The Ethical Vegan Mridangam

I had the opportunity to interview Dr. K. Varadarangan, creator of the SRI mridangam, for Sruti magazine. Sourcing it from the Sruti magazine blog below:

 

The Ethical Vegan Mridangam

By R. Ramkumar
In his path breaking work in the field of Carnatic percussion, Dr. K. Varadarangan, a Bengaluru-based vocalist, musicologist and wireless design specialist, has created a mridangam sans animal skin. In this conversation with mridangam artist R. Ramkumar, he explains how the “SRI mridangam” not only saves animals and trees but also provides tremendous advantages over the conventional mridangam.
What is the SRI mridangam made of? How is it different from a conventional mridangam?
The SRI mridangam is made of a fiberglass shell and synthetic drum heads. The drumhead material is a polyester film and the karane (sadham or soru – the black patch) is made using a special type of rubber. This is different from the conventional mridangam made of a wood for the shell and animal skins for the drumheads, while the karane is made using boiled rice, iron oxide powder and a few other ingredients.
How is this different from a nut-bolt mridangam?
Broadly this is similar to the nut bolt mridangam but the clumsy and protruding hooks and nuts found in the conventional mridangam are replaced by stainless steel bolts and nuts seated neatly and un-obstructively. The clamps and parts of the bolts are covered by plastic casings on both sides of the drum. This not only prevents injury to the hands while playing but also gives an aesthetically pleasing distinct look to the SRI mridangam. Also, the drum heads in the typical nut-bolt mridangam are made from animal skin.
What motivated you to make the SRI mridangam?
The main motivation was ethical. I started this work when it dawned on me that the mridangam I used as an accompaniment to my vocal concerts was made of animal skins which meant that these animals had to be slaughtered to obtain the mridangam membrane. It was hypocrisy at its best – while I tried to portray divinity and spirituality in my vocal concerts, I was actually contributing to the murder of cows, goats and buffalos. I also wanted to avoid the cutting of trees and hence I focused on alternative shell materials and fiberglass emerged as the best choice.
What does ‘SRI” stand for?
SRI stands for “Synthetic Rhythm Indian” emphasizing the fact that it is the synthetic version of the South Indian Rhythm instrument, namely the mridangam.
It looks like you had to travel an un-trodden path when you started off. What were the difficulties you faced?
When I started this work I had absolutely no clue as to where this would eventually lead me to. It was quite scary to think of doing something that had no precedent, and the enormity of the task ahead was simply mind blowing. Nevertheless I decided it plunge into this, come what may! Initially I did a lot of studies on the possible alternatives to animal skin for the drum head. I did find a suitable material for it but realized the karane was a very hard nut to crack. I needed a material that bonded to the synthetic skin, was safe for the hands, was able to give sustained tone and be moldable to take a circular convex shape. I did find a material for this but processing it was a formidable task. I overcame this problem after a lot of study, thought and experimentation. My initial work was focused on the drum head, esp., the right drumhead and I started my experiments using a wooden shell. I was able to establish a proof of concept for the synthetic mridangam in about a year’s time.
One of the major tasks was to design and develop the mounting and tuning arrangement for the drumhead. Initially I designed a hoop system for the drumhead. This turned out be highly unsatisfactory form the tuning perspective. We could never align the pitches at the rim on the mridangam head at all points. If we changed the pitch at one bolt it would change the pitches at all other points as well. So after months of frustrating experiments the hoop system was abandoned for good. Then I devised a clamping arrangement for the drumhead. I tested the clamping arrangement by subjecting the drumhead to abnormally high tensions. I also designed a beater which gave 35 lakh thuds to the drumhead. The drumhead passed all these tests without showing the slightest signs of damage!
