Madurai TN Seshagopalan-M Chandrasekaran-Tanjore Upendran @ Mylapore Fine Arts (12/25/1981)

Live at Mylapore Fine Arts, Mylapore, Chennai (December 25th 1981)

Madurai TN Seshagopalan- vocal
Dr. M Chandrasekaran- violin
Tanjore P Upendran- mridangam

1) viribOni (varNam)- Bhairavi, Kanda jAti Ata, Pacchimiriyam Adiappayya
2) sArasAkSa paripAlaya- kAmavardhini, Adi, Swathi Thirunal
3) SrI vara lakshmi namastubhyaM- Sri, rUpakam, Muthuswamy Dikshitar
4) marivEre dikkevvaru- latAngi, khanda CApu, Patnam Subramanya Iyer
5) heccarikagA rArA- yadukulakAmbhOji, khanda Eka, Thyagaraja
6) manasA SrI rAmacandruni- ISamanOhari, Adi, Thyagaraja
7) pankaja lOcana- kalyANi, miSra CApu, Swathi Thirunal
8) giripriyam gangAdharam- kadanakutUhalam, Adi, Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhavagathar
9) kIravAni RTP (mAma madhura mInakshI amba dEvi) with rAgamAlikA swarams (can anyone guess?), Adi
10) nirOshTa thillAnA (tadara dhIranA tadara)- Adi, Madurai TN Seshagopalan
11) marulu konnadirA (jAvali)- kamAs, Adi, Ramanathapuram Poochi Srinivasa Iyengar
12) niRaimadhi mugam enum oLiyaalE (Thiruppugazh)- hamsAnandi, Adi, Arunagirinathar
13) nI nAma rUpamulaku- saurAshtram, Adi, Thyagaraja

Without a doubt, this is a treasure everyone should savor. It is a perfect display of the great TNS in his youthful prime. His vast repertoire, breathtaking brigas, cerebral imagination, impressive innovation and total surrender to tradition and immersion to the musical artform are all there for everyone to enjoy. M Chandrasekaran delights us with his mellifluous play which never gets old and the southpaw Tanjore Upendran is at his best. When he accompanies mavericks like BMK and TNS, his play goes up several notches. His thani in Misra Chapu is a masterclass. I request the mridangam vidwans/students to comment more about the thani.

Thanks to Sri K Nagarajan for sharing the majority of the concert, another rasikA (who wishes to be anonymous) for providing TU's thani and Sri Sam S Krishna for providing the details. Those who attended this concert all those years ago, please share your reminiscences.