Neyveli Santhana Gopalangaru & Annavarapu Ramaswamygaru

Annavarapu Ramaswamy, the famous violinist, who had accompanied vocalists like Mangalampalli BalamuraliKrishna and the great GNB was honoured with the title "Violin Ratna" by Nada Tarangam Trust, Hyderabad on 15th Sept.09 at the Megal Music festival that they held at Keyes Girls High School, Secunderabad.

It was a very small gathering of hardly 200 people, for such a big city like Secunderabad! It was not a holiday could be one reason - or is the interest for carnatic music reducing?? One more observation is, the crowd (if I can call it so) consisted of 80% old people in the age group of 60+.

What does that indicate?

Anyway, Annavarapugaru spoke after the felicitation. The gist is : he started his career/learning as a vocalist but shifted to Violin. Mangalampalli is the one who gave him a lot of confidence, encouragement and made him what he is today! He went on acknowledging his Guru for his career as a violinist and mentioned that on the same stage he had played for GNB in 1950s. He spoke about continuous practice and involvement in music.

Instead of 7 pm, the main concert started at around 7.40 pm. Neyveli was in his usual form - but I felt that the accompaniment was no match to his level. The whole concert had to be dominated by him - the mridangam especially was so pathetic. He went on adjusting the shruti but there was nothing matching the vocalist's flow. Violin was just alright - Neyveli went on encouraging him and making him play better. He had to literally tell the violinist what to do, as he was just giving shruti to him and not playing along with Neyveli.. a poor show, as far as the mridangam and violin were concerned. Ghatam was just alright - nothing bad, but nothing great. Ghatam player was the organiser and hence I think, his son was playing Tanpura.

Coming to the concert, Neyveli started with Patnam Subramanyam Iyer's Abhogi Varnam - Evvari Bodhana - wonder which language the composer spoke? Could he be a Telugu speaking person? But Ïyer" is slightly misleading, as it is used by Tamilians. Or could it be that, as the prevailing music world at his time was dominated by Telugu lyrics, he also wrote in Telugu?

http://www.ecse.rpi.edu/Homepages/shivkuma/personal/music/varnams/evvaribodhana.pdf

That is the link to this thana varnam. Varnam - in dance as well as in music is the piece where the artist shows his versatility in different speed while bringing out the beauty of the ragam.

Next was Kanchadhalayadakshi Kamakshi of Muthuswamy Dikshithar in Kamala Manohari ragam. This is a beautiful kriti

Raga Sasi Vadhanay... was elaborated. Though I am not an expert in raga, I felt as though Neyveli is decorating the Goddess with gems, pearls, corals and checking whether each jewel looks on Her and then adding more and more to make the jewels shine more by being adorned by Kamakshi. Somehow this thought came to my mind and I felt that every swara prasthabam he did fit into this imagination of mine..

Kanchi Nivasinay.. Mandha hasinay... beautiful. What lyrics, what selection of ragam, and what rendering. I am blessed !

Next was Thelisi Rama Chinthana .. in Poorna Chandrika. Thyagaraja says that the name Rama is to be chanted with understanding. He takes few words - Rama, Arka and Aja which mean different things. Rama also means woman! He calls woman as "chapalakshulu" :-(

But I think I agree with him... women have more chapalam and hence their eyes are wandering with chapalam, and hence akshalu ( eyes) with chapalam.

Arka means tree as well as Sun! Aja means goat as well as Brahma!

Hence he says that at least for a minute the mind should be focussed on the real Rama and then one should utter his name with conscience! Otherwise, just chanting the name of Rama with thoughts wandering from Illinois to Mumbai to Hyderabad is no use !!

Hence, Sivakamasundari... thelisi Rama Chinthana Cheyavay!!!

Here is the link to get the meaning of this song:

http://www.sangeetasudha.org/thyagaraja/t.html

Then was Eti Janmamidhi Oh Rama Rama... true, very true, what is this Janmam where it is spent not having enough time to enjoy the sculptures, the dances, the music, paintings and just fly around all over the world enjoying the beauty of nature!

Next was Nalina Kanthi Raga alapanai followed by Manavyalakim...

