Music Vibes

As a kid, my tryst with Carnatic music was rather extensive. My grandfathers followed it with great interest and so did my father. Fundamentals were learnt by me at a young age. Not much, but enough to appreciate the subtleties .

Recently, while doing some random searches on the internet, I stumbled upon some works of Dr.K.J.Yesudas and Dr.John.B.Higgins. I grew up listening to my father's cassettes and my affinity towards these two great artists grew then. It was awesome to hear those ragas and songs once again. Music in it's pure form!

Dr.Yesudas' Mahaganapathim and Dr.Higgins' Entharo Mahanu Bhavulu were classics that invoke great interest among young and budding artists even to this date. I also came upon some songs from the movie Sindhu Bhairavi. A Balachandar film starring Sivakumar in the lead is studded with carnatic songs by Dr.Yesudas. It is amazing that their charm still holds even today atleast with me. It is hard to find classics these days. If you get a chance to watch the movie, I would highly recommend it. The story is about a famous carnatic artist and his love for music, his love affair with his fan, his downfall and return to stardom. Very beautifully taken!

Dr.Higgins' rendition of the krithi Entharo Mahanu Bhavulu is considered a gem and his most recognized work. This song is attempted with difficulty even with Indian artists. An American doctorate of music, he was well known and respected among the Indian music fraternity as a gifted foreign artist. He holds the distinction of an American artist performing at the Thyagaraja Music Festival, a highly regarded and sacred fesival of music. He has been aptly given the title Bhagavathar- Scholar of Music.

Perhaps my quest for work these days has sparked my interest once again in carnatic. I found myself remembering most of the words in these songs. I guess the subconscious mind still preserved them!

Listening to music these days is listening to noise. I can't imagine people actually appreciate them. On the western music front, pure rock and roll nearly died after the eighties. What resulted was an onslaught with no definitive theme and lyrics that were filled with bullshit. Artists focussed more on how they looked rather than how they performed! There are very few performers left today who make good music and their charm holds good to this date.

Well, it seems like I've discovered my roots. Hope this tree expands!