The trip to Arches National Park in Utah can be described nothing less then fascinating.
end.

This park consisting of over 2000 naturally formed stone arches, have odd, weiry looking sandstone arches and formations. While you would certainly see many arches in many parts of the world, this spectacle here is certainly unique. It’s, I believe a combination of thousands of years of erosion, sand storms and the Colorado river along with the deep canyons and mountains, that brings so many weird, fascinating arches, structures and huge monolithic formations in one place.

The place truly humbles you, as you are more like Pygmies, in front of these humongous structures.

Some of the spectacular arches we saw included, the Delicate Arch, the Sand Dune Arch, the Windows Arch, the Double Arch and the really long Landscape Arch that measured 388 ft end to end.

A few of the many beautiful spots include, the Devils Garden, the 3 Gossipers, the windows, the beautiful structure that looked like a herd of elephants called the Parade of Elephants, and my most favorite the Park Avenue. At the Park Avenue, you could feel the depth and the beauty of these nature wonders.

One could go on and on, but I rather greet you folks further with pictures, as no words can describe the beauty of these natural wonders.

If is not on your cards, make sure you put them on your must do list.

Continuing the tradition of All Night Concerts Samir Chatterjee with Chhandayan hosted another magical night with their 13th all night concert. It had a string of local and India based talents with a mix of both young artists and veterans.

Those who have been following my blogs, know by now that I am not into in depth concert reviews. I leave that to the experts and critics. To me its all about the experience, the atmosphere and my interest is in encouraging this art to a wider audience.

I enjoy it most when veterans bring out their depths and younger artists show their immense talent and focus on innovation. I love it when artists differentiate themselves in some way, so they don’t fall into a canned box. So to me it’s all about the experience, the feeling, the ability to get elated.

That’s what happened to me and many of us during last Saturday’s, all night concert at the beautiful auditorium of the Society for Ethical Culture at New York. Most of the artists gave a scintillating performance. The crowd was that of an appreciative type and seemed to swell in energy as the night played out.

CD’s made brisk sales, the corridors were packed with social networking and the food hall was bustling with activity.

To me the highlights were really three. 1st the duo between Pt. Ronu Majumdar on Flute and Samir ji on tabla was simply ecstatic. It was like they were in Dual Harmony, and these days you find this hard to see in concerts. The Raag Jhinjhoti, the duo crafted, was beautiful and filled the atmosphere with positive exuberance, which is exactly what this raag if played properly should bring. I personally felt Samir ji was at his elements when he accompanied Pt. Ronu.

The 2nd was quite a pleasant surprise; it was this Sanhita Nandi, as she began an unhurried rendering of Raag Megh. It was simply beautiful, her resonating voice, with a touch of huskiness, (quite differentiated from most singers) brought out the beauty of this Raag, so blissfully elaborated and interspersed with some extremely nice taans. It sure is a proud movement for all of us in the US to see that we are housing more and more talented singers. Thanks again to institutions like Chhandayan and IAPA
‘s Sangeet Prabhat, these treasures are being discovered and brought out into the open.

The 3rd highlight was Ajoy Chakrabarty as he gave a very soulful and melodious rendering of Raag Gunkali. The sweetness he brought out simply swayed the audience, it was really bringing out the feeling of sadness that this wonderful night was going to end soon. He brought out the emotiveness of this raag in a very touching manner. Simply said it was a fitting finale to one of my most looked forward nights every year.

I would not do justice if I don’t mention some of the other brilliant artists who livened up the night. I enjoyed every minute of Samarth Nagarkar’s Vocal recital. He sang Raag Bhupali with ease and splendor and I loved his Tarana very much. It’s heartening again to know that he is associated with the Chhandayan faculty, so we will all have the privilege to hear more of him for sure.

Then how can one miss out the little master Tejas Tope on Tabla who accompanied Samarnath. This 14 year youngster, took to stage what people at that age can only dream, and he played the tabla with ease.

