Time discipline, Kudos to Maharajapuram Srinivasan

ShrutiLaya · Post by **ShrutiLaya** » 27 Jul 2009, 20:38

We are all used to waiting for concerts to start on Indian Standard Time. But at a recent Shruti Laya concert, a pleasant and refreshing change happened. The concert was scheduled to begin at 7:00 PM, but all the accompanists - violin, mridangam and morsing - were stuck in NY traffic, and were unable to make it on time. Sri Maharajapuram Srinivasan and Sri Maharajapuram Ganesh Vishwanathan did something I never saw any other artist do - they began at 7:00 PM sharp with no accompanists! After the varnam and the first song, the violinist came in and quietly joined up, tuning his instrument on the fly. The mridangist arrived just as the violin alapana was finishing at the third song, and he too blended in at the beginning of the krithi.

Hats off to these artists!

- Sreenadh

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 27 Jul 2009, 21:25

Shruthilaya
That is truly amazing , how was the concert overall.

Music · Post by **Music** » 27 Jul 2009, 22:08

Kudos to Sri Maharajapuram Srinivasan indeed! I had interacted with him some time ago to arrange for a home concert and I can say he is a person who keeps his word. After commiting to this concert, I saw that there were other offers that he got and could have easily taken, but he stuck to his word. He started and finished exactly on time as per plan. It is so nice to see artists with such discipline and integrity.

suma · Post by **suma** » 27 Jul 2009, 22:16

Good Job by the artist starting on time.

s_hari · Post by **s_hari** » 27 Jul 2009, 22:22

Awesome... What happens if main artist gets delayed in traffic, and accompanists on time? I guess, we start with tani avarthanam(;-

-hari

PUNARVASU · Post by **PUNARVASU** » 27 Jul 2009, 22:25

Congratulations to the artists for their punctuality!

bilahari · Post by **bilahari** » 28 Jul 2009, 03:16

That is really quite extraordinary--hats off to Sri Maharajapuram Srinivasan.

VK RAMAN · Post by **VK RAMAN** » 28 Jul 2009, 03:40

Messrs. Maharajapuram Srinivasan and Ganesh viswanathan deserve praise and their act is very commendable.

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 28 Jul 2009, 08:59

More than being time conscious , without the accompanist the singers may just expose their true music

. Usually if you hear even the greatest of great like ssi,mmi and gnb singing at home without accompanist , you will not have the same zing effect that they give with accompanist .Kudos to father and son

Shruthilaya,
Just curious about the song list please!!!

coolkarni · Post by **coolkarni** » 28 Jul 2009, 09:05

mohan · Post by **mohan** » 28 Jul 2009, 09:16

coolkarni wrote: If the scheduled time for the day's class is 8 AM , MSG would have started practising, !

I have hosted a number of visiting musicians and Sri MSG is the only senior artiste who practices daily even while on tour. He commences with an Ata tala varnam played in two or three speeds and then plays the appropriate Dikshitar Navagraha kriti for the day!

ShrutiLaya · Post by **ShrutiLaya** » 28 Jul 2009, 09:33

Sorry for the delay in responding. It was a great concert, because Sri Srinivasan adjusted his song selection to the tastes of the audience very expertly. The program was in Sai Mandir, and so he included a liberal helping of bhajans in addition to krithis. Here is the song list

1. Innam En Manam - Charukesi Varnam - Adi - Lalgudi G.Jayaraman
2. Raghunayaka - Hamsadhwani - Ad- Saint Thyagaraja
3. Abhaya Varadhe - Hindolam - Misra Chapu - Indra Natesan
4. Innamum Sodhaniyo - Bilahari- Adi
5. Brovabhaarama Raghuraama - Bahudari
6. En Pallee Kondeer - Mohanam- Adi- Arunachala Kavirayar
7. Haridasulu Vedale - Yamunakalyani - Adi - Thyagaraja
8. Thaye Yasodha - Thodi - Adi- Oothukadu Venkata Subbaiyar
9. Ksheera Sagara Sai - Poorvi Kalyani- Adi - Papanasam Sivan
10. Sangeetha Samrajya Sancharini - Mohanakalyani - Adi
11. Giri Dhara Pal - Yamuna Kalyani - Bhajan
12. Sheerabdhi Kannige- Ragamalika-Adi - Saint Purandaradasar
13. Raghupate Raaghava - Chandrakauns -Bhajan
14. Nalai Varum Endru - Chandrakauns- Adi- Madurai G.S.Mani
15. Vilaiyaada idu neramaa - Shanmukhapriya
16. Tillana Brindavani - Lalgudi Jayaraman
17. Bho Shambho- Revathi- Adi- Swami Dayananda Saraswathi
18. Mangalam

It was amazing how much he could pack into a 1.5 hour concert, but something had to give - only the Purvi Kalyani and the Mohanam had an elaborate alapana, and the rest of the pieces were sung briskly to keep the audience involved. All in all, a wonderful concert, though ..

