Madurai Sri Somasundaram - Vocal

Sri Madurai Somu, as he was dearly called was an interesting artist.
I have never seen another singer who was so happy singing.
MSBalasubrahmanya Sarma was another perhaps.
I am witness to Somu sir stopping for a moment while singing as if to absorb the beauty of the song! He would utter "Andavane! Muruga" and would continue singing!
I had the good fortune of talking to him at Chennai season once way back in very early 80s.
I asked him about the Telugu pronounciation.
He was really friendly in answering me about the matter.
He knew Telugu but could not help with the correct diction!
He was aware of the fact and accepted it!
What a simplicity!

I am happy to bring to you recordings from a very old  and popular LP of Somu sir.

Accompaniment details not kept.

Item list:

01 Sriganapatini – Saurashtram

02 Guruleka - Gauri Manohari

03 Devadideva - Sidhuramakriya

04 Sadamadin - Gambhiravani

05 Kadalevadu kade Ramudu - Narayana Gaula

06 Naradamuni - Kamavardhini

07 Varalandukommani – Ghurjari

Link:

http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=10f3f26dc390f408ab1eab3e9fa335ca47f31c84baccf974

Some more of his old recordings are on the way.

Tukaram Maharaj - Poetry

Tukaram was a great saint.
He studied the world so much that all his works sound prophetic.
I was lucky till now, to read only a fraction of his works.
I want to read more of him.
I am impressed so much that I want all to read him.

Here is a small poem of Tuka.
Tuka – Rasabh

It means something like this.

A donkey that is made to have bath in a sacred river does not become a horse. He, who does not have a pure mind, does not listen to any good advice. Even if a sweet juice is fed to a snake, there won't be any reduction in its poison.

रासभ धुतला महातीर्था माजीं

नव्हे जैसा तेजी शामकर्ण

तेवीं खळा काय केळ्या उपदेश

नव्हेची मानस शुद्ध त्यांचे

सर्पासी पाजिलें शर्करा पीयुष

अंतरींचे विष जाऊं नेणे

For the benefit of my Telugu brethren, the meaning here.

గాడిద మహా తీర్థంలో జలకమాడినా

గుఱ్ఱమయ్యేది మాత్రం కల్ల

అంతరంగ శుద్ధి లేనివాడు

అందుకే ఏ బోధనా వినడు

పాముకు పంచదార పానకం పోసినా

విషం విషంగానే ఉంటుంది.

Famous Telugu poet Vemana in one of his Padyam says that you may wash the skin of rat for any number of days. But, it will never turn white. Tuka's poem also tells the same thing. they were clear about the nature of bad people who would never change. It is interesting to read these people. Sarvagna in Kannad is another poet who stands on the same pedestal as these two!!

Mudikondan Venkatarama Iyer - Vocal

I am happy to bring to you an old radio recording of Sri Mudikondan Venkatarama Iyer.

I found on the net, this write - up on Sri Mudikondan.

This is what Sri Pinakapani (Sripada?) wrote about Mudikondan.

An artiste is born with the gift of music. He succeeds in studying at the feet of great masters of the art and picks up principles, practices, and idea with great faith and devotion. He works hard for years and becomes a real vidwan. He performs all over the country with great merit and scholarship, setting up ideals for the younger generation. Great honours cling to him, honouring themselves in turn. At a time when he is most needed by the times, death claims him. Can God give the world another stalwart musician like him? Perhaps, he can. But will He?

Mudikondan Venkatarama Iyer, was a stalwart among top-ranking musicians of the past five decades. His music was known for its scholarship than for popular appeal.

Raga Alapana

In raga alapana, he gave us glimpses of the Konerirajapuram style. His method of raga alapana was unique, was not heard from any other vidwan of his generation. However little the scope for elaboration treatment, he handled vakra-raga with great ease and control. He revelled in the creative rather than the decorative style. The average listener may not find reason to applaud his raga alapana, but musicians had lessons to pick up. The phrases and patterns of raga alapana were all his own, more exploratory than ornate.

