A storm of songs: India and the idea of the bhakti movement

by John Stratton Hawley Review by Vinay Lal (Professor of History & Asian American Studies, UCLA) in Canadian Journal of History: A Storm of Songs: India and the Idea of the Bhakti Movement by John Stratton Hawley: “The idea of a ‘‘bhakti movement’’ has long been one of the largely unexamined verities that have played … Read more

What makes one refer to Carnatic music as “classical or art music”?

Tyagaraja worried about many things — about the death of brahmanatva — the lofty way of thinking and living, of sham religiosity, of sycophancy, of Lord Rama’s reluctance to bestow grace. In one such song in the poignant raga Naganandini, he laments: sattaleni dinamunu vacchena Such days have come… Days that have no strength (sattu) … Read more

New online tool that will turn written konnakkol into audio

Courtesy: email by online tool-developer Arthur Carabott (UK), 18 March 2017 Generally the rules are: – for any syllable there must be at least one consonant followed by at least one vowel – Any brackets must match, so if you have three opening { you must have three closing } Input and feedback very welcome! http://arthurcarabott.com/konnakkol/