Ramana Balachandhran: Ragam Shankarabharanam
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 พ.ค. 2019
- The centrepiece of Ramana Balachandhran's recital at the FEA-curated CROSSROADS festival in Chennai was his rendition of a Tyagaraja composition entitled "Emi Neramu" in Ragam Shankarabharanam. He was accompanied by the amazing Patri Satish Kumar on mridangam.
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I was playing this video on another tab and working on something else. Inadvertently I muttered "Aha" a dozen times while listening to this. This is what honest sadhanai can achieve. Respect, to both the revered artists.
Oh, how sweet this Shankarabharanam is! Very rich in sowkhya bhaava. And because Sri Ramana Balachandran played the veena in Chowka kaala, in unhurried manner, with adequate vishraanti between sanagathis, using lavish gamakas, the raaga bhaava also shined: the more lavish the gamakas, the more the raga shines, just as the ragas Bhairavi and Mayamalavagowla do. The sowkhya bhaava which is intrinsic to this raga is also enhanced at slow tempo. Whenever my sangeetha aacharya, the late Shree T N Bala, heard an exquisitely beautiful sangathi during my classes, he used to say, "Ayyo!" (He was a Tamilian). There are many such "Ayyo" moments in this video. Sri Thyagaraja's kriti, Emi neramu nannu brova, is one of the three most beautiful compositions Sri Thyagaraja has composed in Shankarabharana raga. (the other two are Swara raga sudha, and Manasu svaadheena maina). I have observed that rasikas invariably applaud loudly when a vocalist sings a kriti very fast or plays an instrument such as violin or veena very fast: The faster one sings, the louder the applause. Think of Sri Thyagaraja's Poornachandrika raga kriti, Telisi Rama chintanato. When a vocalist sings this kriti very fast, he will get huge applause. I once witnessed a vocalist who sang this kriti at a slow tempo, the way Sangeetha Kalanidhi Sri Nedunoori Krishnamurthy sang this kriti, with bhaava, to conform with the meaning of the kriti. There was no applause. Silence. So musicians feel tremendous pressure from the rasikas to sing faster or play faster. Sri Ramana Balachandran is one of the very few musicians who have withstood (so far) pressure to play faster to please the rasikas. It is not just the young musicians, however, who feel the need to hear loud applause. I have seen well established, senior musicians who crave to hear applause, and sing accordingly. For example, on January 2, 2018, 6.15 pm, at the Raga Sudha Hall, a well established and much admired veena player succumbed to this desire. She was playing Shankarabharana alpana beautifully, at slow tempo, with bhaava. But there was silence in the hall for a very long time. I suspect that her ears ached to hear loud applause, and she knew how to get it: She suddenly played a gimmicky, "tittiri, tittiri tittiri, tittiri", and the audience rewarded her with huge applause! She already had a reputation as a good musician and she has a large number of admirers; there was no reason for her to indulge in that gimmickry. But she resorted to gimmicry, nevertheless. There is no Shankarabharanam in "tittiri tittiri"; there is only gimmicky noise. But to the audience that did not seem to matter. They rewarded her anyway. I felt terribly distressed, and waited until she finished the krithi, Sri Deekshitar's Akshaya linga vibho, and left the hall. Sri Balachandran has so far resisted the temptation to please the audience by resorting to gimmickry. I hope he will keep his music chaste, and devoid of cheap shots. This is a very melodious and pleasant video. Sri Patri Satish Kumar has played the mridangam very well, and softly, with sensitivity.
Yesh Prabhu, Mylapore, Chennai
Very well said sir. My Guru Dr. Srikantham Nagendra Shastry always tells me, "To explore a raaga or any kriti, we should sing it in a slow tempo. Especially in raaga alapana, the gap between sangatis should be optimal in order to establish the raaga. The gap also enables thinking in between". These words are so true.
So true, we can enjoy a good meal and good music only when the tempo is slow.
Vaga vaga ka bhujiyinche vaariki truptau reeti- Sri Tyagaraja Swami.
