Ragas & their benefits

Carnatic RAGAS & BENEFITS

🎵Ahir Bhairav:

Gives free relaxed feeling and mitigates dust allergies and skin disease. Good for arthritic conditions

🎵Amrutavarshini:

Ushana vyathi nasini ( alleviates diseases related to heat)

🎵Ananda Bhairavi:

Supresses stomach pain in both men and women. Reduces kidney type problems. Controls blood pressure

🎵Bagesri:

Helps in attaining Guru's grace

🎵Bhairavi:

Reduces anxiety, pressures, skin, disease, allergies

🎵Bhupala:

To awaken someone out of deep sleep

🎵Charukesi:

26th raga in the melakarta scale (parent) of the south Indian classical music. Rejuvenates the mind helping one to age gracefully. It enlivens the singer and listener.

🎵Desh:

The suppression of the senses releases a negative force. The process of sublimation needs a spiritual path. Rag Desh can provide that. Its energy gives the listener serenity, peace, inner joy, right valor, universal love and patriotism

🎵Dwijavanti:

Quells paralysis and sicorders of the mind

🎵Ganamurte:

Helpful in diabetes

🎵Hamsadhwani:

Energy giving. Provides good thinking, chaitanya. Sarvarogaharini (panacea

🎵Hemavati:

Good for joint and back pain

🎵Hindolam:

Improves digestive power. Cures stomach related. problems

🎵Kalyani:

Gives energy and removes tension and acts as general tonic. Dispels the darkness of fear; Gives motherly comfort and increases confidence. Kalyani means mangalam. Recited with faith and devotion, it is believed to clinch marriage alliances. Many authentic reports exist about the raga's power to destroy fear in many forms: fear of poverty, of love, of power, of ill-health, of death, and so on.

🎵Kapi:

Sick patients get over their depression, anxiety. Reduces absent mindedness

🎵Karaharapriya:

Curative for heart disease and nervous irritablility, neurosis, worry and distress.

🎵Kedaram:

Gives energy and removes tension

🎵Keervani:

Promotes dhyana (meditation) at mental and physical levels

🎵Kokilam:

Helps to prevent stone formation, burning sensations, sleeplessness and anxiety.

🎵Madhuvarshini:

Good for nerves. Cures diseases like slight headache, sleeplessness, and sinus problems.

🎵Madhyamavati:

Clears paralysis, giddiness, pain in legs/hands, etc. and nervous complaints

🎵Malaya Maruta:

To awaken someone out of deep sleep

🎵Maya Malava Gowla:

Counters pollution. It can be called the Gateway to Carnatic music. The history of Camatic music says that the blessed musician, Purandaradasar, introduced the system of Mayamalava gowla. This raga has the power to neutralize toxins in the body. Practicing it in the early hours of the morning, in the midst of nature will enhance the strength of the vocal chords.

🎵Mohanam:

Mohanam is present where beauty and love coexist. It filters out the ill-effects of kama (desire for sex) , krodha (anger) and moha (lust), bestowing immense benefits on the listener. Also said to sures chronic headaches, indigestion, and depression.

🎵Neelambari:

To get rid of insomnia

🎵Ranjani:

Cures kidney disease

🎵Rathipathipriya:

Adds strengh and vigor to a happy wedded life. This 5-swara raga has the power to eliminate poverty. The prayoga of the swaras can wipe off the vibrations of bitter feelings emitted by ill will

🎵Rohini:

Cures back pain, joint pain, etc.

🎵Sama:

Makes mind sober, tranquil, induces good sleep. Good for world peace.

🎵Saramati:

Elevates from depressed state. Cures balagraha dosham in children ( undiagnoses crying and imitability). For sleeplessness, itching, eye and ear problems, skin problems, and the problems of hearing irregular sounds

🎵Sindu Bhairavi:

Removes sins and sorrows and saves from unforesenn events

🎵Sivaranjani:

Powerful raga for meditation; bestows benevolence of God. Removes sadness, ushana roga santi (diseases related to excess heat). Good for general health

🎵Sandhya Kalyani:

Cures ear, nose and eye diseases. Relieves chronic clods. Gives good sleep and freshness

🎵Shankarabharanam:

The power of this raga is incredible. It cures mental illness, soothes the turbulent mind and restores peace and harmony. If rendered with total de

votion for a stipulated period, it can cure mental disorders said to be beyond the scope of medical treatment. It also is said to have the power to shower wealth.

🎵Shanmugapriya:

Sharpens the intellect of the singer as well as the listener. Instills courage in one's mind and replenishes the energy in the body.

🎵Subhapantuvarali:

Alleviates mental dilemmas and indecisiveness

🎵Suddha dhanyasi:

Remover of sorrows. Gives a happy feeling. Tonic for nerves. Cures rhinitis and migraine.

