(This is the second in a series on pakkavadhyam and upa pakkavadhyam artists, without whom a concert will not be complete)
Trichur Narendran-Mridangam
As a student during the season...
I still cherish those days as a youngster going along with my guru Palghat Raghu to various sabhas in this city for the December season concerts. Sitting on the stage to assist him was a blessing in disguise.
I was able to listen to concerts of stalwarts such as M.D.Ramanathan, Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer and Palakkad K.V.Narayanaswamy to name a few. I still yearn for those days, although I know the time machine can never be reset. There was an innocent approach to life with no expectations at all. I think life was easier then...
As an artist who is part of the season ....
Now I am part of the band wagon playing for many artists. I accompany vidwans Madurai T.N.Seshagopalan, T.V. Sankaranarayanan and M. Chandrasekaran during their concerts. Among the youngsters, I am a regular with Madurai T. N. S. Krishna and Palakkad Ramprasad, apart from playing for others. The whole of December is like a marathon race and I start preparing one month ahead of it.
AIl India Radio...
I am enjoying my stint at AIR, playing and producing concerts. Maybe I should call it a year-long season? I meet a lot of vidwans at AIR, and I have learnt to adapt to varied styles of singing and playing.
Tirupunithura Radhakrishnan-Ghatam
Season and what it means to you...
I live in Tirupunithura, but I have been coming to Chennai during December for almost 35 years now. It was at the behest of Das Anna (K. J. Yesudas) I got to play at the main slot of The Music Academy many years ago, as prior to that I had no such opportunity even in the junior slot. I can never
forget the attention I got after that, and I have Das Anna to thank for it.
Season’s special...
This year, special for me as my elder cousin brother vidwan T.V.Gopalakrishnan is the Sangita Kalanidhi designate at the Academy. Our entire family is rejoicing this achievement of his.
Difficulties you face...
I have been camping in Chennai since November end staying in a hotel as I cannot keep travelling from Kochi for every concert. I also hire autos to go to the concert venues. Finally, when I pack my bags to go home at the end of the season, I find I have run out of money. Despite this, I love to come to Chennai every year to play at as many concerts as possible, mingle with friends, relatives and musicians.
Srirangam Kannan-Morsing
Your take on the December season...
My first season was in 1995. Ever since then, I have been a part of it - playing at concerts for stalwarts such as N. Ramani and Madurai T. N. Seshagopalan.
Your stint with Mandolin U Shrinivas...
I was a regular in his concerts both during and after the season. I miss him. He was an avathara purusha who showed the world a new dimension in music and suddenly left us to join heaven’s coterie of vidwans.
Interesting episode...
Once during a lec-dem, a rasika kept pestering us with questions on how safe it was to play the morsing. His doubts were genuine as morsing is known to have cut many a tongue when handled carelessly. Finally, a sharp reply from the stage silenced him, sending the audience into peals of laughter.
