One brilliant Concert..

I am at a loss of words to describe the feeling I get when I listen to Yanni. Only this time I was in a Yanni Voices - live Concert. And OMG what a show it was! :)
I've been following Yanni's tours on his website right from the beginning of this year and was super excited when I knew about his concert in NYC-NJ. And to make things perfect I got a pretty good deal on the tickets! So there I was driving down 240 miles to Atlantic City just to listen to Yanni and ofcourse it turned out to be one of the best concerts ever!
I was a little skeptical that it might be wierd listening to voices in an instrumental piece you've grown up listening to. Thankfully, it wasn't true! Most of the songs were really good with the voices. They blended in perfectly with the music. But for some songs, the voices kinda overshadowed the instruments. But even then, I found it thoroughly enjoyable. I had goose bumps right from the time I walked into the hall, and not to forget a small tear of joy.
But what will remain unforgettable about this concert was the finale. The singers crooned "Niki Nana" and the energy of the song got translated to the crowd. People were cheering loudly and when the whole ensemble of singers and the instrumentalists on stage gathered together, people thought it was the last song and gave a standing ovation. While few started to descend out of the hall, our man started playing Acroyali/standing in motion immediately followed by Nostalgia. The crowd went hysteric and cheered like they would lose their lives if they didn't. Yanni came up to the mic after the song and yelled .. "Don't you guys waana go home"? When everyone yelled back a strong Noooo.. he just said "Neither do we. This one's the storm". By the time he said that, the crowd was a frenzy and as for me I had goose bumps all over. It was simply PERFECT and made me happy that a long-cherished dream of going to a Yanni - Live concert was finally fulfilled.

Kutcheri after aeons

After what seems like years, I managed to attend a full fledged kutcheri here in the US. I can't believe this is my first one in my 5 year stint in this country. :O
Neyveli Santhanagopalan is an excellent singer and an amazing Guru. Ever since I saw his program Sa Ri Ga Ma Pa on Jaya TV, I've wanted to be under his tutelage. In fact if things had not worked out for me in the USA (my P.S and PhD n stuff..), I had plans of settling down in Chennai and becoming his student. He has an in-depth knowledge of carnatic music, and he seems to make sure his students know what they are doing when they singing a Krithi. In the show, he always explains to his students (and the audience) the meaning of the song implying indirectly where there should be more bhavam and Bhakthi. He also tells them the structure and intricracies of the ragam they are singing.. where the gamakas are beautiful.. so on and so forth.
In yesterday's concert, he was his usual self.. informal and very interactive with the audience. He had apparently promised a "jolly" concert in the beginning and that was how it turned out to be. He had varali (Kaa vaa vaa), Ranjani (Dun Marga cha ra), Deva Gandhari (Ksheera Sagara Sayana), RTP in Nalinakanthi (Nalinakanthi - Durbari kanada - Sahana) in his booty.
For me, the very feeling of listening to a cutcheri after such a long time, and that too with highly musically inclined company was just blissful! :) Reminded me that I should not lose touch with carnatic music/singing and forget the treasure that was once such an important part of my childhood.
Awaiting the next kutcheri - Sowmya on May 2nd.

Within Attraction

I am yet to find the perfect superlative to describe the feeling I get every single time I listen to this song. I just absolutely loveeee this composition. It's sumthing I've grown up with. I can't remember ever studying for an examination without this song, and infact the whole album "Yanni -Live at the Acropolis" crooning away in the background. This composition especially is the perfectttt piece to listen to.. when ur stressed out..if you need inspiration in life.. when theres a hugee challenge ahead of you and ur lacking self confidence.. or when ur down in the dumps. I would have listened to this piece I don't know.. some N million times... and yet EVERYY single time.. I'm left speechless. I get goose bumps.. and there is always that small tear in the corner of my eye. It's like a magic potion that fills my heart instantaneously. Its simply amazing what the sound of different instruments in unison does to me. Yanni is one of the best musicians I've listened to who makes awesome compositions with 7 beats, unlike the traditional 4 or 8 beats in Indian music. I honestly owe a lott of my emotions and memories to Yanni's music. Long live composers like these that make music that touches you.. lets just say direct dil se!! Here's the link to the video for those of you that haven't seen it. Enjoyy the violin duel between Karen Briggs and Shardad Rohani!





WOW!

Nenjukkul Peidhidum Maamazhai...

I'm not a big fan of Harris Jayaraj. His tunes seem too cliched. But this song from Varanam Ayiram.. I seem to love it. I don't know whether its Hariharan's magic or the very mood I was in when I listened to this song for the first time. Either ways, this song always gives me a light-hearted feeling.. like Im floating in air. I'm totally reminded of the crisp fall morning 3 weekends back. Early morning.. all set to drive down on my own for 4 hours. Beautiful day. Me, myself and I driving down to DC. Thoughts of a prospective Georgetown trip and other ways to effectively enjoy my time. A thought that the weekend is gonna be great with P and K while still enjoying the drive on my own! :) And this song crooning loudly in my car while I smile on in anticipation of the weekend ahead. A true reminder of a good life!

Music and memories..

Quite unusually, its a feeling of elation (while I am actually in the lab). And since happiness and lab dont quite go together always, I really want to capture this mood and have it frozen in time. Its just beautiful memories....

My room in my house. A nice bright saturday afternoon. 3:30 pm. Curtains pulled to the sides of the 4 windows. Sea breeze at its best while the fan runs noiselessly. Hot tea with some nice snack, pakodas usually. Lachcha with amma about everything trivial and important while we wait for paatu maami. Sooner or later she comes. I lay down the mat... actually calling it 'paai' gives the effect much better than 'mat', while amma and mami talk about health and neighbours. I wait for them to finish while the electronic tambura sounds in the background. I mentally plan up what I waana sing in class today. We start off.. a varnam, a small keerthanai, and then I tell mami - 'marivere'. She starts off with shanmukhapriya.. tries to teach me some small alapanai, and then we get to the song. I thoroughly enjoy the way I sound and the way the song turns out. Sheer bliss as the sangathis all turn out right. Clear indication that I have been singing very regularly. Kalpana swarams at the end of the song. Mami telling me...."Hum panninde irukkanum. Appo daan varum". In between amma brings sugarless coffee for mami. While she takes time to drink it, I think of the next song. A short but peppy one. And then we go on to the new song that I am learning at the moment. Mami writes it down and then teaches me the song. And by the time I finish its a little after 5.

Blissful days those were. A nice musical childhood it was. Wish I could get back to those days or atleast get back to the habit of singing my heart out. No care, no inhibitions, no matter how I sound. Just singing for myself with the faith that it reaches out to Him. I guess sometime I SHOULD get back to the hobby that was once a hugeee part of my childhood. Miss it terribly!