Is this mridangam????

tiruppugazh · Post by **tiruppugazh** » 24 Aug 2011, 14:42

I am shocked to see how a senior and respected mridangam artiste can play with such insensitivity and indifference :@

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXpp1tCI5ZY

eppramod · Post by **eppramod** » 24 Aug 2011, 16:13

I was present for this concert but left just before Saketharaman started this Krithi

.

I thought till that point concert was decent with Saketharaman trying his best.
There was a wonderful Kharaharapriya Alapana.

Actually that day Abhishek Raghuram was planned to present the concert.

Pramod

thanjavooran · Post by **thanjavooran** » 24 Aug 2011, 16:32

Shri Tirupugazh avl,
Interested to know little more the insensitivity you are referring to in this.

Thanjavooran 24 08 2011

tiruppugazh · Post by **tiruppugazh** » 24 Aug 2011, 19:29

The whole piece sounds like a how they play a tabla solo. The tabla continuously plays while the main artiste just repeats a line. Here the mridangam is continuously being banged at without any sensitivity to the song or the singer.

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 24 Aug 2011, 22:56

I don't think a mridangam artist's contribution to a concert can be judged in a three minute clip.

Ramasubramanian M.K · Post by **Ramasubramanian M.K** » 25 Aug 2011, 02:07

Have posted my comments on the You tube piece---anyway let me reiiterate for Thanjavooran's question,--the piece was supposed to have been a Mutual Admiration piece between Veena Dhanammal and Dharmapuri Subbaraier--a Javali in Paras to be rendered with respect and admiration. While PMI may have initiated the tempo-changing playing style in Javalis like this, to play at the top tempo throughout--(no doubt demonstrating UVS's prowess in speed and clarity of sollukattus ) almost dwarfing the singer(incidentally I would have preferred if Saketharaman himself had chosen a lower Kalapramanam to begin with) this seemed to me to be the jarring note in the performance of this piece by UVS.

To Nick's point-- True a 3 minute video clip should not be used to judge an artiste but clearly UVS could have showed more restraint in keeping with the spirit of the composition.

It will not be out-of-place here to quote PMI on mridangam playing-in his coarse Malayalam-laden Tamil he used to say "EEPPO KAIYAI EDUKKANUM THERIYANUM(you should know when not to play--akin to the dictum--silence is a vital part of a speech!!)

msakella · Post by **msakella** » 25 Aug 2011, 02:53

I have listened to this item and my friend UKS played Mridangam excellently in this item, Smarasundaraanguni-Pharaj-Adi.

We both have participated together in many concerts and I very much like his playing. When I was working in AIR, Hyderabad he was asking me to render Tala for his 'Layavinyasams', Mridangam-solos and then I was truley enjoying his playing. I don’t find any thing wrong in his playing in this item. It is very inspirational. In general, we the accompanists are used to, at the first instance, assess the abilities of the main artist and, then only, we shall proceed further in a suitable way to accompany a particular artist. UKS very well assessed the abilities of the main artist and played like this. He may not have played in a convenient Sarvalaghu to an artist having average rhythmical abilities. His playing is revealing that the main artist has the ability to cope up with an able Mridangist. Nowadays many people, either singers or listeners, are always expecting only a very convenient Sarvalaghu in Mridangam not to expose their inabilities but not any intricacies. It is the general trend to avoid intricate ‘kanakku’. Many people want a good Mridangist and if he/she plays even a little exceedingly they cannot bear with it. This is not nice. Does he not show his prowess? amsharma

mahavishnu · Post by **mahavishnu** » 25 Aug 2011, 05:05

I also listened to this piece carefully and I have to say that I agree with Akella-ji.

I think UKS played exceedingly well, with significant pauses perfectly timed. I especially thought that the complex arrai chappu sequence matched the start of the anupallavi rather well. The kAlapramAnam is certainly faster for this jAvali in Saketaraman's rendition, and thus the gait set up by the mridangam in some sense reminded me of a well choreographed dance performance.

Sri UKS also utilized some wonderful syncopated "sollus" in the charanam. There are few in the world of mridangam that can pull this off and UKS is clearly one of them. As Sarma-ji noted, it was inspirational and elevated the performance of Saketaraman.

eppramod · Post by **eppramod** » 25 Aug 2011, 10:36

mahavishnu wrote:I also listened to this piece carefully and I have to say that I agree with Akella-ji.

The kAlapramAnam is certainly faster for this jAvali in Saketaraman's rendition, and thus the gait set up by the mridangam in some sense reminded me of a well choreographed dance performance.

