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Carnatic music, known as ''karnātaka sangītam'' (கர்னாடக சங்கீதம் in Tamil , ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ಸಂಗೀತ in Kannada , కర్నాటక''' '''సంగీతం in Telugu , കര്ണാടക സംഗീതം in Malayalam , कर्णाटक सङ्गीतं in Devanagari ) is the form of Indian classical music that had its origins in Southern India. Lyrics in Carnatic music are largely devotional; most of the songs are addressed to the Hindu Deities . There are, besides, a lot of songs emphasising love and other social issues which have been composed in Carnatic music, although some of them, especially with the 'Raga' (emotion) of love, continue to be composed and are widely popular, that rest on the concept of sublimation of human emotions for union with the divine. Thus, for instance, a young woman in a modern classical composition, will be yearning for one of the deities, such as Krishna, as her 'lover - the purpose of such musical pieces being at once to provide an outlet for human emotions and, unlike in the normal run of motion pictures, to address God rather than another human being. Carnatic music as a classical form is always thus required to be a culturally elevating medium. As with all Indian Classical Music , the two main components of Carnatic music are '' Raga '' - a melodic pattern, and '' Tala '' - a rhythmic pattern. (One might want to read these pages before proceeding.) HISTORY ''Main article: History Of Carnatic Music '' Carnatic music , whose foundations go back to Vedic times, began as a spiritual ritual of early Hinduism . Hindustani music and Carnatic music are one and the same, out of the Sama Veda tradition, until the Islamic invasions of North India in the late 12th and early 13th Century . From the 13th century onwards, there was a divergence in the forms of Indian music — the northern style being influenced by Persian/Arabic music. ''Carnatic music'' is named after the region in southern India what is today known as Karnataka . Carnatic was the anglicized spelling of Karnataka and hence it has come to be known as Carnatic Music. The great Kannada composer Shri. Purandara Dasa is known as the ''Sangitapitamaha'' or 'Father of Karnatik music'.'' The roots of Carnatic music was sown during the Vijayanagar Empire by the Kannada Haridasa movement of Vyasaraja, Purandaradasa, Kanakadasa and others. It is said that Purandara Dasa laid out the basic learning structure and framework for imparting carnatic music. The learning structure is arranged in the increasing order of the complexity. The lessons start with Sarale varase, meaning simple patterns and is having no defined ends. Though a good authority in the 72 parent ragas and related raga, taana, and pallavi, swara prasthara, is a mark of a professional - by no measure that's an end THEORY ''Śruti'' (ಶೃತಿ, श्रुति, శ్రుతి) ''Main article: Śruti (music) '' ''Śruti'' in Indian Music is the rough equivalent of a Tonic (or less precisely Key ) in Western Music ; it is the note from which all the others are derived. Traditionally, there are twenty-two ''śrutis'' in Carnatic music, but over the years several of them have converged, so that now they are but the Chromatic Scale . The solfege ''Main article: Swara '' Description The ) may have up to three variants. The exceptions are ''shadjam'' and ''panchamam'' (the Tonic and the Dominant in Western Music ), which have only one form, and ''madhyamam'', which has only two forms (the Subdominant ). In one scale, or Ragam ''', there is usually only one variant of each note present, except in "light" ragas, such as ''Behag'', in which, for artistic effect, there may be two, one on the way up (in the '''arohanam''') and another on the way down (in the '''avarohan'''). A raga may have five, six or seven notes on the way up, and five, six or seven notes on the way down. The Carnatic solfege in different scripts In Indian languages, most of whose alphabets are Abugida s ''(q.v.)'', the solfege is written with the characters for Sa, Ri, Ga, Pa, Da and Ni. Beacause Carnatic music is very rarely performed by people from North India, the alphabets given here are primarily those of Dravidian , i.e., South Indian, languages.