🎵Suruti:

Mitigates stomach burn, insomnia, fear, disgust

🎵Vakulabharanam:

Alleviates asthma, bronchitis, heart disease, depression, skin disease and skin

🎵Varali:

Varali is good for vayu tatva, heart, skin ailments and gastric problems.

🎵Vasanta / Vasanti:

Controls high and low blood pressure, cures heart as well as nervous diseases. Can dear the fog of confusion when a series of medical tests has to be analysed. It heals nervous breakdowns.

🎵Vasantham:

Cures paralysis

🎵Viswambari:

General tonic, acts quickly

🎵Yamuna Kalyani:

Gives freshness and dynamism

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Musical anecdotes 48. Nithyasree Mahadevan (25 / 08 / 1973……)

Courtesy:Sri.PP.Ramachandran

                                                              Musical anecdotes –48

                                                  48. Nithyasree Mahadevan (25 / 08 / 1973……)  

                                                                          

                                 Nithyasree Mahadevan  was born to Lalitha Sivakumar and I. Sivakumar. Her paternal grandmother, D.K.Pattammal and her granduncle, D.K.Jayaraman were prominent Carnatic vocalists who were established disciples of Ambi Dikshithar, Papanasam Sivan, Koteeswara Iyer, T.L.Venkatarama Iyer and others. Her maternal grandfather was the mridangam wizard Palghat Mani Iyer.

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                             Nithyasree first learnt music from her mother, Lalitha Sivakumar. Like her mother, Nithyasree was also the disciple of D.K.Pattammal and would accompany her in concert. Her father, an accomplished mridangist and disciple of his father-in-law Palghat Mani Iyer, constantly showed his support and accompanied her when she performed. Nithyasree has also been vocally accompanied in some concerts by her niece and disciple, Lavanya Sundararaman.

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                           She  was married to V. Mahadevan, a mechanical engineer, Until his death in 2012. Tanujasree and Tejasree, their two daughters, have also accompanied their mother on stage in concert, 

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                            Her  first public Carnatic performance was at the age of 14. She has given numerous concerts consisting of only patriotic songs to commemorate the 50th year of Indian Independence, a few with D. K. Pattammal her grandmother before she stopped performing in public.

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                             D.K.Jayaraman and  D.K.Pattammal were known for singing and popularising the compositions of Papanasam Sivan, having learnt them directly from the composer himself. Nithyasree has continued this tradition. She has also given a lecture demonstration in Coimbatore for Manoranjitham on "Papanasam Sivan – A Legend", and made two special thematic albums that solely contained his compositions.

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                               Nithyasree presented a concert consisting solely of compositions set to " Raga Bhairavi ". The  concert was presented in 1994 over a duration of 3 hours, and consisted of 17 compositions in total. Similarly, in 1999, her album "Bhairavi" was released and it solely consisted of a Ragam Tanam Pallavi in ragas containing the name "Bhairavi".

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                              She has also popularised compositions of  Gopalakrishna Bharathi. Her three thematic albums that solely consisted of his compositions have been very popular, She  has more than 750 albums to her credit on various themes and titles which are very popular among rasikas.

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                               Nithyasree  has performed in all major Sabhas all over India and has presented her concerts in the United States of America, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, U A E, Germany, France, Switzerlab\nd, Belgium, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore,Tanzania and Sri Lanka. 

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                              Nithyasree  made her debut as a playback singer after being invited by prominent music director A.R.Rehman to record a song for the  tamil film, Jeans. Her playback debut song " Kannodu Kanbadhellam" " became an instant hit and won her the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer for 1998. Nithyasree  recorded more songs for A. R. Rahman and these songs again were successful. Nithyasree also recorded songs for films  in other South Indian languages, Kannada, Telugu and Malayalam .She has  composed music for songs and has composed background scores for studio album recordings.

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                               She  is a "Top Rank" graded artist of Akashvani, and All India Radio, Chennai. She received the "Best Concert Award" for 6 years from the Madras Music Academy, and won the Kalaimamani award from the Government of Tamil Nadu ". During her career, Nithyasree has been bestowed with numerous other titles, and won numerous other awards and prizes.

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                                      Nithyashree's husband Mahadevan committed suicide jumping into the Adyar River.

