Music

What is the environmental cost of a big music event? Can art afford to be for its own sake and not think about all the plastic bottles and banners left behind without being recycled? What about the emissions from generators or the decibel levels? These questions led Roshan Netalkar to come up with Echoes of the Earth (EOE), an annual music festival, three years ago. Held on the outskirts of Bengaluru on a sprawling 150-acre property, it was aimed at marrying music and art with the theme of sustainability. Netalkar hoped to prove that music festivals of such scale could…

It's not common to have plays about music, or musicians; so when Ranga Shankara announced that the Trialogue Company, a Delhi-based theatre group, would be staging "Tansen" on 1st June, '19, I was very keen on attending. The introduction on the Ranga Shankara website was also tantalising. Dhrupad, Khayal, and Kathak to be part of the production...that would be very unusual indeed! So off I went, with my friend Jayashree (who also learnt classical music from me...we did form a fairly critical duo in the audience.) Even before the play started formally, the strains of the tanpura and the semi-humming,…

After a month long discussion on everything about Bangalore’s traffic through the prism of the steel flyover and the elevated corridor, we wanted a break. We couldn’t think of a better way to destress than with music. We headed to the Indian Music Experience at JP Nagar to chat with its founders, Dr Suma Sudhindra (who was recently awarded Sangeeth Natak Academy Puraskar for 2017) and Manasi Prasad. Many of us grew up humming along with Julie Andrews that Do come from a deer, Re meant a drop of golden sun... But if you want to know the origins of…

A small town in the Cauvery delta comes alive in January each year. Carnatic musicians and rasikas all over the world turn their focus to Thiruvaiyaru (city of five rivers) in the Tanjavur district of Tamil Nadu. Many even travel from around the world to be there. Thiruvaiyaru is where carnatic composer Tyāgaraja lived and composed some of the most well-known songs of the genre. On Bahula Panchami—the fifth day of the lunar month Pushya—Jan 25 this year, five songs of Tyāgaraja, simply referred to as the “pancharatna kritis” were sung in one voice by millions of people all over…

Once in a while, one is privileged to attend a concert that not many people seem to know about, Indian Institute of Managerment, Bangalore (IIMB) and The Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music And Culture Amongst Youth (SPIC MACAY)  together organized a violin concert by Lalgudi Shri Krishnan,  accompanied on the mridangam by Shri K U Jayachandra Rau , and on the ghatam by Shri H Sivaramakrishnan. Opening with a varnam in Nalinakanti, followed by Dhenuka (Theliye ledu Rama) he went on to play Sri Rangapura Vihara in Brindavana Saranga,  Marukela Ra in Jayanthashri (Thyagagaja) followed.   The main…

It was very pleasant to sit on the lawns of Bangalore's premier management institution. In the gathering dusk, people drifted in and took their seats. The stage was well-lit.  Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia started the evening off with sweet notes from his "bansuri", with the lilting evening raga, Madhuvanti. One can truly say that, with his flute, he literally breathes  his music! For the audience, also, the composition in raga Yaman that followed, and then a bhajan, breathed relaxation and serenity into them.   When one of the impresarios came up on stage, he wisecracked that when pretty girls appear, trouble…

It's unusual to have a festival only for instruments, and so it was interesting to attend the "Bangalore Harmonica and Reed Instruments Festival" at Ravindra Kalakshetra on the 22nd of November, 2015.   The predominant theme of the music seemed to be old Hindi movie songs, though a few Kannada movie songs were also played.     The festival went on from 10 am to 7pm and seemed to have a good attendance throughout the day.   Some of the children also enjoyed interacting with the audience to the beat of the music!   Here's one of the artistes, Ashok…

I didn't expect to hear Akka Mahadevi's poetry being recited on a stage in the US. Fire and Ash, a multimedia show about Lord Shiva is where I encountered the poetry of this Kannada saint. The theme of the show conceived by playwright Gouri Ramanarayan centered on the stories and attributes of Lord Shiva. How Lord Siva symbolizes both the positive and negative energy of the universe was effectively brought out by the narration ably supported by vocalist Savita Narasimhan and dancer Anjana Anand. Several compositions ranging from Muthuthandavar's Teruvil Varano to Tagore's Srijoner to Kalidasa's Kumarasambhavam and Akka Mahadevi's…

The nice thing about having teens, is that you get to meet a lot of exciting young people - many of whom are musically gifted. I hope to bring you stories of these young musicians who are chasing their dreams and in many ways paving a new path for themselves & others. In this column, we'll meet one classical musician who juggles a full time career with her music and a disc jockey (DJ) who's building a career out of his passion. Priyanka Prakash is a popular singer in the Carnatic music circuit.  Music has been an integral part of…

When a movie song becomes a hit with the audience it's a recognition of the singer and the composer's talent. One of the most prolific music composers for south Indian movies M.S.Viswanathan passed away today.  He had composed more than 750 film songs in different languages. He was given the sobriquet Mellisai Mannar (Tamil - king of light music). His songs would carry a range of emotions whether it was the nostalgic Atho Antha Paravai from the Tamil movie Aayarathil Oruvan or the exuberient Inimai Niraintha Ulagam from the Tamil movie Ninaithale Inikkum.   the    He composed a few songs…