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Sakha Rama Rao
Sakha Rama Rao (Sakharam Rao) is an Indian musician credited with having re-introduced the south Indian chitravina (or "gotuvadyam") to the concert scene. However, it was his father, Srinivasa Rao, who made the pioneering effort towards the reincarnation of the chitravina in modern times. He was an ardent music lover and an amateur artiste himself. He started experimenting with a slide on the tanpura (a four-stringed instrument, usually used as a reference drone in Indian music). Sakha Rama Rao was drawn to this instrument since childhood. He was able to perceive its tremendous potential to produce high-class music. He re-designed this instrument as a fretless veena with its usual set of seven strings - four strings on the top and three in the side for drone and rhythm. He put in arduous practice on this instrument and gave occasional performances. Since he was not aware of the history of the instrument, he gave it a new name - gotuvadyam. This is because, he used to casually refer ...
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Chitravina
The chitravina ( sa, चित्रवीणा) (also known as chitra veena, chitraveena, chitra vina, hanumad vina, or mahanataka vina) is a 20 or 21-string fretless lute-style veena in Carnatic music. Around the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it started to be known by another name, Gotuvadyam (often mis-spelt as gottuvadyam, and kottuvadyam etc.), which was bestowed upon it by Sakha Rama Rao from Tiruvidaimarudur, who was responsible for bringing it back to the concert scene. Today it is played mainly in South India, though its origins can be traced back to Bharata's Natya Shastra (200 BCE-200 CE), where it is mentioned as a seven string fretless instrument. Sarangadeva (1210–47) also made a similar reference to the chitravina in his work, Sangita Ratnakara. Recent history The ''chitravina'' was popularised in South India by Sakha Rama Rao before his disciple Gotuvadyam Narayana Iyengar (1903 - 1959), who was a palace musician of the erstwhile states of Travanco ...
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Tanpura
The tanpura (), also referred to as tambura and tanpuri, is a long-necked plucked string instrument, originating in India, found in various forms in Indian music. It does not play melody, but rather supports and sustains the melody of another instrument or singer by providing a continuous harmonic bourdon or drone. A tanpura is not played in rhythm with the soloist or percussionist: as the precise timing of plucking a cycle of four strings in a continuous loop is a determinant factor in the resultant sound, it is played unchangingly during the complete performance. The repeated cycle of plucking all strings creates the sonic canvas on which the melody of the raga is drawn. The combined sound of all strings–each string a fundamental tone with its own spectrum of overtones–supports and blends with the external tones sung or played by the soloist. Hindustani musicians favour the term ''tanpura'' whereas Carnatic musicians say ''tambura''; ''tanpuri'' is a smaller varian ...
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Drone (music)
In music, a drone is a harmonic or monophonic effect or accompaniment where a note or chord is continuously sounded throughout most or all of a piece. A drone may also be any part of a musical instrument used to produce this effect; an archaic term for this is ''burden'' (''bourdon'' or ''burdon'') such as a "drone ipeof a bagpipe", the pedal point in an organ, or the lowest course of a lute. Α ''burden'' is also part of a song that is repeated at the end of each stanza, such as the chorus or refrain.Brabner, John H F., ed. (1884). The national encyclopædia', Vol. V, p.99. Libr. ed. William McKenzie. . Musical effect "Of all harmonic devices, it droneis not only the simplest, but probably also the most fertile." A drone effect can be achieved through a sustained sound or through repetition of a note. It most often establishes a tonality upon which the rest of the piece is built. A drone can be instrumental, vocal or both. Drone (both instrumental and vocal) can be place ...
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Music Of India
Owing to India's vastness and diversity, Indian music encompasses numerous genres in multiple varieties and forms which include classical music, folk (Bollywood), rock, and pop. It has a history spanning several millennia and developed over several geo-locations spanning the sub-continent. Music in India began as an integral part of socio-religious life. History Pre-history Paleolithic The 30,000-year-old paleolithic and neolithic cave paintings at the UNESCO world heritage site at Bhimbetka rock shelters in Madhya Pradesh show a type of dance. Mesolithic and chalcolithic cave art of Bhimbetka illustrates musical instruments such as Gongs, Bowed Lyre, daf etc. Neolithic Chalcolithic era (4000 BCE onward) narrow bar shaped polished stone celts like music instruments, one of the earlier musical instrument in India, were excavated at Sankarjang in the Angul district of Odisha. There is historical evidence in the form of sculptural evidence, i.e. musical instruments, si ...
