Carnatic Code: Decoding the Music of South India

 Sep 01, 2023

 IIIT-Bangalore

IIIT-Bangalore, in collaboration with the Thillaisthanam Foundation, is delighted to present a mesmerizing Carnatic music event at the IIIT-B campus on September 1, 2023, starting at 6 PM.

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Carnatic music is one of the oldest and richest musical traditions in the world, originating from the southern part of India. It is a complex and sophisticated system of melody, rhythm, and improvisation that can evoke a wide range of emotions and moods. But how does it work? How can we understand and appreciate its beauty and logic?

In this performance, you will witness a unique fusion of art and science, as a Carnatic music violinist, who is also a computer scientist, takes you on a journey to explore the secrets of Carnatic music. You will learn about the basic concepts and elements of Carnatic music, such as ragas, talas, gamakas, and swaras, and how they are related to mathematical and computational principles. You will also enjoy a live Carnatic music concert comprising of violin, mridangam, kanjira and morsing, that will showcase the diversity and creativity of Carnatic music.

Whether you are a fan of Carnatic music or a curious learner, this performance will enrich your musical knowledge and experience.

Artists: Nishanth Chandran (Violin), BC Manjunath (Mridangam), Guruprasanna G (Kanjira) and Bhagyalakshmi M (Morsing).

More details on the artists are below:

1. Nishanth Chandran: Violinist, Computer Scientist, and Educator, Dr. Nishanth Chandran has been delighting audiences with his virtuosity for nearly three decades. A senior disciple of the legendary Sangeetha Kalanidhi A. Kanyakumari and Padma Bhushan P.S. Narayanaswamy, he belongs to the illustrious musical lineage of Thillaisthanam Rama Iyengar. He has shared the stage with some of the finest artists in the field, such as Kadri Gopalnath, TV Sankaranarayanan, TV Gopalakrishnan, Malladi Brothers, T.M. Krishna, Flute Shashank, Neyveli Santhanagopalan and many more. He also had the rare honor of performing with the late sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles in 2009. Dr. Nishanth is a national award winner and an A grade artist of All India Radio. He has received several accolades for his outstanding performances, including the prestigious “Best Violinist” and “Best Concert” awards from the Madras Music Academy on multiple occasions. He is the founder of the Thillaisthanam Foundation, a non-profit organization that aims to promote carnatic music through intimate musical events and workshops. Dr. Nishanth holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from UCLA for his award-winning research on cryptography and is currently a researcher with Microsoft Research in Bangalore.
2. BC Manjunath: BC Manjunath is a globally renowned Indian Mridangam player, active in Indian Classical as well as Jazz and World Music genres. He is also known as a practitioner and proponent of Konnakol. Manjunath revealed an innate musical talent even as a young boy and he imbibed the best in Carnatic Talavadya from his parents. Later he enlarged this musical perspective by training in Mridanga under Karnataka Kalashree K N Krishna Murthy and Sangeetha Kalanidhi Sri T.K.Murthy. Manjunath’s creative impulses have flowered in various forms, from classical to fusion and in solo and ensemble performances. He has accompanied many greats from India and abroad, including Sangeetha Kalaratna, Sri R R Keshavamurthy, Sangeetha Kalaratna Sri H P Ramachar, Mysore M Nagaraj and Dr. Mysore M Manjunath (aka Mysore Brothers), Dr. Suma Sudhindra and Chitraveena N Ravikiran. He has also shared the stage with international legends like Kani Karaca (Turkish Sufi singer) and Robin Eubanks (Trombone genius). He has worked with composers Rafael Reina, Riccardo Nova, members of Bhedam and with Conservatorium of Amsterdam, The Karnatic Lab Festival, Zagreb Music Biennale, Fabrica Italy, Santander Percussion Festival (Spain), Perth International Festival, Roma Europe Festival, Milano Musica/John Cage Festival, Ictus Ensemble (Belgium), Quintetto Bibiena (Italy) and Het Nederlands Fluit Orkest.
3. G Guruprasanna: Outstanding Percussion Artiste of repute having made an indelible mark performing and collaborating with musical stalwarts in India and abroad elevating concert performances. Excellence in carrying on the rich cultural heritage having learnt from the inimitable Harishankar School of Khanjira. Has a special flair for delivering precise and powerful strokes backed with vigor and lightning response interspersing complex Laya patterns with an aesthetic appeal. A true global ambassador integrating diverse genres like Hindustani, Western Jazz, and Contemporary music.
4. Bhagyalakshmi Muralikrishna: Bhagyalakshmi Muralikrishna is the country’s first lady morsing artiste. She has shared the stage with Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna, Sudha Ragunathan, Sanjay Subrahmanyan and Dr. S. Sowmya besides many other noted musicians. Besides the Indira Sivasailam Special Award 2019, the Uma Award from Kartik Fine Arts 2019 and many others, AIR A-rated Bhagyalakshmi has been a constant at The Music Academy’s music season line-up since 2007, in the senior slot, where she has won multiple Best Upapakkavadyam Artiste Awards. She has gone on several tours the world over to countries including Cyprus, Denmark, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, USA and many more. Bhagyalakshmi has also been an integral part of the morsing tarang ensemble created by her father, the legendary L Bhimachar, where special compositions were made to showcase the morsing in previously unexplored dimensions.

About the Thillaisthanam Foundation

The Thillaisthanam Foundation is a not-for-profit organization that aims to bring concert quality Carnatic music to a diverse audience ranging from newcomers to connoisseurs, to collectively experience the joy of music. Through chamber concerts, lecture demonstrations and informal interactive sessions between artists and the audience, the foundation also hopes to bring the artists and the art form closer to the listeners.