Musical Notes – What Music Means to Us!

Six people talk about what music means to them and provide a glimpse of how this beautiful art form has become a part of their lives. Diverse that their fields are, it is interesting to note how music can be learnt, savoured and shared in such different ways. Here’s a special feature I compiled after my conversations with Harish Sivaramakrishnan, Lead vocalist at Agam, a Bangalore-based music band that has been around since 2003, Namita Devidayal, Journalist and Author of the acclaimed books ‘The Music Room’ and ‘Aftertaste’, Krish Ashok, popular blogger known for the humour that permeates his writing, RJ Prithvi, the highly popular Radio Jockey at Radio One 94.3 FM Bangalore and Vidya & Vandana Iyer, the music sisters whose rendition of ‘Munbe Vaa’, ‘Aasai Mugam’ and ‘Nee Nenaindal’ with clarinetist and composer, Shankar Tucker went viral on YouTube.

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Categories: Features

My World of Music

When I listen to a favourite playlist on her iPod, I travel to a different world created by music—far away from the one we exist in. In this world, music sparks memories and ignites imagination. I share the experience through a poem.

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Categories: Poetry

A Melange of Inspiring Measures

India is a melange of many cultures – each with its own characteristics. If you have lived in India, whichever part of the country you may belong to, one of the things that keeps you implicitly connected with your place, no matter where you go or whichever part of the world you live in, is the defining culture of that region. Wouldn’t you think it is great to actually have some initiatives that help you sustain the connection with your culture, ones that take you closer to your roots? When we speak of culture, and initiatives that help you connect with your own, the Tamilian and his or her connection with the Tamil culture could very well be considered a case in point. Looking around, I found some very interesting ventures that are passionate about bringing regional culture to the fore with particular focus on Tamil culture. A special feature on a melange of inspiring measures. Additional inputs from Vani Viswanathan.

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Categories: Features

Of Cassettes and Ilayaraja

Cassettes always remind me of Ilayaraja, the extremely popular music composer from Tamilnadu. And the maestro’s music, even today, takes me down memory lane – back to the 80s and 90s. Over the last few months, I have realised that Ilayaraja’s music has accompanied me like a quiet companion, as I was growing up. Here’s a tribute from an ardent fan.

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Categories: Essays

It’s the People Who Make the Memories Special!

Rocky (Singh) and Mayur (Sharma) anchor the award winning, cult food and travel show ‘Highway On My Plate’ on NDTV Goodtimes. Their bestselling book ‘Highway On My Plate – The Indian Guide to Roadside Eating’, based on their show, recently won a ‘Best in the World’ Award at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards in Paris. The duo answer my questions on their show ‘Highway On My Plate’ (HOMP), the book, food, their experiences on the road and dream trips.

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Categories: Interviews

Giving Sita a Voice

Samhita Arni is the author of “Sita’s Ramayana”, a graphic novel developed in collaboration with Patua Artist Moyna Chitrakar and published by Tara Books. The book has spent two weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List for Graphic Novels. When she was eight, Samhita started writing and illustrating her first book. “The Mahabharata – A Child’s View”, (Tara Books, 1996) that went on to be published in seven language editions, selling 50,000 copies worldwide, winning the Elsa Morante Literary Award, and receiving commendations from the German Academy for Youth Literature and Media and The Spanish Ministry of Culture. Samhita talks about her book, ‘Sita’s Ramayana’ and women in mythology, among other things, in this interview.

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Categories: Interviews