When we discuss Carnatic music, there are very many experiences out there that queue up, waiting to be heard. This month, we have three people sharing their thoughts and views on this form of music. While Ramya Shankar writes about two of her favourite ragas and Bhairavi Vaidynathan talks about the lukewarm response to live concerts, particularly those performed by upcoming singers, Jenani Srikanth discusses what Carnatic music means to her.
“Fields of Gold” by Sting is one of Nandeenee’s favourite songs since the time she was a kid. The melody no doubt is one of the reasons for her love for the song. But what strikes her too is the visual appeal of the song, particularly the lyrics that prompts her to dream up vivid images. The phrase ‘jealous sky’ fascinates her in particular. She tells us just why so in poetic prose.
The learning environment for classical music and dance has traditionally been rigid and conditional, forcing students to feel a lot of pressure rather than joy when they enroll for such classes. Deepa Venkatraghvan discusses her perspective on this tradition and tries to figure out where it’s all going wrong, taking instances from her own life. Creative inputs from Priya Gopal.
What if rain spoke to you and told you its story? Vani Viswanathan gives the rain a human voice.
If there’s one Indian city that comes to your mind immediately when you think of rains, it is Mumbai. Parth Pandya talks at length about what it is to experience monsoons in Mumbai and what rains mean to the die-hard Mumbaikar or the Bombayite.
“The art of reading faces is yet unknown to me but the adolescent frame with an elytrous lure has its own story to tell,” writes Gauri Trivedi, of a teenager she has seen. This is the story of that boy across the street.
THE LOUNGE | SLICE OF LIFE Much as some of us might find it amusing, a significant portion of the world does live in dread of animals. Priya Sreeram is one of them. However, a little four-legged critter made her rethink her fear. Read on to know more about Spunky and how he woofed in some change.
Streets in India bustle with life and are full of rich experiences. In a guest column for Spark, Kiran Keswani offers a glimpse of life on the streets as she has seen it, gently touching upon the diverse interesting aspects, particularly the myriad paan shops. Text and photographs by Kiran Keswani.
Have you thought about how many different interpretations there could be to the word, ‘Road’? Ram V gives you one perspective—a rather spiritual one, in his work of non-fiction. The road is so many things. It is life, time, destiny but it is also simple; a path to be walked on, he says. Read on.