tani Avartanam - Umayalpuram K Sivaraman & G Harishankar

[bitethis47]

effortless style,(no tension in the hand) like a whip, yet amazing precision, speed, power, clarity and technique!!!!

[bitethis47]

effortless style!!

[venuiyer]

this mridangam player plays like superrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr­rrrrrr THUNDER

[wlr44]

Check the thavil player named Agoram Saravanan.

[Gomatagene]

Mridangam quality is really nice.. saatu sounds superb ... ragards Umayalupuramji any day

[FutbolFanatic90]

is there a better version of this?

superb btw

[keshavdath100]

super

[astrohari25]

Vidhwan Harishankar is the luckiest khanjira vidhwan around to have had the blessings of all the great mridangist as his formal Gurus (PMI, CSM) as well as senior mridangists as informal gurus (KRM,UKS,TKM,PRR etc)....the humility & devotion he has shown speaks at extraodinary lengths in his fingering & performances, befitting the trends & standards he has set for all the aspiring maestros today :) :)

[violinv]

I think this concert can come back...

Think about it

Sangitakalanidhi M.Balamuralikrishna-vocal

Sangitakalanidhi TNKrishnan-violin

Sangitakalanidhi Umayalapuram Sivaraman-Mridangam

[joph2008]

Its the music in motion after the song, Wonderful music I admire it a lot.

[joph2008]

Its the music in motion after the song, Wonderful music I admire it a lot.

[VVSK99]

Please upload the complete program. I sincerely beg you to do that, please.. I hope you'd do that soon... This is just amazing. No real words to explain the beauty of this Carnatic tradition.. Jai Hind..

[jaishruti]

This is the first time i heard Tani Avartanam fantastic talent. God gifted

[satchi123]

6 48....seems extremly to figure out..lol

[satchi123]

incredible sounds!!!...but why are they constantly filming that girl. Is it coz she the thin mustache she has..lol jke

[astrohari25]

Never believed that till i saw this ...

[astrohari25]

The Ultimate!!

[prasannakeshav]

UKS was awarded Padma Vibhushan by Govt of India in 2010. Hail the master.

[visuseena]

A very classic and rare collection. If the full video is available kindly post the full video to enable us to enjoy the concert. Anyway million thanks for your contribution.

[visuseena]

A very classic and rare of music collection. If the full video is available we wold like to have the full concert. Million thanks for your contribution.

[iamtotallywasted]

I saw a video of a singer and the violin playing together like in the first five seconds. can anyone tell me where to see it?

[vensub]

His Mridangham sound itself is similar to a string instrument aligned perfectly with the Shruthi!

[astrohari25]

Get goosebumps when i see combination of UKS-Harishankar (this video) & TK Murthy-Harishankar (MS Subbulakshmi)...we often see human combination on these two instruments,but sometimes miraculously we see demigodly partnership!!

[shabari05]

the precision is priceless, you really have to know your instrument damm!!

[iwanurreply]

please post the full concert...its a rare gem of a concert that brings together BMK, TNK, UKS and GHS

[rsiriraam]

do please notice Ghatam Karthick behind the stage (behind Sriman Kanjira Harishankar)

[xGuttix]

I wish I could understand the talas and how he moves through them... other than that... truly amazing :)

[chamataka]

amazing.

[pravimenonp]

The perfection- that's all about it... Pretty tough to understand- highly complicated mathematics. The nadas are excellent because of perfection.... I love Sivaram Sir a lott.

[raguks]

which taala is this?

[SearchingAbsolute]

cant Believe my ears !

Heaven :-)

[adimuralikrishna]

can someone post the full concert...

[astrohari25]

This wizard can turn absolute nothingness into a masterpiece...His style of play is not easily imitable in my opinion, because all his strokes (some entirely his & some common) is spelt out with extreme high class fingering combination/intricacy.Even common mridangam strokes produce a different class of tonal and amplitude effect in this man's hands.

[astrohari25]

Undoubtedly the most all-round exponents in their respective instruments in action.

[iwanurreply]

who is on the violin??TNK?

could you upload the complete video??

[astrohari25]

Have seen many other clips of more complexly mathematical and structured thanis....but it takes the extraordinary bit of skill beyond all those to just spontaneously choose what one wants to play (calculations,solkattus,play of sound etc)-which UKS knows best!!!

[astrohari25]

The one & only mridangist who is able to switch between brisk,complex set of sollus to catchy little play of sound with so much ease

[RamLakshmanan]

Outstanding!