After successful trials with the wooden shell and the synthetic clamp-based drumhead, I started developing the fiberglass drum shells. This phase too had its share of woes. Initial version of the shells showed large variation of pitch with temperature. The tone of the shell was also inconsistent from sample to sample. It took more than two years to understand and rectify these problems.
With the fiberglass shell and the new clamp based drum head, I started testing for tuning stability when the mridangam was played. During this phase I took thousands of readings. It was observed that the mridangam did not detune even under hard playing conditions provided certain precautions were taken during tuning. This was yet another much needed breakthrough
How does the sound from the drum heads of the SRI mridangam compare with that from a conventional mridangam?
The sounds are quite similar although not identical. This is to be expected as both the shell and drum head materials are very different from the conventional ones. In general, the SRI mridangam produces slightly sharper tones while conventional mridangams produce what is known as a “warm” tone. But the synthetic drum heads produce excellent sustained tones and all the strokes that are played on the conventional mridangam can be played with greater ease on the SRI mridangam. It is thus less strainful on the hands.
What about gumukis?
Most Mridangists who have played the SRI mridangam have opined that the gumukis sound exceptionally well on the SRI mridangam. The general consensus is that the gumukis in the SRI mridangam are way better than those from the conventional mridangam’s left head.
What type of mridangam is this? Kutchi or kappi?
This is the Kutchi type. Thin strips of plastic are used instead of straw in the SRI mridangam.
Do you plan to create a kappi variant?
I have not planned it at this point of time.
Are there separate instruments for male and female voices?
Yes. The male pitch mridangam covers the range from C-E and is thus suitable for male voices and for playing with many of the instruments. The female pitch mridangam covers the range from F-A. Thus, the entire gamut of pitches used in Karnatic music is covered by these two instruments. The sizes of these instruments are kept the same as the traditional mridangams of the respective pitches.
The materials used to make a conventional mridangam are said to be bio-degradable. What about the SRI mridangam?
The materials used in the SRI mridangam are – fiberglass for the shell and polyester plastic for the heads. These are not biodegradable. However, if one looks at the actual ecological impact of these materials it turns out to be really negligible. Consider this: in the US alone nearly 14 crores of PET bottles are consumed on a daily basis. That said, we will still work towards making the materials used in the SRI mridangam recyclable or bio degradable. This is not going to be easy but we will surely keep working in that direction. But most importantly the trees are saved in this process which has a huge positive impact on the environment.
Why should a mridangam artist shift from a conventional mridangam to the SRI mridangam?
Not only is the SRI mridangam ethical and environment friendly, it also offers many advantages to the mridangam players such as 1. Light weight 2. User replaceable drum heads 3. Chemically bonded karane that does not crack, fall or wither away 4. Long lasting drum heads 5. Non requirement of semolina paste for the thoppi 6. Easy tunabilty of drumheads to an accuracy of +- 1 Hz. 7. Pitch stability under changing temperature and humidity 8. Aesthetic appearance 9. Cost effectiveness and 10. Ease of maintenance.
The SRI mridangam is a state of the art instrument that completely eliminates the need for the mridangam artist to run to the repair shop. A spanner is the only tool that is required for the mridangam artist to play and maintain the SRI mridangam
What about other Indian percussion instruments like tabla that also use the animal skin? Are you planning to make synthetic versions of the same as well?
Yes. Definitely! The tabla is expected to roll out this year (2017).
Where can one buy the SRI Mridangam?
The SRI mridangam is available for sale at our works in Bangalore. Our address is: Karunya Musicals, No. 86, “Haripriya”, Temple Street, NGEF layout, Sadanandanagar, Bangalore-560038. However, we supply to any destination in India or abroad usually through speed post. For purchase enquiries, customers can contact me at kvrangan@karunyamusicals.com or call me on my mobile no. 9900095989. Complete product specifications, audio and video demos, pricing details and contact information are available at our website: www.karunyamusicals.com.

