Winter blues...

The last few months of the year are usually slow from a musical event standpoint- organizers do not want t risk schedules going haywire due to the vagaries of the weather and typically go into hibernation during this part of the year. Surprisingly, this year was different- a Hindi concert in Virginia late November, a devotional concert in Chicago and a few more in the pipeline all the way until the end of the year.

The weekend at Chicago was indeed exciting. The Hindu temple celebrated its Annual Murugan Day celebrations and Aingaran who is very popular in the Chicago area performs at the event almost every year. I was very happy to be part of this event - for what better way to end the year than with a ode to Lord Murugan.

While in Chicago, I also had the opportunity to record for a Hindi album- produced, written and composed by a Pakistani- Sarfaraz William- and he was compsoing a Christian ghazal album- sounded very interesting and was truly an astounding and enjoyable experience. The recording took place at Sheno’s studio- Sheno is a well known keyboard player in the Chicago area. I wish professionals in the US had opportunities to be busy throughout the year on recording projects- Alas, the budget and market realities do not help realize such dreams. I will post the song once the mixing and production is complete- The album has 7-8 ghazals with voices of some professionals from India and Pakistan.

Nov 14th- Kerala Day celebrations at NBA

NBA-this association has nothing to do with basketball- but NBA as in Nair Benevolent Association at New York celebrated Kerala Day on Nov 14th. Thahseen and I got 90 minutes with Rajeev Menon and Kala Satish joining the fray. The audience seemed to have very refined musically tastes, for there was a request to delve into the raga for each song- a segment that was both entertaining and enjoyable. Rajiv Menon, apparently a hardcore Hariharan fan, was remarkable on Tu Hi Re. Another highlight was my impromptu opportunity to anchor a segment on the event for Amrutha-TV. The past few years has witnessed proliferation of US based segments on Indian TV channels with the Malayalam and Telugu channels taking the lead. Some of these are hugely popular in India but I have always wondered why we don’t have major productions like the ones in India. Sponsorship may be one issue-Getting buy in from Corporate America will surely help, perhaps. Any takers there ?

To view photos click http://picasaweb.google.com/kri.anitha/20091115Nov14thNBA_NewYork?authkey=Gv1sRgCMDO076YlLSHsgE#

Nov 7th 2009- Kerala Day Celebrations at Philadelphia

Nov 7th 2009 was an interesting weekend. I was at the Kerala Day celebrations at Philadelphia-was there to perform with Thahseen but we did not get to sing that many songs what with the slew of dances, fashion shows and other items and the usual late start. George Nadavayal, the president of the Tri-State Kerala forum sensed our disappointment perhaps, and invited us to judge the beauty pageant – which was a different experience. It was not one of those events, that would remain etched in memory for eternity but I still had fun catching up with Thahseen, who I was performing with after a gap of three years. It was almost like a rehearsal for our next event at Nair Benevolent Association at New York.

Click here to view more photos http://picasaweb.google.com/kri.anitha/20091108Nov7th2009_KeralaDay_TriStateKeralaForum?authkey=Gv1sRgCIrS9OGY8NDIXw#

Oct 31st 2009 Weekend...

Musical events in India happen almost everyday, including weekdays and weekends. I have even heard stories of celebrity singers in Chennai, singing a few songs at TTK hall then rushing to another venue to perform at another event! In the USA, most Indian events are limited to weekends. However, New Jersey seems to be fast crossing that threshold. This past weekend, I performed at three different events.

On Friday Oct 31st, I was at a reception dinner for Dr.Karan Singh, former Indian ambassador to the US. The invitees included senior business leaders in the NY area and the agenda was basically a get-together with Dr.Karan Singh. I was actually surprised to learn that Dr Singh had a very good knowledge of music and is a sitar player himself. Thanks to Mahesh Saladi for letting me be part of this event.

On Sunday Nov 1st, the North American Telugu Society (NATS) a newly formed amalgamation of Telugu speaking community from across North America had a kick-off fund raiser in NJ. NATS organized its first national celebration “America Telugu Sambaralu” in Orlando, Florida last year and will have the second in Edison, NJ in 2010. This event was the kick-off fund-raiser and a host of invitees from India that included Award winning Telugu ghazal singer Srinivas, TV singing competition winners Sreenidhi and Raghuram, Anchor and mimicry artiste and singer Simha. I felt honored to be one of the invitees. Thanks to Dr Madhu and Sireesha Korrapati !

