I was so helplessly busy with the non-musical parts of life (read corporate drudgery) but every now and then a snippet of Ranjani-Gayatri’s Fort High School concert would show up in my social media feed and I would sigh in awe. The ocean of people that show up to the concert every year – at least 90% of the audience doesn’t even get a good view of the artistes on stage but yet they commit to show up in person, to experience the brilliant, divine music as and when it happens.
Ranjani-Gayatri’s Rasa by RaGa phenomenon swept over a houseful Chowdiah Memorial Hall with music like never heard before. I can’t believe I was attending a second concert of the same tour – this was such a completely different experience!
I don’t know if it was a nod to that voncert when she said “Suprabhatam”, as the Ranjani-Gayatri concert began with my favourite Sadaachaleshwaram in the beautiful Bhoopalam. How Dikshitar makes the raga flow first in those slow evocative phrases and then packs that madhyama kala punch. Swarams flowed to highlight both these beauties, the Sadaa- and the Girijaamoham! This was followed by yet another exquisite kriti in Begada, Vaa Muruga Vaa. Those delightful rolling sangathis!!
Continue reading “Achala Sangeetham – 30 December 2023”
My mind, which has a lot of things to say all the time, and is forever distracted, even while attending concerts, says only this at a Ranjani-Gayatri concert – “Wow”. “How Beautiful”. “What a marvel”. And it stays constantly distracted, but only by the present moment!
Continue reading “Gaana Amudha Paanam – 24 December 2022”
Repetition. Repetition.
Such a simple yet powerful device. The joy of repetition was revealed in Ranjani-Gayatri’s first piece itself – the Hindolam varnam by TM Thyagarajan – how the second speed shows the same lines in a totally different colour, varnam! And what a fun charanam! The second piece was the ever-beloved Janaranjaka “Paahim Sri Rajarajeswari” With those fire-cracker fast swarams after some rounds of majestic slow ones.
Notes on Ra-Ga 