 

Source: Sruti Magazine

V Sanjeev for Saraswathi Vaggeyakara Trust, Chennai

Organizer: Saraswathi Vaggeyakara Trust
Venue: Narada Gana Sabha Mini Hall

Violin: V. Sanjeev
Mrudangam: Patri Satish Kumar
Khanjira: K.V. Gopalakrishnan

1) evari bOdhana (varNam) – AbhOgi
2) praNamAmyaham – gauLa (OS)
3) sArasamukhi – gauDamalhAr (AS)
4) sAmagAnalOla – citrAmbari (A)
5) mama hridayE – rItigauLa (A)
6) shambhO sadAshiva – yAgapriyA (A)
7) saravaNabhava – madhyamAvati  (AST)
8) kandarin – sindhubhairavi  (A)
9) tillAnA – dvijAvanti (A)

(Key: O=raga outline, A=raga alapana, t=tAnam, N=neraval, S=kalpanaswaram, T=taniavartanam)

Abhishek Raghuram at Sri Krishna Gana Sabha, Chennai 

Organizer and venue: Sri Krishna Gana Sabha, Chennai

Vocal: Abhishek Raghuram
Violin: Akkarai Subbulakshmi
Mrudangam: R. Sankaranarayanan
Ghatam: N. Guruprasad

List of songs:
1) eduTa nunnADu – bhujangini (O)
2) pAlayamAm – kannaDA (AS)
3) gAnamUrtE – gAnamUrti (AS)
4) santAnagOpAlakrishnam – khamAs (ANST)
5) bAlagOpAla – bhairavi (ANST)
6) garuDagamana – hindOLam  (O)
7) Erumayil (tiruppugazh) – jaidIp ?
8) nI nAma rUpa mulaku (mangaLam) – saurAshTram

 

(Key: O=raga outline, A=raga alapana, t=tAnam, N=neraval, S=kalpanaswaram, T=taniavartanam)

 

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TM Krishna for Alathur Subbaiyer Centenary, Chennai

I finished my concert and reached late as the first song nAma kusumamula was ending.

Occasion: Alathur Subbaiyer Centenary Celebrations
Venue: Sri Krishna Gana Sabha, Chennai

Vocal: T.M. Krishna
Violin: R.K. Shriramkumar
Mrudangam: Manoj Siva
Khanjira: Anirudh Athreya

List of songs:

* nAma kusumamula – shrI (NS)
* E pApamu – aTANA (AS)
* calamEla (varNam) – nATTakurinji  (tS)
* ambA paradEvatE – rudrapriyA (A)
* mari mari ninnE – kAmbOji  (ANT)
* iTu sAhasamulu – saindhavi (O)
* nilayAda (tiruppugazh) – cencuruTTi  (O)
* vishvEshvar – sindhubhairavi  (O)
* nI nAma rUpa mulaku (mangaLam) – saurashtram

 

(Key: O=raga outline, A=raga alapana, t=tAnam, N=neraval, S=kalpanaswaram, T=taniavartanam)

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Abhishek Raghuram for Single Teacher Schools in Chennai

Concert in aid of Single Teacher Schools. Kudos to Abhishek for not only performing for free but also collecting and donating for the cause!!!

Organizer: Single Teacher Schools
Venue: Vani Mahal, T. Nagar, Chennai

Vocal: Abhishek Raghuram
Violin: B.U. Ganesh Prasad
Mrudangam: Trivandrum Balaji
Khanjira: K.V. Gopalakrishnan

List of songs:
1) sarasIruhAsanapriyE – nATTai (AS)
2) mudumOmu – sUryakAntam (A)
3) tiruvaDi caraNam – kAmbOji (ANST)
4) manasulOni – hindOLam  (O)
5) IrEzhu bhuvanangaL (viruttam) – kApi
enna tavam – kApi (O)
6) tillAnA – pancam lalit (A)
7) bhujagashAyinO – yadukulakAmbOji

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

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TM Krishna for Nayaki, Chennai

Organizer: Nayaki
Venue: Abirami Chidambaram Community Hall, Kotturpuram,  Chennai

Vocal: T.M. Krishna
Violin: Akkarai Subbulakshmi
Khanjira: B.S. Purushotham
Ghatam: N. Guruprasad

List of songs:
* badalika dhIrA – rItigauLa  (ANS)
* rAmA nI pai – kEdAram (tS)
* dhanyAsi (A by violin)
* paridAnamicitE – bilahari (AS)
* paripOvalerA – bilahari (S)
* talli ninnu nera – kalyANi (NST)
* varugalAmO – mAnji (O)

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

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TM Krishna for Dr S Balachander Trust, Chennai

What an experience! Still in a trance more than an hour after the concert got over.  The joy of experiencing TMK’s music in a mic-less concert at such close quarters!