Musical Anecdotes--47—Ranjani and Gayatri

Courtesy:Sri.PP.Ramachandran

     Musical Anecdotes---47

                                                                                                                                                                                              47—Ranjani  and Gayatri  

                                       

                                                          

                            The sisters Ranjani and Gayatri are Carnatic vocalists and violinists .born to N. Balasubramanian and Meenakshi (a Carnatic vocalist ) and have a younger sister , Savitri . Born into a Palakkad Iyer family deeply involved in classical music, Ranjani and Gayatri's musical talents were discovered at a very early age. " We came together under the tutelage of Sangeetha Bhooshanam Sri.T.S.Krishnaswami when we were nine (Ranjani) and six (Gayatri) years old. He learnt directly from the legendary Sangeetha Kalanidhi T.S. Sabesa Iyer, Tanjavur Ponniah Pillai, Madurai Subramania Iyer and Madras Balakrishna Iyer. Our revered guru had developed an advanced fingering technique, one that was logical and scientific in approach. Such was his dedication to his work that we don't remember a single occasion when he missed his class, due to any reason, personal, social, health or any other."

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                                  A bit about Shri Krishnaswamy's training technique from the sisters. "We studied under him from 1982 to 1992. He gave a great deal of attention to correct position of the palm and fingers for holding the bow, and the proper movement of the wrist for moving the bow from the holding end to the tip. He would not tolerate gripping the bow with the fingers and attached much importance to the elegance with which the bow is held."

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                                 "Our mother Meenakshi was a Carnatic vocalist herself, while our father N Balasubramanian was a great music aficionado. Even when we were babies in arms, we were taken to both Hindustani and Carnatic concerts, and that seems to have had its impact.", according to the sisters.

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                                       Ranjani and Gayatri began their music career as violin duet artistes. Through their intense training from  Prof. T. S. Krishnaswami, they quickly established themselves as top-class violinists of international repute. The sisters achieved success as violin duet performers, and subsequently they also proved successful as violin accompanists. Both Ranjani and Gayatri have accompanied various artists on the violin. After more than a decade as successful violinists of high calibre, the sisters' foray into vocal music has brought them instant recognition and wide acclaim. 

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                                       The first performance of the sisters in Madras was under the auspiced of the Sruti Laya Seva Trust of Karaikudi Mani at the Sastri Hall in the Eighies. Karaikudi Mani and the Bombay Sisters are maunly responsible for introducing them to Madras audiences.

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                                    The sisters have given vocal concerts since 1997, after they became students of Narayanaswamy. They have learnt  Bhajans from vocalist Seetha Narayanan. They learnt a few abhangs   and gavlans,  Vishwas Shirgaonkar, Manek Bhide who was Bal Gandharva's leading disciple and Appasaheb Deshpande.

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                                    Ever since their debut in 1997, they have performed in all prominent sabhas in the December Music Festival in Chennai, and at premier institutions all over the country. They have to their credit several album releases, both violin and vocal. They give highly successul concert tours in Singapore and Malaysia , the USA and Canada in , Australia, New Zealand and the Middle East .

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                                          Ranjani and Gayatri are composers too. A few of the abhangs they sing at the end of their concerts have been set to music by them. They have also set many other thukkada pieces, including bhajans.

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                                  The sisters have  received several  awards and recognitions throughout their career.  A few are-- Sanskriti Awards, Kalki Krishnamurthi Memorial Award, Yogam Narayana Swamy Award,National Eminence Award by the Shanmukhananda Sabha; Title of "Isai Peroli" from the Kartik Fine Arts, Chennai; Dr. M.L. Vasanthakumari Endowment Award, awarded by Narada Gana Sabha, Chennai ;Sarada Krishna Iyer Memorial Award for Outstanding Concert. They won The Outstanding Violinists Award for four consecutive years from the Music Academy, Chennai from 1994 to 1998.

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                                        They performed their debut violin duet concert at the Indian Music Group Festival of Music when they were thirteen and ten years old respectively.

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Musical Anecdotes -46—Sowmya ( April 16. 1969....)

Courtesy:Sri.PP.Ramachandran

   Musical  Anecdotes  --46

                                     46—Sowmya ( April 16. 1969....)

                                            

                                  A Carnatic musician by profession, Sowmya's life has been soaked in melody from the very beginning. Growing up in a traditional South Indian family, she had her initial tutelage in music from her father Dr. Srinivasan, a Chemical Engineer with an enduring passion for Carnatic Music. Later she was singularly fortunate to be taken under the wings of Sangita Kalanidhi Dr. S. Ramanathan - exemplary musician, esteemed musicologist and extraordinary human being. She received further training from Smt. T. Muktha, of the legendary Brinda-Muktha duo. She has stated that " I  started learning from my Father when I was four. But even when I was two and a half years old , I could identify many ragas."

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                                                           She started in 1998, "Carnatica" an institution dedicated to music & dance instruction, archival, talent search and other related activities.  She also co-authored the first comprehensive reference CD-ROM on Carnatic music, "Nadanubhava ". She is  a Visiting Professor at the Advanced School of Carnatic Music of the Music Academy Madras.