Ghazals has its roots in the Persian region and for long has been a staple cultural artifact of Northern India. Changing audience tastes have led to its popularity in the South particularly around the Kozhikode region in Kerala. Ghazal Srinivas is hugely popular in Andhra Pradesh and he has a unique style of delivery. He uses just a Kanjeera for the rhythm, dwells on the lyrical beauty and walks you through a tale of emotion and passion and leaving you in a trance at the end. This was the first time I heard him and I was very impressed. What was also impressive was his insistence on the audience maintaining absolute silence during his performance which is a rare feat to achieve among Indian audiences.

That same evening I attended a Shirdi Sai Temple fund raiser event. This time I was basically part of the audience to watch a group from Mumbai perform. The organizer was known to me and he invited me on stage and I had a good time singing a song with a very competent team of musicians from India.

To view more photos click http://picasaweb.google.com/kri.anitha/20091031DrKaranSinghDamu?authkey=Gv1sRgCMXxrI72qbXdPg#

Oct 24th 2009- At Greater Toronto Telugu Association

Last weekend, I was across the border- at the Greater Toronto Telugu Association Deepavali celebrations to be exact. Krishna and I decided to use this opportunity to take a brief vacation and sort of mix business with pleasure. We drove the seven hour stretch and our first stop was at Niagara Falls on the other side of the border. The diminishing dollar did little to vindicate our decision but the spectacular view of the Falls from the 17th floor of the Marriot certainly did.

The next morning we headed to Toronto - an hour’s drive away. The hall was pretty packed and the audience very enthusiastic. There was no orchestra for we had a bunch of karaoke tracks loaded into our Ipods – (The Apple orchestra from California). I still have mixed feelings on singing with karaoke-on one hand it limits the singer, the stage may seem devoid of life and you are at the mercy of the electronic bytes- one missed beat can leave you stranded. On the other hand, it works with limited budgets, you don't have to deal with the hassle of incessant phone calls of coordination and logistics planning. Most of the newer breed of songs require some sort of pre- progammed loading anyway, as is evident in most professional groups including that of the maestro A.R.Rahman. I guess I may have touched a raw nerve but would like to know what folks think to this never ending debate among the musical fraternity.

Irrespective of the consensus, the show was well appreciated and many thanks to Ravi Gudipati, Surya Bezawada garu and his team!

To view photos click http://picasaweb.google.com/kri.anitha/20091026Oct24th_CanadaTrip?authkey=Gv1sRgCOvD9bjXtdySaQ#

Delaware Hindu Temple- Oct 17th 2009

It was a hat-trick. For the third consecutive year Viswamohan Ammula and I were at the Mahalakshmi temple at Delaware organized by the Delaware Telugu Association. It was one of the best audiences that I have performed for- musically inclined, patient and responsive. The show began at 8:30 and ended at 12:40 more than four hours of nonstop music. At one point, Viswamohan and I deviated from the script and went extempore with a slokam followed by a Purandaradasa krithi- Viswa followed with a Hindi ghazal and Krishna Nee Begane. That was one of the most enjoyable segment of the event. Nagaraj garu did a great job managing the sound system at the temple – He seemed to be very well versed with the equipment since the last time we were there. I would like to thank the committee members of the Delaware Telugu Association and the Hindu temple, special thanks to Shri Bala Reddy garu and Shri Sarma garu for the honor of being invited for the third consecutive time.

View more photos at http://picasaweb.google.com/kri.anitha/Oct17th_2009_DelwareTeluguAssociation#

Gurubhyo Namaha

On the eve of Vijayadashami, I organized a gathering of all my music students, past and present and keeping with the tradition of the auspicious event, they all sang different krithis. It made me reminisce my own childhood and my guru, Shri Ochira Balakrishnan, who was a major influence in shaping my music

Balakrishnan sir taught at the Trivandrum Music College and retired as its Principal. He himself was a disciple of the renowned Late Shri Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer. He had a home at Tripunithara, a suburb in Cochin. He traveled the 4 hour journey back and forth once or twice a week and taught students privately in Ernakulam. I was one of them and I guess one of his favorites too. I remember the days when I had to get up at 4 am in the morning and get ready for a 5 AM class. There were times when I was frustrated and did not want to continue but his perseverance and my mother’s adamance won over my indolence.

