Talent Show Report

They came, they sang and conquered... this is no description of a martial victory but of a triumph of a different kind! Raga Sudha Hall in Luz, Chennai was the venue for Carnatica’s Anniversary celebrations on Sept. 8th and gurus, sishyas and parents felt they were seven feet tall at the end of the programme. You could hardly talk of age, for when other children were lisping and gurgling these kids must have taken to music as ducks take to water. It surely was a big day for Shashikiran, Sowmya and the teachers of music at Carnatica as they proudly presented the students of diverse ages and varied backgrounds with one thing in common- a passion for music.

Carnatica’s Kreativ 2003 had thrown up a lot of talent of a very high order and this was the time to showcase it. It was not just to get more bouquets for Carnatica but an impetus to the youngsters to do more. For parents it was one unmatched experience and it is probably the forerunner of things to come. So you had "performing artistes" at the age of eight or thereabouts! And the confidence, gnanam and use of the voice to advantage gave them an edge over the usual crop of students. Lengthy alapanas, swaras and rendition often without the aid of a notebook spoke of maturity in young minds.

Group singing by the Talent Hub of Carnatica was a pleasant experience with the coming together of many voices in unison. So many students [nearly 300] and not enough time, says Shashikiran and the plan is to have it once a month and encourage them to go on stage and perform.

Meet some of the proud students:

Special talent is the description that fits Aditya best. Shashikiran introduced him as a singer who had learnt just two lines of "Vatapi Ganapatim" the previous day and after listening to the rest just once, young Aditya took off on his musical journey with the confidence and grace of a seasoned singer, and that too without any notebook to aid him. Anupriya and Savika rendered a piece from Divya Prabandham while Swetha, who has been featured on Sun TV sang a song in raga Sindhu Bhairavi.

Harini Sridhar, a child prodigy, is another performing artiste. A student of Meenakshi College, Harini can be classified as Special Talent! So adept is she at the keyboard, Harini got exemption from other levels and went straight to 8th grade at Trinity College of Music, London. Lakshmi Bharati and Bhuvaneswari, two software professionals gave a taste of their talent with a bhajan and a song connected with the seven swaras from the world of films. Carnatica’s Talent Hub members sang the well-loved "Jagadanandakaraka". Rangarajan, Kiran and Anirudh, among others rendered it to the delight of the audience. Anamika and Apoorva sang "Ganapathiye" with precision and it was the turn of Sunil Gargeyan who had his debut at Mylapore Fine Arts to take the floor with a kriti of Thyagaraja in raga Srutiranjani.

The show-stealer was Sanjay from Carnatica, Bangalore who carried all his honours lightly. His offering was “Ninnu nera namminanu” with the alapana and swarakalpanas done very professionally. Sanjay has been a prize winner in all contests. Subhiksha Rangarajan, daughter of vocalist Lakshmi Rangarajan and Karthik, a violinist (disciple of M. S. Gopalakrishnan) deserve special mention. Trichy Pradeep, with a maturity that is unbelievable for his years made a mark. He is a descendant of the Alathur parampara. Kalpalatika, Lavanya Sampath... the list goes on. So much raw talent waiting to be tapped and now there is no one to stop them from reaching the top. It was a proud moment for Carnatica and for those of us who were there, who shared it in full measure.

Raganubhava, Sept. 9th

On September 9th, there was a special Raganubhava session featuring Shriranjani, Abhogi & Jayamanohari, three allied ragas that are "krama varjya janya" ragams of Kharaharapriya. Following Carnatica's popular and tested format, a selection of vintage recordings of old masters singing krithis in these ragas was played. This was followed by technical discussions and appreciation of the finer points of these ragas, chaired by eminent musicologist Dr. V. V. Srivatsa. Other participants included Chitravina Ravikiran, Sriram Parasuram and V. Subramanyam. The evening was rounded off with a fine concert by S. Sowmya featuring krithis in the three ragams. Supported ably by R. K. Shriramkumar (Violin) and Sathish Kumar (Mridangam), Sowmya in her chaste, classical style rendered krithis such as "Sabhapathikku Veru Deivam", "Brochevarevare" and "Nee Bhakthi Bhagyasudha" followed by a scholarly pallavi in Shriranjani.

Valedictory Function, Sept. 10th

As Carnatica steps into its seventh year, it felt good to look back at the struggle, perseverance and determination not to stop until the goal was attained. Starting in a small way, Carnatica hit the headlines with the CD-ROM “Nadopasana”, which won the Intel award. The Carnatica Archival Centre followed and as the logical culmination of uniting tradition and technology, the web portal carnatica.com was born.

A number of people have been the life support for Carnatica and the last day of the anniversary celebrations was an occassion to thank and honour them. There were other reasons to celebrate too: Carnatica Gurukulam & Voice Management Centres were launched at Anna Nagar, Besant Nagar, Perambur and Velachery. The Carnatica School Music project at Olcott Memorial School was set up.

The chief guest was Sri. Madan, the well known cartoonist and journalist, known for writing the script for “Anbe Sivam”. The president for the evening was Sri. T. V. Venkataraman (IAS) and Sri. V. V. Sundaram felicitated the awardees. Sri. Mohan Parasaran, chairman of Carnatica Archival Centre welcomed the gathering while Smt. Saroja Parasaran lit the kuthuvilakku. The felicitations began with an invocation by Trichy Pradip who has already made a mark as a vocalist.

The Awardees

"Sri. Murali of Kovai Shri Krishna Sweets has been one of the steadfast supporters of Carnatica. His help and friendship linger in our minds. A paragon of simplicity, he is set to make other lives sweeter and for such pleasant gestures he deserves every commendation", said Sri. Parasaran. If the music season in Chennai makes news in India, the Cleveland Thyagaraja Festival is a crowd-puller in the US. The person behind it is Sri. V. V. Sundaram, who has run the festival over the last 26 years. Constructive criticism has been the norm for Sri. K. S. Mahadevan, art critic and writer who was was with the Indian Express. It is said that Sri. Mahadevan was never vituperative in his criticism and often called the artiste to point out faults and suggest methods of improvement. Sri. S. V. Krishnan of Nada Inbam has been a pillar of strength for Carnatica and his help in organizing programmes was appreciated. Innovation and making the best use of technology has been the forte of Radel Electronics and Sri. Raj Narayan was the awardee at the function. The sruti box, talam meter and tambura are some of the electronic marvels that aid in the artiste’s performance. Toronto Venkataraman is the spirit behind the Toronto trust and sabha and has been another active supporter and partner of Carnatica.

T. M. Krishna’s concert that followed was a fitting finale to the occasion. Supported by R. K. Shriramkumar and K. Arun Prakash, Krishna presented an entertaining concert in his usual lively manner, with several popular and melodious numbers.

Geetha Iyengar.

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