Sri UKS also utilized some wonderful syncopated "sollus" in the charanam. There are few in the world of mridangam that can pull this off and UKS is clearly one of them. As Sarma-ji noted, it was inspirational and elevated the performance of Saketaraman.

That day the concert started really late as UKS sir got caught in Bangalore traffic and it was almost very late when Saketharaman started this piece.
I remember UKS sir mentioning when he was asked to talk few words that he need to catch Chennai mail in the night

I had to leave when Saketharaman started this as it was getting late for me.
Pramod

VRV · Post by **VRV** » 26 Aug 2011, 07:07

Wow, Wow and Wow.

The accompaniment on the mridangam was nothing short of brilliant. Like Akellaji mentioned, an artist of UKS stature would try something so intricate only if the young rising star has enough control of the layam, which he of course does.

Having heard UKS accompanying artists for the last 40 years, and being a student of mridangam, I have the following personal observations. At the very onset of the piece (0:03) Shri UKS has set up the nature of his accompaniment by demonstrating an intricate peratal highlighting the brigha. At about 27 secs of the video the silence by UKS is indicative of developing a well thought out teermanam. Unfortunately that was not to be as Saketharaman began the Anupallavi. If this was a seasoned artist like say a Semmangudi or a TNK, they would have goaded UKS to finish the teermanam and it would have been as stunning as ever. This happens again at 1:39 in the video. Shri UKS is like a hawk getting ready to deliver something complex. However Shri Saketharaman starts the charanam at 1:50 once again depriving the rasikas of a possibly mind blowing teermanam.

Observe the set up of "thari Kitha Thom" from 2:15 to 2:30 and the cross rhythms prior to this in the charanam. This type of accompaniment is a very unique style that Sivaraman delivers. Observe the Kanjira artist playing against the rhythm. Towards the end somewhere Shri UKS migrated to the Arai Chaphu and put a teermanam in standard 4/4 pattern incorporating the chapu.

My personal observation: Interaction with the mridangist and violinist on stage is very important. Like I mentioned before, understanding the development of the Solkattu by a senior artist and adjusting your singing to let him complete the thought process would have lifted this song to a different plane. Saketharaman has undoubtedly a superb voice. Let us give him an opportunity to blossom and understand accompanists like the one and only Umayalapuram K Sivaraman and get into the zone.

Vinod Venkataraman

mahavishnu · Post by **mahavishnu** » 26 Aug 2011, 07:30

Excellent, VRV. I appreciate your unique perspective on this.

Here is UKS accompanying another young artiste (Bharat Sundar) in this rendition of smarasundarAnguni. It is a commercial recording, so I am not sharing the whole clip; but you can hear a sample here. http://www.emusic.com/listen/#/album/K- ... 09113.html:

Once again, UKS's delivery is extremely consistent and has elevated the level of the music.

mahavishnu · Post by **mahavishnu** » 26 Aug 2011, 07:45

Here is a clip of UKS brilliantly accompanying another young artiste Kunnakudi Balamuralikrishna for the same song, SmarasundarAnguni. http://www.sendspace.com/file/c1iky1

NOTE: This is a recording from the public domain (sangeethamshare). I am only posting this here for academic purposes.

cookmex · Post by **cookmex** » 26 Aug 2011, 21:01

tiruppugazh wrote: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXpp1tCI5ZY

vocal: Saketharaman
violin: ?
mridangam: Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman
kanjira: Sundar Kumar
tambura: ?

mahavishnu · Post by **mahavishnu** » 26 Aug 2011, 21:18

violin: Mysore Srikanth. http://sites.google.com/site/violinsrikanth/

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 26 Aug 2011, 22:19

UKS's playing, to me, is typified by being very sparing and making great use of silence. He will play fast-and-furious only when he thinks it is right to do so, according to the artist, the song, the point in the concert, and probably other considerations that I don't know about. That is why I think it is unfair to judge a concert by a three-minute clip.

