There is a saying in Tamil that goes ‘vilagi poanaal virumbi varum’. Well that’s how it has been with me and T.M.Krishna’s Todi! Todi turns out to be the main raagam in most of his concerts that I go for. And the worst part is that I miss many of his concerts where Todi is not the main. I missed the concert where he sang Sahana RTP too! 🙁 Before you start off saying that his Todi is excellent, etc., etc., having listened to way too many Todis of his, I know it very well too. Yet I am just not interested in listening to Todi in every other concert! Just last Saturday, he sang a RTP in Todi in a concert, which, by the way, was superb (That concert deserves a separate post. I will write about it soon). So I least expected Todi to be the main raagam in yesterday’s concert. But when that is exactly what happened, I left the concert the moment he started the Todi alapana.
Yet one thing about TMK’s Todi main concerts that I went to last year was that I got to hear excellent RTPs in most of those. The concerts where he sang Kedaragowlai, Latangi, Janaranjani RTPs and the 3-raagam (Ahiri-Lalita-Varali) RTP all had Todi as the main raagam!
While I get to listen to TMK’s Todi so often, I can’t remember the last time I listened to Sanjay’s Todi in a concert! 🙁 All those concerts of Sanjay’s that I don’t go to, turn out to be the ones where he sings Todi!
Thodi by anyone any day is fine with me 🙂 But then, yes, it turns out that way. Kalyani and Mohanam are two Ragams that don’t gel too greatly with me and there was a time when every concert I went to had one of these as main. Oh TMK sang the three Ragam RTP of Ahiri, Lalitha and Varali here in Chennai is it? I thought he sang that only in US. Hmm..as for Sahana, I happened to listen to an MDR Sahana recently. TNK Mama on the violin. That Sahana version by TNK was just outstanding. We were all having lunch at home and usually talk a lot but that day we were all silent and enjoying that Sahana 🙂
Wonder why he doesn’t play Sahana at all these days. Haven’t heard a Sahana live from him.
PS : Hope you don’t mind the rather long rant 🙂
Sathej
It was totally the opposite with me! Having been starving for live kutcheris for a while I went to his concert here in the US last month with full expectation of Thodi or Kalyani! Came back slightly disappointed after a Kapi main piece and Khamas RTP! I am soo jealous of all you people in Chennai 😛
Dear Aparna,
What happened did not post for a long time??
Sometimes these things do happen.For instance once in a festival series here in Delhi every other artist was singing Sahana.But I do think TMK sings todi very well.
Regards
Sathej,
Oh. TMK sang Mohanam in the Asthika Samajam concert that you came for too 🙂
Yeah he sang the 3-raagam RTP at Kalarasana during the season.
Lucky you for having listened to that Sahana! 🙂
No I don’t mind your rant here!
Dandilsa,
Kapi main & Khamas RTP??? I would have loved to listen to those! Now I am sooooo jealous of you!! 😉
Saravanan,
Am now back to writing regularly 🙂
Wow! How I wish I had attended that series! 😉
Ya, he did 🙁 And I wan’t too happy with that! The three Ragam RTP-well, during the season!? Oh a bad miss. Just a few days back, got to know that TNS has sung an Ahiri RTP in the 90s but no recordings to my knowledge! 🙁 Ahiri is one of my favourites.
Sathej
How does a bEgaDa main piece with a “splendid” RTP in gowrimanOharI qualify for a TMK concert? Date – 11th May 2008, Atlanta, USA.
It was not his best concert, but 2 pieces stood out – (a) kAmAkShI swarajati in bhairavI, for the sheer pace of rendition – it was slow enough to be unparalleled in majesty (b) The RTP in gowrImanOhari in khaNDa gati Adi tALam, with a rather weird eDuppu!
But yes, TMK overdoes tODi. Can’t help it. It’s his strength #1. He recently sang gajavadana at rAgasudha as the main piece, with swarams at the chittaswaram of the song (G, r s g r g g …..). Is that a good/bad/ugly? No idea! But it sure is *different*.
Shreekrishna,
Welcome to my blog! I would have loved to attend that concert! 🙁
>>He recently sang gajavadana at rAgasudha as the main piece
That is the concert that I left as soon as he started the Todi alapana 🙂
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