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Last month onwards we started the ‘Carnatic Music Night’ at South Indies. While most of the restaurants are playing the regular movie songs or some popular English numbers, we decided to bring back the dying love for Carnatic Music. It’s a live band, if we may put it that way, which plays on Wednesdays in Indiranagar and on Thursdays in the Infantry Road South Indies.

Well, apart from augmenting the diner’s experience, it adds to our vision of being a channel for promotion of South Indian culture. A few days back News 9 covered our event and this is what they had to say:

For those of you who are new to Carnatic Music, here’s a brief introduction to it :

Carnatic music is considered one of the oldest systems of music in the world. Carnatic music is a very complex system of music that requires much thought, both artistically and technically. The basis of Carnatic music is the system of ragas (melodic scales) and talas (rhythmic cycles). There are seven rhythmic cycles and 72 fundamental ragas. All other ragas are considered to have originated from these. An elaborate pattern exists for identifying these scales, known as the 72 Melakarta Raagas.

Tyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar and Shyama Shastri, the three saint composers of the 19th century, have composed thousands of krithis that remain fresh among musicians and rasikas. The most important specialty of Karnatic music is its highly devotional element. The concept of the compositions are set entirely against a devotional outline. The notes of Carnatic music is “sa-ri-gaa-ma-pa-da-ni”. These are abbreviations of the real names of swaras which are Shadjam, Rishabham, Gandharam, Madhyamam, Panchamam, Dhaivatam and Nishaadam.

Even more interested to know about the Carnatic Music? Read more here.

If you’ve experienced the ‘Carnatic Music Night’ at South Indies, do let us know your views in the comments section below.