He introduced me to various raagas both simple and complex, He led me through the intricacies of Thodi and Bharavi and infused into me the habit of constant practice to achieve perfection. One of his masterpieces which helped me bag a number of awards in competitions in Kerala,Tamil Nadu and AP, was the Thyagaraja Krithi "Emi Chesithe Sri Rama" and Swathi Thirunal's "Janani Maamava".I must have practiced each krithi more than 500 times before presenting it on stage. He pushed me to participate in all competitions and was visibly pleased each time I came back triumphant. I believe that he used to sneak in unannounced and watch me perform. I used to get calls from well known light music groups in Cochin like CAC but Balakrishnan sir discouraged me from performing light music concerts and wanted me to focus on carnatic music.. and focus I did for almost 15 years.

He is no more-he succumbed to a heart attack last year. He left behind his wife and two daughters .He has also left behind a lasting legacy that will forever be an imprint and guiding light in my musical journey. I hope I can impart at least some his legacy to my own students.
May his soul rest in peace!

South Florida Tamil Sangam- Sept 19th 2009

Performing on stage and coordinating an event are two different skills and it is difficult to juggle both these tasks at the same time without diluting the focus on one of them. I myself let my husband handle all the organization and coordination work while I focus on the performance part. There are very few who manage both these tasks well and one of them is Ainkaran. I have done several successful Tamil shows with him and after every one of them I have come back with a feeling of satisfaction thanks to Ainkaran’s meticulous attention to detail whether it is in the coordination of the orchestra, preparing the song list or working with the organizers on logistics. His ability to juggle the dual tasks of performing and coordinating were evident last weekend at the South Florida Tamil Sangam show on Sept 19th.

The audience was wonderful and was strapped to their seats till the end of the show. I have always enjoyed performing in smaller towns where the crowd may be smaller but display tremendous enthusiasm, energy and appreciation of the artistes. The hospitality was simply awesome and we were really touched by the efforts of Dr Appu Ratnavelu and his team. Special thanks to Usha for the mouth-watering lunch and to Vanitha, Lavanya and Anbuselvan for their wonderful hospitality.

To view photos click http://picasaweb.google.com/kri.anitha/FloridaTamilConcertSEp19th_2009?authkey=Gv1sRgCKC3nbSE7b6TRA#

Sept 12th 2009 -Asha for Education fundraiser at Kansas City

It was almost like the climax scene from a Bollywood potboiler. Drama and high tension all the way but a very happy ending! The flight to Kansas City on Friday 9/11 was canceled due to inclement weather- we were rerouted on a different airline via North Carolina but missed the connection to Kansas and were stranded in Charlotte Friday night. The show was scheduled for Saturday at 5 PM. and we had to be at the auditorium by 2 PM. The earliest flight out of Charlotte to Kansas was the next morning at 9:45 and it was overbooked. After some haggling and pleading, Ramani got the team of five on that flight. We reached Kansas at 11:30 and were in Viswamohan’s home by 1 PM. After a quick lunch the team was on stage for the sound check. The stress did take its toll and I was pretty sick and throwing up.

Happier tidings soon followed, though. We were told that the show was sold out and online sales were closed at noon. Around 100 people had to be turned back at the gate. The 850 capacity auditorium was completely packed. The caterers ran out of food. Although, this can be an event organizer’s nightmare, honestly for the artistes it sounded like music to the ears :) . This was one of the well organized shows that I have been to, and the music itself was wonderful. The 6 piece orchestra was completely manual and very well synchronized. Chundu (Sundaresan) from Virginia was a revelation. He was on the keyboard for the most part, but his beginning interlude on the violin for Thaaye Yashoda (Morning Raaga), was simply amazing- not sure if there are many in the US who could play that complicated piece with such perfection. Looking forward to the video from Viswamohan- who had his put his heart and soul to this event and his efforts paid in a big way!

I also got to meet Jitesh Nair , a key coordinator for ASHA and an old friend, after a gap of nearly ten years. Kudos to the Asha for Education team at Kansas City.

