Pori Tapori Rachna - making news !

1. Vijay Karnataka (Bangalore's no.1 daily)

Date: Jan 28th 2010
Page No: 1 !!

Here's the latest on Pori Tapori Rachna - Unfortunately , for this kannada article, there is no english translation available, as of now.

2. Bangalore Times (Times of India)
Date: Jan 14, 2010

Page No:1 !

Here's the coverage for Radio Mirchi (Bangalore) on Jan 14th edition (Sankranti special) of Bangalore Times. Its a media article on Rachna's interview with the lead actors of 'Suryakanti' - Chetan and Regina.

B'day celebrations of grandpa-grandson (delayed post !)

I am posting these pics on behalf of the latest entrant to the VSR Family, Rachna, who had clicked these pics on the occasion of the celebration of the birthdays of her grand-father-in-law first and then of dear hubby Pranav, in the last week of Dec 2009 !
She had dutifully bought a chocolate cake from Sweet Chariot to mark the occasion for the grand-pa-in-law with the words "Happy Bday Thathu" written on it, and thathu made no fuss this time and in fact, quite enjoyed cutting the cake for his 81st birthday - jiving to the tune of Happy Birthday being sung by the rest of the family present there - and was quite a sport in accepting the first bite of the cake from his fav.grandson !

There was a similar cake-cutting ceremony for her hubby, with the difference being 'sparkler-candles' (a la Diwali celebrations !!) to add the 'zing' to their romance and to start the new year with a bang !

As per the latest reports that have come in, the romantic duo is currently honey-mooning in Colombo and are expected to return soon ! Looking forward to their latest news for the family !

VSR Family's Foray into "Chamber Music"

I recently had the rare privilege and honour, of being invited to listen to "Chamber Music" at the residence of the First Lady of the 214 Family (2nd Gen) !

To be honest, only very recently did I come across this term ("Chamber Music") - as per my understanding - in the earlier days, the kings encouraged and patronized musicians by inviting them to perform in their "chambers" to a select audience !! And when I was actually invited for one, I decided that I MUST be a part of this august gathering ! And so I went - under the guise of being the 'official photographer' for the event !! On arrival, in true royal style, the audience was served hot badam milk before the show even began !!

The singer was Smt. Geetha Raja (sister-in-law of the famous carnatic musician Aruna Sairam, and a famous musician in her own right). She began at 6:30pm - her accompanying artistes included a mridangam player and violinist.

The musician was seated in one end of the living room - while the audience were seated all around the living room (some on the diwan and the rest on mats on the floor, in typical desi style)- the privileged ones occupied the "balcony seats" at the dining room - this was reserved for the octogenarians and nonagenarians, who were provided chairs !

Soon the hall was packed, with more than 45 guests !! with no more space for even ONE More seat - and the organizers were contemplating putting up the "House Full" board at the gate !

The songs included rare songs of Thyagaraja, some Abhangs etc. The performance was followed by some sumptuous dinner, hosted by (guess who ??) - none other than the friendly neighbourhood cook - Mrs.Janaki Ramanathan !! and partially by Mrs. Shantha (mami) - the menu included idli-sambar with molagapodi, thengai sevai, curd rice , pulao, curry and chappathis.

After the grand finale (dinner), the pleased crowd dispersed with the hope that the show would carry on .... This was the 214 Family's way of showing to the world, that the year-end Music Season does not 'end' for the Family !! The journey of chamber music has only just begun, within the 214 Family !!

Dhaarini's dance @ Chennai Music Season

The new year began with impressive dance performances by the diminutive Dhaarini Suryanarayanan of the VSR Family during the Chennai Music Season. She perfomed for leading sabhas like Brahma Gana Sabha and Balamurali Krishna Trust, on the 5th and 8th of Jan respectively. She danced for around 1.5 hours supported by Mrs.Vijayalakshmi (her guru and mother), on the Nattuvangam.

The entire VSR family and the extended families were present for both the performances to support and encourage the debut of the first member of the family into the Chennai Music Festival ! Her father, Mr.Suryanarayanan had in fact taken off 10 days from work, for this cultural extravaganza - the culture included "a movie a night" (at the theatre) on which he survived the entire 10days - starting from Vijay's "Vettaikkaaran" to "3-idiots" to "Avatar" etc.!

The conspicuous absence was that of Dhaarini's sister, Vaishnavi, due to her upcoming CA exams in the month of May, for which feverous preparations are underway.

There have been rave reviews of Dhaarini's maiden performance, in the Tamil daily, Dinamalar. The English version of the report will be published on the blog once the translation is available.

Do keep yourselves available for the 2010 Music Season at Chennai - it will be marked by the "Bombay Sisters" or the "Breach Candy Sisters" (suggestions for the name are welcome!) taking the stage together !!