Pandit Samta Prasad - Resonance unlimited

If each year is a beat, today the second cycle of the twelve beat Ekthal is completed, after the demise of the Maharaj of Thaal- Pandit Samta Prasad (Gudai Maharaj). Of course, his life was not different from his own words: "The whole life of a tabla artiste is dedicated to finding a special beat with the tali and the khali. They reside in his heart, because his soul rests and throbs with the thaala of measured matras".

He is a musician who had dominance over both the baayan and tabla. He was an illustrious soloist and accompanist. In Pandit Kishan Maharaj's ( tabla exponent ) opinion, "Tabla in Gudai ji's hands seemed like a fish trapped in an eagle's claws". He had such an astonishing control over the instrument. It is said that in those days, the organizers felt like- without Gudai Maharaj the concerts were incomplete and they will first attest to the date of Gudai Maharaj before they finalize the main artist ! He was awarded the Central Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1979 and the PathmaBhooshan, the third highest civilian honor given by Govt. of India in 1991.

Pandit Samta Prasad and Ustad Amjad Alikhan

Not too many artists had the blessing of leaving this material world after a concert on the same day like Gudai Maharaj. 1994, May 31st was such a day. From the ultimate Tali to the richness of Khali !

Pranaams to the Legend.

Written by
Nambiar Sooryavamsha Kshathriya

Get updated!
Visit and Like our fb page at : www.facebook.com/wocue

Comments

Steve AleyJune 1, 2018 at 12:37 AM
Nice to see such Legends are remembered
ReplyDelete
Replies

Add comment

The Second ‘WOCUE Rasa-Navam’ ( something special captures )

F rom the set of pics that came under our consideration, we selected this beautiful capture of Smt. Shashwati Garai Ghosh in landacape orientation as the second WOCUE rasanavam – something special captures. Photo by : Debojyothi Dhar, Captured at Mukteshwar Fest, 2017 In this picture, the Dancer is positioned like a wonderful sculpture. The color of her costume is well blended into atmosphere of the stones on the Temple structure in the background. Lights on the Temple structure are nice and the other structures goes into darkness slowly into the infinity. (Announced on 29th May 2017) About the Artist : SMT. SHASHWATI GARAI GHOSH Smt. Shashwati Garai Ghosh, is an Odissi Dancer from Kolkotta. She is a Disciple of Vidushi Sharmila Biswas. Shashwati has performed several times at the Konark Festival, the Mukteshwar Festival, and the Ananya Festival in India. Besides, she has danced at Menaka Thakkar’s group production (Toronto, 2004), Maximum India...

!da Dance Fest 2019 at God's Own Country - Third edition

T hird edition of ida dance fest was organized on 14th and 15th December 2019 at 'The Land of Lords and Looms' -Kannur, Kerala, a region famous for the Theyyams and Handlooms. On the first day, Kathak by Richa Guptha, Bharathanatyam by RLV Anand, Harinie Jeevitha & Bhairavi Venkatesan, Kuchipudi by Ruchi Krishna and Aavani Rakesh were presented. An item that depicted the story of Lord Ayyappa in Ragamalika set to Aadi thalam was presented by RLV Anand. Harinie Jeevitha & Bhairavi Venkatesan started their performance with an invocation to Lord Ganesha. Through their next item 'Ananada Natana Prakasam' of Shri Muthuswami Deekshithar, both Harinie and Bhairavi captured the attention of the audience. Due to the deviation from the Bharathanatyam's traditional style of music in the background, their next item 'Janani Jagathkarini' did effect the 'classical mood' of the performance. It is not that the choreography or performance ...

Infinite Ocean in a Cup! Savour of music from Dr. Jayanthi Kumaresh

W ith its vastness and depth beyond the sight, Music is often referred to as 'Anantha Saagaram' ( the Infinite Ocean). "Cup O' Carnatic" by Vidushi Dr. Jayanthi Kumaresh, a video series which influenced a lot of viewers, was an effort to handover the flavors of the infinite ocean with the piecemeal approach at the best. "So many people write to me with queries on Veena and Music. Though initially I tried to answer them individually, due to time constraint, it became difficult. So I thought it will be nice to have a public platform to attend such queries so that every one can access it", Dr. Jayanthi explains the path that lead her to the creation of "Cup O' Carnatic". To motivate young rasikas into enjoying and appreciating Carnatic music, the videos are purposely kept to a shorter duration. Apart from its rich content and the effective presentation, what was so special about the series was its short duration. This in-fact had ins...

'Namami Shankaram' : A Predestined Hymn in the Soul’s Journey

A girl whose thoughts were filled with classical dance, when grown up, married into the royal family of Maharaja Sri Swathi Thirunal—whose contributions to Mohiniyattam are priceless, and whose lifetime is considered the golden era of Mohiniyattam. She considers it as a blessing. Now, years later, she has again been handpicked by the Almighty to portray the life of Adi Shankaracharya through dance. In this conversation with Gopika Varma, PSB Nambiar Sooryavamsham explores the inspiration, research, and process behind ‘Namami Shankaram’, a Mohiniyattam portrayal of Adi Shankaracharya’s life. A dancer often senses a spark for a new choreography. Can you tell us how ‘Namami Shankaram’ first took shape in your mind? I was invited to perform for Adi Shankara Jayanthi in Indore in March 2017. I was confused about what to perform. One day, I went to my friend Krithika Subramanian’s house for dinner. Her mother-in-law was reading a commentary on Adi Shankaracharya. I asked her f...

