Charulatha Mani

  Dear friends, You may be wondering why this hiatus from blogging for dear Charu, but I assure you that I'm fine, in the pink of health, and just back to work after a most memorable vacation in Western and South Western Australia with my family. My concert at Sydney on May 23rd was well attended by Srilankans and South Indians alike. It was an Isai Payanam concert where I outlined ragas like Hamsadhwani, Dwijavanti, Sahana, Maand, Sindhubhairavi, Pantuvarali and others highlighting their classical and film features much to everyones delight. I had plenty of requests and the evening was long and exciting with lots of interaction with the crowd. The crowd consisted of young students and older seasoned rasikas. The day after the concert I did sight-seeing of Sydney - Darling Harbour, Centre Point tower, Opera House etc. Great fun. Wound up for the day by having dinner at a family friend's residence. The concert was arranged by Sri Karpaga Vinayakar Temple, Homebush, Sydney, Austr...

It was a poolside dinner at Le Royal Meridien, and the guests included some of the most prominent persons in Chennai, including Smt. Aruna Sairam, Sri Narayanan of Seventh Channel, Madan Bob, A.R. Raihanah among others. The party was hosted by Mr. Ravishankar of Bharani Minerals as a thank you gesture for the AR Rahman Salute concert. I had the rare honour of performing unplugged some of the melodious songs of AR Rahman before Smt. Aruna Sairam and Mr. Sairam. They said they loved it, and Aruna amma said " Hai Raama " in Pantuvarali is one of her favourites from the film Rangeela . It was a nice breezy evening and the Mouna Ragam orchestra had much to offer, with Srimathumitha singing " Porale Ponnuthayee " and " Idhu Varai " soulfully. Aruna Sairamji has heard my Classical music and all my rasikas know by now that I am greatly inspired by her music and persona, but I shall not forget this day when she sat back and enjoyed my film music offering as well.

On 4th April, Kamarajar Arangam was packed to capacity. The occassion was a celebration of ARR's victories in the world of music. Various popular singers presented ARR's best songs. I had the honour of presenting "Maduraikku Pogathedi" from Azhagiya Tamizh Magan, a Vijay starrer (a prelude to "En Ucchi Mandaila!!). ARR's sister Raihanah was at the helm of affairs, meticulous in co-ordination. Well organised show. The back-stage was a fun place what with singers including Mano sir, myself, Prasanna, Velmurugan, Anantu, Ganga, and others jiving with the music. ARR rocks!!

On March 28th, it was an evening to Tamizh compositions from Tevaram, to Divyaprabandam, Muthuthandavar, Arunachala Kavi, Gopalakrishna Bharati to Bharatiar and Bharatidasan, and finally Arunagirinathar. The highlights of the evening were Sabapathikku (Abhogi), Aadikondar (Mayamalavagowla), Enneramum (Poorvikalyani, Syama Sastri), Eppadi Manam (Huseni), among others. The Vani Mahal auditorium was full, and rasikas were receptive. I presented each piece preceded by a short introduction to the meaning and musical speciality of the item. Listen to MP3 clips of the concert: 01 Varnam - Charukesi - Lalgudi Jayaraman 02 Varanamukha - Hamsadhwani - Kotiswara Iyer 03 Thodudaiya - Gambhiranattai - Sambandhar thevaram 04 Sabhapatiku - Abhogi - Gopalakrishna Bharathi 05 Aadikondar - Mayamalavagaula - Muthuthandavar 06 Eppadimanam - Huseni - Arunachala Kavi   07 Enneramum - Purvikalyani - Shyama Shastri   08 Alaipayude - Kaanada - Oothukaadu Venkatasubbaiyer   09 Yaro ivar yaro - Bhairavi - Arunac...

I sang at the old and well-known Sri Rajagopala Swami Temple, Mannargudi a week ago, and was charmed by the temple's freshness despite being centuries old, the Sri Rajagopala shrine where He stands majestically flanked by Rukmini and Satyabhama, and the little vigraha of Santanagopalakrishnan (depicting "padaaravindena mukhaaravindam, mukharavindena viniveshayantam...", i.e putting the toe of his foot into his mouth as a child lying on the banyan leaf.) The godess Shenbagavalli thaayaar also known as Hemambujavalli is Mahalakshmi rupa. The concert's highlight pieces were Santanagopalakrishnam in Khamas, Mohanarama in Mohanam, Sobillu Saptaswara, Bantureeti, and Thirupaavai.

It was the auspicious occasion of Sri Rama Navami, the birth of Lord Sri Ramachandra. I performed at Sringeri Bharati Vidyashram, the Sharadambal Temple at T. Nagar for this occasion. The pieces I sang were: Jaya Jaya - Nattai (Purandaradasa) Saraseeruhasana - Nattai Manavinala kincharadhate - Nalinakanti Ra Rama - Asaveri Thamarai Poo Mevum - Saraswati Brocheva - Khamas Intha Sowkhya - Kapi Narahari Deva - Yamunakalyani Nenana Mein Siyaram - Lalith - Tulsi Bhajan Sangeeta Rasike - Saranga Thillana - Maand Mangalam. This was followed by special darshan and puja, a memorable concert. I was accompanied by B Anantakrishnan on the violin, S. J. Arjun Ganesh on Mridangam and Sundar on Morsing.

It was a two and a half hour concert for Rajalakshmi Fine Arts at GKNM Hopital Audi, Coimbatore, on 7th March.   Myself, Anantakrishnan(violin) and Tirunageswaram Manikandan (mridangam) took stage and the concert pieces were: 1. Varnam - Abhogi 2. Mahaganapatim - Nattai 3. Brova Barama - Bahudari (raga, swaras) Listen to MP3 clip   4. Naan Oru Vilaiyattu - Navarasakanada 5. Akhilandeswari ( preceded by sloka) - Dwijavanti (swaras) Listen to MP3 clip   6. Srinivasa - Hamsanandi (raga, niraval, swaras) Listen to MP3 clip   7. Samanamevaru - Kharaharapriya (raga, niraval, swaras) Listen to MP3 clip   8. Koovi Azhaikka - Sindhubhairavi 9. Viruttam - Ragamalika (Varali, Kapi, Valaji) 10. Koovi Azhaithaal - Valaji 11. Abhang - Brindavani 12. Thillana - Madhuvanti Do you like the list?