[navarasan]

After more than a year, this tani Avartanam still makes the hair at the back of my neck stand up...such perfection.

[sanbormawrie]

so many guys on the stage, how come only one is performing, what good are the others anyway. Good drumming though!

[sonofthedestroyer]

hahaha. Its called Thani Avartanam where each person takes turns in performing a solo. This video only shows one person's solo.

[woodsy58]

It is interesting for me as a westerner ( an English born Australian) to read comments relating to the degradation of culture etc.. play on my friends, you have nothing to fear from us, we love the purity and singularity of this music.

Any perceived threat should come from your own youth disregarding what they have inherited much the same as in the West,

[ANUGATI]

good to listen to .. but the video is not synched with music :/.

[inoidontknow]

sheer class... thanks for this

[panchamkauns]

But it's just Sivaraman! Harishankar isn't playing (yet :). Of all the great drummers, Sivaraman may be my favourite to listen to ... his playing is so musical, so sparse, he does so much with silence and, in some cases (not here), with a slight slight rubato that must be divine.

[sangheeta]

please , anyone has a video of Karraikudi R.Mani to share?

[ajay226]

With all due respect vigneshbal, saying that Palghat Mani Iyer's playing is considered child's play today is possibly one of the stupidest statements I've ever heard. He played intricate mathematical patterns in any given thaalam, and his math with aksharas is that of a genius. So it's really not any sort of child's play at all and that is why he's considered one of the best mridangists ever to live.

[sonofthedestroyer]

In my opinion western audience will be listening for sound so being too mathematical will not impress them. Therefore i feel Carnatic musicians must give more importance to sound than maths if they want their art to survive and not go extinct. I learn mridangam but dont like Carnatic concerts because they are too abrasive and not like the way music should be.

[ShootMyMonkey]

While I agree that the Western audience cares most about sound, I don't agree that that should be put foremost IN LIEU of complexity and depth. One of the things I've always adored about Indian classical music (both Hindustani and Carnatic) is that it defies the Western notion that the theoretically interesting and complicated cannot also be aesthetically pleasing or entertaining.

[ShootMyMonkey]

To continue, I don't know who you've been listening to that you can call Carnatic concerts abrasive. I can maybe get that from very recent TNS (whose sruti-suddham has been waning) or LSub (who favors technical over bhavam, though still wows crowds) and the occasional Sanjay... There's no way I could say that of the vast majority of performances, including those who still show technical depth and elegance like SKR,  MLV, MSG, LGJ, GNB, etc.

[sonofthedestroyer]

But i have heard too many people dismiss carnatic music as too abrasive. This has to change if Carnatic music should get more famous. Why is Sivaraman so famous? Because he is unbeatable in sound production. Palghat Raghu is the maths King but sound his is not so good so he dosent get proper credit. Infact he has not been given a Sangeet Natak Award yet!! This is very sad!

[ShootMyMonkey]

Awards always tend to be loaded with politics. SKR was never even considered for any major music academy award because he was unconventional to the point of being shunned by much of the community in his time, and people like SSI would take measures to crush his career. Somu was even more unconventional and all the more shunned because he wasn't a Brahman.

[ShootMyMonkey]

Continuing -- If "sound" was all there was to Sivaraman, he wouldn't be that famous... you need sound and vidwath and real understanding of the music, and unfortunately, many of the people who had that are long dead. If Carnatic music expands and becomes more famous, that's great, but fame at the expense of depth isn't a fair tradeoff. If that means needing gateway artists like OS Thyagarajan, then so be it. I don't think everybody should aspire to be OST, though.

[sonofthedestroyer]

Who is SKR?

[Mryaggi1]

Who Cares What Westerners Thing..? If we want our art to survive we will continue it with out the consideration of the westernize civilization. For we all know the real degradation of tradition is spear headed by western society and there interpretations. Carnatic Music existed before westerners knew the science mathematics and will continue to flourish now and here after.

[inoidontknow]

sangeetha jnaanamu bhakthi vinaaa!!

[emry01]

To me, UKS clarity of chappu (including the half-chappu) is simply amazing. He is known for his clarity in Play. However, Palghat Mani Iyer (PMI) is the one who brought Mridhangam a name by itself and shud be credited for bringing this instrument to the forefront. Even now, many of the so-called main artists do not respect the mridhangists (probably due to the lack of knowledge). Some of the PMI's korvai on Kanta Ata thaalam are superb. KRM is also know for the intricate variations.

[athreyaa]

I don't deny the greatness of UKS or KRM. But PMI is a totally different league altogather.

