raagarasika

Episode 20: Rasikas' Voice -- Your Letters and Questions

In this episode, we would like to share some of the feedback we have been getting so far. Thanks a lot for all your comments and enthusiastic support. We really appreciate it!

Episode 19: Featured Instruments -- Shruti Box and Tambura

In this segment, we showcase three related instruments: shruti box, electronic tambura, and a traditional tambura. We also discuss the main differences between each of them. Finally, we talk about the role of the traditional tambura artiste in the Carnatic music platform.

Episode 18: Carnatic Music Terms -- Shruti

We discuss another important term: Shruti or pitch. We also explain the relative nature of this concept in Carnatic music- and how a singer identifies the pitch that is best suited to his or her voice. Finally, we showcase a couple of snippets by Dr. M. Balamurali Krishna who is well known, among numerous other things, for his exemplary capacity to easily sing across several octaves.

Episode 17: Carnatic Music Terms -- Naada

Starting with this episode, we would like to dedicate a few segments to explaining some common terms used in Carnatic music. The first among these terms is Naada. We also showcase a couple of very popular Thygaraja compositions where he describes Naada and mentions the divine origin of the Saptaswaras or the 7 basic musical notes.

Episode 16 -- Featured Compositions in Sivaranjani

In this episode, we feature a couple of immensely popular tillanas. The first is composed by Maharajapuram Sri Santhanam and the second tillana is a composition by Lalgudi Sri Jayaraman. We discuss the additional inclusion of the Antara Gandharam to make the Misrasivaranjani variant of the raaga and also describe tillanas in general.

Episode 15: Featured Raaga -- Sivaranjani

In the previous episode, we heard a snippet sung by Smt. M.L. Vasanthakumari in the audava (pentatonic) raaga: Sivaranjani. In this episode, we discuss this distinctive raaga known for its melancholic character. We then compare and contrast it to a relatively upbeat audava raaga: Mohanam.

Episode 14: Purandara Dasa Compositions

We continue our discussion from the previous episode and talk about Purandara Dasa's compositions. We talk about Purandara Dasa’s influence on later composers, especially Thyagaraja, and also mention some musicians who have popularized his compositions on the concert platform.

Episode 13: Featured Person -- Purandara Dasa

We feature one of the most prominent Carnatic musicians during the time of the Vijayanagara kings: Purandara Dasa. Purandara Dasa is known as the Sangeeta Pitamaha or the Father of Carnatic music. We discuss some of his extraordinary contributions to Carnatic music and how his framework for music instruction is still followed today.

Episode 12: Featured Place -- Hampi

A few episodes ago, we talked about Chennai and its relevance to Carnatic music. In this episode, we trace the history of Carnatic music and take you back 600 years to discuss the Vijayanagara kingdom. We feature its capital: Vijayanagara, which is near modern day Hampi in Karnataka, India.

Episode 11: Rasikas' Voice -- Your Letters and Questions

In this episode, we share some of the emails we have received from you so far and answer some of the questions we got from you. Thank you for joining us at Raaga Rasika and listening to our podcasts. Please continue writing to us -- we value your feedback!