Another Hill temple visit - 29th Sep'07 Appur hills near Sriperumbudur

It was a wonderful experience going to Aapur Hills for a dharshan of Lord Venkatesa. Infact it is on the Singaperumal koil to Sriperumbudur road just 20 kms before Sriperumbudur. You need to claim around 500 steps to see this temple. What a greenary you see in this hill!! un beleivable indeed. I understand it is full of herbs. There is a forest officer on duty for 24 hrs in a tin shed with all communication gatgets.

I saw many monkeys (around 30) and i beleive there are around 100 monkeys living here. I think all of you seeing this blog should pay a visit irrespective of releigion, with lots of eatable for these monkeys. It will be a good experience for all and children of my age would really love. Youth will be happy to have satisfaction of claiming hills and oldies the satisfaction of going to a hill temple.

Here are two video clippings which i hope you will enjoy.

a) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPqtfCLtokQ

b) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n683xDM5vlQ

A great trip to the temple town of Sholingur

Appa asked me if we can go to Sholingur on 28 Sep'07 and take dharshan of Lord Narasimha and Anjaneya. I just bounced on the chance to take this trip. We tried to call many people to come with us but we only got –ve answers from many as late as 1130pm on the 27th sep. We all thought if we need to post pond the trip but I and amma were clear that we will take this trip with just three of us in our car – Maruthi Zen Estillo. It was the first long trip of over 100km distance I enjoyed the drive thoroughly. We also had the dharshan of our Acharyan there.

We left at 530am and returned back at 245pm having had great dharshan at both the temple. I had great time seeing so many monkeys at one place and the looti they do can not be compared to any of ours anyway! We are planning to go with my patti, thatha & athai today to another hill temple and if I go will update details later.

Happy to share few photos of my visit and also look at my new car!

27th September, 2007 - Our family concert presentation

I checked with appa if we can go to Mukkur Narasimha temple in Venkatesan street, T.Nagar today and he was ready for it if i was ready to play violin there. I asked amma if she can sing along and finally appa decided to lay his hands on the kanjeera. It was indeed a great evening as we did a performance for about 30mts in the sannadhi with few audience also.

Appa did a good job with his kanjeera and i am sure he, in the near future would be ready to perform on regular stages. I do not know if he likes that but it was indeed good as far as today was concerened. We started with Sri Ganapathim in Sowrastram followed 4 pancharathna kritis, Marugelara, Sriman Narayanan, Dholayam & mangalam in Madhayamavathi.

The kutty girl you see is the daughter of the Swamiji of the temple

21 September, 2007 - Happy to receive the Bharat Kalachar Scholarship - Renewal during the Inauguration of Yuva Utsav festival of Bharat Kalachar.

Abinav Muralidharan gave Carnatic keyboard concert preceeding the function and after the concert i was involved in performing chords for the prayer song presented by my school mates which was well appreciated by one and all. Supraja, Sindhuja, Meera, Sruthi & Varusini were the singers and Ghanshyam was on Tabla. Chief Guest Smt Menakshi Chittaranjan inaugurated the festival and distributed Bharat Kalachar Scholarships to our school students. I am pleased to inform that i got through the audition conducted for the same and received the renewal scholarship (for next 3 years including this year).

I now have holidays till 3rd Oct and so on reaching home amma and i decided to go along with my thatha to Nangoor. Yes i am just leaving and will be back on Sunday.

Abinav Muralidharan's carnatic keyboard concert on the 21st Sep'07

Today after the school i went to Bharat Kalachar in time to attend Abinav's Carnatic on keyboard concert prior to the inauguration of Twentieth Yuva Utsav of Bharat Kalachar at Sri YGP Auditorium in our TP Road school. Abinav started the concert with ata thala varanam in ragam Kanada which was followed by:

* Pranamamyaga - Gowla - Adi
* Yochana - Dharbar - Adi
* Manavyalakimchara - Nalinakanthi - Adi
* Marivere - Anandha bhairavi - Misra chaapu
* A Javali on ragam Behag

As the duration was just for only around 45 mts he made a brief alapana on Anandha bhairavi and performed kalpana swaram for Gowla and Marivere. R Gokulakrishnan on violin and R Aravind mrudhangam were the enhancement artist. Abinav ended the concert with a Thillana on ragam Madhuvanthy. Dr mrs YGP madam appreciated the team for the good presentation.

A day India won making records!!! 19th Sep'07

It was indeed a happy day 19th sep'07 for me as i was to play krithis based on the lovable Lord Ganesha at Navasakthi Vinayagar temple, Luz corner Mylapore, Chennai. I thoroughly enjoyed the concert and extend my sincere thanks to all my orkut / gmail / rasikapriya & Carnatic sangeetham yahoo groups well wisher who had attended the concert. Special mention to Cornal Hebber (seen in the second row) and friends and also my friend Anush Narayanan (vocal artist and keyboard artist seen in the first row) who had come with his sister and father.

