Dull stages, poor design at venues

Mandalis in Bangalore give much thought to curating their festivals; making sure they can host the best and talented.

But few give the same attention to the design and lighting of the venue and the stage.

At Seshadripuram ( photo above), the contractor's men had done a standard job - stringed dozens of small illuminations on the roof of the stage and focussed some glaring floodlights on the puja and artistes stage area.

With some thought and design, and a few additional lights, the stage zone can be made appealing and also highlight the artistes on stage.

At Koramangala, the concert space is depressing - the tube lights bathing the hall at Indian Heritage Centre in the 6th Block create a dull sight. The stage is simple but the artistes are in darkness.

Outside, a few strands of illumination hang from the walls. The world does not know a music fest is on here; there are no signboards at the gate.

Mandali hosts says funds crunch limit their ambitions. Design and intent and not just funds help to create attractive venues and stages for arts events.

And this is important.

Opening evening at Seshadripuram; nadaswaram as always!

We headed to Seshadripuram on April 15 evening - the day of Sri Ramanavami.

It was sultry and people said Bangalore was sizzling at 39 degrees and the temperature was bound to rise further.

At the school-college campus where the local mandali was to launch its music festival, three dozen people wore dull looks - there was hardly any breeze and the stillness was hard.

Thankfully, the formal inauguration of the fest - by  Dr. M R V Prasad, a well known physician and vocalist who also heads the Bangalore Gayana Samaj - was short and crisp.

Host Tarakaram said that though nadaswaram music drew a small audience it was his mandali's tradition to open every fest with a nadaswaram concert.

So this Friday evening, we had from Trichy, Tamil Nadu, senior vidwan S. Ramachandran ( nadaswaram), Kulithalai S. Subbarayan, M N R Chinnaraja (special Tavil) and J. Swaminathan.

The artistes took off minutes after they sat on stage and it was indeed a glorious recital town audience of about 300 plus people.

T. M. Krishna in Bangalore; two concerts this weekend

For fans of vocalist T. M. Krishna, there are back to back concerts this weekend in Bangalore.

Krishna, who is singing on Friday evening for a Ramanavami concert in Mylapore, Chennai will perform at the Seshadripuram mandali on Saturday evening ( 6.30 p.m.) and for the Sree Ramaseva Mandali at Chamarajpet on Sunday evening ( 6.30 p.m., ticketed recital).

Also a time for artistes to catch up . . .

The season of music in Bangalore and around is indeed a festival. It is a time when artistes get the opportunity to perform every other evening and with an array of talents.

And opens windows to catch up too.

On our way back from the Mysore soiree, we get to know two Bangalore-based artistes better. 

Violinist Ganesh Kumar has had two teaching stints in Singapore - with two arts organizations on the island nation. The one with SIFAS, says Kumar as we dine on 'set dosas' and roti-curry at a wayside diner, was good. The other with another arts body was hell. So he scurried back to Bangalore for good.

Kumar says he is now 'fifty-fifty' in his career - with teaching music and performing. "There are good concert opportunities so I prefer to be ready for them," he says.

Percussionist veteran Anoor and Halambi, ghatam artiste talk about the lessening invites from film studios for musicians today and hence, the loss of renumeration from one stream. "It's all digitized and tech-focussed so they don't need musicians," says Anoor.

Music in Mysore . . .

A bunch of artistes were to perform in Mysore. For Sri Ramanavami. And they invited us to join them one recent evening.

So we made the drive, a not-so-smooth one - it takes ages to get outside Bangalore, ages to bypass the new neighborhoods and then, a highway that runs through small towns that are growing - like Ramnagaram and Mandya - is not the best road for people who want to a quick and smooth ride.

Mysore is chaotic today. And is still expanding. In the old part of town, the Sri Ramaseva Mandali Charitable Trust of Mysore North has been hosting the seasonal music fest for 21 years. At a wedding hall next to a temple in V V Mohalla.

The fest opened with M S Sheela's concert on April 8. We were here when Papanasam Ashok Ramani was to sing. With him were Anoor Ananthakrishna Sarma ( mridangam), N N Ganesh Kumar on the violin and Bhargava Halambi on ghatam - the last three from Bangalore.

People stroll in and out, from the temple while some 80 to 100 people sit through concerts here - the venue may not offer a great ambience but provides rasikas some good music.

The fest ends on April 17 with the honoring of veteran artiste Neela Ramgopal and her concert.

The team led by president Sudha Ramprasad manages this fest and artistes from Chennai a regulars here.

Contact - 2510974.

Ramana on the veena . . .

At Sri Rama Seva Samithi, Sriramapuram, Bangalore on April 10 evening -Ramana Balachandhran on the veena, on the mridangam is B.S. Prashanth

and on the ghatam Phanindra Bhaskar.

A stage for Bangalore's young talent

N S Abhishek is singing on stage. Alongside him are musicians of his age - Anirudh Bharadwaj on violin, Nagendraprasad on mridangam and Ganesh Murthy on ghatam. (photo below)

We are at Vani Kala Kendra's festival venue, a school campus in Basaweshwaranagar.

Here, every evening the curator of this fest, Keshav allots 45minutes to a snappy concert by youngsters.

The recitals are attended by a handful of people, mostly family and friends of the artistes on stage. But for the artistes performing at the Vani stage, the recital adds weight to their biodata. It can make an impression on other festival hosts. And it can encourage the talents.

Keshav says he draws up his list for the Sri Ramanavami season over the year; most artistes are alumni of the Vani group of schools where the arts is given much space and time.

Others too apply and get a nod.