Facile singing, tremendous creativity, immense appeal and a completely pliant voice are hallmarks of this precociously talented, award winning, seasoned Carnatic vocalist who just happens to be young. Ramakrishnan Murthy’s countenance, manner and speech are as traditional as his music, belying the fact that he spent the bulk of his…
Torchbearer of the DKJ/DKP bani, Vijay Siva is not one to compromise on classicism. Total conviction, clarity of thought, unstinted devotion to patantharam, wholehearted commitment to the cause of music and the courage to follow through — these make Vijay Siva stand out in the realm of Carnatic music .…
This week marks 14 years since my father passed away. He left knowing two grandchildren were on the way but without seeing them – suddenly, abruptly. With no precursive events. I felt too young when it happened. I wondered ‘why me’. Soon, though, I realized he left without suffering. And…
Ever since I returned to Madras over a decade ago, I have been strongly dissuaded from traveling on the bus saying “It is not what it used to be. It is not safe” etc. etc. However, it is important to me to have the ability to negotiate public transport to…
One of the ways I attempt to alleviate tension in my life is to identify the stressors and eliminate/reduce them consciously. While I do drive, and am confident about driving, parking can be a downright headache in Chennai. I decided a long while ago that if I am traveling to…
Sangeetha Ramprasad believes in the calming power of sahaja yoga Stress seems to dog everyone these days — from young children to the elderly. Sangeetha Ramprasad comes to their rescue, bridging the world of Carnatic music with meditation, the art of stilling/calming the mind. Sangeetha had her initial training from…
It is his pleasant countenance that first draws attention but once you settle down, his playing of the mridangam keeps you absorbed. Vijay grew up in Mumbai, the son of Geetha, a vainika, and N. Balasubramanian, a Chartered Accountant and bhajan singer. Vijay’s father, an ardent admirer of T.V. Gopalakrishnan…
Part 1 is here. A few years later came the next assignment – to Makeni – in Sierra Leone. My first exposure to school, my mother would braid my hair, pack me curd rice in an Aladdin flask that went into a pretty metal case. When I came back, it…
After my recent return from abroad, my right foot started acting up. It does so a couple of times a year – after-effects of a really bad Chikungunya attack in 2006. Usually, this is alleviated with two days of Naproxen. This time though, it lingered. When I mentioned to my…
As I read Indian clothing designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee’s comment at Harvard regarding women and the saree – http://bit.ly/2HbTQI7, and counter points to it – http://bit.ly/2CiaemH, some thoughts came up. Mr. Mukherjee said “I think, if you tell me that you do not know how to wear a saree, I would say shame…