Trichy Sankaran

mahesh3 · Post by **mahesh3** » 31 May 2006, 19:16

Recently, I had the ultimate pleasure of watching this maestro live, accompanying TM Krishna. The thani he played along with Ravi Balasubramaniam on the ghatam is still ringing in my ears.

2006 happens to be his 50th year, with several celbrations in Chennai, Toronto etc. Perhaps, we should discuss his contibutions and accomplishments.

coolkarni · Post by **coolkarni** » 01 Jun 2006, 18:41

One of the most enduring images in my mind is the "Raj video vision" release of Semmangudis Academy Concert on Video.

In one beautiful sequence in the Thani , the camera takes a shot from the side with the side face of the mridangam covering half of the screen while Harisankar's image -as he plays his response- is a backdrop.
Harisankars playing with eyes closed, and Sankarans fingers mildly tapping the mridangam , and nothing else on the screen .... those few minutes are magical.

Will upload a few tracks of Pazhani's Profile, Style of playing and an analysis of a thani shortly.

coolkarni · Post by **coolkarni** » 01 Jun 2006, 22:42

http://rapidshare.de/files/21933299/01- ... e.mp3.html

http://rapidshare.de/files/21935001/02- ... i.mp3.html

one last track tomorrow

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 01 Jun 2006, 23:57

Thanks coolkarni for starting the laya lessons with a bang

Can we have more such lecdems?

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 02 Jun 2006, 02:41

Coolkarniji: Excellent stuff, both the profile and the thani analysis. Many repeated listens are mandatory!! Thanks very much. This is what is needed for most people to transform the thani from a chore to chori chori something you look forward to

A nice dramatic touch there : the narrator finishes the vocalization of the mohra sequence and without a gap the mridangam & gatam starts.( 18:48/19:49 ). Nice editing.

coolkarni · Post by **coolkarni** » 02 Jun 2006, 07:09

http://rapidshare.de/files/21984085/03- ... e.mp3.html

CML

Yes .You can look forward to more

mahesh3 · Post by **mahesh3** » 04 Jun 2006, 09:36

http://rapidshare.de/files/22114782/Dec ... _.mp3.html

sensational thani provided by a friend kind enough to share it with me!

Enjoy....

mahesh3 · Post by **mahesh3** » 01 Jul 2006, 04:59

In 1941, Pazhani Subramania Pillai (having just started a minor upswing in his career by starting to play for Chembai, owing to the latter's minor difference of opinion with Sri PMI in 1940), agreed to accompany an artist in a Bombay concert. Pazhani eager for his maiden Bombay trip, was very excited @ the concert, and had prepared an elaborate thani replete with kannakku patterns, mathematical complexities and all. He was only allowed to play the thani @ the penultimate song of the long concert, prior to the mangalam, by which time, majority of the audience had already left. Pazhani was humiliated, but said nothing to anybody.

Chembai on hearing this indirectly, decided to set things right. He insisted on booking Pazhani for his next Bombay concert, and even found a substitute for the mridangist in another concert that Pazhani had previously accepted.

In Bombay, the luminary Chembai performed to a full, packed audience, as always. He gave Pazhani 5 solo opportunities during the concert, as opposed to the customary single chance for a thani. The audiences were thrilled by his complex korvais, with his toppi style, and Pazhani never looked back from then on. The common grouse that he was left handed became a thing of the past.

When Pazhani fell drastically ill in 1954, and recovered from the illness, there were several questions posed of his capabilities. @ the central college of Karnatak music, Musiri organized concerts by all famous musicians. Chmbai allowed Pazhani an unprecedented one hour to play his thani, thus proving to the world that all was good with the maestro. Needless to say, all were dazzled at the wonderful thani that followed.

He went onto play for the great laya masters, GNB, Alathur bros, the melody master, MMI and ended up as one of the well respected mridangists of his time. Pazhani was very highly regarded by Sri PMI too, and the two were close in later years. Pazhani was a successful teacher too, and his favorite student was a certain Trichy Sankaran who even @ age 12 could play whatever Pazhani's rich imagination asked for.

vigneshbal · Post by **vigneshbal** » 11 Aug 2006, 11:44

But there are few more things which i know personally. I dont know how many of them know that trichy sankaran was handpicked by PSP himself a blessing which not many of them would get. other very important thing about psp style of playing is that his was a pure sarvalaghu style which was liked by GNB and MMI so that they always insisted on having PSP as their accompaniment.

