Listening to the ‘mridangam’ (percussion) of Palghat Mani in the Ragam, Tanam and Pallavi feature of the Southern AIR stations last Thursday, one became vividly conscious of how Atlantean his art is. The fact that this item featured Ariyakkudi as the vocalist must have ensured its undisputed success. But the success of the item was … Continue reading Concert Strategy →

One of the most poignant and memorable experiences in life is to see things or persons belonging to an older generation doughtily holding on to the faith which informed them in the days of their vernal glory. One might come across a knotted old tree clinging on to the soil while around it the tides … Continue reading Minorities of One →

There are three ways of stating a thing, says Montagu. One is to state it as something more than it is, the other as something less than it is, and the third to state it as it is. The virtue of a bald statement is not apparent until it is set against the other two … Continue reading The Binomial in Music →

When the history of Karnatak music of the last one hundred years, roughly, comes to be written (such a history, one may say, is already overdue, since the few privileged souls that have heard the music of the last three generations, are fast disappearing from amidst us), there would no doubt be a separate chapter … Continue reading The Magic Flute →

While the Thyagaraja Aradhana was celebrated this year at Thiruvayyar with the usual eclat for three days, during which the homage of the musicians was broadcast in the hook-up of all South Indian radio stations, it is surprising that the memory of Purandara Das, whose birthday fell on January 25 should have been cherished only … Continue reading Saints and Singers →

Tirvavaduthurai Rajaratnam Pillai whose Nagaswaram music was featured in the National programme last week was an artist of giant stature. This may not have been evident from the pieces that were chosen for broadcast in the National programme. Rajaratnam Pillai, during his life time, must have added considerably to the AIR album of music, since … Continue reading Portrait of a Genius →

The growing interest among foreigners in Indian arts and crafts in reflected in the presence, at any major concert performance of Karnatak or Hindustani music, of a large number of Western listeners. The fact that some of them are attracted to these performances as part of their programme to "do". India cannot detract from the … Continue reading East and West →

Art in its most popular form has always been wedded to pageantry. The Eleusinian and Orphic mysteries of Greece, the Vestal celebrations of Rome, the Corpus Christi processions of Renaissance Florence, the Townley and other cycles of mystery and miracle plays of pre-Elizabethan England are instances of the way in which pageantry and art have … Continue reading Pageantry in Music →

One of the basic differences between Hindustani and Karnatak music systems lies in the conception of ‘laya’. While in Karnatak music the idea of ‘kala’ is based on a geometrical progression of frequency within a given time span, in Hindustani music the progression seems to be arithmetical. In Karnatak music the basic structure of the … Continue reading Lay Thoughts on ‘Laya’ →

The Shankar Lal Music Festival in Delhi began with a Shahnaz recital by Bismillah Khan who chose the raga Purvi for alap in vilambit and drut. Bismillah Khan invests his music with an elusive woodland grace. In the vilambit alap, one could visualise the great god Pan in a drowsy noontide repose, beguiling the hours … Continue reading Shankar Lal Music Festival →