A storm of songs: India and the idea of the bhakti movement

by John Stratton Hawley Review by Vinay Lal (Professor of History & Asian American Studies, UCLA) in Canadian Journal of History: A Storm of Songs: India and the Idea of the Bhakti Movement by John Stratton Hawley: “The idea of a ‘‘bhakti movement’’ has long been one of the largely unexamined verities that have played …

Music that heals our minds, our hearts and spirit, and our body, and connects

Why not play music together and connect again – the way families have shared music for thousands of years, and long before music became a commodity? Listen to Spark’s Next Big Thing series, which explores how technology in various guises might affect humanity in the far future: How will we experience music in 2050? >>

What makes one refer to Carnatic music as “classical or art music”?

Tyagaraja depicted by Sangeeta Vidvan S. Rajam >> Tyagaraja worried about many things — about the death of brahmanatva — the lofty way of thinking and living, of sham religiosity, of sycophancy, of Lord Rama’s reluctance to bestow grace. In one such song in the poignant raga Naganandini, he laments: sattaleni dinamunu vacchena Such days …

The bamboo flute of South India

Art by Arun V.C. The flute has played a key role in India’s artistic life since antiquity. This is evident from writings on dance-drama, mythology, sculptures and paintings. Its playing technique must have been highly developed for a very long time. Different names are used for it, for instance kuzhal (pronounced like “kulal” or “kural”) in Tamil speaking regions; and bansuri in northern …