DANCING NOTES

Another beautiful Ghazal by the one and only Hariharan Ji……..

And then to listen to this beautiful rendition of “Krishna nee begane baro” of this great vocalist, Hariharan, you can literally see the notes dancing.

MUSIC - FOOD FOR THE SOUL

I was listening to a Ghazal by Hariharan -‘JHOOM LE’ a beautiful ghazal from the Ghazal Album Kaash. Hariharan’s soulful music never fails to amaze me. I am not so familiar with Ghazals , but this one surely makes me feel the peace and tranquility.

Musical notes dance if we can watch them. Some go to watch a dance to watch the movements in the dance. I consider the notes – swaras of music themselves performing a dance. They twist and turn and slide and glide.

Swaras themselves are so expressive that each note has its own bhava, its own distinctive character and grace. It also depends on the performer, who will be able to bring out the best of the notes. Be it a vocalist or instrumentalist. If we can watch the fluid movements of these notes, we will truly understand the meaning of dance itself!

What wonder to be mesmerized by music and her greatest gift, her musicians! What astounding creators they are! They create such emotions in a person. Good music fills you up completely but at the same time leaves you with a longing for more.

Music – Food for the Soul……

Farewell Michael Jackson!

Music is like an ocean and Michael Jackson was one of her greatest waves to rise high. – Michael was a true gift indeed. All controversies aside, as a true musician, he was someone who brought so much joy to the people who came in touch with his music.

Watching the memorial service for Michael Jackson was truly emotional. There was joy and sorrow joined together. It was a befitting memorial for a wonderful human being. The ceremony was somber, peaceful and filled with so much of contained emotions. The eulogies by those who spoke about him were indeed touching and genuine.

To me music is something very special. All her musicians are special gifts. Few can have the talent that MJ had. Watching him perform as a child, in fact puts one in awe of his talent and versatility. Where did he get this enormous ability from? He never failed to amaze millions around the world.

The memorial made me smile, cry and laugh. Remembering his songs and watching people come out to give tributes to this person who tried in his own ways to bring people together. He spoke about the unity and reminded us that we are the world, we are the children. We are no different from each other. Such profound message which I hope would be adapted in our lives.

While MJ the wave was in his splendor, the world witnessed such joy and love from his music. Now the wave has gone back to the ocean to rest. May he rest in peace, knowing that he did break some barriers and in his own ways did bring the world a little closer.

REMEMBERING MICHAEL JACKSON

Though it has been a few days since MJ passed away, I find it hard to put into words what I am feeling. It is still surreal and somehow feels dreamlike. I have not listened to his songs for some time and when this shocking news was conveyed to me by my son at 5 am, it did not register immediately. He was watching the news and the first thing I did was rush down to confirm it.

Michael Jackson's sudden death somewhat overshadowed the death of Actress Farrah Fawcett. Not that she was a lesser person but rather because MJ was so huge that we can't help but get facinated with him. Somehow people were obsessed with him while he was alive and remain obsessed with him in his death.

MJ's music would have had an impact on most of us. He was the King of Pop. His music moved both young and old. It is a very tragic ending to a person who could have had everything but ultimately did not have any peace of mind.

Michael Jackson's death brought back memories of Princess Diana's passing away. I was not able to do anything else other than sit in front of the television the whole day trying to get to terms with her death and trying desperately to hold on to the images of someone I had admired so much. I am sure many would be completely shaken and devastated by this heartbreaking news.

Even though we may not know these people personally, our hearts rush out to them and their families. This reminds me of the human family that Maya Angelou speaks about in her poem. We are ultimately bonded to each other, whether we like it or not and when someone else feels the pain and loss, it feels like our very own loss and pain.

I pray that he gets the rest and peace that he was desperately looking for in his life. He has given so much of himself to his music and promoted unity beyond the differences we see, in his songs. His legacy will live on.

May God give him the peace that he did not find while he was alive.

RIP Michael Jackson. We will miss you!

SUCH A TALENTED CHILD!