[vinayakavr]

Hey Guys listen to phenominal mridangist Dr. Yella Venkateswara Rao from A.P. and then comment... ofcourse Umayalpuram mama rocks

[sonofthedestroyer]

Please post a video up of Dr Yella Venkateshwara Rao as i cant find a video of him.

[santhoshlaxman123]

Great Video..thanks for posting it..

[ShootMyMonkey]

Is it just me or is Youtube's flv conversion really fidgety? Right around 4:26, there's a pop where the video suddenly gets way out of sync with the audio, and I don't think that's in the source or anything you did. I just see it randomly happen on a lot of videos even when they match the "preferred" encodings that Youtube recommends. Thankfully, at least the sound didn't get damaged, so it's still awe-inspiring all the same.

[Rugiviet]

great!

[bigevilchan]

thani avarthanam rocks simply GREAT sivaraman sir teases around with beat counting

[commercialkangaroo]

Big up the RENOWONED MRIDANGA MAESTRO GURU SRI KAARAIKKUDI R MANI... He's the best. Sivaraman and Raguhu sir follow. Harishankar is the Ganjira God!!

[sonofthedestroyer]

Karaikudi mani is very melodious and very traditional but it is is Sivaraman who is appreciated as the best mridangist alive today.Another of my favorites is TV Gopalakrishnan but many do not like him because he has tuned the mridangam to sound very different from the usual sound.

[athreyaa]

I don't deny the greatness of Karaikudi Mani...However, IMHO, he wont fall inder the category of the greatest..we all conveniently forget Palghat Mani Iyer and Pazhani Subramania Pillai...Palghat Mani Iyer is definitely the greatest. Followed by Pazhani Subramnia Pillai, Palghat Raghu and T K Murthy..Then comes Sivaraman...then follows Karaikudi Mani, Trichy Sankaran et al

[sonofthedestroyer]

I have shown laymen recordings of Palghat Mani Iyer and Palghat Raghu and many are more impressed with Sivaraman. I am not 100% sure but i think the general public appreciates flashy playing more than Maths or timing or rhythmic intricacies. This is why Tabla is so famous and hardly anyone knows what a mridangam is.

[athreyaa]

Completely agreed!!! But at a level, it doesn't matter what the general public thinks...Because, at the end of the day, Carnatic music is something which is always beyond the general [ublic, like Chess in sports. SO we can't do much about it. But to say Palghat Mani Iyer is great, people will just have ot listen to his playing in 1950's which sadly isnt available for general public. Lemme know if you want some.

[sonofthedestroyer]

Please send me Mani Iyers old recordings. I have one of him recorded in the late 70's before he died and clearly his playing as affected by his old age.

[sonofthedestroyer]

I think it is only because of Sivaraman that people at least have some idea of the magic of mridangam. In terms of sound he is awesome. He plays a full chaapu (mullu chaapu) in the above clip and i have never heard any other mridangist play a full chaapu with such clarity and volume!!!

[athreyaa]

I concur that he has a great sound. The chapu is heard so clearly. Mainly due to the fact that he uses Kuchi Mridangam. I shall give u old recordings of Mani Iyer. Send me an email t athreyaa at gmail

[vigneshbal]

I have one of his 1955 recordings.. with ariyakudi at coimbatore

[vigneshbal]

This is as per their age and not on prowess..We cannot compare mani iyer to uks/KRM etc.. Becoz we have to understand that the instrument has evolved.. Mani iyer was the first to play nadai's and changing in nadai was considered great those days.. today it is a childs play.. every tom dick and harry does it.

[athreyaa]

Correct. There is no comparison because PMI is in a different plane altogather. I started the whole topic purely bcos someone claimed KRM is the greatest, which is not true. One can never judge a mridangist's greatness based on his thani avartanam. His greatness is measured as to how innovative he gets to play for a keerthanai. And PMI belongs to a league where he can play the entire song on his mridangam. Pazhani, TK murthy and Palghat Raghu are also great in that aspect

[emry01]

I too agree that a mridhangist's play shud be judged by how he/she accompanies the main artist. PMI is probably the one who pioneered in `accompanying'. Rest of the greats can only follow the pioneer. This is not to demean others' but only to mention the greatness of PMI. The following is one terrific article on PMI in a geocities website under ~maniiyer/impressions/subbudu.­htm

[sonofthedestroyer]

One of the all time great mridangists.

[vinayakavr]

Simply stunning performance from Umayalpuram mama.... heard atleast 1000 times ad still longing to hear it