Organizer:  Dr. S. Balachander Trust
Venue: Sastri Hall, Mylapore, Chennai

Vocal: T.M. Krishna
Violin: Akkarai Subbulakshmi
Mrudangam: Manoj Siva
Khanjira: Anirudh Athreya

List of songs:

* mundu vENuka – darbAr (ANS)
* tAnam – mukhAri
* tAnam – sArangA
* inta mODi (varNam) – sArangA (S)
* mauLau gangA (viruttam) – gauLipantu
* kuvalayAkSirO – gauLipantu
* dinamaNi vamsha – harikAmbOji (ANST)
* mOdi jEsEvElarA – khamAs (tNS)
* shrI subramaNyAya namastE – kAmbOji (AN)
* mangaLam kOsalEndrAya – kAmbOji

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

(Apologies for missing out the other artists in the photo below. Was literally sitting right in front of TMK and couldn’t get the entire team from that angle)

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Laya chatura – Kanjira Quartet in Chennai

Kanjira quartet magic today at the Parthasarathy Swami Sabha.

First B.S. Purushotham and Anirudh Athreya played a 88 count talam (kanDa triputa with the each beat of lagu substituted by tisra, catusra, kanDa, misra and sankIrNa and dhrutam in 2 kalais). They played all 5 nadais.

Then Shree Sundarkumar and K.V. Gopalakrishnan played kuraippu and mOrA kOrvai in the same 88 counts but in a tala where they put kanDa aTa with the 4 sashabda kriyA (sounding beats) replaced by tisra, kanDa, misra and sankIrNa. 

Then they together played a talam which had in one Avartanam kanDa ekam in 2 kaLai followed by catusra Ekam in 1 kaLai followed by tisra Ekam in 0.5 kaLai

All in all a rhythm ragaLai!

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Lec dem by Gayatri – A few perspectives on grahabhedam

Gayatri (of Ranjani Gayatri duo) gave a wonderful lecture demonstration titled “a few perspectives on grahabhedam” today morning at the Music Academy, Chennai. What absolute command over the elements of her art! Totally bowled over by the presentation. Here are some notes from the same:

* Grahabhedam is the process of shifting the tonic note (AdhAra shruti) to another note in the same raga, thereby arriving at a different raga. The pure positions of the notes are maintained but they assume different colors. It is like a new raga within the old raga.

* Grahabhedam is very subjective and an area open to interpretation. What works and seems right to one musician may not do so to another.

* Certain anchor notes cannot be compromised. For example, gamakas cannot be used for sa and pa.

* It is not necessary to show the length and breadth of the second raga arrived at. It is enough if we can present a convincing picture of the second raga.

* It is not necessary to always think which note becomes the new sa. Many a times it is a phrase in a raga that leads you organically to a phrase in another raga.

* It is essential to have perfect control over pitching of notes to attempt successful grahabhedams. In Hindustani music, it is used as a tool for practice to improve ones pitching.

* When grahabhedam is done in kalpana swarams, both ragas run as twin tracks. When done in alapana, we slide to the skin of the second raga with the gamakam and aesthetics of that second raga at play but with the awareness of the first raga so that no wrong note is touched.

* She took simhEndramadhyamam. Sang pa to pa to show mAyAmALavagauLa

* The grahabhedam shift is highlighted well when there is a change in the structure of the raga itself i.e., not from one sampUrNa to another sampUrNa raga or from one auDava to another auDava raga.  She changed ri of simhEndramadhyamam to pa of bauLi. Shifted from sampUrNam to auDava shADava raga.

