She is the grand Octogenarian on the Veena scene - retaining the zeal of tradition while maintaining the zest for exquisite creativity. A rare collection indeed!

Tags: Veena Veenai Kalpagam Swaminathan Carnatic Karnatic

I apologize for not having the video to put here. But, just the audio music is in itself so powerful, that I venture to put just audio without a video. SB plays a heart-melting, mind-boggling, soul-stirring ShubhaPantuvaralli. I am sure every Vainika will be forced into self-introspection and see how and where one in on the side of this steep magnificent mountain of Veena music set by one unique and sigularly creative man - SB I first of all thank Mr. SBS Raman (SB's son) for sharing this gem with me - and, further allowing to share with with the world. I quote Mr. Raman below: Begin Quote: "This is from the early days SB was experimenting (as typical with him, exploring uncharted unrehearsed territory, walking a high strung tightrope with no safety net, on stage, in live concert) with playing in the "tuning-box" area with no frets to guide where a note lands. His "andavane", "ayyo" (as the next 'logical' sequence of sangathis strikes him), "sabhash" (to himself) and chuckles sharing the enjoyment of the audience, are particularly endearing. This clip brought back a flood of memories I wanted to share with you!" End Quote

Tags: S. Balachander Veena Shubhapantuvarali Thodi (hindustani) Todi (Hindustani) Carnatic Karnatic Veenai

This is the first of a new series. I want to post in this series Vainikas who are exceptional in talent and who are actively pushing the frontiers and horizons of the music from the Veena. I was very surprised when I first heard Veena Srinivas. Music gushes out - and the techniques behind his music are remarkable. My surprise was doubled because I had never heard of him till recently. I am also partly shocked that such talent has not gained the visibility it deserves. While we lament about the dwindling interest from the public towards the Veena in general, we Vainikas should open our arms to promote such talented Vainikas. I believe that the future of Veena lies in the hands of these hidden jewels; here I recollect a beautiful passage from Thomas Gray: "Full many a flower is born to blush unseen and waste its sweetness on the desert air" We, as Vainikas and as conscientious music lovers, cannot let this happen. Setting aside vested interests, we should join hands and promote everything great and divine about the Veena - including such great talents - we must cross boundaries, set new standards for ourselves - both in music and in ethics, and push the frontiers to the best of our ability.

Tags: Veena Veenai Carnatic Srinivas Karnatic S. Balachander

In this remarkable Kapi - one can see how the signature SB style is inevitable in bringing the bhava and depth of the raaga. Often, I hear from many Vainikas the question of why do we need to pull so much. The answer is simply this video - and, my question to every Vainika is this, "Can one produce without extensive pulling the same Gayaki depth and Gayaki intensity that SB produces here? Gayaki style is a very misused word - It somehow does not contain within is meaning the role of gayaki intensity and depth....When a Vainika says that his/her style is gayaki - he/she should pause and contenplate - does it include the depth and intensity as well?

Tags: Veena Veenai Carnatic Karnatic S. Balachander genius Golden Throne series

This is a clip of Veena S. Balachander taken from the documentary produced by Doordarshan. Despite the clip being very short, one is awed by the dexterity, immense creativity and the singularly magnificent playing of Veena S. Balachander. In him, we find the rare combination of genius of various kinds - musical, mathematical (for his explorations in symmetries is remarkable) and the innovator. Often these days, the Vainikas lament about the lack of popular interest in the Veena. Are we meeting the golden standards set forth by the yesterday masters - should the reason for dwindling interest in the Veena solely be carried on the shoulders of the listeners? Can we - the Vainikas - still learn from the mastery and magnificence of these stalwarts. The Golden Throne Series is wholly dedicated to S. Balachander - as, in my opnion, there is none to even come close to his mastery of the instrument or the grandeur of his music on the Veena. We, as Vainikas, have a responsibility we have to shoulder - however daunting and painful - we should push the capabilities, horizons and the limits beyond where these stalwarts left behind. SB's videos are very rare. But, what little I have gathered from the Doordarshan documentary, I will showcase in this Golden Throne of the Veena series. If anyone has more videos of SB, please share with me and I would be delighted to extend this series for the benefit of musical posterity.

