Sikkil Gurucharan @ Narada Gana Sabha, Chennai

Venue: Narada Gana Sabha Mini Hall, TTK Road, Chennai

Date: 20 June 2007

Occasion: Narada Gana Sabha & Papanasam Sivan Rasigar Manram

Vocal: Vid Sikkil C. Gurucharan

Violin: Vid Nagai Sriram

Mrudangam: Vid Tiruvarur Vaidyanathan

List of songs:

1) tuNai purindaruL – suddha hindOLam – Adi – pApanAsam sivan (S)

2) vEnkaTaramaNA – latAngi – rUpakam – pApanAsam sivan (OS)

3) nI irangAyenil – aTANA – Adi – pApanAsam sivan

4) tiruvazhundUr vAzh mAdhavA – danyAsi – misra cApu – pApanAsam sivan (ANS)

5) swAmikku sari evarE – kEdAragauLai – misra cApu – pApanAsam sivan (O)

6) shrInivAsa tava caraNau – kharaharapriyA – rUpakam – pApanAsam sivan (AST)

7) tAmarai malar tanil malarnda (viruttam) – shankarAbharaNam

mahAlakSmI jaganmAtA – shankarAbharaNam – misra cApu – pApanAsam sivan (O)

8 ) aDimaiyin uLLa kuDisaiyil ArAvamudan tOnrinAn (viruttam) – kApi

enna tavam seidanai – kApi – Adi – pApanAsam sivan (O)

9) rAmanai bhajithAl – mAnD – Adi – pApanAsam sivan

10) dhIm tana udAra diranA (tillAnA) – behAg – Adi – pApanAsam sivan

11) srI rAma jaya mangaLam (mangaLam) – suruTTi – Adi – pApanAsam sivan

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

It was one of those days when the whole of Chennai seemed to have landed at Narada Gana Sabha (NGS). All life on TTK Road just outside the sabha had almost come to a standstill. As I looked at the strong crowd that thronged the doors of the Satguru Gnanananda Hall (Main Hall), I wondered whether NGS had been chosen as a venue for the free TV distribution drive. Then I remembered reading in the morning papers that the Jaya TV Ragamalika show was celebrating its 200th episode in the Main Hall. I am amazed at Jaya TV’s and Maximum Media’s ability to to pull such huge crowds to whatever shows they conduct together (Margazhi Maha Utsavam, Jaya TV Pancharatna Kritis, Ragamalika etc). Apparently even Narada Gana Sabha’s secretary Sri Krishnaswamy, who was supposed to give a short speech before Vid Gurucharan’s concert at 6.30 PM, was not able to enter the premises (with his vehicle) from 6.05 PM till about 6.40PM (this was disclosed by Papanasam Sri Ashok Ramani later).

Vid Gurucharan’s concert was at the much smaller Mini Hall which was almost full when I walked in. Vid Gurucharan had by then started the concert and was singing his first number for the day “tuNai purindaruL“. Kalpana swarams were put at the pallavi line. Vid Nagai Sriram had already gotten into the act and whatever he played on the violin was so melodic and so very impressive. Kalpana swarams were put at “alarmEl mangai maNALA” in “venkaTaramaNA“, at “parivAi ranganAyaki …” in “tiruvazhundUr vAzh mAdhavA” and at “surEsha rAmadAsanuta” in “shrInivAsa tava charaNau“. Neraval was also done for the same line in the danyAsi kriti. Viruttam sung for song 7 was from the caraNam of Sri Sivan’s kalyANi composition “oru varam tandaruL“. Viruttam for song 8 was from the pallavi of the vasantA composition “aDimaiyin uLLa kuDisaiyil”. Taniavartanam was played in rUpaka tALam by Vid Tiruvarur Vaidyanathan and comprised the catusra and tisra naDais.

The choice of songs seemed very good. I came to know from one of my acquaintances that the theme of the concert was compositions of Sri Papansam Sivan on Lord Vishnu, Lord Rama and Goddess Lakshmi. Papanasam Sri Ashok Ramani announced just before the mangaLam that they had been holding such thematic concerts based on Sri Sivan’s compositions for quite some time now. He remarked that there were so many themes to draw upon from Sri Sivan’s works that even after conducting about 18 such different concerts, there were still an ample number left to be taken up in the future.