Trichur brothers

Sahithya and Sangeetha

2012-02-09T10:56:00.003+05:30

Jai SitaRama

Before we start discussing this topic, let us understand that Carnatic music has primarily evolved as an art form that sprang from the spiritual outbursts of Saints like Shri Purandara Dasar, the Thrimoorthigal and various other Mahathmas. Indeed each Raga is presided over by the Raga Devatha and obviously is charged with innate Divinity. Every Musician would have experienced the fact that the Raga controls his/her music and it is not the other way round. It is exactly when this happens that one could say he/she is immersed in the Raga. Therefore it is a given fact that the Raga by itself is Divine.

I think a comparison to the Vedas is warranted here to explain the thoughts. The Vedas are chanted with Swaras. Udhatham, Anudhatham and Swaritham, as they are classified. It is declared that the Vedas has to be chanted with the prescribed Swaras. If the Swaras go wrong, it would have a negative impact even though the Sahithya (using this term for the sake of convenience)is correct, and vice versa. Now both the components have to be addressed properly for it to be complete. Similarly with Carnatic music. Of course, there is a lot more of freedom to add one’s own Sangathis* within a given space. But the Sahithya is of paramount importance and adds to the ambience and majesty of the rendition. However scholarly you might be in your chosen language, can you ever replace “Entharo Mahanubhavulu“ , with any other Sahithya. Never!!!!!! Would it create the same impact? Never!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Numerous examples can be quoted which goes on to establish that Sahithya and Sangeetha are like two sides of the same coin. Take the example of Chakkani Raja Margamu, where Thyagaraja Swami explains, “why think about other narrow paths, when the path of Shri Rama Bhakthi, is there in front of you”. The Path is broad and royal. The number of Sangathis that adorn this Pallavi line are plenty, whereas there is just one Sangathi for the next line, “Santhula Dooranela”( which means, narrow paths ,that are longer). Obviously the Saint wanted to stress on the Royal Path. Again in the same line, the pause at Raja Margamu is noticeably long denoting the Royal Path, whereas at Santhula it is really short, and again “Doora” is long signifying distance. This is just one example. Our Music is so beautifully blended with Sahithya Rasa and it is indeed an inseparable aspect of our Music.

There is an incident reported by a person who had Darshan of Shri Ramana Maharshi, and asked the Maharshi, “Is it not true that Thyagaraja Swami, Deekshithar etc attained God by singing? Can I not do the same?” The Saint replied, “ What they attained came out as Krithis or Songs!!!!”. What a profound meaning this brings about. Our Music is supremely different in this respect, that it is definitely Spiritually oriented. The Saint composers, did not sit down with a notepad, think about the nuances of each Raga, and then come up with a composition. They were all Spiritually inspired, and the Music was an expression of their “Anubhoothi”. We are all aware of the Cause and Effect relationship. If a particular sound brings about a particular effect, then it is only fair to assume that as a corollary a specific effect will result in a specific sound. So with the Krithis, these Krithis have come out as an expression of “God Realization”, and we can have a glimpse of that experience, if we sing it in the right manner , with the right Bhavam and Bhakthi. Thus, it is definitely not advisable to take the Sahithya lightly.

Would just like to add, that, today with the amount of material that is available in books and the Internet, we must definitely make it a point to learn the Sahithya properly, and understand the meaning of each Krithi.

*Sahithya- Lyrics of the song

* Sangeetha-Tune of the song

*Sangathi-Embellishments on a particular line of the song.

The Jakarta Episode

2011-05-23T14:59:00.002+05:30

Hi Guys.

Just wanted to share our experience performing at Jakarta. The concert was organized by the South Indian Association as part of the Sastha Preethi celebrations. Apart from the three of us, violinist Sherthalai SivaKumar accompanied us from Chennai.

Our flight from Chennai took us to Singapore, and then we had to wait there overnight to catch our flight to Jakarta in the morning. Passing time at Singapore airport is quite easy as the airport is very impressive in size and facilities. You can spot people from every corner of the world waiting for some connection flight. No wonder, their government spent so much on the airport. I am sure everyone would share a word or two about this airport once they reach their destination. Anyways, if I remember well, our flight was at early morning we had only our check in baggage to be bothered about. We took a train that took us to the other end of the airport, where our gate was. We presented our ticket at the gate, and were in for a surprise, as the attendant informed us that the gate was changed for this flight. We probably missed the announcement, but none of us could remember hearing any. We now had to go to some other end of the airport, and we could do this only by train. But the system is so organized, we were able to locate our train in no time, and quickly we took off to the other gate and were permitted entry, with raised eyebrows, annoyed at our late arrival. Guess we just about made it. Aboard the Garuda Airways, we were seated at the back. The moment we entered the flight we were aware of some nauseating smell, which got worse as we neared our seat. Well, guess these guys cook something which smells like that. Fortunately it was a short flight to Jakarta, and the airport was quite plain compared to Singapore. The visa was on arrival, and it was taken care by our host, Ramaswamy Mama. The security guys wanted to know what was inside the Mridangam bag (Mridangam of course), and dad had to explain the instrument. They did a scan and after some deliberation, dad agreed to play a mini thani for them in the airport and they were mighty thrilled.

We then drove to Ramaswamy Mama’s house, it was a pleasant drive of more than half an hour. We saw the famous Gita Upadesa depiction on the way. The Ramayana and MahaBharata are supposed to be pretty famous in this part of the world as in India. We were welcomed at the door by Mrs RS with a broad motherly smile, and none of us could contain our joy at the delicious aroma of home made Vethakozhambu. The family was so hospitable from the word go, and Mami wasted no time in getting us seated for what followed to be a most satisfying dinner. We took some group snaps, and were ready to retire, when somebody reminded us that Indonesia is very prone to earth quakes. He got no better time to make this comment!!! However, RS Mama, brushed aside the concern, and informed us that it only occurs at certain locations and there is nothing to worry.

RS Mama’s house is very beautiful. Very spacious, it had a swimming pool too. We gladly accepted his invitation for a swim, but preferred to do it after the concert. Mami, made sure the pool would be cleaned by then. Another point that stuck us was that, in Indonesia, there could be as many as five servants in a house. These people were a content lot, and Mami was explaining that they very much adhered to our “ Madi Acharam” and took bath nearly five times a day!!

The next morning, we had Darshan at the Ayyappa temple. A very beautiful temple, and every ritual was carried on as done in India. That evening we performed, and we rendered quite a few Tamil compositions, as there were predominantly Tamil speaking people among the audience. I think I saw some local Indonesians too in the audience. I remember we sang Kaa va va, as the main. Later, they wanted a sloka from Narayaneeyam, and we sang a Virutham for the slokam, “Yogeendranam…” It is indeed a great feeling to see our people in these far away places still sticking to our culture. They also appreciate it much better, for we in India take it for granted as we get it so easily.

After the concert it was nice meeting lot of people, and we had many invitations, all of which we could not honor for want of time. However, we had two more days left, and it was decided that we will go for a Safari tour the next day.

Mr Chandrashekharan alias “Uncle”, as they call him, is part of the organizing team, and it was he who took us for the safari trip. We were surprised to see lot of vegetables, especially carrots, inside the van. Uncle informed us that these were to feed the animals. We still had no idea of how wonderful the trip would turn out to be. We drove away from Jakarta, into the forest, and we were let in after we purchased the tickets. We were warned to keep the windows closed.

The safari was like any typical safari. We would drive on the road, and on both sides there were animals moving about. The wild among them, like the lion or tiger, would be within an enclosure, so they don’t come out and hurt. But what really amused us were the monkeys. Here, uncle asked us to throw bananas at them, and some of them threw back the banana skin after eating the fruit. That was really funny. We were also shaken, when a particular kind of bird (forget its name), which was tall, up to our van’s window, suddenly started tapping violently on the windows with its beak. By no means was this cute, but rather menacing with its wide eyes and weird hair style (it did have some hair). However, Uncle told us that it is harmless and we entered the most interesting part of the safari.

There was this Oranguttan, and we could take snaps with it. One by one we posed with the monkey, and it held to us as a small child would. That over, we were in for one more photo shoot, but this time with a Cheetah. We were assured that it was domesticated, but dad would have nothing to do with it. Uncle convinced the rest of us, and yes we did get the snaps. However, Uncle refused no for an answer, and dad had to bow down to his relentless entreaties and finally obliged for a snap. The cheetah sat on his lap, and for some reason, it stood up just when the camera was above to be clicked. I am sure Dad did not expect this and he had to go through this again. The snaps were taken and then we roamed about the civilized jungle, and heard all sorts of sounds made by these animals. We distinctly remember seeing this monkey swinging from branch to branch, gleefully screaming, and it was freedom at its best. Thanks to Uncle, this safari trip we will never forget.

The next day we stayed with our cousin Radhika and her husband Harish. On the way something interesting happened. Apparently we broke a traffic rule, and this police guy stopped us. Before opening the window, Harish explained that in Jakarta, the police guys were very gentle, and accepted bribes gracefully by explaining how much more we will have to pay otherwise, quoting from their traffic rules book. The door opened and the police man, ever so gently, requested for a bribe or penalty of some 20000 rupees (don’t remember the amount exactly, but sounded like a staggering sum for sure). We were stunned as Harish started counting the notes. We soon realized that Indonesian Rupee is not as valuable as the Indian Rupee and 20000 Rupees is not a big amount for them.

