My dear Gopi Mama is no more with us!

A real sad news was awaiting me when i woke up this morning when i got the news that my dear Coimbatore Gopi mama passed away late in the night yesterday 30th Oct'08. Gopi mama is so dear to me that he was and is one of the major reasons for me to be like this in the field of Carnatic music. When i met him last, during my trip to Coimbatore for a concert organised by him on the 19 Oct'08, he was remembering our first meeting at the gate of KrishnaGana Sabha two years back with Thadi Sarathy uncle and i did not know that would be my last ever meeting with him! I could not take this news and feel very sorry for him. Gopi mama had great vision as far as my carrier is concerned and let me do all that possible and make his ambitions come true! I request all who see this message to pray for his soul to rest in peace! I am sure this is not only a loss for me and our family but a great loss for the Carnatic music in general.

My Deepavali Celebration - 27 Oct'08

Diwali Celebration of Sathya & Embar S. Kannan

Birthday Celebrations for Three days!!!

Yes it is indeed a unique feature in our family that the birthdays of three generations falls on the successive days in October and it goes like this:

Generation - 1

23rd October - Birthday of my Paternal Grandfather Sri K. T. Pathy

Generation 2

24th October - Birthday of my Chithappa - Sri. Sriram [grandfather's 2nd son]

Generation 3

25th October - Birthday of my Chithappa's son - Chi. Suryanarayanan [my grandfather's grand son]

We celebrated the first 2 Generations birthday today itself and the pictures are uploaded on same. Surya, Sowmya [Surya's younger brother] and self enjoyed firing crackers on this day. We have a good party on the 25th Oct'08 and shall report on same later.

Concert no. 3 of 3 in 2 Series 18/19 Oct'08.

With the grace of God we did manage to be there in Chennai and at the venue in Annanagar at 650pm and started the concert at 7pm. Ananthakrishnan anna and Suri uncle with Sowrirajan uncle on Ghatam & kanjeera were there already and we gave a performance which once again impressed the audience and it was exhibited by Smt & Sri Ganesan & family from Bangalore giving us a cash reward. Sorry for the pure photo quality as we had only my appa's mobile to take one!

We were totally dependant of various factors beyond our control like the flight being on time, traffic jam due to the new over bridge being opened in front of the Chennai airport, developments of problems in the vehicle we travel like puncture etc. and the rains in Chennai which was continuing for the 4th day in succession. At the end of it all with the grace of Almighty we accomplished the task of 3 in 2 and it did give us lots of experience in terms of logistics and also added our faith on the Almighty! "Do your duty and the rest will follow you" & "Have faith on God and taste the success" are the two great theories i have started believing after this 3 in 2 experience!

Day Two Concert no. 2 - 19th Oct'08 of 3 in 2 series

We reached Coimbatore and had a good coffee at GowriShankar near the station before going to my Gopi mama's residence. After having a wash and change had good breakfast and proceeded to the venue of the concert number 2 which was to be performed from 11 am. With Pakala Jayaprakash anna, [thought of uploading his photo as it was not done before] Kumbakonam Swaminathan anna on Mrudhangam and Hariharasubramanian anna on Ghatam we presented a concert which was appreciated by the audience with Smt & Sri Periasamy family blessing me with cash reward also. Special applause was extended to my amma for her singing two devotional songs during this concert. {I accompanied only on the keyboard this time though!). While appa and self were to take Paramount Airways flight to Chennai at 1640 hrs for performing a concert in Anna Nagar, Chennai same evening, the rest took the train back to Chennai leaving at 1445 hrs. Every thing went as per schedule including our flight departure and the train for the group from Coimbatore.

