Nithyasree - Eppadi Paadinaaro (favourites of smt. D K Pattammal)

Main Artist(s): Nithyashree Mahadevan
Album Title: Eppadi Paadinaaro (Nithyasree sings favourite songs of smt. D.K.Pattammal)
RPG
CD

Tracks
1. Eppadi Paadinaaro
2. Vettri Ettu
3. Kannan Varakananae
4. Nanoru Vilayattu
5. Velan Varuvanadi
6. Aaduvome Pallu Paaduvome
7. Vallikkanavan
8. Theeradha Vilayattu Pillai
9. Poonkuyil Koovum
10. Engal Naatu
11. Gokulam
12. Shanthi Nilava Vendum

Orchestra conducted by L.Krishnan

The audio tape title is Eppadi Paadinaaro (Nithyasree sings Old Tamil Hit Songs Of Her Grandmother D.K.Pattammal).

REVIEW
It is clear that RPG wasn't targetting Carnatic buyers due to the lack of listing ragas and composers in both CD and tape, but more of a Tamil/Regional album. The orchestra and Nithyashree make the tunes very light. Nithyashree sung this album when she was younger, when her voice had more of the DK Pattammal sound to it. She does try immitating the young DKP, and at times, the attempts are convincing.

Nithyashree starts the album off with the title track, "Eppadi Paadinaaro" in Karnatakadevagandhari. This song, by Suddhanandha Bharathi, isn't rendered in full form like DKP often would in her kutcheris. Still, the song isn't a bad listen either, nor is the immitation. At the words "Karunai Kadal Perugi", Nithyashree rushes off some bruga sangathis, like DKP when she was younger.

Nithyashree then moves onto Mahakavi Subramania Bharathiyar's "Vettri Ettu" in Mohanam. The background music leading up to the pallavi is that of a typical Indian patriotic theme. This song is significant as it was sung by DKP in a movie, "Naam Iruvar". There is an interesting mridhangam sequence in between, perhaps like in the film version. Personally, again, I prefer the kutcheri version. DKP would render this item in a lot of her concerts too. There are some more nice brugas at "Nithya Shakthi Vazhgavendru" - though DKP's still remain unmatched.

This is followed by another song DKP sung in her own Tamil/Regional collection (78rpms I think), "Kannanvarakanane" in Ragamalika. The final raga, Punnagavarali, isn't sung as nicely as DKP. Very plain.

The Navarasakanada raga opening by the orchestra is quite nice. As expected, Nithyashree follows this with a rendition of Papanasam Sivan's "Nanoru Vilayattu" in the same raga. This is significant, as DKP's brother, DKJ had popularised this song. She renders this krithi a little more like DKP in this track, however, at a much slower speed, like with all the other tracks. Of course, DKJ has rendered the best version, to my knowledge. DKP would render this in her concerts too. Nithyashree's rendition is not bad.

The next song in Ragamalika, "Velan Varuvanadi", was popularised by DKP, but rendered less in her kutcheris, but like Eppadi Paadinaro, she did render it in a very popular album of hers. I figured the speed is considerably slower for the sake of the orcherstra, as Nithyashree has sung this in kutcheri at DKP's speed (it was good). Another ok item. To choose the best rendered bits of the krithi, were the ones in Kedharagoula. The orchestra played best before the Kapi that followed. Her effort at Dhanyasi was a nice try, and her Mohanam immitation was excellent. This song describes the episode of Valli and Murugan - see post below.

Mahakavi Subramania Bharathiyar's "Aaduvome Pallu Paaduvome" (Maand) follows. DKP sang this patriotic song in a movie too. A very cheerful tune, following the song's theme and lyrics - let us dance and sing for we have achieved glorious freedom. After the words "saangu konde", a sound effect of a conch (saangu) follows. Interesting! The sangathis are good, and her pitch remains quite high, but not at a piercing level.

The next item is the evergreen "Valli Kanavan Perai", a Kavadi Chindu based on the raga Senchurutti. DKP popularised this krithi, and sung it in a lot of her kutcheris. She was also famous for this version. Nithya's version is quite good.

