Nadasurabhi Cultural Association located in Koramangala, Bangalore is in the forefront of promoting Classical Carnatic Music. Nadasurabhi conducts the highest quality music concerts every month and a week-long Annual Festival in November, free of charge to all rasikas. Our other events include a youth festival, Thyagaraja and Purandaradasa Aradhana, and music competitions for children.
A study and analysis on the development in Styles of playing veena - past, present and future
Written by Vidushi Y.G.Parimala
The article was published in the Nadasurabhi Souvenir - November 2019.
Veena
is a very ancient South Indian Carnatic musical instrument. Veena is a generic Sanskrit word - ‘Vanyathe
iti veena’- a plucked string instrument or thathavadya or chordophone. Its
origins are found in Rigveda and Atharva Veda where a string instrument
called ‘Vana’ is mentioned which is said
to have evolved into ‘Veena’. The human
body is compared to veena. Sage Narada
is said to have played a Veena called Mahathi.
Goddess Saraswathi who plays the veena ‘Kachchapi’ is worshipped as the
mother of this instrument. Ancient scriptures including Bharatha’s Natya shastra describe several types of veena
– Rudra Veena, Saraswathi Veena, Vichitra Veena, Chitra Veena, Sitar, Pinaki Veena,
Eka-Tantri, dwi-Tantri, shathatantri-veena.
Ravana is supposed to be an expert on veena. Veena played in the present
day is the ‘Saraswathi veena’.
Mudduswami Dikshitar and dance
Written by Sri.Naresh Keerthi.
The article was published in the Nadasurabhi Annual Souvenir - 2013.
Recently (September 2013), the Hindu carried an article about a festival that had Bharatanatyam dancers performing compositions of (Mudduswami) Dikshitar. In the past too, we have witnessed memorable dance performances that used Kritis of Dikshitar – Kanjadalayataksi in (Kamala)Manohari. It has been choreographed by many masters including the late lamented Vempati Chinna Satyam, as is the grand Kedaram song Ananda-natana-prakasham, for which the redoubtable Adyar Lakshman has composed jati passages inspired by the mallari performed by Nagaswaram artistes. This kriti is particularly suited for dance since it comes appended with a chittaswaram that intersperses solkattu syllables with the solfa (swara) passages.
Does Mudduswami Dikshitar’s relationship with dance end with this – A few performers using his songs in their dance repertoire? Surely not. Let us examine his association with dance more closely.
Important Treatises on Carnatic Music
Written by Harini Raghavan
Tracing the origin of music is
not an easy task. Great minds have delved deep into the past to take a glimpse
of the primitive music, but failed to obtain any authentic facts. Indian music
however traces its origin to 'Samaveda'.
Geniuses have constantly worked on this field of knowledge trying to
synthesize philosophy, psychology and aesthetics and blend it with music. The
oral tradition had its drawback in the transmission of knowledge and caused
confusion. Hence there was an urgent need for the script. Celebrated writers like Narada, Panini and
Yagnyavalkya have developed music as an art through their writings. Even though
part of the history of ancient music is legend, our scholars with their
knowledge- hungry-souls have worked hard enough to come with major developments
in the field. Naradiya Siksha, Paniniya Siksha and Yagnyavalkya Samhita were
the only authentic source material for ancient music. While the 1st was lost and only references could
be found in the later classics on music, the other two were not treatises on music
but, yet landmarks in the evolution of music during past centuries could be
spotted in these books.
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