December 30, 2012 - Narada Gana Sabha

2-4pm

violin - b ananthakrishnan

mrudangam - sj arjun ganesh

ghatam - h prasanna

varnam - sankarabharanam - adi - veenai kuppaiyer

panipathishayi - jankaradhwani - adi - thyagaraja (r)

mamava sadha - nattaikurinji - rupakam - swathi thirunal (r,n)

eppadi manam - huseni - misra chapu - arunachala kavi

anupama gunambudhi - atana - kanda chapu - thyagaraja

paramaathmudu - vagadheeshwari - adi - thyagaraja (r,s,t)

vaanathin meedhu - mand - adi - ramalinga swamigal

panimathi - ahiri - misra chapu - swathi thirunal

thillana - gavathi - adi - s. kalyanaraman

I have been overwhelmed with the number of rasikas this season. I apologize to those of you who couldn't find a place to sit in the hall today, and especially for those who I'm told came and left after finding no room. Made for an enjoyable experience being surrounded on stage by rasikas in addition to the aisles and doorways of the hall being full. Has been a great season to say the least. Today was my last concert in Mylapore for 2012. Glad to have ended on a high note with musicians who I am very close with off stage as well as on stage.

On Tuesday I start 2013 with a concert in the Anjaneyar Temple in Nanganallur :)

December 29, 2012 - Krishna Gana Sabha

2-4pm

violin - nagai sri sriram

mrudangam - dr. umayalpuram k sivaraman

ghatam - dr. s karthick

varnam - sahana - adi - thiruvottriyur thyaagayya

gajavadana - hamsadhwani - rupakam - md ramanathan (s)

vaananai - keeravani - misra chapu - appar (r)

bogeendra shaayinam - kunthalavarali - kanda chapu - swathi thirunal

ethavunara - kalyani - adi - thyagaraja (r,n,s,t)

vidajalathura - janaranjani - adi - thyagaraja

vetta veli - cenjurutti - misra chapu - kudhambai siddhar

sarvam brahmamayam - madhuvanthi - adi - sadasiva brahmendra
ramanai bhajithal - mand - adi - papanasam sivan

thillana - khamas - adi - patnam subramania iyer

malasai (thiruppugazh) - jonpuri - adi - arunagirinathar

There are things I've thought of as a child that were like dreams I never imagined would happen in real life. Yesterday, one of those dreams came true for me. I got to sit right next to one of Carnatic music's greatest artists and perform a concert with him. The experience from start to finish is one that I'll never forget, and hopefully there will be many more to come with him. Thanks to Nagai Sriram and Karthick anna for being very supportive and encouraging as I was nervous going into this concert with Sivaraman mama playing mrudangam. I realized after a couple songs that I need not be so nervous cause Sivaraman mama himself was being extremely encouraging, appreciative, and supportive not only with his playing, but with his jovial nature and appreciation of the other artists on stage. I have always enjoyed hearing mama play, but I felt so different being just inches away from his mrudangam, and getting to see how he makes those beautiful sollus and special sounds on the mrudangam thoppi!

Sorry if this post is shorter and less informative than the others. I know some of you were looking forward to reading more about this concert... I have so many thoughts in my mind after having this great and rare opportunity, that I don't even know where to start or what to say! Special thanks to the rasikas who made it despite the rain coming down hard, and the roads becoming quite difficult to travel.

This season has been a really special one. But its not over yet... Singing today at 2pm in Narada Gana Sabha Mini Hall with B Ananthakrishnan and SJ Arjun Ganesh. Hope to see you there :)

December 27, 2012 - Brahma Gana Sabha

violin - delhi sunder rajan
mrudangam - neyveli venkatesh

4-7pm

1. varnam - saveri - adi - kothavaasal venkatrama iyer
2. bhajana seyave - kalyani - rupakam - thyagaraja (s)
3. nannu vidachi - reethigowla - misra chapu - thyagaraja (r)
4. palaya sadha - nalinakanthi - adi - swath thirunal (s)
5. aaro ivar aaro - bairavi - adi - arunachala kavi (r,n,s,t)
6. edayya gathi - chalanattai - adi - koteeshwara iyer
7. nagagandhari - nagagandhari - adi - muthuswami dikshitar
8. rtp - dvijavanthi - khanda triputa - 'oru dharam shiva chidambaram enru || uraithaal podhume'
• tanam ragamalika: sumanesa ranjani, begada, kaanada
• swaram ragamalika:  surya, surutti, sindhubhairavi
9. aarumo aaval - mand - adi - kannan iyengar
10. thillana - basanth - adi - tn seshagopalan
11. pavamana - saurashtram - adi - thyagaraja

Pictures by Prasanna Viswanathan

Last night I sang a 3 hour concert in Chennai after a very long time. Originally the time slot was 2.5 hours but due to some delays in the 7pm's dance, I was requested to sing an additional 15-30min. It felt good to sing a 'full' concert in Mylapore, as we don't often get that chance in the junior and sub-senior slots. Having Venkatesh anna accompanying this concert reminded me of our tour earlier this year where we regularly performed 3 hour concerts two to three times a week. I've known Sunder Rajan Sir since I was a little kid, and have known him especially well the last several years that we have been crossing paths both in Chennai and in Los Angeles (he visits regularly as he has many students on the west coast). Although I have asked him before, he was never free. But in the last two months I have been fortunate to have him accompany me twice. He is another very senior artist who I now have the privilege of singing with.

Pictures by Prasanna Viswanathan

Just when I think a concert is over and I can relax, I seem to have another big one just around the corner! Tomorrow (December 29th) I'm singing at Krishna Gana Sabha at 2pm with Nagai Sri Sriram, Umayalpuram Sri Sivaraman, and Sri S. Karthick.

December 24, 2012 - Music Academy

violin - b. ananthakrishnan

mrudangam - s.j. arjun ganesh

ghatam - n. rajaraman

145-345pm

1. varnam - kalyani - ata - pallavi gopala iyer (s)
2. undhumadha (thiruppavai) - saveri - misra chapu - andal
3. ini oru kanam - sriranjani - rupakam - papanasam sivan (r,n,s)
4. marakathavallim - kambodhi - adi - muthuswami dikshitar (r,s,t)
5. rtp - shubapanthuvarali - adi (4 kalai)
   ragamalika swarams: hindolam, sama
6. narayana - sama - adi - papanasam sivan
7. thillana - hamirkalyani - adi - harikesanallur muthiah bhagavathar

Being my first year at the sub-senior slot in Music Academy, I felt a little pressure coming into this concert. As the concert started however, I got quite comfortable and the tension eased away quickly. I owe a lot of that to the calm, cool nature of my fellow artists yesterday. However it slowly came back during the kambodhi alapanai when the mic system started to howl continuously in the monitors/speakers and interfered with the concert. Kambodhi is a ragam which I sing with some caution as it is, so this didn't help my flow. But I waited a few seconds, and after realizing the problem wasn't going to go away anytime soon, I decided to keep singing through it. Once I made that decision, I was back to being comfortable, and tried to focus on my violinist and the alapanai itself. Perhaps elsewhere one might have waited a few minutes for them to resolve the issue. But seeing that clock in front of my face, and knowing the Academy's strict adherence to time, I whispered to the violinist that we'd better just ignore it and keep going or else we'd lose time over all. He agreed. They reduced the volume and we proceeded with the rest of the concert with minimal feedback on stage. These sorts of technical issues happen everywhere I suppose, and hopefully they were able to resolve the issue for the concerts which followed mine.

Music Academy concerts remain a special experience though, and I don't think that will change anytime soon. Though I've only sung in the academy for 5 years now, I know that even senior artists hold it in high regard. Someone asked me after the concert, "Why does it seem like you all save your best stuff for this venue?" I didn't have a sure answer, because I wasn't sure if artists really do save their 'best stuff' for the music academy, or if perhaps the venue brings it out of them. For now, I'm just relieved that the concert seems to have been well received. And I am especially happy that my accompanying artists, Ananthu, Arjun, and Ramji played so well, and were so accommodating and adjusting on the stage so that we could finish on time.

Now it's time to focus on Thursday's concert in Brahma Gana Sabha at 4pm, with Delhi Sri Sunderrajan and Neyveli Sri Venkatesh!

