Ashok Subramaniam, an immensely talented composer, singer and musicologist and more importantly a good friend and I have been planning for some time now to get a podcast going. Ashok and I felt that there is a need for de-mystifying Carnatic music – we encounter a whole lot of enthusiastic listeners, who would love to know more about Carnatic music. On the other hand, we find most writing on Carnatic music written for “experts” in often a rather inaccessible manner. This podcast is an attempt to bridge the two. You can be certain we will cover a wide variety of things Carnatic, given our own interests. Your active participation through feedback, comments or even brickbats would help make this a whole lot more fun for us and you as listeners. So drop us a note, comment on the blog, you know the drill.
The fact that Ashok is based in San Jose and I am in Bangalore and our insane schedules (not to mention my difficulty with this audio editing stuff) did not help matters. Nevertheless, we finally got down to it and in this post I present the first episode of our podcast – Gamakas.
Gamaka as the classical definition goes is grace – however calling it grace does not explain much. In ordinary terms gamakas are oscillatory patterns traveling from one note to another in successive repetitive pattern within a confined space. This episode explores when to use gamakas or not, with short demonstrations of appropriate gamakas.
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Chitra Srikrishna 
Awesome!! Keep it coming! Looking forward to the next podcast.
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Thanks, Chitra. look forward to your feedback!
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Superb, Chitra. Very educational, informative and great singing accompaniment to demonstrate the topic!! Well done.
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Thanks, Sujata. I've posted the second episode a few hours back – do listen when you have time.
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Hi Chitra and Ashok!
Thoroughly enjoyed and was enlightened by your informal podcast on gamakas! Delighted that you both have started this unique initiative. Keep it up! Once a month seems too long a wait! Going back to the basics of Sarali and Jantai is good, but we need many more episodes on this particular topic also – along the lines of Thodi-Sindubhairavi comparison. As you intended, I feel the content appeals to layman and connoisseur alike.
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Thanks Sukanya. I've noted your feedback on allied ragas, we will have a separate episode on this topic.
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Hi Chitra and Ashok Sir,
This was really great. I loved the Thodi-SindhuBhairavi comparison.
I am looking forward to the other podcasts.
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Anita, thanks for the feedback.
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Hi Chitra , I was always intimidated by the terminologies used so commonly among musicians and i would definitely say you both have done an excellent job of explaining and demonstrating those terms . I am all excited that i can talk music 🙂 looking fwd to listening to your next episode…
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Prashanta, thanks for your feedback – looks like we're certainly on the right track with our podcast -:) The primary intention of this podcast is to bridge that gap between novices and knowledgeable rasikas of C-music.
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Superb, Chitra. Very educational, informative and great singing accompaniment to demonstrate the topic!! Well done.
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Thanks, Chitra. look forward to your feedback!
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Thanks, Sujata. I've posted the second episode a few hours back – do listen when you have time.
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This is a great initiative – found it very interesting and educative and both of you have amazing voices! Look forward to your next podcast!Naresh Purushotham
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Thanks Sukanya. I've noted your feedback on allied ragas, we will have a separate episode on this topic.
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Anita, thanks for the feedback.
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Prashanta, thanks for your feedback – looks like we're certainly on the right track with our podcast -:) The primary intention of this podcast is to bridge that gap between novices and knowledgeable rasikas of C-music.
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Naresh, thanks for the feedback.
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This is a great initiative – found it very interesting and educative and both of you have amazing voices! Look forward to your next podcast!Naresh Purushotham
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Naresh, thanks for the feedback.
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