The word Abhogi in Sanskrit means nourishment. I believe raga Abhogi to be an energizing melody. The raga is heard at the early part of a classical concert. For students of Carnatic music, the varnam “Evari Bodhana” composed by Patnam Subramanya Iyer is an important lesson in their training. Here is a marvelous rendition of this varnam by the doyen Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer. As a child I remember … Continue reading Abhogi – Raga Ruminations
The Raga Kalyani podcast features musical snippets of L.Subramaniam rendering raga alapana, Ustad Vilayat Khan on the sitar playing raag Yaman, Mohammad Rafi singing Abhi Na Jao Chodkar for the Hindi movie Hum Dono and Ustad Rashid Khan singing a tarana. You can read my earlier blog post on raga Kalyani here. Continue reading #8 – Raga Kalyani – Podcast
The Raga Begada podcast features musical snippets of Voleti Venkateshwarulu rendering raga alapana, KVN singing Kadaikkan Vaithannai, Sanjay Subrahmanyam’s rendition of Nadhopasana, Ustad Amir Khan singing raag Hem Kalyan and a Malayalam movie song by Jesudas. You can read my earlier blog post on raga Begada here. Continue reading #7 – Raga Begada – Podcast
Raga Desh featuring snippets from Lalgudi Jayaraman’s thillana, Anup Jalota’s rendition of a Kabir bhajan and the national song of India. Continue reading #4 – Raga Desh – Podcast
If you want to read the blog post on raga Charukesi you can find it here. Continue reading #3 – Raga Charukesi – Podcast
If you’d rather read a blog post about Raga Karaharapriya, you can read it here Continue reading #2 – Raga Karaharapriya – Podcast
If you’d rather read a blog post about Raga Amritavarshini, you can read it here. Continue reading #1 – Raga Amritavarshini – Podcast
The melodious notes of a bhajan on Lord Shiva in raag Bhairagi Bhairav resonates in the air. The voice is rich, the atmosphere is meditative and I’m hooked. The Birla Mandir in the Benares Hindu University campus has excellent accoustics. It’s a cold wintry day and there is a sparse crowd at the temple. The music and serene ambience has me rooted and my feet automatically … Continue reading A musical experience in BHU
From my Oct 26 concert at BTM Cultural Academy, Bangalore Continue reading Raga Amritavarshini
I was listening to a vintage recording of a padam in raga Saveri by stalwarts T.Brinda and T.Mukta recently. While the lyrics were evocative the richness in the melody stirred my soul. The advantage of listening to such greats is that one gets a fresh perspective of the raga every time you listen to it. Raga Saveri never fails to leave an impact on my soul … Continue reading Saveri – Raga Ruminations
Chitra Srikrishna 