I wonder why he chose all Telugu songs to sing in Hyderabad. His pronounciation is very good, but still, I found one lady in front of me, commenting on it with little disappointment. Though I would not know how far she is correct, I suppose, when someone sings a song which is not his native language, there ought to be some small mistakes... God knows! Anyway, his patience was continuously tested by the violinist and mridangist and then by the microphone guys as well.. He carried on with patience and when he saw some people leaving, mentioned in Tamil, ëllorum sendhu vandhom.. sendhey aththukku pohalam. pinnala irukkarava ellam munnala vandhu utkarungo.."

If this is the situation for a A grade singer of carnatic music, what to say for budding artists? They have to just go on with their own interest and never expecting audience support.

to be continued....................

Aditya Karikalan and Rajiv Gandhi

This could be the 6th or 7th round of my reading PS - yes, Ponniyin Selvan. Whenever I have time, and feel like "reading"and not "seeing"something, I look for books - authors - sometimes, I find it boring to start a new book. Because, once I start reading a book, I feel compelled to finish reading it and it can prove to be a laborious process, if the writing does not match my taste!

At such times, PS comes to my rescue. I have a pdf version downloaded and kept ready in my laptop - this has to be just opened to travel back in times of Kings and Queens, palanquins, scheaming Mandiravadhis, Drogikal, benevolent temple builders, religious queens, beautiful princesses and horse-riding princes.

Kalki has his style of talking to the reader and making the reader feel like a participant in the story. Alwarkadiyan, Vandiyathevan, Arumozhi, Aditya Karikalan, Periya Pazhuvettaraiyar, Aniruddha Brahmarayar, Sundara Cholar, Kundavai, Vanathi, Ravidasan and even Soman Sambavan sort of characters - all have their unique features, style, mind... many have attempted writing history based novels, imitating Kalki. But no one, NO ONE has come even near him.

Today I am in the chapter where Aditya is going to be murdered. This is the 8th time I am reading this book and I know what is going to happen. But still, my heart beats faster, my mind is feeling sorry for Nandini and Aditya Karikalan. Handsome Prince charming, with valour and good intellect who feels tormented for past mistakes and wants to redeem himself. But life does not give him second chance - his father never comes to stay in his Pon Maligai while Aditya was alive; his sister Kundavai is more partial to Arumozhi than to Aditya. His parents are self-obsessed with themselves and in the future of Chola Naadu than to worry about their son. His maternal grandfather is the only one who understands him, feels for him and is concerned about him. But alas, he also is far from him and Aditya's fate leads him to his end.

Aditya Karikalan's death is a puzzle in history. Many have attempted to solve it with the available kalvettu, copper-plates etc. But, in absence of concrete evidence, the needle of suspicion moves and can touch any character in the story (real life) except his own parents.

Similar to Aditya, Rajiv Gandhi also did not want to rule. He wanted to lead his life away from his power-hungry mother and brother. No one had any aspiration about his future. But he was crowned ( Aditya got Yuvaraja title on him) and had to get into politics.

Both got murdered - while in the prime of their youth - suspicions, investigations etc. will not bring back the dead.

In fact, the CBI officer who was involved in Rajiv Gandhi assasination investigation looked at Aditya Karikalan's murder case and tried to find out the culprit and has written articles in the PS yahoo group!

The fact remains that a royal family murder of the crown prince is unsolved for now 1000+ years. Power makes history creators, makers to cover up things. No one will ever know who killed AK and how.

Mysterious death! I can think of one more death of a near and dear one in this category! What use?? AK, RG or GJ will not come back to life with the findings of the truth!!

1000 pillars

That is 1000 pillar temple at Warangal - Hanamkonda. Are you thinking where are the 1000 pillars?

Have you visited Ayiramkal Mandapam in Madurai and counted the pillars? Could you count 1000 pillars there? Then why the name?

I got answers for these in a beautiful temple of Vishnu in Tadpatri, Andhra Pradesh. The temple Archaka doubles up as tour guide explaining the various sculptures in the temple. He showed two pillars in the main hall of the temple and called it "Vaisthambalu"and explained the concept.