Of course, however great or senior the artist, we might not always agree with how they handle every moment of a concert. That is our right

mri_fan · Post by **mri_fan** » 29 Aug 2011, 23:36

Whether UKS played appropriately for this song is certainly debatable. I have noticed that there has been a drastic change in his methods of accompaniment over the years, especially in the last 5-10 years. Listening to concerts of his from 30 years ago, except for the perfect chapu, it'd be hard to tell its the same person playing. I've posted two links below to concerts from as recently as 10 years (I think), and you see little resemblence to anything he does in the song that sparked this discussion.

http://youtu.be/scR1CKLInxM?t=1m8s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDv3tsj_IS4

One thing that I have noticed is that UKS is way more aggressive in his playing for junior artists (in fact, all the recordings mentioned here of him playing this aggressively are for junior artists). I think he feels more liberty to play aggressively with them (especially for slower pieces, where other mridangam artists probably wouldn't). Perks of seniority? I bet if he ever tried that with SSI he'd get a stern look (at best).

As another example, here's a clip with him from a while ago playing for a fast piece with BMK from youtube. It's about 2 minutes into the song before he tries anything that we'd consider classic UKS these days. He otherwise follows closesly in a very traditional, pleasing sarvalaghu style. A song like this nowadays would get a different response from UKS (akin to what started this discussion).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQoFF8u8a3w

UKS does offer some breaks in his playing, but its almost always just to set up some long impressive finish that he has planned, and not necessarily for the benefit of the audience / other musicians on stage. He rarely pauses during any sahityam...

appu · Post by **appu** » 30 Aug 2011, 01:11

Hello Mri_Fan,

Welcome back to the forum. I have not seen your posts in a very long time. I am inclined to agree with you with respect to UKS accompanying style having changed over the years. Yes, he does take liberty with the younger artists.

I have a recording of TNK with Sivaraman and Vinayakaram, performed at Bombay in 1980. For a couple of kirtanams, like Marubalga in Sri Ranjani he has the same aggressive approach. The approach is almost identical to the Arabi pancharatnam.

But it blends well with the kritis and that is what finally matters.

Regards,

Appu

mri_fan · Post by **mri_fan** » 01 Sep 2011, 20:11

I'm a lurker...didn't go anywhere, but haven't had much to say recently...I think songs like Marubalga has an inherit design/structure that requires a certain level of aggression. Recently, I hear that aggression from UKS (and sometimes Bhatavatsalam) for a lot of other songs where it's less clear that it's appropriate. Clearly they have a technical prowess that is mind-blowing, but it's sometimes distracting.

mridhangam · Post by **mridhangam** » 05 Sep 2011, 15:17

Members

After a long silence i am posting for this ... first let me answer the question Is this mridangam ???? I would definitely say THIS IS MRIDANGAM and exceptionally brilliant and naadam filled fireworks from the maestro (especially listen to the araichapu combination starting at 0:32 simply amazing and simply mesmerising stroke from the maestro which is unparallelled till date). Lleaving apart all the discussions about UKS accompanying youngsters in an aggressive way i would sincerely like all the rasikas to listen to the maestro in stages and not in comparison of their evolution. Actually to enjoy a concert we need to listen to the concert along with the artiste on that particular day with their current mental staus or their current mood. In retrospection most of the concerts can be analysed either way and mostly negatively, which is true for any artiste of the past or present. In fact i have been listening to this araichapu combination for the 'n'th time and i would just say it is difficult to perform but easy to comment.

Hari Om
Mannarkoil J Balaji

cacm · Post by **cacm** » 05 Sep 2011, 23:50

Dear M.J.K,
GREAT observation from a true expert like you who I admire a lot for his ability & Janaranjakam. I just wish to add that MMI when UKS he accompanied him in his career early used to encourage& enthuse him saying often " ARAI CHAPPU KUDOO" which still rings in my ears! VKV

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 06 Sep 2011, 00:48

Someone has to ask and let that be me: What is araichapu?

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 06 Sep 2011, 02:59

here is an arai-answer.

There are two ways of producing the chapu sound/stroke on the mridangam. One in which the tip of the little finger strikes the black circle at the side close to the player, and the other, where it strikes the opposite side, reaching across the black. They are called full- and half- chapu. This is only half an answer, because I can't remember which is which!

mahavishnu · Post by **mahavishnu** » 06 Sep 2011, 06:18

Here is a picture of Arai chapu from our own J Balaji's website:
http://www.angelfire.com/mb/mridhangam/ ... #araichapu

and the full chapu: http://www.angelfire.com/mb/mridhangam/ ... #fullchapu

Although, I have also heard the arai is not half, but arrai as in slap... thus the slap-chop-u

UKS is the undisputed king of arrai chapus; probably the most prolific user of it since Tanjavur Ramadas Rao.