This is followed by Subramania Bharathiyar's "Theeradha Vilayattu Pillai" in Ragamalika. DKP popularised this and her version was famous. Here, Nithyashree doesn't come close to DKP's version. Interestingly, the flute from the orchestra plays solo for a few seconds after Nithyashree sings the words that describe Kannan bringing his flute.

Kalki's "Poonkuyil Koovum" derived from Kapi follows. It is a nice rendition, but once again doesn't match DKP's version. This song was also popularised by DKP and was famous for her version. A sound effect of a bird (kuyil) follows the first few words of the composition.

A patriotic song "Engal Naatu" follows, derived from Sindhubhairavi. It's not a bad listen.

The second last song is "Gokulam Yamunai Brindavanam", which was also part of DKP's Tamil/Regional album of 78rpms. It's ok.

Nithyashree concludes the album with "Shanthi Nilava Vendum" in Thilang. DKP popularised and loved this song. It'd be a fitting ending, if Nithyashree didn't make it so plain and boring. Still, it's peaceful like the song's theme.

Overall, this album was peaceful and Nithyashree's voice never trailed along the lines of irritating. Sahithya was ok. Orchestration was ok, with some interesting sound effects. Speed was at an all time low! She lacked any emotion when rendering these songs too, making it quite plain, dull and boring. But if you're in a bad mood, it may cheer you up...either way, overall, I don't think it's a worthwhile buy. She doesn't do justice to many (if any!) of the songs in this album, however, she does give people a very very rough sketch of what DKP brought into the world of Tamil Music, in a Carnatic, Patriotic, Devotional and Film sense. If you're unfortunate enough to not have heard DKP in these mediums, then maybe for you, this album may be a worthwhile buy. :S

Velan Varuvanadi Theme

Murugan hears about Valli's beauty and pretends to chase a deer and comes to her 'thinai' tribe near thiruthani and is stunned by her beauty. When Valli's father, Nambirajan comes home, Murugan turns into a vengai maram. The following day, Murugan appears as a beggar and begs for honey and grains (thenum thinai maavu) to eat. After eating this, he gets uncontrollable hiccups (thaangaadha vikkal) and asks Valli for help. As he flirts with her, he finds out the only animal she is afraid of is the elephant (yaanai). He then asks her if she would marry him and she sneers at him. He then invokes his annan (Ganapathi, his brother), who appears in the form of an elephant. Frightened, Valli asks the old man to save her, and promises to marry him as a condition. As Murugan makes the elephant go away, Valli tries to go back on her word. Again, Murugan invokes Ganapathi and the elephant appears again, but this time, the elephant picks her up and drops her in the arms of the old man. Murugan's disguise disappears, and accepts.

Murugan Pamalai - Nithyasree Mahadevan

Main Artist(s): Nithyashree Mahadevan
Album Title: Murugan Pamalai Vol. 1
Amutham Inc.
CD

Tracks
1. Konji Konji Vaa-Khamas
2. Mohanakkara-Neethimathi
3. Nekkurugi-Abhogi
4. Vidalahuma-Devagandhari
5. Muruga Muzhumadhi-Saveri
6. Orumaiyudan-Ragamalika Idhayak Koyilil-Soothradhari
7. Kundruthoradum-Kalyani
8. Eru Mayil Eri-Anandhabhairavi
9. Mayil Meedhu-Charukesi

Accompanists: Kalpana Venkat (violin), Poongulam Subramaniam (mridhangam), Adambakkam Sankar (ghatam)

I need to thank Venkadesh and especially to Govind. Without both, I could not have reviewed this album today.

REVIEW
Nithyashree begins the album with a 30-second raga alapana in Khamas, following it with Periyasami Thooran's "Konji Konji" in the same raga. Being a krithi on occasion rendered by her grandmother, D.K.Pattammal, one can see how alike their versions are. Perhaps the only difference is pitch!

The next song "Mohanakkara" (Koteeswara Iyer) in Neethimathi and Rupakam starts off as a very controlled rendition and is rendered competently, however her voice does get irritating as she tries to reach gandharam in the upper octave during her sangathis in the pallavi.