December 22, 2012 - Charsur Arts Foundation (NGS Mini Hall)

violin - avaneeswaram s.r. vinu
mrudangam - srimushnam v. rajarao
ghatam - n. guruprasad

venue: narada gana sabha mini hall, alwarpet
445-7pm

varnam - mohanam - ata - harikesanallur muthiah bhagavathar
swaminatha - nattai - adi - muthuswami dhikshitar (s)
marivere - anandabairavi - misra chapu - shyama shastri (r,s)
varanarada - vijaysri - adi - thyagaraja
endhukupedhala - sankarabharanam - adi - thyagaraja (r,n,s,t)
kanavendamo - sriranjani - tisra nadai ekam - papanasam sivan

Myself accompanied by Avaneeswaram Vinu, Srimushnam Rajarao, and N Guruprasad

I'm not sure where to begin with my thoughts on this concert. It's always a different, and special experience to be on stage with some of the field's most leading artists such as Srimushnam Sri Rajarao Sir. Having known him since I was a kid, there usually is a very casual relationship between us, but I still get nervous sitting next to him on stage. No matter how casual, jovial, and encouraging he is, he's also one of the best and most experienced mrudangam vidwans. When I called him a few days ago to confirm the sruthi and main item for the day, he was happy and just said "All the best, sing well." I knew he was very busy with his season concerts and didn't want to take up his time, but that was all I needed to hear. His encouragement continued last night on stage as well with his playing and lifting of the songs and concert. I can rest assured that if I ever forget a sangathi, or a line to a song, he will remind me... Not by telling me, but by showing me on his mrudangam! The tani avarthanam between Rajarao Mama and Sri Guruprasad was mind blowing. We couldn't tell the time had gone by so quickly. The audience's continuous applause for their tani showed their appreciation of these great artists, as they applauded for nearly 2 minutes after the tani finished.

Avaneeswaram Sri S.R. Vinu is another artist who I love to sing with but don't get the chance often as he is busy year round, and stays in Kerala most of the time. I'll share a couple things here which I told him last night. One was that his support, especially when I sang raga alapanais, was outstanding. At some times it was as if he could read my mind, playing where I really wanted him to help fill in some gaps, and supporting however appropriate in that moment. His own alapanais and kalpanaswarams were a great complement to whatever I was trying, and his sankarabharanam especially was a favorite of mine. Another thing is that I really hope to perform more with him in the future. Artists of his calibre and humility are something I really admire and strive to achieve.

Thanks to the Charsur team as always, and the overwhelming support of the rasikas :).

December 19, 2012 - Parthasarathy Swami Sabha

violin - m rajeev
mrudangam - nirmal narayan
ghatam - h sivaramakrishnan

2-4pm

dhayajoo - gaanavaaridhi - adi - thyagaraja (s)
kalayaami - kannada - misra chapu - swathi thirunal (r)
aananda natam aaduvaar - purvikalyani - rupakam - neelakanta sivan (r,n,s)
naagagaandhari - naagagaandhari - adi - muthuswami dikshitar
sukhi yevaro - kaanada - adi - thyagaraja (r,s,t)
thillana - sindhubairavi - adi - oothukaadu venkata kavi

A few people told me after this concert that they had not heard kaanada ragam sang elaborately in many years, or ever. But I am not doing anything new, just a small fraction of what great artists have already done before me. As many of you must know, I am a big fan of Sri T.N. Seshagopalan, and a student of Sri Sanjay Subrahmanyan. I learned Sukhi Yevaro from both of their recordings, combining their sangathis and styles. In fact, the krithi in Ganavaridhi and the OVK thillana are both compositions I learned from recordings of Sri TNS Sir. Kalayaami in kannada is a krithi sung by my guru Sri Sanjay Sir, that I learned recently and have recorded on Charsur's album, Hey Krsna.

Good to see several artists (senior, junior, local and from abroad) in the audience yesterday.

The Hindu : Arts / Music : Putting on a good show

The Hindu : Arts / Music : Putting on a good show

December 13, 2012 - Thyaga Brahma Gana Sabha, Vani Mahal

violin - parur ananthakrishnan
mrudangam - nc bharadvaj
ghatam - n rajaraman

4-6pm

1. varnam - kalyani - adi - ramnad srinivasa iyengar
2. evarikai - devamanohari - misra chapu - thyagaraja (s)
3. amba neelambari - neelambari - adi - ponniah pillai (r)
4. palaya deva - bairavi - rupakam - swathi thirunal (r,n)
5. mohana rama - mohanam - adi - thyagaraja (r,s,t)
6. vetta veli - cenjurutti - misra chapu - kudhambai sidhar

This was my first time singing in Vani Mahal in about seven years. I can't remember exactly actually, but I think it's been that long! It was nice to get on that stage again. I've felt that Vani Mahal has one of the city's better mini halls ever since they did major renovations about a decade ago. A decent sound system, a pretty big hall (for mini hall standards), and usually a good crowd make this place one of the better venues over all. I'm seeing more NRIs in the audiences, which means that season is full-swing, and once a few more sabhas have their inaugurations, Mylapore and T. Nagar will start to feel even smaller, and see more Indian kids talking in American accents (like me!). I enjoyed today's concert for the reasons above, but also because I revived an old song (Amba Neelambari) that I don't remember having sung in several years. I also sang this krithi in bhairavi which I learned a few months ago for a recently released Charsur album. It is the first time I was singing it live in concert. I hope to continue mixing old and new for the remainder of the season.

Sabhas seem to have a recurring theme this year -- they're all freezing! I actually asked the audio engineer to reduce to the AC during the main item, and he shut it off. It was much more pleasant for the remainder of the concert. I've noticed a lot of sabhas are cold in the audience, and many people are draped in shawls/socks/etc, but I was actually cold ON stage today, which is probably a first. I don't know who designs the air conditioning systems for these auditoriums but they need to take a better look next time. I know of a popular sabha in the city (won't mention it's name here), with an AC that has two options: ON and OFF. What's worse is that once it is turned off, it can not be turned back on for 30 minutes. I wish I was making this up, but sadly I am not so clever. This was told to me by the sabha secretary after I complained to him that everyone sitting inside was frozen.

December 09, 2012 - Kanakadasa Pratishtana, Udipi

violin - nalina mohan
mrudangam - hs sudheendhra

615-845pm

1. varnam - bhairavi - ata - pachaimiriam adhiyappaiya
2. gajavadhana - hamsadhwani - rupakam - md ramanathan (s)
3. suryamurthe - saurashtram - chathusra dhruva - muthuswami dikshitar (r)
4. ramanujare - panthuvarali - adi - kanakadasa (r,s)
5. cheraravadhe - reethigowla - adi - thyagaraja
6. pogadhirelo - sankarabharanam - misra chapu - purandaradasa (r,n,s,t)
7. kandena govindhana - chandrakauns - adi - purandaradasa
8. baaro krishnaiyya - mand - adi - kanakadasa
9. thillana - sindhubairavi - adi - oothukkadu venkata kavi
10. pavamana - saurashtram - adi - thyagaraja

Although my flight from Chennai left 4.5 hours late (that's right), I had a great trip and thoroughly enjoyed the concert. The organizers went above and beyond to ensure our comfort and convenience throughout the stay. The senior accompaniments of Nalina Mohan and HS Sudheendhra helped me throughout the concert. At moments I felt tired from lack of sleep due to the early morning flight that got delayed several hours due to bad weather in Bangalore (the stopover), and no time to rest after reaching Udipi. But their energy more than made up for it, and also helped me to gain some momentum as things went on. It was the first time singing this krithi in panthuvarali which I learned from a recording of Sri T.N. Seshagopalan sir. It seems to have gone over well with the audience and perhaps I shall include in concerts in the near future. Definitely a good warm up to the music season in Chennai which continues for me from this Thursday onwards.... Thanks everyone!