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 06 Sep 2011, 06:32

Nick, Mahavishu, that explains it. Thanks.

kappi · Post by **kappi** » 06 Sep 2011, 08:02

Very interesting discussion indeed.
I agree that UKS uses arrai-chapu a lot (Thanks Mahavishnu for clearing the "arai"-"arrai" doubt. I always used to wonder why it was called "arai" (half) chapu while it is played over the complete chatam)
Arrai-chapu was very extensively used by other Tanjore stalwarts too, like PMI, Raghu sir and Murthy Sir. (Probably UKS puts it with beaitful swaying of his right hand, which makes it more appealing; and also he plays it exclusively in Kuchi mridangam).The padakkais (the lessons for learning and perfecting the fingering) framed by Tanjore Vaidynatha Iyerval are all heavily based on the arrai-chapu.
UKS mostly use the arrai chapu as an "aesthetic" stroke ie; to produce a specific sound from the mridangam. He uses it very less in conjunction with other strokes, whereas other starlwarts who strictly adhered to the Tanjore fingering (like Murthy Sir) use arrai-chapu as a power stroke, especially in the Kappi mridangam; mostly instead of the "dhi" stroke (played with three fingers; rfer to J Balaji's please). The arra-chapu has a splashing sound like that of a waterfall, which "dhi" stroke lacks in. Actually arrai-chapu cannot be used as a power stroke in kuchi mridangam; it won't produce any sound then. It is possible only in kappi mootu. (I could demonstrate this in kuchi and kappi mridangams and upload them, if someone is interested)
Finally a personal remark: It's indeed sad that today arrai-chapu is almost extinct from a mridangist's dictionary.

mridhangam · Post by **mridhangam** » 06 Sep 2011, 11:06

Kappi you are absolutely right about the slow extinction of arai-chapu from the concert repertoire in the name of more rounded naadam filled full-chaapu. Recently Madras A Kannan (nonagenerian) made an excellent demonstration of full chaapu, arai chaapu and kaal chaapu too (he played kaal chaapu too with a special request from TVG sir-who was present). It seems many stalwarts like TRS used to be astounded by the naadam produced by Madras A Kannan for his special Kaal chaapu. Of course we all could get a glimpse of Madras A Kanna's prowess in the instrument with an excellent show of tani avartanam with varied patterns and also he played excellent combination for "Nan gu tha dhin" without varying the right hand he played 5, 6, 7 and 9 on the thoppi side. It was superb demonstration and also excellent experience for the small audience. Member Kappi one more interesting factor is the use of Kuchi and Kappi mridangam for production of sollus. Raghu sir and murthy sir used more of patterns with Dhi, Dhin and thom combinations than of Chaapu, arai chaapu etc. My guru kalaimamani Ramanathapuram M N Kandawamy Sir used to tell all students "Practice more of patterns with Dhi, Dhin and Thom combinations instead of Nam, chaapu and arai chaapu. Moreover the Sollu "Thalaangu" was taught to us by using arai chaapu but it is painful sometimes to see that being played with full chaapu for the sake of unasked for effec. UKS, Trichy Sankaran, Ramabadran, Mannargudi Eswaran, Guruvayur Dorai, Tiruvarur Bhaktavatsalam and other mridangists use the chaapu (both arai and full) to suit the purpose of the kriti and also with proper azutham so as to produced the desired naadam. Even those who use kappi mridangams can produce the full chaapu and arai chaapu with naadam provided they take enough care to bring out the exact phrase by playing with proper technique. I can quote Tanjore Upendran sir, Rajarao sir (i think rajarao sir has recently shifted to kuchi type - which i saw in quite a few concerts) Dandamudi Ram mohan Rao, Karaikudi Mani, Tanjore Ramadoss can all be termed as veterans of Kappi type of mridangam with excellent production of chaapu- arai chaapu combination, with a special mention about Tanjore Ramadoss and Tanjore Upendran's arai chaapu where their striking point and also their split second removal from the mridangam gives a special tone.

Hari Om
Mannarkoil J Balaji

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 06 Sep 2011, 11:29

Balaji
That was a great post , is kaal chaapu totally extinct or Is it still played.if there is a demo or snippet upload of Madras Kannan that would be wonderful.

mridhangam · Post by **mridhangam** » 06 Sep 2011, 11:53

Rajesh sir

I think it was videographed by Sampradaya for archival purposes. As the programme was organised by Shri K Arunprakash they will take concurrence from him for using it for archival purposes.

As such i dont think the request can be acceeded to.

Hari Om
Mannarkoil J Balaji

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 06 Sep 2011, 12:15

Thanks mridhangam, is kaal chaapu totally extinct or Is it still played. Just curious if arai is not half but more as in slap in arai chaapu, what is kaal in kaal chaapu?