After the concert we went to one of my well wishers house tosee the mT20 match of India vs England and just before the start appa said that India will win the match with some record and it so happend!

Here is the link for the audio tracks: http://www.esnips.com/web/19thSep2007liveconcertinChennai

Our camera did not work and we could only get a short 14secs video clipping of the concert http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHGWCzCTL5M

A Special Day - 16th Sep'07

It was indeed a great day 16th Sep'07, for me just after Vinayagar Chathurthi ydy, as i had the oppurtunity to meet Sri M S Viswanathan uncle at his residence today. On seeing me in Podhigai recently he called my appa thru Tabla Ganapathy uncle and appreciated me and wanted me to come home.

Sri Chandrasekar uncle popularly known as Thumba Sekar co-ordinated for this meeting today and we were there at 515pm. He gave a private audience with his wife and i performed Mahaganapathim on Naatai and one of his own composition AzhaganMuruganidam Asai Vaithen. I played kalpana swaram for both and MSV uncle & Smt MSV aunty appreciated and blessed me.

I was fortunate to get blessings from this great musician and also the golden oppurtunity for me to perform in-front of him.I hope to get blessed with an opportunity to work with him very soon.

Happy Vinayagar Chathurthi - 15th Sep'07.

On reaching Chennai from Coimbatore went to the corner shop near our house who is flower vendor who does seasonal business and today being Vinayagar Chathurthi was selling idols.

It was one stop shop having every thing required and the entire family was working on this. The elders doing idols or joining flowers & the youngers painting idols and helping make umbrellas for the idols.. This is the place we got our Pillaiyar and thought of showing them to you with these pictures.

Another trip to Coimbatore for a concert on 14th Sep'07

Followed with our performance during August 2007 for Nadham, we had a concert booked on the same day so the same team (with my mother this time) went to Coimbatore. We had a great stay arranged by Smt Shantini, the co-ordinator and had provided us with avehicle to go around. We went to a well wisher's house and also to Marudhamali and my chinna patti's house

One of my well wisher's from orkut had come ther but i could not meet him. Hope to see you next time! It was a private concert and had almost 2 to 3 thousand attending it. One of the huge crowds i have seen to wish a couple. The concert went well and we reached hotel just to see the finishing overs of Indian innings. Later in the morning was happy to see India winning it thru' BALL-OUT!! crazy new thing really!! Any way India won the match and i am happy about it.

Coincert on the 9th Sep'07 in which i saw some thing new.

This was indeed a function where in the Bridegroom family had invited around 50 - 60 senior citizen from old age homes near Chennai and they were with the family for the whole day. It was really a great thought by this family and i think all of us should think on these lines. Yes the inmates of the old age homes were really moved by this gesture and were seen very happy as some one have invited them for the function like their own family members.

It was a concert were we performed the Athichudi composed by myself sung by my parents and it came out well too. In this Ananthakrishnan anna who normally plays violin was singing Hindustani and we did two numbers on Kaapi and kalyani as a jugalbandhi. This was indeed a trial for us for the performance to be done on the 1st Dec'07 at Bharat Kalachar. Karaikal Venkat anna on violin, Rajagopal uncle on tabla, Arjun Ganesh anna on mrudhangam, Hair anna on ghatam, Suri uncle on Bass guitar and Thirunavukarusu uncle on the audio were at their best. Special mention about the great drum Maestro "Sivamani" uncle's brother Premkumar uncle who was enhancing the concert and also gave a 5 mts solo. On the whole it was a great satisfying day of concert.

It was also interesting to see huge doll like figures who were busy dancing for many numbers we played and a special thanks for them for acknowledging our efforts. Special thanks to my mom for the taking first photo so well, which i liked very much.

Concert on the 6th Sep'07.



This concert was for a wedding reception held in a holy hall in Mylapore, Chennai. It was full house and famous film actor turned Politician Mr Vijaykanth was also there to greet the bride & the bridegroom. Every one enjoyed the concert and our team with Karaikal Venkat anna on violin, Suri uncle on mrudhangam, Hari anna on ghatam, Tabla Pradeep uncle and Pad Padhu uncle with Thirunavukarasu uncle from Karthik Audios had a great day with audience showing great interest on our performance.

Review i would cherish for ever.

I am thankful to Dr Srinivasan (who is seen behind Pondy CM to his left) for having sent me his views / comments which in my view is one of the best i have received outside the Print media. I am honoured to present this to all my well wishers as written by him:

Memorable keyboard concert :

Young Sathya presented a magnificent concert on the keyboard.. one ofthe recent feathers acceded to his already colourful , illustrious and cute cap!!!! This private concert at Pondicherry on Sep. 2nd 2007 beganwith a Mallari.The sonorous and ringing presentation laden with distinct laya patterns set the tone ofthe concert. Papanasam Sivan's Ritigaula masterpiece (Tatvamariya) on Sri Vigneswara was receivedwell.