Like Samir ji who later said, that it is no easy feat for a kid to take on main stage and perform with confidence at such an young age. I fully agree with him, in fact it is a combination of 3 essentials that make these wonders happen – the right guru, the perseverance of the student and last but the most important the commitment and encouragement of his parents. When I spoke to his mom after the concert, who was filled with emotions, gave all the credit to Samir ji for making this even possible.

Due to heavy traffic, I missed the majority of the 1st concert, which was a jugalbandhi between Partha Bose on sitar from Kolkata and Partho Sarothy on Sarod. But the short glimpse I heard and seeing the audience reactions, they seemed to have started the night in a fitting manner. When I spoke to Partha later, he indicated that this was the last concert of his US tour and he was leaving back for India in the morning. When I asked him to comment on his experience here, all he could say was ‘ I am lucky to be a part of this beautiful gathering’ and went on to say that ‘the people here make him feel so much at home’.

The veteran Rajeev Taranath showed glimpses of his expertise as he played Sarod to Raag Chandranandan. Indicating that the Raag was highly emotional for him and he is playing this for the 1st time in 3 years, since his guru and great maestro Ustad Ali Akbar Khan passed away.

One thing the organizers need to set right is the food serving. They just had one counter to cater dinner for the entire lot of 200+, and it was totally chaotic and very badly managed. The token system introduced was very slow and in fact I walked out giving up, as I did not want to miss out on the performance. Needless to say the scene was chaotic. The caterers could easily have had additional counters to better manage the rush. Unfortunately, the caterers did a very poor job, showed lack of experience in catering to large gatherings and tact.

Other then that, every comment from both, artists and listeners, were all clearly showing that this is an experience that should never to be missed. Pt. Ronu was so right when he commented “ I got here just a few hours ago after many issues from flight cancellations, strikes and more, but when I see all of you here, I am so fresh and only filled with emotions – not even a bit tired”. My friend Pedada Rao, who attending the all night for the 6th time commented that “the standard and quality of artists just seem to be getting more and more better every year”, Another in the audience said it all “ this is simply divine”

So for those who missed this, all I can say is you missed more than just a night and a few concerts … you missed tranquility, bliss and purity in the form of music.

ps. A special thanks to Samir Ji for giving me permission to take a few pictures, without which this article would never feel the same.

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Well that very well sums up the off road adventure, we had recently.

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Sunbuggy was the company we hired the buggies from, of course we had a guide too, else, I wouldn't be here writing this. It's truly a dusty magical experience, the sand dunes pose quite a challenge and adventure as you steer to climb them. Getting stuck can happen, it's part of the adventure, and it's truly an experience. But, it's a fascinating adventure for those who wish to absorb the arid landscape, along with the experience of driving on the sand dunes.

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After a short orientation, they drive you into the dunes, and then the adventure starts. We belted ourselves, wore our helmet and goggles and you get into the desert.

You then ride your buggy by following your guide over very rough paths, boulders which are 2-3 times the size of a tennis ball and all kinds of steep bumps. Of course, you steer your way up and down small and large sand dunes, making this ride really thrilling. It's a very different experience to driving on normal roads.

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We traversed the landscape for over an hour, taking a short break to sink in the beauty of the desert landscape from the top of one of the larger sand dunes.

Sun Buggy Fun Rentals operate this out of Las Vegas, and this is simply something you would not want to miss.

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We ended this great adventure feeling dusty and sweaty, just the most powerful ingredients to make us head for a quick shower and hit the pool.

One word of caution though, the orientation video is quite scary, and can make you more concerned then you should. In fact they play this video very much after you have paid up, so backing out would be harder. But, the fact is it does carry risks any adventure would carry, so follow your guide and if you lose your guide, jut stop your vehicle and stop there on the course. The guide will backtrack and find you.

Last time I thought I was smart and tried to find the guide and got totally lost, and it can take a long time before you get found.

But, it’s fun, it’s beautiful to traverse the desert, and I would do it again… and again….. and again.