The '' Raga '' system ''Main article: Raga '' '' Melakarta s'' In Carnatic music, the ''sampurna ragas'' (the ones that have seven notes in their scales) are classified into the '' Melakarta '' system, which groups them according to the kinds of notes that they have. There are seventy-two ''melakarta ragas'', thirty-six of whose Subdominant is a Perfect Fourth from the tonic, thirty-six of whose subdominant is an Augmented Fourth from the tonic. The ''ragas'' are grouped into sets of six, called '' Chakra s'' ("wheels", though actually sectors in the conventional representation) grouped according to the Supertonic and Mediant scale degrees. This scheme can very well understood and remembered by Katapayadi Sankhya Classification ''Raga''s may be divided into two classes: ''janaka raga''s ("parent ''raga''s") and ''janya raga''s ("child ''raga''s"). ''Janaka raga'' is synonymous with ''melakarta'' (because the ''melakarta raga''s each have seven notes in their scale, and use each note only once). ''Janya raga''s are subclassified into various categories themselves. The '' Tala '' system ''Main article: Tala '' In carnatic music, singers keep the beat by moving their hands in specified patterns. These patterns are called Tala s. All of the which are formed with three basic movements: lowering the palm of the hand onto the thigh, lowering a specified number of fingers in sequence (starting from the little finger), and turning the hand over. These basic movements are grouped into three kinds of units: the ''laghu'' (lowering the palm and then the fingers, notated as 1), the ''dhrutam'' (lowering the palm and turning it over, notated as 0), and the ''anudhrutam'' (just lowering the palm, notated as ☾). Only these units are used. There are seven kinds of ''talas'' which can be formed from the ''laghu'', ''dhrtam'', and ''anudhrtam'':
How many fingers must be lowered in a ''laghu'' is determined by the ''jathi'', a number showing how many fingers to lower. It can only be 3, 4, 5, 7, or 9. (For numbers greater than five, the "sixth finger" is the same as the little finger.) Five ''jathis'' times seven patterns gives thirty-five possible ''talas''. COMPOSITIONS Composers of Carnatic music were often inspired by devotion and were usually scholars proficient in Kannada , Telugu , Tamil and Sanskrit . They would usually include a signature, called a '' Mudra '', in their compositions. For example, all songs by Tyagaraja have the word ''Tyāgarāja'' in them, all songs by Muthuswami Dikshitar (who composed in Sanskrit) have the words ''guru guha'' in them, songs by Syama Sastri have the words "Syama Krishna" in them and Purandaradasa , the father of Karnatik music (who composed in Kannada), used the signature 'purandara vitala'. ''Kīrtanas'' Carnatic songs are varied in structure and style, but generally consist of three verses: #Pallavi (ಪಲ್ಲವಿ,पल्लवि,పల్లవి). This is the equivalent of a Refrain in Western music. Two lines. #Anupallavi (ಅನುಪಲ್ಲವಿ, अनुपल्लवि,అనుపల్లవి). The second verse. Also two lines. #Charana (ಚರಣ, चरणं,చరణం). The final (and longest) verse that wraps up the song. The Charanam usually borrows patterns from the Anupallavi. Usually three lines. This kind of song is called a ''keerthanam'' (कीर्तनं). But this is only one possible structure for a keerthanam. Some keerthanas, such as ''Sārasamuki sakala bhāgyadē'' have a verse between the ''anupallavi'' and the ''caraṇam'', called the ''ciṭṭaswaram'' (चिट्टस्वरं). This verse consists only of notes, and has no words. Still others, such as ''Rāmacandram bhāvayāmi'' have a verse at the end of the ''caraṇam'', called the ''madhyamakālam''. It is sung immediately after the ''caraṇam'', but at double speed. ''Varnas'' A ''Varna''(ವಣ೯) is a special kind of song which tells you everything about a Raga ; not just the scale, but also which notes to stress, how to approach a certain note, classical and characteristic phrases, etc. A varna has a ''pallavi'', an ''anupallavi'', a ''muktāyi swara'', whose function is identical to that of the ''chiTTeswara''(ಚಿಟ್ಟೆ ಸ್ವರ) in a ''kriti'', a ''charaNa'', and ''chiTTeswaras'', after each of which the ''charaNa'' is repeated: #Pallavi (ಪಲ್ಲವಿ) #Anupallavi (ಅನುಪಲ್ಲವಿ) #Muktāyi swara(ಮುಕ್ತಾಯಿ ಸ್ವರ) #Charana(ಚರಣ) #ChiTTeswara (ಚಿಟ್ಟೆ ಸ್ವರ) ##First ##Second ##Third ##''et cetera'' There are many more kinds of songs such as ''geethams'' and ''swarajatis'', but for lack of room, they will not be explained here. Special compositions Some special sets of compositions deserve to be noted here, the '' Pancaratna Kīrtanas (पञ्चरत्नकृति, పంచరత్న క్రుతులు)'' of Tyagaraja , Kamalamba Navavarna Kritis and Navagraha Kritis (నవగ్రహ క్రుతులు)''''' of Muttusvami Dikshitar . The ''Pancaratna Kīrtanas'' (lit. ''five gems''), composed by Tyagaraja in Sanskrit And Telugu , are a set of five compositions regarded as the masterpieces of the great composer. The first one is in Sanskrit, while the rest are in Telugu. They deviate from conventional structure in that they all have between eight and twelve ''caraṇas''. ''Sādincanē Ō Manasā'', the third of the compositions, deviates even more in that after the ''anupallavi'', there is a short phrase after which the ''caraṇas'' are sung. Also, instead of repeating the ''pallavi'' after each ''caraṇam'', the phrase between the ''anupallavi'' and the first ''caraṇam'' is sung. Dikshitar's nava-aavarana-kritis (literally,'nine-veils compositions') are addressed to the supreme divine in its female principle according to which the male-female division, so universally observed in life forms, is essentially the manifestation of one and the same Divinity. The Navagraha kritis are respectively sung in devotion to the Sun, the Moon, and the other planets, which thus popularises in a subtle manner, that Man owes his very existence to a highly remote chance - maybe one in a billion - for living on earth in a precisely conducive environment of celestial configuration, and he must understand this fact with his rational and spiritual makeup, with Kritis of this unique type. This set of Dikshitar creations, like most of his others, are considered remarkable for recalling the sastra-ic aspects - the scriptural profunditions of Hindu religious philosophy - and the lay listener either sings them with implicit faith either even without an understanding their meaning, or with some effort, gets to know by attending scholarly lecture-cum-demonstrations and/or reading books or papers (nowadays rather widely available online on the WWW.). It is said that the mature Carnatic musician sees the multidimensional charm of the special and non-special Kritis that are at once rich musically, educative philosophically, and disciplining religiously to the singer, player and the musician, provided the necessary inputs at appreciating the many charms. Another prolific composer in Carnatic Music, King Swati Tirunal, too, has composed hundreds of songs which are particularly noted for their lyrical charm, and Swati too has to his credit a set of special compositions which are sung on the festival occasion of 'Navaratri' (lit., nine nights) in which three days each are devoted to the three deities, Durga, Lakshmi and Sarasvati. IMPROVISATION There are four main types of improvisation in Carnatic music:
::రాగం తానం పల్లవి ::பல்லவி எந்றால் பதம், லயம், விஞாஸம் ::Pallavi means: words ('''''pa'''dam''), rhythm ('''''la'''yam'') and improvisation ('''''vi'''ñāsam'') :This is a composite form of improvisation. It consists of Ragam, Thanam, then a line sung twice, and Niraval. After Niraval, the line is sung again, twice, then sung once at half the speed, then twice at regular speed, then four times at twice the speed. CONCERTS Instruments ''Main article: Indian Musical Instruments '' Carnatic concerts are usually performed by a small ensemble of musicians, who usually (but not always) meet only on the stage. The group usually has a vocalist, a primary instrumentalist, and a percussionist, in that order of importance. Primary instruments are usually string instruments, such as the '' Vīṇā '' and Violin , although wind instruments such the Flute may also be used. The importance given to the vocalist in performances is a reflection of Carnatic music's focus on the singer and its rooting in the poetry of the Sama Veda; any instrumental rendition is merely a Transcription of the vocal line. However, in recent years, purely instrumental concerts have become popular. Support The '' Tambura '', the most common kind of Drone instrument, is traditionally used at concerts to remind the singer of the tonic, so that the singer may stay in tune throughout the performance. However, not only is the ''tambura'' unwieldy, it is also fragile, and is thus increasingly being replaced by the more compact ''śruti'' Box (also known as the "electronic ''tambura''"). The usual interacting and active accompaniments are Violin adopted into Carnatic music by Baluswami Dikshitar brother of Muthuswami Dikshitar , Mridangam percussion instrument played horizontally and Ghatam mud pot or a Khanjira. It is not so common to have a veena as an accompaniment. Other possible accompaniments that one can see are the Morsing and the Kunnakol. Besides playing along with the main vocalist, the violinist also gets the chance to take part in the improvisation. The violinist's role is a bit tough as the violinist needs to play on-the-fly anything that is chosen by the main artiste. The accompanying violinist will be expected to match skills with the Vocalist in a few places. The violinist is expected to play both the melody and the mathematical aspects of the vocalist. The violin has also established itself as a main instrument. The vocalist and the violinist take turns while elaborating or while exhibiting creativity in sections like Niraval , Kalpana