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                                         In addition to being an accomplished musician, Sowmya also has excellent academic credentials. She earned a Ph. D. degree  from the University of Madras  under the guidance of Dr. Premeela Gurumurthy. Sowmya is also a double postgraduate (Master's in Chemistry as well as Indian Music) and was a top-ranked scholar at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M) and the University of Madras .To concentrate on her music, she stopped her doctoral research program at IIT. 

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                                   Sowmya has performed in all major sabhas all over India and has presented her concerts in the United States of America, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, U A E, Germany, France, Singapore,Malaysia, Switzerland, Belgium, New Zealand, Tanzania, Sri Lanka  and  other parts of  the world.

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                               Sowmya made her film debut as an actress in the movie " Vaanavil Vaazhkai", Sowmya has played the role of a mother to the female lead, Janani, in this musical. James Vasanthan,the director said, "Sowmya was my first choice for this role. When I approached her, she was sceptical as she didn't want to act. But then I convinced her saying that there would be no need for any stereotypical acting, and that she could be her natural self in the film. Sowmya then heard the script and liked it very much. After discussing it with her family, she agreed."

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                                                           Sowmya has received several titles, awards. Some are--

Kshetragnar Padam Prize from Madras Music Academy;

"MLV Award", Outstanding young vocalist AIR Music competition prize;D.K. Pattammal Award T.V. Subba Rao Award ,"Yuva Kala Bharathi" from Bharat Kalachar; Ariyakudi Trust Award (Best Lady Vocalist); Asthana Vidushi Award From Sringeri Sharada Peetham.

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                                 Sowmya bagged a 6-year Cultural Talent Scholarship for Instrumental Music (Veena), Dept. of Culture, Govt. of India, New Delhi (at the age of 10) She was the First Carnatic musician to make a Video CD album (Live concert of Mahakavi Bharatiyar songs).

 

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                             Other than these, Sowmya is the Managing Director of Srishti's Carnatica Pvt. Ltd.; Actively involved in documenting Carnatic music as Executive Trustee of Carnatica Archival Centre for Music and Dance; Producer of popular music albums (Audio and Video) under the 'Carnatica' label; Coordinator of several successful events such as Raganubhava, Sahityanubhava, Layanubhava, Vadyanubhava and Natyanubhava series. She is  proficient in Sanskrit, Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, French and English,

Musical Anecdotes-45--Trichur Ramachandran ( August 9, 1940.....)

Courtesy:Sri.PP.Ramachandran

    Musical Anecdotes-45

                                     45--Trichur Ramachandran  (  August 9, 1940.....)

                                                     

 

                                       Trichur V. Ramachandran is a Carnatic music vocalist who was born in 1940 in Thrissur, Kerala. He who gave his first concert at the age of 14  was a disciple of G.N.Balasubramaniam. Later, he underwent training under M.L.Vasantakumari  as part of an Indian government Cultural Scholarship. Ramachandran married  a vocalist Charumathi  1973. Their daughter Subhashree Ramachandran is also a carnatic singer.

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                                        Ramachandran is recipient of several awards--Sangeet Ntak Akademi  Award  , Vidhya Tapasvi title from TAPAS Cultural Foundation, Sangeetha Kalanidhi   from the Madras Music Academy, Swathi Music Award from Kerala Government.

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                                      Even as he was learning Carnatic music under GNB, he became eligible for admission to the Calicut Medical College. He was chosen in the second list. He didn't think twice. He just gave up the medical seat, and stuck to music. From hindsight, it could be argued that his decision then was indeed the right one.

 

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                                      Prior to his induction into GNB's school, Ramachandran had  gurus such as Varkala Subramania Bhagavatar and Tripunithura Krishna Iyer. He had also learnt Hindustani music from Pandit Krishnanand.

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                                      Ramachandran lays much store by bhakthi, which is the fulcrum around which music revolves. His rendering of Narayaneeyam of Shri Narayana Bhattathiri is the best example. He has rendered all the 1,036 Narayaneeyam verses, which has hundred chapters beautifully tuned to breath-taking ragas, on Lord Guruvayurappan.  The daily `Parayana' of Narayaneeyam enables the devotees to attain "`Ayurarogyasowkyam." The Sanskrit devotional CD "Sriman Narayaneeyam" of Ramachandran is an invaluable treasure for the devotees.

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                                   A few years ago, Vidwan Ramachandran was honoured in Chennai for completing fifty years of service to music. From the words he spoke that day. his humility oozes out. Mr. Ramachandran said it was important that those who wanted to learn Carnatic music should listen as many concerts of veteran musicians as possible.