RS Mama and Uncle dropped us at the airport next day and we were back to Chennai within 24 hours, taking the same route. We did meet Ramaswamy mama, Uncle and many friends we made at Jakarta during the marriage of RS mama’s son that happened in Chennai. It is an unforgettable trip, and the fact that I write about this after nearly 5 years, without forgetting much of the details, stands testimony to it.

Musically Yours,

Trichur Brothers

SathGuru Thayagaraja Swami

2011-01-25T10:30:00.000+05:30

Namaskaram,

Jai Shri SathGuru Thyagaraja Swami. Jai Sitaram.

I just wrote on Facebook about the great Thyagaraja Aradhana Celebrations that are being conducted all over. As a child, I remember listening to Swamigal's compositions rendered by different Artistes. And everytime, I knew, it was a Thyagaraja Swami Krithi, without being told. I am sure many of us have experienced this. There is something extremely divine and comforting about His compositions. And all His krithis touch a nerve, deep within, and has that unmistakable touch of the Saint communicating His Ananda and Rama Bhakthi. Our family deity is Shri Rama and Thyagaraja Krithis were hummed by everybody in the family in between their daily chores. I still remember our Chithappa in the next house use to play "Kshirasagara", almost everyday in full volume. And we as kids use to wait for that line, "Tharaka Nama, Thyagarajarchitha", and our day was made. I always beleive that if you can impress kids with your creativity or talent, then there is Divinity there. Kids seldom analyse, they take into heart whatever they are fed with. And lucky are those kids who are fed with Thyagaraja Krithis, because, they are then being initiated into the Highest Truth through the easiest path. Blessed are all of us who can sing and hear and enjoy His Krithis.
The fact that He has touched our hearts with His simplicity and Music that sprang from HIS Anubhuthi is clearly displayed at the Love and Energy with which His Aradhana celebrations are celebrated all over the country and even abroad. His Krithis are the easiest Marga for Mukthi and the easiest way to be in touch with our rich culture. Let us all pray that He blesses us with Rama Bhakthi and Sangeetha Jnanam.

Jai Sitaram.

December Season 2010

2010-12-06T15:29:00.000+05:30

Namasthe,

Check out our concert schedule for this season updated in our website

www.trichurbrothers.com

Musically Yours,
Trichur Brothers

The 72 Melakartha Ragas

2010-08-20T14:06:00.001+05:30

This is one of the most basic lessons taught to any Carnatic Music student, or is it? I am not sure, but, yes definitely any student of our system of music must get educated about this at least within a year or two after commencement of training. I mentioned that this is a basic lesson, but comprehending and internalizing these 72 ragas is not a joke by any means. A musician’s Swara Jnana will be put to test without any mercy. To theoretically grasp the significance is one thing but it’s an entirely different ball game when it comes to bringing out its nuances in practice. However, the first step is to understand the science in theory.

The 72 melakartha system, is simply unique, unparalleled and the most COMPREHENSIVE system there was, there is and there ever will be. These ragas contain the summum bonum of anything that can be called Music. Any permutation and combination of notes audible to the human ear will have its source traced back to the Melakartha.

Carnatic music has classified the swaras into:

Sa – Shadjam

Ri- Rishabham

Ga- Gandharam

Ma- Madhyamam

Pa- Panchamam

Da- Daivatham

Ni- Nishadam

This is of course popularly known as the Saptha Swras. The Saptha Swaras are further divided and I am listing it down here:

1	Shadjam	This is the adhara Shadjam or the Shruthi in which we sing

2	Rishabham	a. Shudha Rishabham
3		b. Chathushruthi Rishabham
4		c. Shatshruthi Rishabham

5	Gandharam	a. Shudha Gandharam
6		b. Sadharana Gandharam
7		c. Anthara Gandharam

8	Madhyamam	a. Shudha Madhyamam
9		b. Prathi Madhyamam

10	Panchamam

11	Daivatham	a. Shudha Daivatham
12		b. Chathushruthi Daivatham
13		c. Shatshruthi Daivatham

14	Nishadham	a. Shudha Nishadham b Kaishiki Nishadham
15		c. Kakali Nishadham

It must be practically demonstrated for one to understand and appreciate the classification of the Swaras. However to start with, this represents the different notes within a particular octave (from Adhara Shadjam to Melsthayi Sa that is).

The Shadjam and Panchamam are eternal and unshakeable, so to say, they represent Godhead. The revered sage of Kanchi, Shri Paramacharya refers to this point while He explains the meaning of the charanam in the famous Thyagaraja krithi Nadathanumanisam. There is a line in the charanam which starts with “Sathyojyathadhi Pancha Vakthraja”, which means the swaras have originated from the five heads of Siva. However, the Sage noted that if we ascribe one swara to each head, then there could be only five and not seven swaras!!! The Sage further observed that this is because Sa and Pa were ever present or eternal and did not have to be created. The remaining five swaras came out of Parameswara’s five heads. This is also the reason why we start the music class with Sa Pa Sa , every other note is contained within this.

However, I am planning to write more about the Melakartha system in the near future. The system, once understood, can be of immense help to identify ragas , to attain proficiency in Swara Jnanam and Swara Singing, and it could open up endless space of creative brilliance for any musician, notwithstanding which genre of music he belongs to.

Warm Regards,

Srikrishna Mohan (Trichur Brothers)

Shri Thyagaraja Jayanthi Festival at Trichur

2010-08-04T14:37:00.000+05:30

Namasthe,

On behalf of our academy and on behalf of our dad, Shri Trichur R Mohan, i would like to inform and invite you for the Thyagaraja Jayanthi festival at Trichur that will be held from the 6th, 7th and 8th of August. The venue is Neeranjali Hall in the vicinity of the famous Trichur Round.

We have some popular artistes participating. The inaugaral concert is by the Rudrapatnam Brothers and we have Shri TN Seshagopalan, Shri Kadri Gopalnath, Ganesh Kumaresh and Sankaran Namboothiri for the rest of the days. Up and coming artistes will also grace the occassion. Students and devotees will also be given opportunities to express their devotion to Sadguru Thyagaraja Swami by rendering His immortal krithis.

A new venture we have attempted in this year's festival is to involve youngsters to participate, by inviting leading educational establishments to be part of the function. We have introduced a Quiz competition on the Life and Works of Thyagaraja Swami, and students from leading schools in Trichur are participating in this. This will be held on Sunday.

On Sunday morning we will have an Unchavrutti that will begin at 6.30AM followed by Pancharathnam rendition at the Auditorium. The festival will conclude with Shri Anjaneya Uthsavam.

I once again invite all of you to be there and enjoy the bliss of Sathguruji's bhakthi that sprang out as the legendary musical compositions that we are accustomed to. Lets all try and make it as spiritual and colorful as possible (Kriya Kalabha Bhakthi as they say).

Jai Sitaram.
Trichur Brothers

PS: Please mail me in case you want a brochure of the events. mohan.srikrishna@gmail.com

Audio and Video now available @ www.trichurbrothers.com

2010-08-04T14:25:00.000+05:30

Dear Rasikas and Well Wishers,

Check out our website. we have provided a free download of "Varugalamo" . This is a recording of our concert at Mumbai last year. Also, there is a sample audio provided from our maiden album, " Musically Yours".

Music is life
Trichur Brothers.

Website status

2010-07-26T17:37:00.000+05:30

Namasthe,

26th July 2010, Monday.

The work on the website is nearly done and we must have the videos and audios by the end of this week. On the audio front we are planning to put in some recordings of our live concerts for free download.

cheers,

trichur brothers.

Visit our website

2010-07-13T12:11:00.000+05:30

Hi all,

We have come out with our website. Of course there is still lot of work to be done, like getting in the videos and the audios.

the address is

www.trichurbrothers.com

Warm Regards,
Trichur Brothers.

Concerts update

2010-06-17T12:13:00.000+05:30

Jai Ho,

Date: 27th June,
Dayanand Ashram, Anakaati, Coimbatore

Date: 28th June,
Guruvayoor Srikrishna Temple, Melpathoor Auditorium( hall just outside the temple entrance)
Time: 7.00pm
Violin: Viju S Anand
Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan.

Article in The Hindu

2010-05-14T12:40:00.000+05:30

Bonjour friends,

checkout our concert review that appeared this morning. Have pasted the link below.

http://beta.thehindu.com/arts/music/article428917.ece

Dhanyavaadh.

Trichur Brothers Podcast.

2010-05-07T13:38:00.000+05:30

Hi All,

Please follow the link to listen to our podcast that has been uploaded in the Cleveland Aradhana website.

http://www.aradhana.org/blog/2010/05/podcast-trichur-brothers-all-access-pass.html

Great job by our interviewer Savithri. I am sure she took lots of pain to mix and edit a nearly 3 hours conversation into a 10 mins track. As usual, feel free to comment :-)

Concert at Chicago

2010-04-10T13:20:00.000+05:30

Organised by AKSHAYA MUSIC ACADEMY, Schaumburg, Illinois

Date: 15th April

FROM 6 TO 8PM

VENUE: 582 EAST HOME AVENUE, PALATINE, IL-60074

Contact for tickets: (847) 991-3452 / (847) 858-2370 / (248) 224-6694

Latest Update

2010-04-10T02:25:00.000+05:30

Hi,

We are now scheduled to leave for Toronto tomorrow. Looking forward to meeting friends and rasikas there. And we are performing there on the 17th, Saturday. I wonder if time and weather would permit us to be at the Niagra falls. Hopefully :-)

Chalo then.

