A view of the shop where tanpuras are made. Photo by Lakshmi Sreeram – courtesy The Hindu Miraj is famous for tanpuras made by its craftsmen, who honed their skills by first becoming trained musicians.How did it ever strike someone to stick a piece of wood on a dried pumpkin, build this bridge and that …
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One of the debated topics in Carnatic music is the deviation by musicians from the so-called ‘original’ pathantaram of kriti-s. This article is not an attempt to provide a conclusive answer to end the debate but a constructive provocation and an invitation for opening up the topic for a wider debate. […] While in matters …
Tips to fully appreciate the following points, listen to a vocal rendition of ‘Sri Gananatha’ by Sreevidhya Chandramouli, specially recorded for the benefit of all learners >> practice Rūpaka tāla (3 counts) while listening to Sreevidhya Chandramouli’s singing; to get prepared follow this exercise: audio track 4 in Practice four widely used Carnatic talas >> …
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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 …
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