Would love to get your thoughts and ideas on this subject.

The music lovers of New Jersey treat themselves, by welcoming Spring and heaving a agonized sigh of relief after filing their taxes annually to a day concert organized by Sangeet Prabhat.

As one of the organizers pointed out, Sangeet Prabhat is unique in 3 ways;
It caters to a whole morning, so totally focused on Morning Ragas.
It focuses on bringing the rising local stars to the forefront, and
It follows the Sunday after the last day for filing the taxes here in the USA.

Well, they certainly have one a commendable job, in keeping this tradition up for 21 years…. Yes 21 years.

You cannot dispute the organizers selection of musicians, you cannot find fault in their arrangements be it the auditorium or mike arrangements, nor can you find any lack of passion of the organizers, as I seem them on and behind the stages, year after year, and I personally know some of them too.

It’s an event, I look forward for every year for sure. The sheer exuberance of the young artists, the passion with which the perform, and just listening to previously less heard artists overall, is what I look for.

But, with all this said, there certainly is a drawback. I am certainly disappointed at the audience strength. I am not sure I can blame solely, the music enthusiasts of New Jersey, who are failing to show up. I think, the organizers could take some share of the blame too.

I think they need to be more innovative in addressing this issue of audience. They possibly need to extend their core of committee members. While the present members are experienced and very capable of bringing and upholding standards that the themselves have set, the call in present times is that of innovation, expansion and diversification for reach.

Maybe, they need a membership drive and programs that include blocking the 1st two rows for patrons, in lieu of donations. For example, they could seek a donation for a grand or more and provide reserved seating and recognition. The Cleveland Thyagaraja Committee did this with reasonable success.

Or, they could seek to add some youngsters, into their core committee and team and bring the benefits of social media to expand demographic reach. I do notice a lack of young volunteers.

Don’t get me wrong, the event by itself is a sure success, no one would dispute that, but given the stellar commitment of the present dedicated organizers to the propagation of Hindusthani music, I personally think, they could have more to show after 21 years.

Also, of course, we have to blame ourselves, we listeners seem to want everything, with little contribution. I think we all need to rise and support the IAPA to take it the next level.

We need to show commitment, help extend reach, and most importantly participate and attend concerts, with family and friends. If each of us can bring in one interested family into the fold of this wonderful association, we would have done our part by doubling the attendees. This is important to make such events continue to be successful, and more importantly to promote the growth of this wonderful heritage.

Let’s make that happen, I for one will make this commitment, to bring in more attendees.

Ok, let me move forward, and not forget the wonderful Sunday we listeners experienced and write about that.

Amidst the cloudy and wet rainy weather, the morning started with Sarbari Gangopadhyay (vocal). This young and talented singer, did one thing I simply loved. She dared to be different.

She started her performance with a Dhrupad in Raag Bhairav. Yes, Dhrupad, I simply loved this difference she brought in. First, I think Dhrupad by itself is simply divine to hear, second, I know many of the audience had never heard Dhrupad before. In fact the corridor talk after the concert was buzzing with conversations about, ‘this is the first time I am hearing’ ‘oh what an energy the Dhrupad recital had’, ‘is all Dhrupad like this’

The important point here is Sarbari, treated the audience to change, and a delightful one for sure.
She dared to be different, and kudos to her for that.

Amod Dandawate now pretty well known in the circles here gave her a god accompaniment on the Tabla.

Sarbari’s voice was wonderful, took a few minutes to pick up in the beginning, but then it was a treat all the way. Wow, will surely await future performances of hers for sure.

The second performance after a short break continued with Indrojit Roy on Sitar accompanied by
Anirban Roy Choudhuri on tabla. He performed Raag Jonpuri. A short crisp performance, but he kept the tempo going. I must add that, it’s also always delightful to watch Indrojit in action, he brings tremendous energy and is a superb tabla accompanist to elevate the energy levels. This young artist is certain to go places.