    His neraval, in slow tempo, resembled raga alapana set to tala; while in fast tempo, he set up standards to follow, using rich sanchara-s and jati prastara-s, producing great effect. His kalpanaswara had a charm of their own. Janta swara-s, datu swara-s, and jati prastara-s, woven over a wide canvas provided great variety, which was the hallmark of his swara kalpana. He would reel of with great relish, 40 to 50 varieties of swara kalpana patterns within the scope of one avartanam, be it Adi tala or Khanda Triputa or Misra Chapu, in quick succession. Far from being tired, his audience always asked more of such kaleidoscope presentation of swara kalpana. He believed in sarvalaghu patterns of renditions, keeping the calculative aspect of swara kalpana at a distance, for he was a lover of spontaneity and creativity.

Great in Pallavi

Mudikondan’s Ragam Tanam Pallavi recitals were more sought after than his regular recitals. The phrases he sang in Tanam belonged to the past generation. Greater proportion of ‘akara’ than of ‘na’, ‘ta’, ‘tom’ and ‘nam’ syllables, was perhaps responsible for the variety and scope of elaboration. Tanam is madhyama kala elaboration of ragam, no doubt; but Mudikondan’s Tanam phrases were entirely different from his madhyama kala elaboration of raga alapana. The phrases, carrying a flavour of their own, were beautifully set, giving Tanam an individual entity, a personality of its own, saving it from being a mere segment of raga alapana.

A Great Laya vidwan

The ease and skill with which Venkatarama Iyer handled Pallavi are well known. His hold on laya was extraordinary. Kalapramanam was as near to perfection as possible. The way he marked Tala while handling a 4-kalai, slow-tempo Pallavi, whatever the nadai, was remarkable. He would mark each of the kriya-s of the Tala only once at its proper time without sub-dividing the matra-s of each kriya into halves or fourths. For example, when he took up Adi tala, in four kalai, slow-tempo in Chaturasra nadai, he would mark only 8 kriya-s that belong to Adi tala but not (for convenience of maintaining kalapramanam) subdivide 8 kriya-s into 32 beats. This skill in itself was extraordinary and deserves high praise. When an unusually difficult Pallavi, set to a rare and difficult tala, is exhibited before a learned audience, the marking of tala correctly on the one hand and extemporization of Pallavi on the other must each claim 50% of the vidwan’s concentration. When Mudikondan did such a Pallavi, he appeared to give 100% concentration to Pallavi elaboration and all the 100% of his attention again to Tala marking. So consummate was his skill in the total presentation of Pallavi that the audience could only gape in utter admiration at Mudikondan's mastery of Pallavi and Laya. Those who had witnessed in 1972 his demonstration in the Madras Music Academy hall of the Kambhoji raga Pallavi set to Simhanandina tala, will, I am sure, nod in assent.

Mudikondan Venkatarama Iyer, the great lakshya-lakshna vidwan, had a natural modesty to match his greatness. He lived the life of a wholesome musician, dedicating his entire lifetime to acquire mastery over the art of music, not bothering about limelight and headlines. His stature made him immortal in his field; it is did not choose to give him material gains. Let us hope and pray that he might be born again in South India to recapture the glory of Carnatic music.

For those who do not know, Sangeeta kalanidhi Smt. R Vedavalli and Sri B.Krishna Murthy are his disciples.