Indo-American Fair, New Jersey

There were scores of stalls parading Indian wares from jewelry and clothing to mehndi. The air was waft with the delicious aroma of roasted dosas and Indian spices. It was almost like a scene from a mela, in the rustic heartland of India. Mela it was – except that this was smack in the middle of New Jersey. First organized in 2003 and held during the Labor Day weekend every year, it has witnessed increasing turnout every year and has had a couple of celebrity visits in the past.
There was a constant stream of dance and music ranging from tiny-tots to local celebrities and as expected the scheduling went completely out of control. Under the guise of promoting local talent, many organizers have been packing events with numerous group dances and music that would ensure the presence of the performer’s near and dear( Most times, half the performers leave soon after they complete their performance J).
The highlighted event of the evening was a group that went by the name of RDB from UK. Had never heard of them, but when I checked them out on the Internet, they seem to have composed music for a few films including the Bollywood blockbuster-Singh is King. Accompanied by a group of Bhangra dancers, they belted out Punjabi songs to perfection- but I have a sneaky suspicion that they were lip-syncing. I guess that Ashley Simpson does have her fans in Bollywood.
Music is divine but the music business is not.

Arizona Telugu Association at Tuscan

Just got back from Tucson,Arizona – it was a really long flight but was worth it after a wonderful concert at the 10th anniversary celebration of the Telugu Association. I was quite amazed that there is large Indian community in a small town tucked away in the deserts of Arizona, almost a stone’s throw away from the Mexican border. The summer heat was scalding but the response and hospitality of the Telugu community was really cool. The best part of my trip was the surprise meeting with Mr and Mrs Koganti Venkatratnam garu and after 17 years. He was my first sponsor in the US- when I first landed in Atlanta a recital at the Purandara Dasa celebration at the temple led to an invite from Koganti garu to Savannah. We lost contact since but he frequently featured in our conversations- so I was so pleasantly surprised when he came back-stage after the concert and asked “Anitha – do you remember us ?” BTW, I have promised myself to update this blog more frequently. I am guilty of procrastination and have resolved to fix this lapse with at least a weekly update, even if it just a few lines…

Anitha

Shirdi Sai temple fundraiser

As I recover from a bout of flu, I am also basking in the hangover of the Jan 3rd show- a full fledged Hindi concert for the Shirdi Sai temple fund raiser in NJ. The show was very well received for a lot of reasons- we had a great list of songs that blended both the vintage 70’s and that of the latest genre, the audience thoroughly enjoyed themselves and we had a great team Viju, Jomy and Suresh. Jomy was the favorite that evening with his display of percussion mastery on the drums and the tabla.
For the first time, I managed to sing a few songs without the lyric sheet. I have always wondered how most of the singers from Bombay perform without a lyric sheet in front of them. Most singers need the safe haven of the lyrics, especially those from the South of the Vindhyas. When I did classical carnatic programs back in India, I never needed the lyrics- it was all in my head- but that was because I would have practiced the keerthana a zillion times before performing on stage and the song just was in my system- it also helped in the manodharma in the alapanas. With film songs, however it is different- quite a few songs are performed for the first time- many songs have a very short shelf-life. I also keep notes of any variations or other intricate lilts in my lyric sheet. Many of my tech savvy friends now use the laptop to refer to the lyrics- will need to get up to speed on that. Until then it will continue to be my own personal hand scribbled creation ...

And another year passes by....

And another year passes by – and I begin the new year with my entry into the blog world. Musically, 2008 began with a semi-classical concert of Annammacharya keerthanas- a fund raiser for Silicon Andhra –Jan 12th – 2008, my daughter Sruthi received her first offer of college admission that morning- and my mood was upbeat the whole day- capped it with a wonderful concert at the Bridgewater temple. Chari gave some great support on the keyboard and Subhash, as usual ,was in excellent form on the mridangam and tabla.

It is a true gift to meet passionate music lovers - Dr Devaiah and Dr Rudramma garu are two, I was lucky to know of and Viswamohan and I were fortunate enough to perform for them twice in Florida in February and later again in June.

