Articles by Chitra Srikrishna

About Chitra Srikrishna

Chitra Srikrishna is a Carnatic vocalist and writer living in Bengaluru & Columbus. Chitra blogs for Sruti, runs the podcast Raga Ruminations and produces RaagTime, a radio show on Indian music. Her albums include devotional poetry of Tamil Alwars & Dasa kritis, & thematic compositions on Rama and Hanuman. She's the musical half of a multimedia performance duo HumRaag. Her program BHAKTHI explores the journey of the mystics of India. Her latest Antah Prerna -A Musical Telling of an Entrepreneur's Journey debuted at Bangalore International Centre in 2018.

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Thiruvaiyaru – A State of Mind

February 1, 2019 Chitra Srikrishna

A small town in the Cauvery delta comes alive in January each year. Carnatic musicians and rasikas all over the world turn their focus to Thiruvaiyaru (city of five rivers) in the Tanjavur district of

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Lalgudi Pancharatna Kritis – A Workshop

November 5, 2016 Chitra Srikrishna

Tyagaraja was a prolific carnatic composer. As he travelled to different places around Thanjavur he composed songs praising the deities of the local temples. When he visited Lalgudi, he composed five songs collectively known as

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Listening even as we perform

June 27, 2016 Chitra Srikrishna

“Did you see how she did that?” I was lucky enough to attend numerous concerts, most often at the Bangalore Gayana Samaja, with my late guru Seethalakshmi Venkatesan. In every concert, we had attended together,

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In the footsteps of the teacher – Sripadaraya & Vyasaraya

May 3, 2016 Chitra Srikrishna

A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops. Henry Adams Sripadaraya (1422-1480) is believed to have laid the foundation of the Haridasa movement in Karnataka. He was a teacher of the

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Minstrels Through The Ages

April 22, 2016 Chitra Srikrishna

Minstrels and troubadours were travelling musicians of the medieval age. Their songs and ballads reflected themes of love and chivalry. The performance was usually a single voice with a single instrument like the harp or

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Musical presentation of Kannada poetry

March 23, 2016 Chitra Srikrishna

When British entrepreneur William Seighart founded National Poetry Day his intention was to promote poetry and recognize the works of talented poets. In his words,”They (poets) shouldn’t be embarrassed about reading their work out aloud. I

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Thani Avarthanam or Restroom Break?

February 14, 2016 Chitra Srikrishna

It’s almost like a switch is turned on and two things happen. People get up from their seats and head towards the doors in two different directions. Most of them make a beeline towards the

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Unique venu-violin-veena team

January 11, 2016 Chitra Srikrishna

When three women – a flautist, a violinist and a vainika – got together to give a Carnatic concert a couple of years ago it was the beginning of a new journey. The venu-violin-veena concert

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Musical competitions – Boon or Bane?

January 6, 2016 Chitra Srikrishna

In the recent Marathi film Katyar Kaljat Ghusali the song “Ghei Chand Makarand” is sung by two singers in distinctive styles.The song which originally featured in a Marathi musical play or Natyageet was popularized by

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Fostering Freedom of Expression – BLF & beyond

November 30, 2015 Chitra Srikrishna

The excitement around the upcoming Bangalore Literary Festival has been marred by controversy. Writers threatening to boycott the festival and founding director Vikram Sampath stepping down has raised many questions in the minds of Bangaloreans.

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Ragas in Kannada movie songs

November 24, 2015 Chitra Srikrishna

Music from Kannada films continue to be very popular, despite media coverage of the challenged state of the Kannada film industry.Much of the credit has to go to music directors who continue to innovate, by

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Akka Mahadevi across the shores

November 17, 2015 Chitra Srikrishna

I didn’t expect to hear Akka Mahadevi’s poetry being recited on a stage in the US. Fire and Ash, a multimedia show about Lord Shiva is where I encountered the poetry of this Kannada saint.

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Chasing dreams

July 22, 2015 Chitra Srikrishna

The nice thing about having teens, is that you get to meet a lot of exciting young people – many of whom are musically gifted. I hope to bring you stories of these young musicians

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MSV – Creating musical history on the silver screen

July 14, 2015 Chitra Srikrishna

When a movie song becomes a hit with the audience it’s a recognition of the singer and the composer’s talent. One of the most prolific music composers for south Indian movies M.S.Viswanathan passed away today.

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Folk music of India

July 5, 2015 Chitra Srikrishna

Folk music holds its unique place in India’s rich cultural diversity. Folk songs talk about relationships, the challenges encountered by people every day and philosophical questions about life. Let’s look at popular folk music genres

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