Resources

Video | The idea of classifying ragas – Akshara & Kiranavali Vidyasankar

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Akshara Samskriti is the daughter of Carnatic musician Kiranavali and scientist-philosopher, Vidyasankar Sundaresan. This video was recorded on Nov 1, 2013, when Akshara was 4 years old. It was originally in multiple parts for educational video compilation, and has been put together as a single video here. The 72 Melakartas are regarded as the parent … Read more

Flow | Mela practice – number patterns (3 counts)

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a = middle octave (madhya sthayi)‘sa = higher octave (tara sthayi) The above svara pattern may be sung, hummed or practiced silently with any svara variants: those you are already familiar with (e.g. raga Mayamalavagaula, mela 15, raga Dhirasankarabharanam, mela 29, raga Mecakalyani, mela 65) or any other you want to practice. Enjoy practicing by … Read more

What is the Katapayadi sutra?

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The Kaṭapayādi sūtra is an aid to memory or “mnemonic system”.  Its name corresponds to a “thread” (sūtra), here provided by the initials of four sets of letters within the Sanskrit alphabet:  Ka Ṭa Pa and Ya A total of 33 letters are distributed among ten numbers including 0 (zero): K (1st) to 9 (nava = 9) + … Read more

“Bhava” and “Rasa” explained by V. Premalatha

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“Rasa is realised in from the combination of the sthāyibhāva (permanent and dominant emotional mood) with the vibhāva-s (the objects of emotions such as the hero and the heroine, and the exciting causes such as the spring, flowers, moonlight and the bower), anubhāva-s (the external manifestations of emotions such as the movement of the eye-brows, … Read more

Indian music and the west – an account by Sangita Kalanidhi Trichy Sankaran

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Tiruvarur to Texas, Carnatic musicians have transcended global cultures, echoing the seven notes to the West. Trichy Sankaran,to be honoured with the Sangita Kalanidhi today, summarises Carnatic music’s history in America in a chat with critic Veejay Sai While everyone is aware of how Hindustani music became popular in the West, especially America, with maestros like … Read more

“Learning should be a source of joy” – V.V. Sadagopan on Music education

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Audio source: singing by the author | Find details for “78RPM – V V Sadagopan” on Archive.org >> It is a curious irony that we, who claim to “hear” our music,1 are less sensitive to tone quality than the Westerner who “sees” his music. Happy exceptions apart, musicians and listeners (especially of the South) are … Read more