Navarathri Mandapam

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 22 Sep 2006, 22:03

Tx Radhakrishnan. Can someone throw more light on Thodaya mangalam. I googled looked like there is a connection with nAmasankeerthanam + dance presentations etc...

gravikiran · Post by **gravikiran** » 06 Oct 2006, 00:16

this time's navaratri mandapam concerts were historic in a way.
for the first time, women were allowed to sit inside the mandapam and listen to concerts.
ofcourse, this time was also the first time that a lady musician performed at the mandapam too.

srinidhi · Post by **srinidhi** » 06 Oct 2006, 10:49

Hi Ravikiran,

Your concert on special dikshitar kritis, aired on Shruti/WorldSpace was awesome. Congratulations.

jayaram · Post by **jayaram** » 21 Dec 2006, 18:33

Of course it is a shame to miss an opportunity to miss a performance by my very modest friend Rama Varma, student of my most-respected Balamuralikrishna...

It's a bit ironical this (BMK being the guru of RV), considering BMK had been one of the key players (alongside Veena Balachander) in the 'Swati controversy'! The royal family had kept him at a distance for a while.

How times change...

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 21 Dec 2006, 23:52

I have read the story of how Rama Varma came to be BMK's student --- I'm fairly certain it was a publicly available article.

Anyway, I can say that it took a great deal of perseverance on Varma's part...

gowri narayanan · Post by **gowri narayanan** » 25 Dec 2006, 14:24

Staying with navarathri mantapam concerts: when the thanam is sung for the main piece of the day, it is accompanied on the mridangam. Even in normal concerts I have seen rasikas involuntarily keep thalam during thanam singing. Why is it then that this has not become the norm but remains an exception. For example, we see thavil keeping time even during raga alapana in nadaswaram playing. Why this restriction on laya when we glorify laya as pitha ?

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 25 Dec 2006, 23:44

The 'talam' of thanam is irregular. If it is 'regularised' to, eg, adi talam (if the artist is putting talam, some kind of regularisation must have taken place) then it won't be too hard for the mridangist.

But I wonder if this is a bad trend? Is it leading to 'easy' thanam?

I remember seeing TVG in London, being accompanied by my guruji Balachandar on mridangam, indicating that it should join with his thanam. With huge experience in dance accompaniment as well as kutchery playing, he can accompany a fly crossing a room! It was obvious that the thanam accompaniment was challenging.

I once saw L Subramaniam request the morsing player to accompany his thanum. I thought the result was excellent (yes, maybe I would say that

) --- but these were guys on a world tour, not musicians meeting on the platform.

I have this idea: the only really appropriate rhythm accompaniment to thanam is the tala strings of the veena. Any reactions to that?

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 26 Dec 2006, 03:58

>I have this idea: the only really appropriate rhythm accompaniment to thanam is the tala strings of the veena.

It is an appropriate accompaniment for thanam, I think. I also think that vocal and veena go together in general. Prof. SRJ had the Veena accompany him during a Lec-Dem on MD Krithis and he said that it is quite appropriate for this occasion since MD was known to be both a Veena vidwan and a vocalist.

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 26 Dec 2006, 09:18

I was thinking in terms of veena 'accompanying' itself

I've never heard it as accompaniment to a vocalist. I suppose there must have been a time before the violin entirely took over?

I've got nothing against the violin. I never particularly liked it as a solo instrument in Western classical: when I first heard Carnatic violin I had the feeling, Ahh! That is how a violin should sound! But perhaps it would be nice of there was some variety of accompanying instrument...

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 26 Dec 2006, 12:40

nick H wrote:I've never heard it as accompaniment to a vocalist. I suppose there must have been a time before the violin entirely took over?

For many of Smt. MSS' early concerts, her mother Shanmukhavadivu accompanied her on the vINA (and her brother Shaktivel played the mridangam).
Davalangi has posted tracks of Smt Kalpagam Swaminathan on the vINA and her daughter-in-law singing along...

And you are correct: it sounds awesome!

meena · Post by **meena** » 12 Apr 2007, 10:38

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rbharath · Post by **rbharath** » 13 Apr 2007, 10:34

aah! awesome. i hope to be able to get it down from youtube somehow!

rbharath · Post by **rbharath** » 19 Apr 2007, 16:38

is the full concert videoed or something? are Navarathri Mantapam concerts recorded in audio and/or video format? do they sell them / make them available to public?

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 19 Apr 2007, 21:35

Meena,
What a treat! Thanks to Prince Rama Varma. A tranquil feeling pervades when you listen to pArasAlA PonnammA...

meena · Post by **meena** » 20 Apr 2007, 00:03

is the full concert videoed or something? are Navarathri Mantapam concerts recorded in audio and/or video format? do they sell them / make them available to public?

will check with Prince Rama Varma .

meena · Post by **meena** » 20 Apr 2007, 00:03

arasi

watch out for more

mahakavi · Post by **mahakavi** » 20 Apr 2007, 01:50

A royal connection has its benefits, eh?

meena · Post by **meena** » 20 Apr 2007, 10:13

bharath

I'm informed: the Navarathri concerts they are normally not recorded, which is very sad .
But Prince Varma started to record them during the past years just for preservation.
Video cameras are NOT allowed inside the mandapam. So the cameras are placed outside and rec. through a peephole

Since the lighting is very poor there, he had to use the 'night vision' mode on the camera which is why the thing is in black and white!

rbharath · Post by **rbharath** » 20 Apr 2007, 10:45

meena,

The black and white Video definitely give a very nostalgic effect to the video.

It is real nice to watch the video. i hope i can attend one of those concerts live, in the future!

arasi, couldnt agree more with u. the rendition of the varNam by Smt Ponnamma is really moving...

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 20 Apr 2007, 23:35

Meena, I think that Ravi Varma is the one who painted the ladies with the pillars and swans. Ashwati Thirunal Rama Varma is the present-day musical representative of the family.

meena · Post by **meena** » 20 Apr 2007, 23:47

nick

yup ur right

and i heard from the Prince Rama he knows u in person

meena · Post by **meena** » 21 Apr 2007, 01:13

For more Mandapam conc. video's check- DELETED

rbharath · Post by **rbharath** » 23 Apr 2007, 13:57

anyidea of who is the person singing along with Smt Ponnammal. (i presume she must be one of her senior disciples)