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                                               According to   Ramachandran, "At home, my mother used to sing very well. My sister was also learning music at that time. Unlike Thanjavur and Madras, women were not performing much on stage in Kerala. So her music was within the home. But I inherited the art from my mother. Seeing my interest in music, my maternal grandfather insisted that I learnt music properly. I came under Varkala Subramanya Bhagavathar for initial training. In those days, around us, it was mostly classical music.

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                                          I have heard M. S. Subbulakshmi, D. K. Pattammal. GNB, Dhandapani Desikar, Thyagaraja Bhagavathar and P. U. Chinnapa. All actors were good musicians. And we had composers like Papanasam Sivan.

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                                          After my initial training, I came under senior vidwan Tirupunithura Krishna Iyer, who was a graduate from Annamalai University. He had shaped my talent and I bagged many prizes in music competitions and had started giving a few performances too. But it was during a wedding at our family doctor's place that I happened to listen to GNB and was impressed a lot. I felt that I should learn from such a great musician. My mother then brought me to Madras and asked GNB sir - if her son has any talent could he teach him music! GNB, after listening to a kriti, asked me to come for music classes from the next day.

sessions with GNB.

 

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                                    Usually the music class started at 6.30 in the morning and went on for about an hour. The rest of the day was meant for practice. Only if we memorised and learnt the previous day's lesson, GNB used to go to the next item. He used to say that music is all about the effect of sound. He used to emphasise on how to open the mouth while singing, how to produce the sound and the importance of diction while rendering the kritis. One would just sit for hours and listen to GNB talking about music. 

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                                          I shifted to MLV after the demise of GNB.I came to her under a Govt. of India scholarship, to continue my training under the same GNB school. MLV was a large hearted person. She had a lot of information to share with her students. She was exactly like our guru in teaching and also in her kindness to the sishyas. I was the only male student of MLV! She was teaching many girls. Charumathy, my wife, was learning from her then. One of my friends suggested the alliance.

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                             For my wedding, there were six concerts. T. N. Krishnan and M. Chandrasekaran played a violin duet. MLV, Semmangudi, Maharajapuram Santhanam and 'Veena' S. Balachander 's concerts were also arranged. M. S. Subbulakshmi and D. K. Pattamal sang `Sita Kalyana Vaibhogame' during the `Oonjal' ceremony of my wedding And, my own guru, M. L. Vasanthakumari, sang at the evening reception. What more can anyone ask for?"

 

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                                          A pen-picture of Ramachandran. "He sits  cross-legged on the single bed mattress of Janardhana Hotel, that favourite haunt of all artistes in Bangalore. Hair oiled and combed down below the ears. Jari dhothi. Silk jibba. A beaded japamala from the Kanchi Matham. A gold ring with a large green emerald from Satya Sai Baba. An altogether colourful personality with a magnificent presence.

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                                             As eminent dancer V. P. Dhananjayan put it: "Trichur Ramachandran is a good bridge between the older generation and younger audiences. Without compromising his music, and without deviating from the classical, he is able to cater to young listeners... " In fact, Ramachandran's devotion to GNB comes through his music again and again. "It is from this guru that I learnt about the aesthetics of music. It's imagination and creativity.

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                                     A bit about his wife. The legendary classical vocalist Charumathi  is known for her classical vidwat and creativity. She , is the daughter of Sri. K.Viswanathan and Alamelu Viswanathan, and niece of Director K. Subramanyam - great art patrons. Charumathi completes 51 years of singing in 2014 and acquired l recognition. She has put in very hard work for the past 56 years. Recently she was awarded the TOP grade of all India RADIO-after broadcasting for 42 years. She has been endowed with the presti

​i​

ous Kalaimamani  Award by the Tamilnadu Government.

Musical Anecdotes----Shri.T.M.Krishna ( Jan 22, 1976….)

Courtesy:Sri.PP.Ramachandran

  Musical Anecdotes----44

 

                                                  44. Shri.T.M.Krishna ( Jan 22, 1976….)

                                                                                                                                                                          

 

                                            T. M. Krishna,  is a Carnatic  vocalist, belonging to a family of music connoisseurs,He was exposed to  classical music at an early age. He was born in Chennai . His father was a businessman in the automobile industry and his mother  founded several educational institutions, most recently a school for tribal children (Vidyavanam).

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                                          Krishna's  guru was B. Seetharama Sharma who taught  him when he was only six years old. He had his schooling in an institution founded and run by the J. Krishnamurti Foundation which  influenced his perceptions and outlook towards life. He holds a B.A. degree in Economics from  Vivekananda College   .Through his years at school and university, music remained central to him and before turning twenty he launched into his career as a full-time vocalist .His wife  Sangeetha Sivakumar is  also a Carnatic musician, The couple have  two daughters  Arya and Anantha, and the family lives in Mylapore .

