The Trinity of Karnataka Sangeetam

Music is an integral part of an Indian’s life. Classical music indeed brings peace and harmony to the soul. Musical renditions have the power to lift man from depression into ecstasy, especially when sung with a devotional note. In an earlier post on Hindustani music, we had seen the contribution of the legendary Pandit Bhatkhande in helping to sustain the survival of Hindustani classical music. Hindustani music is to northern India what Karnataka Sangeetam (Carnatic Music) is to South India. Like the former, Carnatic music is also highly systematized. In fact, classical Carnatic music is one of the world’s oldest and richest musical traditions. In the modern era, three musicians had seminal influence on the evolution and popularization of Carnatic music – Saint Tyagaraja, Muthuswamy Dikshitar and Shyama Shastri. They were the Trinity of Carnatic music. They were each prolific composers with unique styles and were contemporaries who lived during the period between 1760 and 1850 in the Kaveri delta of Tamil Nadu. Even today songs written by them constitute an integral part of Carnatic music concerts. This post will narrate short anecdotes from each of this trinity’s life.

Who taught our yoga gurus yoga?

Yoga is the traditional Indian set of disciplines that keep the mind, body and the soul healthy. The various principles of yoga are being practiced by millions of people around the world because of the efforts of some very influential teachers like B.K.S. Iyengar, Indra Devi (Eugenie Peterson), T.K.V. Desikachar and Pattabhi Jois. Has one ever wondered who these influential and popular masters of yoga would have learnt from? Each of the above famous yoga gurus had the same guru and he was the great Tirumalai Krishnamacharya.

Baahubali – Man with the strong arms

Many of us have heard of the Gomateshwara statue at Shravanabelagola, Karnataka. The person in the statue is the Jain saint – Baahubali. The story of Baahubali illustrates the highest order of virtues like love, brotherhood and compassion.