- Sreenadh

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 28 Jul 2009, 09:54

ShrutiLaya wrote: 4. Innamum Sodhaniyo - Bilahari- Adi
10. Sangeetha Samrajya Sancharini - Mohanakalyani - Adi
11. Giri Dhara Pal - Yamuna Kalyani - Bhajan
13. Raghupate Raaghava - Chandrakauns -Bhajan
15. Vilaiyaada idu neramaa - Shanmukhapriya
16. Tillana (Kapi ?)

Dont know about the bilahari composition

10. Sangeetha Samrajya Sancharini - Mohanakalyani - Adi - bangalore ramamurthy
11. Giri Dhara Pal - Yamuna Kalyani - Bhajan - I am assuming this is the popular meera bhajan
13. Raghupate Raaghava - Chandrakauns -Bhajan -???
15. Vilaiyaada idu neramaa - Shanmukhapriya - washington TN bAlA

So many numbers within an hour and half gives a more devotional concert feel than a kutcheri feel .

Rasika911 · Post by **Rasika911** » 28 Jul 2009, 13:16

ShrutiLaya wrote:We are all used to waiting for concerts to start on Indian Standard Time. But at a recent Shruti Laya concert, a pleasant and refreshing change happened. The concert was scheduled to begin at 7:00 PM, but all the accompanists - violin, mridangam and morsing - were stuck in NY traffic, and were unable to make it on time. Sri Maharajapuram Srinivasan and Sri Maharajapuram Ganesh Vishwanathan did something I never saw any other artist do - they began at 7:00 PM sharp with no accompanists! After the varnam and the first song, the violinist came in and quietly joined up, tuning his instrument on the fly. The mridangist arrived just as the violin alapana was finishing at the third song, and he too blended in at the beginning of the krithi.

Hats off to these artists!

- Sreenadh

Most pathetic thing i have ever heard. This is disrespectful more than anything else.
The accompanists were not deliberately late, they were stuck in NY traffic, it was beyond their control. If it is 7pm and the accomapnists havent arrived then a simple phone call could have been made to see where they were. If then you realise they are going to be so late that it will affect the timing of the event then you can go ahead and begin the concert. To simply start at 7 sharp is stupidity.

coolkapali · Post by **coolkapali** » 28 Jul 2009, 14:14

911, u have opted the right number for your name in this forum. 9/11. Ur comment represents the typical saddist who finds fault with everything. Disaster in guise.

To be punctual is every body's duty and especially so for any stage performance...for are the audience fools to be waiting there for a long time? One cannot give any excuses for being late. Will u say the same thing if the Board exams begin on time and ur son was late by 5 mins? I Salute the artistes for their dedication and serves the accompanists right for their negligent attitude.

johnlovescm · Post by **johnlovescm** » 28 Jul 2009, 14:26

I am sure the organisers would have called the accompanists to check the wheeabouts of them. Based on the feedback from them, they would have decided to start the concert.
But there is no excuse for being late. Knowing NYC and the traffic the artists should take extra precaution to be at the venue on time.
What happens if the main artist is missing. There have been quite a bashing on TNS arriving late for many of his concerts. Will the accompanists run a solo in his absence till such time the main artist arrives.

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 28 Jul 2009, 14:38

Rasika911 wrote:Most pathetic thing i have ever heard. This is disrespectful more than anything else.
The accompanists were not deliberately late, they were stuck in NY traffic, it was beyond their control. If it is 7pm and the accomapnists havent arrived then a simple phone call could have been made to see where they were. If then you realise they are going to be so late that it will affect the timing of the event then you can go ahead and begin the concert. To simply start at 7 sharp is stupidity.