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 19 Aug 2006, 23:40

I dont remember hearing trichy sankaran in a live concert in 80's and 90's till I went to Malladi Brothers(Trichy Sankaran was the mridangist) concert on Dec 17th,2005.I posted the concert review in sangeetham.com. One interesting incident involving Trichy Sankaran(I did not post in sangeetham then)...

The concert was held in sivagami petachi auditorium in alwarpet. I had a good feeling of sound adjustment, certainly it was little loud as Malladi brothers + Trichy Sankaran + Ghatam Suresh , all are good aggressive artists. Some time during the end of third krithi evari kai in devamanOhari , one gentleman ( Television personality who is known to give good voice to lot of documentaries )walked all the way from the center to the dias and said " Sahitya is completely supressed by pakkavadhyam."

The malladi brothers tried to call the soundman who came down from the first floor (where I was sitting) to the dias and did some adjustments. Totally 10 to 15 minutes lost , felt like Trichy Sankaran was unnecessarily redcarded .

Trichy Sankaran face was furious.He did not utter a word and let Malladi Brothers handle it . For the next 2 songs (balahamsa + saranga), the tiger(Trichy Sankaran) was little less aggressive. I felt "O My God , I came to hear Trichy Sankaran(India's top mridangist brain drained to North America ). One another rasika who had his private reason went like Sankharabharanam Somayajulu "Sharadha" and killed my expectation."

Then Malladi Brothers then sang Ksheenamai as a main krithi . The Laya specailist must have felt a SSI experience and gave a scintallating support for the main krithi and Tani and was ably supported by Ghatam Suresh.

At the end of the concert(too much rain outside), I overheard Trichy Sankaran telling I have a duty to duly support the singers , even though I was angry I had to keep the calm.

Context of the concert

Malladi Brothers@BGS on Dec 17th,2005
Malladi Brothers was accompanied by Mysore Manjunath- Violin , Mri - Trichy Sankaran and Ghatam -Suresh
Till about last year , I did not care to have any preferance on the percussionist when attending any concerts . But of late with a feeling that 50s and 60s is a special era of CM having crept in , longing to listen to Trichy Sankaran in a live concert was the main pull for me to go to this concert .

1. Era Napai - Todi -PSI
2 VAta Venkatatimata Varan Dhaivamu (S)??? - Vasantha ?? - Annamacharya??
3. evarikai avatAram ettitivO (R,S)- devA manOhari - Thyagaraja
4. Ninnu Vina Gatina - bAlahamsa - Mysore Sadhasiva Rao
5. Arunachala NAdan ?? - SAranga -???
6. Ksheenamai Tiruga (R N S T) - MukhAri - Thyagaraja
.......
The day's best was sri Trichy Sankaran's layam . Fantastic Tani with so much of imagination and almost no repetition . His play during the Neraval of Mukhari kept me so engaged and to me he was subtlely pushing brothers to deliver more and more neraval and swara prasthanam. If excellence breeds excellence , than to me Ghatam Suresh fitted very well .

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 20 Aug 2006, 00:14

Nice write-up of the anecdotes, rajeshnat. Enjoyed the humor as well.

Lakshman · Post by **Lakshman** » 20 Aug 2006, 00:33

rajeshnat:
The annamacharya song is vADE venkaTAdrimIda varadeivamu.
The dikshitar kriti is aruNAcalanAtham.

drshrikaanth · Post by **drshrikaanth** » 20 Aug 2006, 02:31

sAranga kRti is "aruNAcala nAtham" of MD. One of the pancalinga kRtis on the Lord of Tiruvannamalai ()tiruvaNNAmalai). Both DKJ and Vijaya Siva's renderings are well-known.
The balahamasa kRti is "ninu vinA gati nAkevarurA". A very beautiful representation fo the rAga.

mahesh3 · Post by **mahesh3** » 30 Aug 2006, 07:53

KVN has also rendered the Saranga krithi with a lot of poise and bhava...

pgaiyar · Post by **pgaiyar** » 07 May 2007, 22:37

7-5-7

To:mahesh3

Please upload the Sensational thani. God bless you.