Tags: veena Veenai Carnatic Karnatic S. Balachander genius Golden Throne series

Immensly talented - often considered maverick by the purists and traditionalists - he hails from Karnataca - but would be wrong to classify him as a part of the Karnataka Bani. I would personally classify his style as being akin to Shri Chittibabu. A student of Veena should be exposed to all different styles so she/he can pick what is best for her/him.

Tags: Veena Veenai Carnatic Karnatic R. K. Suryanarayanan

Smt. Padmavathy is a senior vainika who was also inspired by the legendary Veena S. Balachander. She uses some elements of his style while mainly incorporating the more traditional Tanjore style of Veena playing. Veenai Jayanthi is a direct disciple of the Veena legend, S. Balachander. She too uses some elements of his style while predominantly following the conventional Tanjore style of Veena playing

Tags: Veena Veenai Carnatic Karnatic Padmavathy Jayanthi Tanjore Bani

Part-3

Tags: Veena Veenai Carnatic Karnatic Venkatraman Kerala bani

Part-2

Tags: Veena Veenai Carnatic Karnatic Venkatraman Kerala bani

Veena R. Venkatraman is an astonishing virtuoso from the Kerala Bani. He brings a very poignant style of playing.

Tags: Veena Veenai Carnatic Karnatic Venkatraman Kerala bani

Here I post a short clip of the composition part of the Jugalbandi....This will be the concluding part of this Jugalbandi posting. Again appologies to Laxmisha and Vineet for the poor camera angle.

Tags: Jugalbandi Ustad Shahid Parvez Gopal Kumar Sitar Veena Veenai Carnatic Hindustani Indian classical

This is the slow Raaga Alap part. The intent for me was to demonstarte that the Hindustani Meends are possible on the Veena as well. What ever I have been able to do is a blessing of my manasiga Guru, Dr. S. Balachander. I have also been deeply moved and inspired by Ustad Vilayat Khan and I draw upon his style as well here. For more details on the concert itself please see Part-2 of this Jugalpandi episode at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VenV0J5Ckjg

Tags: Jugalbandi Ustad Shahid Parvez Gopal Kumar Sitar Veena Veenai Carnatic Hindustani Indian classical

This is just a short snippet of the 3.5 hour concert. This concert was organized by "The Arch" in Manhattan city on October 20, 2007. This is a snippet of taanam/Jod part and intro into the composition This was a wonderful opportunity to explore the idea of playing together with almost no rehearsals. This way we were able to retain a fresh outlook and explore the raaga as guided by the moment. Ustad Shahid Parvez is absolutely stunning in his virtuosity Mrudangam: Dr. Laxmisha Tabla: Vineeth Vyas The video angle was unfortunately set before the concert began and we forgot to change the view later to cover all the artists. Appologies to Laxmisha and Vineeth.

Tags: Jugalbandi Ustad Shahid Parvez Gopal Kumar Sitar Veena Veenai Carnatic Hindustani Indian classical

I am posting this again after removing the video/audio mismatch in the original post. This is the start of another series where in I will be playing Hindustani Raagas on the Veena. I will also explore other world music influences where appropriate to discover how we can rediscover boundaries without compromising on the core Indian values in our music. This is again a homage to the greatest inspiration in my life, Veena S. Balachander whose restless spirit of experimentation has profoundly influenced my world and life.

Tags: Veena Veenai Hindustani S. Balachander Gopal Kumar Vainika

Part-C of Bhairagi Bhairav

Tags: Veenai Veena Hindustani Vainika S. Balachander Gopal Kumar

Part-2 of BhairagiBhairav

Tags: Veenai Veena Hindustani Vainika S. Balachander Gopal Kumar

Part-a of the second Raaga in this Hindustani Raaga series. This is more commonly known as Revathy in Carnatic music but is treated differently here along the lines of Hindustani music.

Tags: Veenai Veena Hindustani Vainika S. Balachander Gopal Kumar

Part-4: Rajeswari Padmanabhan, Karaikudi Bani

Tags: Vainika Veena Veenai Carnatic Rajeswari Padmanabhan

Part-3: Rajeswari Padmanabhan, Karaikudi Bani

Tags: Vainika Veena Veenai Carnatic Rajeswari Padmanabhan

Part-2: Rajeswari, Karaikudi Bani

Tags: Vainika Veena Veenai Carnatic Rajeswari Padmanabhan