Editor's desk

Dear Readers, 

Namaskāram! This issue is the 30th Issue of the Kural magazine and at this juncture, we would like to convey our heartfelt gratitude to all our readers and contributors. We request all your feedback on how we can improve. We also solicit your support in spreading the word about the magazine and increasing readership.

On Nov 1st and 2nd, The Kural Trust hosted its first online workshop, titled ‘Know your voice’, for Carnatic vocalists. Facilitated by Ms. Nirupama Venkatesan, certified vocal coach and founder of ‘All about voice’, the workshop was a deep dive into the capabilities and limitations of the vocal instrument, and was a judicious combination of pedagogy and practical exercises. 

The Aavali series on Mahārājā Svāti Tirunāḷ draws to a close in this issue with the 6th episode on Siva’s lec-dem on all his insights and learnings. We thank Mrs. Chandrakala Radhakrishnan for writing this 4th set in the series of Aavali.

Ariyakuḍi – synonymous to Śrī Rāmānuja Ayyaṅgār in the Carnatic world. But what about the temple town that lent its name to the great artiste? Learn more about this in the e-pilgrimage section by Śrī Aniruddh Sankaran.

Vidvān RK Shriramkumar, an artiste who has accompanied generations of musicians and shows the best of all of it to us, students of music, is the man of the moment. His disciple, Nanditha Kannan, traces the musical lineage he belongs to, and the first part of this is presented in this issue’s ‘Know your Masters’ section.

At Bharat Sangeet Utsav, a grand program with many reputed musicians, upcoming artistes and 100 young students unfolded with the theme ‘Aḍaḍā Tukkaḍā!’. This program, which featured an assortment of popular compositions, is summarised by Vid. Padmashree Srinivasan. 

The Hills are alive with the Sound of (Carnatic) Music! This issue’s Brain Benders section explores the various connections that Hills and Carnatic Music have. Do try out this interesting quiz!

We are already in mid-November and it is soon going to be that time of the year when the city bustles with concerts, performances and lecdems. With the pre-December Season already having started, things will start getting heated up soon for nearly the next two months and I am sure that we are all looking forward to it.

We will meet you again with our next issue in January.

We wish you all an enjoyable music season with a lot of learning and singing!

Musically yours,

Aaditya Rangan R