December 5, 2012 - Jaya TV

violin - m rajeev
mrudangam - sj arjun ganesh

5-615pm

1. varnam - nattaikurinji - adi - moolaiveedu rangaswamy nattanuvar (s)
2. sri varalakshmi - sri - rupakam - muthuswami dikshitar (r,s)
3. manavyalakim - nalinakanthi - adi - thyagaraja
4. gananaya desika - rishabapriya - adi - koteeshwara iyer (r,n,s,t)
5. ramanai bhajithal - mand - adi - papanasam sivan


First concert of the season, and my first time singing for Jaya TV's Margazhi Maha Utsavam. It was a good experience and I'm happy with the way the concert went. I was definitely a bit nervous at times with the 3 huge cameras in front of me, knowing that any part of the concert would be televised on Jaya TV at some point. But I was very glad I had great accompanying artists who I'm so comfortable with, Rajeev and Arjun. They definitely eased my nervousness and played really well, as they always do. It's always difficult to manage time in such short concert slots, but their flexibility and support helped tremendously. I tried my best to mix known and slightly unknown songs/ragas in such a short timespan, I hope that went over well with the audience members. Thanks to Rajeev, Arjun, the organizers, and of course the audience!

Hope to continue writing my thoughts after concerts through the season, in addition to the song-lists... We'll see if I manage to keep it up.

November 11, 2012 - Chamber Concert

violin - m vijay
mrudangam - tanjore praveen kumar

10am-1230pm

1. varnam - mohanam - ata - harikesanallur muthiah bhagavathar
2. ganarasamudan - begada - rupakam - papanasam sivan (s)
3. jaya jaya padmanabha - sarasangi - adi - swathi thirunal (r,s)
4. sri ramam - narayanagowla - adi - muthuswami dikshitar
5. kamalacharane - amrithabehag - adi - gn balasubramaniam
6. sendil andavan - karaharapriya - rupakam - papanasam sivan (r,n,s,t)
7. apadhurukulo (javali) - khamas - adi - pattabhiramaiyya
8. kanavendamo - sriranjani - tisram - papanasam sivan (requested)
9. brindavanam idhuvo - sudha dhanyasi - adi - sudhananda bharathi
10. vetta veli - cenjurutti - misra chapu - kudhambai sidhar
11. thillana - dvijavanthi - adi - thanjavur s. kalyanaraman
12. vaanathin meedhu - mand - adi - ramalinga swamigal
13. ramanai bhajithal - mand - adi - papanasam sivan
14. malasai kopam (thiruppugazh) - jonpuri - adi - arunagirinathar 

November 5, 2012 - Bharat Sangeet Utsav

violin - delhi sunderrajan
mrudangam - neyveli venkatesh

245-445pm
venue: narada gana sabha main hall, alwarpet, chennai

gajavadana - hamsadhwani - rupakam - md ramanathan (s)
kaalai thooki - yadhukulakambodhi - adi - marimuthu pillai (r)
manasunilpa - aboghi - adi - thyagaraja (r,s)
bhajare re chitha - kalyani - misra chapu - muthuswami dhikshitar (r,n,s,t)
gopala bhakthim - bageshri - adi - swathi thirunal
thillana - hamsanandi - adi - harikesanallur muthiah bhagavathar

October 26, 2012 - IIT Music Club, Chennai

violin - sp ananthapadmanabha
mrudangam - r sankaranarayanan

630-915pm

1. varnam - malavi - adi - ks krishnamurthy
2. sri varalakshmi - sri - rupakam - muthuswami dhikshitar (s)
3. kalayami hridhinanda - kannada - misra chapu - swathi thirunal (r)
4. rama neeve - narayani - adi - thyagaraja (s)
5. karthikeya kangeya - todi - adi - papanasam sivan (r,n,s,t)
6. kamalacharane - amruthabehag - adi - gn balasubramaniam
7. rtp - aboghi/valaj - kanda triputa
8. vaanathin meedhu - mand - adi - ramalinga swamigal
9. vetta veli - cenjurutti - misra chapu - kudhambai sidhar
10. thillana - sindhubairavi - adi - oothukkadu venkata kavi
11. pavamana - saurashtram - adi - thyagaraja

October 21, 2012 - Chamber Concert (Navaratri), Bangalore

violin - mathoor srinidhi
mrudangam - arjun kumar
ghatam - sukanya ramgopal

430-730pm

1. varnam - kathanakuthuhalam - adi - ks krishnamurthy
2. mamava sada - nattaikurinji - rupakam - swathi thirunal (n,s)
3. kamalamaba - anandabairavi - misra chapu - muthuswami dikshitar (r)
4. sankari sankuru - saveri - adi (tisra nadai) - shyama sastri (r,n,s)
5. neerajakshi kamakshi - hindolam - rupakam - muthuswami dhikshitar (r,s,t)
6. himagiri thanaye - sudha dhanyasi - adi - harikesanallur muthiah bhagavathar
7. gopala bhakthim - bageshri - adi - swathi thirunal
8. baaro krishnaiyya - mand - adi - kanakadasa
9. nee dhan thunai - ragamalika - misra chapu - ns chidambaram
10. thillana - varamu - misra chapu - sulochana pattabhiraman
11. pavamana - saurashtram - adi - thyagaraja

Sruti Magazine: Musician to watch

Sruti Magazine: Musician to watch: Sandeep Narayan At the end of a ragam-tanam-pallavi competition last year at Sastri Hall, violin maestro VV Subramanyam...

September 23, 2012 - Sudharma, RK Salai

violin - m rajiv
mrudangam - nc bharadvaj

820-845pm

varavallabha - hamsadhwani - adi - gn balasubramaniam
meenakshi memudham - purvikalyani - adi - muthuswami dikshitar (n,s)
nee dhaan thunai - ragamalika - misra chapu - ns chidambaram
gayathi vanamali - hamsadhwani - adi - sadasiva bramendra

September 22, 2012 - Krishna Gana Sabha

violin - kandadevi vijayaraghavan
mrudangam - srirangarajapuram ganesh

4-6pm, kamakoti hall

varnam - kaanada - ata - poochi srinivasa iyengar
maha ganapathim - naatai - ekam - muthuswami dhikshitar (s)
polla puliyinum - mayamalavagowla - adi - papanasam sivan
theril yeri naan - kalyani - rupakam - papanasam sivan
enaalu urage - shubapanthuvarali - misra chapu - thyagaraja (r,s)
swara raga sudha - sankarabharanam - adi - thyagaraja (r,n,s,t)
gopala bhakthim - bageshri - adi - swathi thirunal

September 22, 2012 - TTD Temple

Violin: Tirumarugal Dinesh Kumar

Mrudangam:  R. Ramkumar

730-845pm

1)  telisi rAma – pUrNacandrikA – Adi – tyAgarAja (O)
2)  tEril ErinAn – kalyANi – rUpakam – pApanAsam sivan (N)
3) eppadi manam – husEni – misra cApu – aruNAcala kavirAyar
4) garuDa gamana – nAgasvarAvaLi – rUpakam – paTTaNam subramaNya iyer (AS)
5) kalyANa rAmA – hamsanAdam – Adi – UthukADu venkaTakavi
6) O rangasAyi – kAmbOji – Adi – tyAgarAja (ANT)
7) shrInivAsa – hamsAnandi – Adi – pApanAsam sivan (O)

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

[copied from http://ramsabode.wordpress.com/2012/09/22/sn_ttd/]

September 17, 2012 - Manoranjitham, Coimbatore

violin - sp ananthapadmanabha
mrudangam - r sankaranarayanan

gokulashtami / navarathri celebrations
6-9pm
venue: ayappa puja sangham, coimbatore

varnam - sahana - adi - karur devudu iyer
kalayami hridhinanda - kannada - misra chapu - swathi thirunal (s)
appan avadharitha - karaharapriya - adi - papanasam sivan (r,n,s)
edayya gathi - chalanatta - adi - koteeshwara iyer
kamakshi varalakshmi - bilahari - adi - muthuswami dikshitar (r,s,t)
rtp - darbaari kaanada - kanda triputa
govardhana giridhara - darbaari kaanada - adi - narayanatheertha
pahi krishna - behag - adi - mysore vasudevacharya
gopala bhakthim - bageshri - adi - swathi thirunal
thillana - chandrajyothi - adi - ks raghunathan
pavamana - saurashtram - adi - thyagaraja