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                                  Krishna's mother was a graduate in carnatic music His grand uncle T.T.Krishnamachari  (former Indian finance minister and an industrialist) was one of the founding members of the Madras Music Academy . After studying  under B. Seetharama Sharma, Krishna was trained by Chengalpet  Ranganathan . He also received advanced training from Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer   more than seven years.

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                                   Krishna's first concert was at the age of 12, at the Spirit of Youth series organized by The Music Academy, Madras. He has travelled widely in India and abroad and given over 2000 concerts all over the world, performing regularly in major international music festivals. He has performed at prestigious venues including the Kennedy Centre, Theatre de la Ville, The Esplanade, Sydney Opera House, Chowdiah Hall in Bangalore, and the Music Academy, Madras. His global concerts include performances in  USA , Canada,  United Kingdom, France,  Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, and Austria. Muscat, Abu Dhabi, and Dubai.He has performed extensively in Singapore and Malaysia  Australia and New Zealand. He held concerts in war-torn Sri Lanka.

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                                      Krishna has collaborated with a number of artists, including other renowned Carnatic musicians, as well as artists across genres and art forms.

                                     "Saayujya ', was a production in which T.M. Krishna rendered Carnatic concerts along  with classical dance renderings by eminent Bharatanatyam exponent Priyadarsini Govind. These complementary renditions were presented at the Kennedy Centre in Washington D.C. and New Jersey in 2012. He presented two concerts in the simultaneous and supportive system of jugalbandi or "twosome" concerts with the renowned Hindustani musician Ustad Rashid Khan in Pune and Bangalore. as part of major music festivals.

                                     "Aikya"  a concert with the eminent singer Sudha Raghunathan, presented a 'musical journey into the concept of duality', exploring its presence at various levels.

                                       In collaboration with the distinguished vocalist Bombay Jayashri, he undertook a number of concerts around the world, the first one being held at the official residence of the President of India, Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi,

                                         At the Pablo Casals Festival, Prades, France, he collaborated with eminent instrumentalists  Chitravina N. Ravikiran and Patri Satish Kumar and  gave a performance of vocal music in an old chapel while a versatile western quartet comprising David Grimal on the violin, Georges Lambert on the flute, Michel Lethiec on the clarinet and Andre Martin on the oboe, and the well-known Catalan singer Ferran Savall, represented Catalan music.

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                                    He has received numerous awards and titles from various institutions around the world. A few are given below.Best Lecture Demonstration Award and  –  Best Outstanding Vocalist – The Music Academy ; Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puruskar Award - Sangeet Natak Akademi; Kalki Krishnamurthy Award Youth Award for Excellence; Honorific - Sangeetha Kala Bharathi; Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar award from The Music Academy, Madras.

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                                  Over the past 15 years T.M.Krishna  has devoted time to imparting knowledge and practice in Carnatic music. Today, many of his students participate in top music competitions and performing as soloists on the concert platform.

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                                Krishna with Bombay Jayashri along with innovation coach R. Sridhar of IDEAS-RS conceived, created and conducted a "Creativity Workshop'  designed for senior managers, professionals and entrepreneurs of leading companies. Bombay Jayashri and Krishna wrote about extending the lessons from the lives of great musicians  to corporate professionals. Five qualities that set apart the yesteryear artists from many others in the field were related to business challenges that senior executives face regularly and were presented in a new and innovative way to help unleash business creativity. The workshop was presented on a number of occasions at different venues across India and abroad.

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                         Krishna wrote  a book "A Southern Music – The Karnatik Story" and it was released by Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen and Chairman of Kalakshetra, Gopalkrishna Gandhi.  It discusses the philosophy, aesthetics, sociology and history of Carnatic music. The book is published by Harper Collins. Bombay Jayashri, T.M. Krishna and Mythili Chandrasekhar published the first-ever coffee table book on Carnatic Music . The book entitled " The Voices Within" is a labour of love and pays tributes to seven Carnatic music maestros. The first copy of the book was received by the former President of India, Abdul Kalam at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. This book was later translated in Tamil and published by Ananda VIkatan Publications. A third book "Professor P. Sambamoorthy" is a  Commemorative volume containing brief life sketch and several unpublished and some speeches delivered at various conferences brought out on the occasion of the birth centenary of P. Sambamoorthy, a musicologist, teacher, researcher.

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                           As a composer TM Krishna has assisted his guru Sri Seetharama Sharma in numerous compositions done by him--to name a few, musical operas like The Ramayana , orchestra presentations and choir presentations. He has also bagged the honor of composing and conducting orchestra of the Singapore Fine Arts Society  during his tour at Singapore. This programme has been supported by a grant from the National Arts Council of Singapore and it was titled "On a Classical Trail." He has also conducted much research work in the field of Carnatic music. On respective aspects of Carnatic music and its history, he has given numerous lecture demonstrations at highly esteemed institutions. He is pursuing  research for the enhancement of Carnatic music, on audio archiving the "Sangeetha Sampradaya Pradarshini ", a musical treatise of very great importance.

