DB Ashvin@Nadopasana(BVB Mini) on Sept 17th,2022

[rajeshnat]

DB Ashvin@Nadopasana(BVB Mini) on Sept 17th,2022
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Vocal : DB Ashvin , grand son of Great Vidwan TK Rangachari
Violin : Nishanth Chandran
Mrudangam : Ashwin Sridharan, sishya of Mannargudi Eswaran
Ghatam : N Guruprasad

Concert Type : Nirvana - no concert to follow
Day/Duration : Saturday/ 2 hours and 35 mins - 06:00 to 08:35 PM
Hall : BVB Mini Hall
Sabha: Nadopasana
Special Mention : Chennai Fine Arts Murali is actually helping Nadopasana sabha and he was only the key person helping . God Bless Murali

1. varnam - sarasija mOdi -Arabi - Pallavi Doraisamy Iyer
2. Shree MahaganapathE surapathE(S)-nAttai - Mayuram Vishwanatha Sastri
06 mins swaras

3. palukutacE palamEmi - Phalamanjari -Patnam
4. karpaga manOharA (R S) - malayamArutham - Psivan
7 mins alapana and 4 mins violin return
6 mins swaras

5.cEta balakrishnam - dwijavanthi - MD
6. mariverE gati nAkkevaru (few rounds of cittaswaras) - maaLavi- GNB

7A.EndukO nee manasu (R N S T)- kalyani - T
17 mins alapana and 8 mins violin return
9 mins neraval in Thayagaraja Krithaya
11 mins swaras
7B. tani for 16 mins

8. eppO varuvaarO - jOnpuri - GKB
9. dharma shravana vijayathE(R) - durga -PD
2 mins alapana with no violin return

10A. slokham shree venkatEshO vasudeva- shanmughapriya + peethAmbara - bilahari + vishwath?? vishwabhAgiSo - hammerkalyani
10B. vAdinEn vAdi - hameerkalyani???? - ???
11. thillana - dheem ta dhani.... neeveLa anuragha - rAghesri - LGJ
12. nee naama + vaazhiya senthamizh

[rajeshnat]

CM Had a big brain drain after we losing Trichy Sankaran to North America , atleast 2 great musicians post that we lost big time to braindrain. One is Salem Shriram and the other is Sangeetha Swaminathan, both are too good and atleast i feel very letdown that i could not hear such excellence from two S's . Few of my accquintances in chennai who dont write here but just read in rasikas here have recommended a lot about DB Ashvin. Ashvin had few slots in academy and elsewhere in last 10 years and i missed those.

I have lot of abhimanam for TK Rangachari . TKR gives a cocktail of definite GNB, SSI and Ariyakudi and he had an extreme sense of originality. DB Ashvin i assumed he was settled in usa like other two S's. Few searches did point towards his work place is in poona . All said i was excited to see that day that the lovely sabha Nadopasana ,post Nadopasana sreenvisan is functioning and I wanted to grab the opportunity to hear Ashvin for the first time.

I just googled to find that Ashvin has learnt from Seetharama sharma and his voice texture was resembling a lot of TM Krishna 1.0 avatar.One can kind of treat Ashvin-TMK as colonial cousins of seetharama sharma-kalakshetra school. The start with the varnam in arabi was very well done, the same anubhavam like his grandfather. TKR was open throated singer and Ashvin did take up that trait for sure . The next in nattai by mayuram vishwanatha sastri is a fantastic number , my acclimitiztion of this song started with Maharajapuram santhanam, certainly nattai adds a great start that too with a bit longer round of swaras , the percussionist easily settle well.

The filler phalamanjari did not register that well, what is the point in singing a standalone small song , this is the curse of blindly following Poochi - Ariyakudi paddhati. They both poochi and ariyakudi and can do then yes as they still have near 3 hour concert , but why should musicians sing a standalone number other than swarajathi or a very weightly trinity or sivan krithi when concert duration is usually 2 plus hours.