* She demonstrated shift from simhEndramadhyamam to sAvEri. sAvEri ga corresponding to ni of bauLi has to be handled differently – ga is slightly lower and ni is slightly higher

* She demonstrated partial grahabhedam using shanmukhapriyA as the original raga. Ri of shanmukhapriyA as the dha of kAnaDA. She also demonstrated shift from shanmukhapriyA to nATTakurinji as done by Tanjore S. Kalyanaraman earlier

* She demonstrated the shift from vAgadIshvari to kurinji

* Grahabhedam done cannot be said to be correct when the second raga’s identity is in question and doesn’t emerge clearly. This was demonstrated by trying to do to kIravANi what was done to simhEndramadhyamam earlier

* She gave an example of doing grahabhedam from nATTakurinji to nIlAmbari where without dropping any note both ragas come out well in unison as well as stand out individually. The laya of the phrases also make the raga stand out – sprightly and crisp in nATTakurinji, languorous in nIlAmbari

* Sa – Ma connection. Sa of nATTakurinji gives mA of nIlAmbari. pa of nIlAmbari gives sa of nATTakurinji. Reciprocal relationship. Ma has a very special relationship with sa and this is exploited by many grahabhedam combinations. For example, Abhogi ma to valaji sa. This is easier to show in kalpana swarams than in the raga alapana. Other examples are Arabhi ma to mOhanakalyANi sa and jOg ma to brindAvani sa. All of this was demonstrated by singing

* Ga – Sa shift with reciprocal shift from Dha. She demonstrated this by shifting from Abheri ga to mOhanakalyANi sa and from mOhanakalyANi dha to Abheri sa

* Ni – Ri shift with reciprocal shift from Ri. She demonstrated this by shifting from amritavarshini ni to karnATaka sudha sAvEri sa and from karnATaka sudha sAvEri ri to amritavarshini sa.

* Some shifts may look good on paper but may not translate well practically. Example, Abheri ma to ma can give kEdAragauLa scale and sALagabhairavi ri to ri can give dhanyAsi scale, but doesn’t preserve gamakas and also we can’t shake sa and pa which are anchor notes

* She demonstrated a group of 5 auDava ragas which can be derived from each other through grahabheDam and have a special relationship with each other. These ragas are mOhanam, madhyamAvati, sudha sAvEri, sudha dhanyAsi and hindOLam. For example, mOhanam ri to madhyamAvati sa.

* Varjyam of sa and pa or both is a common way of doing grahabhedam and a very safe way as there is no chance of any gamakam needs in these anchor notes. Among sampUrNa ragas, when we remove sa and pa from 6 ragas, we get the above group of 5 auDava ragas. These 6 ragas are tODi, bhavapriyA, pantuvarALi, shubapantuvarALi, kalyANi and gamanAshramA.

* Grahabhedam can be done in any aspect of manOdharma singing – alApana, neraval, tAnam or kalpanA swara. She took the example of shubapantuvarALi, did sa/pa varjyam and derived the five ragas listed above. From shubapantuvarALi ri to madhyamAvati (but she sang brindAvana sArangA). This was done in alapana. Then she shifted from shubapantuvarALi ga to hindOLam while singing tAnam. Then she shifted from shubapantuvarALi ma to sudha sAvEri while singing neraval for the line “vAsudEvuni priya sOdarI” from GNB’s composition “nI samAnamevaru”  She then shifted from shubapantuvarALi dha to sudha dhanyAsi while singing kalpana swaram. She also demonstrated shift to all the 5 auDava ragas from shubapantuvarALi while singing kalpana swaram.

* Musicians have used grahabhedam as the focal point in their compositions. Examples are M. Balamuralikrishna’s tillana in kalyANi, Tanjore S. Kalyanaraman’s composition in sindhubhairavi and Lalgudi G. Jayaraman’s swarajati composition in sindhubhairavi. She sang Lalgudi G. Jayaraman’s composition.

* A common feeling about grahabhedam is that it is inaccessible to general listeners who may not have an intimate knowledge of swarams. But even without our realizing it, grahabhedam operates at a very fundamental level – our ear usually tends to hear the most familiar tune/stuff. She demonstrated this by saying that in her childhood, she was learning sudha dhanyasi and when her mom hummed mA ramaNan in hindOLam at that time, she actually got the picture of sudha dhanyAsi (tonic was not played by a drone and was not evident). She also gave the example of the dvi-madhyama pancama-varjya raga lalit that she sings in concerts which many people think is shubapantuvarALi, which is again an example of grahabhEdam at play.

