Music Matters

Ramakrishna Murthy performing at Unnati Centre during the Gokulashtami music festival 2014 Whether the monsoons are on time or not, music festivals in Bangalore mark the time far more predictably. With the Rama Navami festival marking the onset of spring in April, the end of summer is marked by Janmashtami or Gokulashtami music festival.  Bangalore-based SGBS trust has been promoting the cause of classical music for several decades now. In additon to promoting classical music under their Utsav initiative, SGBS runs Shiksha which provides education to underpriviliged children and Unnati that provides vocational training to the unskilled. This week Unnati's…

In an earlier column we explored how musicians attempt to push boundaries in their presentations, particularly by bringing poetry, often arcane, to the stage. In this post, let’s continue examining how others have attempted to similarly expand both the listeners’ choices and their own exploration of vernacular poetry. Swati Tirunal is perhaps the most famous of all poet-composers from Kerala. The works of other Malayalam poets such as Warriyar, Thampi, Tulasivanam are slowly becoming popular as they are presented as songs thanks to the efforts of vocalists such as Shankaran Namboothiri. Here is the composition "Karuna Cheyvaa Enthu Thaamasam" of…

[This is part 1 of a 2 part series. You can find part 2 here.] When poetry and devotional verses are set to classical music their appeal reaches a wider audience. Depending on the nature of the lyrics it is often not difficult to set the verse to a particular melody. But it is not easy for the words to be sung to a particular rhythm or beat. Words may get truncated or sound awkward when they are fitted into a rhythmic pattern. Yet good musicians are able to creatively fit a verse to both the melody and beat without…

A raga is defined as a series of musical notes that constitute a melody. The importance of a raga lies in the mood that it's intended to create in the mind of the listener. Today I'd like to share with you the moods conveyed by popular ragas in Indian classical music. While many of the ragas are confined to solely Carnatic (C) or Hindustani (H) genres of Indian music, some are common to both styles. Join in with your thoughts on these ragas, the moods they evoke in you and others that are your favorites. The links posted below each…

Increasing the mass appeal of classical music has always proven a challenge globally. Carnatic music is no exception - this last weekend the Ideas Conclave 2014, held by the Arts for Life Foundation at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Bengalooru was an all day event titled "Karnatak Music - towards a mass appeal". The public event, brought performers, music editors and writers, organizers, sabha administrators and listeners together to brainstorm ideas and share experiences in making carnatic music accessible and appealing to a wider audience. The sparsely attended event offered numerous actionable ideas and lessons for all those interested in promoting…

For a recent show, I'd researched movie songs in a variety of Indian languages with the intent to trace the classical ragas behind these songs. While some of them were based directly on a specific raga, others were a mix of several ragas while some barely resembled a coherent melody. It was fascinating to see how the same melody sounded when it moved from the stage to the screen. Here are some of the more interesting ones I encountered.    Many older Hindi movies, such as Tansen and Baiju Bawra were based on the life stories of legendary musicians. They…

Classical music afficianados besides their love for music seem to share two other common interests. One is clearly food, given the roaring canteen business at many sabhas. The other seems to be the strong opinions that they seem to have on the state of classical music. There are several schools of thought such as "classical music is going to the dogs," and "there is a new renaissance with a breed of young musicians" to "fusion music is a cacophony". However all these schools agree on two things. That the audience for classical music, particularly Carnatic music needs to grow and…

As Sivaratri is being celebrated tonight by millions of people, here are some Carnatic songs that extol the greatness of the Hindu God Shiva. Tyagaraja's Naada Tanumanisham in raga Chittaranjani, Shambho Mahadeva and Shiva Shiva Yena Radha in raga Pantuvarali, Raga Sudha Rasa in raga Andholika, Ilalo Pranatharthi in raga Atana to Dikshithar's Akshaya Linga in raga Shankarabharanam, Shri Matrubhootham in raga Kannada and Shri Vishwanatham Bhajesham Chathurdasa Ragamalika are some of the songs heard on the Carnatic platform. There are innumerable compositions on Lord Shiva in Carnatic music by different composers. Some of the popular ones in Tamil are…

Gayathri Kesavan and family The story of Putana is part of the Lord Krishna folklore. Putana which means “devoid of virtue” was a demon sent by Kamsa to kill his nephew, the baby Krishna. When Putana in the guise of a stunningly beautiful woman came to Yashodha, the latter believed the demon to be a virtous woman and gave the baby to her for nursing. Little did Yashodha realize that it wasn’t mother’s milk but a poison that the baby was meant to suckle. Putana’s plan backfired and Krishna ended up killing her. This was the central theme of Gayathri…

“I see many young people wanting to learn the veena. Whether they want to take it up as a profession is something I’m not sure about.” I'm talking to Jayanthi Kumaresh, renowned veena artist, at her home. We're seated in what's obviously a prayer room, with its large pictures of the Chandrashekara Saraswathi, the revered former head of the Kanchi Mutt. Three or four veenas stand upright against one wall. Her observation was in response to my query about the state of veena playing and where she saw it headed.    Jayanthi puts me at ease with her charming personality…