Swara m and the like. The percussion support will play an active role on the Rhythm aspect. Percussion Percussion instruments, such as the Mridangam , Ghatam , Kanjira are used to help the singer in keeping the beat, but they may also improvise. The Morsing is also seen in some concerts and it accompanies the main percussion instrument and plays almost in a Contrapuntal fashion along with the beats. Content Carnatic concerts, these days, last for typically no more than 3 hours. The artist may render about 10 to 15 songs. The richness and depth of artistry of the content may vary greatly based on the artist and to an extent based on what the audience request. The stage Prayer Concerts almost always start with a song in praise of Ganapathi , the remover of obstacles. For this, songs such as ''vināyakā ninnuvinā brōcuḍaku'' and ''gam gaṇapatē'', among many, many others, are common. But it is not uncommon to find concerts that start with Varnams and then have a song on Ganapathi. Varnam Most artists decide to keep the Varnam in a ''sampoorna raga''. A Varnam typically lasts for about 6 to 12 minutes. Since Varnams are performed during the initial part of the concert, some people try to keep the Varnam in a ''bright'' raga (can be roughly translated to Major Scale s) like Kalyani or Dheerasankarabharanam ). Keerthanams In the middle are a variety of compositions, generally contrasting in emotion. Sometimes, a ''rāgam'' is sung before each of these compositions, and ''kalpanāswaram'' is sung after. Usually there are several keerthanams composed by the trinity and others sung during this phase. Thani Almost always all Carnatic concerts nowadays have only one Thani Avarthanam . This is kept almost towards the end of the concert. The ''Thani Avarthanam'' begins after the violinist and the vocalist (or the main performer in case of an instrumental concert) have completed their kalpana swaras or niraval and usually the vocalist ''nods'' at the percussionist to start his ''Thani''. In case there are two or more percussion instruments, each of the percussionists start by playing a lengthy piece of beats called an ''Avarthanam''. The length of the ''Avarthanam'' goes on reducing in a mathematical proportion as the percussionists take turn. Towards the end of the ''Thani Avarthanam'' they start playing together and the song ends with the main performer singing the line that was used for Kalpana / Niraval. Ragam Tanam Pallavi Some experienced artists may do a Ragam Tanam Pallavi instead of a Keerthanam as the ''main piece'' of the Concert. Nevertheless, a Ragam Tanam Pallavi exposition will also comprise of a ''Thani''. Tukkada After a heavy dose of musically complex keerthanas the artists perform short, light and usually fast numbers. The recent trend has been that some of these are based on Hindustani Ragas. Tillana s and Javali s are sung during this phase. There would roughly be around 3 to 5 ''tukkadas''. Mangalam Almost always the very last song of a Concert is set to a raga like ''Sourashtram'' or ''Madhyamavathi'' (a happy sounding raga). The mangalam usually is 'continued' without a pause after the end of the Penultimate song. Most artists thank the audience by means of a song specifically meant to thank the audience for their support. The audience The typical audience in the average ''South Indian'' Carnatic concert is in the 50+ age group with the exception of some young students of music and some journalists who have come to write reviews about the concert. But the majority of the audience have a very decent understanding of Carnatic music and will probably be able to help you with if you have ''doubts''. It is not uncommon to find some of them noting down the ''name'', ''tala'' and ''raga'' of the song being sung. It is important to note that only a very few artists tell out the name, tala and raga of the song they are performing. Those popular amongst the ''masses'' usually tell out the ''raga'' and the ''tala'' of the song. When not told, it is up to the listener to ''identify'' the raga and tala. It is also easy to see the audience ''tapping out'' the ''tala'' in sync with the artist's performance. It would be ''frowned'' at by the people sitting next to you to be seen tapping the wrong ''tala'' and some artists might even interrupt the entire concert or even get angry! {Link without Title} . For the same reason most sabhas want to play it safe by reserving the first two or three rows of seats in the auditorium to only VIP s. As and when the artist exhibits creativity, the audience acknowledge it by Clap ping their hands. With experienced artists, towards the middle of the concert, requests start flowing