While surfing youtube for a song, came across this video that I felt compelled to share with everyone. This little girl is singing the national anthem of India. Her words are crystal clear and the tune is absolutely perfect. You can see her with an imaginary microphone too ! She looks around 2 - 3 years old. Wow what an amazing child!

JAgadodharana Fusion

Jagadodharana - A composition by Purandara Dasa. This fusion piece is sung by Bombay Jayshree and is incredibly soothing to the ears and soul! Bombay Jayshree is one of the many talented musicians of Carnatic Music.

Purandara Dasa (1484 - 1564) also known as the father of Carnatic Music, a classical music form of South India, systematized the method of teaching Carnatic music which is followed to the present day.

Purandara Dasa was the first composer to include comments on ordinary daily life in song compositions. He used elements of colloquial language for his lyrics. He introduced folk ragas into the mainstream, setting his lyrics to tunes/ragas of his day so that even a common man could learn and sing them.

Purity of heart, devotion to God, and compassion towards all living beings formed the core of Purandaradasa's philosophy. A householder's life was no impediment to spiritual progress, as his own life was an example. According to him, mere accumulation of knowledge, repetition of formulas and observance of rituals are worthless if the heart is not pure. Equally useless is the wrangling over the "nature" of God.

Tribute to the Violin Maestro Dr. L. Subramaniam

One just has to listen to this incredible man on his violin. What can I say? I am wordless, amazed, hypnotized, captivated, mesmerized and any word in the language can be used to describe the feeling I get. Violin is one of my favorite instruments, but to hear this genius on the violin is exalting.

I do not pretend that I can do justice to his wonderful work, but in my own way, for my personal satisfaction, I am doing what a little grain of sand on the beach of the ocean does. Though the grain of sand may seem insignificant, it has its own unique place in the universe. Like it I am a little grain of sand in the presence of the vast ocean of Music and her Musicians.

I give my salutations to this great musician of our time. I have never met him, but would like to do so some day......


“Music is a vast ocean and no one can claim to know it all. The more you know, the more you realise how little you know. It is an eternal quest.”

- --- Dr.L.Subramaniam




India's master violinist performs live at the Royal Albert Hall in 1995. Here he improvises in Raga Charukesi.



A rare interaction between two masters of the violin.
They improvise and play 'Necklace Road' by L.Subramaniam.

Mahatma Gandhi's Prayer

“AS SOON AS WE LOSE THE MORAL BASIS, WE CEASE TO BE RELIGIOUS.
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS RELIGION OVER-RIDING MORALITY.

MAN, FOR INSTANCE, CANNOT BE UNTRUTHFUL, CRUEL OR INCONTINENT
AND CLAIM TO HAVE GOD ON THEIR SIDE.”

– Mahatma Gandhi




Listened to this wonderful song (prayer) which was Mahatma Gandhi's favourite piece. The song brings about such sublime sweetness. This video above is a rendition by the violin Maestro Dr.L.Subramaniam.

Conceived, Composed and Produced by Dr. L. Subramaniam. A new melody and feeling for Gandhi's favourite song.

Features Pandit Jasraj, Kavita Krishnamurti Subramaniam, Sultan Khan, Pankaj Udhas, Hariharan, Remo Fernandes, Bindu Subramaniam, Narayana Subramaniam.


Another Beautiful Version






Kirtan Vaishnava Janato

Translation

One who is a vaishnav
Knows the pain of others
Does good to others, esp. to those ones who are in misery
Does not let pride enter his mind
A Vaishnav, Tolerates and praises the the entire world
Does not say bad things about anyone
Keeps his/her words, actions and thoughts pure
O Vaishnav, your mother is blessed (dhanya-dhanya)
A Vaishnav sees everything equally, rejects greed and avarice
Considers some one else’s wife/daughter as his mother
The toungue may get tired, but will never speak lies
Does not even touch someone else’s property

A Vaishnav does not succumb to worldly attachments
Who has devoted himself to stauch detachment to worldly
pleasures
Who has been edicted to the elixir coming by the name of Ram
For whom all the religious sites are in the mind
Who has no greed and deciet
Who has renounced lust of all types and anger
The poet Narsi will like to see such a person
By who’s virtue, the entire family gets salvation

"Raga Saga"

About "Raga Saga" -

Electric Violin I, II and Violia - V.S. Narasimhan

Electric Cello - V.R. Sekar

Raga Saga is a widely hailed, ground-breaking work which captures V.S. Narasimhan's original integration of the Indian and Western classical music systems. A pioneer in this entirely new musical form of using the western quartet format for Indian music, Mr. Narasimhan uses a delicate, intricate, thoughtful approach in his artistic touch replete with an enduring blend of Western harmonies, counterpoint, and pulsating rhythmic structures.

