Voices within Carnatic Music: Passing on an Inheritance

Voices Within is a salute to seven gifted, inspiring Carnatic musicians who revolutionised the system, shaped its growth, and left their mark on the musical firmament. Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, who introduced the current day Kutcheri format; T.N. Rajarathnam Pillai, who fought to give the nagaswaram its rightful place; Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, who influenced not only music, but also its organisation and administration; G.N. Balasubramaniam, whose style and bani generated a new kind of audience fervour; Palghat Mani Iyer, the first and last word in percussion; M.S. Subbulakshmi, who gained Carnatic music a place within India and in the international arena; T.R. Mahalingam, maverick and genius who gave a completely new dimension to the flute. Through this book, Bombay Jayashri and T.M. Krishna, with Mythili Chandrasekar, attempt to convey the extent of these artistes’ influence, the forces that shaped them, the forces that they shaped and the spirit of achievement that propelled them. The book also recreates the life and times of the artistes through anecdotes, snippets of information and a compilation of photographs. Each section of the book begins with a brief overview of the times the artiste lived in (Those were the days); it goes on to describe the artiste in the context of the music they made memorable; and sums up the section with an album that conveys different things to different readers. Interspersed with these are quotes from the authors describing the emotional effect these artistes have on them (From the heart). The book would be of interest to all those who have breathed the magic of music and who have a keen interest in music history and its memorabilia.