Music has got an ethereal quality to heal the disturbed mind and provide solace. The impact of Covid-19 and the stress of confinement within one’s home have been multiplied by the disturbing news flashing across media - both visual and social.

Neyyatinkara Vasudevan shone like a meteor in the field of Carnatic music. Hailing from a humble background, he attained success as a vocalist and teacher against heavy odds, facing many rough patches along the way. Born on 24 August 1940, as the son of a Dalit woodcutter, in rural Thiruvananthapuram district (Neyyattinkara), Vasudevan went on to become a leading vocalist from Kerala.

R. A. Ramamani is a multifaceted musician. Singing avadhana pallavis, providing dizzying vocals for Indo-Jazz bands, composing for jazz and fusion, running a music school, training scores of students in India and abroad in Carnatic music - she has done it all. This versatile artist turned seventy on 2 March 2020.

In the history of south Indian performing arts, there perhaps exists no parallel to the case of M.K. Thyagaraja Bhagavatar (1910 - 1959) where the tremendous popularity of one facet of an artist is matched by a near oblivion of another.