Kasim Babu

[rajeshnat]

kasim and babu maternal grandfather is Sheik Chinnamoulana. If my memory is right I remember seeing their home very close to srirangam railway station . This is just a lovely write up that came on April 08th in The Hindu, especially when they use the term sangita kaingaryam.

http://www.thehindu.com/features/friday ... 446800.ece

[cacm]

When you step out of the platform in Srirangam their house is right there! If you go at the right time you can hear them practise when they are around. VKV

[shankarank]

TMK has been quoted by his friends as saying "they are making them sit ( in events like Thiruvaiyaru) because there is really nobody else capable".

I will raise that question dating back to Golden era - when a bunch of die hard Mali fans come ( One of them a GNR - physics- student and a friend of mine - Dr VKV are you one of his as well?) and wait for his arrival - and he may not show up and they get disappointed when he is replaced by Kalyanakrishna Bhagavathar.

How did vINa which is harbinger of all things musical go out of fashion - especially when it is held with so much sanctity by the Brahmins!!!

That is one of the most important musicological questions that requires a deep answer huh?

[cacm]

Dear Shankarank,
GNR-the physics head of dept at university of madras- one of the great physicists of our times- was a professor of mine. He was EXPERT in anything he did including carnatic music....
I shd also say that MALI'S absences are highly EXAGGERATED as I was very close to him& attended almost all his concerts. There were VERY GOOD REASONS HE SKIPPED THE HANDFUL OF TIMES HE ACTUALLY DID. LIKE MMI HE had enormous respect for the audiences and WELL JUSTIFIED CONTEMPT for the ORGANISERS (MADRAS SABHAS).
KKB was a GREAT MUSICIAN FROM A HIGHLY RESPECTED musical family& tradition & was the closest to GNB AT HIS BEST. GNB himself used to praise him a lot.
REG TMK & HIS VIEWS THEY REEK OF IGNORANCE OF THE GOLDEN ERA OF MUSIC& MUSICIANS. If I have to compare him to any one contemperory- tho' in another field- I can compare him to Donald Trump!
REG VEENA'S decline it is now a days generally true of ANY INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC. While in my opinion the INSTRUMENTALSTS ARE EQUAL OR BETTER THAN THOSE OF THE GOLDEN AGE it is a mystery to me how mediocre Vocalists of today thru' mostly P.R.are praised beyond belief & have pre-empted good instrumental music & talent....
If you are interested in discussing these subjects pl write your tel# to me at vkv@juno.com. REGARDS. VKV

[SrinathK]

shankarank : How did vINa which is harbinger of all things musical go out of fashion - especially when it is held with so much sanctity by the Brahmins!!!

No. 1 : Not loud enough. Not loud enough. A powerful tone sells to a large space like no other. A veena is more appropriate for a chamber concert than anything else out there. Still, a good mic could overcome this today.
No. 2 : Portability and Weight. It's a large instrument. Flutes & violins have no such issues and your voice doesn't need to bother since it's a part of your anatomy.
No. 3 : Drama, i.e. the lack of it. Instrumental solos are more sowkhyam oriented. Individual solos as such lack the exciting "duels" seen between the main artiste and his accompanist. Veena concerts especially so since they usually don't have accompanists. A duet could over come this, if it were not for the next point.
No. 4 : A number of veena concerts I've been to feature only passable laya skills, technical lapses, average manodharma, lack of clear articulation and "customary" swaras. Yes. Whether this is a cause or the effect of it's lack of popularity may be argued. Few vainikas exploit it's full capabilities.

I have also been to a handful of ones which are so good I'll take those memories with me to my next life, but they are few. A well played veena is the richest form of CM you'll ever hear, a badly played one though... I cannot help but feel that developing a good tone and gamaka on the veena is even harder than on a violin. Speaking of which...

No. 5 : The violin. I am not sure why the veena is never being considered even for accompaniment now.
No. 6 : Lack of Veena - violin partnerships. The chitraveena has outdone it here. I cannot recall when, if ever, I have heard a veena with violin accompaniment.
No. 7 : Was the veena ever "in fashion" at any time? When I think of the veena, flamboyant is the last word that comes to my mind. The best veena music I've heard is closer to a Ph.D degree than to a box office hit.

No. 8 and probably the biggest of all : A systematic aversion to the instrument, fuelled by both organizers and audiences alike. This is in a way true of all instrumental concerts, where you may expect about 1/3rd of the seats to be filled up. On the other hand, as our <now departed> panthera tigris used to point out... nothing sells like cows, snakes, and local languages.

And no, it's not the fault of the brahmins either... don't believe the media.

[rshankar]

Srinath, you forgot NHPs (non human primates, e.g., monkeys) which also contributed to the tiger's ire!