New Year Bash at Music Academy

From a Prince to a pauper everybody wishes to start the New Year on a high note and striking the right chord. For the 8th consecutive year Carnatica's New Year bash at Music Academy started on a high note for rasikas, eminent and popular musicians.

Having soaked themselves in Kambodi, Todi, Kalyani, Sankarabharanam, etc. carnatic music aficionados and musicians were not tired and wanted more Carnatic Music to welcome 2011. Such is Carnatic music, it never tires or retires and so are musicians.

The night started with a venugaanam by Sangita Kalanidhi N. Ramani and team. They mellifluously rendered Thyagaraja’s “Darini thelisikonti” in Suddha Saveri and followed it up with Sadho Sadho in Ahir Bairavi. Ramani was brilliant on the flute, and he appeared like a little boy who just discovered the flute and his fingers went running on the bamboo. Quick sangathis in both the songs made rasikas swing, sway and sing together.

Dr. Pantulu Rama and team came on stage next to welcome the New Year with 2 krithis in Navaroz and both the krithis presented different facets of Navaroz. Muthuswami Dikshithar’s Hasthivadanaya and Thyagaraja’s Divya Nama Keerthanai “Navaneetha chora” was rendered with clarity and brevity. Gayathri Venkatraghavan next appeared on stage wearing a bright pink saree and a pleasant smile. She rendered Narayana Theerthar’s Tharangam “Re Re Manasa” in Brindavani. Moving from one musician to another, one raga to another, one composer to another, it felt like a musical relay.

The next half hour excitement was put together by Subashree Thanikachalam and team. Gayathri Venkatraghavan, Saindhavi, Barath Sundar, along with Ganesh on the Chitraveena presented a few lines popular film song and a carnatic song in the same raga. The program was aptly titled “ragamalika” but there it was talamalika too. The program started in chatusram beat with songs in Hamsadwani, Sriranjani, Kambodhi, Mayamalavagowlai, Desh and then moved to Tisram with songs in Shanmukhapriya, Charukesi, Lalitha, and Reethigowlai,. Audience sent it request and artist on the stage performed songs in Karaharapriya, Nalinakanthi, and Kalyani. The half hour program concluded with artist rendering delectable swarams in Kalyani.

There is just 15 mins left to midnight and Srimushnam Raja Rao, a well know percussionist ascended the dais, but this time as a vocalist and presented two quick songs. The first one was Deva Deva in Mayamalavagowali and second was his own composition, a thillana in Sindhu Bairavi. To hear a percussionist sing, with perfect alignment to Shruthi and filling the air with colorful swara fireworks brought 2010 to an end.

At the stroke of midnight, a few musicians has morphed into different avatars (remember the Cindrella story?) Abhishek Raghuram, a popular upcoming vocalist, let his fingers speak on the Kanjira, while Srimushnam Raja Rao returned to his mridhangam. While all musicians led by Malladi Brothers rendered a Thyagaraja Pancharatnam, Maithreem Bhajata and Siva Ashtotharam, the faces of the 5 feet brass lamp were lit by Dr. Pantulu Rama and Smt. Vasundara Rajagopal. 2011 was born in an air bakthi, reverence and carnatic music. Can there be a better way to start the New Year?

2011 is born!

Soon Gundeccha Brothers welcomed 2011 with a short bhajan on Shiva and passed the mantle to Ghatam Karthik for some Carnatic humor. This time he ascended the stage with not with a piece of cooked clay, but a piece of cooked papyrus. Karthik is always good on stage, be it shaking his ghatam, or making people shake their ghatam (ghatam to be read as tummy). He shared a dozen plus jokes on Carnatic music, on popular musicians and presented a humorous sangeetha piece between Sangita Kalanidhi M. Balamuralikrishna and Sangita Kalanidhi TN Seshagopalan. Isn’t it good to start the year in good humor?

While many of our youth ape the western way of welcoming the New Year, there were a dozen foreigners who joined us in a safe, satwick and soulful way of welcoming 2011.

By then Sangeetha Foods was ready to feed the rasikas with Tamarind rice, kesari, chutney and tea. When we came back Sengottai Hari and party were ready on the stage to show us Namasamkirthana way of bakthi. At 15 minutes past two in the morning the bash came to an end. In another 7 hours from now TM Krishna will be presenting a concert on the same stage and another 15 hours from now Bombay Sisters will be conferred Sangita Kalanidhi on the same stage.

Music, memories and moments, what a journey into 2011!

You can watch snippets of the all the fun we had that night - http://www.thehindu.com/arts/music/article1025230.ece