The costume drama
Dance is a visual treat and the aesthetics of attire can make or mar a performance. V. V. Ramani traces the evolution of the dance dress
View ArticleWhile my sitar gently weeps
A fictitious conversation in heaven between George Harrison and Ravi Shankar, after The Beatles star discovers Carnatic music much to the dismay of his guru.
View ArticleA suitable boy for the prime slot
Ramakrishnan Murthy's azhutham, which is accentuated by his adherence to crisp enunciation and mixed with sensitivity, renders the music ripe.
View ArticleDedicated to the Melakartas
Charsur has dedicated this December Festival to the 72 Melakarta/ Raaganga ragas. Sangeetha Swaminathan expounded four Melakarta ragas — Salagam, Vardini, Dharmavati, Varunapriya — in her expres...
View ArticleMeet the melodic architect
Aruna Sairam was at her imaginative best, as she remembered MS in song and word, writes Mihir Balantrapu
View ArticleNothing at the cost of sruti
Packing as much as ten kritis including a Ragam Tanam Pallavi within 90 minutes, G. Aishwarya presented a concert marked by swift phrases. The rarely heard Kanakangi kriti of Thyagaraja ‘Sri...
View ArticlePathanthara, her comfort zone
Nithyasree Mahadevan is a prime example of adherence to time-honoured concert principles. It was a well-constructed programme, no frills and thrills, conventional articulation of ragas and a good bl...
View ArticleThe verve was missing
It is an acknowledged fact that Prince Rama Varma (vocal), Vinu (violin), Hari (mridangam) and Karthick (ghatam) are top-notch artists. But their concert was rather lacklustre, perhaps due to a lack...
View ArticleStriking a dynamic note
Gayathri Mahesh’s performance was reminiscent of concerts, such as Ariyakudi's, in which there was never a dull moment.
View ArticleOn a perfect pitch
With a voice that traverses effortlessly in all the sthayis including the lower octaves, Jayashree Vaidyanathan explored the ragas in depth and did justice to her alapanas. The start with ‘Anandamri...
View ArticleRich mosaic of ragas
Prasanna Venkatraman’s music is reposeful, unadventurous , yet vibrant with a balanced mix of diverse tempos. Right from the Asaveri varnam, he presented a vast repertoire of compositions by Thyagar...
View ArticleThe pallavi as prayer
Malladi Sreeramprasad said it was a prayer for the flood victims, seeking man-Nature harmony. The mood, therefore, was sombre, which precluded the scope for any acrobatics. The Keeravani alapana flow...
View ArticleNo sibling revelry
The voice of Hyderabad Brothers is Seshachari. Therefore, the absence of Raghavachari, as he was indisposed, didn’t create any impact, except that there was another mike by Seshachari’s side without ...
View ArticleTKG as a tunesmith
Govinda Rao’s tunes added beauty to the works of Subramania Bharathi, Periyasami Thooran, Ambujam Krishna and others
View ArticleAn exercise in excellence
It is more than three decades since he made his debut at The Music Academy, but even today his performances continue to score with their rich classical content and choice of exceptional ragas, kritis...
View ArticleWhat adds melody to the reed?
There is a reason why nagaswaram makers use acha maram and vaagai wood for the instrument
View ArticleOf notes and notations
Suguna Varadachari and Arati Rao discussed how Carnatic music as we know it today has evolved from Ariyakudi's days and the Vijayanagara period
View ArticleCan do wonders with his voice
One wished that with Aswath Narayanan's seasoned, bass voice, he could linger longer in the mandhra sthayi.
View ArticleRevelling in his own vision
Rupa Srikanth on Sheejith Krishna’s skilful use of patterns, rhythm and unusual themes
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