T.M.Krishna @ Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha, Chennai

Venue: Vidya Bharati, Bheemasena Garden St., Mylapore, Chennai

Date: 25 Dec 2006

Organizer: Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha

Vocal: Sri T.M. Krishna (TMK)

Violin: Sri R.K. Sriramkumar (RKS)

Mridangam: Sri Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman (UKS)

Khanjira: Sri B. Sree Sundar Kumar

List of songs:

1) dEva dEva – mAyAmALavagowLa – rUpakam – swAti tiruNAL (NS)

2) samugAna – kOkilavarALi – Adi – thyAgarAja (S)

3) janani ninnuvinA – rItigowLa – misra chApu – subbarAya sAstri (A)

4) sarasa sAma dAna – kApinArAyaNi – Adi – thyAgarAja

5) nAdOpAsanA – bEgaDa – Adi – (ANST)

6) rAgam tAnam pallavi – kApi – tisra tripuTa (2 kaLai)

pallavi wordings: “jagadIsha pArthasArathE, karuNA payOnidhE”

kalpanA swaram in kApi, pUrvikalyANi, kuntalavarALi & garuDadwani

7) jAnarO I mOgamu (jAvaLi) – khamAs – rUpakam – rAmanAtapuram srInivAsa iyengAr

8 ) sApashyat – jOnpuri – Adi – tirupazhanam panchApakEsar

9) tAm tAm tAm udanitOm (tillAnA) – khamAs – Adi – paTTaNam subramaNya iyer

10) pavamAna (mangaLam) – sowrAshTram – Adi – thyAgarAja

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

TMK is a machine that belts out hit concerts one after the other and today was no exception. He began in true “Sri Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer (SSI)” style with “dEva dEva” in mAyAmALavagowLa. UKS was in top form and played some awesome accompaniment for this first song itself. He must himself have been reminded of the days when he had played for SSI.

The first alapana of the day was that of rItigowLa. Yesterday, Sathyam Cinemas that screened “ArAr AsaippadAr“, the documentary on Sri Sanjay Subramaniam, had played the song” janani ninnuvinA” in rItigowLa as sung by Sri Sanjay before the movie began. My friend and I were immediately wondering how some of the phrases in the song would sound if sung by TMK. When TMK began the rItigowLa alapana today, I just wished he sang “janani ninnuvina” and guess what – my wish had been granted !! It was a very moving rendition with a lot of azhutham where required. The fillers which UKS played during the silent portions of the song were simply brilliant.

The main song for the day – “nAdOpAsanA” was preceded by an elaborate bEgaDA alapana which was very well executed by both TMK and RKS. It was a very satisfying alapana for me especially after hearing a much lighter bEgaDA of different style from Malladi Brothers yesterday. When the song began, there was suddenly a reduction in the sound level in the hall, as though one of the speakers had been cut off. The sound levels never improved after that till the very end.

The taniavartanam played by Sri UKS and Sri Sundar Kumar was an excellent one too. It is unbelievable that at such an old age, UKS manages to play for two 3-hour concerts in a single day and contributes his best to both.

Finally, a few things that Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha could work on to give a better concert experience to both the performers as well as the audience:

• There is minimal air circulation on the podium in which the performers sit. The ceiling height there is pretty low and it is terribly hot. I just wonder how TNS yesterday and TMK today managed to give such great performances despite the poor conditions. The sabha needs to do something to improve this
• The wooden flooring makes an awful lot of noise when anyone starts walking. When a group of people moves, it gives the effect of a series of earthquakes.
• There is an evacuation that happens once the 4PM concert ends and the audience for the 6:30PM concert is let in after that. The exit and the entrance are the same and it leads to a lot of pushing and shoving. In the midst of this, there are 2-3 people standing to check if tickets have been bought and they simply can’t do their job given the mad rush.