in. The artist usually plays the request and it helps in exhibiting the artist's broad knowledge of the several thousand Kriti s that are in existence. However it is generally a ''norm'' for the ''rasika'' to meet the artist before hand if the rasika wishes a complex kriti (like one of the Pancharatna Kriti s) or a Ragam Tanam Pallavi to be done. It is amusing to find that some of the crowd also start leaving when the ''Thani'' has begun. Also see Madras Music Season . THE TEACHING OF CARNATIC MUSIC Traditionally, a student of Carnatic music goes to the house of the teacher for lessons. Both student and teacher sit cross-legged on the floor (usually on a mat). The teacher either starts playing the '' Tambūrā '' or turns on the ''śruti'' Box . The student sings an elongated ''"Sā...Pā...Sā'' (upper octave)''...Pā...Sā..."'' and the class begins. Mayamalava Gowla is traditionally the first raga taught to the student. With the advance of Telecommunications , new ways of teaching Carnatic music have arisen. It is not uncommon now for a student to receive lessons by Telephone or even Webcam . Since the late 20th century, there has been some attempts to create Carnatic music grades by music conservatories, which provide standardized tests between different Carnatic teachers. Although such attempts have not met with great popularity in India, standardized exams are often used in countries, like Canada, Great Britain, and France, where there is a high concentration of South Asian expatriates. One of the most widely recognized conservatories of music, is the Toronto-based Thamil Isai Kalaamanram which was formed in 1992. In 2005, it held exams for over 2000 applicants ranging from grades 1 to 7. THE USE AND DISUSE OF NOTATION History of notation in Carnatic music Contrary to what many people think, notation is not a new concept in Indian music. In fact, even the Vedas , although orally transmitted, were written with notation. However, the idea of notation in Carnatic music was not well-received, and it continued to be transmitted orally for centuries. The disadvantage with this system was that if one wanted to learn about a ''kīrtanam'' composed, for example, by Purandara Dasa , it involved the formidable task of finding a person from Purandara Dasa's lineage of students. Written notation of Carnatic music was revived in the late 17th century and early 18th century, which coincided with rule of Shahaji II in Tanjore . Copies of Shahaji's musical manuscripts are still available at the Saraswati Mahal Library in Tanjore and they give us an idea of the music and its form. They contain snippets of Solfege to be used when performing the mentioned ragas. Form of modern notation Melody Unlike Western Music , Carnatic music is notated almost exclusively in Tonic Solfa notation using either a Roman or Indic script to represent the solfa names. Past attempts to use the Staff Notation have mostly failed. Indian music makes use of hundreds of ragas, many more than the Church Modes in western music. It becomes difficult to write Carnatic music using the staff notation without the use of too many Accidentals . Furthermore, the staff notation requires that the song be played in a certain Key . The notions of key and absolute pitch are deeply rooted in western music, whereas the carnatic notation does not specify the key and prefers to use Scale Degrees (relative pitch) to denote notes. The singer is free to choose actual pitch of the Tonic note. In the more precise forms of Carnatic notation, there are symbols placed above the notes indicating how the notes should be played or sung; however, informally this practice is not followed. To show the length of a note, several devices are used. If the duration of note is to be doubled, the letter is either capitalized (if using Roman script) or lengthened by a Diacritic (in Indian languages). For a duration of three, the letter is capitalized (or diacriticized) and followed by a comma. For a length of four, the letter is capitalized (or diacriticized) and then followed by a semicolon. In this way any duration can be indicated using a series of semicolons and commas. However, a simpler notation has evolved which does not use semicolons and capitalization, but rather indicates all extensions of notes using a corresponding number of commas. Thus, ''Sā'' quadrupled in length would be denoted as "S,,,". Rhythm The notation is divided into columns, depending on the structure of the ''tāḷaṃ'' . The division between a ''laghu'' and a ''dhṛtaṃ'' is indicated by a ।, called a ḍaṇḍā, and so is the division between two ''dhṛtaṃs'' or a ''dhṛtaṃ'' and an ''anudhṛtaṃ''. The end of a cycle is marked by a ॥