* In concerts, it is better to use familiar ragas for presenting through grahabhedam so that for the audience, additional effort doesn’t go into understanding the raga itself apart from the effort to understand the grahabhedam done.

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Lec Dem by D. Balakrishna on Pallavis performed by stalwarts of yesteryears

This year’s morning academic sessions at the Music Academy, Chennai started with well known veena vidwan D. Balakrishna’s lecture demonstration on pallavis performed by stalwarts of yesteryears. He demonstrated the following 9 pallavis in 40 minutes and also sang trikAlam, pratilOmam and kalpana swarams for some of them:

1) Pallavi played by Veena Seshanna – “cakkani sAmikidi manci samayamura, nEDu” – rAgA tODi – misra jampa 2 kaLai. eDuppu 0.5 beat before samam. arudi 3.5 beats.

2) Pallavi played by Tirukodikaval Krishnaiyer. Taught to his father, well known vainika Doraiswamy Iyengar, by Mysore Vasudevachar – “elarA nAtO calamu, jEsEvurA srIkrishna” – rAgA kAmbOji – Adi 4 kaLai. eDuppu 3 beats after samam (3/4 iDam). arudi 7 beats.

3) Pallavi sung by Mazhavarayanendal Subbarama Bhagavathar who was known for elaborating rare ragas. Told to D. Balakrishna’s father by Alathur Srinivasa Iyer – “nAmoralu vinavE, nA kannatalli” – rAgA kuntalavarALi – tisra tripuTa tisra gati. eDuppu – 1 count (1/3 beat) before samam. arudi 4 counts (1 + 1/3 beats)

4) Pallavi performed by Karaikudi brothers – “palukavE patita pAvani nIvu, cinnari cilukavE ambA” – rAgA mOhanam – catusra rUpakam kanDa gati. eDuppu – after 1 beat (5 counts) in lagu. arudi – 4 counts (in dhrutam)

5) Pallavi performed by Doraiswamy Iyengar – “cakkagani bhajana, jEsE vAriki, takkuva bhuvi galadA, rAmA dina dinamu” – rAgA shankarAbharaNam – Adi 2 kaLai 2 Avartanam. eDuppu 1 beat after samam (1/2 iDam) in first Avartanam and 1.5 beats after samam (3/4 iDam) in second Avartanam. arudi 1.5 beats after mid point in first Avartanam and 3.5 beats after mid point in second Avartanam

6) Pallavi performed by Alathur Srinivasa Iyer – “ninnu nammiti nIvE gati nIraja daLa nEtrA, harE rAmA” – rAgA hEmavati – kanDa jampa kanDa gati. eDuppu 3 counts before samam. arudi 3 counts

7) Pallavi performed by Chingleput Ranganathan – “venkaTa ramaNA sankaTa haraNA pankaja nayanA, tirupati tirumalai saptagiri vAsA” – rAgA shankarAbharaNam – Adi misra gati. eDuppu 1 count after samam. arudi 5 counts

8) Pallavi performed by Alathur Brothers – “kadir vaDivElA unadu pAdam tuNayE, OrArumuganE dEvadi dEvanE” – rAgA shanmukhapriyA – Adi sankIrNa gati. eDuppu 3 counts after samam. arudi 6 counts.

9) Pallavi performed by T.R. Subramaniam – “dasharatha tanayuni maravaka manasA, dinamu kSaNamu” – rAgA shankarAbharaNam – Adi 2 kaLai. eDuppu 0.5 beat before samam. arudi 4 beats. Has trikAlam in pallavi line itself.