Srikrishna Mohan.

Update Time

2010-04-07T22:09:00.001+05:30

Hello all,

Time to update. We are having a great time here at Cleveland. So far we performed at San Diego for the Indian Fine Arts Society and we had our concert at Cleveland for the Aradhana day before yesterday. We are scheduled to leave for Toronto on the 11th, provided we get our visas. Meanwhile lot of organisations want us to perform at Chicago, NewYork, Philadelphia, Bay Area etc. However, this seems to be difficult, given the short notice and also because we cannot extend our tour.

Its really been a nice experience over the past few days to mingle with artistes, share views, opinions, and of course listen to some wise cracks. However, all of us are already missing India very badly. Will be back home at the earliest.

Best Regards,
SK.

One more video made available

2010-03-29T23:58:00.000+05:30

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htMJMM7KIlY&feature=related

Hi all,

the above link ivideo leads you to a video upload on youtube. this is again a piece from our karkala concert.

Nama Sivaya.

Video clipping of Concert at Karkala, near Manglore

2010-03-19T13:40:00.002+05:30

Namaskaram everybody,

I am pasting the youtube link of our concert at Karkala. the place was one of its kind in the sense, that the entire venue was lit with mud lamps, with a pond in the centre. Have a look. The entire concert DVD must be available next month.

Musically Yours,
Srikrishna Mohan.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grJSrkVWPQg&feature=email

Concert at Nanganallur

2010-03-08T13:31:00.000+05:30

Date: March 10th, Wednesday
Time: 6.00 pm

Venue: Shri Krishna Bhaktha Jana Sabha, MMTC. Colony, Nanganallur , Chennai
Violin: Bombay Anand
Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan
Ghatam: Venkat

one more announcement. By the grace of Bhagvan Rama, we are performing in the Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana this year. We are also performing at a few other venues in the US. Will update the schedule as early as possible. We will be there in the US from March 24th upto April 18th.

Yours Musically,
Srikrishna Mohan and Ramkumar Mohan.

Month of February

2010-02-17T17:33:00.001+05:30

February 21st:
Sabha: Hamsavinodhini
Venue: West Mambalam
Violin: MA Sundaresan
Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan
Ghatam: Venkat

February 27th:
Shastreeya Sangeetha Sabha, Karkala (53kms from Manglore)
Violin: Edapally Ajith Kumar
Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan
Ghatam: Venkat

Febraury 28th:
Concert at Kasargod
Venue: Sree Purandaradasa Sangeetha Kala Mandiram
(Exclusively Thyagaraja Swami, Shri Purandara Dasar and Shri Muthiah Bhagavathar compositions)
Violin: Edapally Ajith Kumar
Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan
Ghatam: Venkat

A new venture at Nadha Sudha

2010-01-05T13:08:00.001+05:30

Friends,

I am late to inform you about this concert, but better late than never. We will be performing a concert that is titled as "Anubhoothi". This is a new kind of attempt where we are combining guitar, keyboard and Kerala percussion in addition to the normal set of instruments one finds on a carnatic stage. Please be there to enjoy.

The concert is this evening.

Venue: Sachidananda Ashram, Velachery
Time: 6.30 pm, Date: 5th Jan 2010.

The hall is located in Baby Nagar, which is a left from the main road and is a km away from TCS office. Once you hit Baby Nagar, the direction boards will be there.

Also I take the opportunity to wish you all a belated New Year on behalf of my dad and brother as well.

Hari Om.

"Musically Yours" , maiden album from Yours Musically!!!

2009-12-03T13:59:00.002+05:30

Hello, Hi, Namasthe!!

FINALLY we are out with our first official album, "Musically Yours", and we are planning to release it sometime during the season. We have rendered ten krithis in this album and the list includes :

1. Mathey : Varnam in Khamas

2. Mahaganapathe: Natanarayani

3. Amba Kamakshi: Bhairavi

4. Bho Shambho: Revathi

5. Raghuvamsasusdha: Kadanakudoohalam

6. Nannuvidachi: Reethi goula

7. Ramanai Bhajithal: Maandu

8. Pibhare Ramarasam: Aahir Bhairav

9. Thillana: Behag

10. Vande Mataram: Desh followed by Mangala Slokam.

The accompanying artistes are:

Violin: Idappally Ajith Kumar

Mridangam : Trichur R Mohan

Ghatam: D.V. Venkatasubramaniam

Ganjira: Thrikkakara YN Shantharam.

We would like to thank our parents, Gurus, Uma (my wife), the accompanying artistes and all our well wishers amongst relatives and friends, who inspired us to come out with this first attempt. Also a special thanks to Mahallakshmi, who single handedly photographed and designed the cover page (Pic attached in this posting). We gave her a very short notice and yet she worked admirably to get it out this quick. Will announce the release date in the blog ASAP.

Yours Musically,

Srikrishna Mohan (For Trichur Brothers)

Season Schedule 2009-2010.

2009-11-24T13:19:00.004+05:30

Season Schedule 2009-2010:

December 4
Venue : Raga Research Centre
Time : 4.00 pm

December 10
Venue: SAFE, Shastri Hall, Mylapore
Time: 4.30 pm

December 11
Venue: Vipanchee, RK Swami hall
Time: 5.00 pm

December 18
Venue: Kapali Fine Arts, Shastri Hall
Time: 5.00 pm

December 20
Venue: Brahma Gana Sabha, Sivagami Pethachi hall, Mylapore
Time: 3.45 pm

December 22
Venue: Indian Fine Arts, German Hall
Time: 9.00 AM

December 24
Venue: Hamsavinodhini, West Mambalam
Time: 6.30 pm

December 25
Venue: Mylapore Fine Arts, Mylapore
Time: 3.00 pm

December 26
Venue: Kalarasana, Rani Seethai Hall (Tamil Only)
Time: 4.30 pm

December 27
Venue: Karthik Fine Arts, BVB Mini hall, Mylapore
Time: 5.00 pm

December 29
Venue: GK Foundation, Shastri Hall, Mylapore
Time: 6.30 pm

December 30
Venue: Krishna Gana Sabha, T Nagar
Time: 2.00 pm

January 1
Concert at Madurai

January 3
Venue: Bharath Kalachar, T. Nagar
Time: 9.00 am
Looking forward to seeing u all.
Trichur Brothers.

Concert at Thirumala Thirupathi

2009-11-03T16:19:00.002+05:30

Date: 17th November

Time: 10.00AM to 12.00 noon.

Venue: The stage in front of the Temple entrance

At Ragasudha Hall, Mylapore , Chennai

2009-09-29T20:33:00.004+05:30

Organised by Balaganmrutham

Date: 2nd October

Violin: V V Sreenivasa Rao

Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan

Ghatam: Venkat

Concert at Trichur for Navarathri

2009-09-10T13:27:00.006+05:30

Date : 26th September, 2009
Venue: Kamakshi Kailasanathar temple, Thrikkur ( few kms away from Trichur)
Violin: L Ramakrishnan
Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan
Ghatam: Venkat

Date : 27th September, 2009
Venue: Karthyayini Temple, Pazhayanadakkavu, Trichur
Time: 6.30 pm
Violin: L Ramakrishnan
Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan
Ghatam: Venkat

HCL Concert series

2009-08-19T12:41:00.002+05:30

Hi,
Catch us at Music Academy Mini Hall on :
27th, August, 6.30 pm
Violin: M Rajeev
Mridangam: Keerthivasan
This concert is part of the HCL series organised by Music Academy.

Musically Yours,
Brothers.

Concert on the 15th of August

2009-08-03T07:22:00.002+05:30

Hi All,
We will be performing on the 15th of August as part of the Chathurthi Celebrations at:
Sri Sakthivinayagar temple,
Senthil Aandavar Street
Dhanlakshmi Colony
Vadapalani, Chennai
The concert begins at 6 pm.
Violin: MA Krishnaswami
Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan
Ghatam: Venkatasubramaniam

AIR Concert Live

2009-07-16T16:10:00.002+05:30

Hello,
Just to inform that there is a live broadcast of our concert in AIR FM Gold at 3pm tomorrow. Be sure to listen.

Trichur Brothers.

Music Reality shows: Some observations

2009-06-25T15:17:00.002+05:30

One of the most popular and common programs on any entertainment channel nowadays seems to be Music Competitions involving celebrity guests. Amazing publicity, super corporate sponsorships, outstanding sets, the best of orchestras and whatever else you can think of. I have not followed these competitions religiously but of whatever I have seen, sure, it keeps the viewer rooted to his seat and provides some entertaining music most of the times. It is again nice to see so many new faces who can genuinely give the popular singers a ride down the wrong lane. These singers now have a platform to perform and show case their skills at a level which they could have never dreamt of otherwise. The classiest example is Naresh Iyer. I am also told that one of the participants in Idea Star Singer, that comes on Asianet, Sri Sachidanandan, has his calendar booked with shows after he made a good case for himself in the competition. Also many professional musicians, like the orchestra members for example, now have a major source of regular income. This is heartening to see.