Mudikondan Venkatarama Iyer – Vocal

RKVenkatarama Sastry – Violin

Coimbatore N Ramaswamy – Mridangam

Items:

01 Srishankara – Nagaswaravali

02 Dayajuchutaku - Ganavaradhi

03 Ninnuvina - Abheri

04 Kanugonu Saukhyamu - Nayaki

05 Neelotpalambikayam - kannadagaula

06 Karuvelpulu - Kalyani

07 Krishnananda mukunda - Gaulipantu

08 Edo Teriyamal - Hamir Kalyani

Link:

http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=10f3f26dc390f408ab1eab3e9fa335ca5287216455df76d5

A page from the diary

I wrote these lines on the 31^st Oct, 1999

ప్రవాహంలో నిలబడ్డవాని కాళ్ల చుట్టూ నీళ్లు కదులుతుంటాయి.

కాళ్ల క్రింద ఇసుక కదిలినట్లే ఉంటుంది. కాళ్లు కూడా కదిలినట్లే ఉంటుంది.

కదిలేది కాళ్ల కింద ఇసుక మాత్రమే.

అది కూడా ఉన్నది పోతుంది, అంతేకానీ కొత్తది వచ్చి చేరదు.

ఆ రకంగా కాళ్లు అంతంతకూ లోతుకు దిగుతుంటాయి.

ముక్కు మునిగే లోపల గట్టి నేల తగిలితే సరి!

లేకుంటే, ప్రవాహంలో ప్రవాహంగా, నీటిలో నీరుగా, మట్టిలో మట్టిగా, వాయువుల్లో వాయువుగా

మిగులుతాయి అ కాళ్లు!

ఇంతకూ కదిలేది నీళ్లా? కాళ్లా?

అసలింతకూ ఆ నీళ్లు ఎందుకు కదులుతున్నాయి.

అవి ఒకచోట ఉండలేవు గనుక!

వర్షం చినుకులు వరదలయి, వాగులయి, నదులయి, సముద్రాలయి, మరోసారి మేఘాలు కావాలి.

మళ్లీ వర్షం చినుకులు కావాలి!

అదో ప్రవాహం!

అదో చక్రం!

ఆగడానికి వీలులేని ప్రవాహం!

దానికి నీవు పేరు పెట్టి, అందులో దిగి నిలబడతానంటే అర్థముందా?

నదంటే ఏమిటి?

నిన్నటి నీటిచుక్కా?

నేటి ప్రవాహమా?

ఆ నీరా?

ఆ గట్లా?

ఆ ప్రదేశమా

ఏది నది?

నీరే నదయితే, నీరు లేనప్పుడు దాని పేరేమిటి?

ఈనీరు, ఇవాళటి ఇప్పటి ఈ నీరు, రేపటికల్లా మరోచోట మరోపేరు!

మరుసటినాడు సముద్రంలో పేరేలేదు.

గట్లనూ మట్టినీ నది అనడానికి అవి కదలవే!

మేఘాన్ని నది అందామా?

సముద్రాన్ని నది అందామా?

మాటలను కలగలిపి గజిబిజి చేసేకన్నా, మనం ఆ నీటిలో దిగకుండా ఊరుకుందామా?

ఇంతకూ నీవెవరు?

అబ్బాయివా?

అబ్బాయిగారి నాన్నగారివా?

అవిడగారి మొగుడివా?

అయనగారి అల్లుడివా?

నీవు వీవే! నీటి చుక్కవు!!

ఎక్కడుంటే అదేపేరు!!           

నదికి పేరేమిటి?

నీకు పేరేమిటి?

Roughly this is what I meant!!

For the one, standing in a stream, the water around the legs will be moving.

It feels like the sand under the feet is moving.

Even the legs feel movement.

What moves is the sand under the feet.

Even in that what is there goes out.

New sand does not come there.

Thus feet get moving deeper and deeper.

If you hit the hard bottom before the nose is in the water, it would be good.

Otherwise those feet would remain as a stream in the stream, water in the water, earth in the earth and air in the air!

On the whole what is moving?

Is it the water or the feet?  

Why is the water moving after all?

Because it cannot stay at one place.

 It has to turn as a drop of rain, and then a stream, a rivulet, a river, an ocean and again a cloud. Then it has to turn into a drop of rain once again. !

