epage=true

rshankar
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Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:26

Re: N.C. Vasanthakokilam

Post by rshankar »

How interesting! From Smt. MS Blue to Smt. NCV's Vasantha Bhavan - amazing how inspiration flows....

SrinathK
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Re: N.C. Vasanthakokilam

Post by SrinathK »

NCV had one of the best voices I've ever heard -- incredibly powerful with a gigantic vocal range, with seemingly endless power in the upper octave. She could hit stratospherically high notes almost easily with no need for a falsetto (just listen to her rendition of mAyE in tarangiNi) - by my reckoning, it was a greater range than even MS Amma -- while I didn't want to get into comparisons, I had no other yardstick. Sadly though, she wasn't blessed with the same longevity.

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