I attach a copy of the general invitation that my Father has passed on , to all his friends .

Dear Friends,

We Request you to join us for an evening of celebrations on July 2nd at my friend Shyam Kalyans place near Valluvarkattam. ( No 18 , Old 22 , Second cross street , Lake Area Nungambakkam )
Time 4 pm onwards for Light snacks – continuing with a Hindusthani Harmonium recital by Ravindra Katoti of Bangalore .

It has been a long journey with My family’s tryst with disability . All along , since 1998 , when we took some outlandish decisions to grapple with the issue , we have been supported by a whole bunch of Teachers , Educators , and Friends . This  meeting is to acknowledge some great contributions by a wonderful set of people . As well as to the grit and determination of My Son Kedar who completed his 10th Standard Board Exams in style.
The instrument of the evening is not what a die hard Carnatic enthusiast will go wild about . The views about this humble reed instrument is fairly well documented .
But like my son’s disability which is very simply defined as” a willing mind in an unwilling body “, We have chosen Ravindra Katoti and his Harmonium for a very similar experience which exists with the practice of that Art . Humble as it is ,THe Harmonium takes on a wonderful hue, in the hands of Katoti.
He is such a fascinating artist,, when given the full space of the three hour format . One can google and find a lot of his clips on Youtube .
He is eloquent , very poetic , and articulate too .We guarantee that it will be a fascinating evening .

Looking forward to see you . For the folks overseas , We may podacst the event live . Working on that .Will let you know in a couple of days time.
Cheers
Cool

Born : Februvary 4, 1922

Died: Januvary 24, 2011

I was very sad day-before yesterday, when i saw Bhimsen joshi’s news about death on the news channels. Infact, I could not believe that such a genius is no more.  I have heard him with Balamuralikrishna(Carnatic vocalist)  and Ust Rashid khan. He was a favourite of mine.

Here is a documentary (Video) about Bhimsen Joshi . He sings Miya Malhar very marvellously in the video.

http://www.mediafire.com/file/zp977485xp8rzor/Bhimsen%20Joshi%20documentry.zip

And a List of Ragas rendered by him

I was surprised to see that he uses a swarmandle .

He started with Yaman Kalyan. It was Marvellous.

Hope you like it:

http://www.mediafire.com/file/4iemktv5dqzx6jh/Pandit%20Jaganath-Shennai%20Recital.mp3

I will keep posting the concert reviews

Regards,

Kedar

Sorry for not writting these days as i had to study for my september exam.

Today, I am going to write about the differences between Raga DarbariKanada and Kanada in Carnatic music .

We, rasikas think that Darbarikanada and Kanada are the same. But Oneday I felt that they were  slightly different.

In DarbariKanada, It is the same style of singing of North India.

Darbari kanada goes like this.-

Chandrachooda by Neyveli

http://www.mediafire.com/file/ejicrozk603ahza/Chandrachooda%20%28%20%20Kannada..%20Purandara%20Dasa%20%29%20%20%20Darbari%20Kanada%20%20%20Neyveli.mp3

Varuvai Varuvai by Madurai T.N Seshagopalan-http://www.mediafire.com/?7qrd6a71xclyfhi

While Kanada goes like …..

http://www.mediafire.com/file/yodk1hburbbgmf2/Kanada-Sample.mp3

Another peice from a tamil song

http://www.mediafire.com/?p0bqgbn9m5iwwu1

MD Ramanathan(Sri Narada nada)-http://www.mediafire.com/?q953g8os13wog4v

The swaras are:

Kanada-http://www.mediafire.com/file/9325ayupmu41r9l/kanada_arohanam_avarohanam.mp3

DarbariKanada-http://www.mediafire.com/file/uwwie349y4scx82/darbari_kanada_arohanam_avarohanam.mp3

I am going to write about one famous ghazal which is in the raga darbari kannada.

Anokha Ladla a ghazal by Tina Sani .

I, Liked this ghazal. It is a poetic song and has no repetition of words and  The way which she has sung has no words to tell.

The words have some meaning in it and I am unable to figure out what. Please tell if you know.

http://www.mediafire.com/?jttzgdqznmi

Listen to the last 30 seconds and you will undertand Raga Darbari cannot be easlily sung.

Kedar

Today i am going to write about a raga which has been my favourite of all times

Miya Malhar, the ragas of rains is a very unique raga when compared to other ragas. When the rains come, one can feel the beauty of the raga. When there is a heavy rain and the clouds make a sound, It is so nice to here the raga.  One feel calm when  hearing the raga. The birds fly and the breeze comes in and makes the place cool. The  raga matches the Rain. It is a deep raga and cannot come out of it if once indulged in it. The farmers feel happy when the rains comes and gives water to the fields. It is wonderful to see their joy . When Miya Malhar is Heard, It is like Tansen coming and giving the rains to us.

Here are songs by great maestros:

Kanakpur-http://www.mediafire.com/?cjodqzyktkw

Mehdi hassan-http://www.mediafire.com/?o2qmy12nzmn

Amanat Ali-http://www.mediafire.com/?4sf6sff20gh5901

I was just listening to MM Iyer’s RTP IN Lathangi and I felt that there is a mixture of Kalyani and Varali coming. I just have a doubt ,

a) When does Kalyani come, In arohanam or in Avrohanam?

b) Is Lathangi close to  Poorvi Kalyani or is there a slight relationship  in the swaras?

Here Is Madurai Mani Iyer’s RTP,

http://www.mediafire.com/file/kzhzq4kdwmr/Lathangi….MM Iyer.mp3

He sings the swaras with such speed that i cannot find out when is Varalli and When is Kalyani

Kedar