WOCUE

I am so delighted that Dr Narthaki Nataraj has been conferred Padmashri by Govt of India vide Republic Day honours list 2019. What is so significant about this great civilian honour is that she is the first Transgender to receive the top award. Not just that, it is a saga of struggle all throughout her childhood due to exclusion, derision, social boycott, poverty. She faced everything with true grit but she had one dream - to be a classical Bharatanatyam Dancer. She achieved that with gusto. She did menial jobs for surviving but was focused on her inner urge to dance. In 1984 she compelled the legend Guru Thanjavur Kittappa Pillai to accept her as a student. Yamini Krishnamurti, Vyjayantimala etc were his students. According to an article from Indian express “It was years before audiences recognised her splendid performances. In 2011, she was honoured with the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademi award from the President of India, a first for any trans person....

I t is Janmashtami today. The day on which the Complete Avatar of Lord Narayana was born as Little Krishna as the eighth son of Devaki and Vasudeva. Krishna, if we go through the puranas, is everything. He is a good son, a brother, a friend, a lover, a protector, a destructor, a messenger, a statesman… and what not! Having the constrains of a living being, we try to limit Krishna or can only view Krishna at times as per our perception or state of mind. The fact is that Lord Krishna, the Supreme God, is beyond all space and time. For Radha, Lord Krishna is her lover. She wants to be with him always and never wants to get separated from him. But, we can see sad Radha experiencing the pain of separation a lot. The Mohiniyattam video clip by the renowned dancer Dr. Neena Prasad that is attached here depicts such a situation from Ashtapathi beautifully. Radha cannot suffer the pain of separation. She is imagining that her Lover is spending his time with his some other ...

J une 21st is the International Day of Yoga. It happens to be the World Music Day too. Is it merely a coincidence! This day, seems to be perfect to have a look at this. The Music in Bhaaratham (India) is not merely about the outer sound, but about the beauty of Naada . It is the union of Aahatha (the external Music) with Anaahatha (the sound of the celestial realm). While the former is sensed through ears, the latter is beyond the normal sensory organ. As per the Hindu culture, Anahata Chakra , the fourth primary chakra, acts as the centre for this sense. Usually, the sound is produced by the confrontation of two opposite forces where as the inner sound arises due to the amalgamation. The Saints of Bhaaratham (India) were well aware of this fact and they practiced the Music for the attainment of Nirvaana . Sree Thyagaraja Swami, the forerunner among the Trinities of Carnatic Music, had mentioned the greatness of Naada in many of Thy Divine Compositions....

I rinjalakkuda Kootalmaanikya Kshethram in Kerala, is one of the rare Temples that is dedicated to Lord Bharatha, the younger brother of Lord Sree Rama. Every year after the ten day annual temple festival in the Malayalam month of Medam (April-May), twenty eight days long Chakyarkoothu is presented during the month Edavam (May-June). Also, following it, there will be a twelve day long Anguliyaankam Koothu during the month Karkkitakam (July-August). Chakyar-koothu Chakyar-koothu is a refined monologue in which the episodes from Ramayanam and Mahabharatham, two Epics of the Hindu culture, are narrated by a male performer (called as Chakyar) who belongs to the Chakyar community. After a short prayer, he recites a Shloka in Samskritham (Verses in Sanskrit). Then he starts elaborating it in Malayalam. His narration style that entwines the story with the jokes of social or political relevance makes it highly interesting even to the common men. These jokes are mostl...

W ith its vastness and depth beyond the sight, Music is often referred to as 'Anantha Saagaram' ( the Infinite Ocean). "Cup O' Carnatic" by Vidushi Dr. Jayanthi Kumaresh, a video series which influenced a lot of viewers, was an effort to handover the flavors of the infinite ocean with the piecemeal approach at the best. "So many people write to me with queries on Veena and Music. Though initially I tried to answer them individually, due to time constraint, it became difficult. So I thought it will be nice to have a public platform to attend such queries so that every one can access it", Dr. Jayanthi explains the path that lead her to the creation of "Cup O' Carnatic". To motivate young rasikas into enjoying and appreciating Carnatic music, the videos are purposely kept to a shorter duration. Apart from its rich content and the effective presentation, what was so special about the series was its short duration. This in-fact had ins...

T he seed sowed, four decades ago, had now grown in to a huge tree providing the shade and fruits for a lot of lovely hearts around. From the single hand that sowed it, after forty one years, there are billions now, to safegaurd the tree and thus making sure that it will go on bestowing the shade and fruits to the future world too! It is the great vision of a Humble Human- Pathmasri Dr. Kiran Seth, the founder of SPIC MACAY that so many youth were able to open their inner eye. SPIC MACAY is hosting its 6th International Convention in IIT Kharagpur, West Bengal from 3rd to 9th June, 2018. Dr. Seth had given an enlightening message to the whole society in this context : Seeing beyond what one can see! Amongst the greatest contributions of India to the world, has been in the development of different techniques to experience exquisite domains of the inner self which are not clearly visible. Space gets curved due to the effect of gravity & hence light from the stars also ge...

C an a musician have a great flow to his music and yet be analytical? Can a musician sing based on Lakshya without compromise to Lakshana? Can a musician have discipline in his Kirthana singing despite having extraordinary Manodharma...? There was one musician who was a testimony to all the above. He had many firsts to his name ! It was he, who introduced the concept of “Porutham” singing. When he sang Palintsu Kamakshi, he sang Kalpana Swaram for “Kanthamagu” . It was not the hackneyed MRSRM finish. He used to finish with phrases such as SNPNM, RMPNS and PNSRM and start Kanthamagu from the adjoining note. This was a huge innovation. Of course genius musicians such as Lalgudi Sir, Balamurali Sir and Seshagopalan Sir have taken a leaf out of his books and added Kanakkus to Poruthams and further embellished. He introduced concept of Sruthi Bedham. He used to just show a glimpse of the child Raga and not dwell too much into it. When he elaborated Thodi, he would sh...