Thank you Lord for Three in Two for the weekend18/19 Oct'08

It was a great weekend and was looking forward to it as we were to perform 3 concerts of 2 and half hours in two days. It was indeed a godly act and Almighty's grace we could perform these concerts without any trouble. The first of the concert was in Chrompet in Chennai on the 18th Oct'08 with Ananthakrishnan anna on Violin, Suri uncle on Mrudhangam, Hari anna on Ghatam and Sathya on Morsing. After may be 2 hours i was looking at appa if i had to finish early but appa was confident of the plan of going to Central by Electric train and at the end it did work. The learned audience were giving us a feeling of performing in a public forum instead of a private concert and this made us to extend the concert a little. The concert was over by 855 pm we, appa, amma and Hari anna and self left the hall. My athai had already arranged to pack dinner for us and thanks to Thillaisthanam Suriyanarayanan uncle's student Sri Anand, who was kind enough to go early to Chrompet station and buy our tickets to Park Station.

We took Electric train to Park station, walked to Central Station to catch Cheran Express to Coimbatore and reached at 1005 pm. The train actually left 5 mts or more later and understand it was probably due to the traffic jam because of a political rally held in Island Grounds, Chennai. God's grace we were in time. Pakala Jayaprakash anna [on violin] and Swaminathan anna [on Mrudhangam] also reached station in time and we were discussing about our experiences of reaching Railway station due to the traffic jam before going to sleep.

Welcome Indiran uncle from Mauritius

Even though i was in school on the 17th Oct'08 it was nice of Indiran Uncle from Mauritius to have visited our house. Yes he is so special to be as he was one among the artists who was there in my first foreign tour to South Africa & Mauritius under Indian Academy, Durban South Africa arranged by its Director Smt Vasantha Naidoo in May 2003. I am sure we will surely meet up soon probably during his next visit to India during December Music festival which he has been attending regularly. Indiran uncle is a Bharathanatyam dancer and has a school in Mauritius also. His wife Smt Malina is also a Bharathanatyam dancer and works for Mauritius University as a professor. Their 4 year old daughter Vardhini also understand is catching up on the dance and i am sure she will become a great artist in the years to come.

Another PAKA Kid in the making!!!!

It was a good enjoyable evening for me [Pogo amazing Kid Musician Award '06 winner] when i met Vignesh Pogo Amazing Kid Singer Award '06 winner] at Abhilash's house [Pogo Amazing Kid Musician '08 finalist] in Pozhichallur on the 16th Oct'08. It was a meet to wish my friend Abhilash to win PAKA Singer '08 Award. I had bought a cake for him and we enjoyed the evening with Ms Anuradha, Ms Abhilasha along with the crew from POGO channel and Abhilash family. Wishing him all the very best for the Finals to be held in teh alst week of November'08.

Congrats Suri Uncle for B. Music degree!

Congratulation Suri uncle for passing B. Music degree examination from Annamalai University, Chidambaram. You are a real inspiration for studies as you have done this apart from your M.A., B.Ed and also being a busy mrudhangam artist and a laeding teacher with more than 100 students. I am proud uncle Thillasthanam R. Suriyanarayanan M.A., B.Ed. B. Music - uncle.

Private concert in Coimbatore.

The concert on the 12th Oct'08 for a private function was with Anankrishnan anna on violin, Thillaisthanam Suriyanarayanan uncle on Mrudhangama dn Pradeep uncle on Tabla,. While we enjoyed the concert (I am sure the audience also did the same!) we were happy to be in Gopi Mamma's house to have nice food adn gala time playing cricket. This time we also saw snake's skin of about 8 feet! [true no jokes] This was noticed while playing cricket in front of teh house and Gopi Mama casually says that there is a Naga pambu [ is it called king cobra?] which is living for quiet some time! really thrilling to see the skin!