September 9, 2012 - Pinner Village Hall, London

violin - ag gnanasundaram
mrudangam - mervin mahendra
kanjira - ananda natesan
ghatam - arunn
morsing - archuna

7-930pm

varnam - navaragamalika- adi
nee bhakthi - jayamanohari - rupakam - thyagaraja (s)
palayasadha - nalinakanthi - adi - swathi thirunal
kaalai thooki - yadhukulakambodhi - adi - marimuthu pillai
evarikai - devamanohari - misra chapu - thyagaraja (r)
paramukhamadheno - shulini - adi - koteeshwara iyer (s)
parvathi nayakane - shanmukhapriya - adi - papanasam sivan (r,n,s,t)
vishamakara kannan - cenjurutti - adi - oothukkadu venkata kavi
koovi azhaithaal - valaji - adi - vaali
ramanai bhajithal - mand - adi - papanasam sivan
thillana - basanth - adi - tn seshagopalan
pavamana - saurashtram - adi - thyagaraja

September 8, 2012 - Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, London

violin - l nagaraju
mrudangam - ram sivasubramaniam
ghatam - rr pratap
kanjira - ananda natesan
morsing - mervin mahendra

7-10pm

varnam - reethigowla - ata
sivaloka - mayamalavagowla - rupakam - gopalakrishna bharathi (n,s)
kanthi mathi - kaanada - misra chapu - papanasam sivan (r,s)
niravadhi sukhada - ravichandrika - adi - thyagaraja
ganananaya desika - rishabapriya - adi - koteeshwara iyer (r,s,t)
nagagandhari - nagagandhari - adi - muthuswami dikshitar
rtp - sankarabharanam - khanda triputa
"nee padamule gathiyani nammithi | rama ramachandra"
chinnanjiru kiliye - ragamalika - tisra nadai ekam - subramania bharathi
chidambaram pogamal - cenjurutti - adi - gopalakrishna bharathi
thillana - hamsanandi - adi - harikesanallur muthiah bhagavathar
pavamana - saurashtra - adi - thyagaraja

September 2, 2012 - Lampton School, London (Fundraiser for Murugan Temple)

vioin - durai balasubramaniam
mrudangam - ram sivasubramaniam
ghatam - rr prathap
morsing - mervin mahendra

1-3pm

varnam - sahana - adi - thiruvettiyoor thyagayya
mahaganapthim - naattai - chatusra ekam - muthuswami dikshitar (s)
sri valli devasenapathe - nattabairavi - adi - papanasam sivan
ananda natanam aaduvaar - purvikalyani - rupakam - neelakanta sivan (r,s)
anupama gunambudhi - atana - kanda chapu - thyagaraja
muruga muruga - saveri - misra chapu - periyasaami thooran (r,n,s,t)
thillana - sindhubairavi - adi - thanjavur s kalyanaraman
thiruppugazh (maalaasai kopam) - jonpuri - adi - arunagirinaathar
pavamana - saurashtram - adi - thyagaraja

August 26, 2012 - Mrudangam Arangetram, London

violin - jyotsna srikanth
mrudangam - harrison srikanthan
ghatam - rn prakash
kanjira - kandiah anandanadesan
morsing - mervin mahendra

630-930pm

varnam - todi - adi - patnam subramania iyer
varavallabha - hamsadhwani - adi - gn balasubramaniam (s)
kaapadhuve - anandabairavi - rupakam - tanjore quartette (r,n)
marukelara - jayanthasri - adi - thyagaraja (s)
kaapaali - mohanam - adi - papanasam sivan (r,s,t)
paadavendume - hamsanadam - rupakam - dandapani desikar
thunbam nergayil - desh - adi - bharathidasan
thirisila giriyaar - cenjurutti - adi
vetta veli - folk song - misra chapu
vanathin meedhu - mand - adi
kaakai chiraginile - brindavani - adi - subramania bharathi
thillana - darbaari kaanada - misra chapu - thanjavur s kalyanaraman
thiruppugazh (maalaasai kopam) - jonpuri - adi - arunagirinaathar
pavamana - saurashtram - adi - thyagaraja

August 9, 2012 - Amman Temple, Adyar

violin - parur ananthakrishnan
mrudangam - nc bharadvaj

7-9pm

varnam - sri - adi - karur devudu iyer
maha ganapathim - nattai - adi - muthuswami dikshitar (s)
sabhapathikku - aboghi - rupakam - gopalakrishna bharathi
swaagatham krishna - mohanam - tisra nadai ekam - oothukkadu venkata kavi (r)
bantureethi - hamsanadam - adi - thyagaraja (n,s)
mamava sadha - nattaikurinji - rupakam - swathi thirunal (r,s,t)
brindhavanam idhuvo - sudha dhanyasi - adi - sudhanandha bharathi
dhanya anjaneetsa (abhang) - aboghi - adi - tukaram (request)
krishna nee begane - yaman kalyani - misra chapu - vyaasaraaya (request)
nee dhaan thunai - ragamalika - misra chapu - ns chidambaram (tuned by s. kalyanaraman)
radha sametha - misra yaman - adi (request)
thillana - khamas - adi - patnam subramania iyer (request)
pavamana - saurashtram - adi - thyagaraja

July 31, 2012 - Brahma Gana Sabha

violin - kamalakiran vinjumuri
mrudangam - umayalpuram bhairav

venue: arkay convention center, mylapore
630-9pm

angarakam - surutti - rupakam - muthuswami dikshitar (n,s)
parama purusham - lalithapanchamam - kanda chapu - swathi thirunal
vaananai - kiravani - misra chapu - appar (r,n)
anandamruthakarshini - amruthavarshini - adi - muthuswami dikshitar (r,s)
edhaya gathi - chalanaatta - adi - koteeshwara iyer
shanthamulekha - saama - adi - thyagaraja (r,s,t)
kandhanin azhagil - sindhubairavi - adi - surajananda (tuned by s. kalyanaraman)
thunbam nergayil - desh - adi - bharathidasan
thillana - khamas - adi - patnam subramania iyer
pavamana - saurashtram - adi - thyagaraja

July 28, 2012 - Apparao Gallery

violin - sp ananthapadmanabha
mrudangam - nc bharadvaj

venue: apparao art gallery, kadhar nawaz khan road
615-715pm

• vandhe matharam - kedaram - adi - subramania bharathi
• hindolam/malkauns - adi (r,n,s)
• saamajavaragamana saadhu hrith saarasaabja paala kaalaatheetha vikhyaatha
• aaj more ghar aaila balma karoongi adhaarang so rang raliyan
• nee dhan thunai - ashtaragamalika - misra chapu - ns chidambaram (r,s,t)
• chinnanjiru kiliye - ragamalika - tisra nadai ekam - subramania bharathi

July 22, 2012 - Salem Sangeetha Vidwath Sabha, Salem

violin - parur ananthakrishnan
mrudangam - sj arjun ganesh

7-9pm

varnam - kambodhi - ata - vadivelu
marivere - anandabairavi - misra chapu - shyama shastri (s)
mallari - gambeeranattai - kanda triputa (r)
theril yeri naan - kalyani - rupakam - papanasam sivan
intha sowkhya - kapi - adi - thyagaraja (r,n,s,t)
pagaivanukkarulvai - ragamalika - tisra nadai ekam - subramania bharathi
brindavanam idhuvo - sudha dhanyasi - adi - sudhanandha bharathi
ramanai bhajithal - mand - adi - papanasam sivan
pavamana - saurashtram - adi - thyagaraja

July 4 - AIR Broadcast, Chennai

violin - v sanjeev
mrudangam - trivandrum vaidhyanathan
ghatam - s karthick

845-945am

vandhe matharam - kedaram - adi - subramania bharathi (s)
mamava sada - nattaikurinji - rupakam - swathi thirunal (r,n,s)
paramathmudu - vagadheeshwari - adi - thyagaraja (r,s,t)
nee dhaan thunai - ragamalika - misra chapu - ns chidambaram (tuned by s. kalyanaraman)