The final performance was from a more seasoned artist Anusua Roy, she was accompanied by Amod Dandawate (tabla) and Kedar Naphade (harmonium).

She sang Shuddh Sarang and it was extremely well performed aided by her melodious voice. I personally loved her Tarana/Tillana (for Carnatic music lovers). It was simply superbly handled, and she did quite an elaboration there. She ended with a short thumri, and we in the audience, suddenly felt the morning went too quick.

Knowing Kedar personally, I may sound biased, but I think there are very few harmonium players that I know off in this part of the region, who can work magic with his fingers. I think, he is a natural, and will be critical to bring back and elevate the harmonium in the coming years. In fact, I plan to interview him shortly for a separate blog on this subject. Look out for that, it will be interesting and possibly controversial too.

Well, like everything all good things come to and end, and as one of the organizers pointed out, it’s just 364 days for the next Sangeet Prabhat.

Salt Lake City is quite a beautiful city, so when we were recommended to visit Antlelope Island State Park, less the 40 miles away, we initially were not keen, as we felt it was going to be very city like park. But, wow we were totally surprised at what we saw. Pristine beauty, unspoilt landscape, Bisons grazing lazily, wild rabbits playing around, I even spotted a beautiful horned Antelope.

After covering the major parts of the island with breath taking views by drive, we even waited till the sunset, as the sky’s reddish hue tinged the mountains to making it look even more spectacular.

It was very serene, quite, where the mountains touched the sky, and the lake surrounded the mountains. Hats of to the state authorities, for keeping the park so very natural and having just the essentials in infrastructure. Certainly a great place to camp out.

My long pending desire to visit Buenos Aires finally happened. This beautiful place filled with life, culture, poverty, rich and not to forget the birthplace of Tango, did not disappoint my expectations.

I realized soon enough that this city has much to offer, and even though I just had less then one and a half days to explore, I could cover a lot of ground.

After I checked into my well located Intercontinental Hotel closer to noon, I took some rest and my day started around 1pm to begin my exploration of this long awaited visit to the city. Had a couple of choices but decided to go to the much talked about Teatro Colon first followed by a quick guided city tour, so that I can decide where I should be spending my Sunday to full use. The choice should not surprise people who know how passionate about music I am.

The Colon Theater was indeed a delightful work of art. Renovated after 3 years of closing, this majestically architected Opera hall was simply fabulous. Having Italian, Spanish and German influences, every step you take to move into the main auditorium will prepare you for an experience of a lifetime. So you can imagine how the buildup for concerts would have been.

With a capacity seating of 2500 seats, where every seat would deliver you perfect acoustics, the theater has 3 floors of box seating. The acoustics is, I believe recognized worldwide, amongst the top three.

The ceiling is simply gorgeous, with a 318 sq mts dome, everything about the hall is magical and retains the look and feel of its original intent. Every material used for restoration seemed to be of the highest quality. The chandeliers, the paintings and the costumes have been well preserved and displayed with elegance.

Oh, how I would love to attend a concert here, but I experienced the next best thing for sure. I sang there….yes, I did.

One of the tourists asked if they could sing to get a feel of the acoustics, and when they did, everyone joined in and wow, it made my day. See the video I will upload for the short sample.

Oh here, I did meet another Indian from Australia on a business visit. He too had heard of the theater and landed for the tour. Got friendly, and we could take pictures of each other at various locations. He saw that I was planning to take the city tour and decided to join me.

Having started the day with this beautiful place, I walked back to the spot to take a quick guided tour of the city. Not a very exciting tour but, gave me a good feel of the city, and also helped me decide where I should concentrate the next day. The tour covered, the parliament areas, Ricoleta, Puerto Madero, La Boca and a few other places. I loved the La Boca stop though. It was certainly touristy, but the bohemian feel, the art market, the tango dancers spotted on the streets along with other musicians, gave a fun atmosphere for sure.

Said goodbye to my new acquaintance, after exchanging business cards.

Returned back to the hotel and decided to go and see a dinner based Tango show. Called El Querandi.