A pillar is made wherein 1000 small pillars are carved all around it. 10 rows of pillars on the one big pillar - with each row having 10 sthambams and each sthambam having 10 sthambams on it.. got the calculation? 1*10 equals 10; 10*10 equals 100; 100*10 equals 1000. Amazing... not the calculation :-), but the idea of coming up with 1000 pillars on one pillar!

Now, wherever you see 1000 pillar, take a closer look and you will be pleasantly surprised to see that the sculptor had poured his heart out and made a magnificent sthambam.

Thanks to the Tadpatri Archaka and millions of salutes to all those sculptors who conceived such a grand idea and executed it... I should add the great Kings who patronised such art!

Andhariki Vandanamulu!!

Laddu..sweet laddu

That is the picture of Tirupati laddu in preparation. Nearly 1.25 lacs laddus are prepared and distributed everyday in the Tirumala Hills after being offered as Naivedyam to Lord Balaji.

So, how does it help someone associated with the Devasthanam? I thought may be he will get some extra laddus paying nothing or little less.

I am wrong. There is more to it than common people like me can perceive, or rather say, taste?

It can come out as a shopping mall in districts of AP. It can come up as private colleges in AP.

Now, whenever I get to eat Tirupati Laddu it might leave some taste other than the sweet taste also in my mouth!!

All one needs is to become a power-broker in the right place with right contacts. I went on rolling my eyeballs on hearing the news first time when I heard it, and I think I can do some eye-movements better than any famous dancer as a result!

Power, money corrupt... corrupt anything and everything.

Vande Mataram! Bharat Mata Ki Jai! Tirupati Balaji Ki Sweet Jai Jai!

Characters

I have been travelling a lot these days and come across a lot of people. I love this. I love meeting people, talking to them and trying to know what goes in their minds. It is interesting for me.

Bus from Tadpatri to Prodattur, I got a seat to sit with the help of my colleague who rushed into the bus fast and "reserved"a place for me with his bag. It is fun travelling by APSRTC buses in rural Andhra. The conductors have hand-held terminals using which they issue ticket and give a print out! Some buses have only the driver who issues ticket on entry and drives the bus non-stop - point-to-point. APSRTC buses are clean and well maintained. I am happy to see such good transport facility to common public!

Coming to the point, a very young girl - almost child - was sitting next to me. I put on my sun-glass as I am not able to take the harsh heat there. This child got curious and I could sense that she is dying to talk to me. So I asked her "perenti"... she was so thrilled to be talking to me ( I was so happy to give such open happiness to someone with so little effort). Rajani is her name. I asked for her full name - meaning with surname. She replied S.Rajani, which is not to be expected, as in AP you have proper surnames unlike Tamilnadu. I asked her again what the S stands for. She said it stands for Sanapindi - which means besan( hindi) in Telugu and she gets teased for this surname it seems. We both giggled like small childlren and said that is a nice way to get noticed in a group - when you have a funny odd surname! She was so happy to get that comment and started telling me her story. She had just passed X standard with 473 out of 600 and her father is too happy for this and wants her to become an officer in the Thermal power plant in her town!

Her father was sitting next to her. She said he is a farmer. I started speaking to him and he was happy to reply. He grows Thurdhal in his land and til-seed crop sometimes. His wife helps him in the field. His son passed X standard - but is not so studious as his dear daughter. I could sense his pride and affection to his daughter in his eyes. His sons opted to join the nearby factory in lorry-weighing department and earns Rs.1500/- per month working 3 hours a day. He does odd jobs in the available time and has managed to buy a Colour Television and Fridge(!) on instalment basis in the last 3 months. Quick actions - I thought.

She got admission in the Government Polytechnic in Vijayawada. She has to stay in the hostel sharing the room with others. I asked her what is the difficult part in this "free"life of being away from parents! She did not really understand the question, as she wondered where is the question of freedom... I know that it is a difficult concept for a child of her age, as she herself still feels that the protection of home is the best thing that can happen to anyone...

She has to plait her long hair herself - is the only difficult part, and of course, she misses her parents and brother in the hostel. In fact, she was home, as the college itself has given one week of leave for the first year students as "home-sick-leave"... strange though!