Concert at Koothanur Saraswathi Temple 09 Oct'08
I was happy to have got the opportunity to perform for the 2nd consecutive year at the Sarawathi Temple, Koothanur and i enjoyed the concert as well as the trip. With a bus journey after a long time, i thought would be tedious but the Ratheemeena bus was very comfortable and so was our return travel by Reliance bus service. I was also happy to do cycling in the village for close to 2 hours! Real joy indeed with no traffic, in fact it looked as if we both i.e. Pakala Jayaprakash anna and myself were making the traffic movement at least. A pleasant temple and a divine atmosphere added up for us to give a nice concert which i am sure the audience received it very well. Here is teh link for the Video clipping:
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=51E0788D6392FE18

A 2 hour concert as a violin accompanist

Thanks to my amma and Violin Raghuraman uncle who had organized this concert, i got my first oppurtunity to perform a full fledged concert as an accompanying artist on violin. I am so blessed that it was for my amma Smt. Lalitha Krishnababu which gave me enough oppurtunity to do rehearsals at home. We had a good understanding and all this was seen very much on stage on the 6th Oct'08.

It was a different experience altogether as an accompanying artist as my focus was just following and doing my solo turns for ragam and swarams. Complete planning was left to amma and i realy enjoy this side of the stage also very much. However, i am at this point of time not deciding on anything with regard to continuing this act of an accompanying artist. I need to go a long way in terms of learning the nuances on violin and i am pleased to say that i like this also and will continue doing my practice on violin. Appa, for a change, has taken the videos and photos and please do view the same and forward your comments to my email keyboardsathya@gmail.com Audio track also will be uploaded soon.

My sincere thanks to the almighty who has provided an excellent oppurtunity to perform at the Hayagreever Sannadhi and what else can i expect more with great and learned audience who were there to bless me. I had the blessings of my grandparents also for this concert and they were all thrilled to see me in my new assignment, which i do like a lot.

Concert as a violin accompanist on the 4th Oct'08

The one hour concert on the 5th Oct at Thai Mookambika Temple in VengaiVasal near Selaiyur for Smt Vidhya Mahalakshmi with Ravi Shankar on the Mrudhangam gave me lots of confidence and prepared myself for the first 2 hour concert on Violin the next day i.e. 6th Oct for my mother. This concert came to me in the last minute and probably god thought i should play a short duration concert before sitting for a two hours concert straight away. Well as i understand that i did not have any formal arangetram function for my keyboard concerts, i preferred to have this violin experiment also as a low profile affair. It was indeed a good experience performing as an accompanist and i was eagerly awaiting for the concert on 6th Oct'08 for which i had done some homework and hoping to do well.

Concert for Handloom Exhibition on the 27th Sep'08


It was a nice concert which i enjoyed with appreciation from Sri Ramjhi uncle who was kind enough to come and bless me. Ramjhi uncle appreciated our new combination of Tabla Pradeep uncle, Bass guitar Suri uncle, Nadaswaram Balasubramanian anna and Drums Sridhar anna. We also selected few songs which goes well for Nadaswaram and the concert was a success. Thanks to the Joint Director of Handlooms Department of TN Govt. who had given me this oppurtunity. Many thanks to Chandrasekar uncle of Kumudham as it was one of the follow up of the earlier concert given by him.

Here is the link for the video clippings:

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=A23BA4F20C14F208

A wonderful trip to Sringeri - concert on 14th Sep'08

Trip to Sringeri will be in my mind for a long time to come with the most joyful river side bath at the Thunga river and a lovely deity in Sharadhambal at the temple in Sringeri. Not only me but also Vittalarangan [Violin] and Srikrishnan anna [mrudhangam] also enjoyed these and the concert oppurtunity in front of the Acharya and the evening concert. Kudos to Hari anna [Ghatam] who traveled for almost 20hrs from Palani, after finishing a concert, to Sringeri in bus and ensured he was there for the concert. Sad that he could not be part of our other activities. Also it was one of the trips i did not play cricket at all as we were busy with bathing in the riverside. Looking forward to more and more trips to this place for both concert and as a pilgrimage destination. Thanks to Sri Prabhakar uncle and family for being an excellent host with great lunch provided to us. We will also remember the food at Maruthi mess where we had breakfast in the morning!

