Appreciating the beauty and importance of the nagasvaram: “Carnatic music grew because of the nagaswaram” – S. Rajam

In this part, I quote from my recording with S. Rajam on T.N. Rajarathinam Pillai, done in early 2007 [brief excerpts] “Carnatic music grew because of the nagaswaram. Our art originated in the temples — especially, dance and nagaswaram. During the daily three-time worship at temples, the nagaswaram would be played all the times. Source: … Read more

Raga Sri | A musical tribute to Dr. Pia Buonomo Srinivasan – Brhaddhvani

Dr. Karaikudi Subramanian and Dr. Meenakshi Subramanian salute Dr. Pia Buonomo Srinivasan (May 15, 1931 – April 8, 2022)1 for her respect and selfless contribution to vina and its tradition. […] We dedicate the raga Sri2 she loved particularly in her memory. | Read the full tribute posted on the video channel of Brhaddhvani – … Read more

Video | Tambura-tanpura explained

Source: Musical instrument (tanpura) with keys for four string, © Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 2021URL: https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O452622/stringed-instrument/Date Visited: 7 December 2021 The tambura or tanpura is a plucked drone instrument used to accompany instrumental or vocal performances. The four strings are played open rather than being depressed to alter the note. This example is considerably … Read more

“Every family member excels at certain tasks”: A family’s legacy of making mridangams – Kerala

In Kerala’s Peruvemba village, one family has been making the Mridangam, a Carnatic instrument, for four generations. They make two types of Mridangams – Ech and Thag. […] The cumbersome and labour-intensive process of making every piece, which continues seamlessly and without glitches, takes anywhere between 2-3 months to complete. Generally, the artisans dedicate a … Read more