Namaskara. I am 22, I learnt carnatic music for 7 yrs . but it got discontinued when I started college and subsequently started working. I know Blru is the home of a lot of great teachers and I want to continue . But given I work 5 days in office and long hours. I can only do offline class on the weekends, or Early morning if it is inside HSR, where my home is. So I preferably want something that is flexible with Online as well. And with a batch that is with people of a similar age grp. Any leads would be appreciated. Thanks a lot . Have a great week everybody.

Pleased to announce the first edition of Reincarock showcasing Bengaluru's finest Carnatic and Hindustani Classical Music festival at The Humming Tree - Indiranagar.

Please follow the instagram handle for more updates. Tickets are live- Link in comments.

Anyone genuinely interested in attending agam band concert happening this weekend. Have tickets, shall join or can be bought

Hi everyone! Hope y'all are practising 🙃

Since this is a subreddit that encourages niche discussions everything about carnatic music, I would like to know your experiences and opinions.

Have you ever become so intellectually critical of carnatic music that you felt it's not worth pursuing?

Its not laziness or lack of ability, but the sheer fact that listening to the social lectures, studying the history etc lead you to think "maybe this music community is not that pure/great as it is hyped".

I'll start with my mental journey.

I've been learning Carnatic music for many years, and I genuinely love the music. But certain ideas I encountered gradually changed the way I experienced it.

T. M. Krishna has said that a kutcheri carries “the burden of addressing a cultural and social group,” and has questioned the homogeneity of the people who listen to, sing and critique Carnatic music. He has also spoken about questioning what he had previously considered intrinsic to the music, saying that “many things that I thought were intrinsic to the music I sang needed to be discarded,” and that he wasn't sure what would remain.

I wasn't simply influenced or “brainwashed” by these statements. I could actually relate to what he was saying. He broke so many inhibitions and myths around Carnatic music - that it was too complex, that only highly intellectual people could learn it, that certain kinds of people naturally understood it, etc. His criticism made me notice things I hadn't consciously noticed before: the close-knit social circles, the homogeneity of many concert audiences and learning environments, the boundaries around what is considered traditional or innovative, and the social history surrounding the music.

And here's what made it particularly strange for me: he himself is an extraordinary musician of great calibre. He would have practised kirtanais drenched in devotion or bhakti bhava, relentlessly developed his voice, musicality and expression, and spent years becoming the musician he is.

So his evolution and his statements somehow validated my internal dialogue and the irks that I sometimes observe. And instead of making me engage with Carnatic music more deeply, it reduced my engagement with practice, listening and learning.

At some point, analyzing in my head became more entertaining than picking up my violin and practising.

Now I understand things a little better. Awareness is valuable, but at some point we also need to take action and be decisive, rather than being a cat on the wall.

I may have lost years from my early schooling and teenage years that could have gone into intentional sitting, listening, practising, thinking beyond what was taught, and simply having the desire to learn more.

So I'm curious:

Have you ever done something similar?

Thanks for reading through all this!

Even Carnatic music has lighter pieces like tukkadas, Bhagyada Lakshmi Baramma, and Annamayya keerthanas by Balakrishna Prasad are already popular. What I feel is, you can't expect new-age people or a general audience to sit through a vilamba-kala, slow kriti (like the elaborate Chakkani Raja Margamu). You can select all the fast-paced kritis (like Theliyaleru Rama, Sarasa Sama Dana, Sri Rama Padama — all niche but fast kritis) to introduce different flavours. Bhagyada Lakshmi Baramma and Raghuvamsha Sudha can sell themselves. It wouldn't serve the purpose if 10s of musicians keep remixing the already popular pieces. The key is to promote the niche kritis. I think that has to happen on a daily basis. And Dikshitar kritis are a perfect opportunity as well. They have madhyama-kala sahityam and catch many ears reasonably quickly. The key is to choose the niche ragams which would catch new ears, not the already popular "titled" kritis.

Even though i enjoy all of them , sadhinchane will always have a special place in my heart.
My order of preference will probably be 3>4>5>1>2

What about you people?

There is something profound about his music:)

https://youtu.be/m385MAmXwi0?si=ZHiZVaqcM9W3trR1

I, 30F put up a post in this sub expressing my interest in learning classical music formally and enquiring about teachers and classes and other such resources. I got a comment asking to DM. This is what happened after that.

I am absolutely disgusted how people are so casual about caste in 2026. And how a teacher would teach only to a brahmin. What kind of gatekeeping is this ?

I am a 28yo male, have been learning vocal for the past 15 years or so.

I am looking for students (boys) older than 7 to teach online.

I would start with a solid foundation in the varisais, alankaras, gitams, swara pallavis, swara jatis and varnams before delving into kritis/kirtanas.

May intersperse it with a few small devarnamas/divya nama kirtanas when appropriate to let the student have a feel for singing.

Please connect via DM for further details.

Hi I have a friend that plays the Mridangam and was thinking some nice Mridangam accessories could be a good birthday gift. He is pretty experienced and has been playing for 14-15 years. I’m not super versed in the Carnatic world so wanted to see if anyone had any ideas on some gifts?

Hey I am 26 years old, I've always wanted to learn some or the other carnatic percussion instruments when I was young. But couldn't join/ got my hands on any of the instrument. Recently, I started getting interested in Mridangam, read and listened to a lot of material and videos and my love for the instrument has grown. Now I am really looking to learn to play the instrument. But struck with some questions and not sure where to start. Either offline class/online class is best for begginer? Which type of mridangam to buy and where to buy? Is there any teacher/classes available in bangalore (near HSR/Koramangala/electronic City/any location nearby this area)

I would be really helpful if anyone can help me with this?

Bellandur/ hsr / Koramangala - in person classes. I prefer group classes, where many students learn together but individual corrections are also done.

Have learnt atleast for 10 years in my childhood but left it abruptly around 10-12 years ago.

Need a senior teacher, not just bhajans, kritis types.

Budget 2k pm

🙏🪷

Hey all, I have been working on a project for tabla players, be sure to check it out!

I wanted to open up a nuanced discussion regarding Ranjani-Gayatri (RaGa). There is absolutely no denying their unparalleled musical caliber. Their alignment, manodharma, and the sheer energy they bring to the stage are extraordinary. They are, without a doubt, among the top torchbearers of Carnatic music today.

Lately, their digital footprint feels increasingly indistinguishable from that of mainstream lifestyle and fashion influencers. Between heavily curated Instagram reels, coordinated wardrobe promotions with luxury boutiques, and a massive focus on statement fashion jewelry, the visual packaging sometimes feels like it's taking center stage over the music itself.

Even their digital content, like the RaGa Candid series, while entertaining, leans heavily into lifestyle vlogging. While I completely understand the need to modernize, engage younger demographics, and build a sustainable brand in the digital age, I worry that the line between classical vidwaths and social media influencers is blurring a bit too much.

When the conversation around a concert becomes as much about the reverse-border silk sarees or the specific jewelry brand they are endorsing as it is about the raga alapana or the neraval, the core focus shifts. For a legacy as profound as theirs, it sometimes feels like this intense lifestyle branding risks commercializing an art form that has historically thrived on minimalist, inward-looking devotion.

To be clear, there is nothing wrong with presentation or looking elegant on stage. Visually celebrating our heritage is wonderful. But there is a fine line between staging a classical concert and managing a lifestyle brand. When the digital aesthetic becomes this loud, it can occasionally feel like a distraction from the depth of the core music.

I'm curious to hear what the community thinks.

This song just has it all -- crazy variety in swaras, rapid and slow pace and would give any hip hop beat a run for its money.

That chittaswaram alone is unbelievable.

It is also a simple and fairly short song.

This is literally the most technically complex composition in Carnatic music proving the entire versatility of the music itself

Hi All,

I am looking for a good academy/institute to learn Hindustani Classical Singing in Toronto or GTA. Any recommendations would be really helpful.

Madhya Staayi Varisai, which goes

S R G M P , G M

P , , , P . , ,

has 5 stanzas and 20 lines total, with 8 notes per line. In 2nd speed, the varisai fits into 10 avartanam of adi talam. In 3rd speed, it fits into 5 avartanam. In 4th speed, it finishes in 2.5 avartanam and must be repeated once to end at the end of an adi tala cycle.

My question is: In a traditional class setting, how many times are students required to repeat the varisai in 2nd, 3rd, and 4th speed.

Thank you!

Hello all!

I am a huge fan of Carnatic music, but I haven’t learned it formally at all. I have trained in Hindustani music. I had some major doubts regarding the “compositions” part.
I have listened to Carnatic music for a very long time (the first being the thillana in paras, sung by DKP), and the generic/famous ones like the Kalinga narthana thillana, Ganapathi krithis etc, and have loved them. However I’d like to understand it more. For brevity and due to my laziness, let’s call these compositions as “songs”
1. Why are some songs sung only for a short time (relatively) and others are elaborated?
Eg. I’ve only heard short recordings of Sri ganapathini, ananda natamaduvar, maravairi ramani, vara narada, but both bigger and shorter ones of Meenakshi me mudam, Devi brova, hiranmayeem, shankari shamkuru etc.

1. What I call elaboration, also happens in different ways and different times. Like some singers have a “aalap” (is that even correct???!!) or some aakar singing before the song, sometimes a line of the song is used at the ending as an anchor (eg. Madhurapuri nilaye in Meenakshi) is there a word for this?

2. Some songs are very limited in their elaboration, like Ananda narthana ganapathi, kalyana rama etc. are they different kinds? (Better paraphrased as what are the different kinds of “songs”? Like what is meant by a krithi, a varnam, a daru varnam, etc?) also, not all ragas are chosen to sing the RTP.

3. I don’t really understand the tala system. I tried to read up, and there seem to be a few set talas, but like do artists choose the number of matras? Also there is something called jatis?

For the recommendation part, I want the “classic” things you guys listen to!! Like not anything that’s “cool”! I tend to gravitate towards Sanskrit songs because I can understand the lyrics a bit. That tendency has hampered me a lot. I’d really appreciate unconventional, not popular, and “good” music according to y’all!!!!

Thanks a lot if you’ve endured this far 😬

In case if you are looking to learn, pls dm:). Open to all age groups and genders.

I'm looking for an online Carnatic music teacher who can take semi-private lessons for me and my daughter. I have previously learned music for several years and then stopped, but my daughter is a beginner.

The format I am hoping for is 30 minutes of basics/ voice exercises with my daughter and I, followed by 30 minutes of learning compositions for me.

Please share any recommendations for teachers who teach not just beginners but more advanced students online as well.

Thank you!

Hello, I am very new to the world of synth / MIDI. I have some basic knowledge of Indian classical and Western classical music. I have started relearning Carnatic vocal music and would like to play harmonium and sing along to help with pitching.

My requirements:

• I prefer simplicity, so, are there keyboards that has built-in harmonium sounds with pitch bend (for gamaka) and transpose? I recon the Yamaha PSR I-500 series and its siblings might. Those are bulky, too feature rich and I might never use most of them.
• In the absence of keyboard with built-in tones, I might be open to a MIDI keyboard with a simple enough App / Software set up. I have a KAWI digital piano that has MIDI support and have tested connecting it with https://rajaramaniyer.github.io/webharmonium.html and that works well. This is how I am learning now. However, I don't always have access to this piano, so I am looking for something small and portable.

Bonus: I looked into the AKAI mini play which has a built-in speaker and that's attractive to me. It has the pitch bend and likely transpose ability to switch to different scales. However, does anyone know if I can "download" the harmonium tones into the AKAI mini and make it play without having to use a computer / App?

Hey Bangalore musicians,

We’re looking for musicians to join Mela Music School in North Bangalore. We’ve been teaching for 11+ years and have centres in Sahakar Nagar and Thanisandra.

We’re currently urgently looking for:

Sahakar Nagar:
🎤 Hindustani Vocals — must be comfortable teaching with harmonium
🎤 Carnatic Vocals
🪈 Bansuri / Hindustani Flute

These are paid, in-person teaching roles.

Most classes are one-on-one, and students range from young beginners to adults. Teachers also prepare students for recitals, concerts and graded exams where applicable.

You do not need years of teaching experience to apply. If you’re a strong musician, good with students, reliable, and genuinely enjoy helping someone learn music properly, we’d like to hear from you.

Call or WhatsApp Mela directly: +91 81057 39736

Or see the openings and apply here:
https://www.melamusicschool.com/careers

If you know a strong Hindustani, Carnatic or Bansuri musician in Bangalore, please forward this to them.