June 30 - Ragapriya, Madurai

violin - parur ananthakrishnan
mrudangam - madurai narayanan

6-9pm

varnam - kalyani - ata - pallavi gopala iyer
sri mahaganapathi - gowla - misra chapu - dikshitar (s)
ennadu - kalavathi - adi - thyagaraja (r)
mamava sada - nattaikurinji - rupakam - swathi thirunal (r,n,s)
aaro ivar aaro - bairavi - adi - arunachala kavi (r,n,s,t)
paramukhamadheno - shulini - adi - koteeshwara iyer
rtp - tilang - misra jathi triputa, tisra nadai
-ragamalika: ranjani, kapi
cinnanjiru kiliye - kapi - tisra nadai ekam - subramania bharathi
aarumo aaval - mand - adi - kannan iyengar
thillana - niroshta - adi - t.n. seshagopalan
pavamana - saurashtram - adi - thyagaraja

June 15 - Fine Arts Society, Chembur

violin: shivkumar anantharaman
mrudangam: sridhar parthasarthy

715-945pm

varnam - navaragamalika - adi - patnam subramania iyer
chalamelara - margahindolam - adi - thyagaraja (s)
mayamma - ahiri - adi - shyama shastri
ananda natam aduvaar - purvikalyani - rupakam - neelakanta sivan (r,s)
akshayalinga vibho - sankarabharanam - misra chapu - muthuswami dikshitar (r,n,s,t)
rtp - shanmukhapriya - adi
-ragamalika: ranjani, jog
payoji maine - pahadi - adi - meera
vetta veli - folk - misra chapu
thillana - sindhubairavi - adi - oothukkadu venkata kavi
pavamana - saurashtram - adi - thyagaraja

May 6 - San Jose, California

violin - mysore srikanth
mrudangam - neyveli venkatesh
morsing - nirmal narayan

2:20-4:40pm

varnam - aboghi - adi - patnam subramania iyer
pamalai - harikambodhi - adi - papanasam sivan (n,s)
geethi chakra - kannada - misra chapu - muthuswami dikshitar
sariyevaramma - bairavi - kanda jampa - shyama shastri (r,s,t)
rtp - aboghi / valaji - kanda triputa
baaro krishnaiyya - mand - adi - kanakadasa
virutham -- > brindavanam idhuvo - sudha dhanyasi - adi - sudhananda barathi
tillana - dvijavanthi - adi - s. kalyanaraman

May 5 - Santa Barbara, California

violin - mysore srikanth
mrudangam - neyveli venkatesh
morsing - nirmal narayan

venue: uc santa barbara
6:15-845pm

varnam - todi - adi - patnam subramania iyer
mahaganapathim - nattai - adi - muthuswami dikshitar (s)
brocheva - khamas - adi - mysore vasudhevachar (r,n,s)
makelara - ravichandrika - adi - thyagaraja
ethavunara - kalyani - adi - thyagaraja (r,n,s,t)
nee dhan thunai - ragamalika - misra chapu - ns chidambaram
innamum oruthalam - behag - adi - marimuthu pillai
aarumo aaval - mand - adi - kannan iyengar
vaanathin meedhu - mand - adi - ramalina adigal
thillana - gavathi - adi - s. kalyanaraman
pavamana - saurashtram - adi - thyagaraja

May 4 - San Diego, California

violin - mysore srikanth
mrudangam - neyveli venkatesh
morsing - nirmal narayan

745-1045pm

varnam - kalyani - ata - pallavi gopala iyer
makelara - ravichandrika - adi - thyagaraja (s)
mallari - gambiranattai - kanda triputa (r)
rama nee samana - karaharapriya - rupakam - thyagaraja (r,n)
gananaya desika - rishabapriya - adi - koteeshwara iyer (r,s,t)
rtp - todi - misra triputa
-ragamalika: bahudari, darbari kaanada
govardhana giridhara - darbari kaanada - adi - narayana theertha
thunbam nergayil - desh - adi - bharatidasan
thillana - varamu - misra chapu - sulochana pattabhiraman
pavamana - saurashtram - adi - thyagaraja

Apr 28 - Seattle, Washington

violin - mysore srikanth
mrudangam - neyveli venkatesh
morsing - nirmal narayan

715-945pm

varnam - bhairavi - ata - pachaimiriam adiyappaiah
vallabha - begada - rupakam - dikshitar (s)
balasubramaniam - vishnupriya - adi - thanjavur sankara iyer (r,s)
vinaradhana - devagandhari - adi - thyagaraja
mamava karunaya - shanmukapriya - misra chapu - swathi thirunal (r,n,s,t)
rtp - kalyanavasantham - adi (tisra nadai) - "sama gana lolane | sadasiva smarane"
krishna nee begane - yamankalyani - misra chapu - vyasaraaya
gayathi vanamali - hamsadhwani - adi - sadasiva brahmendra
thillana - varamu - misra chapu - sulochana pattabhiraman
pavamana - saurashtram - adi - thyagaraja

Apr 27 - Vancouver, Canada

violin - mysore srikanth
mrudangam - neyveli venkatesh
morsing - nirmal narayan

venue: sai center, vancouver
sankara jayanthi celebrations

745-1015pm

varnam - surutti - adi - pallavi gopala iyer (s)
sri mahaganapathi - gowla - misra chapu - dikshitar
kayarohanesam - aberi - rupakam - dikshitar (r,s)
dakshinamurthe - sankarabharanam - misra jampa - dikshitar (r,n,s,t)
marukelara - jayanthashri - adi - thyagaraja
rtp - kapi - adi "needhu mahima teliya na tarama | lokabhirama"
-ragamalika: bowli, begada
chinnanjiru kiliye - ragamalika - ekam (tisra nadai) - subramania bharathiar
slokam...chandrasekhara - sindhubairavi - adi... venkatachalanilayam - sindhubairavi - adi - purandaradasa
thillana - chandrajyothi - adi - ks raghunathan
ramani bhajithal - mand - adi - papanasam sivan
pavamana - saurashtram - adi - thyagaraja

Apr 22 - Birmingham, Alabama

violin - mysore srikanth
mrudangam - neyveli venkatesh

615-845pm

varnam - kathanakuthuhalam - adi - ks krishnamurthy
sivaloka - mayamalavagowla - rupakam - gopalakrishna bharathi (s)
marubalka - sriranjani - adi - thyagaraja (r,n,s)
hidako - atana - adi - purandaradasa
pogadhirelo - sankarabharanam - misra chapu - purandaradasa (r,n,s,t)
nagagandhari - nagagandhari - adi - muthuswami dikshitar
rtp - bageshri - kanda triputa
-ragamalika: begada, sindhubairavi
tamboori meetidava - sindhubairavi - adi - purandaradasa
rama nama - desh - adi - thanjavur sankara iyer
thillana - chandrajyothi - adi - ks raghunathan
pavamana - saurashtram - adi - thyagaraja

Apr 21 - Atlanta, Georgia

violin - mysore srikanth
mrudangam - neyveli venkatesh

630-930pm

varnam - sri - adi - karur devudu iyer
sobillu - jaganmohini - rupakam - thyagaraja (n,s)
shri mathrubootham - kannada - misra chapu - dikshitar
deva deva jagadheeshwara - purvikalyani - adi - swathi thirunal (r,s)
paramathmudu - vagadheeshwari adi - thyagaraja (r,s,t)
naan oru - navarasakannada - adi - papanasam sivan
rtp - mohanam - kanda triputa (tisra nadai)
-ragamalika: komalangi, bageshri
ninnaye - bageshri - rupakam - subramania bharathi
sarvam brahmamayam - madhuvanthi - adi - sadasiva brahmendra
thillana - niroshta - adi - tn seshagopalan (requested)
pavamana - saurashtram - adi - thyagaraja

Apr 15 - Buffalo, New York

violin - mysore srikanth
mrudangam - neyveli venkatesh
morsing - nirmal narayan

venue: university of buffalo
thyagaraja celebrations

645-915pm

varnam - saveri - adi - kothavaasal venkatrama iyer
telisirama - purnachandrika - adi - thyagaraja (s)
ne nendhu - karanataka behag - adi - thyagaraja
sri narada - kaanada - rupakam - thyagaraja (r,s)
manavyalakim - nalinakanthi - adi - thyagaraja
koluvaiyunnade - bairavi - adi - thyagaraja (r,n,s,t)
jagadhodharana - kapi - adi - purandaradasa
sri rama jaya rama - yadhukulakambodhi - kanda chapu - thyagaraja
thillana - basanth - adi - tn seshagopalan
ramanai bhajithal - mand - adi - papanasam sivan
malasai kopam (thiruppugazh) - jonpuri - adi - arunagirinathar
pavamana - saurashtram - adi - thyagaraja

