Saturday Night in Hyderabad

It is not everyday that is your day.Yes, there is a saying - "Every Dog has its day"...and that day doesnt come everyday.For me, last saturday was a Day i cannot forget.

When i came to know that L.Subramaniam was performing in Hyderabad, i couldnt contain my anxiety. i was in college and immediately rushed to library, to scan the newspaper. Luckily, i found the contact-person's phone number and found out the details of the show.

Venue: Shilpa Kalaa Vedhika, Shilparamam.

Time: 6:30pm.

Entry was free but people were asked to carry passes(for some security reasons), which were available at Idea Cellular-showroom near L.B.Stadium. Since work kept me busy, i immediately called up few friends, to know if they can get passes. While Aparna forgot about the passes, Prashanth managed to get them. we thought we wont be able to get them, since the passes are available to Idea Cellular customers only. but fortunately, Prashanth could get the passes by registering with the few idea-cell numbers(of his relatives) he has got. The good news hit me by 4:00pm and i wrapped up my work in the office.

By 6:15pm, we parked ourselves at the auditorium, waiting for Aparna. The real shock came to me when i noticed that hardly 100 people gathered there to attend the concert. L.Subramaniam playing and only 100 people! i wondered what happened to Hyderabad people & pitied them. People who spend a saturday evening watching some stupid movie in a multiplex, paying 100bucks dont realize what they are losing. Anways, i am/was/will not one of them. Prashanth & myself spent some time talking about few previous concerts we attended.I remembered one previous Fusion Concert of L.Subramaniam, at necklace road, which myself, Ravi & Ragz attened. It was another unforgettable concert and probably the first fusion concert i attended in my life. good old memories.

Meanwhile, quite casually, film-maker K.Vishwanath dropped in and sat next to us, when we were waiting outside the hall. Being an admirer of his films, especially the ones made in 80s, i couldnt keep mum and told him how much i have liked his films. with a smile, he autographed in my note-book.

My BP began to rose because it was already 6:45 and Aparna was nowhere to be seen. Finally, she made a cool entry at 7:05pm and fortunately, the show didnt start till then.

The show started with Hindustani Vocalist Sanjeev Abhyankar's rendition of Raag Yaman. he was accompanied by Tabla & Harmoium. Quite coincidentally, i heard him for the 1st time, quite recently, while writing some Cds of hindustani music. his rendition was marvelous & it amazed me, more so, because he could play around with his voice, as if it was not inside his throat but something in his hands. Superb tonal control. After mesmerizing the audience with Yaman, he proceeded with Raag "Madhukauns". This one is a newbie for me, or rather, i am a newbie to this raaga, because i havent heard about this raaga till now. Needless to say, he excelled in this one too. Hindustani singers have their own way of rendering the Gamakas and Sanjeev Abhyankar justified his stature as Pt.Jasraj's disciple. Infact Pt.Jasraj was seated among the VIP audience.

L.Subramaniam was to step in next, along with his son, Ambi Subramaniam, but some technical problems gave way for an irritatingly long break of 45 minutes. somewhere at 10:00pm, L.Subramaniam started off with Raag "Hamsadhwani" - "Vaathapi Ganapathim".but 5mins through the krithi, he could feel that something was going wrong and asked the audience if they were able to hear him. The sound of percussion instruments(thavil,ghatam,kanjira) dominated the violin and people were uneasy about it. he then realized that the D-I-Box was not able to recieve the signal from his violin(electric violin). He tried to work on it but nothing improved. Meanwhile, the percussion players went ahead with a jugalbandi session. Though L.Subramaniam apologized to the audience for not being able to perform, the audience insisted him, which made him try once again. The sound of percusssion instruments was lowered to maintain the violin volume up and fortunately it worked.

L.Subramaniam then took over and held the audience spell-bound with Raag Kaapi. It was one of the wonderful Kaapi Krithis i ever heard.Kaapi has its own "caressing-feel" to it, which is why i like it a lot.for me, it is a parallel to Raag-"Peelu" because Raag peelu renders a similar feel, though it is technically very different from raag Kaapi. The music was nothing short of Divine. i couldnt realize when it ended since it transported me into a different world altogether.An experience which i cannot trap in words.

On request, L.Subramaniam played another carnatic krithi, the raaga of which is unknown to me. somewhere close to 11:00pm, the concert drew to close.

The low audience number came to my advantage here. we met Sanjeev Abhyankar and congratulated him for the wonderful rendition. Then came one of the most unforgettable moments of my life. we walked up to Pt.Jasraj and took his blessings. He spoke about the role of youth in preserving the traditional music of india and expressed his concerns over the issue. For me, it was a moment i cannot forget because it was none other than Pt.Jasraj. We went up to the stage and touched the feet of L.Subramaniam. I told him how much i love his music, while Prashanth took his autograph. Pt.Jasraj too walked up and told L.Subramaniam that the music was very divine, more so, because the volume of percussion instruments was kept down and the sound of his violin was highlighted. It was truly an unbelievable moment since we were there interacting about music, with the legends themselves. The only thing i missed that day was a camera. If only i had carried one. L.Subramaniam and Pt.Jasraj, both floored me with their humility, which was evident with the way they spoke to common people. L.Subramaniam was totally down-to-earth and treated every person/fan approaching him with respect and happily obliged when people took photographs with him. Thats something we missed.

we left the auditorium with a sense of gratification, both, musically and also emotionally...because it is not everyday that we can meet legends, talk with them..everyday is not Our Day..but last Saturday was something special.

Blessed!