It is a flow.

It is a cycle.

That cannot be stopped.

Would it mean anything, if you want to give it a name and get into it?

What after all is a river?

 Is it yesterday’s water drop?

 Or today’s stream?

 Is it that water?

Those banks?  

That area?

Where is the river?

If water is the river, what do you call it when there is no water?

This water, that belongs to this day and this moment,

by tomorrow in another place and  another name!

Next day in the ocean without a name.

If you want to call the banks and the soil the river, they don’t move after all.

Shall we call the cloud a river?

Shall we call the ocean a river?

Instead of confusing by word jugglery, shall we desist from getting into it?

Who are you after all?

Are you a boy?

Or his father?

Or her husband?

Or his son – in – law?

You are after all YOU!! A drop of water!!

Name according to the place!!

Why name a river?

Why name you?

I swear! This is not poetry!!

Mithunam - Stories by Sri Ramana

మిథునం

శ్రీరమణ గారి కథలు

శ్రీరమణగారు పేరడీలు రాస్తారని విన్నాను.

కథలు రాస్తారనీ తెలుసు.

అవన్నీ చదవకపోవడం నా తప్పు.

నేనసలు ఈ మధ్యన ఏమీ చదవడం లేదు.

మంచి పుస్తకాలను మిస్సవుతున్నానంటే ఆశ్చర్యం అవసరం లేదు.

కనుకనే ఈ పుస్తకం కనిపించగానే కొని చదివాను.

కడుపు నిండా సంతోషం అయ్యింది.

బాపుగారు తమ చేతిరాతలో మిథునం కథ రాశారు.

అది నేను చూచాను.

అంతకంటే కథకు మరో మెప్పికోలు అవసరం లేదని నా అభిప్రాయం.

ఇక పుస్తకం గరించి......

నవోదయవారు వేసిన ఈ పుస్తకంలో మిథునం కాక మరో ఏడు కథలున్నాయి.

మొదటి కథ అరటి పువ్వు సాములారు. కథంటే అది. అందుకే అది నిజేగా మొదటి కథ.

తేనెలో చీమ, వరహాల బావి, ధనలక్ష్మి, షోడా నాయుడు, బంగారు మురుగు, పెళ్లి, చివరగా మిథునం. అదీ వరుస.

కథలన్నీ ఒకదానికంటే ఒకటి బాగున్నాయి.

అన్నీ గొప్పగా ఉన్నాయి. ఇవన్నీ పత్రికల్లో వచ్చినవే. భేష్ అనిపించుకున్నవే.

పేరడీల రమణగారిలో సరసత ఉండడం కథలకు ఎంత బలాన్నిచ్చిందంటే, నేను మొదటి కథ చదివి కాసేపు ముందుకు చదవడం ఆపేశాను.

ఆ ఒక్క కథ చాలు. అరటిపువ్వు సాములారు. ఏమిటిది అనుకున్న నాకు ఎంత సంతోషమయిందో ఈ కథ చదివిన తర్వాత.

నాలుగు లైన్లు మీరూ చదవండి.

అరటి పువ్వు సాములారు

ఊళ్లోకి సాములారు వచ్చారు. పల్లకీలో వచ్చారు. శిష్యగణం, దేవతార్చన, వంటసామానూ వేరే వాహనాల్లో దిగాయి.
...................

టెంకాయలు, వంకాయలు, పీతాంబరాలూ ఊరిజనం ఇవ్వబోతే, ఆయన మౌనంగా తిరస్కరించారు. స్వామి అరటిపూలు తప్ప మరేమీ స్వీకరించరని వదంతి బయలుదేరింది. మరుక్షణం అరటిపూలు పావురాళ్లలా వచ్చి స్వామి ముందు వాలాయి.

...............

అరటిపువ్వు వడలు తిని అంతా ఓం అని తృప్తిగా తేన్చారు.

.............

