Hey Krishna - Music Video

Theme: Contemplation

Contemplation, pathos, despair, tension, and an eventual hope are some of the emotions that raaga Charukesi can evoke in you. I've tried to portray them in this music video in the best way possible. I've also, included a new template for Sou's Voice videos at the beginning of this music video. Do check it out and let me know your thoughts. 

Meanwhile, you can download the .mp3 version of this song for free here. 

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Onam is a Utopian concept

Onam is not just a festival. It's a concept similar to Utopia, a belief and a hope that keeps all Malayalees going. Because its a concept, it could be followed and practiced in a grand manner no matter which part of the world you are in.

What matters the most is the takeaways of Onam and whether we live up to what the festival is actually intended for. If only we could live up to atleast 1% of what Onam is all about, the world would eventually become a Utopia. That's the least we could do to felicitate King Mahabali. 

On that note, here's a small 'Ona sammanam' (read Onam gift) for you - a song. Enjoy! 

How are you celebrating this year's Onam? Share your thoughts either in the comments section below or via here. 

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P.S: Here's a beautiful illustration and write-up regarding Onam and the anatomy of Kerala Sadya. MUST CHECK IT OUT.

I said NO to the Ice bucket challenge & YES to the Charukesi challenge

It has been a week since I've been watching the ice bucket challenge videos on my Facebook feed. While I support the ALS cause and also, think that the challenge is a great way to grab people's attention to contribute towards the cause, I have to say the message conveyed is kind of contradictory. 

On one hand the challenge supports a great cause while on the other, it tends to encourage people to waste water. The creators of this challenge could have come up with a more creative approach for this cause. I know it's easier said than done but, its definitely something worth thinking about. 

Because of all these reasons, I decided to take a slightly different challenge which I would like to call as the Charukesi Challenge. What I did was I took one of the difficult compositions in raaga/mode Charukesi and made a cover version out of it using my vocals. Here's the popular Malayalam song, Hey Krishna from the movie, Kizhakkunarum Pakshi composed by the late Raveendran maash and originally, sung by K S Chitra. Do listen and let me know what you think. 

Also, do check out the following mixtapes I created on Raag Charukesi.

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The emerging need of becoming 'independent'

As India celebrates its 68th independence day, the significance of the word 'independent' has become more relevant than ever. From a national level to a personal level, the feeling of becoming independent has given rise to different possibilities in our everyday lives.

With the advent of globalization and the rise of start up and entrepreneurial culture, the number of independent jobs and job roles are increasing day by day. The internet and social media has only aided this emerging trend. If you are wondering about the relevance of this in music, just take a look at the millions of YouTube channels and social media profiles of various independent artists/musicians, including mine. 

I became a part of the Indian independent music scene in the year, 2007. That's when I officially started audio blogging and I got a major exposure through this initiative called, Blogswara on which a case study was conducted by a student in University of Alberta, Canada. 

Here's a link to the interview (Malayalam) of some of the Blogswara team members, aired in Manorama channel in the year, 2009. Try to spot me in the video :) 

How important is the feeling 'independent' to you? Share your thoughts either in the comments section below or via the contact form.

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Sou's Voice

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You can download the slide share version of this post here.

Manodharma sangeetham & the need for fresh themes in Carnatic Music

I was listening to a kutcheri on YouTube the other day. The main krithi was in Thodi raagam, which is arguably one of the very difficult raagas to render and to completely justify. After the main piece came a 'thukkada' in raagam, Charukesi. What a bliss that was! That's when I realized something - Charukesi appealed and moved me totally when compared to Thodi.  I wanted to dwell in Charukesi for a longer time. This made me wonder why Charukesi raagam was not considered as a main piece. Was it because, its against the conventional kutcheri format? 

This incident triggered me to think about certain questionable aspects of the Carnatic music scene. Why are the Trinity krithis being sung over and over again even after decades? Mainstream Carnatic musicians have been applying zillions of manodharma a.k.a improvisations on them and they have even made a career out of it. Isn't this analogous to cover versions of songs? I was amused at the numerous possible permutations and combinations of manodharma being used by different Carnatic musicians. At the same time, I wondered how musicians thrive significantly on improvised version of songs. One reason could be there's an audience who enjoys and is willing to pay for that. 

But, do we have an alternative? How about coming up with original krithis and newer themes? In that case, how do one compose new krithis with fresh themes? 

Here's one way it could be accomplished - understand the history and the context based on which the yesteryears' compositions were made. Play devil's advocate by analyzing the pros and cons in those compositions. Now, gradually change the context to the current/present state of affairs and see if those good things are still relevant. If yes, go ahead and include those aspects in the new pieces else, ignore them and find new ways that are relevant to the current context.

Wow, I guess the management consultant in me is talking now - being extremely process-oriented. Well, its easier said than done but, do we have better ways to accomplish this? I'm searching for an answer as well. 

On that note, here's my rendition of the Telugu Carnatic krithi, Emayya Raama in Kamboji raagam, set in Khanda chaappu thaalam and composed by Bhadrachala Ramadas. 

Readers, pause and contemplate - do you think there is a way to introduce fresh themes in Carnatic music? Share your thoughts either in the comments section below or via the contact form.

Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed this post, please subscribe to Sou's Voice and join me on Facebook and Twitter. Check out www.sousvoice.com for an alternate perspective on Indian music.