Ramana Balachandhran: Ragam Shankarabharanam 

I was playing this video on another tab and working on something else. Inadvertently I muttered "Aha" a dozen times while listening to this. This is what honest sadhanai can achieve. Respect, to both the revered artists.

Oh, how sweet this Shankarabharanam is! Very rich in sowkhya bhaava. And because Sri Ramana Balachandran played the veena in Chowka kaala, in unhurried manner, with adequate vishraanti between sanagathis, using lavish gamakas, the raaga bhaava also shined: the more lavish the gamakas, the more the raga shines, just as the ragas Bhairavi and Mayamalavagowla do. The sowkhya bhaava which is intrinsic to this raga is also enhanced at slow tempo. Whenever my sangeetha aacharya, the late Shree T N Bala, heard an exquisitely beautiful sangathi during my classes, he used to say, "Ayyo!" (He was a Tamilian). There are many such "Ayyo" moments in this video. Sri Thyagaraja's kriti, Emi neramu nannu brova, is one of the three most beautiful compositions Sri Thyagaraja has composed in Shankarabharana raga. (the other two are Swara raga sudha, and Manasu svaadheena maina). I have observed that rasikas invariably applaud loudly when a vocalist sings a kriti very fast or plays an instrument such as violin or veena very fast: The faster one sings, the louder the applause. Think of Sri Thyagaraja's Poornachandrika raga kriti, Telisi Rama chintanato. When a vocalist sings this kriti very fast, he will get huge applause. I once witnessed a vocalist who sang this kriti at a slow tempo, the way Sangeetha Kalanidhi Sri Nedunoori Krishnamurthy sang this kriti, with bhaava, to conform with the meaning of the kriti. There was no applause. Silence. So musicians feel tremendous pressure from the rasikas to sing faster or play faster. Sri Ramana Balachandran is one of the very few musicians who have withstood (so far) pressure to play faster to please the rasikas. It is not just the young musicians, however, who feel the need to hear loud applause. I have seen well established, senior musicians who crave to hear applause, and sing accordingly. For example, on January 2, 2018, 6.15 pm, at the Raga Sudha Hall, a well established and much admired veena player succumbed to this desire. She was playing Shankarabharana alpana beautifully, at slow tempo, with bhaava. But there was silence in the hall for a very long time. I suspect that her ears ached to hear loud applause, and she knew how to get it: She suddenly played a gimmicky, "tittiri, tittiri tittiri, tittiri", and the audience rewarded her with huge applause! She already had a reputation as a good musician and she has a large number of admirers; there was no reason for her to indulge in that gimmickry. But she resorted to gimmicry, nevertheless. There is no Shankarabharanam in "tittiri tittiri"; there is only gimmicky noise. But to the audience that did not seem to matter. They rewarded her anyway. I felt terribly distressed, and waited until she finished the krithi, Sri Deekshitar's Akshaya linga vibho, and left the hall. Sri Balachandran has so far resisted the temptation to please the audience by resorting to gimmickry. I hope he will keep his music chaste, and devoid of cheap shots. This is a very melodious and pleasant video. Sri Patri Satish Kumar has played the mridangam very well, and softly, with sensitivity. Yesh Prabhu, Mylapore, Chennai

When I saw this video, I thought 48 minutes is too long. But when I started listening, 48 mins just flew away, within no time. It was so amazing.

Sankarabaranam is such a motivating raagam.. just close your eyes and bring in the positivity within you.. One of the best renditions of this raagam i have heard on an instrument.. Artists like Ramana Balachandran are God's gift to us.. Long live our Indian heritage. Jai Hind.

தெள்ளிய நீரோட்டமான மனதுக்கு அமைதி தரும் இசை. இந்த சின்ன வயசில் இவ்வளவு திறமையா? கடவுள் அருளால் நீண்ட புகழும் செல்வமும் திட ஆரோக்யமும் பெற வாழ்த்துகிறேன்.

Beautiful music and in addition à charming young master. A paradise Merci beaucoup

Love the raga immersion.. Sometimes carnatic music concerts become like college annual festival, singing krithi after krithi every 10 mins. There is a standard format for Hindustani Sitar concerts with alap, jor gat and jhala played in a single raag. Carnatic music veena concerts should evolve to have this kind of standard raga immersive format. Only those formats will bring out the tranquil and calm nature of the bharathiyata music whichs offers mental health and mental peace to its listeners.

Who else got goosebumps on 14:47???

You have kept RamanaMaharishis photos in front of Veena No wonder the music you produce is divine Congratulations to the Mridangam artist 👏 😀 🙌

Very good Ramana. Please continue to be a true musician without compromising for anything less than real music that comes from your heart. And I request people not to pressurize him to be a great performer all the time. It is not possible to be on the peak all the time. Like Osho says, ambition is not at all good. Vision is good, creativity is good and being of use to others is itself good. Ramana's music is good even as a healing sound for all of us. That itself is enough. Please don't persuade Ramana also to be on the top; this is what we all tend to do with any artiste or creative person or even sportsmen - we want them to be the best. We should understand that is not at all necessary to be the best and it is the worst thing to even try - to be the best. One just has to be true to one's heart and art - that is enough! Thank you!

What a superlative sankarabharanam! This young boy is blessed by Saraswati herself 🙏🏻

Goddess Saraswathi is happy to see the younger generation like Master Ramana Balachandran playing the Veena without keeping the Apple Laptop or IPad in front of them . Blessings to you Ramana . MONI

Two blessed sons of Ma Saraswati, providing feast to our uneducated ears. Wonderful rendition🙏😊

Mathematical. Technical. Mechanical. Traditional. Vidwan is immersed in his own self. Exploring the full scale of the Raga. Please do descend to our mortal plane also so we can enjoy your smiles once in a while. Very similar to Mharajapuram Santanams rendition of Shankarabharanam. As the Vidwan matures he may take us to the olden days where concerts used to go on for 5 hours or even longer .... first three hours only for warm up...

The ever-fabulous Ramana Balachandran takes us on a spiritual journey. 💜 Satish Kumar sir, what a genius!! Humble pranaams to their proficiency and talent 💜🙏

Very nice to see him performing with his natural mood undisturbed by crowds or other peoples expectations. MAY GOD BLESS HIM WITH TRUE MUSICS AND HAPPINESS!

Great to see a young fellow playing Saraswathi Veena, as it is on the verge of becoming an antique..(look at the number of Veene concerts vs other instruments concerts all around)

How is it Ramana can touch the emotions the way others can't? Tugs at my heart strings every time. Glorious.

with this kind of performance, you will attract hindustani listeners too.. Wish you great fame

*The first string music from universe...it's venna nadam.*

Soul filling classical music is a rare dish. Improvisation, extra stringing and chords are all there. Carnatic must facilitate listener to travel within. This prodigy is gifting that boon to his listeners. Sri Ramana is a blessing to our world of our culture. Hope he continues to get protected and preserved. Sri Patri is again a mature mridangam vidwan. He is not loud and jarring. Thanks for uploading this piece. God bless the artistes.

If one has not heard the sound of Ganga listen to the Veena recital and the Thaniyavarthanam.

Amazing performance! I pray to God he is able to stick to this traditional style. His talent is God given. God Bless him! Thanks for this superb upload, but for which I would never have known about this young performer, sitting here in Calicut, Kerala!

I love this raga..which contains all emotions..peace,love,pleasure,sadness,anger,calmness,and even something else..no words to explain sankarabharanam..and well rendered too

Brilliant rendition of a wonderful raagam. And such mellifluous voice. Best wishes to Ramana

From stress to relaxation in 5 seconds..thats how beautiful this music is..

I tell you this young vainikagayaka Ramana and Patri make the best team that delights old rasikas such as me here in the Central valley of California Narayanakrurup Kanthi Kumar originally from Central Travancore Kerala I cannot get enough of them.

किंम् वचनीयम्!!!😢❤❤❤🙏🙏

what a sankarabharanam. And what a fortune to listen to Patri sir? The last korvai made the highlight of this 48 mins

Part 1: A Mesmerizing Antidote to disengage from Mental Toxicity and to engage in Divine Connectivity: This is specially for those who are absolutely dedicated to Carnatic Shashtriya (Classical) Sangeet connoisseurs - herein below a treat to enjoy a great time of about 55 minutes....Hope, if anyone who reads this post, either before or after watching the video clip below, I believe, will agree with my standpoints... This is about RAMANA BALACHANDRAN (Ramana)(about 18 /19 years, a brilliant student in academic, ardent Krishna Yajur Veda student @ Shri Ramana Ashramam, Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu,and of course, specially a wonderful VOCALIST and VEENA EXPONENT as well....👍❤️ I have seen this boy Ramana in October 2017, on the eve of Deepavali, when I and my wife visited RISHIKESHto attend to a well acknowledged Religious Discourse on KENOPANISHAD and TIRUVAACHAGAM for about 10 days, by NOCHUR Brahmashi VENKATARAMAN... Every evening after PRAVACHANAM sessions, a vocalist / instrumentalist used to perform without any accompaniments for about two hours. On one of the days, I, for the very first time heard this boy Ramana singing, undeniably creating lasting impression on the very first song itself, in every listener’s mind with his unbelievably captivating voice at the base and on high octave, unassuming in appearance and exposition of Vidwat & presentation genre almost resembling the likes of Abhishek, Raghuram- these set of qualities he was bestowed with and deftly handled by him as well....Then, on sidelines, had a chat with him to know then that he was actually a Veena player mainly and a singer as well .... Today was the first ever time I came to hear his video playing VEENA taped when he gave a formal concert... On to the Video Clip: (Thanks to First Edition Arts Channel): - thanks specially for the 50+ video clips on Ramana’s veena recitals Just watched the video clip👇🏾of aformal concert (kutcheri) wherein the Ramanaplayed a classic but not-so-oft-heard Kriti of Saint Shri Thiagaraja,“ EMI NERAMU NANNU BROVA” on Raaga SHANKARABARANAM, set toAadi thaalam (2 Kalai chavukkam - double vilambit kaalapramaanam)...He played the Raaga for about 16 minutes, followed by Thaanamand then the Kriti...... It made me spell-bound with an enlivening existential experience of listening to his uncanny skill in mesmerizing all the musically bent listeners enshrined with clear diction through his voluminous and unblemished base voice well in tune with the VEENA’s shruti, permeated through the entire session lasting for about 55 minutes; indeed it was an unadulterated Carnatic classical music presentation by one of the most admirable and typical current day versatile and knowledgeable vocalists and instrumentalists especially, not though so much one can find in musical space...I was astonished and remained in absolute rapt attention/ awe following the intricate and so tough-to-play on instrument like VEENA... His style of singing for a while and simultanesously playing VEENA as wellinGamakaphrased rhythmic elaboration showed exclusive training he should have been imparted and imbibed and enormity of Saadhana (practice) he should have been doing even when he is still young at 18/19, amidst his other activities in other spaces- spirituality and academics. Ramana was ably accompanied by the ever spotless perfectionist PATRI SATISH KUMARon Mridangam - with his fast moving and right placement of fingers gave generously all intricate beauties to bring out strokes that aptly floated along the brilliant phrases & sangatis, and during Swara prastaram sessions etc., with the right and aptly carved out “farans” to suit Ramana’s mind frame that flowed thru’ his VEENA and the canvas aid out by him - a rare combination of extraordinary brilliance and with constant soothing sounds emanating from the mridangm, which rightly ranked him as a top notch accompanist and would merit a top order appreciation from all listeners and musicians as well. .... ...Contd...in Part 2 Iyer Siva