The packed audience was treated to a sumptuousfare. Many luminaries of Pondicherry , led by theHon'ble CM Thiru N.Rangaswamy sat glued to their seatsand admired the virtuosity of the little giant, while not forgetting to enjoy the divine and chaste melody emanating from the Korg Triton!! Sadinchane, thePancharatna kriti of Saint Thyagaraja was musically delivered by Sathya with austerity, solemnity anddignity befitting the composition and the venue.

Niravati sukada was given rare and new dimensions,yet without marring the pristine purity of thepiece. The composition was rendered with preconceived beats including the tisra gathi that carried a lot ofimpetus with it. It was a challenging task for the accompanists. Ananthakrishnan on the violin, ArjunGanesh on the mridangam, Hariharasubramaniam on the Ghatam and my humble self on the Kanjeera and morsing. Sathya surprised the audience by rendering Niravati in the conventional manner too, there by proving to the audience that he is a core traditionalist!!

While performing the main onSivasakthi, Sathya delineated the rare raga that has been immortalized by GNB. Sathya brought out the contours of the raga distinctly, taking care not to infringe upon the territory of Varamu (SuddhaHindolam) . The ragamalika alapana on Mohanam, Hamsadhwani & Kalyani playing Sivasakthi every timeprior to and after each raga was a rich musical experience, unique in itself.

The original composition of Sathya based on Aathichudi won the admiration of layrasikas and knowledgeable buffs alike!! Sathya's mother Smt. Lalitha chipped in with a brief exposition of her vocal skills as also Sathya's father, SriKrishna Babu. These added quiet charm to the proceedings.

The skilful handling of the Pitch bend wheel has become synonymous with Sathya's playing and hence the gamakas flowed like nectar. This was observed by one of my best friends , Dr.B.Sivaprakash who himself is an accomplished keyboardist and a composer of repute. All in all, it was a memorable concert... one of the best inrecent times that I have had heard and enjoyed to my heart's content.

by Dr.Vellore A.R.Srinivasan

It was a good concert trip to Pondicherry this Sunday the 2nd Sep'07. While we were going to Pondy on ECR we were behind Pondy Chief minister Thiru N. Rangaswamy's convey and it was indeed a surprise to us when we saw him at the function where i was performing (Group Photo with the CM).

Thanks to Balu uncle for the Innova car and Murugan uncle drove the vehicle so well that we reached both ways in just 2 hrs (each way ofcourse). We were playing the yet to be launched album of mine and it was sounding really great. On reaching Pondy we also went to Mother's Ashram and Vinayagar Temple after which did a short visit to Dr Srinivasan's (who played kanjeera & Morsing) house to take the blessings of his parents. Beautiful house and an excellent host they were!

Started the concert with Mallari followed by Thathvamariya tharama. The sound system was of great quality and the hall was full of audience almost through out the concert. It looked as though entire Pondicherry was there to greet this couple. While performing the main on Sivasakthi i took appa's suggestion and did a ragamalika alapana on Mohanam, Hamsadwani & Kalyani playing Sivasakthi every time before & after each raga. I also played the kalpanaswara on these ragas and as suggested on stage by Ananthu anna (violin) tried doing korappu in raagamalika format. Later he told me that it was good. The audience and in particular Mrs Swarna Swaminathan - the co-ordinator for this concert appreciated me for this presentation apart from the Athichudi composition. Thanks to office bearers from Mr Mahalingam to many sabha members of Bhairavi Gana Sabha who spent time to listen to my concert while blessing the couple.

On the return Hari anna (Ghatam vidwan) preferred to take bus journey as he was to go to Chrompet and we reached in the early hours. The entire enhancement team of Ananthakrishnan anna - Violin, Arjun Ganesh anna (Mrudhangam), Dr Srinivasan uncle - Morsing & Kanjeera and Hari anna (Ghatam) were at their best and it was indeed one of the satisfying concert we performed together.

A concert with a difference

Yes this concert i performed was a chamber concert organized for the 75th Birthday celebration of Sri Kalyana Sundaram (in grey T-shirt) & got his blessings. It was indeed a short duration concert with P K Babu anna (disciple of Mrudhangam Maestro Sri Guruvayoor Durai).

We performed in his apartment with no PA system except a speaker for my keyboard's output. It was indeed a divine feeling and i performed songs starting with Sahana Varnam followed by Mahaganapathim in Naatai. Trying to play some krithi related to his name i picked up Kalayana Vasantham and performed nadhaloludai. Then i went on to Nagumomu and came the choice of the Birthday child (75 year old uncle) of krithis's in Anandha Bhairavi and Sri ragam . I performed Marivere and Enthro Mahanubhavulu which were followed by Thaye thripurasundari - Suddha saveri, Jagadhodharaka, Sai bhajan and Kuria onrum illai.

We summed up the concert with Ramanamam and it was indeed one of the pleasant evening and performance i have had.