T.M. Krishna @ Bharat Kalachar, Chennai

Venue: Sri YGP Auditorium, T. Nagar, Chennai

Date: 17 Dec 2006

Organizer: Bharat Kalachar

Vocal: Sri T.M. Krishna

Violin: Sri H.K. Venkatram

Mridangam: Sri K.V. Prasad

Ghatam: Sri Udipi Sridhar

List of songs:

1) karuNimpa (varnam) – sahAnA – Adi – tiruvOtriyUr tyAgayyA

2) pAhimAm srI – janaranjani – Adi – rAmaswAmi sivan (S)

3) enraikku siva krupai – mukhAri – misra chApu – nIlakaNTa sivan (A)

4) manavyAlakim – naLinakAnti – Adi – thyAgarAja (S)

5) jAnakI patE – kharaharapriyA – Adi – pApanAsam sivan (ANST)

6) jAnarO I mOgamu (jAvaLi) – khamAs – rUpakam – rAmanAtapuram srInivasa iyengAr

………..

(Key: O=raga outline, A=raga alapana, N=neraval, S=kalpana swaram, T=taniavartanam)

I had to leave after the sixth song. Overall a good concert once again by TMK. Kharaharapriya was simply superb.

The concert could have been certainly made better for the audience by including at least one fast paced song. All songs were sung slowly and this certainly didn’t look like a concert that would get someone who didn’t know much about carnatic music interested in it. Even “manavyalakim” was sung slow.  I am saying this especially in the context of an auditorium like the one where the concert was held. The auditorium stretched for quite some distance from the stage and it is very easy for the singer to get the audience to lose interest if “interesting” songs aren’t there. This is what precisely happened at least with the people sitting around me almost at the back of the auditorium.