for a brief moment, I touched divinity...

The beautiful picture of Ramana Maharshi in the front.

What great fingers that play absolutely of higher order to mesmerize the listeners exhibiting his virtuoso and I strongly he is really god gifted to play such recital with highly respected mridangam player... no Carnatic music lovers should miss to hear this

Amazing Shankarabharanam!! Immense Talent! You will attain very great heights for sure!

I have been listening to this on loop. So divine 😇😇

God bless you Ramana, this is healing me psychologically

So amazing. Om namah shivaya. God bless

Excellent rendition!!! It feels so happy listening to it 🙏🙏

Awesome performance... He is so immensed in the music and enjoying his own music... And that too Goddess Saraswathi's veena... Her blessings showering on the young Ramana directly... Very very soothing indeed... May the almighty God bless you always to produce lots and lots and lots of magical music to pour out of your Saraswati Veena....🙏🙏🙏

I love you Patri You are the best,. I love you Septuagenerian Kanthi Kumar in California

Marvellous...divine bliss to watch this genius.

Ramana mayam ramana aanandam

So soothing n best medicine for all worries. May God bless you with all comforts

After Veena Gayatri, we have another great find in Ramanaji

Wonderful to see a youngster playing the instrument with such engagement. Excellent performance👏👏👏

It is so refreshing to listen to his vocal and veene together, God bless this rare young musician

He is a prodigy and a genius .....

Namo namaha Ramana. Very much delighted to see young talent like you in classical arts. Excellent performance!! May God bless you.

❤❤❤❤ it will be great and nice if you from time to time si g a few lines with the playing you will be the only one after Rajan Pushpa Anam And Laltha venkatramn of the past excellent rendition Godbless you

Shows what a true musician is

I think music must have started in India, this is at once as old as time and brand new. Having been listening raag for some time now I feel that Western classical music sounds like it’s wearing a straight jacket 🙏🏾

Feeling blessed in knowing about this new talent and rising star on the horizon and listening to his music. Best wishes and prayers for a fulfilling musical journey.

his voice is so pure!

Most beautiful and divine to listen to... love your dedication, thank you Ramana

It is very divine presentation by both artists. I wish them all the best.

Nice rendering, with unhurried pace. I hope this young artiste sticks to this style.

A new star. Love the purity of style. Keep it up.

My dear Ramana I wanted to see u iam 74 my blessings to u

Good play and good audio. May God bless him.

Wonderful performance...no words to explain 👌🙏

So divine & so calming 🙏

Total mastery over the instrument

Aahhaaaa🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰❤❤❤❤❤❤❤🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

இனிமை

Thanks for your beautiful soul music

Outstanding

Fantastic drum solo!

Played to the presence of Saraswati

Pure bliss

Beautiful

Y love you ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜💗💗💗🕉🙏

I love it.

WOW! This is mesmerizing! 🙏

Fentastic

Amazing

Soulful! Divine! God bless you!

awesome

Wonderful!! Divine music.. 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

Great!

wonderful music

Simply wonderful and amazing concert

Beautiful!! Wonderful and marvelous !

superb rendition by ramana the great !

beautifull rendering of sankarabharanam.....

wonderful music thank you so much

Excellent .....

wonderful raga alapana ... so much depth

My favourite super star.

Very soothing performance.. no words

Wonderful Sankarabharanam and amazing accompanist

It was soothing 😊

Sublime...

Sublime! Blissful ! Superb rendition❤

Wonderful playing This is god gifted to you All the best 👍

Excellent 💚

He is Blessed by divine

Superb !

Superb. Excellent

आनंदम।।

Good selections