A Long, Hard Day At The Chennai Music Festival.
Oh dear, I started late, had to drop off my wife somewhere, lost my sense of direction in an unfamiliar street and walked the wrong way ...and eventually arrived at the Music Academy at least half an hour late for a 12.00 concert that was over by 1.30.
The concert was a veena recital by
Ashwin Anand. A young player, who, even I can say has accomplished some rare feats with the veena even before the playing starts. His instrument stays in tune. He has the pic-ups/mics and the amplifier completely sorted out, and the tone is rich and delightful, and his performance amazingly musical. I had thought that the concert would last until 2.30: I was so disappointed when it ended!
On my way to the canteen to grab lunch, I met Ashwin's teacher, who happens to be my number-one-favourite musician,
Smt R Vedavalli. She asked me if I was staying for the next concert. I said that I had not planned to, but would be at another venue by 4.00pm to listen, for the first time, to two more of her students, young twins, performing a vocal concert. She requested me to stay at the Academy for at least some of the coming concert, as it was by another of her students.
After my lunch, I returned to the hall to see
Usha Padmanabhan singing. Well, I was having a mixed-up day, and I hadn't read the concert list properly, and of course I recognised the lady at once. The auditorium was less full, and I was able to get a comfortable seat in the middle of the second row for what was a really superb and lovely concert.
On the way out, I met a friend whom I know to be 20 years older than I am. Yesterday, I'd told him that I was shocked by my face in the mirror, and I felt very old, never mind the numbers: he was certainly younger than me! Today I was able to tell him that I felt a little younger.
Wondering if my sense of direction would return, and I would succeed in driving a short way
South, or whether I would be lost forever in the streets of some place like Royapuram... After a quick tea (Rs.20, at the MA, this year!) I returned to the car and succeeded in driving to Raga Sudha Hall, Luz, where the twin ladies, Archana and Arathi, where in full flow. The mridangist was the same guy who had played for my first concert of the day!
Two concerts is enough for me, three is rather too much. I was feeling over-fed! But an old friend from London was singing at T N Rajarathinam Hall, Adyar. I didn't want another season to go buy saying, yes, I'll come to your concert and failing to do so. The price was crossing Adyar Bridge to do a u-turn in Adyar, then crossing it again to reach the hall (thinking that I had to cross it yet again on the way home). When I arrived, a young girl in a pretty half-sari was performing a pretty song (More than that: an MSS favourite, but don't ask me about ragas or song names!
) She ably performed a Thillana, and then it was my friend's turn to take the stage. It's been a long time since I saw
Manickam Yogeswaran (Originally from Sri Lanka, now resident in Germany, student of T V Gopalakrishnan) sing, and I had expected something fairly simple. I was surprised by a high-energy concert, full of enthusiasm and passion, but lacking nothing in content, with extensive raga alapana for several songs, nereval and swaras. I told him that someone had turned up the knob to one hundred and eleven since I last saw him sing!
Finally got home by about 9.30pm, having left at about 11.30am. A long, hard,
music-loving day! :lol:
Tomorrow...
