G. Ravikiran muses on his Ramanavami music experiences . . .

As the Ramanavami Season slips into a Bangalore that seems to be a tad hot as it always is before the monsoon, Carnatic vocalist G Ravikiran muses on this Season.

Featured below are his thoughts -

A typical “Bangalore” overcast sky, high possibility of rain, overcrowded BMTC buses…nothing stopped me from attending that concert of KVN’s in 1995 and I am still happy I didn’t miss it.

As the concert progressed to the main raga Khamas it started pouring and we all scrambled up to the dias. Sitting less than three feet away the master was weaving swara patterns for “Seethapathe Naa pai..” (Brochevarevarura) with gay abandon – it was just KVN and Khamas – time stood still!!

This is the earliest memory I have about the Seshadripuram College grounds which hosts the Rama Navami concerts year after year.

The open air, the light breeze, the rain which sometimes plays spoil sport, the ‘chat vendor’ near the park opposite to the venue…it all makes for one heck of a place to enjoy the concerts.

It was here that, as young students of music, we could hear the doyens of Carnatic music with the added advantage that there were no tickets and one could sit anywhere in the open air venue and savor the choicest that the maestros would serve!!!

It was here that I first heard Sri Tiruvengadu Jayaraman sing as a replacement to another musician and realised what a phenomenal artist he was!!!

On another occasion, Sri Nedunuri Krishnamurthy sang a most elaborate Dhanyasi and threw open the choice of kriti to the audience and there were requests galore – it took almost 5 to 10 minutes before he picked Shyama Sundaranga!!! 

My debut performance at the Seshadripuram College was in 2001 and it was indeed a special moment for me to sing on the very stage that was a part of my growning up listening to great music. 

This year, I perform there on the 19^th of April and I can already feel the excitement growing in me.

<< If you have had some great experiences of this Season please mail them to - kutcheribuzz@gmail.com. Good stories will be posted on this Blog.

Three mandalis launch music festivals today

From today, the day the community celebrate the festival of Ugadi Bangalore and the rest of Karnataka will enjoy the sounds of classical music.
The season leads to the celebration of Sri Ramanavami and classical music is very much a part of it.

So, this evening three mandalis in Bangalore launch their music festivals - Sri Rama Seva Bhakta Mandali, the Vyalikaval Residents Association's mandali in a quiet corner of the city and the high profile fest of Sri Vani Kala Kendra.

Sri Ramanavami Music Fest Guide 2014

The annual Sri Ramanavami Music Fest Guide from KutcheriBuzz for 2014 is on its way. It should be out for circulation at the 8 venues by April 7.

We launched this simple Guide last year and it received a warm response from rasikas. We have kept it simple this year too - listing concerts of all leading artistes at 8 venues.

Besides the printed copy, we hope to have the utility online too.

8 venues for good music

So where will we be this season in Bangalore?

At the Sri Ramaseva Mandali in Chamarajpet,
Sri Rama Seva Bhakta Mandali,
Sri Jayarama Seva Mandali in Jaya Nagar,
Sri Ramaseva Mandali at Koramangala,
the fest hosted by the Vyalikaval Extn Association in the area,
at the fest of Sri Rajarajeswari Nagar by its Cultural Association,
at the Sree Seshadripuram Ramaseva Samithi of that area and
at Sri Vani Kala Kendra campus in Basaveshwara Nagar.

Are there any other great music venues this season? Do let us know. Mail to - kutcheribuzz@gmail.com

Welcome to Festival 2014

So here we are with the 2014 edition of the colourful music festivals that make Bangalore what it is at this time of the year.

The music concerts for the Sri Ramanavami season.

Over the years, these festivals have become bigger, brighter and engaging for the organisers, the artistes and the rasikas.

And so since 2012, we at KutcheriBuzz ( www.kutcheribuzz.com) have also begun to report on the season closely.

And we will do the same this time around; share the stories of the concerts, the artistes and all that goes around us at each venue, post pictures of yours and the ones we take, alert you to some useful info and the like . . .

We also plan to enrich the coverage with short video clips on YouTube, get the buzz on the KutcheriBuzz FaceBook page ( https://www.facebook.com/kutcheribuzz?ref=hl ) and work the Twitter handle too.

To make this Blog a wow one, we invite you too to be part of it; share a few lines on what you see around you, share a great informal photo too . . . and do more.

Our contacts - 044-24994599. Em ail - kutcheribuzz@gmail.com