The First Lesson - By Mysore Vasudevacharya

M ysore Vasudevacharya, doesn't need any introduction among the the Carnatic Music Devotees. Many popular compositions like 'Broche varevarura' in Kamas, 'Mamavatu sri Sarasvati' in Hindolam, 'Bhajare Re Manasa' in Abheri, 'Ninne Nammitinayya Sri Rama' in SimhendraMadhyamam are the contribution of this great Musician who belonged to the 'Shishya Parampara' of Sri Thyagara Swami, forerunner among the Trinities of Carnatic Music. We found an old article written by him- published somewhere in between 1900 -1961, recalling the days he spent with his Guru - Sri Patnam Subramania Iyer around 1870s! Those words, like his compositions, were flowing out from the heart of purity. He writes : Says Bhagavadgeetha. You should serve your Guru with devotion and sincerity; you should prostrate at his feet; you should ask him questions and get your doubts cleared; you are, then, ready for the road to 'Brahmagnana' . Who is a G...

"And singing still dost soar, and soaring ever singest...", Dr. Bombay Jayashri at Narada Gana Sabha

V idushi Bombay Jayashri culminated her musical yagnas Margazhi season Chennai appropriately at a Sabha whose name is synonymous with the Vedic sage holding Tampura singing songs of Vishnu and Sadguru Gnanananda . Yes Sadguru Gananda Auditorium of Narada Gana Sabha was chocked with ardent music lovers from Chennai and rest of the ‘world’ to listen to Carnatic music by Bombay Jayashri. While, on 30 December 18, people started queuing up outside the gates in 'tune' with the anticipated calm and meditative music, there was a celestial event of invisible line up of ragas waiting to waft in and gently enter the vocal chords of the divine singer framed between two Tampuras . And when curtain was raised at 4 pm. Bindumalini, Kalyani, sriranjani, Sindhu Bhairavi, Desh - to name a few Gandharv Beings - came one by one in a very orderly manner. In contrast to the melody , the applause was higher than 6 on the Richter Scale and the standing ovation appeared to be unend...

Soorya fest - 'Parampara' series

P arampara series of performances in Soorya fest 2018 this year will be conducted from Nov 1 to 10 at Thiruananthapuram, Keralam. The venue of performance will be Ganesham and will begin at 6.45 PM on all days. 1 Nov - Dakshina Vaidayanathan ( Bharatanatyam ) 2 Nov - Pratiksha Kashi ( Kuchipudi ) 3 Nov - Sreelakshmi Govardhan ( Kuchipudi ) 4 Nov - Divya Unni ( Bharatanatyam ) 5 Nov - Abhayalakshmi ( Odissi ) 6 Nov - Reddy Lakshmi ( Kuchipudi ) 7 Nov - Deepti Gupta ( Kathak ) 8 Nov - Shweta Prachande ( Bharatanatyam ) 9 Nov - Lavanya Ananth ( Bharatanatyam ) 10 Nov - Uthara Unni ( Bharatanatyam ) Time : 6.45 PM - all the above performances. November 1 to 10 Workshop on Dance by Guru Bragha Bassal Hamee 11-Inch Tabcase Tan Brown Leather Tablet Case / Sleeve / Pouch for Toshiba ...

JFW Award 2018 is presented to Dr. Bombay Jayashri

R enowned Carnatic music vocalist and music composer Dr. Bombay Jayashri is honored with JFW Award 2018. JFW (Just For Women), South India's leading women's magazine, reflects the essence of the progressive Indian Woman in all her glory. The 10th edition of the JFW Awards 2018, dedicated to the women-for women-by women, was conducted on Saturday- the 15th September. Dr. Bombay Jayashri has been performing since 1982 and has given thousands of concerts all around the world, in addition to a thriving playback singing career as well as known for her collaboration with various artists. A short video was presented on the achievements of the awardees. The awardees, much like the previous years, are women from various fields who have made a fundamental difference in their chosen field by way of their sheer talent. Send your Articles, Reports, Reviews to editor.wocue@gmail.com >> For Details Click here ...

Violin Maestro, Padmabhushan Sri T.N. Krishnan turns 90

T oday is a red letter day for me as I attended Kanakabhishekam of Prof T N Krishnan Sir and his Dharampatni Smt Kamala Ji on the occasion of 90 th Birth Day celebration of the violin Legend. Amidst the chanting of Vedic mantras, Havan, Pooja to Lord Guruvayurappa, Nadaswaram by Vidwan Seshampatti Sivalimgam, felicitation by Governor of Tamil Nadu the celebration culminated with Abhishekam of the couple from the vessel of yagna rituals with everyone singing Gowri Kalyana Vaibhavame. Post the Abhishekam the Couple were resplendent while seated, as people lined up to touch their feet and obtain Mangala Akshadai. I am very very blessed to witness Parameswar Parvathi and was so overwhelmed that I could wet their holy feet with Aananda Bashpam ( tears of joy ). May God Bless them with many more Jayanthi so they can, in turn, Bless millions like me. Sri. C.S. Pancham with Sri T.N. Krishnan and his Dharampatni Smt Kamala on the occasion of 90th B...

WOCUE

Search This Blog