Pravaas - A Migrant's Tale
Pravaas - A Migrant's Tale is a musical telling of a migrant's journey - whether it's an Armenian or Afghan moving to Calcutta, or a Bihari to Bombay, or Indians moving overseas. The only certainty of their journey, that may begin with hope or fear, is its unpredictability. Join us in the musical experience of the migrant's timeless tale through song and story. The songs will be in multiple languages from Bengali, Sanskrit and Hindi to Kannada, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu and more.
Udaan - Flights of Fancy
Udaan - Flights of Fancy is a musical exploration of the use of birds as literary devices in Indian poetry. From the common crow to the partridge lyricists across India have used birds to inspire, teach and woo. Udaan will explore these themes in bhajan, classical and folk compositions in Bengali, Kannada, Hindi, Marathi, Sanskrit, Tamil and Telugu. The music program runs with a simultaneous slideshow where Chitra Srikrishna will be the narrator & singer accompanied by a violinist and a percussionist on stage.
ನಿತ್ಯೋತ್ಸವ| Nityotsava - A Vachana & Dasa Sahitya
ನಿತ್ಯೋತ್ಸವ| Nityotsava - A vachana & dasa sahitya celebration Kannada has a long tradition of beautiful poetry and music such as vachana and dasa sahitya. Nityotsava is a musical celebration of the creative works of Akka Mahadevi, Allama Prabhu, Basavanna to Kanakadasa, Purandaradasa and others.
Vivartana - The Search for Meaning Through Music
Through the last two millennia, Indian poets and philosophers have addressed these existential questions surrounding the individual's role in society, dealing with inequity, discrimination and outright oppression. Their answers have ranged from a philosophical acceptance to outright call for revolution. Yet others didn’t wait for a crisis to occur before calling for change, from the minor to a complete overhaul.
विवर्तन | vivartana presents the work of such social revolutionaries —poets, politicians, rulers and sants in a musical tour across time and territory, from Kerala to Kashmir. The program is anchored by a live performance of songs in multiple languages, interspersed with short narration to provide the audience both context and a thread of continuity.
Bhakti - A Musical Journey with Mystics
Bhakti - A Musical Journey with Mystics is anchored by a live performance of songs of the Indian Bhakti saints, interspersed with short narration accompanied by a visual presentation, to provide the audience both context and a thread of continuity. The program features poetry and music from the 7th century through the 20th-century traversing across India and in several languages. The program will help the audience explore how the music and poetry of these mystics helps experience the divine.
Upcoming Events
Abhaya: Women Who Dared
Abhayaa – Women Who Dared is a song and story presentation by Chitra Srikrishna accompanied by Prema Vivek (violin) and Deepika Srinivasan (mridangam) featuring the lives and works of women poets across India from the 8th to the 21st century, from Andal of Tamil Nadu to Lal Ded of Kashmir, Soyarabai of Maharashtra, Ambabai and Akka Mahadevi of Karnataka.
7 March 2025
11:30 am
National Gallery of Modern Arts (Bengaluru), Palace Road, Vasanth Nagar, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
जल: Jal - The Flow of Life
A collaboration between musician Chitra Srikrishna and dancer Anuradha Venkataraman, accompanied by Aditi Krishnaprakash (violin) and Sumana Chandrashekar (ghatam), the 60-minute program provides audiences with a multi-sensory experience of water's integral role in our existence. As climate change threatens our relationship with this vital element, we bring you stories of water's power to nurture, destroy, purify, and unite - stories embodied through dance and enhanced by music that remind us that like water, we are all connected in the great flow of existence.
22 March 2025
1:30 pm
Medai - The Stage Bengaluru, KHB MIG Colony, 5th Block, Koramangala, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Music CDs
Jugalbandhi – Chitra Srikrishna (Carnatic) & Shubhangi Sakhalkar (Hindustani)
This CD was a recording of a jugalbandhi concert between Chitra Srikrishna and Shubhangi Sakhalkar at Sacramento State University, CA, USA. The CD was released by the classical Indian music association in Sacramento, Tyagaraja Nilayam.
Chitra Srikrishna Vocal
(Live at Nada Inbam)
This CD was a recording of a concert at Nada Inbam in Chennai in 2003. It was released under the Kalavardhini label. The accompanists for the concert were Neela Jayakumar on the violin and V.R.Jayakumar on the mridangam. Hamsadhwani in Chennai conducts a music festival for NRI artistes every year. This CD is a recording of a concert in 2001 when Chitra lived in the US.
This recording, also released in 2011, is a thematic one based on songs praising Lord Hanuman. Her accompanists were Charulatha Ramanujam and Cheluvaraju – two of Bangalore’s finest. Overall the entire process from working with a composer through launching the CD was a great learning experience for her.
Both Saranagathi & Anjaneya Aarati were reviewed by the Hindu. Click here to read the review.
Dasa Sangama
This audio release in 1999 in Bangalore by Chitra Srikrishna and Hema Ranganathan (both AIR artistes) was based on rare Dasa kritis of Karnataka composers. Both the artists were supported by their guru Smt Lalgudi Rajalakshmi (violin), Bangalore Praveen (mridangam), M.A.Krishnamurthy (ghatam), Hema (veena) and Vishwanath Nakod (tabla).
Saranaagathi
Chitra’s music project Saranaagathi was released in 2011. Saranaagathi presents three cantos from the Perumal Tirumozhi of the Divya Prabandhams – 30 verses set to different ragas in two talas. Shri Vellukudi Krishnan has provided a brief introduction to the work.
