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...
A friend sent along the link to the YouTube video of a Carnatic music performance. I clicked on it and started listening. Within a few seconds, I had to close my eyes since I was getting lost in the music. Sight and the scenery it was bringing in was becoming a distraction. My thoughts,...
Abul Fazl, who chronicled the reign of Akbar, onnce said about court musician Tansen, “a singer like him has not been in India for the last thousand years.” The same verse could be applied to Yazhpanam Dakshinamurthy when it comes to thavil, the percussion instrument used in Carnatic music....
On the first Sunday of every month, an audience assembles on the outskirts of Mangaluru in Karnataka as early as 6 am. They come to attend the concert titled ‘Udaya Raga’ (morning raga) conducted by the Mani Krishnaswami Academy at Surathkal. And, the venue is not a concert hall but the...
SG Kittappa is a legendary figure in the music world. His extraordinarily dexterous voice sent listeners into a rapture. His early death gave him a legendary status. But, even legends have teachers and their stories can illuminate, too. Kittappa’s teacher was Mariappasamy, whom the people...
This year, Padma Shri, one of the highest civilian awards, has been bestowed on Sheik Mahaboob Subhani and his wife Kaleesha Mahaboob, exponents of Nagaswaram . As much as the award recognizes their talent, it recognizes nagaswaram music as a whole. Sheik Mahaboob Subhani and Kaleesha Mahaboob...
Many collections of Subramaniya Bharathi’s poets come with his recommendations for which raga they should be sung in. Many of the songs sung today are set in ragas different from his recommendation, but, in his time, there was a Carnatic musician who earned Bharathiar’s praise for the way he...
Nagaswaram artiste Prabhavathi who was featured in the article,“Biology is not destiny. Women’s bodies are no hindrance to playing nagaswaram,” recently sent us the alapana of three ragas. They were Ranjani, Saraswati and Purvikalyani. Ranjani has the quality of not allowing errors, i.e., the...
Men have owned the nagaswaram musical instrument as their own over many years. The sacred art of playing the nagaswaram has generally been seen as belonging to the masculine domain. But that is changing. Today, many women are taking up the instrument at a young age, learning how to play it, and...
Three nagaswaram artistes on stage was itself an awe-inspiring sight. For the artistes, it seemed routine. Throughout the concert they played naturally. Within five minutes of playing, they left a mark on the listener – evidence that they were veterans. The trio consisted of TC Karunanidhi, his...