@@nanjappa42 Very true sir - In fact, everything is best when we give it the time and attention it truly deserves. And that is when we too get the best out of ourselves.... :)
I guess that would reflect an audience's state of musical literacy or illiteracy. It is also the responsibility of the artist to educate the audience by not succumbing to the demands of bollywood entrained ears.
The Indian film industry with it's hinduphobic islamic agenda as we all well know is also actively involved in deculturization. It irresponsibly spoon feeds the population with the hotch potch kitcheri it cooked up and then states that that indeed afterall is what the audience wants. i should say almost all entertainment on the big screen is an exercise in dumbing down the population. Rajiv Malhotra has done some beautiful work on Indian arts and it malappropriation. I highly recommend you watch some of his TH-cam presentations in in regard to this.
I agree with what you have written, Rajiv Bakhshi. Regarding Rajiv Malhotra: I have watched at least two dozens of his videos. But lately, though, it seems to me that he has been preoccupied with insulting and saying rude things about the very learned, scholarly, Mythologist, Dr Devdutt Pattanaik, a medical doctor well versed in Hindu Shaastras and Puranas, and who has a great sense of humor, too. He even teams up with some Sanskrit "Pundits", and together they try to chisel away at what Devdutt said. I have watched dozens of videos of Devdutt, and I am deeply impressed with his knowledge. All the knowledge Devdutt acquired by studying Hindu scriptures, Vedantha and Puranas and Mythology, has made his intellect (Chitta) rock solid like a diamond, and here is Rajiv Malhotra using a Gilette triple edge razor blade trying to chip away at what Devdutt has said in his videos and written in his books. That is quite unfortunate and futile, I must say. I don't think Devdutt insults Sanaatana Dharma. He has a very good understanding of it, like Sadguru. I have also observed that when Rajiv Malhotra is not engaged in pulling down Devdutt, he makes sense, often. Be that as it may, thank you so very much for your detailed response. Vasudhaiva kutumbakam.
Yesh Prabhu
When I saw this video, I thought 48 minutes is too long.
But when I started listening, 48 mins just flew away, within no time.
It was so amazing.
வீணையை இவன் மீட்டு கிறானா, அல்லது வீணை இவனை மீட்டுகிறதா என்று புரியவில்லை. அற்புதமான வாசிப்பு 👏👏👏
Sankarabaranam is such a motivating raagam.. just close your eyes and bring in the positivity within you.. One of the best renditions of this raagam i have heard on an instrument.. Artists like Ramana Balachandran are God's gift to us.. Long live our Indian heritage. Jai Hind.
தெள்ளிய நீரோட்டமான மனதுக்கு அமைதி தரும் இசை. இந்த சின்ன வயசில் இவ்வளவு திறமையா? கடவுள் அருளால் நீண்ட புகழும் செல்வமும் திட ஆரோக்யமும் பெற வாழ்த்துகிறேன்.
Beautiful music and in addition à charming young master. A paradise
Merci beaucoup
What a superlative sankarabharanam! This young boy is blessed by Saraswati herself 🙏🏻
Love the raga immersion.. Sometimes carnatic music concerts become like college annual festival, singing krithi after krithi every 10 mins. There is a standard format for Hindustani Sitar concerts with alap, jor gat and jhala played in a single raag. Carnatic music veena concerts should evolve to have this kind of standard raga immersive format.
Only those formats will bring out the tranquil and calm nature of the bharathiyata music whichs offers mental health and mental peace to its listeners.
god if there is any musical instrument in india that deserves raga immersion its veena...
Wow I am really interested to learn about classical music especially Carnatic music
Who else got goosebumps on 14:47???
