I first started hearing of Keshav Desiraju in 2015, soon after I joined my first job in public health. He had in the previous year been transferred out of his position as Union Health Secretary. He was always referred to in tones of awe and loss - a wistfulness for…

Today (August 11) is the birth anniversary of vainika Doraiswamy Iyengar. Here is a short note of appreciation from back in 2008. When I left for Middlebury, I took along with me a Meltrack tape which had Veena Doraiswamy Iyengar’s “Maestro’s Choice” recorded on it. It was one of my…

1974 was the single biggest year for men’s tennis in the open era up until the emergence of modern troika of greats. Both Borg and Connors…

On Garuda, Thyagaraja and the Prahlada Bhakti Vijayam — The only Carnatic song I know on Garuda is Vinata Suta Ra Ra in the raga Huseini. The song is part of Thyagaraja’s ‘opera’ Prahlada Bhakti Vijayam. Hiranyakashipu has bound his son in snakes (or in a ‘serpent spell’) and thrown him into the ocean. The Lord of the Sea…

Sumiran kar le mere mana — This is the third in a series on non-obvious raga choices. One of my favourite among the Rishi Valley School assembly ‘set’ songs is a verse of Guru Nanak — Sumiran Kar Le. We sang it in a fairly joyous, mildly chiding manner in what I think is raag Yaman…

Vishnu as the father of Kama — There are many identities of Vishnu. Not only does he have ten official avatars, he even has a thousand official names (Sahasranamam). He manifests as numerous deities, and being who he is, has many wonderous attributes. Given all of this, it is fair to say that his identity as the…

Series: The Counterintuitive Raga Choice. 2 — This is the second in a series in which I discuss compositions that seem (to me) to have counterintuitive choices of ragas given their subjects. Muthuswami Dikshitar’s Navagraha kritis on the nine ‘planets’ are well known. These are Suryamurte Namostute (Sun), Chandram Bhaja Manasa (Moon), Angarakam Ashryamyaham (Mars), Budham Ashryami…

Series: The Counterintuitive Raga Choice. 1 — This is the first in a series in which I discuss compositions that have what seem like very counterintuitive choices of ragas. Consider the following lyrics (translated): I was drowned in the ocean of family life; an ocean whose vastness and depth can never be measured. I used to make…