Malayamarutham alapana was fantastic not an ounce i thought about valaci or sowrashtram. Ashvin has open throated sareeram and he did very well, the breezy evening breeze that was absent with claustrophobic Air Conditioning in BVB Mini was compensated with the nearest tirumayilai karpaga manohara ,sivan is a phenom who connects so well with thamizh. Dikshitar from tiruvarur came in as a great stress relief with ceta sree balakrishnam , Ashvin must have been inspired by one and only semmangudi there. The malavi with cittaswaras of GNB did register somewhat ok, felt he should have sung bit faster and gelled better with co artists or may be coartist did not team up that well

Kalyani main resembled my historic hearing of some krishna gana sabha live sabha where Hyderabad brothers sang with late Nagai Sriram and Trivandrum balaji which is bit etched deeper in my memory. Lot of sangathis of kalyani had that seshachari touch, i dont know how Ashvin got that. Perhaps this enduko manasu i am assuming hyd brothers took a lot from one and only Taala Raaga Swaroopan. MElakartha 65 is a like and hate game for me, kudos to Ashvin he sang very well with gripping neraval and lovely spread of swaras. Neraval had a very TMK 1.0 texture

Some one that is me requested Murali to have more singing time , murali obliged and DB Ashvin grabbed it .Eppo varuvaaro was sung wiht MMI gusto bit lacking in MMI school crescendo,durga alapana was superb , i thought he is going for RTP in durga but he just sang a small PD krithi.

I have not heard this slokham and i liked his detailing a lot -sampradaya suddham with lot of continual carnaticness was there . I am assuming his tatha TKR used to sing this, the song vadinen vaadi i have heard once TMK singing 15 plus years back, i think he sang in mohanam but this co student of Seetharama sharma picked up in some other ragam(assuming it was hammerkalyani but i dont think i heard mohanam in vadinen Vadi, my memory has faded as i cannot recollect ragam then or now). LGJ deep rakeshri thillana was well registerd by me


Nishant Chandran , i think he is in Australia played very well. His tone was as deep as his guru A Kanyakumari has a bit of western touch here and there , may be in kalyani little more sharper pidis would have helped. The mrudangist Ashwin Sridharan played with gusto and he was new to me, I asked him his guru post concert and he said Mannargudi Eswaran. Eswaran in my last few concerts has given 2 great sishyas sunaada krishnan and this Ashiwn Sridharan . It is a fact that as of now great mrudangam young artists are indeed coming in. mrudu angam Flow is crisp with no anavsiya theermanams . The most seasoned Guruprasad did play very well, especially with kalyani rotations he grabbed and did full justice. Now I am forgetting how the tani was, certainly nothing much to complain or feel very ga ga about it.

All said i will watch out for this lovely vidvan DB Ashvin. I asked Ashvin where is he settled post concert. He said now he is in chennai, someone said as i walked out said he is also bit in bangalore , some social media says poona. Hope he does not settle long term in USA, music cannot have the 3rd brain drain loss after salem shriram and sangeetha swaminathan. Ashvin takes a lot of TKR ,surprise of a sudden TRSish or Ramnadkrishnanish Hyderabad brother seshachari. Ashvin has briga sharpnees with his ideas there was not an iota of sag.

Overall an excellent concert for 2 hours and 35 mins

[rajeshnat]

========For Whatsapp or FaceBook Forward ===================================
DB Ashvin@Nadopasana(BVB Mini) on Sept 17th,2022
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Vocal : DB Ashvin , grand son of Great Vidwan TK Rangachari
Violin : Nishanth Chandran
Mrudangam : Ashwin Sridharan, sishya of Mannargudi Eswaran
Ghatam : N Guruprasad

Review is in below link
www.rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=377742#p377742

[arasi]

Rajesh,
Good to hear about this young artiste whom you say is from the distinguished school of his grandfather. Though I haven't heard the thAtha in person, you know that I just adore Neela Ramgopal's music (she being a prime student of TKR). So, the young man has all the right ingredients, at least in my view. His grandfather's stamp of singing and imbibing all good stuff from great vidwans too. Add his imagination to all that.
Wishing the youngster a bright future. Hope I can hear him in person...

vADinEn, vADi varundinEn.........nADinEn nADi nAn kaNDu koNDEn nArAyaNA ennum nAmam: Tirumangai AzhvAr,

[thanjavooran]

Arasiji,
Had many opportunities to enjoy TKR with his prime disciple Vairamangalam Lakshmi narayanan. TKR was an expert in Niraval and TRS was following him IMO. Yet to listen to his grandson.
Best Wishes to his discendant.
Thanjavooran
11 10 2022

[rajeshnat]

I just added a small post with a writeup of TKR by DB Ashvin in TKR vidwan Thread. You all please read there.

[rajeshnat]

I have lot of abhimanam for TK Rangachari . TKR gives a cocktail of definite GNB, SSI and Ariyakudi and he had an extreme sense of originality.

Forgot the most important cocktail "definite MMI" along with definite GNB,SSI and Ariyakudi.

Took a snap in my mobile , thought i can upload now by mistake deleted it , Oops sorry