Regards

P. G. Aiyar

raghavt · Post by **raghavt** » 10 Jun 2007, 12:03

Hi All,

I'm a new member to this site. What makes Sankaran Sir different from others...?

1. Tonal Clarity
2. Clarity of Patterns, even while playing fast pharans and also during gati bhedam
3. Good Presentation skills (should attend lec-demo in English, it's is indeed International)
4. Excellent Konnakol recitation skills, clearly depicts Sankaran Sir's theory "You should feel what you play"
5. Asserts the authority of the drum during a concert without disturbing the main artiste

And above all, his gestures while in action, combined with the sound that is produced, simply awesome !!!

Raghavendran

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 10 Jun 2007, 19:46

I am a listener who does not know the intricacies of layA. Your first four points make it easy for me to understand his vidwat more. Point 5 really makes me appreciate him. I do think of his playing as unobtrusive...

prashant · Post by **prashant** » 11 Jun 2007, 14:51

Nedunuri gAru with Trichy Sankaran Sir. Music Academy Inaugural concert for this season. December 15 2007, 4:30 PM.

Enough said

mahesh33 · Post by **mahesh33** » 11 Jun 2007, 18:46

WOW! Prashant, hopefully I can make it!

PGAiyer, Will look for the thani and upload it soon.

mahesh_narayan · Post by **mahesh_narayan** » 12 Jun 2007, 04:25

Great Prashant, that will be a great one to attend. I am hoping to be in Chennai this season, and will try to catch it if I am there. I have a Nedunuri Garu - Sankaran Sir Toronto concert. Somehow didn't leave a lasting impression in my mind like the Nedunuri-Raghu or Nedunuri-UKS combo. Part of the reason might have been Garu's recalcitrant voice in that concert.

Could you post Raghu Sir's concert schedule if you come to know?. While Garu and Raghu Sir are still giving concerts, we will hopefully get to hear them in a concert together somewhere sometime. That would be a wonderful day !!.

pgaiyar · Post by **pgaiyar** » 12 Jun 2007, 06:44

To : Mahesh3 or Mahesh 33

Thanks, sir. I look forward to this Thani, please. God bless you.

P. G. Aiyar

raghavt · Post by **raghavt** » 12 Jun 2007, 17:29

To Arasi:

Thank you for your comments.

To everyone else - Please upload the Tani with Sri Nedunuri. And unfortunatley, I may not be able to attend the concert during Madras Season

More about Sankaran Sir... 1995 Season Concert, TNS, Mysore Manjunath and Sankaran Sir. TNS Sang his favourite Raga, Todi and came the best one 'Dasharathi...' Sankaran Sir's accompaniment for that song... Mindboggling!!!! The tani that followed was just amazing.

Earlier during the same concert, Pantuvarali - Ninne Nera... and the brisk and assertive teerumanam that followed...

TAT TAKAJONU TOMKITATAKATARIKITATAKA TAKAJONUTAKAJONU TOM TAKAJONU TOM TAKAJONU TOM (One full cycle if played in Adi Talam 2 kalais).

You should hear that... I don't have that on a CD or computer to upload. Yes, it is on cassette.

Another instance, during a lecture demonstration in a College, he played Kanjira. I was responsible for arranging that program under SPICMACAY. The Kanjira sounded like thunder. Khanda Ekam was the Tala taken for exposition.

Program was over, all students and Professors were impressed. His style, language, diction and also, the correlation between the geometric progression and the way of playing the patterns etc fascinated everyone.