The ever-fabulous Ramana Balachandran takes us on a spiritual journey. 💜 Satish Kumar sir, what a genius!! Humble pranaams to their proficiency and talent 💜🙏
You have kept RamanaMaharishis photos in front of Veena No wonder the music you produce is divine Congratulations to the Mridangam artist 👏 😀 🙌
Two blessed sons of Ma Saraswati, providing feast to our uneducated ears. Wonderful rendition🙏😊
Goddess Saraswathi is happy to see the younger generation like Master Ramana Balachandran playing the Veena without keeping the Apple Laptop or IPad in front of them . Blessings to you Ramana . MONI
Very good Ramana. Please continue to be a true musician without compromising for anything less than real music that comes from your heart. And I request people not to pressurize him to be a great performer all the time. It is not possible to be on the peak all the time. Like Osho says, ambition is not at all good. Vision is good, creativity is good and being of use to others is itself good. Ramana's music is good even as a healing sound for all of us. That itself is enough. Please don't persuade Ramana also to be on the top; this is what we all tend to do with any artiste or creative person or even sportsmen - we want them to be the best. We should understand that is not at all necessary to be the best and it is the worst thing to even try - to be the best. One just has to be true to one's heart and art - that is enough! Thank you!
Very true and rightly said. Agreed.
*The first string music from universe...it's venna nadam.*
Very nice to see him performing with his natural mood undisturbed by crowds or other peoples expectations. MAY GOD BLESS HIM WITH TRUE MUSICS AND HAPPINESS!
He seems to be immersed in the swaras, swimming in the melody he is creating, oblivious of the outside world!!
Mathematical. Technical. Mechanical. Traditional. Vidwan is immersed in his own self. Exploring the full scale of the Raga. Please do descend to our mortal plane also so we can enjoy your smiles once in a while. Very similar to Mharajapuram Santanams rendition of Shankarabharanam. As the Vidwan matures he may take us to the olden days where concerts used to go on for 5 hours or even longer .... first three hours only for warm up...
Sai Ram Ji
How is it Ramana can touch the emotions the way others can't? Tugs at my heart strings every time. Glorious.
There's something so divine about this kid. It makes me wonder if this was how Dikshitar played his kruthis
Great to see a young fellow playing Saraswathi Veena, as it is on the verge of becoming an antique..(look at the number of Veene concerts vs other instruments concerts all around)
Music from veena - when played well is the purest form of Carnatic music … somehow … sound from violin … , keyboards, and guitars.. all are not that soothing to the brain….. the frequency from veena is extremely soothing … no matter which ragam is being played….
Wish more kids learn veena properly and promote our ancient Indian instruments….
The beautiful picture of Ramana Maharshi in the front.
with this kind of performance, you will attract hindustani listeners too.. Wish you great fame
Also people not from India like me :)
for a brief moment, I touched divinity...
I love this raga..which contains all emotions..peace,love,pleasure,sadness,anger,calmness,and even something else..no words to explain sankarabharanam..and well rendered too
From stress to relaxation in 5 seconds..thats how beautiful this music is..
Brilliant rendition of a wonderful raagam. And such mellifluous voice. Best wishes to Ramana
Soul filling classical music is a rare dish. Improvisation, extra stringing and chords are all there. Carnatic must facilitate listener to travel within. This prodigy is gifting that boon to his listeners. Sri Ramana is a blessing to our world of our culture. Hope he continues to get protected and preserved. Sri Patri is again a mature mridangam vidwan. He is not loud and jarring. Thanks for uploading this piece. God bless the artistes.
If one has not heard the sound of Ganga listen to the Veena recital and the Thaniyavarthanam.
किंम् वचनीयम्!!!😢❤❤❤🙏🙏
So amazing. Om namah shivaya. God bless
I tell you this young vainikagayaka Ramana and Patri make the best team that delights old rasikas such as me here in the Central valley of California Narayanakrurup Kanthi Kumar originally from Central Travancore Kerala I cannot get enough of them.
central valley, da...pobre cito....
what a sankarabharanam. And what a fortune to listen to Patri sir? The last korvai made the highlight of this 48 mins
Ramana mayam
ramana aanandam
I have been listening to this on loop. So divine 😇😇
I love you Patri You are the best,. I love you Septuagenerian Kanthi Kumar in California
Amazing Shankarabharanam!! Immense Talent! You will attain very great heights for sure!
What great fingers that play absolutely of higher order to mesmerize the listeners exhibiting his virtuoso and I strongly he is really god gifted to play such recital with highly respected mridangam player... no Carnatic music lovers should miss to hear this
Marvellous...divine bliss to watch this genius.
He is a prodigy and a genius .....