Apr 14 - Toronto, Canada

violin - mysore srikanth
mrudangam - neyveli venkatesh
morsing - nirmal narayan

venue: yorkwoods library auditorium

6:15-9pm

varnam - sahana - adi - thiruvettiyoor thyagayya
ninnu joochi - saurashtram - adi - patnam subramania iyer (s)
thyagaraja yoga vaibhavam - anandabairavi - rupakam - muthuswami dikshitar (r)
emaiyya rama - kambodhi - kanda chapu - badrachala ramadas (r,n,s)
theril yeri naan - kalyani - rupakam - papanasam sivan
rtp - todi/mohanam - adi (4 kalai)
-tani avarthanam
dhanya anjaneetsa - aboghi - adi - tukaram
cinnanjiru kiliye - ragamalika - tisra nadai - subramania bharathi
thillana - chandrajyothi - adi - ks raghuraman
pavamana - saurashtram - adi - thyagaraja

Germany Recap... Tour Musings Part 1

Ideally, I should have been posting my thoughts and feelings after each concert instead of just the song-lists, but somehow I never thought to put it down in words until now. Rather than going back and commenting on each concert, I thought I'd just share some of the highlights so far, as I remember them...

Germany Concert Schedule:

Mar 10 - Bielefeld

Mar 11 - Baden Baden

Mar 15 - Munich

Mar 17 - Frankfurt

Mar 18 - Miltenberg

Our tour started over a month ago in Germany, where we arrived in Frankfurt on Mar 9th. It was my first time in Germany, so I was excited to see the country but also a bit unsure what the listeners might be like, or how to structure my concerts for German audiences. Our first two concerts in Germany were in churches. Beautiful locations with fantastic natural acoustics, but no heating! Luckily these concerts were only 1.5 hours long, but I definitely wore socks and had a shawl on my lap to keep me warm. Unfortunately my violinist, Mysore Srikanth, and mrudangist, Neyveli Venkatesh couldn't do anything to keep their fingers and toes warm through the concert. Srikanth tried many tactics, such as having a cup of hot water with him on stage, or asking the organizers to turn up the heat. We found more often that there was little or no heating in these churches, and the audiences knew to keep their jackets on throughout. During the intermissions we would stand over small heating vents in the green room and run our fingers under hot water, not to mention the countless cups of hot tea we went through before and during the concerts. The irony was that just a couple hundred feet from our concert venue in Baden Baden was some of the famous natural hot springs that tourists flock to throughout the year. There aren't any Carnatic concerts held in hot springs though. However the setting of the churches, and the acoustics in the hall made the freezing temperatures bearable!

Following these two concerts was a concert in the Volkerkunde Museum in Munich. This was a nice auditorium with central heating. This concert, as well as the first two, was recorded for future radio broadcasts, so we needed to arrive quite early to make sure the mics were all set up okay for the recording purposes. We had no monitors or feedback of sound in these concerts, but the intimate settings made up for it, and we were able to sing with the natural sound balance for the 1-2 hour durations.

During the week, we stayed in the German countryside with our fabulous host (and kanjira artist for our concerts) Herbert Lange, in his family's home in Adelsheim. He and his mother showed us great hospitality and we had a chance to walk around and see a very different side of the country not seen by tourists. Authentic farmland, a stream running through the backyard, forest hills for our morning walks, all of this and more made our stay unforgettable. I almost forgot, we saw a great music shop in Frankfurt where they had a tambura made from a Church organ pipe! Srikanth-ji and I were amazed at the sound and resonance of this instrument. Unfortunately its size made it difficult for us to take with us!

Our fourth concert in Frankfurt was at the residence of two journalists who have previously organized concerts of some great artists such as my guru Sri Sanjay Subrahmanyan, and they had also hosted the concert of Sri GJR Krishnan in the same venue where I was to sing. Upon entry, myself and my artists were in awe of the book collection in this house. Almost every single wall was covered with bookshelves filled with books, some even on Indian classical music. I feared that this 2nd story apartment would collapse into the 1st floor at any moment, given the weight of the books. Neyveli Venkatesh was seated at the bottom of one of these towering bookshelves, and we verified periodically that it was safely mounted and not about to topple over onto him! This was an enjoyable concert as the audience sat on the floor in front of us, and in chairs just a few feet away. They seemed to be frozen for 1hr15min. I chose to sing a new thillana that I had just learned the day before, in ragam Hamsanandhi composed by Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavathar (I'm told). I had practiced it once with Srikanth-ji and Venkatesh-ji the day before, but we still had a lot of fun with it on stage, going through its many rhythmic sangathis and patterns (I sang this in Los Angeles as well, and it can be viewed here). Afterward all of us had a really great feeling that we had tried new things and they went over well. There were even some percussionists in the audience who seemed to enjoy the thillana, and followed along with the tisram/chatusram nadai variations at the end. Surprisingly, our audiences in every venue were 99.9% German, and there were little or no Indians in the audiences. It made for a difference experience, but an enjoyable one nonetheless.

Our German tour of 5 concerts in 9 days came to a close on Sunday the 18th with a concert in Miltenberg*. This was an absolutely stunning city, being one of the few to not have been torn down by the war, and still have the real stone roads and old German architectural facades. Our concert was in a yoga studio located in a plaza which I swear could have easily been featured in National Lampoon's European Vacation with Chevy Chase.

*I forgot to mention that we were told our concert was the very first Carnatic concert ever happening in Miltenberg! Truly an honor for us.

Srikanth-ji and I stayed an extra day in Frankfurt after this, but Venkatesh-ji had to return to Chennai to switch out his mrudangams and prepare for the US tour that was to follow. Although it was quite cold, it was nice to walk around and see Frankfurt without too many tourists. We insisted on enjoying the river-side cafe's despite the weather, and even climbed up 600 steps in an old church to get a bird's eye view of the city.

All in all, a fantastic experience with great artists, and a grand kick-off to our tour.

I will write again soon with some of our experiences from the North American tour...(Currently in Toronto, only 1/3 the way through the North America concerts!).

Apr 6 - Madison, Wisconsin

violin - mysore srikanth
mrudangam - neyveli venkatesh

venue: university of wisconsin, madison

7-930pm

varnam - malavi - adi - ks krishnamurthy
vandhe matharam - kedaram - adi - subramania bharathi (s)
neerajakshi kamakshi - hindolam - rupakam - muthuswami dikshitar (r)
palayasadha - nalinakanthi - adi - swathi thirunal (s)
bhajare re chitha - kalyani - misra chapu - muthuswami dikshitar (r,n,s,t)
edhari sancharinthura - sruthi ranjani - adi - thyagaraja
rtp - karaharapriya - adi
-ragamalika: chandrakauns, jog
thunbam nergayil - desh - adi - bharathidasan
jagadhodharana - kapi - adi - purandaradasa
thillana - pahadi - misra chapu - lalgudi g jayaraman
pavamana - saurashtram - adi - thyagaraja

Apr 1 - Baltimore, Maryland

violin - mysore srikanth
mrudangam - neyveli venkatesh

venue: sri shiva vishnu temple

330-630pm

varnam - mohanam - ata - harikesanallur muthiah bhagavathar
janaki ramana - sudha seemanthini - adi - thyagaraja (s)
ganamudha panam - jyothiswarupini - misra chapu - koteeshwara iyer (r, s)
sri ramam - nayarayanagowla - adi - muthuswami dikshithar
chalamelara - margahindolam - adi - thyagaraja
swara raga sudha - sankarabharanam - adi - thyagaraja (r,n,s,t)
sadhuthadha - vakulabharanam - adi - swathi thirunal
rtp - kaanada - tisra triputa
-ragamalika: ranjani, komalangi, sindhubairavi
pagaivanukkarulvai - ragamalika - tisra nadai - subramania bharathi
thirisila giriyaar - cenjurutti - adi
brindhavanam idhuvo - sudha dhanyasi - adi - sudhananda bharathi
thillana - khamas - adi - patnam subramania iyer
pavamana - saurashtram - adi - thyagaraja