Rama Manthra Mahima
This recording was released in 2004 under the Kalavardhini label. Rama Manthra Mahima is a thematic recording based on compositions praising Lord Rama. Chitra’s accompanists on this CD are Anuradha Sridhar on the violin and Sriram Brahmanandam on the mridangam.
Pravaas - A Migrant's Tale is a musical telling of a migrant's journey - whether it's an Armenian or Afghan moving to Calcutta, or a Bihari to Bombay, or Indians moving overseas. The only certainty of their journey, that may begin with hope or fear, is its unpredictability. Join us in the musical experience of the migrant's timeless tale through song and story. The songs will be in multiple languages from Bengali, Sanskrit and Hindi to Kannada, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu and more.
Udaan - Flights of Fancy is a musical exploration of the use of birds as literary devices in Indian poetry. From the common crow to the partridge lyricists across India have used birds to inspire, teach and woo. Udaan will explore these themes in bhajan, classical and folk compositions in Bengali, Kannada, Hindi, Marathi, Sanskrit, Tamil and Telugu. The music program runs with a simultaneous slideshow where Chitra Srikrishna will be the narrator & singer accompanied by a violinist and a percussionist on stage.
ನಿತ್ಯೋತ್ಸವ| Nityotsava - A vachana & dasa sahitya celebration Kannada has a long tradition of beautiful poetry and music such as vachana and dasa sahitya. Nityotsava is a musical celebration of the creative works of Akka Mahadevi, Allama Prabhu, Basavanna to Kanakadasa, Purandaradasa and others.
Through the last two millennia, Indian poets and philosophers have addressed these existential questions surrounding the individual's role in society, dealing with inequity, discrimination and outright oppression. Their answers have ranged from a philosophical acceptance to outright call for revolution. Yet others didn’t wait for a crisis to occur before calling for change, from the minor to a complete overhaul.
विवर्तन | vivartana presents the work of such social revolutionaries —poets, politicians, rulers and sants in a musical tour across time and territory, from Kerala to Kashmir. The program is anchored by a live performance of songs in multiple languages, interspersed with short narration to provide the audience both context and a thread of continuity.Bhakti - A Musical Journey with Mystics is anchored by a live performance of songs of the Indian Bhakti saints, interspersed with short narration accompanied by a visual presentation, to provide the audience both context and a thread of continuity. The program features poetry and music from the 7th century through the 20th-century traversing across India and in several languages. The program will help the audience explore how the music and poetry of these mystics helps experience the divine.
This is a song recording from a concert for BTM Cultural Academy Bangalore as part of their annual Aradhana festival 2024 with accompanying musicians Jyothsana Manjunath (violin), B.R.Srinivas (mridangam) & Bharadwaj Sathahalli (morsing). The concert highlighted the carnatic compositions of Annamacharya, Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar and Mahila Vaggeyakaras.
This is a song recording from a concert at the Bangalore Gayana Samaja with stalwart musicians Lalgudi R. Rajalakshmi (violin), V. Krishna (mridangam), Raghavendra Prakash (ghatam).
This is a recording from a concert at Indiranagar Sangeetha Sabha, Bangalore with accompanying musicians Charulatha Ramanujam (violin), Ranjani Venkatesh (mridangam). The concert highlighted the compositions of 5 royal composers - Swati Tirunal, Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar, Shahaji I, Kulasekara Alwar and Kumara Ettendra.
This is a recording from a concert for Institute of World Culture, Bangalore with accompanying musicians Deepak Murthy (violin) and Bhargava Simhadri (mridangam).
This is a recording from a concert for Bangalore Lalitha Kala Parishad at National College with accompanying musicians Lalgudi R. Rajalakshmi (violin) and B.K.Chandramouli (mridangam).
This is a recording from a concert at Vadiraja Bhavana with accompanying artistes C.N.Chandrashekhar (violin), C. Cheluvaraju (mridangam), M.A.Krishnamurthy (ghatam).
This is a recording from a concert at Odakathur Mutt Bangalore with accompanying musicians T.S.Krishnamurthy (violin), C.Cheluvaraju (mridangam).
This recording is from a concert at BTM Cultural Academy in Bangalore with N.N.Ganesh Kumar (violin) P.Srinivasamurthy (mridangam) and A.V.Kashinath (kanjira).
Based on the Penguin anthology of Indian sacred poetry by women, edited by Arundhathi Subramaniam, a dynamic creative dialogue between poet Arundhathi Subramaniam and musician Chitra Srikrishna, this jugalbandi introduces audiences to some unforgettable women mystics of this subcontinent – celebrated and unsung.
Antah Prerna is a musical telling of an entrepreneur’s journey. Here is the collaboration with Columbus entrepreneur Barry Chandler that tells the story of his entrepreneurial journey, an emotional roller coaster of a tale, enriched and elaborated with the music of fourteen Indian composers in nine languages.
What is it about music that jogs memories, alters moods and moves us all? Humraag seeks to answer this through a multimedia experience that weaves together contemporary and golden oldies of filmi gaane, classical music and a universal story. HumRaag where classical meets popular music was a collaboration with writer Shoba Narayan. The program traces the roots of classical music in Indian popular music. HumRaag was presented in multiple venues and cities in India.
A jugalbandhi between two vocalists trained in different classical forms of Indian music - Shubhangi Sakhalkar (Hindustani) & Chitra Srikrishna (Carnatic).
Playlists
Features the compositions of royal composers across eras and regions of South India, including Kulasekara Alvar, Shahaji I, Kumara Ettendra to Swati Tirunal & Jayachamarajendra Wadeyar