Excellent rendition!!! It feels so happy listening to it 🙏🙏
Part 1:
A Mesmerizing Antidote to disengage from Mental Toxicity and to engage in Divine Connectivity:
This is specially for those who are absolutely dedicated to Carnatic Shashtriya (Classical) Sangeet connoisseurs - herein below a treat to enjoy a great time of about 55 minutes....Hope, if anyone who reads this post, either before or after watching the video clip below, I believe, will agree with my standpoints...
This is about RAMANA BALACHANDRAN (Ramana)(about 18 /19 years, a brilliant student in academic, ardent Krishna Yajur Veda student @ Shri Ramana Ashramam, Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu,and of course, specially a wonderful VOCALIST and VEENA EXPONENT as well....👍❤️
I have seen this boy Ramana in October 2017, on the eve of Deepavali, when I and my wife visited RISHIKESHto attend to a well acknowledged Religious Discourse on KENOPANISHAD and TIRUVAACHAGAM for about 10 days, by NOCHUR Brahmashi VENKATARAMAN... Every evening after PRAVACHANAM sessions, a vocalist / instrumentalist used to perform without any accompaniments for about two hours. On one of the days, I, for the very first time heard this boy Ramana singing, undeniably creating lasting impression on the very first song itself, in every listener’s mind with his unbelievably captivating voice at the base and on high octave, unassuming in appearance and exposition of Vidwat & presentation genre almost resembling the likes of Abhishek, Raghuram- these set of qualities he was bestowed with and deftly handled by him as well....Then, on sidelines, had a chat with him to know then that he was actually a Veena player mainly and a singer as well .... Today was the first ever time I came to hear his video playing VEENA taped when he gave a formal concert...
On to the Video Clip: (Thanks to First Edition Arts Channel): - thanks specially for the 50+ video clips on Ramana’s veena recitals
Just watched the video clip👇🏾of aformal concert (kutcheri) wherein the Ramanaplayed a classic but not-so-oft-heard Kriti of Saint Shri Thiagaraja,“ EMI NERAMU NANNU BROVA” on Raaga SHANKARABARANAM, set toAadi thaalam (2 Kalai chavukkam - double vilambit kaalapramaanam)...He played the Raaga for about 16 minutes, followed by Thaanamand then the Kriti...... It made me spell-bound with an enlivening existential experience of listening to his uncanny skill in mesmerizing all the musically bent listeners enshrined with clear diction through his voluminous and unblemished base voice well in tune with the VEENA’s shruti, permeated through the entire session lasting for about 55 minutes; indeed it was an unadulterated Carnatic classical music presentation by one of the most admirable and typical current day versatile and knowledgeable vocalists and instrumentalists especially, not though so much one can find in musical space...I was astonished and remained in absolute rapt attention/ awe following the intricate and so tough-to-play on instrument like VEENA...
His style of singing for a while and simultanesously playing VEENA as wellinGamakaphrased rhythmic elaboration showed exclusive training he should have been imparted and imbibed and enormity of Saadhana (practice) he should have been doing even when he is still young at 18/19, amidst his other activities in other spaces- spirituality and academics.
Ramana was ably accompanied by the ever spotless perfectionist PATRI SATISH KUMARon Mridangam - with his fast moving and right placement of fingers gave generously all intricate beauties to bring out strokes that aptly floated along the brilliant phrases & sangatis, and during Swara prastaram sessions etc., with the right and aptly carved out “farans” to suit Ramana’s mind frame that flowed thru’ his VEENA and the canvas aid out by him - a rare combination of extraordinary brilliance and with constant soothing sounds emanating from the mridangm, which rightly ranked him as a top notch accompanist and would merit a top order appreciation from all listeners and musicians as well. ....
...Contd...in Part 2
Iyer Siva
After Veena Gayatri, we have another great find in Ramanaji
Shows what a true musician is
his voice is so pure!
It is so refreshing to listen to his vocal and veene together, God bless this rare young musician
Amazing performance! I pray to God he is able to stick to this traditional style. His talent is God given. God Bless him! Thanks for this superb upload, but for which I would never have known about this young performer, sitting here in Calicut, Kerala!
LOL.