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 06 Sep 2011, 14:21

kappi wrote:mostly instead of the "dhi" stroke (played with three fingers; rfer to J Balaji's please). The arra-chapu has a splashing sound like that of a waterfall, which "dhi" stroke lacks in. Actually arrai-chapu cannot be used as a power stroke in kuchi mridangam; it won't produce any sound then. It is possible only in kappi mootu. (I could demonstrate this in kuchi and kappi mridangams and upload them, if someone is interested)
Finally a personal remark: It's indeed sad that today arrai-chapu is almost extinct from a mridangist's dictionary.

I'm a little confused by this. The chapu sound is the same, and gives (depending on the player) the full ringing nadam, ie dhin sound, of the mridangam, whether it is played full or half, and whether the mridangam is kappi or kutchi.

I can say this because it is the exclusive way that chapu is taught by my mridangam guruji. From the first dhiku-tari-kita-taka lesson, that is where we have to make the little finger fall, and we have to learn to make the mridangam ring. At this point, we are probably still struggling to get proper sound from the very-much-easier two-finger dhin stroke!

Dhin is technically fascinating, because one finger is used, like a finger stopping a string, to give the note, whilst the other strikes, producing the sound. With chapu, both functions are combined into the one finger tip!

The stage is not the classroom, and the master is not the student. Those watching for these strokes on stage may be confused, because the master will produce music from his instrument however he touches it. Grounded in perfection of discipline, the master craftsman is released from it, as if there is direct connection between brain and work or instrument. Thus, when we watch the mridangist play on stage, although there are two places that chapu must be played, we may see the finger appear to fall in many places. We have to remember that they are playing real, live music, and not giving a demonstration for beginners!

Thank you for the link to Balaji's site. I searched for it before posting last night, but couldn't find it.

mridhangam · Post by **mridhangam** » 06 Sep 2011, 14:41

member rajeshnat

No one plays kaal chaapu for that matter. If you take arai chapu as half chaapu then the kaal chaapu as quarter chaapu as it was mentioned by TRS and TVG sir to Madras A Kannan requesting him to demonstrate playing that..that is all i know as of now. I am not going in to discussion as on Arai is slapping or half ...i will get back to this topic asap.

Hari OM
Mannarkoil J Balaji

annamalai · Post by **annamalai** » 07 Sep 2011, 11:36

rajeshnat wrote:Balaji
That was a great post , is kaal chaapu totally extinct or Is it still played.if there is a demo or snippet upload of Madras Kannan that would be wonderful.

There is a nice concert of Madurai Somu 1964 Music Academy concert with Madras Kannan (Mridangam) in Sangeethapriya.

What a lovely nadham esp. his mridangam accompaniment for Varalandu (Gurjari) simply lifts the song and theermanams so crisp.
Madras Kannan used to accompany Seerkazhi Govindarajan quite often.

mridhangam · Post by **mridhangam** » 07 Sep 2011, 12:08

Even at the age past 90 he still able to give the reverbrating chaapu sound in his mridangam and also he played a beautiful combination with his fingers at the center of the Black patch something similar to what we call "Jonuthaka jonuthaka" with and without Thom.

Great Legend indeed.

Hari OM
Mannarkoil J Balaji

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 07 Sep 2011, 14:09

"kaal chaapu" --- so, there are not just two chapus, but three. at least?

mahavishnu · Post by **mahavishnu** » 07 Sep 2011, 23:30

For those interested, here is the video of Sri Madras Kannan talking about chappus (and yes Nick he plays all three chapus here, but the talk is in tamil only) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gG9iMrVtmAA

Here is another video of him playing a short tani + korvai: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiRx8jr7J8I

Interestingly, Madras Kannan was a shishya of Tanjavur Ramadas Rao, whom I had written about in an earlier post on arrai chapu.

tiruppugazh · Post by **tiruppugazh** » 08 Sep 2011, 10:27

Coming back to my original post, no mridangam artiste of the Pazhani school or Tanjore school has ever accompanied the song showing such disrepect as UKS has done in this case. It is a classic case of senior having his way to dazzle the youngsters. I think modern youngsters will start playing for songs in this way and the singers can all take break do pakkavadhyam for the mridangam

eppramod · Post by **eppramod** » 08 Sep 2011, 10:32

Sruti magazine's August 2011 edition main feature covers a conversation (with Lalitha Ram) about this great artist (Madras Kannan).

