Music Matters

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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. 

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