Change in concert artistes this evening at Chamarajpet

A media release from Sree Ramaseva Mandali concerning this evening's concert -

Shri Praveen Godkindhi will not be able to perform in this year's Ramanavami National Music Festival due to the death of his father, hence a Karnatic-Hindustani Jugalbandhi concert by Anil Srinivasan (Piano) and Pandit Prakash Sontakki (Guitar) has been organised...

Tap Non Resident Bangaloreans for funding?

Tapping NRIs to fund the Sri Ramanavmi festivals may be a good idea.

That is a suggestion that a guest speaker at the Founders Day event of Sree Ramaseva Mandali made at the Chamarajpet. Arunachalam said that with many non resident Bangaloreans who are also rasikas of music having links with the rasikas who attend the shows under the Big Tent, it would be nice to tap small donations from each rasika.

Many people in the audience nodded their heads - but Varadaraj and his team will have to make a concerted attempt to tap the NRIs. And also give them something in return.

Clearly, some mandalis are struggling to get funding.

More rain. A venu-veena-violin concert to remember

Saturday's downpour made Sunday a pleasant day - these are mornings when Bangaloreans either have breakfast at their local darshinis ( we checked out the hugely popular one off Ulsoor Lake) or take their cycles out to join a Cycle Sunday event.

By early evening though the grey clouds gathered and we knew showers were in store. For the three mandalis that continue with the music season, a weekend of high-end concerts and unexpected heavy rain strikes the rough note.

When we arrived at Seshadripuram College, the open air ground was in darkness, the pandal set up for the morning Sri Rama Pattabhishekam rituals was soaking heavy and only two dozen senior rasikas were around.

But Tharakaram and his team were not discouraged. The generator got up and going, rasikas were asked to sit in the driveway and the artistes smiled at the drizzle and the music set all afloat.

This was an evening of music by five women -   leader Vani Manjunath on the flute, Prema Vivek on the violin, Shuba Santosh on the veena, Rajini Venkatesh on the mirdangam and Bhagyalakshmi Krishna on the morsing.

The five presented a pleasant evening of music - they had to glance over their shoulder to seek the nods of rasikas - for in front of their eyes were raindrops dripping from the pandal in a dark space.

The five will not forget this concert. As prasadam was distributed to mandali members who could not attend the morning puja, the rain stopped but it was time for the music to end too.

Seetharama was happy. "I have been here for over 40 years…I donate one hundred rupees," he said.

In ten minutes, the concert space was deserted and in darkness. 

Rains. 5000 rasikas. Yesudoss.

We raced through the old market area of Chamarajpet where they can tear a lorry apart in hours and weld on both sides of the pavements. The dark clouds had taken over Bangalore's blue tarpaulin and our auto-driver assured us of good rains.

Outside the wall of Old Fort School, the queue of rasikas snaked to the ticket counter. There were over a hundred, some pulling out tne umbrellas as the drops fell.

Inside the Big Tent, there must have been some 5000 people. or more. At least 300 of them were standing, and a few began to inch closer to the stage and private guards sternly discouraged them.

Yesudoss had started on time - how can he not keep to his dad's dictums even in this day?

The music was rolling as lightning faintly lit up the skies outside the tent. Those who had grabbed tickets outside, came running in, grabbing chairs left at the canteen while Mandali head, Varadaraj and his team scurried for more chairs on this Big Evening.

In this day and age, Yesudoss is still a big draw.

What makes his so attractive?

A music that is frilled by his playback singing experience? Or the wide reach of his cassettes and CDs? Or the sheer depth in the voice?

Yesudoss must have bathed his rasikas with three hours of music on that rainy night.

We had to leave - there were a few dozen rasikas still looking for tickets.

The hosts could have invited them in - the rain was steady.

We headed to Ravindra Kalakshetra off J C Road; streams of rainwater rushed down the incline ( was bangalore rain-water harvesting?). We were in for the final play of a drama fest which honored a great theatreperson, CGK.

Old friend and playwright Pralayan was here, presenting his play which takes off on the Silapaddhikaran epic. 26 artistes, mostly from Pondicherry.

The rain had washed out the open air play plan. The play was held in the lobby. And 200 people, wet and cold sat down to watch it.

Bangalore's dedication.

Easy in kurtas and with backpacks . .

The backpack artistes must be a familiar sight to many. The sort who troop into a concert venue in kurtas and loose trousers/veshtis, have a backpack slung over their shoulders and if they are instrumentalist, the violin packed in a  smart case.

They are at ease on all platforms.

We bumped into a young man who has been seen quite often now in Bangalore's kutcheri circuit - Ramana Balachandhran.

He can sing and play the veena and the mirdangam. So his multi-talents gets him to the centre or on the side depending on what the call is for!

Ramana had just finished a concert at the Seshadripuram College venue for the local mandali. He played the mirdangam.

He is not so sure he will go on to choose playing the veena in the late future, the tells us even though it will give him centre stage.

We wonder if it is because the veena still gets less space on stage.

Yesudoss tells his stories . . .

The man commands a big fan following even in this age. K J Yesudoss does.
And as one rasika in his 70s told me, 'The voice is coarse now but still rooted in the classical."

Yesudoss was at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in Bangalore ( Race Course Road), here to receive a national award instituted by the film star of yesteryears, Saroja Devi who resides in this city, where the daytime temperature is climbing past 33 degrees but the nights are cool at 22 degrees.

We got here a tad late and the auditorium was packed and Yesudoss was speaking. Today, he dwelt on religion and the Ultimate, music and lessons learnt from his dad ("When I was stepping into the film field people suggested to me that I should change my name to get opportunities and when I told my Dad he said if that had to be done I should come back").

Yesudoss shares a lot of anecdotes nowadays when he is at the podium. He is at that stage in his life. He tells them even between songs at a concert.

This morning he was here with his wife.

Just as the event closed, came in actor-politicain Ambarish and his wife, Sumalatha and all the media folks clicked furiously and the hosts also got excitedly around them. The hero of the day was left to be on the side.

Fickle people.

Yesudoss is to perform this evening ( Saturday) at Chamarajpet.

Photo; Vino John

Young talent in Basaweshwaranagar

The season of music in Bangalore provides space for young artistes. Many make the best of it.

Vani Kala Kendra has slots - 30mins to 45mins - for young artistes. Since it runs an active arts program in its schools in Bangalore pocking out the bright talents and scheduling them at Sri Ramanavami time is easy for curator Keshav.

But we also invite other artistes, says Keshav.

On Friday evening as the sun went down, two brothers -  Dattareya, a student of flutist Pravin Gokhindi and Nandakishore on the harmonium, with two tabla  accompanists gave a crisp concert. ( Photo on top)

The audience was small - people were streaming in for the big devotional concert of Vishwanath Nakod and Samamithra Sharma. ( second photo)

- Photos by Vino John