December 02, 2015
Ragas and Masters of Yore
My father-guru narrated this story to me and I would like to share with you for whatever worth it is . Once,it seems,Alladiya khansaheb,was singing an anavat raga in a Mehefil ( a raga he had created after long deliberation – my father-guru did not mention what raga it was! ). As he was singing it in full flow,he happened to see a fellow musician walk into the Mehefil and sit before him and Khansaheb suddenly kept in abeyance one Swara throughout and sang the raga to the full.......
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September 20, 2015
Ragaswaras
Like characters in a play coming in their particular costume, ragaswaras come in the costumes meant for them in a particular raga. There are no seven swaras or even twenty two shrutis in Hindustani classical...
September 20, 2015
The Absent Performer
The musician should be a worshipper of ragaswaras and laya. He should beseech each and every ragaswaras to bless him with their true splendour. In really great music, as in all great art, the musician...
September 20, 2015
What brings tears to the eyes of listeners in music?
It is not just the pathos in the voice of a musician that brings tears to the eyes of the listeners. It is the involvement of the artist in the very act of singing that...
September 11, 2015
Flow in Music
Flow in music is that which comes out naturally and automatically without your having to think about the moves and turns. It happens when you are bone-marrow drenched in the raga, when you have totally...
September 11, 2015
My obeisance to my Guru on Guru Poornima
Musical vocalization has two centres of activity, one psychological and another physiological. Although musical sounds, in terms of notes, are made in the area of the larynx, it is the mind which is the centre...
September 10, 2015
Why do I sing ?
My profession for thirty five years was teaching English Literature and Linguistics in college and at the University and I was quite happy with it. That was my bread and butter matter. But life is...
September 10, 2015
Sing like yourself
Beauty in music cannot be applied from the outside. Beauty comes from within you in your singing. It is a state of the mind and the fruit of intelligent Riyaaz under the guidance of the...
August 16, 2015
Is it necessary to sing Rare/Apprachalit Ragas?
Reading my Facebook notes on music, a young talented musician enquired me if it was important to sing rare ragas, to what kind of audience and why. Since she has been discussing this problem with...
July 29, 2015
What makes me Sing?
Why do I sing? My profession for thirty five years was teaching English Literature and Linguistics in college and at the University and I was quite happy with it.That was my bread and butter matter....