T.M.Krishna – A listeners’ artist

It is not enough if you are a top artist. You should also know the art concert management. One could sense this skill, very prominently, when Thodur Madabusi Krishna performed a concert in the company of Akkarai Subhalakshmi(violin), Arun prakash(mridangam) and G.Chandrasekara Sharma(ghatam) for the Mylapore Fine Arts Club on the 22nd of December, 2012. Even as the sultry atmosphere on the stage was giving discomfort to him, T.M.Krishna did justice in ensuring that he satisfies his fans and well-wishers. He is an artist who charms people of all ages – children, adults and the old ones too. The concert kicked off with ‘Yemmana dhi che’ in Sahana, composed by Thyagaraja. The neraval was done at ‘Naamatalu vina vo rama’. The neraval was sprinkled with delectable swarams after it. The song was rendered very well. The auditorium and the balcony were both jam packed and a lot of rasikas had to sit outside the auditorium and listen to his concert. The next song was ‘Paavi ennai indha’ in Thodi. Though the ragam was very exhilarating, not many claps were received for it. TMK controlled his irritation when the mike suddenly gave a screeching ‘Beep’! The ‘Swami un thirukoyil vara maten’ line was really appealing. 

 

He then moved onto the main in Mukhari. The song was ‘Ososi naamaa’. There was a photographer who was continuously clicking photos of TMK. Getting irritated, TMK said – “The flash sound from the camera is disturbing me a lot. It’s not a problem if you don’t take a picture of me. Tell your press that I said ‘no photograhy’”!! At some places the lyrics were not clear, perhaps lost in his rendering style. The ragam was fascinatingly done. It was peppered with wonderful brihas. It was evident that Krishna has great knowledge and a huge repertoire. One minus was that TMK kept sneaking a look into his book. The violinist suddenly gave a tired sigh. The ‘Thwam asi mama bhushanam, thwam asi mama jeevanam’ line was excellent. Then came the thaniyavardhanam between Arun Prakash(mridangam) and G.Chandrasekara Sharma(ghatam), set to Khanda chapu. It added vitality to the concert. Many people got up and left the auditorium while the thaniyavardhanam was going on. At normal circumstances, there would have been high chances that TMK had asked the percussionists to continue after they all left. But today, he had closed his eyes and bless their souls (the ones who left), TMK didn’t see them.

 

The next was ‘Saramaina matalentho’ in Behag. The ragam before the song was short and sweet. I had requested him to sing either ‘Chinnanjiru kiliye’ or ‘Jagadodarana’. He chose the latter and sang that next, in Kapi. It was really wonderful and heart-melting. After this, he sang two vrithams – ‘Thandhaiyum thaayum nee, uyir thunaiyum nee’ and ‘Pacchai maa malai pol meni’, followed by ‘Paaru kulle nalla naadu’ in Jonpuri. The song was rendered in a racy way. It was really good. He concluded the concert with the magalam

continuing in the same Jonpuri. T.M.Krishna brought the curtain down to a standing ovation and a big round of applause.

 

Tamasaa