Category Archives: art

What’s heaven to you?

01 Saturday Apr 2017

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To listen to a beautiful Sahana, followed by Kedara Gowlai followed by Saama (perhaps a vocal flute duet between Musiri and Sruthi Sagar) followed by an evening well spent at a cricket ground (perhaps Chepauk or Wankhede; the red soil pitch offering plenty of turn and bounce) watching Cheteswar Pujara and VVS Laxman take on the spin bowling duo of Shane Warne and Nathan Lyon (aided by the fielding side: Ian Healy (wicket keeper), Mark Taylor (slip), Mark Waugh (silly mid off), David Boon (short leg), Ricky Ponting, Andrew Symonds and Michael Clarke (point, covers, mid wicket etc etc). To watch live, as dusk engulfs the ground, with Sahana and Saama and Kedara Gowlai from the morning playing and replaying in your head, VVS and Che Pu take on the Aussies.

Raaga thoughts

12 Saturday Nov 2016

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Are raagams *fixed* ideas that get approached by songs or are they *flexible* that they *bend* to accommodate the vagaries of the song? ( This thought was inspired by listening to a very meditative Ramanatham Bhajeham in Panthuvarali sung by KVN. He seemed to be focussing more on the aesthetics of the song structure than the grammatical structure of Panthuvarali itself. Was Panthuvarali alright but very much a Panthuvarali informed by Ramanatham Bhajeham. Hard to describe in words the actual musical effect. The “linearity” of Panthuvarali as the 51st melakarta raagam was somehow gone but it was totally Panthuvarali alright without violating the “grammar” of Panthuvarali. Seems to lend more credence to the after the fact imposition of the Melakarta system.) How much is a raagam characterized by the *stretch* of the sangathis ( this inspired by the Surutti that followed the Panthuvarali. The master presents a leisurely Githarthamu.)

Paul Simon: American Tune

01 Saturday Oct 2016

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This is beautiful:

Many’s the time I’ve been mistaken
And many times confused
Yes, and I’ve often felt forsaken
And certainly misused
Oh, but I’m all right, I’m all right
I’m just weary to my bones
Still, you don’t expect to be
Bright and bon vivant
So far away from home, so far away from home

I don’t know a soul who’s not been battered
I don’t have a friend who feels at ease
I don’t know a dream that’s not been shattered
or driven to its knees
Oh, but it’s all right, it’s all right
for we’ve lived so well so long
Still, when I think of the road
we’re traveling on
I wonder what’s gone wrong
I can’t help it, I wonder what’s gone wrong

And I dreamed I was dying
I dreamed that my soul rose unexpectedly
And looking back down at me
Smiled reassuringly
And I dreamed I was flying
And high up above my eyes could clearly see
The Statue of Liberty
Sailing away to sea
And I dreamed I was flying

We come on the ship they call the Mayflower
We come on the ship that sailed the moon
We come in the age’s most uncertain hour
and sing an American tune
Oh, and it’s alright, it’s all right, it’s all right
You can’t be forever blessed
Still, tomorrow’s going to be another working day
And I’m trying to get some rest
That’s all I’m trying to get some rest

Venkatesh Kumar

30 Friday Sep 2016

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The greatest Indian Classical musician (Hindustani and Carnatic included) is a quiet, unassuming lecturer of music at Dharwad University. I hope he is suitably honored (i.e., the honor would be more for the awards than for him, people with an order of magnitude lesser accomplishments have been awarded the highest honour of our land) one day. He leaves you speechless and stunned with his deeply moving, beautiful and meditative rendition here: