Editor's desk

Dear Readers,

Namaskāram. We last met at the start of the auspicious month of Āḍi, and already, we have just celebrated the final Āḍi Veḷḷi. 

And what an ending it is - coinciding with two major celebrations for our country. We are celebrating the 79th year of Independence of our beautiful country, while also celebrating the birth of one of the most charming Gods - Lord Kṛṣṇa. One of Kural’s founders, Dr. V Subashri brings out the most unexpected relationship between the Indian Independence Day and Janmāṣṭami in her article in this issue.

We always associate Carnatic Music notations with Tamil, or Hindi, or even English. But have you ever thought of a kṛti being notated with western (staff) notations? One of our other co-founders, Preeti Sethuraman, writes about such a unique book, written in the early 20th century by an Englishman.

Budding scholar and vocalist, Pranathi Ganapuram, explores another treatise on Prabandha-s, a form of composition that is not often sung or heard today. 

Continuing part 3 of the 4th Aavali series, Chandrakala Radhakrishnan explores Mahārājā Svāti Tirunāḷ's life and works further. In this episode, Chandrakala’s minions explore and describe the beautiful Kudiramālikā palace, which echoes with the sounds of music till date. 

We make new year resolutions every year without fail (whether or not we carry them through the year), but have you ever wondered what your instrument would resolve every year, if only it had a mouth to speak? Read this touching article by V. Vishnuchithan, runner-up of the senior writing category in Kural competitions 2025, to find out. This article too has a connection to Lord Kṛṣṇa - the universe does work in mysterious ways, because why else would this article appear as part of this issue, without us planning it in that way?

With a title that has wonderful word-play, this month's Brain Benders is dedicated to compositions on Lord Kṛṣṇa! How mani, err sorry, many of these compositions do you know?

We thank you for your enthusiastic support for the Carnatic Bytes series. After our exploration of Rāga-s, we have moved onto Tāla and rhythm in the last few episodes, and will soon be moving on to other interesting topics. We look forward to your continued support. 

We invite all readers to spread the word about this endeavour and request you all to contribute articles and thoughts to the magazine.

Yours Musically,

Veena Venkatramani