Excuse me for singing a rare raga- KrishnaDwaya live (late 1950s early 1960s)

Nee Namamu Naa Jeevamu- Mohanangi, Rupakam, Dr. M Balamuralikrishna

Dr. M Balamuralikrishna- vocal
Parur MS Gopalakrishnan- violin
Prof TV Gopalakrishnan or Umayalpuram K Sivaraman- mridangam (need to confirm)
V Nagarajan- kanjira

Live somewhere (late 50s early 60s)

Imagine you are at a Balamurali/MS Gopalakrishnan concert in the late 50s early 60s. And suddenly during his alapana, Balamurali announces, "Excuse me for singing a rare raga" and along with MSG proceeds to illustrate a new drawing of Mohanangi. It may sound like Mohanam, but suddenly you hear catussruti rishabha and suddha dhaivatha. You become perplexed, "What is this ragam? Is it Mohanam with R3 and D1? It sounds so beautiful! I've never heard this in my life!" you think. And then Balamurali announces, "The name of the raga is Mohanangi." And you are itching to hear more. And you along with the audience are taken to another galaxy altogether.

Such is the power of the combination of Dr. M Balamuralikrishna and Parur MS Gopalakrishnan. To me, this is the best vocal-violin duo I have heard in my life and they never cease to amaze me every time I listen to them. They are meant for each other and always bring out the best of each other. Hence you get such melodious and heartful gAnam. I could go on.

This Mohanangi was a staple of their concerts of the 50s and 60s. Every time, they would bring a new dimension to this krithi and one would be floored. It is a wonderful ode to Mahalakshmi, the spouse of Srimannarayana. Pay attention to how MSG matches Balamurali without missing anything. When he plays the lower sruti, "Janardhana Manohari Mohanangi Ragini Ravali Suneela Murali Krithi", it is so sublime that you suddenly tear up. The soulfulness along the peaceful ambience make this a masterpiece. I can imagine them giving a kutcheri for the Gods!

I thank my friend, Sri GV Giri of Mumbai for sharing this. He is an intelligent IIT graduate, senior executive and part time Hindustani flautist who has studied Balamurali's music all his life. He can tell you how Balamurali's voice sounds like, what is his approach to alapana, krithi, swaraprastara, what are the notes he emphasizes, what is his intepretation of the krithi, how does he involve his co-stars/accompaniments and many more aspects. If you engage him in a healthy, intelligent conversation, you both will get along with each other. Personally speaking, I have learned so much from reading his comments and observations and am fortunate to have him as a great friend who is never satisfied with what he's listened to and always brings a new perspective each time he listens to Balamurali.

Giri's father attended numerous concerts of Balamurali in the 60s, 70s and 80s in Delhi and Mumbai and can recreate the moments in front of your eyes whether he is recounting or even singing like Balamurali! I offer my pranams to him.

Let's enjoy muraLi gAnam and let's cherish the delightful melodious the Krishna-Dwaya have offered us.