Music
Music

Listen to T M Krishna — for his singing and speaking

I hope T M Krishna does get to give his Sangita Kalanidhi oration. These speeches have not been momentous, barring a few times. One can recall Balasaraswati’s 1973 speech that, in and of itself, seemed typical. But, just by recounting her formative years and her influences, she subtly drove...

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T M Krishna
Music

Remembering Vani Jairam — a tribute

Three persons uniquely placed to speak about singer Vani Jairam, who passed away recently, pay tribute to the great singer through Inmathi.com. Of these one is Rajkumar Bharathi who has sung many songs with Vaniji in various languages. The second is M V S Prasad who retired as Director of Press...

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Vani Jairam
Music

How Pudukottai style of mridangam playing came about

Author Lalitha Ram, in his biography on Palani Subramaniya Pillai titled Dhruva Natchathiram, unveils the fascinating background to the style that the mridangist represents. In a quick yet comprehensive sweep, Dhruva Natchathiram looks at the historical, musical and personal aspects of what...

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Mridangam
Music

C Lalitha of Bombay Sisters: Fame adorned by humility

A saint gave C Saroja and C Lalitha them the name with which they became known to many: Bombay Sisters. Mouna Swamigal of Ambattur who kept eternal silence wrote the name after hearing them perform when they were not so famous. Lalitha passed away on Jan 31, leaving her inseparable sister...

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Bombay Sisters
Music

Music season: Tamil Isai is here to stay

During the colonial British Raj, the local rulers were reduced to zamindars and these zamindars were the patrons of art during pre-Independence India. The Carnatic singers, during this period of 1875 to 1910, managed to push other languages to the fore against Tamil in Carnatic music. It took...

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