CELEBRITY OF THE MONTH | Prasanna is an internationally renowned guitarist, music composer and the Founder President of Swarnabhoomi Academy of Music, the largest music college in South Asia. Prasanna has composed the original music score for the 2009 Oscar Award winning documentary ‘Smile Pinki’. He has also scored music for the critically-acclaimed Tamil feature film, ‘Vazhakku Enn 18/9’ that is currently running in theaters. A pioneer in performing Carnatic music on the guitar, Prasanna has more than 11 Carnatic albums to his credit, as well as recordings of original music such as ‘Be the Change’, ‘Electric Ganesha Land’ and more. In an interview to Spark, Prasanna talks about his fascinating musical journey of being a guitarist, composer and the President of Swarnabhoomi Academy of Music. Anupama Krishnakumar listens in.
In a heartfelt piece, Priya Mahadevan grows nostalgic about the music of her growing-up years, and also talks about how music has pervaded her life today, particularly with respect to her three children who enjoy music too and have their own musical tastes. Read it for this is sure to make you smile.
Ever attended lessons for something you were good at but never liked? We’re sure it rings a bell. Gauri Trivedi writes about her trials and tribulations with her mother around classical music lessons that she was enrolled in as a teenager.
Amrita Sarkar paints the Greek goddess Persephone rousing nature with her magical bird flute.
An affair with music – and a musician – that goes through the flow of a raag. Parth Pandya pens a story about Vishruti and Pranay.
In your deepest of music-related memories will be songs from long ago that you are surprised you ever liked, that tickle you, or that take you down the memory lane. Vani Viswanathan recollects a few Tamil songs in her music memory that formed an indelible part of her teenage but don’t really feature in her regular playlists – the ‘crazy’ songs, she calls them.
When she listens to a favourite playlist on her iPod, Anupama Krishnakumar travels to a different world created by music—far away from the one we exist in. In this world, music sparks memories and ignites imagination. She shares the experience through a poem.
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.