Dil dhadakne ka sabab - once again

Ghazal is a genre I love, but am generally apprehensive about singing since I'm always worried I'm going to make it 'sound Carnatic'. This particular one has been a longtime favorite and after many attempts through the years (one of which featured on this blog about a decade ago!), I couldn't resist recording and sharing this version. Asha, the one and only QUEEN - and Ghulam Ali, the maestro of ghazals - are the stuff that beauty and brilliance are made of. I wish some day my voice would roll with that kind of ease :/ Please compare this version to the original at your own risk.

Happy Saraswati Puja

May the force of learning be with you!

Jaya jaya gokula bala - Narayana Teertha

I learned this Narayana Teertha Tarangam about quarter a century ago along with my mom and sister from our then guru Smt. Ranganayaki Sridharan - resurrected it now thanks to my mom. Enjoyed recording this with the husband!

Brovavamma Bangaru Bomma - Nilambari

Thanks to motivation from the husband, I learned this gem of a song recently - the epitome of the tenderness of Nilambari.

Lesser Known Gruhabhedams: Lalitha and more

Here's the fourth and the last one in the Lesser known Gruhabhedam series.

Live concert at Bhairavi, Pondicherry

About a month ago, thanks to my father-in-law I sang a live concert at Bhairavi Carnatic Music Sabha in Pondichery. As always I was extremely nervous given that I don't do live concerts very frequently. While I think overall it turned out okay, there's a long list of things I'd do differently if I were to do it again, from the small fixes to the more long term changes: start the varnam at a slightly higher pace; practice a whole lot more so voice and shruthi remain stable throughout; try to reach a state where I can be more relaxed and enjoy the process more and be less tense. Anyway, here it is for you to appraise:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLywv8st08uvQyagIT8NOQ4DP2wxSTVjcr

Lesser Known Gruhabhedams: Lalitha

Here's the third in the Lesser known Gruhabhedam series.

Lesser known Gruhabhedams: Nattakurinji

Here's the second in the Lesser known Gruhabhedam series.

Medley of Evergreen Hits - IndianRaga

Raga Behag has always been a personal favorite and I absolutely loved working on this with these fabulous musicians - check it out!

Lesser known Gruhabhedams: Rageshri

First of a series of videos on relatively lesser known gruhabhedams in classical/ film music.

Shades of Kalyani - IndianRaga

Here's another one for IndianRaga. I enjoyed doing this out-and-out classical piece focused on improvs, with these awesome co-musicians. I hope you like it!

Amba Neelambari - IndianRaga

This came out a while ago but I haven't had a chance to update this space. It was a wonderful experience learning and rendering this timeless krithi.