After 2 days a guy comes to me and asks me the cost of a Kanjira

Wants to learn it. He said, I quote "I've never imagined in my wildest dreams that this instrument can emit this kind of sound "

sankirnam · Post by **sankirnam** » 12 Jun 2007, 17:55

Sankaran sir is the only mrudangist who will elicit "besh" or "bale" from audience/artists when he plays sarvalaghu phrases like "tha dhim dhim dhim, tha dhim dhim dhim..." becuase of the way it sounds, nobody else can match that...
I saw that firsthand at Vijay Siva's concert last December at Sastri Hall, amazing concert.

raghavt · Post by **raghavt** » 12 Jun 2007, 19:27

I agree to your views. There are specific reasons for that. If we look at closely, as I mentioned in my first post, the weight of each akshara makes the difference.

For example, one NAM of Sankaran Sir = 5 NAMs of other artistes. The same goes with all other aksharas.
So the gumukki that he plays gives us the effect of Tavil. But has all the soberness of the mridangam.

So, simple patterns also attract everyone's appreciation. The gumukkis are like doves making sound.

I remember a concert wherein he accomapnied Neiveli Santhanagopalan. After the main number (Pantuvaraali) and the blazing Tani, Sri Santhanam began the soothing Yecharikka.

Folks... I've never heared such a fine rendition and accompaniment. The tempo was super slow. Yet, the fillers were awesome. Fillers mized with gummukki and pharans.

Then came the superb one, Govardhanagiridhari... that was awesome. Santhanagopalan can never sing it again in the same manner. I have no words to explain Sankaran sir's accompaniment.

I was spellbound !!!!!!!

s_hari · Post by **s_hari** » 16 Jun 2007, 10:14

coolkarni wrote:One of the most enduring images in my mind is the "Raj video vision" release of Semmangudis Academy Concert on Video.

In one beautiful sequence in the Thani , the camera takes a shot from the side with the side face of the mridangam covering half of the screen while Harisankar's image -as he plays his response- is a backdrop.
Harisankars playing with eyes closed, and Sankarans fingers mildly tapping the mridangam , and nothing else on the screen .... those few minutes are magical.

Will upload a few tracks of Pazhani's Profile, Style of playing and an analysis of a thani shortly.

Wow!! Is there a place where i can buy this VCD/DVD online? I am a big fan of SSI..

-hari

vigneshbal · Post by **vigneshbal** » 19 Jun 2007, 23:22

I recorded Mandolin srinivas concert with prof sankaran this dec season. this is certainly the best concert I have heard from sir. Although people talk of his tonal quality and things, all of u or most of us have been used to hearing the same things be it nadai/starting part.. This concert was different, He took the pallavi of the RTP and played it as a tani.. He went on to make tisram etc and then linked it to kandam.. Then came a kanda nadai which is not the usual kanda nadai sollus he plays.. EMS in Ghatam and Srirangam Kannan in Morsing were there... The concert was a one sided affair other accompanist could not match prof sankaran at all...

bhaktha · Post by **bhaktha** » 19 Jun 2007, 23:35

lsangeetham · Post by **lsangeetham** » 21 Jun 2007, 23:52

Dear vigneshbal, I heard about that concert too. Could you please share that concert with us ?

s_hari · Post by **s_hari** » 22 Jun 2007, 10:32

Where to buy Raj Video vision VCD of SSI? Can i buy online somewhere?

I posted this before also, no reply... If not available to buy, can someone share the copy with me?

-hari

raghavt · Post by **raghavt** » 22 Jun 2007, 18:02

Hello vigneshbal and others...

I'm also looking for the Raj Video vision VCD/DVD video cassette of SSI and Sankaran Sir. Where can I buy it or can anyone share...?

Also, vigneshbal, is it possible for you to share that concert with all of us...?

Raghavendran

vigneshbal · Post by **vigneshbal** » 26 Jun 2007, 11:49

Hi all.. I made a mistake in settings while recording that concert as a result the concert was nothing but noise. i am pretty good at sound engineering.. so tried to edit the concert but unfortunately it did not work and then i deleted it.. Sorry.. I would have loved to share it but unfortunately now its not possible.. I pledge to record all concerts of trichy sankaran from now on with max quality.

prashant · Post by **prashant** » 30 Jun 2007, 23:22

mahesh_narayan wrote:Great Prashant, that will be a great one to attend. I am hoping to be in Chennai this season, and will try to catch it if I am there. I have a Nedunuri Garu - Sankaran Sir Toronto concert. Somehow didn't leave a lasting impression in my mind like the Nedunuri-Raghu or Nedunuri-UKS combo. Part of the reason might have been Garu's recalcitrant voice in that concert.

