Articles by Chitra Srikrishna

With Mother's Day coming up this week, I thought of several songs that featured the mother as a central theme.  In his composition Mathe Malayathwaja in the Carnatic raga Khamas, Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavathar describes the daughter of the Pandya king - Meenakshi of Madurai. This "dharu varnam" is a unique piece as every chittaswara following the charanam (latter half of the varnam) has a sahitya and a sollakattu. It is heard in classical concerts as well as Bharatanatyam programs. Here is a rendition of this varnam by M.S.Subbalakshmi, In his song Amma Ravamma in raga Kalyani, Tyagaraja praises the Tulasi…

As the month of March rolls on, thousands of children across the country write the 10th and 12th board examinations. Its a time fraught with tension for students and their families. Music is known to be a great stress-buster. Here's a list of musical pieces that can help alleviete stress and keep the mind calm. Shanthamu Lekha  This composition by Carnatic composer Tyagaraja is in raga Sama which is meditative in nature.  Strings of Mohan Veena Nature has a calming effect on the human mind. Listen to how Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhat soothes the soul with the strings of his instrument in…

  I am always wary of reading books on music as I find most of them pedantic. The breadth of classical music can be a daunting subject for any writer. However some books stand out for me for their accessibility. Here are four such books. Encyclopedic and written in plain English Ludwig Pesch in his book "The Oxford Illustrated Companion to South Indian Classical Music" has written a well-researched and engaging read for carnatic music lovers. Whether it is cultural contexts of the music, technicalities of tala, complexities of instrumental music to anecdotal references and opinions of musicians, the book…

The song Chaiyya Chaiyya plays on the lawns of the Mehboob studios in Bandra, Mumbai. After the first few lines of the song, the music is switched off. I ask the kids in the audience if any of them want to sing the song. There is a show of hands and two girls sing together. There's a confident smile on one face while the other shows signs of nervousness. Yet both girls sing the song effortlessly. As I sing along with them and later a snippet of the classical raga behind the song, there's a look of dawning comprehension on…

 Photo credit: Bhoomija   As the last quarter of the year rolls round, Devi or the Mother Goddess figures frequently in classical concerts. Bhoomija, a Bangalore-based trust that promotes performing arts presented a special concert Amma-for the mother by Carnatic vocalists Ranjani Gayatri. Bhoomija has previously presented Listening to Life, a concert by Bombay Jayashri which I had thoroughly enjoyed. Listen to a thillana that was presented by Bombay Jayashri in that program.  So it was with a good deal of anticipation that I attended the Bhoomija concert with family in tow. Carnatic vocalists Ranjani and Gayatri are among the…

Last week we looked at how music from Europe such as Gregorian chants and Hungarian music had traces of classical Carnatic ragas. This week let's look at music from African countries such as Algeria, Egypt and Mali. The music of Algeria today is the confluence of many threads including those of Bedouin origin, Andalusian music with its confluence of the Ottoman Empire and Europe, and the mysticism of poets such as Rumi. Bedouin music revolves around the theme of spirituality with strong influences of Rumi, the well known Muslim poet. Andalusian music, a form of Arabic music owes much of…

Bhairavi, Amirkalyani, Rasali - One common, one not so common, one rare. These were the ragas that veteran vocalist T.V.Shankaranarayanan presented at his concert last night at the Nadasurabhi annual festival in Koramangala. Rasali is a janya raga of the 4th melakartha raga Vanaspathi and the one composition that comes to mind for raga Rasali is Tyagaraja's Aparadhamulanorva. The concert was marked with an energetic flow of swaras, evocative rendition of songs which were mostly composed by Periasami Thooran, Tulasivanam, Tyagaraja and Purandaradasa. The Bhairavi raga alapana was followed by the highly emotive Tamil song on Lord Muruga "Pazham Nee".…

World music - as it's been termed has continued to gain popularity. The term today encompasses, practically anything that's not of Western European or North American origin. Whether Ravi Shankar in the sixties, Sting's flirtations with Moroccan music in the 70s through Ustad Fateh Ali Khan, Yanni in the 80s and 90s, an endless stream of regional or world music has gained a global audience. My own exposure to world music began with Gregorian Chants, in many ways reminiscent of my childhood experience of vedic chanting and grew thanks to my husband's interest in Qawwali. I have been exploring how…

Javalis are lyrical compositions with Shringara rasa or romantic love being the central theme of the composition. Veteran musician Neela Ramgopal gave a lecture demonstration on Javalis at the morning session of the 46th annual conference of the Bangalore Gayana Samaja on 14th October 2014. A frequent performer in the Bangalore concert circuit, Neela Ramgopal is a much sought after teacher and is the recipient of numerous state and sabha awards such as the Sangitha Kala Acharya and Sangeetha Kala Rathna. Her lec-dem delivered in a very accessible manner, brought to life what could have otherwise easily been a dry…

"My Economics teacher is just brilliant - he makes me think outside the box!" My daughter came home brimming with excitement after her day in college. Her enthusiasm made me recollect my own experience with all my teachers. With yet another Teacher's Day coming up, I thought of some songs that describes this unique relationship of a teacher-student beginning with classical music to other genres. In Carnatic music, Tyagaraja's composition "Gurulekha" in raga Gowrimanohari is a popular song heard on the stage. In the song, the composer explains how one can never learn anything without the grace of the teacher.…