Composers
Sangeeta Kalaanidhis

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Cleveland Tyagaraja Aradhana
The biggest Carnatic music festival in the USA - April 19-27.

If you missed the latest additions or last month's issue, don't worry. All our new stuff is on the site. If you still haven't posted something in our message forum or added a listing to the calendar (now updated), go do it now!

What's new page

NEW Last month, vandEham jagat was sung by Unnikrishnan. This time, we bring you a couple of female artists, the famous Priya Sisters. You can see it online and only you know about it, because you got the newsletter (lucky you!). You can listen and read the lyrics at the same time. Also, check out the raga info on aarabi by clicking the name of the raga, or find out more about the composer by clicking on his name!

This month's song is naadasuda in aarabi, sung by the Priya Sisters. Click to read and listen!

With this year's Tyagaraja aradhana just past, it is time to look to the composer and learn a little more about him. Professor of Music Sri R. Ganapathi Subramanian has kindly given karnATik a transcript of his Live Commentary (aired on All India Radio) of last year's Tyagaraja Aradhana at Tiruvaiyaru. Included in the first part of his commentary is a fascinating history of Tyagaraja. Send us your thoughts on this article, or discuss it in the forum. Click to go to the article.

Trivia answers:
1) Srinivasa Iyengar is said to have been called Poochi (insect) for one of 3 reasons:
- he was energetic as a child like an insect (busy as a bee)
- his voice had the hum of a bee or he flayed his arms while singing
- his name was actually Poochu (smear) because he applied sandal paste all over his body
The actual reason is unknown.

2)A raga created by Balamurali Krishna, trishakti, has only the swaras s m p S, S p m s, a janya of kanakaangi.

3)Tanjore Narayanaswamy Appa, who was also the first to play the mridangam for concerts.

And here are few more trivia for you to puzzle over until next time:

a. Which Carnatic musician adapted patterns from the tabla to the mridangam?

b. Purandara Dasa's first kriti was in what raaga?

laalaagaanu joocu - divyaamaNi, dundubi - T
laali guNashaali - kEdaara gowLa - T
laali laalayya - kEdaara gowLa - T
laali laaliyani - harikaambhOji - T
laali yugavE - neelaambari - T
laavaNya raama - poornashadjam - T
lakshaNamulu - sudda saavEri - T
lalitE shree - bhairavi - T
lEmidelpa pedda - navaneetam, paavani - T
vandEham jagat - hamsadwani - AC