 

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                             He is the co-founder of "Jnanarnava Trust". It is an organization that is devoted to the research, documentation and archival of the ancient traditions in Carnatic music. With TM Krishna's initiation "Kalachara Marumalarchi", an organization has been founded that is dedicated  to the 'revival of cultural activities in the interior towns and villages of Tamil Nadu, India and to rejuvenate the function of the temples as cultural hubs'. It also works on the issues like women's empowerment, family planning, self-help groups, AIDS, and others."Sumanasa Foundation" is an organization aiming at promoting upcoming Carnatic  musicians in and around rural areas . TM Krishna is a founder member of this. This organization  also aims at promoting 'talented, underprivileged youngsters and provides them an opportunity to further develop their skills by providing them with the necessary assistance'. 

                                TM Krishna served as the president of the 'Youth Association for Classical Music' (YACM). During that period he has conducted many lecture-demonstrations in over 100 schools (100,000 children between ages of 12 and 17) in Chennai, India, amongst other innovative and far-reaching projects. 

Musical Anecdotes- 43.Sanjay Subrahmanyan ( 21 / 1 / 1968….)

Courtesy:Sri.PP.Ramachandran

      Musical Anecdotes—43

 

                                          43.Sanjay Subrahmanyan ( 21 / 1 / 1968….)

                                                        

 

Sanjay Subrahmanyan  is a Carnatic vocalist who  has performed widely in India and overseas and has won many awards for his performances. He was born in Chennai and  began learning music at the age of seven. Initial training was under V. Lakshminarayana on the violin as well as in vocal music. He later switched to vocal music and was trained by Rukmini Rajagopalan for a period of almost eight years. He learnt from senior Guru Calcutta K.S.Krishnamurthy for 10 years until his demise in 1999. He then continued to study under Nadaswaram maestro Semponarkoil  Vaidyanathan until his  demise in 2013.

 

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Apparently, when he was one-and-a-half, he exclaimed at a Lalgudi Jayaraman concert that he wanted to play the violin like the maestro.My mother took me seriously and, some years later, she dropped me off at the nearest violin class. But after a while, his guru left for the US, and Sanjay suffered a couple of accidents  one from  playing football in a basketball court with a tennis ball and the other from falling down in the steeple chase pit at Rajarathnam Stadium. With those injuries, Sanjay could no longer play the violin, and he shifted to training in vocal music, under his grand-aunt.

 

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Sanjay teaches music, and his  students include such as Prashanth Viswanathan, Swarna Rethas, Sandeep Narayan, and Prasanna Venkatraman.

 

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He has performed in Chennai as well as in Mumbai, Calcutta, Bangalore, Delhi and other places in India. He has toured Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Australia, US, Canada, UK, Switzerland and Oman. He is the first Carnatic vocal artiste to perform twice at the prestigious Theatre De La Ville, Paris. Sanjay was also the sole representative of the Carnaticmusic tradition at the La Marde Musicas festival at Cartagena, Spain.

 

 

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Sanjay is a musician, whose music is a happy and healthy synthesis of the traits in the styles of many maestros of the past, but not even for a moment appearing to be imitative of anybody. He is an achiever in all branches of classical music like fine awareness of sruti values, grip on the idiom of ragas and rhythm, a rich repertory of classical compositions, a mind open to new ideas and an unfailing sense of aesthetics. Sanjay has been acclaimed as one of the most serious exponents of Carnatic music in his generation. 

 

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His life has also been the subject of a documentary movie Aaraar aasaippadaar made by the filmmaker Prasanna Ramaswamy. The movie received rave reviews. To his credit Sanjay Subramaniam has also released several CDs and cassettes. Through this he has established his role of spreading and promoting Indian classical music across the globe. 

 

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He has amassed many awards-- "Gaana Padhmam" from the Brahma Gana Sabha ; "Vani-kala-sudhakara" from Tyaga Brahma Gana Sabha ;Kalaimamani  award from the Tamil Nadu Government . He is an 'A Top' Grade artiste of A I  R Madras ,He received the Yuva Kala Bharathi title from Bharat Kalachar,

 

Sanjay is a Chartered Accountant and a rank-holding Cost Accountant. 

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 Said Sanjay in an interview, "Tamil is a language I have grown to love much more in the last few years. You spend 35 years reading the English newspaper every day, getting access to all kinds of English literature, and ignoring Tamil almost completely. Only when my children started going to school did I realise what I was missing out on." At a concert he gave for the Devan Trust Sanjay  was given a complete set of Devan's books  Thuppariyum Sambu and other works, and this changed his   whole concept of literature .

