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The Flute Trio - A serene flow |
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Written by Administrator
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Saturday, 20 May 2006 |
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By Vaishnavi Rao
The flute recital by maestro N. Ramani, his son Thiagarajan and granson Athulkumar  on May 14,2006 at Green Hope High school, Cary, North Carolina, offered a combination of chaste tradition and pleasing melody. There were no gimmicks and their emphasis seemed, decidedly more on melody than virtuosity. The spirited mridangam by father - daughter duo of Dr.P.K.Swaminathan and Rajna Swaminathan added to the charm and made it a memorable evening. The concert was organised by ICMDS, Raleigh, NC.
Tiruvarur is a holy town in South India, famous for the holy temple of Sri. Thyagaraja - who is Shiva of the Hindu Trinity - where many sages, poets and musicians have derived inspiration to sing in praise of the Deity notable among them, to mention a few, Sri Sundramurthy Nayanar, and the Carnatic Music Trinity Sri Thyagaraja Swami, Sri Muthuswamy Dikshitar, Sri Shyama Sastrigal. Dr.  N.Ramani was born in the year 1934 in this holy town with the Grace Of Lord Thyagaraja, to fulfill his mission in Carnatic Music, through the melodious instrument Flute, glorified by the Hindu God, Lord Krishna.The most distinguished disciple of T.R.Mahalingam, Dr N.Ramani is the greatest Carnatic flautist of modern times. N Ramani has been honoured with numerous titles and awards like, the Kalaimamani, by the Tamil Nadu Government, the Saptagiri Vidwan Mani by the TTD, the Sangita Nataka Academy Award in 1985 and the Sangita Kalanidhi in 1996. He has several CDs and cassette recordings to his credit. Dr. Ramani has a number of disciples who eventually formed the Ramani`s Academy of Flute in 1983. He was also a regular performer for the All India Radio since 1947 and has toured extensively worldwide propagating his music. He finds the best audience in Europe although he visits the US more often since most of his students settled there. With his long tenure in the field of classical music, Dr.N.Ramani has earned himself the designation of one of world’s most masterful bamboo flautists.
``As a young man I once forgot a line in `Mohanarama.' You can cover up such slips on an instrument. But M.S. (Subbulakshmi) Amma was sitting in the front row. Her face registered dismay. An unforgettable lesson. After that I became even more meticulous about details,'' laughs flautist N. Ramani.
Rajna Swaminathan, Thiagrajan,Dr.Ramani,Athulkumar,Dr.Swaminathan
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The concert commenced with an opening varnam in Natakurunji followed by a composition of Dikshitars in Gowla. This was followed by a couple of St.Thyagaraja's compositions. The RTP in Kalyani was followed by some brisk paced items, a Meera bhajan in Charukesi and a Thillana.From the very first varnam to the mangalam, the three flutes sounded like one and there was a continuous and serene flow of high class music. The supporting thani avarthanam was made lively by the percussion duo Rajna and Dr.Swaminathan. An excellent sound system enhanced the experience even more.
 Rajna Swaminathan disciple of mridangam maestro Umayalapuram K Sivaraman an upcoming young artiste in the field of Carnatic percussion. She started learning Mrudangam from her father Dr. P. K. Swaminathan at the age of 5 and came under the direct tutelage of Sri Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman at the age of 8. She is being intensively groomed by the Maestro as his protégé. She is a 15 year old 9th grader.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 10 April 2007 )
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