Mr. Narasimhan is well known throughout India as a violinist who has worked with legendary Indian film music directors such as A.R. Rahman and Ilaiyaraja. In recent times however, his passion for classical music has led him down a different path culminating in the development of this new musical art form. He is uniquely equipped to produce a work of this kind because of his knowledge of and ability to play, perform, and compose in both Western classical and in Indian classical music styles.

He has melded together Indian tradition and Western form to create something beautiful. The added flair in the recording comes from his use of electric instruments. By using this approach, he was able to record all the parts (Violin I, Violin II & Viola) himself except for cello (played by the highly talented V.R. Sekar).

Hailed by numerous diverse, world-renowned musicians for his dynamic musicality, seamless improvisation and thoughtful artistry, V.S. Narasimhan has permanently altered the way in which we think about the Carnatic and Western music systems.

Most recently, David Balakrishnan of the Grammy award-winning Turtle Island String Quartet, had this to say regarding VSN's newest work, Raga Saga:

In speaking to the quality of this evocative and brilliant new recording . . . I will say that when I listen to this music, my heart erupts with joyous elation, then my professional curiosity kicks in, and I am filled with wonder and deep respect for the level of craft that went into producing this excellent CD. What I hear in these tracks is a voice on the other side of the world, seemingly entirely divergent yet at the same time oddly familiar, using the same classic instrumentation to provide yet another compelling new musical paradigm in the continuing evolution of the string quartet form.


www.stringtemple.com

Food for Thought

A Violinist in the Metro

A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousand of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule.

A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk.

A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.
The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written,with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.

Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats average $100.

This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of an social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?

One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be:

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/04/AR2007040401721.html

No grievance

This is a song in Tamil. I try to hear and sing it every day if I can. Sung by MS Subbulakshmi, the nightingale of India. She was 82 years old when she sang this. This was her last song in her last ever concert. I had the great fortune to hear one of her live concerts some 30 odd yrs back. She looked resplendent as ever, her songs were filled with devotion and she poured her soul into her singging. The lyrics were by Rajaji.



The essence of the song is that "There is no grievance for me Oh Lord, when you are there".

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was to have said - "Who am I , a mere Prime Minister before a Queen, a Queen of Music ".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M.S._Subbulakshmi

Heal the Soul

When we are hurt, in pain or in anger, we are not able to think or deal with things in a logical manner. The pain and anger will overshadow our way of thinking and dealing with certain situations in our life. Each time I feel pain or anger arising within me, I turn towards an antidote. It could be a poem, it could be a joke, it could be watching nature or it could be music.

Something which brings calmness and serenity to us, helps us to cool down before we are able to deal with certain situations. There are times when things have to be dealt with immediately. Those aside when we have to deal with people especially, I see that I need to take a moment, collect myself before I can utter or do something that I may regret.

I tried to watch a video of the post-mortem report of Kugan, the boy murdered in police custody and I could not continue. Such pain and sadness arose in me that I had to take a break and went to youtube and found this song. I listened to the song for a few times before I was able to compose myself and continue with the day. Music does heal the soul.

Jai Ho

A R Rahman performing live at the Oscars 2009



A remix version of Jai Ho by A R Rahman.

Rhythm of the Heart

East meets West. A suberbly arranged and performed piece by V.S. Narasimhan.
A new approach to Mokshamu Galada one of my favourite Kritis, which never fails to amaze me each time I hear it being performed.