Agree that's a genuine worry. Especially with expert Vainikas, going by the trend. When their skill and expertise goes through the ceiling, they tend to denature the very instrument they are skilled in. We have two specimens in this category. One male and one female. I wouldn't like to name them. But they are great in demonstrating how to play electric guitar on Veena or how to play heavy metal music on Veena. Detestable.
So soothing n best medicine for all worries. May God bless you with all comforts
God bless you Ramana, this is healing me psychologically
Wonderful to see a youngster playing the instrument with such engagement. Excellent performance👏👏👏
Namo namaha Ramana. Very much delighted to see young talent like you in classical arts. Excellent performance!! May God bless you.
Awesome performance... He is so immensed in the music and enjoying his own music... And that too Goddess Saraswathi's veena... Her blessings showering on the young Ramana directly...
Very very soothing indeed... May the almighty God bless you always to produce lots and lots and lots of magical music to pour out of your Saraswati Veena....🙏🙏🙏
Most beautiful and divine to listen to... love your dedication, thank you Ramana
Soulful! Divine! God bless you!
WOW! This is mesmerizing! 🙏
Total mastery over the instrument
It is very divine presentation by both artists. I wish them all the best.
Wonderful!! Divine music.. 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
So divine & so calming 🙏
A new star. Love the purity of style. Keep it up.
superb rendition by ramana the great !
I love it.
Simply wonderful and amazing concert
wonderful music thank you so much
Very soothing performance.. no words
wonderful raga alapana ... so much depth
Beautiful!! Wonderful and marvelous !
Thanks for your beautiful soul music
Pure bliss
Feeling blessed in knowing about this new talent and rising star on the horizon and listening to his music. Best wishes and prayers for a fulfilling musical journey.
Wonderful performance...no words to explain 👌🙏
beautifull rendering of sankarabharanam.....
Wonderful Sankarabharanam and amazing accompanist
Good play and good audio. May God bless him.
wonderful music
Wonderful playing
This is god gifted to you
All the best 👍
Sublime! Blissful ! Superb rendition❤
Fantastic veena music!.
Thanks 🙏
Superbly rendered. You have a great future. My blessings
My favourite super star.
Nice rendering, with unhurried pace. I hope this young artiste sticks to this style.
I think music must have started in India, this is at once as old as time and brand new. Having been listening raag for some time now I feel that Western classical music sounds like it’s wearing a straight jacket 🙏🏾
Both have their place and both the music has Divine inspirations for origin. The Indian classical is more meditative and depends on the individual composer who improvises with mastery like a Siddha Yogi, while WC is about collective music as Angels would sing paeans.
Music is a reflection of the mindset and world view of the people it emanates from. You are true in your assessment of a straight jacket as it is reflective of the degree you are allowed to think outside of set parameters of acceptability.
European classical music is judged on how true to the original composition a rendition was and pretty much one rendition of a piece will not be that different to another because it cant really afford to be.
This is south Indian carnatic music which is composed, so there is that aspect here too but the musician is given far greater freedom in their expression. North Indian of course has far greater improvisation and in order to do so and maintain an audiences attention for an hour you really need to be a master.
So how does this reflect in terms of free thinking and straight jacketed thinking? the difference is obvious in their spiritual context of believers who do the right thing and the non believers who do the unacceptable on one hand to a philosophy which values one to determine one's own path and to be ultimately free from constraint of belief. This is why Indian Hindu thought is such a precious asset to this planet. Bigotry is another reflection of straight jacketed thinking and unfortunately it's home is centred squarely in the middle east and nowhere else on the planet.
Anyhow, one artist known for bending rules was Kumar gandharva I suggest you to listen to his Malkauns. and please tell us how it went!!!!
Fentastic
It was soothing 😊
Fantastic drum solo!
Another legend from Indid.
Superb. Excellent
அருமை 💐🙏🙏🙏
He is Blessed by divine
Outstanding
Beautiful
Excellent 💚
Good selections
Superb !
Superb! 👌👌👌
Excellent .....
இனிமை
Waouwww. Puissant
Aahhaaaa🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰❤❤❤❤❤❤❤🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
आनंदम।।
Amazing
Sublime...