A minor example of Muthuswami Dikshitar’s major lyrical cache (2) — This blogpost is dedicated to the memory of my uncle Dr. Subramanyam L. Rau, Babu Chikkappa to me. He was a big fan of Dikshitar’s music and a great supporter of my blog, and especially appreciative of my posts on Dikshitar. This is the first post on Dikshitar that I…

In search of ‘dee-na-naa-pai’ — The mission In the late morning this past Saturday, 25th February 2023, I received this message on Whatsapp: There’s a krithi, part of which I recall with a line descending with the words ‘dee naa naa pai’. This phrase is repeated many times and may be the last notes of a pallavi…

What do we have here? — One of the ways in which listening to Carnatic music is rewarding is its constant ability to surprise, no matter how long you’ve been at it. For instance, discovering a song while listening to a recording that is at least 50 years old. This is precisely what happened to me…

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…

Interestingly, in the 54 years in the Grand Slam era, 20 have seen new new women’s Grand Slam champions emerge (vs. 18 such years in men’s…

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…