Author: Ramkumar R

  • A trip to Padmanabhapuram, Suchindram & Kanyakumari – Part 1

      PADMANABHAPURAM PALACE Padmanabhapuram was once the capital of the princely state of Travancore, a state that later merged with Cochin and Malabar district to form the present state of Kerala. The Padmanabhapuram palace is a beautiful wooden palace located in this place, constructed by the rulers of Travancore around…

  • Slow, melodious, soulful songs – 1

    Destination Infinity tagged me to list my favorite songs (slow, melodious and soulful). I guess the tag was mainly for listing my favorite Carnatic music songs but I thought of taking it up first for songs from Hindi movies.  Here are the ones that readily came to my mind when…

  • ARR Does It!

    ARR makes us all proud by winning both his Oscar nominations! Jai Ho!

  • Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan – The Phenom

    It’s 4AM and it’s been more than 3 hours now since I started to listen to Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan (BGAK) today. Time has just flown past and I am forced to wind up only with thought of catching some sleep before I leave for office in another 2.5…

  • Another milestone for ISB!

    My alma mater, Indian School of Business (ISB), has been ranked 15th in the latest annual ranking of B-Schools worldwide by Financial Times (click here for details). As our dean put it, “To be so young and to achieve such heights is no ordinary feat”. What ISB has achieved in…

  • Slumdog Millionaire

    The Golden Globe Awards and the Oscar nominations would certainly pull crowds to this well thought out and well made movie. Though the movie has many positives, I would love to watch it again just for the way the kids have gone about doing their roles. Just brilliant stuff! Young…

  • Padams & Javalis as handled in Brinda-Mukta Bani

    The following are excerpts from a very informative lec dem on the above topic given by Dr. Nirmala Sundararajan and Dr. Subhashini Parthasarathy on 23rd Dec 2008 at Tattavaloka Auditorium, Eldams Road, Teynampet, Chennai under the aegis of Carnatica. I have taken the liberty to organize my notes from the…

  • Bowled over by Delhi 6 audio!

    This has been one satisfying musical evening. Started with Hindustani Classical music of Kishori Amonkar and Malini Rajurkar. Then got an opportunity to listen to the audio of ‘Delhi 6’ inbetween office calls and just got bowled over by it.  A.R.Rahman has composed some unbelievable stuff.  Swept me off my feet…

  • Concert with Prashant Prasad (Vocal) @ Sriranjani

    Played mrudangam on 6th Jan 2009 for Prashant Prasad’s vocal recital at Swamy’s Hall, R.K. Mutt Road, Mandaveli, Chennai.  The concert was organized by Sriranjani Trust.    Artists: Vocal:  Prashant Prasad  Violin:  C.S. Anuroop Mrudangam:  R. Ramkumar   List of songs: 1) karuNimpa (varnam) – sahAnA – Adi – tiruvOtriyUr tyAgayyA (AS) 2)…

  • Happy New Year!

    Wishing all readers of this blog a Happy New Year and great times ahead! Ushered in new year hearing Sri Umayalpuram Sivaraman perform live and heard him give a breathtaking performance again on the morning of the 1st. Couldn’t have asked for a better end to 2008 and a better…

  • A really satisfying day!

    Started the day with a beautiful lec dem on Dhrupad by Prof. Ritwik Sanyal at the Music Academy. The time allocated to him was too less to do justice to the topic. I would love to get an opportunity to spend more time with him and learn more about an…

  • Margazhi Raagam

    Imagine a concert in Chennai’s music season where you prefer the last row to the first the balcony ticket is costlier than the ticket for a seat in the main hall the sound system is excellent there are no MTC buses honking there are no mamas/mamis shouting raga names the…

  • Concert with J.A. Jayanth (Flute) @ Shri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha

      Played mrudangam today for the flute recital of J.A. Jayanth at Vidya Bharati, Mylapore, Chennai.  The concert was organized by Shri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha.    Artists: Flute:  J.A. Jayanth  Violin:  Parur M.S. Ananthakrishnan Mrudangam:  R. Ramkumar   List of songs: 1) calamEla (varnam) – nATTakurinji – Adi – mUlaivITTu rangaswAmi…

  • Concert with Girija Shankar @ Vani Mahal, Chennai

    Played mrudangam on 18th Dec 2008 for the vocal concert of Girija Shankar at Vani Mahal, T. Nagar, Chennai.  The concert was organized by Shri Thyaga Brahma Gana Sabha.    Artists: Vocal:  Girija Shankar Violin:  B. Sudha Mrudangam:  R. Ramkumar   List of songs: 1) gaNanAdanE – sArangA – Adi…

  • Mridanga Cintamanih

    The fingers dance gracefully on the mrudangam producing crystal clear beats soaked in divine nadham making one wonder whether the instrument being played is the mrudangam or a perfectly tuned string instrument. As the maestro unleashes a breathless roll puncuated by appropriate strokes at the appropriate places, the only other…