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"If music had not claimed him, Sanjay would have definitely become a computer whiz. He knows all about downloads and uploads and telnets and has an account on just about any website," says the introduction to Sanjay in the website he created www,sangeetham,com This popular site is a joy for Carnatic music lovers. It has interviews with artists, profiles, information on ragas, words of kritis and a lot more. "When I'm not at a concert or dropping off my children to school, tennis class or something like that, I'm at the computer, working on this site," says Sanjay who is helped by wife Aarthi and their friends Sarada and Sriram.

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    A  RARE FOTO OF CARNATIC AND FILM SINGERS. PPR

Musical Anecdotes –41 --P. Unnikrishnan (July 9. 1964.........)

Courtesy:Sri.PP.Ramachandran

  Musical Anecdotes –41

 

                                          41--P. Unnikrishnan  (July 9. 1964.........)

                                                                       

 

                    P.Unnikrishnnan is a Carnatic vocalist and a national award winning playback singer. He was  born to K. Radhakrishnan and Dr. Harini Radhakrishnan in Palakkadhe family home, Kesari Kuteeram, was a well known landmark of Madras city, with great grandfather Dr.K.N.Kesari being an eminent Ayurvedic physician and the promoter of the popular Telugu women's magazine "Gruhalakshmi ". Unnikrishnan  went to Asan Memorial Senior Secondary School, Chennai and  graduated from Ramakrishna Mission  Vivekananda College, Chennai , and received his B.Com degree from the Madras University  He earned a General Law and Post Graduate Diploma in Personnel Management and Industrial Relations. He worked as an executive in Parry's Confectionery Ltd. from 1987 to 1994 and quit his job to become a professional singer.

 

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                                    Unnikrishnan is one of the rare singers who successfully straddle classical, light and film songs with finesse. For him Carnatic music came much before he made a foray in film and light music. Unnikrishnan emphasises that Carnatic music is and will remain his first choice.

 

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                               Unnikrishnan was initiated into Carnatic Music at age of 12 by Seshadri Unnikrishnan. He was inspired by Sangita Kalanidhi Dr. S. Ramanathan. He attended a special workshop for six months on "Veena Dhanammal Bhani" under Sangeetha Kalanidhi T.Brinda and Sangeetha Kalanidhi Dr.T.Vishwanathan. He  received guidance from Savitri Satyamurthy and Calcutta Krishnamurthy. He is currently training under Vidwan P.S.Narayanaswamy.

 

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                        He is a national award winning playback singer for his debut film songs "Ennavale Adi Ennavale" in Kadhalan  and "Uyirum Neeye" from the movie Pavithra . These songs were composed by A. R. Rahman, with whom Unni Krishnan gave most of his memorable songs. He was one of the permanent judges in the reality television shows. In 2008, he presented a novel jazz concert in Thiruvananthapuram with the Eli Yamin Jazz Quartet and pianist Anil Srinivasan.

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                              Unnikrishnan is married to Priya, a Bharathanatyam  and Mohiniyattam dancer. They have a son named Vasudev Krishna and a daughter named Uthara. Uthara won National award for playback singing in the movie "Saivam".

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                                  Unnikrishnan has rendered a series of Devotional songs on Ganesha, Ayyappan, Venkateswara and Devi, among others. Notable among them is the Harivarasanam, part of the Ayyappa album and is a very  popular rendering .

 

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 He was the first singer to get the Best Male singer National award for a Tamil song. Krishnan is also the recipient of Isai Peroli Award instituted by Kartik Fine Arts . He was awarded "Isai Peroli" "Yuva Kala Barathi" "Nada Bhushanam" and the title "Kalaimamani" by the Government  of Tamil Nadu. Krishnan is an "A" grade artist of the All India Radio and has given a number of concerts all over India, U.S.A, The Middle East, The United Kingdom, The Far East, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

 

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                                  How does a singer like Unnikrishnan unwind? "After the hectic schedules of Margazhi, I usually go for a long drive with my family. I also play tennis or listen to music. My son is a big MJ fan and I listen to western numbers with him." 
                                Unnikrishnan was also a skilled cricketer during his school days. Does he miss cricket now? "Of course, I do. Frankly speaking, I am quite held up this season; to the extent that I did not even know that T20 has started".

 

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                                   Recalls Unnikrishnan     "I was once performing in Cleveland, United States. I forgot the lyrics of my song and started fumbling with the words. Fortunately, musician Soumya came up to my rescue with the lyrics on a piece of paper." What if she had not come? "Well, I would have skipped to the next song." 

 

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                                        Unnikrishnan has recorded over 600 film songs for Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam films. Has more than 25 albums on cassettes and CD's to his credit.