Sruti Magazine articles reproduced with permission. All rights reserved. www.sruti.com

HOMAGE TO TYAGARAJA IN MYLAPORE

HOMAGE TO TYAGARAJA IN MYLAPORE

The annual Tyagaraja aradhana was celebrated by Sri Mannargudi Sambasiva Bhagavatar Cultural Trust on 12 February 2022 at Mylapore in Chennai; it was organised by S. Rajaraman, the Managing Trustee. A host of eminent vidwans and vidushis – including several vocalists, violinists, mridangists, flautist, and vainika—participated in the celebration and diligently rendered the pancharatna kritis.
ANAYAMPATTI S. GANESAN

ANAYAMPATTI S. GANESAN TURNS 90

The jalatarangam, today, is secure in the hands of vidwan Anayampatti S. Ganesan. Born on 22 May 1932, the maestro turns 90 this month. His only regret is about four of the vintage cups having broken over the years!
MAVELIKKARA PRABHAKARA VARMA

MAVELIKKARA PRABHAKARA VARMA & P.R. KUMARAKERALA VARMA

The venue was a temple in Mavelikkara, a small town in Alappuzha district of Kerala, where thousands of music lovers had gathered to drench themselves in the music of nagaswara chakravarty Tiruvaduthurai T.N. Rajarathnam Pillai (TNR). Before the concert began, a boy was brought to TNR with the request that he bless the music student.
SEASON 2021-22

SEASON 2021-22

A hybrid season in 2021-22 provided good opportunities to musicians to present in-person concerts besides the virtual ones, and the musicians offered impressive performances in many venues. Here we focus mainly on the performances of up-and-coming musicians—on both virtual and live platforms— conducted by different organisations.
KSK 100 – a celebration

KSK 100 – a celebration

The birth centenary of vidwan Calcutta K.S. Krishnamurti (KSK as he was known to all) occurred on 21 December 2021. To commemorate the occasion, his disciple, Sangita Kalanidhi Sanjay Subrahmanyan put together a series of events, including several posts on his social media channels, culminating with a concert on 25 December 2021, at the Music Academy, Chennai.
SIFF’s initiative to groom young talent

SIFF’s initiative to groom young talent

A nationwide, completely online cultural competition was conducted by the Singhal Iyer Family Foundation (SIFF); it received a whopping 12,000 applications from students in cities as well as villages.
Instrumental concerts @ the Music Academy

Instrumental concerts @ the Music Academy

The inaugural session of the Music Academy conference and concerts 2021 was marked by a nagaswaram concert by S. Kasim and S. Babu accompanied on the tavil by G. Rajan and M. Vijayakumar. The vidwans began with Tatvamariya tarama in Reetigaula (Papanasam Sivan) with a compact swaraprastara in the pallavi. Hiranmayeem Lakshmeem sada bhajami in Lalita followed.
Captivating colours in Madrasana’s Tinge fest

Captivating colours in Madrasana’s Tinge fest

Madrasana Tinge, a five-concert, colour-based festival, was held from 27 to 31 October 2021 in association with IIT Madras Music Club. Each artist was given a colour for interpretation, based on which several unique pieces were presented.
Sundara Amutha Ganam

Sundara Amutha Ganam

Carnatic music composers from the pre-trinity period to the current times have very often made their literary outpourings out of their devotion to God and passion towards music. Among the women composers, Andal, Karaikkal Ammaiyar, contemporary composers like D. Pattammal, Ambujam Krishna, Kalyani Varadarajan, Suguna Purushothaman and a few others have made significant contributions to the wealth of Carnatic music.
Interesting tidbits on Carnatic ragas

Interesting tidbits on Carnatic ragas

Many years ago, when I was asked to write an article on ragas, I was unsure of what I was going to write about the topic. I did not want to deal with the technical aspects since I am not trained in music.
Sangita Kala Acharya B. Krishnamoorthy

Sangita Kala Acharya B. Krishnamoorthy

It was a Vijayadasami day in 1983. My Sanskrit Professor C.S. Sundaram took me to the home of vidwan B. Krishnamoorthy—fondly addressed as BK Sir — (hereafter BK) as he wished me to learn Dikshitar kritis from BK. I am grateful to Professor Sundaram, who was my well-wisher and supportive of my music career.
Music in Vaishnavite Tamil literature

Music in Vaishnavite Tamil literature

This is the concluding segment of the exposition on dance and music in Vaishnavite Tamil literature. The three-part article is based on information culled from various Tamil discourses of Kidambi Narayanan.