A very disappointing show indeed and made me wonder what all this talk about the Tango was. Kind of felt convinced that it was not something I appreciated and decided to brush it off for the future. But, when I met my office folks the next day, they told me I picked up the wrong show. More about that later.

Anyway, felt I had made full use of my day and got back to the hotel to catch some sleep.

The first sight of the outside after I woke up, sank my enthusiasm as it was raining.
But, thank god for small mercies, it did not last long.
I decided to cover the following places today.
1- Ricoleta and the cemetery
2- Cafe Tortoni, the oldest cafe in the city
3- San Telmo street fair

Took a cab to the famed 18th century Cemetery. What a place, real expensive burials with beautiful funery arts and craftsmanship spread over 5 hectares of land.

This also was the burial place of Evita (Eva Peron), and her family, who seemed iconic and highly adored. Evita as she is called was very supportive of the poor and needy, so became the darling of the public.

I believe the burial ground had two types of owners. One the state for its presidents and other dignitaries, who ate buried here and the private family owned, who, in one cases even old their place. Given the market value of this piece being owned, guess could be a very tempting proportion.

Just as I was about to leave, a familiar voice called out my name, and presto… It was the same person I met yesterday at the Colon Theater. How co incidental is that? Guess if one is fated to meet, it will happen.

So we decided to pair up again, and walk thro the Recoleta area, which had museums, the University building , the Basilica del Pilar an 18th century church and other landmark buildings. We also saw the floralis. Floralis means it belong to the flowers and is a huge flower built out of metals – Aluminum and Steel that opens to blossom in the morning and folds in the evening. It is 20 mts tall and weighs 18 tons.

We also saw the museum of local arts.

Soon after, we took a cab to Cafe Tortoni. Cafe Tortoni the oldest cafe in Buenos Aires opened in 1858, is a place to visit for sure. Great coffee and snacks are served in this beautiful historic cafe, which has its history & culture embedded in artifacts, posters and decor is still preserved.. Floor to ceiling every bit dates to the wonders of the 19th century. They also have live Tango shows, but getting into this popular cafe, means you may have to wait your turn in the Queue.

Returning back to the hotel by around noon, I took some rest and in the afternoon about 2pm walked to experience the famous San Telmo street fair. It’s a square with a regular Sunday market and the street leading to the square is lined with hundreds of small shops, that sell local arts, creations of the local people, music, food and more. Streets also have individual artists performing music, or other acts. I for one loved the invisible man act. It was really something.
I also enjoyed watching the performance of a strange instrument (see picture).

The Invisible Man spotted at San Telmo

Loved the atmosphere, it was a huge line of shops extending over a mile both sides. I also caught a seller of flutes, teaching a woman how to play. See the pictures.

The Cemetry at Ricoleta

So got back around 7.pm to the hotel. Tried the local fernet drink mixed with coke. Not to my liking though, so went back to my usual drinks and a good meal.

Teaching the tourist how to play the flute ...

That was a full day, where, I think I really covered plenty of ground. Enjoyed every bit of the history, the culture, the arts and the street folklore.

The next day was all work, but in the evening we made our way to Puerto Madero. This place was beautiful, and amongst the most expensive residential real estates.
We went to a typical Argentinian restaurant, where they served meat and sea food. famous for its Bife, and other cuts, all the team members feasted with Spanish potatoes as sides.
Nice wine too, just forgot to note down the name. Overall a nice and enjoyable dinner.

Did I say, I was done with Tango…. Well well, I have to take it back. My local colleagues took me to a fascinating show ‘Senor Tango’. Truly, I finally realized why Tango is so much talked about. Graceful, performances by over 18 artists captivated me from start to finish.
Simply a show, no one should miss. The place itself was lively, fun and popular.
The show started with 2 white horses dazzling us, and went on to some outstanding performances from Tango solos to group dances. Simply fascinating to say the least.
Well, the show was over 2 hrs, and we got back only past 1 am. But, if I get there again, I would experience it all over again.

