I had not heard much of his concerts (on radio of course) for reasons I cannot fathom and i had the opportunity to listen to him at Shanmukananda Hall in Mumbai. I had just moved to Mumbai to do my masters at IIT and my uncle a long term resident of Mumbai and a member of Shanmukananda took me to this concert on a saturday in 1979. I can still recollect that it was a wonderful concert with sankarabaranam as the main piece – MSG on the violin and I think T K Murthy gave great accompaniment. Needless to say, I became a regular listener of TVS pretty much on radio.

Fifteen years later he visited Pittsburgh for a concert arranged by Spic Macay and I had the opportunity to talk to him and told him about the first concert of his I had listened to. He went on to mention the accompaniments and the main piece he sang which completely floored me; the phenomenal memory that he indicated is something I believe is a common theme amongst all the leading musicians. My friend Ajit, a student of Ramani, has heard Ramani telling him about the kritis he had played in his concerts from the 60’s and on occasion would even talk about the korvais he had played in them. Clearly, that seems to be the mark of a great musician.

Coming back to TVS, his concert at Pittsburgh was excellent. Personally I love his model of singing short RTP’s in the so called non-RTP grade ragams. Of course there are plenty of people who don’t like it – guess that is a personal preference.

Here are some concerts from various time periods and in various locations in no particular order.

with M S Gopalakrishnan & U K Sivaraman – IITM 80’s

He sings a composition of Tanjavur Sankara Iyer in Vishnupriya, with the composer in the audience which he mentions! What a privilege.

• orajoopu – kannaDagowLa
• sObillu saptaswara – jaganmOhini
• vijayAmbikE – vijayanAgari
• enduku peddalavalE – sankarAbaraNam
• sEvikka vEnDum ayyA – AndOlikA
• bAlasubrmanyan pAdamE – vishNupriyA
• krishnA nee bEganE – yamunAkalyANi
• pArukuLLE nalla nADu – jOnpuri
• mangalam

with M S Gopalakrishnan & Vellore Ramabhadran – Music Academy 1988

• vallabha nAyakasya – bEgaDA
• neevADa nE gAna – sArangA
• nArada guruswAmi – darbAr
• himAdrisutE – kalyANi
• bArayyA venkaTa ramaNa – sAvEri
• nee pAdamulE – bhairavi
• sArasadaLa nayana – suddhasAvEri
• RTP – hamsAnandi
• various
• Filler:
• sri saraswati – Arabhi
• Amma rAvamma – kalyANi

with M Chandrsekaran

• sri raghukula – hamsadwani
• neevE nannu brOva – darbAr
• narasimha nannu brOvavE – bilahari
• vinatA suta vAhana – jayantasEnA
• banTu reeti – hamsanAdam
• sakala gruha – aTANA
• kA vAvA – varALi
• yArO ivar yArO – bhairavi
• RTP – mOhanam
• various

with M Chandrasekaran and T K Murthy – US 1975

• vallabha nAyakasya – bEgaDA
• enta bhAgyamuna – sArangA
• kshEmam guru gOpAlA – darbAr
• manavyAla – nalinakAnti
• dArini – suddhasAvEri
• brOchEvArevarurA – kamAs
• tAyE yasoda – tODi
• sArasamuki – gowDmalhAr
• sarasa sAma – kApinArAyaNi
• RTP – latAngi
• srinivAsa – hamsAnandi

with Chalakudy Narayanaswamy and T K Murthy – US

• mahAgaNapatim – nATa
• enta bhAgyamuna – sArangA
• neevE nannu brOva – darbAr
• tAmadam tagAdayyA – mOhanakalyANi
• koluvaiyunnADE – bhairavi
• sri mAtrubootam – kannaDa
• RTP – kApi
• various

with Chalakudy Narayanaswamy and T K Murthy – Toronto Sept 1981

• gaNanAtanE – sArangA
• sogasujooDa taramA – kannaDagowla
• visAlAkshi – pantuvarALi
• sadAnanda tAndavam – bahudAri
• saraguNa pAlimpa – kEdaragowla
• sogasugA mrudanga tALamu – sriranjani
• bhuvanEswariyA – mOhanakalyANi
• kArtikEya – tODi
• sEvikka vEnDum ayyA – AndOlikA
• RTP – nATakurunji
• various

with Mysore Nagaraj & T Bakthavatsalam – Bay Area 1990

• mahAgaNapatim – nATa
• sogasujooDa taramA – kannaDagowla
• inda parAmukam Edu – poorvikalyANi
• tanayuni – bhairavi
• kAvA vA – varALi
• RTP – mOhanam
• various

