Rama Sreerama: Track by Track

Gajavadhana

Purandaradasa

This opening piece is an invocatory piece to Lord Ganesha, who is considered the destroyer of all obstacles. Rendered in raga Hamsavinodhini which literally means the sound of swans, in this piece the devotee implores Lord Ganesha to bestow wisdom on him, a mere supplicant.

Maryaadakadaya

Thyagaraja

Maryaadakadaya questions Lord Rama why he, the repository of all mercy, holds his devotee, Thyagaraja, in ridicule among his peers. Why dies Rama not protect him, who is Rama’s true devotee. Rendered in raga Bhairavam, this in one of the most beautiful keertanas of Saint Thyagaraja, the saint-composer from Tanjore.

Saranambhava Karuna

Narayana Theerdar

Saranambhava karuna rendered in the raga Hamsvorodhini is a rare and difficult piece that displays Srinivas’s mastery on the mandolin. The Narayana Teertharcomposition is in praise of Lord Krishna.

Rama Sreerama

U. Srinivas

The piece de resistance of the album, Rama Sreerama is a supplicatory piece to Sreerama and is composed by Srinivas himself. This is a ragamalika piece, that is a garland of ragas, in which Srinivas moves from Keeravani to Nalinakanti to Sucharita, and then drifts into the sublime raga, Revati before joining Keeravani. The piece is innovative and difficult, but in Srinivas’s hands it rolls out skillfully, even effortlessly.

Ganamurthy

Thyagaraja

Ganamurthy is another Saint Thyagaraja composition and is based on the raga of the same name. The song refers to the magic that pours out of Krishna’s flute. The unusual angle of this piece is that every time Srinivas reaches the conclusion of the composition cycles, the percussionist gives a vocal rendering (Konakol) of the rhythmic beats played on the mridangam and ghatam. In this piece, the mandolin receives excellent support from the violinist

Kaliyugavaradana

Periyasami Thuran

The last piece Kaliyugavaradana, is a devotional piece addressed to Lord Murugan, the son of Shiva. A Periyaswamy Thuran composition rendered in the raga Brindavano Strange, this is a light raga with which a Carnatic music concert usually concludes.