Hindu speaks....

As an artist, I know the importance of having an article about you published in the media. Even if it is a single line under "Nagaradalli Indu", containing your name, your smile is stretched from Bombay to Goa(i.e, ear to ear)

What would your reaction be if you see two detailed articles about you, published in the same news paper on the same day? Well, I will know when that happens with me. For now, I guess our singer under scan will have a Bombay to Goa smile on his face. Thanks to The Hindu which published two detailed articles about Vinay Sharva.

Sharva's recent performance in Mysore was reported by music critic Sri.V.Nagaraj. Some excerpts:

"...........Vinay Sharva sang like a veteran."

"In the lyrical section, right accentuations, strengthened by necessary pauses, immensely facilitated, not only an easy comprehension of the text, but also a wholehearted enjoyment of its meaning. "

Click here to view the whole article.

The second article is sort of a curtain raiser for the event "Saalankrita Simhanandana"(Details in the blog below). The details of the concert have been published under the heading "A rare feat".

Click here to view the article.

With the concert just a day away, I guess these 'dual articles' come as a pleasant surprise(?) to the young vocalist. My sincere wishes for the wholesome success of his concert "Saalankrita Simhanandana".

A unique music concert

Percussive Arts Centre(Regd.), Bangalore will be organising a special Ragam-Tanam-Pallavi Concert on 27th September 2008 titled 'Saalankritha Simhanandana'. This concert stands special, for it features a Pallavi in the Simhanandana Talam, the longest talam in world music.

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Vinay Sharva, a 19 year old Karnatik Classical Vocalist from Bangalore will be setting a new personal record by singing a Pallavi in the Simhanandana Talam. The accompanyists for the evening will be Vid. Charulatha Ramanujam on Violin, Vid. Anoor Anantakrishna Sharma on Mridangam and Vid. G.Guruprasanna on Khanjari.

Time :Saturday, 27th September 2008 at 6 pm.
Venue : Mangala Mantapa, N.M.K.R.V College, 3rd Block, Jayanagar, Bangalore - 560011
Contacts : 9845983823, 9845973839, 9880210112, 9448463079.

With a pallavi in this rarely performed talam, the concert is sure to offer all connoisseurs a unique musical experience. Some details about the artists and the talam are as given.

About the artists: 19 year old Vinay Sharva, is an able student and performer of Karnatic Classical Music. From a tender age of 7, his vocal skills are being honed by veteran vocalist Vid. S.Shankar. Vinay Sharva is fortunate to have been bestowed with the musical lineage of Saint Tyagaraja not only through his mentor but also through his maternal source. The trade marks of Sharva's concerts are his choice of rare kritis and Ragam-Tanam-Pallavis in complex talas. A rich voice and a clear diction supports his flowing manodharma in rendition of Alaapana, Neraval and Swara-Laya-Vinyasa.

Apart from being an able vocalist, Vinay also learns mridangam under Vid. Anoor Ananthakrishna Sharma. He has received many awards and scholarships from both Goverment and Non-Government Music Institutions. The file below contains detailed information about all the performing artists.

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About the talam: Simhanandana is the longest talam in world music. It has 18 angas, 128 kriyas(or beats) and 512 aksharas. The talam, apart from commonly used angas Laghu and Drutha, also contains the rarely used angas Guru, Plutha and Kaakapaada.

On comaprision, 1 avartha of Simhanandana Tala is equivalent to 16 avarthas of Adi Tala. A lot has been discussed about this talam by musicians of yester years, who refer to it as a "Simha Swapnam". The angas of this talam are Guru-Guru-Laghu-Plutha-Laghu-Guru-Dhruta-Dhruta-Guru-Guru-Laghu-Plutha-Laghu-Plutha-Guru-Laghu-Laghu-Kakapada. This talam is the 37th of the Ashtottarashatha(108) talas. It can also be seen as a sequence of 6 talas of the 108 tala scheme. They are Chanchatputa, Rati, Darpana, Kokilapriya, Abhanga and Mudrika talas, taken in the same order.

A brief history from time: Simhanandana talam has been found quoted in association with well known musicians from past and present. The legendry musical battle between Sri Bobbili Keshavayya and Sri Syama Sastry(the eldest amongst the music trinity) is a well recorded one. It is said that Bobbili Keshavayya challenged Sri Syama Sastry by singing a Pallavi in the Simhanandana talam. In the recent history, Maha Vaidyanatha Iyer(1844 - 1892) is known to have sung a pallavi in Simhanandana talam, Kalyani ragam. He later made the same into a tillana in Kalyani ragam. This tillana is also sung in Kanada ragam.

In his work 'Naa Kanda Kalaavidaru', Mysore Vasudevacharya records Poochi Srinivasa Iyengar singing a pallavi in Simhanandana talam at Gayana Samaja, Bangalore. The Simhanandana demonstration at Madras Music Academy by Mudicondan Venkatarama Iyer is also well known. Another exponent of the Simhanandana tala was Pallavi Chandrappa.

In the present day, Vid. Suguna Purushottaman is known for giving concerts and presenting lec-dems in Simhanandana talam.

Simhanandana and dance: The information below is taken from www.tlca.com. It speaks about a Kuchupudi dance item called Simhanandini, performed to the Simhanandana tala.

"This is an ancient form of temple dance practiced several centuries (around 14th/15th century) ago by the temple dancers of Andhra Pradesh. In this type of dance the dancer must paint a picture by footwork. It is mentioned that on the Vijayadasami day a devadasi performed this dance in front of the chariot of Parashakti. The floor was covered with color powder and the dancer drew the picture painting of the Lion, which was the vehicle of the Goddess. Everyone present then worshipped the goddess and the chariot was pulled forward by the bhaktas through the streets."

Sri C.R.Acharyalu, a noted Kuchupudi guru has choreographed the Simhanandini. Bangalore based Kuchupudi exponent Veena Murthy Vijay is known for her performance of this unique Simhanandini dance.

Percussive Arts Centre, Bangalore extends a warm welcome to all musicians, music enthusiasts and connoisseurs to 'Saalankritha Simhanandana'.