Editor's desk

Dear Kuralites,

The best meal is one in which there is a limited variety of perfectly cooked dishes.  Similarly, we are back with a fare of limited, but interesting articles in the 25th issue of Kural. 

Innikku enna kekkalaam by Bhavya Ganapathi is an in depth exploration of the piece ‘Mad mod mood fugue’ from the album ‘How to name it?’ by the maestro Ilayaraja. Her detailed analysis leaves no stone unturned in showcasing the rich nuances in each of the Rāga-s treated by the maestro, as well as the transitions between them.

This issue marks the beginning of a brand new Aavali by Chandrakala Radhakrishnan, where Siva and his son Skanda travel southwest of Tamilnadu to that seat of art and culture, Travancore. The Aavali revolves around the composer-king, Mahārājā Svāti Tirunāḷ, while providing engaging nuggets of information about the temple and even the Prasādam-s offered.

Saibrindha Ramachandran writes about her experience of participating in the 25th year of Karunbithil Shibira, an annual gathering/retreat for music students and performers at Nidle, Karnataka.

Walk along with Rakshanaa Rengananth as she visits Gandharva Lōka and meets her Carnatic idol, Bharat Ratna Smt. M. S. Subbulakshmi! Rakshanaa is the second runner up in the junior category of Kural’s creative writing competitions, and we are happy to feature her article as part of this issue.

After reading all these articles, the brain demands some kind of relaxation. Ananiyasri R brings you just what you need, in the form of word games as part of Brain benders- 25!

Happy reading,