I asked her what she wants to be. Prompt came the reply, that she wants to work as an officer in the Thermal power plant of her hometown. Yeah, that is what she has seen all her 16 years and that is what is the "big world"for her.

Drifting from the world of this Prodattur girl, my thoughts come back to my thoughts when I was her age. What did I know of the outside world? What was my ambition? What I wanted to be?

Frankly, all I wanted was to be able to earn a lot of money so that me and my family should never face shortage. That is all I wanted; how I had not given thought. I knew that I had to study well and then things will fall in place. Again, what study, where, how, what is the way - nothing. No awareness.

Compared to Uma of 1976 in Madurai, Rajani of 2009 Prodattur is better informed and better focussed!

Let me conclude with the thought, is the world shrinking for the children, or expanding?? Is it same for city children and village children??

Warangal - Poetry in stone

I got one extra day in Hyderabad on a personal visit. On googling the tourist attraction places around Hyderabad, I came across Warangal. These sites gave information on the 1000 pillar temple, the fort, Badrakali amman temple and also Ramappa temple at Palampet. The various sites talked about Hanamkonda, Warangal, Kazipet and nowhere they had mentioned that all these 3 places are within 10 km distance from each other.

Anyway, a request for a trip to Warangal to my cousin at Hyderabad was accepted with the condition that we should come back the same day.

We left Hyderabad by 6.45 am with a grand plan of having only fruit diet the whole day as we were just two adults ( without any children travelling with us - we wanted to enjoy the freedom of not packing food, water etc.)

By 9.30 we were in Hanamkonda and thought of reaching the APSTDC office - but we learnt that it will open around 11 am - a hoarding on Poonam Hotel approved by Tourism Dev.Corp attracted our attention and trying to reach that hotel, we reached another hotel on the way. Suprabha Hotel is a good one right on the main road with modern amenities ( I mean, a clean toilet with toilet paper and bidet with running water ) which we were not expecting in a tier II town!

We had pesarattu and Guntur Idlis and should say that we were not disappointed. We engaged the hotel manager in conversation and learnt that Hanamkonda houses the 1000 pillar temple. He told us that we should go to 1000 pillar temple, then to Badrakali temple, fort and then Palmpet in that order.

We drove upto the point where we saw arrow mark towards 1000 pillar temple. We went ahead and then realised that we are not in the right direction. On enquiry, we got a reply "chakkaga" and nothing else from an auto-driver. We went back and - the temple was right on the main road inside a small lane. We were expecting a huge complex where a temple with 1000 pillar can be housed. No, we were absolutely wrong. It was a temple and of course with pillars - but not 1000. Nobody knows how it got this name.

As usual, the tourist guide in the area tried to tell us stories that he had heard and he admitted that he says what he has heard from others and is not sure what he says is the right information.

To enjoy the beauty in the pillars, columns and the Nandi, no guide was needed. Very elaborately carved pillars with patterns of Rudraksha and garlands, dancing girls, percussion instrument players, floral designs were arranged in such beautiful order on the pillars that are still standing.

Nataraja

We were in Chidambaram, Tamilnadu.

In the afternoon, Shruti got blessed with an opportunity to dance right in front of the King of Dances - who makes the whole world Dance around Him!

It was my dream come true! Moorthy sang and Shruti danced. No other pakavadhyam... no electrical appliance. Simple songs and divine dance! Once someone gets to stand in front of Him all attired to dance, He makes them move!

It was Chithirai, Thiruvonam. The Moolavar, Nataraja in Kanakasabha came out of His usual seat and was smiling happily with His Sivakami from an elevated seat outside!

That day evening around 9 pm ( night), the abhishekam started. Nearly 4000 litres of milk, 1000 litres of curd, 1800 tender coconuts and 500 litres of honey were used to do abhishekam for the Nataraja.

It was possible to see Nataraja in the true-form - without the ornaments and silk clothes ( which generally covers Him so much, one wonders whether He would be suffocated in all that alankaram).

I wish I get to see the Gods and Goddesses in their true form ( if not "the " true form) - without the clothes - the sculptor has poured his heart into the metal or stone and has come up with the form to the formless God. I think it is a crime to cover it all up!