Mokshamu Galada - The strings of my heart are plucked to the rhythm of this piece by Tyagaraja in Ragam Saramathi.


Meaning:
Is salvation attainable by anyone in this world, who has not realised the Self? Are you not, Lord, ever ready to vouchsafe your vision to those intensely yearning for it? Is Beatitude attainable by anyone who has not experienced the profound ecstacy of devotional music?

The vital force praaNaa and anaala, fire, combine to generate praNava, the Omkaara (sound of Om). From that Omkaara, the seven musical notes emerge. To those who cannot intuitively perceive the mind of Shiva, who worships naada through the VeeNa, is salvation attainable?

Playing for Change

From the award-winning documentary, "Playing For Change: Peace Through Music", comes the follow up to the classic "Stand By Me" and the second of many "songs around the world". Featured is an incredible track written by Pierre Minetti performed by musicians around the world adding their part to the song as it traveled the globe.

A Tribute to A R Rahman

A beautiful video compilation by Raaja. We have to listen to the music of A R Rahman to understand what a genius he is. I dedicate this video to my Rahmaniac daughter, who was instrumental in my introduction to Rahman and his music !

He has just pocketed the prestigious Golden Globe award and now A.R. Rahman nicknamed “Mozart of Madras” by Time magazine has stunned entire India with 3 Oscars nominations for his work in Slumdog Millionaire. It is a dream come true for India.

He was nominated one for Best Original Score and Best Original Song categories for two of his compositions — ‘Jai Ho’ and ‘O Saya’.

The film Slumdog Millionaire has got 10 Oscar nominations, while AR Rahman 3 nominations.

Rahman, one of the most talented music composers of Tamil cinema, stepped into the limelight with Mani Ratnam’s Roja, which bagged the National Award for him. Rahman, a graduate in western classical music from Trinity College of Music, London, has composed many experimental melodies, raps and hip-hops.

His music created a new trend, scaled astonishing heights of appreciation and grew to become a sensation. Many of his compositions might actually sound ordinary the first time. But his compositions are an intriguing cocktail of musical pieces that would blow your mind.

A.R. Rahman's path to Hollywood

Rahman Born January 6, 1966 to R. K. Shekhar, a composer, arranger and conductor for Malayalam-language films started to learn the piano at the age of 4.
His father died when Rahman was 9 years old, he was forced to start work as a keyboard player to support his family at just 11 years old.

Dropped out of high school to pursue his music career.
He converted to Islam from Hinduism in 1989 along with his family.
At the age of 11, he joined, as a keyboardist, the troupe of Tamil Composer Maestro Ilaiyaraaja.

His first debut film Soundtrack Director Maniratnam “Roja” in 1992 turned out to be the world’s 10th best soundtrack ever, as rated by Time Magazine.
The debut “Roja” led Rahman to receive the Rajat Kamal award for Best Music Director at the National Film Awards, the first time ever by a first-time film composer.

His soundtracks gained him recognition in the Tamil Nadu film industry and across the world for his stylistic versatility in his pieces including in Western classical, Carnatic, Traditional/folk, jazz, reggae and rock music.

Rahman has sold over 200 million albums worldwide: more than Madonna and Britney Spears combined.

Heart Dance

Why does my heart dance and cry eachtime I hear this piece ?

Karunai Deivame

My all time favourite Priya Sisters at one of their best. The superb redition of this beautiful piece in ragam sindu bhairavi sung with so much of devotion.

Mandolin Srinivas

Live in Concert at Indian Gate, Swarytsav 2002

Soothing to the heart - by the Maestro Mandolin U.Srinivas.

Raghupathi Raagava Raja Ram.
Pathitha Paavana Seetha Ram.

Endaro Mahanubavulu

Endaro Mahaanubhaavulu is a song written by Tyagaraja. This song was composed by him after watching the great Shadkala Govinda Mara perform. It is composed in Telugu. The song is a dedication to all the great maestros and performers. The line : "ENDARO MAHANU BAVULU ANDARIKI VANDANAMULU" means "Salutations to all the great men in this world"

Rajhesh Vaidya's presentation of this piece is an expression of Joy.