However, I do feel, one particular part of the competition where the singers are asked to dance (jump?) and act, while singing, is nothing, but, utter stupidity, for want of a better word. How on earth can you expect a person to sing and act well at the same time, especially when he will be judged by his probable child hood heroes within a matter of a few minutes, and with a whole world of pressure that stems from thousands that are watching him live and on TV. And I am sure most of them would have never done this before, as in, most of the singers would rather prefer to close their eyes for a melodious or soft number. Even if some singer enacts a lot of drama on stage and pumps the adrenaline level, this has to happen naturally and not thrust upon. Imagine a four foot five inches short and thin framed man given a jacket and a sunglass, and the most Hip hop outfit, making him look like a joker and totally out of place just because he is singing a song acted on screen by a Rajinikanth, Amir Khan, Mohanlal or even T. Rajinder if that’s his fate. I bet even the most versatile playback singer will falter if he is asked to do the same. I remember seeing one of the participants sing a very sad melancholic number and on being asked to act sad as well, made a big buffoon of himself, that even though the song was touching, it had most of the viewers laughing their hearts out. Poor thing and the media supposedly gets a lot of mileage out of this. Now, this makes me wonder as to the extent these competitions can spurt growth in a budding artist. For any budding singer, confidence is the surest and fastest way to set him on to the big stage. On the other hand, I did see certain episodes where the comments by the judges bordered in humiliating and insulting the singer. This is unfair, in spite of the fact that the judges are extremely knowledgeable and the fact that all this drama creates a huge favorable response from the viewers. It is always nice to sit back and judge and for the viewers to see what the judges have to say about a singer, especially when it is a bit dramatic. The more dramatic and critical, the better. In fact if the judges can make the participant weep in public they become heroes overnight. And yes, I forgot, they will have a sad music, specially practiced by the orchestra for this golden moment. Nowadays even the parents, brother, sister and friends of the participants are shown weeping. Crazy!!!. But of course that is the life blood of any reality show in India at least. Very unfortunate. For me, this definitely takes away the crown of an otherwise excellent competition.

Dramatically yours, :-)
Srikrishna Mohan.

Thyagaraja Jayanthi telecast in DD

2009-06-18T11:08:00.004+05:30

Namasthe,

Shri Thyagaraja Jayanthi festival that happened in Trichur a couple of weeks back will be telecasted in DD Malayalam in 4 episodes. Each of the episodes will cover concerts by Shri Kadri Gopalnath, Chitraveena Shri Ravikiran, Shri OS Thyagarajan and Shri TN Seshagopalan. It will also include clippings of the Pancharathna Krithi rendition headed by Shri Saranathan and Shri Banglore Selvanarayana. The time will be 2 pm every Saturday.

Jai Sitaram.

Catch us at Chembur Fine arts on June 19th

2009-06-17T11:18:00.000+05:30

June 19th,

Venue: Chembur Fine Arts, Mumbai

Time: 7 pm

Violin: Madhavan

Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan

Ghatam: Shakthidhar

October 2,

Venue: Balaganamrutham, Ragasudha Hall, Mylapore

Thyagaraja Jayanthi at Trichur

2009-05-17T18:03:00.004+05:30

Namaskaram Rasikas,

Shri Gurubhyo Namaha,

This message is to announce the re- commencement of Shri Thyagaraja Jayanthi at Trichur. The event is scheduled to begin on the 5th of June under the auspices of the Nada Laya Pravah Academy of Music. Eminent artistes are participating in the Jayanthi celebrations, Sri TN Seshagopal, Shri OS Thyagarajan, Shri Kadri Gopalnath and Chitraveena Shri Ravikiran, to name a few. I invite each and every music lover to grace the occasion with your participation.

I am pasting a scanned copy of the invite for reference.

Talk show postponed to next Friday

2009-05-14T17:55:00.001+05:30

Hi All,
We just came to know that the talk show featuring us will be telecast only from the next week , instead of from tomorrow as informed in an earlier post.
Day and time remain the same, i.e, 7.30 am , Friday.
Regards,
Trichur Brothers.

Talk Show in Vasanth TV

2009-05-12T10:57:00.001+05:30

Hello Friends,
Just to inform you that we did a talk show in Vasanth TV that will be telecasted on Friday (15th of May) at 7.30 a.m. Its a casual chat show, but we did sing a number of compositions. Do tune in to Vasanth TV on Friday morning to catch the action.
Musically yours,
Trichur Brothers.

19th February 2009, a day to remember.

2009-02-25T10:54:00.003+05:30

Shri Gurubhyo Namaha,
On the 19th of February this year, we had an opportunity to perform at Shri Kanchi Mutt, right in front of Shri Maha Periyaval's Adhishtanam. The concert was arranged as part of HH Shri Vijayendra Saraswathi Swamigal's Jayanthi celebrations. We reached Kanchi around 5.00 pm. and as always the atmosphere of the Matam was electrifying and serenely calm. What else can we expect of a place sanctified by the Acharyas descending from Shri Adi Sankara himself. As Carnatic musicians , I am sure, everybody would feel the subtle yet brilliant echo of Kanchadaladakshi and Amba Kamashi rendered by Deekshithar and Shyama Sastrigal respectively, as they enter the precincts of this sacred city. Kanchi pulsates with our culture ranging from Vedas, Agamas to the fine arts that flourished during the days of our Rishis.

Needless to say, we can invoke the Bhava resplendant in all the Krithis, when rendered here. One such evening we thoroughly enjoyed on the 19th of February 2009. We chose to sing Mokshamu Galada as the main. MA Sundaresan mama on the violin was brilliant and the soul refreshing accompaniment of our dad on the Mridangam and Venkat on the Ghatam added to the beauty of the Krithi. Saramathi itself is a deeply meditative raga and the ambience that the Matam radiated made it all the more serene.

What followed after the concert made the day one of the most memorable in our lives. HH Shri Vijayendra Saraswathy Swamigal came and blessed all of us. HE was gettting ready for the evening Puja and was in a little hurry. As we were prostrating there was an announcement stating that Shri Matam is conferring a title on us. "Sangeetha Nada Mani" the title read. This means a lot to us and our family who have had the Kanchi Acharyas as our our Gurus for so many generations. As kids we were blessed to have sung before the Acharyas. I am sure we will cherish this title forever.

Yours Musically,
Srikrishna Mohan. (Trichur Brothers)

Nada Laya Pravah Academy of Music

2009-02-24T10:59:00.002+05:30

Hi Friends,
Have been planning to write about our music school for sometime now. We recently launched our music school Nada Laya Pravah , which is a branch of our school in Trichur, in Chennai. The founder Chairman of the Academy is our dad Trichur R Mohan. Classes are available for Vocal (Carnatic and Hindusthani), Mridangam and Violin. We are also planning to include Bharathanatyam in the near future. Special sessions by eminent artistes and various talent promotion schemes like the Inter State Cultural Exchange venture (included artistes from Kerala performing in Karnataka and vice versa) are included to motivate and inspire the students. We have also kick started training through the internet for out station and over seas students. Feel free to contact me through my email mohan.srikrishna@gmail.com. Also you can contact us at : 91 9380543665; 91 9884821760; 91 44 32957846.

Musically Yours,
Srikrishna Mohan (Trichur Brothers)

Month of February

2009-01-28T14:11:00.002+05:30

February 3rd:
Venue: Eranakulathappan Temple, Eranakulam, Kerala.
Time: 6.30 pm
Violin: T.H. Subrahmaniam
Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan
Ghatam: Gopinathaprabhu

February 28th:
Venue: Nada Sudha, Velachery
Time: 6.30 p.m.
Violin: L Ramakrishnan
Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan
Ghatam: Venkat

Concerts for the month of January 2009

2009-01-03T14:16:00.004+05:30

January 4th,

Venue: Bharath Kalachar Auditorium,

Time: 10.30a.m-12.30pm

Violin: R.K. Shriramkumar

Mridangam: Arun Prakash

Ghanjira: Purusshothaman

January: 9th

Madipakkam

6.30pm

(Details ASAP)

January 11th:

MLV Rasigar Mandram, Sastri Hall, Mylapore

6.30pm

(Details asap)

January 18th:

Sarwani Sangeeth Sabha, Music Academy Mini Hall

6.30 pm

(Details ASAP)

Chembai Mama and my dad.

2009-01-01T17:04:00.003+05:30

Namasthe,

I was quite happy to see the Times Newspaper, Chennai edition, introducing a few Carnatic Music bloggers to the rasikas at large. I am here to share yet another incident that relates to the great Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar.