Teatro Colon

I guess, all good things will come to an end.

Goodbye Buenos Aires…. Will come again.

Dare to be Different
Dare to Innovate and
Dare to Differentiate

Many concerts in the Chennia musical festival season, thrills you, energises you, makes you feel glad that you made the right choice, amongst many options you had as a choice.

But once in a while there is this one concert or artist that moves you, brings out that soul and empathy in the compositions that take you to a different world. It is rare, but has happened to me a couple of times in the past seasons. Some that I can recollect are concerts by MS Subbhalakshmi and Maharajapuram Santhanam many years back. Also, in recent year I have had that experience once during Aruna Sairam’s concert.

This year, I had that experience again listening to Ranjini & Gayatri’s concerts. Really, it is an experience listening to them, and one really comes out energized, fully satisfied with a feeling that it was a soulful experience.

This time I listened to their two concerts back to back, first at Narada Gana Sabha and the second the next day at the Music Academy, after each of these concerts, I really felt it was a very soulful and beautiful experience. Both concerts were simply divine and thoroughly entertaining.

After such a wonderful experience, I wanted to just introspect for myself, what makes this experience so different, even after attending so many other concerts that are excellent.

I think I did come to some conclusions, which could not only be an interesting read, but also useful to upcoming artists to note, observe and replicate.

First, as a duo, they make sure they complement their skills. Ranjini brings out the softer nuances of a ragam or composition, whereas Gayatri aggressively brings out the improvisations possible. This combination brings out the subtleties and capabilities possible in the composition.

Second, listening to their concerts, one will observe that even the selections of songs are such that, each selection, brings out the best in them, keeps the tempo of the total concert.

In fact each selection brings out the best in each of their styles of singing, without trying to damage or contradict each of their skills or style.

So, one will notice, that if Ranjini is leading the Alapana, Gayatri will not out do her, but instead, take the lead elsewhere in another composition, such as in the RTP. This way both have clear opportunities to excel and lead without competition and apparent comparisons by the audience.

Last but in my opinion the primary reason for the effects their concerts have on the audience is that they Dare to be Different. They improvise and make the concerts tuned to the audience. Let me give you two examples.

When they sing a main composition or RTP, they bring in sweetness coupled with talent for sure, but more importantly they improvise and innovate. For example during their RTP in Janaranjini in the Music Academy concert, they infused and amalgamated into the pallavi Raag Jog from the Hindusthani counterpart, the result of which had a stunning effect.

The output was an outstanding Pallavi, which introduced to the audience the best of both the worlds of Carnatic & Hindusthani music. A neat innovation, which resonated extremely well with the entire audience. It was nothing short of bliss to say the least, as it had the entire audience mesmerized.

Similarly, in the other concert at Narada Gana Sabha, the rendering of the composition in Ragam Suddha Dhanyasi was intensely soulful. This was also because, it had amalgamated traces of the Hindusthani style of singing.

The second example of why their concerts are so differentiated is that their selections of songs are made very carefully with thought and attention. Selected in such a way as to maintain a brisk tempo in their singing as well as interacting very well with the accompanists, all this, making a big difference to the effect it has on the audience.

Best of all they will always end at a high note, mostly with an Abhang where the energy and momentum accelerates as the song proceeds and ends to an astounding peak.

These approaches and carefully designed selections of songs in each of their concerts make the experience to the audience soulful, engaging, and so entertaining that you invariably come out fully energized.

It will do upcoming artists good, to observe their style and adapt the same for themselves.

Hat’s off to Ranjini Gayatri, because they;

Dare to be Different
Dare to Innovate and they…
Dare to Differentiate

Anyway, there is something to be commented here on the concerts that I attended over the last two days. One was during the concert of Priya Sisters, where a young but extremely talented Neyveli Skandasubramaniam played the Mridangam, another where Srimushnam Raja Rao who accompanied the Carnatica Brothers and finally Arun Prakash (Mridangam) and Trichy Murali (Ghatam) who accompanied Ranjini & Gayathri. All of them superb talent at their levels.