You can log on to the following link for video clippings and http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=649E704D4CE78BDB

for audio please follow the link: http://sangeethamshare.org/sathya/020_Sringeri_Concert_14Sep2008/

A concert for leading Corporate - leading Print Media

It was a great team work with my freind Vishweswaran on Flute, Karaikal Venkat anna on Violin, Tabla Pradeep uncle and Hariharasubramanian anna on Ghatam joining together for a performance for a corporate show on the 12th Sep'08. It was like getting the highest ever reward with Smt Aruna Sairam appreciating us with roses for the song Madumeikumkanne. We were also blessed by Haridhwaramangalam Sri. A. K. Palanivel uncle with roses. We presented this show in front of many top musicians, film artists, Small screen artists and luminaries & were was appreciated by all.

Back to back concert with Great difference in Audience approach

Concert today was of different experience with audience keeping silent throughout the concert which made every one of us, Karaikal Venkat anna on Violin, Arjun Ganesh on Mrudhangam, Tabla Pradeep uncle, Bass guitar Suri uncle and Pad Padhu uncle, feel if the audience were not enjoying the concert. However at the end every one came and appreciated us and said that the silence was the respect they were giving for the concert! This was emphasised by the Bride and the bride groom who informed that they were enjoying every number presented and would be recommending us for all their friends and relatives. Really a different experience!

The concert on the 10th Sep'08 was one of different experience. Yes almost from the start to the finish there was always an audience of 100 plus and we, the artists, enjoyed this kind of attention in a private concert. It was always surprising as we were playing some rare krithis in ragams like Kanakangi, Sarasangi, SekaraChandrika, Santhamanjari etc. There was also a request for Andolika which we performed and it was indeed a concert which we had a thought of having performed in a big Sabha. May be we are reminded of the December season which is fast approaching. I was also moved by the gesture of Smt Manjula Krishnan - a Veena Vidwan who after the thani avarthanam took the mike and spoke encouraging words and blessed me. It was a surprise for all of us and we all felt great! The audio tracks of this concert will surely come up in the next few days in the link http://audiotracksofsathya.blogspot.com/ and i am sure you all will also enjoy it.

A memorable concert trip to Nellore - 04 Sep'08




Concert in a temple ambiance is always great and for this Vinaya chathurthi i had the opportunity to perform for Vidhya Vinayakar Temple, Nellore owned - maintained by Sri Sankar uncle. It was indeed a great trip with Pakala Jayaprakash anna on violin, Thillasthanam Suri uncle on Mrudhangam and Hari anna on Ghatam & Morsing. Special thanks to Balu uncle, Gurukal of the temple who had bought a cassette of my first volume 1 in Chennai and requested Sankar uncle to organise our concert.

All started with the car driver Sri Jaffer who was so good as person and also in his driving. What a reception we had in Sankar uncle's house! I can tell you it was one of the best with the entire family moving with all of us in a nice way. Hard to find people like this and yes! we cannot always ask for it too! After having a sumptuous food we relaxed for some time and then visited Sri Ranganatha Temple. We enjoyed the Pennar river side and the idly and bajji stall nearby.

The mini concert inside the temple was filled with divine vibrations and it followed for the concert outside the Temple premises too. Large audience turnout with presence till the end is one of the things we cannot expect every where. A memorable trip in all aspects and we all look forward to a good relationship with the entire family and friends in Nellore.

Today it was indeed surprise for my appa & amma. They had visited a temple with a wedding hall and on hearing a good presentation of Nadaswaram from outside went in to the hall to appreciate them. To their surprise the vidwan showed my card which i had given him at Nellore and my parents also remembered them who were performing just before we went in to the temple. Small world indeed!! You can log on to http://www.carnaticonkeyboard.blogspot.com/ for more info on the concert which has been posted by my appa and you can listen to the songs in the link http://www.esnips.com/playlist/4cca5e00-87bc-4603-a6d9-1cff307b74a3