A slightly odd point of view! There is nothing disrespectful to the accompanists, but there is a great deal of respect to the audience, who have paid for their seats, not to keep them twiddling their thumbs for an unknown amount of time until the missing persons turn up. Kudos and respect to those artists who were prepared to fulfil their obligations to the audience, and to do so without the usual support! First rate professionals!

Their choosing to begin in this way does not imply any disrespect to, or criticism of, the supporting artists. Their delay may well have been beyond control or foresight; we have all experienced the journeys where we allow plenty of time, but some accident or other event causes the last few minutes of our journey to become a torturous hour. On the other hand, we have also heard "traffic" as a common generic excuse, and maybe used it ourselves a few times too.

There are those artists who regularly walk onto the stage just as the curtain is rising. There are also many who are so particular and professional that they will be an hour early rather than risk being late. I know people who are utterly unreliable and unpunctual for everything else, but will never be late for a performance. However, when on tour, even they are often at the mercy of organisers who may not have the same standards.

Probably the accompanists in this instance were embarrassed by their lateness. Perhaps they would have been much more embarrassed if the start had been delayed for them!

s_hari · Post by **s_hari** » 28 Jul 2009, 15:32

I have seen in a bangalore concert (Indira nagar sangeetha sabha), and after concert started, tambura artist joined after first few songs.

-hari

ShrutiLaya · Post by **ShrutiLaya** » 28 Jul 2009, 16:39

Rasika911 wrote: If it is 7pm and the accomapnists havent arrived then a simple phone call could have been made to see where they were. If then you realise they are going to be so late that it will affect the timing of the event then you can go ahead and begin the concert. To simply start at 7 sharp is stupidity.

Sri. Srinivasan arrived a half hour early, and kept calling the accompanists. The obvious difficulty with traffic is that you can report how far you are in miles, but not in minutes.

nick H wrote: Their choosing to begin in this way does not imply any disrespect to, or criticism of, the supporting artists. Their delay may well have been beyond control or foresight; we have all experienced the journeys where we allow plenty of time, but some accident or other event causes the last few minutes of our journey to become a torturous hour.

Yes, I am certain this is what happened in this case because all the accompanists were stuck in the same traffic incident. They are to be applauded too, for balancing a professional (non music) career with playing for visiting artists and managing to do justice to both.

Thank you, rajeshat, for the composers names. The bilahari song goes "Innamum Sodhaniyo, sree sayee baaba" and is probably a recent composition.

- Sreenadh

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 28 Jul 2009, 22:59

You can not win unanimously in the court of public opinion since there are always diverse opinions. Especially when those views may not be well considered and just expressed for the sake of taking an opposite point of view, to be different from the majority. Not saying r911's view came from such a place, but just observing that one has to go by certain principles in such public performances without worrying about what others are thinking. There is usually no one uniform opinion about such things. Also, where was any mention of disrespecting the accompanying artists, it is not like they are fired or yelled at for being late.

It would have a great experience to listen to a varnam and a krithi in a concert setting with just the singer. How many times will you get to hear that?

VK RAMAN · Post by **VK RAMAN** » 29 Jul 2009, 03:13

There is some one out their with an opposing view

appu · Post by **appu** » 29 Jul 2009, 04:50

VK RAMAN wrote:There is some one out their with an opposing view

VK Raman, Rasika 911 had a difference of opinion. But I guess he was called a sadist for voicing his opinion.

kedharam · Post by **kedharam** » 29 Jul 2009, 05:02

There

Rasika911 · Post by **Rasika911** » 29 Jul 2009, 11:53

vasanthakokilam wrote: Also, where was any mention of disrespecting the accompanying artists, it is not like they are fired or yelled at for being late.

It comes from the actions. Again this whole thing could've been handled the way i thought it should have been i dont know?

vasanthakokilam wrote: It would have a great experience to listen to a varnam and a krithi in a concert setting with just the singer. How many times will you get to hear that?

I have nothing against that. Infact i recently heard a concert with rtp from a local singer with just a sruthi box and it was a blissful experience.

Rasika911 · Post by **Rasika911** » 29 Jul 2009, 11:54

coolkapali wrote:? I Salute the artistes for their dedication and serves the accompanists right for their negligent attitude.

I do not intend on being a sadist whatever that means. If the violinist has arrived at the end of the varnam it would'nt be a big deal to wait for 5~mins.
As somebody else has already mentioned what happens if Maharajapuram Srinivasan is late, does the violinist play the varnam?