Chembai mama, as he is lovingly addressed, was a great devotee of Guruvayoorappan. For those of you, who are yet to visit this Punya Kshethram, I strongly request you to do so. The temple stands as a testimony to the wonders and miracles that numerous devotees have experienced and still do. A few words about the temple will not be out of place. This Kshethram which is approximately 27 kms from Trichur is one of the most ancient shrines in the state. Guru and Vayu are supposed to have built this for Lord Sankarshana Moorthy. The method of worship (Puja Vidhi) is prescribed by none other than Acharya Adi Shankara. Narayaneeyam, the great hymn on Bhagavan Shri Krishna was composed at this very place. Our own Chembai mama regained his lost voice at the mercy of the Lord here. The famous Chembai annual music festival is conducted by the administration of the temple itself. Chembai mama will for ever be the one who has performed the maximum number of dawn to dusk (Udayasthamana) puja at this temple, as I was told that , the puja is booked so often nowadays that the earliest date available is not during one’s own life span. Coming back to the subject, Shri Chembai was so attached to Guruvayoorappan that he literally gave away whatever he earned from his concerts to the temple ever since he turned 60 years of age. He would travel only by second class coach for a very long time so that the money saved would be an additional contribution to the temple. The man has also the reputation of having a character, so spot less in nature and so admirable in its self less ness. He was the driving force to nurture many artistes towards making a mark in their chosen fields. This includes my dad among so many others.

Let me tell you about my dad, Shri Trichur R Mohan’s very first stage appearance as a mridangist. As I had mentioned in an earlier post, Chembai mama stayed at our place whenever he toured Trichur. During one such occasion, it so happened that he listened to my dad practicing Mridangam. Dad was hardly past his teens and had been learning from Shri Koduvayoor Radhakrishnan for not more than a year. Chembai mama called him and announced in front of the entire family, “Mohan, you are accompanying me on the Mridangam for my next concert”. I am sure he must have been pleasantly surprised if not rudely shocked. Chembai was a household name in Kerala and had a reputation par excellence. To accompany him is no easy task. My dad vehemently refused, saying that he has never performed on stage so far. To this retort, the Bhagavathar asked, “How many months have you been playing the Mridangam?” Six months came the reply. “Do you know how many years I have been singing? For more than sixty years. Is it you or I, who knows better as to who can accompany me for my concert?” The matter was decided before anybody could protest. Chembai mama gave rigorous training to my dad for the next few months and lo! , as he had announced, my dad did accompany him on that fateful day. The concert was a big turning point in his career, as Chembai gave him a title on stage. “Sangeetha Lokathil Dhruvan”, translates as Dhruva in the world of music. The title, Chembai mama explained, meant to show that within a short span of time he had blossomed into a Vidwan in the field of Mridangam. For hundreds of concerts including the very last concert of Chembai Mama, my dad was fortunate to have accompanied him on the Mridangam. Thus began a wonderful journey, for which all of us are grateful to Chembai Shri Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar.

Review that appeared in Hindu this morning.

2008-12-23T12:18:00.001+05:30

Kalarasana
Clear diction, amazing precision
G. SWAMINATHAN

Their intelligence in fascinating the listeners were evident in Trichur Brothers’ recital.
ENTHUSIASTIC and SINCERE: Trichur Brothers
It is, indeed, gratifying to note that the younger artists of today are emerging into competent performers. Trichur Brothers, Srikrishna Mohan and Ramkumar Mohan, are on the wings to take off with several favourable aspects on their side like youth, strong vocal power coupled with clarity in delivery, pleasant stage presence and good foundation. The duo’s Tamizh Isai was well planned and accomplished. The ragas chosen, the compositions identified and the layout o f the programme proved their diligence and intelligence in fascinating the listener.
Sriranjani and ‘Gaja Vadana’ of Papanasam Sivan set the concert on the right note of spirit and speed. A notably Hindustani accented Hindolam alapana gave a relaxed feel that was followed by equally serene ‘Ma Ramanan’ (Sivan). Purvikalyani was launched on the upper registers which later encompassed the other regions in an enchanting way. Can there be a better option for them here than ‘Aananda Nadamaduvar’ by Neelakanta Sivan? The kalpanaswaras were bouncy with contributions from Usha Rajagopalan on the violin, Trichur Mohan on mridangam and D.V. Venkatasubramaniam on the ghatam. The raga expositions alternatively offered by Srikrishna and Ramkumar are always zealous. The output demonstrates their affection in complementing each other musically. The main piece Thodi was imposingly handled and here the choice once again went in favour of Sivan. ‘Karithikeya Kangeya’ and a comprehensive niraval which was developed at ‘Malmaruga Shanmuaga Muruga Guha.’ The swara sallies were dynamic and competitive. Passion packed Ritigowla in ‘Guruvayoor Appane’ (Ambujam Krishna), joyous Suddhasaveri through ‘Thaye Tripurasundari’ (Thooran), soft and lingering Devagandhari with ‘Enneramum’ (Gopalakrishana Bharati), piety Ragamalika viruttam followed by ‘Srichakra Raja’ were part of the package that concluded with the Hamsanandi tongue twisting Thiruppugazh. Usha Rajagopalan’s participation is encouraging and impeccable. Trichur Mohan kept a low profile but was fire and brimstone during thani with Venkatasubramaniam.

http://www.hindu.com/ms/2008/12/23/stories/2008122350110600.htm (Link to the review)

As the curtain raises to usher the December Season

2008-11-23T10:57:00.005+05:30

December 8th:

Sabha: Kalarasana
(Exclusive Tamil Songs)
Venue: Swamy's Hall
Time: 6.00 p.m.
Violin: Usha Rajagopal
Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan
Ghatam: Venkat

December 12th: Yuva Kala Bharathi title bestowed on us at 6.30 pm at the YGP auditorium

December 16th:
Sabha: SAFE
Venue: Sastri Hall
Time: 4.00 p.m.
Violin: Sanjeev
Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan
Ghatam: Venkat

December 17th:
Sabha: Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha
Time: 2.00 p.m.
Violin: Madurai Balasubramaniam
Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan
Ghatam: B. Subbarao

December 20th:
Sabha: Kapali Fine Arts
Venue: Sastri Hall
Time: 9.00 A.M.
Violin: M.A. Sundaresan
Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan
Ganjira: Anirudh Atreya

December 21st:
Sabha: BrahmaGanaSabha
Venue: Sivagami Petachi Auditorium
Time: 3.45 pm
Violin: M.A. Krishnaswamy
Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan
Ghatam: Uduppi Shreedhar

December 23rd:
Sabha: Nalinakanthi
Time: 6.30 p.m.
Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan
Will provide the rest of the details asap.

December 25th:
Sabha: GK Foundation
Time: 6.30 p.m.
Violin: Madurai Balasubramaniam
Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan
Ghatam: B. Subbarao

December 29th:
Sabha: Mylapore Fine Arts
Time: 3.00 p.m.
Violin: Rajasri
Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan
Ghatam: Venkat

December 30th:
Sabha: Thyagabrahma Gana Sabha
Venue: Vani Mahal
Time: 4.00 p.m.
Violin: Sivakumar
Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan
Ghatam: Trichy Murali

Concerts for November

2008-11-07T11:53:00.002+05:30

November 8th,

PSBB Millenium School,
Time: 6.30pm
Violin: MA Krishnaswami
Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan
Ghatam: Venkat

November 15th,

Time: 6.30 pm

Ayyappa Temple, Anna Nagar (Sreekrishna Sweets Organised Only Tamil Concert)

Violin: Shertalai Sivakumar

Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan

Press clipping that appeared in the Hindu this morning

2008-10-17T13:26:00.003+05:30

Excerpt from the article written by Jaya Narayanan in the Friday Review , Trivandrum Edition

Trichur Brothers, Sreekrishna and Ramkumar Mohan have become regulars at Navaratri concerts in Kerala.

Their hearty performance took off with Bhairavi varnam and ‘Mahaganapathe’(Gowla- Mishra Chapu-Dikshitar). The brothers chose Abhogi (Sabhapathi) as the second raga and delighted the audience with their musical sparring. ‘Gangeyavasana’(Hameerkalyani-Adi-SwathiTirunal) and ‘Ranganayakam’ (Nayaki-Adi-Dikshitar) were rare treats. An assortment of Ranjini, Janaranjini, Megharanjini and Sreeranjini came as a pleasant surprise.

Their main raga, Mohanam was a tribute to their maturity as well as sheer talent. The alapanam was full of promise and the delivery of the kriti did not disappoint. Even in the lower register, their singing was powerful and Sreekrishna rendered a brilliant burst of manodharma swaras. ‘Nanupalimpa,’ the well-known Tyagaraja composition was sung with devotion.

Complementing each other with perfect harmony, the brothers kept up the audience interest with alternate slow and fast-paced songs. Their father, Trichur Mohan played the mridangam, accompanied by Udupi Sridhar on the ghatam and Trikkakara Y.N. Santharam on the ganjira.

The promising youngster, Viju.S. Anand was the violinist.

Concert Schedule

2008-09-26T14:23:00.001+05:30

October 1, 2008; Wednesday
Venue : Uttar Kamakshi Temple
City : Mumbai
Violin: Madurai Balasubramaniam
Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan
Ghatam: Shakthidharan

October 4, 2008; Saturday
City : Nedumbacheri, Kerala
Violin : Viju
Mridangam : Trichur R Mohan
Ganjira : Shantharam
Ghatam : Udupi Sridhar

October 5, 2008; Sunday
Venue : Shri Katyayini Amman Temple
City : Trichur
Time : 06-30 PM
Violin : Viju
Mridangam : Trichur R Mohan
Ganjira : Shantharam
Ghatam : Udupi Sridhar

October 7, Tuesday
Venue: Pullayar Koil, Srinagar Colony, Saidapet.
City: Chennai.
Time: 6.00 pm
Violin: M A Krishnaswamy
Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan
Ghatam: Venkat

October 8, 2008 ; Wednesday
Venue : Adambakkam
City : Chennai
Violin : Madurai Balu
Mridangam : Trichur R Mohan
Ghatam : D Venkatasubramaniam
October 12th; Saturday
Venue: Bharath Kalachar, Chennai
Time: 6.00 pm
Rest of the details asap.

