NJ Nandini

A bouquet in cadence  http://www.hindu.com/fr/2011/04/29/stories/2011042950110200.htm Endowed with a good voice, N.J. Nandini , a Thiruvananthapuram-based youngster still in her teens, structured her maiden concert in the Capital very impressively the other day. Nandini presented song after song that spoke highly of her depth in Carnatic music. The concert was organised jointly by Gayathri Fine Arts and the India International Centre at the latter's auditorium. The short virutham spanning a couple of minutes which preceded the invocation song on Lord Vinayaka in raga Hamsadhwani provided ample hints of her musical talent at the very outset. Nandini's crisp and fast-paced swaraprastaras that followed “Namami Vighnavinayaka” (Hamsadhwani) was lively. In Swati Tirunal's “Jayajaya Padmanabhaanujesha” in raga Manirangu, she brought out the finer aspects of this raga embedded in the lyrics. Tarangampadi Panchanada Iyer's composition “Biranabrova ide” in raga Kalyani and...

Finally i get a gap of  4 days without much commitments. And say what... it feels good. The past week has re-kindled a lot of thoughts. New projects, new ambitions.... To start with, I had a very prestigious concert to render at a venue where is used to run around when the stalwarts used to perform, Swati Tirunal Sangeetha Sabha, Trivandrum. I felt honoured and humbled to be at that stage once again. Not that I was performing there for the first time, but you get an inimitable 'high' every single time that huge curtain opens..!!! That rounded off my performances for the month of April, and the last week is occupied by a couple of recording sessions and other functions. Now that I am relatively out of concert commitments atleast for the next one week, it provides me with an opportunity to fine tune my skills, learn new compositions and widen my repertoire. Kicked off that process by listening to DKJ rendering 'Thaye Thripura Sundari', a compostion of Periyasami Th...

So.. here i am after a short hibernation..back to blogging ( excuse me for the language used..) After a fortnight of journeys and sleepless nights traveling, it does feel a bit refreshing when you are back home in front of your PC, doing what you love, killing time and at the same time preparing for the sterner tests awaiting you in the coming weeks. The 'Utsavam' season in Kerala is slowly drawing its curtains, and it is indeed blissful to know that Temples still continue to promote our own music which uphold the traditional values imbibed in our culture. Due to the increased number of concerts within a pint-sized area and a niche audience, it is quite a challenge for the musician to avoid repetitions, atleast in the krithis that are rendered, leave alone the raagas that are performed. Here is where the value of a wide repertoire is felt. And this very feeling humbled me last week when i had to perform at 5 different places clustered around a kilometer stretch. I have h...