That Toronto concert is definitely not among Nedunuri Garu's best. I think the combination would be wonderful - both artistes provide a wonderful feeling of sowkhyam. Sankaran Sir's thoppi usage with Nedunuri Garu should be bliss. As of now, I plan to be there at the Academy for this combination.

pgaiyar · Post by **pgaiyar** » 14 Aug 2007, 22:58

To : Mr. Mahesh3 or Mahesh 33:

Please sir can I request you again to upload the sensational thani by Trichy Sankaran sir?.

Regards

P. G. Aiyar
14-Aug-07

raghavt · Post by **raghavt** » 24 Aug 2007, 02:19

Hi,

Please have a look at this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OX2TuHmtSI

Brand Shankaran. See his palm and hand 'squeezing' and 'itching' the Toppi

Simply electrifying

giridharan · Post by **giridharan** » 01 Sep 2007, 17:34

I am always fascinated to listen to Shri Trichy Shankaran more on the concerts on Radio as i'm a vivid Radio listener.

I had the priviledge of watching Trichy Shankaran live at Music Academy accompanying the young stalwart of carnatic Music Sanjay Subramanyam with Nagai Sri Muralidharan on the Violin somewhere during 2001 Music season i believe.

I was totally blemished by the phrases and the patterns and the lively support Shri Shankaran provided to Sanjay definitely livened up the proceedings.

I, after listening to Shri Shankaran had the feeling that the we are missing someone who should have been a priceless procession of Carnatic music, who decides to stay away from India for most part,and comes only duirng the season.

Definitely his permanent presence in India should have posed a great challenge to eminent artists like UKS,TKM,KM to name a few Mridangam artists.

-Giri

Ashwin · Post by **Ashwin** » 01 Sep 2007, 23:20

Giri, I can appreciate your sentiments - it made me realize again how lucky we in Toronto are to be able to listen to and interact with Sankaran Mama at least a few times a year! If anything, the problem with having Sankaran Mama in Toronto is that many rasikas here do not know of, or cannot fully appreciate, the history and classicism that he embodies...

Ashwin

giridharan · Post by **giridharan** » 02 Sep 2007, 08:17

Ashwin, That is the reason exacly why we want a person of the calibre of Sankaran Mama here always as he would be a celebrity like other artists.

Also by this time he would have lot of sishyas who would have taken to limelight thus embodying his prescence felt always.

I am not against those making a beeline to performing overseas concerts, but my only feeling is that they should give more to the place where they learnt the art and also where the culture is given more prominence and enjoyed but sadly sans rich money which is offered overseas.

Ashwin, I also got an info today that u along with ur brother are the performing artists in US having learnt from the great Shri.SRJ.

-Giri

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 02 Sep 2007, 22:49

but my only feeling is that they should give more to the place where they learnt the art

Giridharan: I can easily see that his fans and CM rasikas in India do not get to hear him that often. Your 'stipulation' as indicated by your 'should give more to the place' only takes into account one half of the equation. Please consider also how much he has given to the art itself.

giridharan · Post by **giridharan** » 03 Sep 2007, 06:56

Dear Vasanthakokilam

This is a general comment not aimed at any particular vidwans/vidhushis.

-giri

raghavt · Post by **raghavt** » 24 Sep 2007, 10:59

giridharan wrote:Definitely his permanent presence in India should have posed a great challenge to eminent artists like UKS,TKM,KM to name a few Mridangam artists.

-Giri

I agree 100% to this statement. In fact similar sentiments were echoed by my master who himselft is a student of Shankaran Sir. With due respect to all other mridangam artistes, it is a fact that if Shankaran sir was here permenantly, the number of other artistes would have been less and also, some of the artistes would not have come up as they are now.

I would like to narrate an incident that happened when Shankaran sir toured India in 1996. He came in the month of September, quite early than usual (comes for Margazhi Fest).