, called a '''double ḍaṇḍā''', and looks like a Caesura . ]] SOME ARTISTS One of the earliest and prominent composers in South India was the saint, and wandering devine singer of yore Purandara Dasa ( 1480 - 1564 ). Purandara Dasa is believed to have composed 475,000 songs in Kannada and was a source of inspiration to the later composers like Tyagaraja. He also invented the Tala system of Carnatic music. Owing to his contribution to the Carnatic Music he is referred to as the Father of Carnatic Music or Karnataka Sangeethada Pitamaha. The great composers Thyagaraja ( 1759 ?- 1847 ), Muthuswami Dikshitar ( 1776 - 1827 ) and Syama Sastri ( 1762 - 1827 ) are regarded as the Trinity of carnatic music. Prominent composers prior to the trinity include Vyasaraja , Purandaradasa , Kanakadasa . Other prominent singers are Annamacharya , Oottukkadu Venkata Kavi , whose exact lifespan is not known, Swathi Thirunal , Narayana Teertha , Mysore Sadashiva Rao , Patnam Subramania Iyer , Poochi Srinivasa Iyengar , Mysore Vasudevacharya , Muthaiah Bhagavathar and Papanasam Sivan Prof V. Lakshminarayana, Ganam, to name a few. Modern vocalists See also List Of Carnatic Singers Mangalampalli Balamurali Krishna and DK Pattammal are some of the art's greatest living (albeit aging) performers. Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer , a doyen of Carnatic music, who had taught three generations of acclaimed musicians, and who was often acclaimed as the second ''Pitamaha'' of Carnatic music, died on October 31 , 2003 . M.S. Subbulakshmi , who enthralled audiences across language barriers, is usually credited with popularizing the Carnatic tradition outside South India. She died on December 11 , 2004 . Legendary singer belonging to the Dhanammal school of music T. Brinda was known for her gamaka laden interpretations of core carnatic ragams and also her vast repertoire. She was awarded the Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 1976. Vaidyanatha Bhagvatar]] The pre-Independence era had doyens like Alathur Venkatesa Iyer , Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar and Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer. Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, G.N.Balasubramaniam were quite popular post-Independence alongside the named veterans in the field. Another great singer who made his own mark with soulful rendering was M D Ramanathan . Contemporary vocalists include Madurai . Large festivals of Carnatic music always include performances by such people. To date, there is only one Westerner who became a Carnatic musician of some popularity. His name is Jon B Higgins ("Higgins bhagavatar"). Modern instrumentalists See also List Of Carnatic Instrumentalists U. Srinivas plays the electric mandolin. Kadri Gopalnath plays the Alto Saxophone and Amrithavarshini Muralikrishnan plays the Electronic keyboard. N Ravikiran plays the chitravina, also known as the . Well known flute exponents include Tanjore Viswanathan , Sikkil Sisters - Kunjumani & Neela , Ramani , Sikkil Mala Chandrasekar , Shashank and K.S. Gopalakrishnan . Some influential exponents of Carnatic music on the violin are T. N. Krishnan , L. Vaidyanathan, L. Subramaniam, L Shankar, child prodigy violin wizard L.Athira President's National Balashree Awardee for being the "BEST OUTSTANDING CREATIVE CHILD MUSICIAN OF INDIA -2001" , & GUINNESS BOOK OF WORLD RECORDS HOLDER FOR HER NON-STOP 32 HR LONG VIOLIN CONCERT have pioneered the adaptation of the instrument beyond the classical idiom. Piteelu Chowdaiah (ಪಿಟೀಲು ಚೌಡಯ್ಯ) (''PiTeelu'' means violin in Kannada) played not only the conventional violin, but also the seven and eleven stringed versions of the instrument. Some leading Mridangam artists are Srimushnam Rajarao, Tanjore Ranganathan , Trichy Sankaran , Kaaraikkudi Mani , T K Murthy , Umayalpuram Sivaraman , Vellore Ramabadhran , Palghat Raghu , Mannargudi Easwaran, and Guruvayur Dorai . T.H. "Vikku" Vinayakram and his three sons (Mahesh (vocals), Selvaganesh (Kanjeera), and Umashankar (Ghatam)) have performed and recorded with western musicians that have adapted to the Carnatic style of music. His sons have recorded and toured with guitarist Shawn Lane and Swedish bass guitarist Jonas Hellborg . There are also other non-conventional instruments that are used to play carnatic music, such as the ''jalatarangam'' (a set of china bowls filled with varying amounts of water) and Harmonium (a hand-pumped reed organ). Palladam S. Venkatramana Rao is worth mentioning for his impeccable capability of handling the harmonium and the electronic keyboard. EXTERNAL LINKS
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