2008-09-15T13:47:00.005+05:30

A press clipping from Malayala Manorama Newspaper, that appeared on the 14th of September, 2008.

മനംകവര്‍ന്ന രാഗങ്ങളുമായി തൃശ്ശൂര്‍ സഹോദരന്മാര്‍

കോഴിക്കോട്‌: മികച്ച ആലാപനശൈലിയാല്‍ കൃതികളുടെ ഈണത്തെയും സാഹിത്യത്തെയും സമ്പന്നമാക്കിക്കൊണ്ട്‌, തൃശ്ശൂര്‍ സഹോദരന്മാരായ കൃഷ്‌ണമോഹന്‍, രാംകുമാര്‍മോഹന്‍ എന്നിവര്‍ ചേര്‍ന്ന്‌ തളി ജയ ഓഡിറ്റോറിയത്തില്‍ അവതരിപ്പിച്ച സംഗീതക്കച്ചേരി ശ്രോതാക്കളുടെ മനംകവര്‍ന്നു. ശങ്കരാഭരണരാഗത്തിന്റെ പ്രയോഗശൈലി തികച്ചും രൂപപ്പെടുത്തിക്കൊണ്ടായിരുന്നു മുഖ്യമായും ഇവര്‍ 'എന്തുകുപെദല' എന്ന ത്യാഗരാജകൃതി ആലപിച്ചത്‌. ഇതില്‍ നിരവലിലെ, മര്‍മപ്രധാന ഭാവങ്ങളും സ്വരസഞ്ചാരങ്ങളുമെല്ലാം സംഗീതപ്രിയര്‍ക്ക്‌ പുതിയൊരനുഭവമായി. നാട്ടക്കുറിഞ്ചിയിലെ, 'ചലമേല' എന്ന വര്‍ണത്തോടെയാണ്‌ പരിപാടിയാരംഭിച്ചത്‌. ഹംസനാദത്തിലെ ത്യാഗരാജകൃതിയായ 'ബണ്ടുരീതികോലു' (ആദി) സാമരാഗത്തിലെ ദീക്ഷിതരുടെ 'അന്നപൂര്‍ണേ വിശാലാക്ഷി' (ആദി) തുടങ്ങിയ കൃതികളുടെ ആലാപനവും ഭാവലയമുള്ളവയായിരുന്നു. ഗാനത്തിന്റെ മര്‍മസ്ഥാനമറിഞ്ഞ്‌ മൃദംഗത്തില്‍ വാദനമൊരുക്കിയ തൃശ്ശൂര്‍ മോഹനും ഘടത്തില്‍ ഗോപിനാഥപ്രഭുവും ചേര്‍ന്നവതരിപ്പിച്ച തനിയാവര്‍ത്തനവും ശ്രദ്ധേയമായി. പക്കാലാ രാമദാസായിരുന്നു വയലിന്‍ വാദകന്‍.

When Semmangudi mama stayed at our place.......

2008-08-28T16:15:00.000+05:30

Hi ,
It’s quite some time since I wrote anything. It is imperative that one keeps going once they start on something. Have kept postponing my post for such a long time now that the only thing that regularly appears on our blog seems to be our concert schedules.

Last month saw various events happening all across the country to celebrate the centenary of Shri Semmangudi Mama, the Pitamaha of Carnatic Music. Even though this is a bit late, I thought it would still be a good idea to share some of our experiences with Semmangudi mama with all of you. You must be made aware that Mama generally stayed with us whenever he toured Trichur for his concerts. He was a great friend of our Grand Dad, Shri T.B. Ramachandra Iyer and our dad also frequently accompanied him on the Mridangam.

Semmangudi mama was very strict about his routine. He would do all his Anushtanas and only then have even a cup of coffee. During one occasion he was coming to Trichur from Mumbai and his train was quite late. He reached our house well past 12 noon and in spite of incessant requests from the entire family, refused to have anything to satiate his hunger until he was finished with all his Anushtanas. Just to give you an idea about how disciplined he was regarding his Anushtanas.

I must tell you in advance that my brother and I were only in our school going days when this incident that I am going to relate happened. Me in my 3 rd grade, my brother doing his first grade, if my memory is fault less. It was a Sunday, and our entire gang of cousins and friends in the Gramam (village) had arrived for a game of cricket. We never play the game in silence and no sooner than the first ball being delivered, the habitual noise and pandemonium created by this game was gaining in its momentum. Nobody was aware of the decibel levels achieved by their respective vocal chords once they were into the thick of the action. There were guys shouting for so many different reasons. Some of us were cheering our team, some were fighting over the rules and decisions, some voiced their valuable comments about the foot work and bowling action, of which they had no clue, (Definitely an impact of television commentary), some shouting merely for the sake of it, and over and above all this the thundering voice of my Grand ma, who somehow found her way into the scheme of things by incessantly commenting quite loudly about what a big waste of time and energy it was and nevertheless watched every bit of the action attentively. There was also our uncle who was just waiting for one of us to hit the ball at the glass windows or garden, so that the match can be abandoned with immediate effect. Okay, this will give an idea about how electrified the situation was.

Our dear Semmangudi Mama, in the meantime was taking his afternoon nap. He was also under going some Ayurvedic treatment and had to get some good rest. He also had a couple of concerts coming up.

A mind that is tuned to our system of music can indeed have very sensitive ears, I must say. No wonder, that mama was disturbed from his sleep the moment we started playing. And the noise that followed would have created near panic in his heart. As we were playing, we suddenly heard a soft voice from the Balcony above the space where we played. “All of you please go to your houses and take rest. Please do not disturb.” We were used to such comments from our grand mother, but were surprised to hear a different voice express the sentiment. Nobody replied, but the game came to a stand still. Many of us were not even old enough to appreciate the gravity of the situation. For us, then, Semmangudi mama was just another person and he also behaved like a normal person with all of us. Already we were playing against so many odds and protests, and we were like, “just when everything looked okay, who is trying to stop us now”. Anyways finally my brother found courage to reply. “Mama today is Sunday, it is our day, we cannot be quiet, and if you want you can go and sleep in some other room”. Hearing this Mama burst into laughter and asked us to continue to play. For so many years he would recount this day and have a hearty laugh. Years later when we started appreciating the intricacies of Carnatic Music and the contribution of Semmangudi mama to this art form, we can only laugh at our childishness. But of course we were only children then. Belated Centenary Wishes, Semmangudi mama.

Musically yours,
Trichur Brothers

I must thank our parents for refreshing my memory about this incident.

GURUDAKSHINA COMES IN STRANGE WAYS

2008-06-16T15:56:00.003+05:30

Dear Friends,
Yesterday, I received this wonderful mail from my dear Nalini Miss. To receive a mail from her itself was a pleasant surprise but what it held in store was even better. She is the founder principal of one of the most well established schools in Kerala; "Harisri Vidya Nidhi", where Ram and I did our entire schooling. That we have already read this mail more than hundred times is ample testimony as to how much we appreciate and treasure it. Nalini Miss, thanks a lot for this rare gift. We are really touched that you took the effort to pen it down and mail it across in spite of your hectic schedule. You are one of those rare teachers who don't consider their job done once the student is out of school. Thanks for being what you are, Nalini Miss.

Musically yours,

Srikrishna ( For Trichur Brothers)

GURUDAKSHINA COMES IN STRANGE WAYS!
There are moments in life when you feel that you must have done something good in your childhood, or when you were growing up. When you were busy being a teacher and a guru to your students, trying to wheedle the best out of them, striving to gain a hold of their hearts unwittingly, coaxing magic out of pliable dough to create a living masterpiece! Later, you sit back and recall the best and the most spirited of your creations, and the ones that have caused you the maximum problems, and your heart goes out in appreciation to them for having brought out the best in you. Isn't that what teaching is all about?
I had finished lunch and was about to go upstairs for my siesta when the front bell rang. A little disgruntled, I went to open the door. There stood two of my erstwhile students, Srikrishna and Ram Kumar along with the former's brand new bride. They had been married a month ago and they stood beaming at me with such enthusiasm that it warmed the cockles of my heart. "Nalini Miss, sorry for having come at a wrong time", said Srikrishna, as they walked in.
Preliminary chatter over, the young girl suddenly turned to me and said, "Nalini Miss, I have come to thank you!" Before I had time to react, she launched into a sweet little
incident. "Srikrishna and I had a chance to talk to each other over the phone even before we met . As I listened to him speak, I could not resist asking him where he had done his schooling. It was just that I was mesmerized by the way he spoke English and that was the first thing that attracted me towards him." She smiled at me, as she carried on. "It was then he told me that his fluency in the language was all due to his beloved Nalini Miss!"
My mind went back to those days when Srikrishna had been a sensitive little touch-me-not, highly sensitive and introverted. He had always been a fabulous singer, but I recollected the times I had to urge him to get involved in the school choir and participate in part singing in particular.. He was a difficult child to handle, but extremely loveable. Though he was very often in awe of me, yet gradually he opened up and became so responsive that his parents were amazed at the transformation in him.
On the other other hand, his younger brother, again a singer in the making in school, was just the opposite. He had the gift of the gab, knew exactly how to make the teachers (including me) dance to his tunes, and could invariably get away with blue murder . Oh yes, he was (and still is) a charming boy.