 

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Nottusvaram concert

Venue: TAG Dakshinamurthy Auditorium

Vocal: Students of Vidya Vanam, Sargam Choir, Vidhya Raghavan and T.M. Krishna
Violin: Dr. R. Hemalatha
Mrudangam: Melakaveri K. Balaji
Ghatam: N. Guruprasad
Khanjira: B.S. Purushotham
Conductor: Dr. Sudha Raja

List of noTTusvarams sung:
1) shakti sahita gaNapatim – tisra naDai
2) guruguha pada pankajam – tisra naDai
3) varashiva bAlam – catushra naDai
4) santatam pAhimAm – tisra naDai
5) kamalAsana vandita – catushra naDai
6) sAmagAna priyE – catushra naDai
7) pAhi durgE – catushra naDai
8) rAma janArdhana – tisra naDai
9) sOmAskandam – tisra naDai
10) pArvati patE – catushra naDai
11) cintayEham sadA – catushra naDai
12) kAnchIsham – tisra naDai
13) dinabandhO – tisra naDai
14) shrI shankara vara – tisra naDai
15) para dEvatE – tisra naDai
16) mAyE – tisra naDai
17) vAgdEvi – catushra naDai
18) pItavarNam – tisra naDai
19) gurumUrtE – tisra naDai
20) AnjanEyam – tisra naDai
21) rAmacandram – catushra naDai
22) pAhimAm –  tisra naDai
23) sakala suravinuta – catushra naDai
24) pankajamukha – tisra naDai
25) jagadIsha – catushra naDai
26) dAsharatha – tisra naDai
27) santAna saubhAgya – tisra naDai
28) guruguha sarasija – catushra naDai
29) mucukunda varada – tisra naDai
30) shyAmaLE mInAkSi – catushra naDai
31) hE mAyE – tisra naDai
32) vandE mInAkSi – catushra naDai
33) varadarAja – tisra naDai
34) sadAshiva – catushra naDai
35) shauri vidhinutE – tisra naDai
36) subramaNyam – catushra naDai

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Umayalpuram 80

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We are celebrating the 80th birthday of my guru Umayalpuram Dr. K. Sivaraman sir on 5th December 2015 at the Music Academy, Chennai. A plethora of contemporary stars from the performing arts field gather to perform and celebrate this momentous occasion and pay tribute to the living legend.

Please “like” the facebook page https://www.facebook.com/uks80/ to keep yourself updated on the events planned. Check out the web site http://umayalpuram80.com/

 

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Trichur Brothers for Bharat Sangeet Utsav 2015

Organizers: Carnatica and Shri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha
Festival: Bharat Sangeet Utsav 2015
Venue: Sadguru Gnanananda Hall, Narada Gana Sabha

Vocal: Trichur Brothers – Srikrishna Mohan and Raam Kumar Mohan
Violin: M. Rajeev
Mrudangam: Trichur Mohan
Ghatam: D.V. Venkatasubramanian

List of songs:
Missed the first few songs

* Anandamritakarshini – amritavarshini
* koluvaiyunnADE – dEvagAndhAri
* rAgam tAnam pallavi – kAmbOji (T) – rUpakam
pallavi wordings: tillai Ishanaai kANa enna, puNNiyam seidEnO
eDuppu: samam arudi: 6 counts
* chembakyu nAdam – vasantA
* English note – shankarAbharaNam
* shLOkam – madhyamAvati

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

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T.M. Krishna for Naada Inbam

Vidwan Sethalapathi Balasubramanian remembrance day concert

Organizer: Naada Inbam
Venue: Ragasudha Hall, Mylapore, Chennai

Vocal: T.M. Krishna
Violin: R. Hemalatha
Mrudangam: T.K. Murthy and K. Parameswaran

List of songs:
1) sarasijanAbha (varNam) – kAmbOji
2) samugAnanilva – kOkilavarALi (OS)
3) dorakuNA – bilahari (ANS)
4) amba paradEvatE – rudrapriyA  (AS)
5) kANa kaN kODi – kAmbOji (AtST)
6) peTra tAi (viruttam) – varALi, hamsadhvani, kApi, sindhubhairavi
7) jAnakI patE – kharaharapriyA  (O)
8) bhaja gOvindam – rAgamAlikA

9) nI nAma rUpa mulaku (mangaLam) – saurashTram

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

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