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LIVING LEGENDS/ T.N.SESHAGOPALAN (WRITE-UP+MUSIC UPLOAD)

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Sivaraman39

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Sep 6, 2008, 10:02:24 PM9/6/08

A quaint smile plays on his lips as he handles, dextrously with great
skill, the most intricate of sangathis and swaraprastharams,preluded
by a highly creative and innovative exposition of a major raga like
karaharapriya or thodi in his exquisite,velvety,soft,melodious voice
that is still enchantingly rich in it's tonal quality .He
can,effortlessly,touch all the three octaves,often giving us a flash
ride of a sangathi from it's anumanthra-sthayee,traversing the
madhyama sthayee and racing along to it's grand finale with a briha-
laden thara-sthayee of the sangathi.His briha-laden voice reminds you
of the great legendary maestro,the Late
G.N.Balasubramaniam(GNB).

And,at no point in his singing does one find any slip-up of the
"kanakku" on the thala front also, for he is a master of thalas, often
posing a challenge to the accompanying percussionartiste to take him
on in the
intricacies of the thala.

That,in short, for you is the legendary Madhurai Thirumalai Nambi
Seshagopalan(TNS), born at Nagapattinam in 1948,and later settled down
and made Madhurai his home.He is a musical genius,who has carved a
prominent niche for himself in the hearts of global carnatic music
lovers and ensured a permanent place as one of the pantheons of the
20th-21st century carnatic hall of fame.

And sample the praises showered on him, both for his musical genius
and other multi-faceted talents,by a number of vidwans and
celebrities:

-at the felicitation function to award the title of "Sangeetha
Kalanidhi" by the Chennai Music Academy for 2006:

Shri N.Murali,President of the Academy said: "Mr. Seshagopalan was
given the award for his "versatile and creative" music and for being a
"multifaceted personality" and "a respected guru with many disciples."

At the same function,Shri Nedunuri Krishnamurthy ( a Sangeetha
Kalanidhi himself) said : " Mr. Seshagopalan was a musician of
profound wisdom"

At the function, awarding him the "Bharat Sangeet Samrat" title by
Carnatica in their Bharat Sangeet Utsav,2006, musician Alleppey
Venkatesan called T.N. Seshagopalan a `"MAHAVIDWAN"' who was most
complete and comprehensive in his repertoire.

Though he has received scores of titles,awards and honours during his
music career of over 50 years,some of the more notable of these are
listed hereinunder:

List of Awards and Titles conferred on TNS:

# “Sangeetha Kalanidhi” by The Music Academy, Chennai (2006)
# “Padma Bhushan” , by the Government of India (2004)
# “Sangeetha Kala Nipuna”, by Mylapore Fine Arts Club (2003)
# “Isai Perarignar” by the Tamil Isai Sangam (2000)
# “Sangeetha Rathnakara” by Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana Committee
(1998)
# “Sangeetha Kala Sarathy” by Parthasarathy Swami Sabha (1997)
# “Tamil Isai Vendar” by Karthik Fine Arts, (1996)
# “Kalaimamani” – by the Government of Tamil Nadu (1985)
# “Sangeetha Sudhakara” by the Paramacharya of Kanchi Kamakoti peetam,
His Holiness, Sri Chandrasekarendra Saraswathy Swamigal in 1983.
# “Asthana Vidwan” of Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam awarded by H. H.
Jayendra Sarawathy Swamigal on Deepavali day 1984.

TNS,accepting the numerous awards and titles bestowed on him during
his long carnatic innings,starting in 1955 and still going strong in
2008, has always felt very modest about his achievements, and has
articulated, in his own words, that:

"Awards meant additional responsibilities placed on the musician's
shoulders. "Music is the easiest path to attain salvation and `shruti'
and `laya' are the two oars of the boat of music to cross the ocean of
existence."

And expressing his distress about Carnatic Music not reaching the
general public or "Masses" he said:

"Even though, classical music is meant for (people of) class, it is
our responsibility to turn the mass into class,".

In shaping his musical career and bringing him to the limelight and
forefront of the carnatic world, TNS owes a debt of gratitude to two
people, who contributed significantly :

- his mother,Thiruvenkatavalli, who initiated him into devotional
music,training him in "nama sangeerthanams",leading up to his giving
his first namasangeerthan concert at the tender age of 7 and amazing
the audience with his skills.

- his guru, Ramanathapuram C.S.Sivasankaran,brother of noted
mridhangist, C.S.Murugabhupathy,and primary disciple of the legendary
Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavathar,who honed his inborn creative and
dynamic skills and was instrumental in his exploding as a rising star
on the carnatic firmament

The dynamism and genius of TNS is reflected also in his many,not
prominent, multi-faceted talents:

-as already said, he is a noted "Namasangeerthan" or "Harikatha"
performer,enthralling audiences with his deep knowledge of our
puranas and enriching his performances with his musical skills.

-he is also an equally talented Vainika,who has brought his "gayaki"
or "vocal" style to his veena playing, but who regrets that his
popularity as a foremost vocalist has overshadowed his veena
talent,and he is not able to do full justice as a vainika.

-he is also adept at playing the flute

- he is also a composer of note with over 300 compositions to his
credit

In conclusion, musical geniuses like TNS have contributed in immense
measure to preserving and enriching our glorious heritage of carnatic
music,popularising and propagating it to all corners of the globe and
ensuring a permanent place in the hearts of music lovers with the joy
and happiness they have brought into their lives with their immortal
music.
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

Now prepare to be enthralled at this great concert of his at
Dayton,U.S.A.
The download links are given below:

01_TNS_DAYTON_VARNAM_KANADA.mp3

http://rapidshare.com/files/143061448/01_TNS_DAYTON_VARNAM_KANADA.mp3

02_TNS_DAYTON_BANDHATHANAYA_GOVINDANA_ABHERI_PURANDARADASA.mp3

http://rapidshare.com/files/143061449/02_TNS_DAYTON_BANDHATHANAYA_GOV...

03_TNS_DAYTON_BAGAYANAYYA_CHANDRAJYOTHI_THYAGARAJA.mp3

http://rapidshare.com/files/143061450/03_TNS_DAYTON_BAGAYANAYYA_CHAND...

04_TNS_DAYTON_RAMANUKKU_MANNAN_HINDOLAM_ARUNACHALA_KAVIRAYAR.mp3

http://rapidshare.com/files/143061451/04_TNS_DAYTON_RAMANUKKU_MANNAN_...

05_TNS_DAYTON_RAJAGOPALAM_MOHANAM_DIKSHITHAR.mp3

http://rapidshare.com/files/143061452/05_TNS_DAYTON_RAJAGOPALAM_MOHAN...

06_TNS_DAYTON_RANGANAYAKAM_NAYAKI_DIKSHITHAR.mp3