A very nicely rendered Abhogi alapana outline follows. The transition from the previous song seems terrific (though this may be because of the huge improvement from the previous track). Kalpana Venkat plays her solo part beautifully and flawlessly here too. This is followed by Papanasam Sivan's "Nekkurugi". Sangathis flow effortlessly from both the vocalist and violinist, and the tempo is perfect. She strains her voice in the charanam a little, and (perhaps a little too quickly) hurries back to the anupallavi. An average nereval at the anupallavi follows, and to the listener's relief, her voice gets a brief break. As she takes another line, while her voice sounds better for the listener's ear, the nereval remains average. The violinist supports her well. She (perhaps a little too quickly) starts kalpana swarams. While the speed is quite fast, her voice begins to show signs of straining. However, during one of the brief breaks, her voice improves again, and her swaras sound much more pleasant. Kalpana Venkat's swaras are terrific throughout the sequence. During the final lines of kalpana swaras, the standard moves up a notch. Room for improvement in the nereval and kalpana swarams, but otherwise, ok!

Nithyashree then moves onto a song beginning "Vidalahuma" in Misra Chapu, very clearly in Devagandhari. She controls her voice effectively, sings the sangathis and gamakas of the raga almost perfectly bringing out Devagandhari's beauty. Last but not least, like the violinist, she renders the song with a lot of bhava. I wish Nithyashree could control her voice this way more often. Very pleasant, and very enjoyable!

The main artist then launches into the main raga, Saveri. Her alapana is quite good, and so is the violinist's. Papanasam Sivan's "Muruga Muzhumadhi" follows. Poongulam Subramaniam's plays effectively during the krithi (up until this point, his playing was just average, if not less). The krithi is rendered very well, and this time, she moves into kalpana swaras much more naturally. Her swaras seem more natural, and are terrific. A nice thani avarthanam follows, without any annoying bangs. Another terrific track.

Nithyashree then sings a rather-famous virutham, "Orumaiyudan" (Ramalinga Swamigal) in Sahana. This is well rendered like most of her other viruthams, and in a ragamalika sequence, she glides through Shanmukhapriya and Valaji likewise, effortlessly. She ends on the rare raga, "Soothradhari" - for those who don't know it, it's a janya of Natabhairavi. She sings the raga and the song that follows beautifully, also in Soothradhari, "Idhayak Koyilil". Kadaloor Subramaniam's (the composer's) excellence usually shows through Nithyashree, and this is no exception. She reveals the beauty of the raga and composition in this track. Also, like throughout the album, Nithyashree's pronounciation of the sahithya is outstanding, expressing herself both musically and lyrically, very clearly.

After a brief raga outline of Kalyani, with some impressive bruga sangathis, Nithyashree proceeds to render Kundruthoradum (Kumara) in the same ragam. She controls her voice throughout this rendition too. Some pleasing swaras in the composition add to the pleasant listen.

A beautiful rendition of Arungirinathar's Thiruppugazh "Eru Mayil Eri" in Anandhabhairavi follows, and gives the listener a reminder of Pattammal's influence. The 2nd kaalam is also very pleasant. Her ending is perfect.

An interesting raga outline of Charukesi follows, marking the last item, much to the disappointment of the listener, yours truely. Thanjavoor Shankara Iyer's composition "Mayil Meedhu" in the same raga is rendered flawlessly and filled with bhava, overall, a reminder of D.K.Jayaraman's (Pattammal's brother) training under the composer. Beautifully rendered. The accompanists accompany Nithyashree in this track. The amount of bhaavaa Nithyashree puts into this song is simply breath taking, the melancholic melody is infectious, making it an effective conclusion to the album, and simultaneously making the listener, especially yours truely, yearn for more (and want an encore).

Nithyashree Mahadevan's pronounciation of the sahithya is terrific. Her understanding of raga, thala, bhava, sangathis and other technicalities continues to grow. While the beginning of the album has room for improvement, the overwhelming majority gets my vote. The accompanists support her well, and she demonstrates her extensive repertoire in this album. Her selection is superb, and her transitions are outstanding. This thematic album on Thamizh Carnatic Murugan songs is brilliant, and definitely one of my favourites. I thoroughly recommend you get it if you haven't already!!!

My first post!

Wow, my first post.