raagarasika

We continue our discussion from the last episode on Kalyani and Mohanakalyani, and discuss the role gamakams play when raagas are rendered.

In this week's episode, Vidya provides the answer to last week's quiz. The odd-man out song is in Mohanakalyani. Vidya highlights some of the key differences between Kalyani and Mohanakalyani and illustrates the role of gamakams in bringing out differences between allied ragas using the three songs in the quiz.

A good approach to enjoying Carnatic music is to begin training your ear to discern raagas and raaga patterns. In this episode, Vidya sings three different snippets - two of them in Kalyani raaga and one in a different raaga. Can you find the odd one out? We will answer the quiz in the next episode. If you know the answer, write to us! There will be special credit for people who not only provide the answer but also explain why and how the raagas are different. We will recognize noteworthy entries in a subsequent episode.

We continue last episode's focus on Padmabhushan Lalgudi Jayaraman and turn our attention to his compositions. We feature his set of compositions included in Jaya Jaya Devi, a dance drama on Mother Goddess (Devi). Specifically, we focus on the Navarasa Varnam, a raagamalika that showcases the nine emotions (navarasas), and also discuss raagamalikas in general.