This year was also the season of political fund raisers- I was invited to perform at AP Home Minister Shri Jana Reddy's felicitation , Mega star's Shri Chiranjeevi's Mega Prabhanjanam at NJ. Thanks to Lakshmi Duveneni and Vasu Reddy for these great opportunities


2008 also saw my third movie song being released- from the Telugu movie bharatmahaan.com-( http://cinefolks.com/telugu/AudioSongs/movie/Bharat+Mahan.com/# )
The movie is yet to be released but the music director Amos has done a great job- his tunes remind me of the nostalgic tunes of Rajan Nagendra and Ilayaraja. I find it hard to believe that I was actually able to make a hat-trick of playback singing from across the seven seas. Like they say – one thing leads to another but it all began with the one person who was responsible for my debut- Shanthi Kumar who gave me a break with Indian Beauty. Joy Calvin was the music director and we sort of hit it off. So when he got his second break, he offered me a song and that is how Nestama happened. During the recording sessions another new music director Amos, asked if I would record for his composition and that that was bharat mahaan.com happened. It is difficult to figure out what makes one tick – but I am glad I got to where I could. I will have some more intersing tit-bits on these recording in later editions.


This year, Ainkaran and I did some really enjoyable Tamil shows- the one at FETNA had Krish and Chinamayee. In spite of my earlier apprehensions about shows with celebrities from India, this one went remarkably smooth. For one, Krish is an old friend and co-singer but the major credit goes to Aingaran for his well-oiled organizational skills. The Utah show as another memorable one too, My husband and I also got to spend some time in picturesque Salt Lake City. The Chigaco temple fund raiser (Tamil and Telugu) with Ainkaran and Haranadha Raju was another great one. Both Raju and Ainkaran were simply awesome.

In July, I was pleasantly surprised to get a call from the ATA(American Telugu Association) officials, informing me about the conferment of the Vamsi International, Gayaka Ratna Award. Special thanks to all my Telugu speaking supporters and a special one to Damu Gedala garu.

In August, I had the wonderful opportunity to do a three-concert Telugu musical tour with Shri G.Anand and team. Like a ship that needs a good captain, any musical tour needs a great leader and Anand garu is one. Also had an opportunity to meet Chadra Teja from India and Sowjanya the SaReGaMapa semi finalist from New Jersey. Thanks to Prasad Thotakura garu and the Sripada family in San Antonio.


So what make a show tick- in my opinion it is a combination of three factors, great performance, great acoustics and sound system and a great audience, One show that had all three was the Ganeshotsav festival at the Philadelphia- it was an awesome feeling and the hangover stayed for days. Thanks to the team Viju on the keyboard, Brian on guitar, Ganesh on Dhol and drums, Subhash on tabla, Suresh and Santhosh and a special one to Mr. Shiv Kumar for making this happen.

December was the month of adventure…For the first time we went on a cruise- for the first time I was part of a Telugu music night on board the Carnival Sensation to Bahamas. Thanks to the Mazaa cruise Sudhakar, Durga Mantha and Vijeta for this enjoyable opportunity. Sruthi and Krishna also had a great time with Mani Sastry and Sastry(Mani’s other half) and Viswamohan. Viswa is one positive minded guy who can turn many a bad situation into a great one.

The year ended with a Malayalam show with Pandalam Balan. Balan is a veteran of stage shows, having done more than 5000 shows all over the world. He has this uncanny knack of turning the ordinary into the extraordinary- He understands the pulse of the audience and constantly steers the team towards a thunderous response from the audience. It was a great feeling to end the year with this show at Staten Island Malayalee Association.

2008 also got me some great well wishers Lakshmibai Kallakuri garu, Fathima Ji and Ismat ji.

Thanks to all my well wishers, patrons and fans- a special one to Mr. Yohanan Sankarathil for getting me back with Malayalee music lovers.

Thanks to all the musicians and technicicans for their great support-Subhash, Viju Jacob, Jomy, Vincent, Eugene,Shalu,Ganesh Jagtab,Arul Yagappan,Blesson,Sheno,Balu,Natesan,Brian,Clement and Sabu(Guitarist from Chicago).
To all the singers - Ainkaran, Haranadha Raju. Pandalam Balan, Viswamohan, Suresh Ramachandran, Santhosh, Rajeev, Baba Sontanya and Durga Mantha.
Wishing you all Happy 2009 !

Anitha Krishna