What was different I observed was the way Skanaasubramaniam tuned himself with the artist and played so well. In fact, I also think there was a observatin that could be a lesson in is Thani. It was extremely short, sweet and very effective. When he finished, people were longing for more, and possibly even surprised at the shortness of his Thani.

Well, there is something to get out of this, I hate to see people getting up and walking away when the percussionists play their solo’s, and I feel they lack maturity, sensitivity and respect for the art and artists.

But, I observed what Skandasubramaniam brought to light something interesting. By playing just enough to keep the audience interactive, he became effective and wanted, enough to have people craving for more. In fact, I later went to him and said it was too short. Maybe, the time was running out, and he had to shorten his Thani, but the result was very conclusive. People want more, when you give less.

On the other hand the mridangam in the hands of veteran Srimushnam Raja Rao during the concert of Carnatica Brothers at Narada Gana Sabha, was simply sweetness. He made the instrument literally talk. The softness that he could bring out was simply outstanding. Again, to me it is a pity to see people walking away and missing a performance, nothing short of excellence.

TM Krishna in his music academy concert started his concert with a plea and request to the audience, ‘to please not leave the auditorium during the violinist solo or percussionist Thani’.
Did the audience heed? Not to my eyes, still saw quite a few leaving or taking a break. While some of those who heeded, headed to their smartphones possibly to read emails.

However, in the concert of Ranjini & Gayathri at Narada Gana Sabha, the percussion mix was just correct and mixed within the concert, keeping the audience together and applauding the percussionists.

It is at these times, I think Carnatic music needs a change in format. If you take a similar concert in Himdusthani, the tabla player, shows his competence throughout the concert, and his solo’s are spread throughout in 30 sec or so short thani’s. In fact in any concert the expertise of percussionists is well seen during their engagements with the artists, so is there really a need for a solo, when audiences don’t seem to want it?

This is in fact true for violinists too. Is it really needed that they have to show their competence after every raga alapana? Because, one glance around, and I see that every time a violinist starts his solo, people start fidgeting, getting bored, and either talking to each other, sms’ing or reading emails on their phones, I believe it is time to cut their solo’s to just one alapana. This will help preserve the respect of percussionists, as well as have audiences craving for more.

I am sure this remark, will be scorned by purists and traditionalists, but hey… many of them hardly sit for thani’s either, and while it’s nice to bask the concepts of preservation of traditions etc, in the interest of music longevity and to be tuned with the present generations, we need to make a change.

This change needs to come from each and every percussionists, and no appeals be it from the press, the media, the top artists like TM Krishna will help. You percussionists need to Insist on a format that follows something like this;

1. For violinists, solo’s restricted to one alapana and also during the RTP rendition
2. For percussionists, get 30 secs of opportunities over the concert, restrict to about 3 or 4 max

Change can only come if you see the need, you percussionist are a treasured gift to art, make it count, let people respect you. Make them want you.

This year I had a choice between attending U Srinivas Mandolin concert at Music Academy vrs Priya Sisters at Narada Gana Sabha. I guess, my greater inclination to vocal performances made me attend the latter, and thinking back, I am glad I chose this option.

I really enjoyed this concert of theirs. Rarely have I heard of an elaborate RTP on Lalita, which I think is simply moving. I really wish some artists release their CD’s with an elaborate RTP set to this raga. My search soon after, at the CD stalls at the venue did not result in any.

The composition was simply full of sweetness, and subtle improvisations. The pallavi brought out the beautiful nuances and rythmic beauty in the rendering of Ambikai Jagadambikai very melodiously and truly set the evening apart.
Priya Sisters other compositions rendered also included, Aadum Deivam Née Arulvaay, Sukhievaro Rama and Telsithe Mokshana, which I liked.

Well, am glad, I saw them in the light of a good concert, now I can look forward to hearing them more often.