Known as the Trichur Brothers the two have blossomed out in the field of Carnatic music and have created a niche for themselves as regular performers at various kutcheris, both in Thrissur and Chennai. As up-coming artistes they have been much praised and written about for their sheer skill and versatility. As the afternoon wore away, we carried on talking about music and life, and time itself seemed to wait with bated breath for us, as we laughed and joked about how they had begun to experiment with "part singing" in Carnatic music "just the way we used to do in school."
Now they sat in front of me with one request. "Nalini Miss, before we leave your house today, we want to sing for you, may we?" They sat cross-legged on my divan with perfect ease, closed their eyes and launched into a Dikshitar kirtan……. a heavenly rendering on the love between Radha and Krishna. As the music unfolded, I listened to it in rapt silence. There was no harmonium or shruthi box but the notes rose and fell, in perfect harmony as my heart filled with pride and ecstasy. They followed this up with the beautiful composition , 'Maathe', and the emotions seemed to flow straight from their hearts into mine. For a glorious hour and a half the two boys sang as though enchanted and I sat there mesmerized , not feeling the minutes go by. .
At the end of the impromptu performance, while I sat spellbound , one of them said softly, "We have sung at so many kutcheris over the years with accompaniments and to huge audiences. But today we have sung from our hearts …..undoubtedly our best performance to date!"
When they rose to leave, I felt as though I had been part of an almost mystical experience. It had been such a delightful couple of hours and I knew that I would retain this day high in my cache of memories, to be kept and treasured beyond time. For the umpteenth time in my life, I sent up a silent prayer, "Dear Lord, thank you for these beautiful moments! Thank you for having made me a teacher!"
Nalini Chandran

February Concerts

2008-02-07T15:31:00.000+05:30

February 17th:

Chamber Concert,

Sathsangham Hall ; Ambattur

Violin: MA Sundaresan

Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan

Ghatam: Venkat

February 24th;

Sivarathri Series;

Odukkathur Mutt, Banglore;

Time: 6.00-9.00

Violin: MA Sundaresan

Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan

Ghatam: Trichy Murali

January 2008 schedule:

2008-01-07T20:53:00.000+05:30

Jan 10th:
Venue: Ayodhya Mandapam, West Mambalam
Time: 7.00-10.00pm
Violin: Madurai Balasubramaniam
Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan
Ganjira: Anirudh Atreya

Jan 15th
Venue: Brahmana Sabha, Trichur
Violin: Edapalli Ajith Kumar
Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan
Ghatam: Uduppi Shreedhar

Jan 19:
Chamber Concert ; Kottivakkam
Details asap

Jan 27th:
Exclusive Tamil Krithi Concert at MFAC, Chennai
Violin: Sanjeev
Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan
Ghatam: Venkat

Jan 29th:
Venue: Asthika Samaj, Venus colony
Time: 6.30pm

Violin: M R Gopinath

Mridangam: Tricur R Mohan

Ghatam: Venkat.

The December Season 2007

2007-12-01T00:32:00.000+05:30

Shri Ganesa Sarada Gurubhyo Namaha.

Shri Maha Periyaval Saranam.

December 1st:

ISAI,

Venue:‘Sri Parvati’, 28/160, Eldams Road, Alwarpet (for ISAI)

Violin: Cherthalai Sivakumar

Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan

Ghatam :Venkat

December 2nd:

Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Main Hall

Time: 10.00 am

Violin: Cherthalai Sivakumar

Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan

Ghatam: Venkat

December 8th:

Venue: Mudra,@ Mudhra, Infosys Hall, Ramakrishna Mission Matric Hr. Sec School, 71, Bazullah Road, T. Nagar

Time : 7.00 pm

Violin: Cherthalai Sivakumar
Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan
Ghatam: Subba Rao

December 9th:

Karthik Fine Arts , Chennai.

Mini Hall, Narada Gana Sabha, TTK Road, Alwarpet

Time: 2.00-4.00pm

Violin : Padma Shankar

Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan

Ghatam : Venkat

December 15th:

Brahmagana Sabha, Sivagami Pethachi Auditorium, MCTM School, Luz Church Road, Alwarpet

Time : 3.30-5.30

Violin: Karthik

Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan

December 18th:

Krishna Gana Sabha

Time 2.00-4.00pm

Violin: MA Krishnaswamy

Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan

December 19th:

Indian Fine Arts

Time 9.00 AM

Violin: Trivandrum Rajalakshmi

Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan

Ganjira: Atreya

December 22nd :

Anjaneyar Temple , Ragigudda, JP Nagar 2nd phase,Banglore

Violin: Viju

Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan

Ghatam: Uduppi Shreedhar

December 27th:

Mylapore Fine Arts

Time 3.00-5.00 pm

Violin : Vinu

Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan

December 30th:

Kalarasana, Rani Seethai Hall, Near Gemini Flyover, Anna Salai

Violin : Vinu

Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan

Ghatam Trichy murali

Time: 3.45-5.45 pm

December 31st:

GK Foundation

Time: 5.00-7.00

Violin: Cherthala Sivakumar

Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan

Free download of our AIR concert from Sangeethapriya

2007-10-31T12:00:00.000+05:30

Click on the link below.

http://www.sangeethapriya.org/~svasu/Recent%20Uploads/

Watch us on Youtube

2007-10-23T18:34:00.000+05:30

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=thrissur+brothers

Thankyou TVS Ramji, for posting this, tat was sweet of u.

Marching towards the Big Season at Chennai

2007-06-20T12:25:00.000+05:30

June 30th:
Venue: Thrimurthy Sangeetha Sabha, Pammal.
Violin: Usha Rajagopal
Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan
Ghatam: Venkat

July 14th:
Venue: BTM Cultural Academy, Banglore.
Violin: Narasimha Moorthy
Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan
Ghatam: MAK

August 11th
Venue: Mysore
Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan
Violin: Raghuram
Ghatam: MAK

August 12th:
Vanaprastha , Coimbatore
6.30 pm
Violin: Sindhu
Mridangam: T R Mohan

September 7th,
Venue: Thyagabrahma Gana Sabha, Chennai
Violin: Vinu
Mridangam: TR Mohan

September 8th:
Venue: Shri Venugopalaswami temple, Malleswaram.

September 29th:
Venue: Shri Ramana Kendra, Mylapore.
Time: 6.30
Violin: MA Sundaresan
Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan
Ghatam: Venkat.

October 14th:

Venue: Karthyayini Temple, Trichur.
Time: 6.30pm
Violin: Edapalli Ajith Kumar
Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan
Ghatam: Uduppi Shreedhar

October 19th:
Venue: Chakra Vinayagar Kovil
Time : 6.30 pm
Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan
Violin: M R Gopinath

November 17th:
Venue: Bhaktha Rasika Ranjani Sabha,
AEC School No. 1 ( Opp. Bhagirathi Bldg)
Anushakthi Nagar,
Mumbai 400 094
Time: 6.30 pm

Telephone: 27898989

Violin: Madurai Balasubramaniam
Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan
Ghatam:D.B. Venkatasubramaniam

November 18th:
Venue: Dombivili Fine Arts
Bharath Natya Mandir,
Jondhale School,
Dombivili ( W) 421202
Time: 6.00 pm

Phone: 0251-2486403

Violin: Madurai Balasubramaniam
Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan
Ghatam:D.B. Venkatasubramaniam

November 24th:
PS Narayanaswamy forum Concert.
Venue: Thachi Arunachala Mudali St, near mylapore tank.
Violin: Madurai Balasubramaniam
Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan
Ghatam: Venkat

November 25th:
Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer Trust
Venue: ‘Sri Parvati’, 28/160, Eldams Road, Alwarpet (Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer Trust)
Time: 6.00 pm
Violin: Arunachala Karthik
Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan
Ghatam: Venkat

December 1st:
Venue:
‘Sri Parvati’, 28/160, Eldams Road, Alwarpet (for ISAI)
Violin: Cherthalai Sivakumar
Mridangam: Trtichur R Mohan
Ghatam : Venkat

December 2nd:
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
10.00 am
Violin: Cherthalai Sivakumar
Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan

December 8th:
Venue: Mudra
Time : 7.00 pm
Details asap

December 9th:
Karthik Fine Arts , Chennai.
Time: 2.00-4.00pm
Violin : Padma Shankar
Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan
Ghatam : Venkat

December 15th:
Brahmagana Sabha
Time : 3.30-5.30
Violin: Karthik
Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan

December 18th:
Krishna Gana Sabha
Time 2.00-4.00pm
Violin: MA Krishnaswamy
Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan

December 19th:
Indian Fine Arts
Time 9.00 AM
Violin: Trivandrum Rajalakshmi
Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan
Ganjira: Atreya

December 22nd :
Anjaneyar Temple , Ragigudda, JP Nagar 2nd phase,Banglore
Violin: Viju
Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan
Ghatam: Uduppi Shreedhar

December 27th:
Mylapore Fine Arts
Time 3.00-5.00 pm
Violin : Vinu
Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan

December 30th,
Kalarasana, Chennai.
Violin : vinu
Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan
Ghatam Trichy murali
Time: 3.45-5.45 pm

December 31st:
GK Foundation
Time: 5.00-7.00
Violin: Cherthala Sivakumar
Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan

January 29th, 2008:
Asthika samaj, RR Sabha
6.30pm
Details asap.