All of SSR concerts were handled by Shankaran Sir. Be it in TN or Kerala. There was an ongoing music festival in Trichur, Kerala. On a day the first concert was to be given by SSI and the accompaniment was Shankaran Sir. The next one was (just after SSI concert), was a leading artist from Kerala, who is very senior and has got many awards. He was accompanied by an artist who is in the list mentioned by Giri. Well, SSI cannot be compared with that artist. The selection is evident.

Much of my amusement... The accompanists for the other artiste's concert were a part of the audience during SSI concert. As usual, the tani of Shankaran sir was blazing and crisp. It lasted exactly 6 minutes (Ghatam was also there).

Then came the 2nd concert with the other artist. It was a flop when compared with the 1st one in all aspects.

After the first 2 numbers, we all left for Hotel with Shankaran sir and then to drop him to Railway Station. We came back the next day and we met a local mridangam player. He told us that the artist who played mridangam during the 2nd concert had a hard-talk with the organizers that the mic setting for Shankaran Sir was more. The truth was that there was no mic for the toppi. This was the topic of discussion.

This incident depicts the greatness of him. All other artists are masters and have carved a niche for themselves. However, in musical parleys during discussions, everyone consider Shankaran Sir always miles ahead of others.

I have another instance, let me now quote the name of this artist - Palakkad S A Ramakrishnan asking after listening a concert of Balamuralikrisha @ Palakkad with Shankaran Sir " He has not changed a bit, it's the same Shankaran. Is he coming back to settle in Madras? Then others are sure to fade or go"

There is no 'Atishayokti' in these incidents

Sorry for this long post.

Thanks,
Raghav.

raghavt · Post by **raghavt** » 24 Sep 2007, 11:02

giridharan wrote:Also by this time he would have lot of sishyas who would have taken to limelight thus embodying his prescence felt always.

-Giri

A statment that is disputable... :rolleyes:

prashant · Post by **prashant** » 01 Nov 2007, 09:33

http://file.uploadr.com/11669

Here is an absolutely outstanding tani by Sankaran Sir and Nagarajan Sir. They are egged on every step of the way by an appreciative and excited DKJ Sir. To top it all, the venue is SastriHall, and in this intimate atmosphere, the volleys of 'balEs' from the audience are very mcuh a part of the show. The two greats go at each other with all they've got. Enjoy!

semmu86 · Post by **semmu86** » 20 Nov 2007, 17:14

thanks prashantji.....no amount of thanks can be enuf for providing the link 2 dat thani....infact i heard abt that exact thani from a frnd of mine ( a disciple of our tiger sankaran sir) and was searching lik nethn 4 dat....once again thanx a looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooot

semmu86 · Post by **semmu86** » 11 Dec 2007, 09:00

hello friends.....hw many of u attended sankarn sir's 1st cncrt this season ystrday(10th)?? he played for ravikiran...misra chapu thani and that too the edupu is after 2 aksharas in the last beat....outstanding...i will upload the thani soon...

semmu86 · Post by **semmu86** » 15 Dec 2007, 08:05

2day's cncrt (15th) nedanuri garu with sankaran sir at music academy dont miss it guys.....

semmu86 · Post by **semmu86** » 28 Nov 2008, 11:26

http://www.musicacademymadras.in/2008-w ... _2008.html

watch out fot 21st morning... dont miss it

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 16 Dec 2008, 01:13

I saw him with Malladi Brothers a couple of days ago. Hope it will be the first of several occasions.

semmu86 · Post by **semmu86** » 16 Dec 2008, 07:38

hello nick sir... i missed out on that concert unfortunately... can you please post a review?? thanks a lot..

raghavt · Post by **raghavt** » 15 May 2009, 21:10

Hi Everyone,

Lets all of us go and meet Sankaran sir and submit a memorandum requesting him to stay in Chennai for 3-4 years. What do you all have to say?

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 16 May 2009, 19:06

Lets all of us go and meet Sankaran sir and submit a memorandum requesting him to stay in Chennai for 3-4 years. What do you all have to say?

...That there are more important things in his life than our wishes!!!!

We are very lucky that he visits us each season!