TM Krishna @ Sastri Hall, Chennai

Venue: Sastri Hall, Luz, Mylapore, Chennai

Date: 12th Oct 2006

Organizers: Balaganamrutam and Karnataka College of Percussion

Vocal: Sri T. M. Krishna

Violin: Sri M.A. Sundareswaran

Mridangam: Sri K.V. Prasad

Khanjira: Sri B. S. Purushottam

List of songs:

1) sAmI daya (varnam) – kEdAragOwLa – Adi – tiruvOtriyur tyAgayyar (S)

2) nenaruncharA – simhavAhini – Adi – thyAgarAjA

3) kANa kaN kOdi – kAmbOji – Adi – pApanAsam sivan (AS)

4) rAmachandrENa samrakshitOham – mAnji – rUpakam – muthuswAmi dIkshitar

5) rAgam tAnam pallavi (RTP) – shankarAbharaNam – Adi (2 kalai)

pallavi wordings: “sakkagAnibhajana, jEsE vAriki; takkuva galadA srI rAmA dinadinamu”

6) pibarE rAmarasam – yamunA kalyANi – Adi – sadAsiva brahmendra

7 ) shAntAkAram (viruttam) – danyAsi, kAnadA, gOwLa & behAg

smarajanaka shuba charita – behAg – misra chApu – swAti tiruNAL

8 ) thillAnA – pUrnachandrikA – Adi – rAmanAthapuram srInivAsa iyengAr

9) pavamAna (mangaLam) – sOwrAshtram – Adi – thyAgarAjA

Words cannot describe this awesome concert of TMK. The shankarAbharaNam RTP stole the show with the beautiful rAga AlApana and tAnam mesmerizing the audience. kAmbOji rAga AlapanA was also very well executed by both TMK and Sri Sundareswaran. While playing the shankarAbharaNam rAga AlApana, when Sri Sundareswaran held the note “ga” for some time, there was an exactly similar sounding “ga” from the horn of a MTC bus plying on the road outside. The timing and the match of the two sounds was so perfect that Sri K.V. Prasad and TMK couldn’t help but laugh and enjoy the moment.

Sri Sundareswaran’s rAgA AlapanAs were very good. The one thing that however seemed slightly annoying was that whenever Sri TMK sang an AlApanA, even before he came to the lower or the upper “sa”, Sri Sundareswaran would start playing “sa” as though forcing the vocalist to come quickly to “sa” leaving aside whatever he was singing. The way he put “sa” on the violin was also not in a manner that would give a base shruti kind of effect. For example, when TMK would come down to “ri” after singing a pattern, suddenly Sri Sundareswaran would play an extended “sa”. This certainly could have been avoided.

While singing the pallavi, TMK sang the kalpanA swarams so as to end in a way that would provide an appropriate start to “sakkagAni”, “takkuva” and “dinadinamu”. Sri K.V. Prasad and Sri B.S. Purushottam played a good taniAvartanam and at the end of it played the kOrvais in a way so as to lead to the start of “sakkagAni”, “takkuva” and “dinadinamu” respectively and each time they did that, TMK picked up the words and then gave a space for them to play the next set of kOrvais so as to end at the next appropriate place.