Mar 31 - Middletown, Connecticut

violin - mysore srikanth
mrudangam - neyveli venkatesh

venue: sri satyanarayana temple

4:15-6:45pm

viriboni - bairavi - ata - pachaimiriam adhiyappaiah
deva deva - mayamalavagowla - rupakam - swathi thirunal (n,s)
enaalu urage - shubapanthuvarali - misra chapu - thyagaraja (r)
hidako bida beda - atana - kanda chapu - thyagaraja
bhajare re manasa - aberi - adi - mysore vasudhevachaar (r,s,t)
rtp - sankarabharanam - kanda triputa, tisra nadai
ramanai bhajithal - mand - adi - papanasam sivan
thillana - sindhubairavi - adi - md ramanathan
pavamana - saurashtram - adi - thyagaraja

Mar 30 - South Bend, Indiana

violin - mysore srikanth
mrudangam - neyveli venkatesh

venue: notre dame library auditorium

715-945pm

varnam - kalyani - adi - ramnad srinivasa iyengar
padavini - salabairavi - adi - thyagaraja (s)
ninne nambithe - kiravani - misra chapu - jagannathadasa (r)
kapali - mohanam - adi - papanasam sivan (r,s,t)
paramukhamadheno - shulini - adi - koteeshwara iyer
sabapathikku - aboghi - rupakam - gopalakrishna bharathi
rtp - dvijavanthi - kanda triputa (chatusra tisram / chatusram)
-ragamalika: bowli, jog, sindhubairavi
tamboori meetidava - sindhubairavi - adi - purandaradasa
tum bin more - kapi - adi - meera
baaro krishnaiyya - ragamalika - adi - kanakadasa
gavathi thillana - adi - s. kalyanaraman
pavamana - saurashtram - adi - thyagaraja

Mar 24 - Los Angeles, California

violin - mysore srikanth
mrudangam - neyveli venkatesh

venue: hoover middle school, lakewood

520-850pm

varnam - kaanada - ata - poochi srinivasa iyengar
polla puliyinum - mayamalavagowla - adi - papanasam sivan (s)
amma ravamma - kalyani - khanda chapu - thyagaraja (r, n, s)
mayamma - ahiri - adi - shyama sastri
niravathi sukhadha - ravichandrika - adi - thyagaraja
ninne nambithe - kiravani - misra chapu - jagannatha dasa
o rangasayi - kambodhi - adi - thyagaraja (r, n, s, t)
sabapathikku - aboghi - rupakam - gopalakrishna bharathi
rtp - shanmukapriya - khanda triputa
-ragamalika: sahana, chandrakauns, hindolam, varamu, surya, behag, sindhubairavi
thirisila giriyaar - cenjurutti - adi (requested)
thamburi meetidhava - sindhubairavi - adi - purandaradasa
dhanya anjaneetsa - aboghi - adi - tukaram (requested)
thillana - hamsanandhi - adi - harikesanallur muthiah bhagavathar
pavamana - saurashtram - adi - thyagaraja

Mar 23 - Phoenix, Arizona

violin - mysore srikanth
mrudangam - neyveli venkatesh

venue: arizona state university

7:20-9:45pm

varnam - reethigowla - ata - veena kuppaiyer
korinavara - ramapriya - rupakam - patnam subramania iyer (n,s)
sabhapathikku - aboghi - rupakam - gopalakrishna bharathi (r)
hidako bidabeda - atana - adi - purandaradasa (s)
endhukudhayaradhura - todi - misra chapu - thyagaraja (r,n,s,t)
manavyalakim - nalinakanthi - adi - thyagaraja (s)
rtp - hamsanandhi - adi (2 nadai)
srinivasa thiruvenkata - hamsanandhi - adi - papanasam sivan
thillana - niroshta - adi - tn seshagopalan
pavamana - saurashtram - adi - thyagaraja

Miltenburg, Germany

violin - mysore srikanth
mrudangam - neyveli venkatesh
kanjira - herbert lang

5:15-7:15 (w/intermission)

varavallabha - hamsadhwani - adi - gn balasubramaniam (s)
bogeendra shayinam - kunthalavarali - kanda chapu - swathi thirunal
rtp - bhairavi - adi
--ragamalika: varamu (vocal), amrithavarshini (violin), sivaranjani (vocal), behag (violin)
--tani avarthanam
INTERMISSION
ninnaye rathiyendru - bageshri - rupakam - subramania bharathi
sarvam brahmayamam - madhuvanthi - adi - sadasiva brahmendra
thillana - darbaari kaanada - misra chapu - s kalyanaraman
pavamana - saurashtram - adi - thyagaraja

Frankfurt, Germany

venue: private residence

violin - mysore srikanth
mrudangam - neyveli venkatesh
kanjira - herbert lang

7:15-8:30pm

chalamelara - margahindolam - adi - thyagaraja (s)
chitham irangadhadhenaiyya - sahana - misra chapu - papanasam sivan
rtp - brindavana saranga - adi
-ragamalika: dvijavanthi (vocal), madhuvanthi (violin), bageshri (vocal), revathi (violin)
-tani avarthanam
thillana - hamsanandhi - adi - tn seshagopalan

Munich, Germany

venue: volkerkunde museum, munich

violin - mysore srikanth
mrudangam - neyveli venkatesh
kanjira - herbert lang

7:15-8:55pm

varnam - mohanam - ata - harikesanallur muthiah bhagavathar (s)
evarikai - devamanohari - misra chapu - thyagaraja (r)
rtp - shanmukhapriya - kanda tripua
--ragamalika: sahana, mohanakalyani, chandrakauns, kambodhi, sindhubairavi, madhyamavathi
--tani avarthanam
kalai thooki - yadhukulakambodhi - adi - marimuthapillai
thillana - basanth - adi - tn seshagopalan

Baden Baden, Germany

violin - mysore srikanth
mrudangam - neyveli venkatesh
kanjira - herbert lang

7:15-9:15 (w/ intermission)

vandhe matharam - kedaram - adi - subramania bharathi (s)
ananda natamaaduvaar - purvikalyani - rupakam - neelakanta sivan (r,s)
rtp - hamsavinodhini - adi
--ragamalika: varali, behag
--tani avarthanam
INTERMISSION
govardhana giridhara - darbari kaanada - adi - narayana theertha
pagavanukkarulvai - ragamalika - tisra nadai ekam - subramania bharathi
thirisila giriyar - cenjurutti - adi
thillana - pahadi - misra chapu - lalgudi jayaraman
brindhavanam idhuvo - sudha dhanyasi - adi - sudhanandha bharathi
ENCORE
ramanai bhajithal - mand - adi - papanasam sivan
pavamana

Bielefeld, Germany

violin - mysore srikanth
mrudangam - neyveli venkatesh
kanjira - herbert lang

845-1015

jalajaksha - hamsadhwani - adi - manambuchavadi venkatasubbaiyer
siddhi vinayakam - shanmukapriya - rupakam - muthuswami dikshitar (n,s)
saraguna palimpa - kedaragowla - adi - poochi srinivasa iyengar (r)
rtp - hindolam - misra chapu
--ragamalika: ranjani, vaasanthi
--tani avarthanam
thillana - sindhubairavi - adi - oothukkadu venkata kavi
pavamana

Gopalakrishna Bharathi Celebrations, Mayavaram

violin - sp ananthapadmanabha
mrudangam - r sankaranarayanan
730-945pm

sivaloka nathanai - mayamalavagowla - rupakam (s)
sattru vilagi - purvikalyani - rupakam
thiruvadi charanam - kambodhi - adi (r,n,s)
saba pathikku - aboghi - rupakam
innamum sandheha - kiravani - misra chapu (r,n,s,t)
irakkam varaamal - behag - rupakam
chidhambaram pogamal - cenjurutti - adi

Maha Sivarathri Vaibhava, Trichy

violin - ambika prasad
mrudangam - arjun ganesh
morsing - raghuraman

sivaloka - mayamalavagowla - rupakam - gopalakrishna bharathi (s)
shri mathrubhootham - kannada - misra chapu - muthuswami dikshitar
ananda natam aaduvaar - purvikalyani - rupakam - neelakanta sivan (r,n,s)
mayamma - ahiri - adi - shyama shastri
innamum sandheha - kiravani - misra chapu - gopalakrishna bharathi (r,n,s,t)
kanavendamo - sriranjani - tisra nadai ekam - papanasam sivan
innamum oruthalam - behag - adi - marimuthu pillai
chidambaram pogamal - cenjurutti - adi - gopalakrishna bharathi
thirisila giriyaar - cenjurutti - adi
thillana - sindhubairavi - adi - md ramanathan
vaazhiya senthamizh - madhyamavathi - adi - subramania bharathi

Paramashiva Album Review - The Hindu

Album review came in The Hindu, Trichy edition on Friday, February 10, 2012.