I saw an upload of the feature somewhere but not sure if it is right to upload here.

It was a nice article.

Pramod

annamalai · Post by **annamalai** » 08 Sep 2011, 15:46

tiruppugazh wrote:Coming back to my original post, no mridangam artiste of the Pazhani school or Tanjore school has ever accompanied the song showing such disrepect as UKS has done in this case.

I am a huge fan of UKS, but I have to agree with your general comment in this case.

However, these sort of histrionics have been there for a lo...ng time.

Many examples -
The way UKS used to play for DKJ's Mamayura meedhil Eriva (Bilahari) ... (never liked this song, with all this) or the Khamas Patnam Thillana - Tham Tham .... But I should hasten to mention, I love the way UKS used to play for Soundararajam or Sree DumDurge ... for DKJ.

Semmangudi's Marubalga (Sreeranjani) jarachora bhajana - all mridangists used to play so loud and I felt there was no semblance of Sreeranjani. After all the noise din of Anupallavi, there was always a huge applause. So, presumably the audience like all the gymnastic stuff !

GNB_LGJ_PR · Post by **GNB_LGJ_PR** » 10 Sep 2011, 00:06

I am sure most of you would agree with me that UKS sir is the best in business today when it comes to accompaniment for any song.
Having said that, it is quite shocking to see him do something like this. Maybe he was worried about Bangalore traffic and did not want
to miss his train

advaitin · Post by **advaitin** » 10 Sep 2011, 06:57

In the context, it might be good to listen to the clip below, the amplification levels do not seem balanced to my ears. seems to be a concert of the 70s or prior

http://www.mediafire.com/?euvascscq77cnwr

mri_fan · Post by **mri_fan** » 10 Sep 2011, 10:22

I would argue that Trichy Sankaran, Srimushnam Raja Rao, and Patri Satish Kumar set the standard for me for how to accompany for songs these days, but obviously reasonable people can disagree!

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 10 Sep 2011, 16:09

Ahh... The standard for accompaniment?

That's tough, and I dislike such absolutes but I'm still willing to have a go, so long as we don't take the game too seriously! Another rider is that I am not voting for my over-all favourite mridangist here. Here goes, and it isn't one of the great masters of the older generations, but a young[er] master:

K Arun Prakash

I have a bias, and that is that I simply love the school to which he, our fellow rasika Balaji, and others (including my guruji) belong --- but my main reason for the nomination is that I have seen the range of his play, from intricate tani calculations, to spending an entire evening playing nothing but the simplest sarva laghu, because that was what was appropriate, and still making it beautiful.

Other reasons for not taking the game of "greatest" or "standard" too seriously, is that a) my nomination is limited by experience, and, more importantly, b) of course there are probably a hundred other mridangists that could and would do the same

mridhangam · Post by **mridhangam** » 12 Sep 2011, 10:16

Members

Let us not rake up any names (Including my name-Nick sir please excuse me) ...Please let us try to restrict our discussion to whether UKS's accompaniment for Saketaraman in the said video is justified or not ...

No comparisons what so ever please as it is bound to raise up tempers.

Hari OM
Mannarkoil Balaji

GNB_LGJ_PR · Post by **GNB_LGJ_PR** » 12 Sep 2011, 12:18

Mridhangam Sir,

I should have said "It is my opinion" instead of "I am sure most of you would agree with me" - ***slip of the tongue from my side***
Concur with you that comparisons could raise tempers

Coming back to the discussion, I tend to agree with tiruppugazh and annamalai - per my observation, the histrionics have been more in the last decade (post his receiving Sangita Kalanidhi). Being a great fan of UKS sir, I still feel that he could have played softly and inline with the mood of the composition which he has done for fifty to sixty years.

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 13 Sep 2011, 00:09

Just as an aside, this discussion made me focus on this song and its rhythmic structure. I am liking it very much. I am putting it on my 'pep' playlist for the gym to get a jolt of energy! I like the rhythmic composition of this song so much that I have been playing a similar structure using my favorite (rare) raga Dayavathi and I like the sound of it.

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 13 Sep 2011, 03:51

mridhangam wrote:Let us not rake up any name ...

Names have already been mentioned. It is probably inevitable.

I still think it is just not possible to judge a 3-minute extract out of context. but the thread goes on

ananthapuram · Post by **ananthapuram** » 13 Sep 2011, 05:23

Baby sitters wanted for senior mridangam players. Please apply if you are interested in protecting these dangerous yet endangered species.