సభ తీరిన స్వాము ఓ అరటిపువ్వు చేతిలోపట్టుకుని ఏమిటిది అని అడిగారు.

అరటి పువ్వు స్వామీ అన్నారు సభికులు ముక్తకంఠంతో.

కాదు. మీ అజ్ఞానం. ఇది విష్ణుమూర్తి శంఖం. సాక్షాత్తూ పాంచజన్యం. అని గద్దించారు.

...........

అరటి ఒకే ఒక పూవు పూస్తుంది జీవితకాలంలో. ఇందులో కుటుంబనియంత్రణ అంతరార్థం నిక్షిప్తమై ఉంది.

..........

దీని సారాంశం మీకెలా తోచింది.

తమరికి అరటిపువ్వు వడలంటే చచ్చేంత ఇష్టమని.

...........

స్వామీ!

ఏమీ?

తమరు అనుగ్రహిస్తే, మీ అరటిపువ్వు సిద్ధాంతాలూ, మీ జీవిత చరిత్రనూ గ్రంధస్థం చేసి ఏడుకోట్ల ఆంధ్రులకు అందివ్వాలని ఉంది.

అమ్మో అది మాత్రం వద్దు.

Sriramana is a contemporary story writer of reputation. He has written a number of very good stories. Mithunam. His story stood out of all the other works. Now here is a collection of stories and at the end of the book there is the title story. That is a famous story. No doubt about it. What struck me is the comic story that is the first one in this book. Such a story I am sure is rare by any standards.

I know you will not understand a thing reading these lines even if you understand Telugu. I want you to read the entire story. If at all I happen to meet Sriramana the first thing I will ask hi, will be about the thought for this particular story.

All the stories are exceptionally good. They are human. They are real. Illustrations by Bapu are as usual very good. Bapu wrote the story in his hand and the copy is available on the net or through the net, I am told.   Bapu's illustrations for the stories are an added attraction for the book also.

The story Mithunam is only to be experienced. The old couple, their lively life is a once in a life time kind of imagination. Or is it reality? It is hilarious no doubt, but touches your heart in the softest spot. There is a character in the story to represent you! That is the only character there apart from the couple. I was kind of numb after reading the story.

It is not for nothing that MTVasudevan Nair was impressed by it and made a film about it. Nair himself is a writer of exceptional quality, if I am right.

Navodaya publishers of Vijayawada brought out this book. Try your luck. You may still find it on the racks of any good book store. Read and then think about what I have written here.

Are his stories amenable to translation since there is so much of nativity in them?

Have any of his stories been already translated?

What is this?

What is this?
I am sure you see a face in it!
Interestingly this is a pattern I found on the marble flooring in my hall!
Can you beat it?

Maharajapuram Santanam - Radio Concert

This is a recording of Sri Maharajapuram Santanam's performance as a part of Radio Sangeeth Sammelan.
It must be from early eighties.
I have not noted any other details on the cassette.
Interestingly when people like me made these recordings those days, we never thought that we will be sharing them like this on something called Internet.
It is now a pleasure to listen to them again in the name of digitising and editing. It is more interesting beacuse we are sharing them with all.

I heard a comment somewhere that people who write blogs and upload material on the web are interested in seeing themselves as popular people.
But, the fact is we do these things because it gives a lot of satisfaction and nothing more.
There are Mnay people who ask about the quality and other details of the recording.
I for one, am interested in listening to good music for the vintage value of it!

Sri Maharajapuram Santanam - Vocal
The Items :
01 Pamarajana - Bilahari
02 Srirama - Nasikabhushani
03 Narayana - Sudha Dhanyasi
04 Ma Janakini - Kambhoji
05 Tillana - Misr Sivaranjani

Link:
 
http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=10f3f26dc390f408ab1eab3e9fa335ca0ecbec99200f0ad9
 
I will be regularly bringing more really old recordings to Rasikas in the coming days.
Happy listening.