Sundaravinayakar Temple, Madipakkam

violin - rajiv
mrudangam - sankaranarayanan
645-9pm

varnam - darbar - adi
vatapi - hamsadhwani - adi - muthuswami dikshitar (s)
kalai thooki - yadhukulakambodhi - adi - marimuthu pillai (r)
ananda natanam aaduvar - purvikalyani - rupakam - neelakanta sivan (r, s)
parvathi nayakane - shanmukhapriya - adi - papanasam sivan (r,n,s,t)
kandhanin azhagil - sindhubairavi - adi - surajananda (tuned by skr)
aaraar aasaipadaar - nadanamakriya - misra chapu - muthuthaandavaar
thillana - dvijavanthi - adi - s. kalyanaraman
pavamana - saurashatram - adi - thyagaraja

Chidambaram Nataraja Temple

Sivarathri Celebrations, Chidambaram
615-815pm

violin - muthukumar
mrudangam - arjun ganesh

ananda natam aduvar - purvikalyani - rupakam - neelakanta sivan (s)
shri mathrubhootham - kannada - misra chapu - dikshitar
pada vendume - hamsanadam - rupakam - dandapani desikar (r,n)
kalai thooki - yadhukulakambodhi - adi - marimuthu pillai
parvathi nayakane - shanmukhapriya - adi - papanasam sivan (s)
rtp - saveri - adi "sabhapathikku verudhaivam | samanama guma thillai"
ragamalika: dvijavanthi, varali, aboghi
tani avarthanam
sabhapathikku - aboghi - rupakam - gopalakrishna bharathi
aaraar aasaipadaar - nadanamakriya - adi - muthuthaandavar
chidambaram pogamal - cenjurutti - adi - gopalakrishna bharathi
thillana - pahadi - misra chapu - lalgudi g jayaraman

Thyagaraja Aradhana, Srirangam

Srirangam, Trichy
7-915

violin - ambika prasad
mrudangam - koppu nagarajan
kanjira - alathur rajaganesh

compositions of thyagaraja, unless otherwise noted

raghunayaka - hamsadhwani - adi (s)
ne nendhu - karanata behag - adi
evarikai - devamanohari - misra chapu (r,s)
edhari sancharinthura - sruthi ranjani - adi
intha saukhya - kapi - adi (r,n,s,t)
cinnanjiru kiliye - kapi - tisra nadai - bharathiar
sri rama jaya rama - yadhukulakambodhi - kanda chapu
nijagadasa - sindhubairavi - adi - jayadeva
gayathi vanamali - hamsadhwani - adi - sadasivabrahmendra
tunbam nergayil - desh - adi - bharatidasan / dandapani desikar
vazhiya senthamizh - madhyamavathi - adi - bharathiar

Satguru Sangeetha Samajam

venue: karpagavinayagar temple, adyar

violin - m rajiv
mrudangam - nc bharadvaj

thyagaraja series

raghunayaka - hamsadhwani - adi (s)
evarikai - devamanohari - misra chapu (r)
bajana seyave - kalyani - rupakam (s)
chakkani raja - karaharapriya - adi (r,n,s,t)
sri rama jaya rama - yadhukulakambodhi - kanda chapu

Nadopasana

venue: ps high school, mylapore
5-630pm

violin - m rajiv
mrudangam - arjun ganesh

varnam - nattaikurinji - adi - moolaiveedu rangaswami nattuvanar (s)
angarakam - surutti - rupakam - muthswami dikshitar
polla puliyinum - mayamalavagowla - adi - papanasam sivan (r,s)
evarikai - devamanohari - misra chapu - thyagaraja
meenakshi memudam - purvikalyani - adi - muthuswami dikshitar (r,n,s,t)
thunbam nergayil - desh - adi - bharatidasan / dandapani desikar

Receiving the Youth Excellence Award on January 28, 2012

Maharajapuram Vishwanatha Iyer Trust

violin - avaneeshwaram vinu
mrudangam - b sivaraman
venue: shastri hall
510-625pm

1. deva deva - mayamalavagowla - rupakam - swati tirunal (n,s)
2. ganamudhapanam - jyothiswarupini - misra chapu - koteeshwara iyer
3. anandamruthakarshini - amruthavarshini - adi - muthuswami dikshitar (r,s)
4. gajavadana - todi - adi - kumara ettendra (r,s,t)
5. ninnaye - bageshri - rupakam - bharathiar

Jan 28th - Youth Excellence Award & Concert...

Music Circle, Bangalore

violin - nalina mohan
mrudangam - ma krishnamurthy
ghatam - mk bhaskar

1. varnam - navaragamalika - adi - patnam subramania iyer
2. nada tanum anisham - chittaranjani - adi - thyagaraja (s)
3. chitham irangadha - sahana - misra chapu - papanasam sivan (r)
4. evvare ramaiyya - gangeyabushani - adi - thyagaraja (s)
5. mayamma - ahiri - adi - shyama shastri
6. vinaradhana - devagandhari - adi - thyagaraja
7. swara raga sudha - sankarabharanam - adi - thyagaraja (r,n,s,t)
8. kaana vendaamo - sriranjani - tisra nadai ekam - papanasam sivan
9. nayi bharuthadhe - mohanam - rupakam - purandaradasa
10. tum bin more - kapi - adi - meera
11. thillana - darbaari kaanada - misra chapu - s. kalyanaraman
12. pavamana - saurashtram - adi - thyagaraja

Nayaki, Kotturpuram

abirami chidambaram hall, kotturpuram
630-850pm

violin - m vijay
mrudangam - r sankaranarayanan
ghatam - trichy krishnaswamy

varnam - navaragamalika - adi - patnam subramania iyer
siddhi vinayakam - shanmukhapriya - rupakam - muthuswami dikshitar (n,s)
mayamma - ahiri - adi - shyama shastri
o rajeevaksha - aarabi - misra chapu - thyagaraja (r)
appan avadharitha - karaharapriya - adi - papanasam sivan (r,s)
ethavunara - kalyani - adi - thyagaraja (r,s,t)
kaanavendamo - sriranjani - tisra nadai ekam - papanasam sivan
thillana - niroshta - adi - t.n. seshagopalan
pavamana - saurashtram - adi - thyagaraja

Chaitanya Bharathi, Chirala

Thyagaraja Series, Chirala, Andhra Pradesh
715-10pm

1. varnam - aboghi - adi - patnam subramania iyer
2. siddhi vinayakam - mohanakalyani - adi - harikesanallur muthaiah bhagavathar (s)
3. nannu vidachi - reethigowla - misra chapu - thyagaraja (r)
4. evvare ramaiyya - gangeyabushani - adi - thyagaraja (s)
5. sri narada - kaanada - rupakam - thyagaraja (r,s)
6. mayamma - ahiri - adi - shyama shastri
7. maruvakudaya - mohanam - adi - garbapurivasa
8. shanthamulekha - sama - adi - thyagaraja (r,n,s,t)
9. tum bine more - kapi - adi - meera
10. sri rama - yadukulakambodhi - kanda chapu - thyagaraja
11. muddugare - kurinji - adi - annamacharya
12. seetha kalyana - navroj - kanda chapu - thyagaraja
13. thillana - sindhubairavi - adi - oothukkadu venkata kavi
14. pavamana - saurashtram - adi - thyagaraja