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Veena
The ''veena'', also spelled ''vina'' ( sa, वीणा IAST: vīṇā), comprises various chordophone instruments from the Indian subcontinent. Ancient musical instruments evolved into many variations, such as lutes, zithers and arched harps.Vina: Musical Instrument
Encyclopædia Britannica (2010)
The many regional designs have different names such as the ''Rudra veena'', the ''Saraswati veena'', the ''Vichitra veena'' and others. The North Indian ''rudra veena'', used in Hindustani classical music, is a stick zither. About 3.5 to 4 feet (1 to 1.2 meters) long to fit the measurements of the musician, it has a hollow body and two large resonating gourds under each end. It has four main strings which are melodic, and three auxiliary drone strings.
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Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late Bronze Age. Sanskrit is the sacred language of Hinduism, the language of classical Hindu philosophy, and of historical texts of Buddhism and Jainism. It was a link language in ancient and medieval South Asia, and upon transmission of Hindu and Buddhist culture to Southeast Asia, East Asia and Central Asia in the early medieval era, it became a language of religion and high culture, and of the political elites in some of these regions. As a result, Sanskrit had a lasting impact on the languages of South Asia, Southeast Asia and East Asia, especially in their formal and learned vocabularies. Sanskrit generally connotes several Old Indo-Aryan language varieties. The most archaic of these is the Vedic Sanskrit found in the Rig Veda, a colle ...
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Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer
Semmangudi Radhakrishna Srinivasa Iyer (25 July 1908 – 31 October 2003) was an Indian Carnatic vocalist. He was the youngest recipient of the Sangeetha Kalanidhi awarded by the Music Academy in 1947, a distinction he holds to this day as of 2022, probably the only musician to receive that honour before reaching 40. He had received many other awards as well, including Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan from the Government of India, Rajya Sewa Nirata title from Travancore's erstwhile ruling family, Sangeet Natak Academy award (1953), ''Isai Perarignar'' from Government of Tamil Nadu and Kalidas Samman from Government of Madhya Pradesh. He was affectionately addressed as "Semmangudi Maama" (Semmangudi Uncle) by his disciples. He was also considered the "Pitamaha" or the grand sire of modern Carnatic Music. He was conferred with an honorary doctorate by University of Kerala in 1979. Early life and training He was born in Tirukkodikaval, Tanjore district as the third son ...
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The Hindu
''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the second most circulated English-language newspaper in India, after '' The Times of India''. , ''The Hindu'' is published from 21 locations across 11 states of India. ''The Hindu'' has been a family-owned newspaper since 1905, when it was purchased by S. Kasturi Ranga Iyengar from the original founders. It is now jointly owned by Iyengar's descendants, referred to as the "Kasturi family", who serve as the directors of the holding company. The current chairperson of the group is Malini Parthasarathy, a great-granddaughter of Iyengar. Except for a period of about two years, when S. Varadarajan held the editorship of the newspaper, the editorial positions of the paper were always held by members of the family or held under their direction. Histo ...
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Chitravina Players
The chitravina ( sa, चित्रवीणा) (also known as chitra veena, chitraveena, chitra vina, hanumad vina, or mahanataka vina) is a 20 or 21-string fretless lute-style veena in Carnatic music. Around the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it started to be known by another name, Gotuvadyam (often mis-spelt as gottuvadyam, and kottuvadyam etc.), which was bestowed upon it by Sakha Rama Rao from Tiruvidaimarudur, who was responsible for bringing it back to the concert scene. Today it is played mainly in South India, though its origins can be traced back to Bharata's Natya Shastra (200 BCE-200 CE), where it is mentioned as a seven string fretless instrument. Sarangadeva (1210–47) also made a similar reference to the chitravina in his work, Sangita Ratnakara. Recent history The ''chitravina'' was popularised in South India by Sakha Rama Rao before his disciple Gotuvadyam Narayana Iyengar (1903 - 1959), who was a palace musician of the erstwhile states of Travanco ...
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