Month of May..........

2007-04-19T12:17:00.000+05:30

May 1st:

Venue: Indian Fine arts

Time: 4.30-6.00

Violin: VV Suresh

Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan

Ghatam: Subbarao

May 2nd:

Swathithirunal Krithis Special Concerts

Venue: Thyagaraja Vidwat Samajam

Time: 6.30-9.00

Violin: VV Suresh

Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan
Ghatam: Subbarao

May 4th:

FM Gold broadcast at 7.00 am.

May 13th:

Shree Seetharamaswamy Temple Vasanth Uthsavam

Venue: Ramar temple, Punkunnam, Trichur

Time: 6.30-9.30

Violin: Ajith Kumar

Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan

Ghatam: Uduppi Shridhar

Ganjira: Thrikkakkara YN Shantharam

Mukarshan: Neyyattinkara Krishnan.

May 27th:

Venue : Bhairavi Sabha, Pondicheri

Time: 6.30-9.00

Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan

Rest of the details ASAP.

Concerts for the month of April

2007-04-05T13:41:00.000+05:30

April 1st:

Venue: Mysore

Time:6.30-9.30

Violin: Raghuram

Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan

April 13th:

Venue :Kottakal Arya Vaidya Sala Viswambara Temple

Violin: Viju S Anand

Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan

Ghatam: Uduppi Shridhar

Ganjira: YN Shantharam

April 22nd:

Venue:Malleswaram Sangeetha Sabha, Bangalore

Mridingam: Trichur R Mohan

( Rest of the details ASAP)

Concerts this month

2007-03-01T12:02:00.000+05:30

March 16th:

Venue : TTD Information centre

Violin : Mullaivasal Chandramouli

Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan

Ghatam : D. Venkatasubramaniam

March 17th:

Venue : Rajarajeswari Cultural Academy,Nanaganalloor

Violin : MA Krishnaswami

Mridangam: Trichur R Mohan
Ghatam : D. Venkatasubramaniam

March 25th:

Venue : Perunthalmanna( Near Trichur, Kerala)

Violin : Avaneeswaram Vinu

Mridangam : Trichur R Mohan

Ganjira : Y N Shantharam

March 31st:

Venue : Sree Rama Seva Mandali Charitable trust, Mysore

Violin : HK. Narasimha Moorthy

Mridangam : Trichur R Mohan
Morsing : M Gururaj

Our Guru: Part 2

2007-02-19T12:23:00.000+05:30

Hi,
First of all I apologize for having delayed my next post. Laziness was simply not there in my Guru's dictionary. ( Rings a bell, doesn't it ). Guys, I am making an attempt to emulate my Guru here, but I realize how difficult it is, in the process. He was never a person to procrastinate. I remember dropping him in the Railway Station after one of our classes. On boarding the train he occupied the side berth. All the while he was talking about Ananda Bhairavi Ragam. He was about to sing the Krithi Thyagaraja Yoga Vaibhavam to make a point about the Raga. The signal turned green and I could see the anguish on his face. He would still not let go. He sang a couple of Sangathis before the train picked up speed and disappeared from the Trichur Station. Just imagine his sincerity. He was simply not bothered about what the other passengers would think of him. All that mattered to him was the Raga and his student imbibing its Bhava. As I left the station, I was stuck with a deep sense of guilt, wondering whether I deserved all this, when I did not actually show half the dedication. That night drifted away with the sweet scent of Ananda Bhairavi spreading its fragrance within my heart. The next morning, I was woken up by my father, announcing that there is a call from Neyyatinkara. It was six in the morning and the caller was none other than our Guru. He had just reached home from the railway station and had immediately called up. I picked up the phone and he started off from where he left. Two more minutes of Nectarine Ananda Bhairavi and I could feel his thirst being satiated. His thirst to give, give and give all his music to his students. I am sure this would give a glimpse, just a glimpse I say, of the magnanimity of his personality. I once again live those days when I write this and the feeling is just too good.

Well I had promised to write something about my Guru's day to day routine. He was never a late riser and never an early sleeper. The day would start at around 5 am. Being a fitness freak, at the age of 60, he would still do 50 push ups as soon as he woke up. He never required an alarm clock to announce the time. A quick bath in cold water ( never uses warm water as far as we know), applying the holy sandal paste, a few minutes of silent meditation in front of the Puja room and ,lo...he was ready for the day. Classes would begin as early as 6.00 in the morning. A cup of sugar less tea and a jar filled with warm water. One would be surprised to see how he relished a cup of SUGAR LESS tea. He would always say that the drink lost its taste if sugar was added. The classes would continue until 9.30am. A quick breakfast and some rest for the STUDENTS. My Guru, never beleived in resting. He was a firm beleiver that change of work is relaxation. When we were taking a break, he would be busy notating a rare Krithi or writing about some musical subject or reading any music related articles. The bottom line was always music. My dad, Trichur R Mohan, being a world renowned Mridanga Vidwan, and a great friend of Mohanachandran Sir, would often discuss complicated Thala patterns and Kanakku with him. The mutual adoration was very deep, and it wold keep them busy until the next session begins.

The next session generally started at around 11.30, and as soon as we sat, he would ask whether we had a good rest with a twinkle in his eyes. Before we knew that another two and a half hours have gone, my mother would come and announce that lunch was ready. Lunch for us, snacks for our Guru, for he was a very light eater. He always told us that avoiding rice was the secret of his health. Two dosas was his norm, but he would have a couple of them more at our house, because he loved my mom's cooking. Always had words of appreciation about her cooking and he would even take down the recipe. The next few hours we would take some rest and do our studies( both of us were preparing for our CA). The man himself will not sleep after lunch, for he did not beleive in taking an afternoon nap. His field of knowledge was in no way restricted to music as can be seen from the fact that he took a great interest in repairing any electronic gadget. There are a few gadgets he had repaired for us also. During some rare occassions where he would be completely left to himself during those in between class breaks, he would even arrange the newspapers by date, do some carpentry work and get the door in shape and what not. Come 4'o clock and he would be ready for the next session. His jar of water is re filled and one more cup of sugarless tea. The session would go on till 6.30. The nearby temple was very close to his heart and he made it a point to go to the temple. 7.30 is dinner time and our Guru had something light . A cup of tea after this and time for the final session. That would be a recap session and we would be asked to revise whatever was taken during the day. Had we not insisted upon winding up the session by 9.30, the Master would have gladly gone ahead for another couple of hours.

After the last session, our Guru was a very satisfied man. One more Marathon has been achieved , he would say. We would spread his bed and retire for the night, whereas his bed would remain unoccupied for another few hours atleast. He enjoyed talking with my dad late into the night.A glass of milk, mixed with some home made protein powder was never missed. There are a few krithis to be covered the next day, and those will be notated before he finally retires for the day.

Prostrations to our wonderful Guru. The debt we owe him can never be repaid. To work hard on our music will be the least that we can do.

Loads to follow about Shri Mohanachandran Sir.

Musically yours,

Srikrishna Mohan ( For Trichur Brothers)

Our Guru-Part 1

2007-01-23T19:14:00.000+05:30

Prof Neyyatinkara Mohanachandran Sir was our GURU ( and still is in our minds). We had our advanced training under him for more than 9 years and every single session we had with him is as fresh as ever.

I still remember the first krithi he taught us. It was GanarajenaRakshithoham in Arabhi. Those days, we were not serious about our music. We used to feel bad when all our friends had a nice time playing, going out etc. And, we never knew how valid each second was with our Guru. He was a treasure house of knowledge, and every line he sang conveyed an era of experience.

Well, before I get into the subject let me tell you some facts about my Guru. He started learning music initially under his mother. He had a long stint of training in Annamalai University, Mysore, under giants like Shri Alathur Siva Subrahmania Iyer , Shri Alathur Srinivasa Iyer,Shri T K Rangachari, Shri Dandapani Desikar, Dr S. Ramanathan etc etc.
In between our classes he used to recount his experiences. We waited eagerly for those tit bits of information. He felt very strongly about it and whenever he spoke about those days the atmosphere was quite electrifying and inspiring. He talked about the methods the teachers adopted those days. We were astonished to note the attention to details. Before a krithi was taught, the first phase was to learn the Sahitya, and understand its meaning, know where to split the words while singing so that the meaning does not get distorted. My GURU, followed this style while teaching us and he would first explain the sahithya. One rare feat he would perform before getting into any krithi would be to literally repeat the sahithya as if it were enacted in a drama, without any music. We were amazed at the correct diction and speed in which it flowed out. His memory was very sharp. He would repeat the 72 melakartha ragas in one breath. The Sahityas were all in his finger tips. Never seen him struggling to recollect the Sahitya or the tune of a Krithi

I consider it very sacred to recount our days with Shri Mohanachandran Sir and will come up with the next part soon. In the next part I will talk about his strict and disciplined routine and some of the lighter moments we shared with him.

So long then.

Musically urs,
Srikrishna Mohan ( For Trichur Brothers)