Author: Ramkumar R

  • Concert at Vidwath Samajam, Mylapore

    Played mrudangam for the vocal concert of Vid. Ganga Mani at Sri Thiagaraja Sangeetha Vidwath Samajam, Mylapore on 27th Aug 2008. Artists: Vocal: Vid Ganga Mani Violin: Vid Karaikal Venkatasubramaniam Mrudangam: R. Ramkumar (That’s me)   List of songs: 1) jalajAkSA (varnam) – hamsadwani – Adi – mAnmbuchAvaDi venkaTa subbaiyer…

  • A Wednesday

    Bollywood is on a roll! Four good movies released in the span of last 3 weeks – all with different themes. The latest addition to this list is “A Wednesday” – an engrossing, neatly made and well paced movie that kept me glued to my seat throughout. After a long…

  • Trip to Tiruvannamalai

    Went on a weekend trip to Tiruvannamalai which is located about 185 kms from Chennai. The route we took was Chennai – Tambaram – Melmaruvathur – Tindivanam – Senji (Gingee) – Tiruvannamalai.  While traveling on the highway from Chennai to Tindivanam, one has to take a right turn about 4…

  • Rock On

    “Live your dream” shouts Rock On and everything about it rocks! Cinematography is top class. The songs and BGM are just fantastic and fit in the movie so well. Direction is too good … how many directors can manage to make such a brilliant movie with a story line that…

  • The maestro and his music!

    I am not sure if only I feel this way but almost every favorite artist of mine seems to give his/her best performance in venues that are not very famous and that many a times have just a handful of people attending. For example, some of the best concerts of…

  • Mumbai Meri Jaan

    There have been some very good Indian movies in the recent past that have tried to explore topics other than the run-of-the-mill ones. One of the directors who has had the courage to attempt such movies and according to me has been very successful in his attempts is Nishikant Kamath.…

  • Concert – International Society of Laya Awareness

    Played mrudangam today for the violin duet of Sudha R.S. Iyer and Srividya R.S. Iyer at Raga Sudha Hall, Mylapore, Chennai. The concert was a part of Isai Velvi 2008 being organized by (Ghatam) Sri V. Suresh’s International Society for Laya Awareness. The song list is as follows: 1) sarasUDa…

  • Carnatica’s Shyama Sastri Remembrance Festival

    Please find below the information received from Carnatica about the fest: =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Carnatica Archival Centre for Music & Dance presents a two-day festival dedicated to the great composer Shri. Shyama Sastri. The event is designed as an exposition of the life and times of this vaggeyakara, to gain insight into…

  • Svanubhava

    Matrka & YACM organized a 6 day event from 5th Aug to 10 Aug 2008 aptly titled “Svanubhava“. The event comprised many educative sessions like lecture demonstrations, listening sessions, Q&A with artists and concerts and saw many music students including those from Kalakshetra, Govt Music College and the Music Academy…

  • Kuselan

    Behind the scenes of the movie =-=-=-=-=-=-=-= The director shouts. The cameraman turns to his left from where he is currently focusing to capture the most important scene of the movie. It is the scene where the towering personality of Kollywood enters the movie. A personality larger than life and…

  • Happy Birthday Iyerval!

    You are one of my all time favorites and, in my humble opinion, one of the greatest musicians ever in the history of Carnatic Music. Your life and music has taught me so much and I am sure will continue to teach and influence me a lot more in the…

  • A Trip to Umayalpuram

    It was a dream come true. I had been wanting to visit Umayalpuram, the place from where my guru and idol – mrudangam maestro Sri Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman (UKS) hails, for quite some time now but never imagined that I will get an opportunity to go there along with UKS…

  • My Chennai debut!

    I think I was fortunate to play my first Chennai concert at one of my favorite venues in the city – Raga Sudha Hall, Mylapore. When I started hearing concerts in the hall a few years back, I was amazed to see Shri SVK (the owner of the sabha) take…

  • Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na

    Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na is a delight to watch lit by superb performances by the cast. It is not often that one gets to see a movie with such brilliant supporting actors. The storyline is nothing new but the movie has been made in such a refreshing way that…

  • A Bird’s Eye View of Muthuswami Dikshitar’s Compositions

    Venue: Raga Sudha Hall, 85/2, Luz Avenue, Luz, Mylapore Organizer: Music Forum Date: 15th June 2008 Topic of Lec Dem: A bird’s eye view of Muthuswami Dikshitar’s Compositions Presenters: Vid R. Vedavalli (RV) & Vid S. Sundar (SS) Vocal support: Vid Sumathi Krishnan & a student of Vid S. Sundar…