Nithya Rajendran

THE PERSON IN A RAAGA

November 27, 2021

Today, as I was sitting down with my Riyaaz of the Carnatic music equivalent of the Asavari Raaga, I brought back mixed memories. It evoked a collage of emotions, making me feel nostalgic about the warmth of my grandparents’ home, while also reminding me of a particular school day when...

THE SPIRITUAL JOURNEY OF MUSIC

November 13, 2021

During my schooldays, I once boarded a train in Chennai and was headed to Delhi for a music competition. This was way back in the nineties, an age where there were no cell phones and no social media chatter. My vivid memories of that trip are not of the competition...

PRACTICALITY VS PERFECTION IN ART

October 30, 2021

I have been a professional musician for a long time now, and in the process of having to create a profession from my passion, I have had many junctures where practicality and idealism have come to a head. It was just a few days ago that while in the middle...

FINDING OUR UNIQUE MELODY

October 16, 2021

Recently I visited a relative for Dussera. More specifically, for Navratri ‘golu’, a colourful display of dolls was done during Navratri in the south Indian states. On the dinner menu, there was the quintessential Sambar, the spicy and tangy soupy curry that all of India is familiar with. When I...

HOW SUNFLOWER SYNDROME DRIVES US

October 2, 2021

I once noticed a picture of a vast field full of sunflowers, each one of them unerringly looking at the sun. It was a beautiful sight, not just visually but also symbolically, for we humans are no different. If they were sentient beings, one could imagine a thousand babies looking...

MUSIC, MATHEMATICS AND ART: DIFFERENT FACES OF THE SAME TRUTH

September 18, 2021

A ‘Kalpana swara’ (creative compilation of notes done impromptu on stage by the artist) in Carnatic music often involves what is known as a ‘Korvai’. A Korvai is a set of swaras or notes that are arranged in a creative yet mathematically precise format that brings the long Kalpana swara notes to a beautiful...

CLASSICAL MUSIC CAN HELP YOU FIGHT ANXIETY

September 4, 2021

It was years ago, well before mobile phones were ubiquitous, and when the only way to enjoy music was with the Sony Walkman cassette-player. I was journeying from home to my college, extremely anxious for an exam I was about to write, and decided that I would lighten the mood...

How classical music has influenced Bollywood songs

August 21, 2021

I recently got an inquiry for my music academy from a young mother of a four-year-old. She wanted to commence music education for her child. After our initial exchange about the child’s name, age and musical inclinations, the mother went on to the topic of what exactly we would be...

MUSIC AND THE MIND-BODY CONNECTION

August 7, 2021

I was speaking to my music instruments’ dealer recently as I was finalising a Swarmandal piece (an Indian harp). I asked him to send me a video clip of the instrument being played, in order to check for its sound quality. As the instrument was strummed, it created not only...

A musician is never alone

July 24, 2021

As I sat for my online concert last month, I was compelled to deliberate on how Covid isolation has changed the tapestry of the classical music concert scene. From the grand stage with fancy acoustics and live instruments, we have now moved to the Zoom or Facebook interface with our...

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