with Mysore Nagaraj & T Bakthavatsalam – Los Angeles 1990

• praNatOshmi dEvam – nATa
• neevE nannu brOva – darbAr
• nambi keTTavar illavO – kalyANi
• marugElarA – jayantasri
• kANa kaN kODi vEnRum – kAmbhOji
• sArasamuki – gowDmalhAr
• RTP – bridAvanasArangA
• various

with TVK Ramanjeyulu & B Haridas – New Jersey 1994

• jaya jaya gaNapati – hamsadwani
• orajoopu choocEdi – kannaDagowla
• nin aruL iyambalAgumO – pantuvarAli
• dEvam dEvam bhajE – hindOlam
• kandan endra peyar – kAmbhOji
• murugA murugA – sAvEri
• RTP – ranjani
• various

with TVK Ramanjeyulu & B Haridas – Toronto 1994

• namO namastE – hamsadwani
• paripAlayamAm – reetigowla
• natajana pAlini – nalinakAnti
• marivErE – shanmukapriyA
• sakalagruha pala neevE – aTANA
• murugA murugA – sAvEri
• kANa kaN kODi – kAmbhOji
• sEvikka vEnDum ayyA – AndOlikA
• RTP – kApi
• various

with TVK Ramanjeyulu & B Haridas – Pittsburgh 1994

• pavanAtmaja – nATa
• paripAlayamAm – reetigowla
• brOvabAramA – bahudAri
• enduku dayarAdurA – tODi
• nagumOmu – AbhEri
• guruvAyurappA – saurAshtram
• RTP – amrutavarshiNi
• various

with M S Anantaraman, Tiruchi Sankaran & Ramnad Ragavan somewhere in the US in the 80’s

• karuNai seyvAi – hamsadwani
• sakala kalA vANiyE – kEdaram
• innum pArAmukam – bEgaDA
• inDa pArAmukam Edu – poorvikalyANi
• sollavallAyO – aTANA
• puNNiyam oru kODi – keeravANi
• gAnAmruta pAnam – jyOtiswaroopiNi
• various

New Additions (Nov 2022)

All but two of these concerts are with M S Gopalakrishnan on the violin and mostly in Bangalore and Mysore!

with Mysore Nagaraj & Vellore Ramabhadran

June 19, 1988 – Bangalore

• sri ragukula – hamsadwani – Adi – TyAgarAja
• Ekaradanam – hindOLam – Adi – Tulasi Vanam
• sArasamukhi – gowDmalhAr – roopakam – Muthiah Bhagavathar
• valli nayaka – shanmukapriyA – Adi – Muthiah Bhagavathar
• murugA murugA – sAvEri – misra chApu – Periyasami Thooran
• Bantureeti – Hamsanadam – Adi – TyAgarAja
• Sukhi Evaro – Kaanada – Adi – TyAgarAja (Incomplete)

with Mysore Nagaraj & Tiruvaroor Bhaktavatsalam

• vignEswara – Arabhi – Adi – Tulasivanam
• bAlasubramanyam – vishNupriyA – Adi – Tanjavur Snkara Iyer
• sakalagraha – aTANA – kanDa chApu – Purandaradasa
• Alapana – Kalyani (rest missing :-()
• SaraNam ayyappA – mukhAri – misra chApu – PS
• RTP – hamsavinOdini
• viruttam – sahAnA, hamsAnandi
• thillAna – brindAvana sArangA

with M S Gopalakrishnan

• sri ganapati – saurashtram
• nAda tanum anisam – chittaranjani
• meenakshi memudam – poorvikalyani
• mA ramaNan – hindOLam
• kANa kankODi – kambhOji
• sri mAtrubootam – kannaDA

with M S Gopalakrishnan & Umayalpuram K Sivaraman

Nada Brahma Sabha, Mysore – July 24, 1988

• sri raghukula – hamsadwani – Adi – K V Srinivasa Iyengar
• sabhApatikku – AbhOgi – roopakam – Gopalakrishna Bharati
• sEvE srikAntam – mOhanakalyANi – Adi – Svati Tirunal
• enduku dayarAdurA – tODi – misra chApu – Thyagaraja
• ee pariya – rAgamAlikA – kanda chApu – Purandaradasa
• kANa kaN kODi vEnDum – kAmbhOji – Adi – Papanasam Sivan
• sArasamukhi – gowDamalhAr – roopakam – Harikesanallur L Muthayya Bhagavatar
• RTP – keeravANi
• eppO varuvArO – jOnpuri – Adi – Gopalakrishna Bharati
• mangaLam

with M S Gopalakrishnan, Umayalpuram K Sivaraman & V Nagarajan

Kapali Koil – 1989

• nija marmamamulanu – umAbharaNam
• nambi kettavar – kalyANi
• viruttam
• viswesEswara – sindhubhaiaravi