T.M. Krishna: Standing Ovation for the Sangita Kalanidhi’s Concert a Turning Point in Carnatic Music History
When T.M. Krishna received a standing ovation from an overflowing audience at the Music Academy on a bright Christmas morning this year, it marked a momentous point in his musical journey and, indeed, in the history of Carnatic music and the cultural history of South India. Here was a venerable
Tribute | Zakir Hussain (1951-2024): An International Music Phenomenon Who Remained Rooted in the Classical
As tributes overflow for tabla maestro and composer Ustad Zakir Hussain, who passed away at 73, on December 15, contrarily, words seem to leave me. The only thing that occupies my mind is that an effervescent life was snatched away prematurely. How does one pay homage to this remarkable man,
Frontline At 40 | ‘Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions are the only record of old Tamil’: Interview with Iravatham Mahadevan
Iravatham Mahadevan, an epigraphist of international repute. | Photo Credit: T.A. HAFEEZ Iravatham Mahadevan was an administrator-turned-scholar who did acclaimed work on the Tamil-Brahmi and Indus scripts. His Early Tamil Epigraphy, published in 2003, was based on 40 years of labour on Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions. His earlier work Corpus of Tamil-Brahmi
The State of Indian Art: How Cultural Freedom Survives Despite Government Control
Some time ago (in September 2024), government-friendly news portals exerted a lot of energy “fact-checking” and, in the process, denied a viral social media post that claimed that the gigantic “Statue of Unity” sculpture of Vallabhbhai Patel had developed “cracks” and was in danger of collapsing. It was also reported
The Show Must Go On: How Cinema Refuses to Fade to Black in India
Indian cinema began contemplating its own mortality exactly four decades ago, prompted into self-reflection by the seismic effects of the television and video revolution across the country. In 1984, just two years had passed since the Asian Games were held in Delhi, an event that was responsible for the mass-scale
Zakir Hussain: Legacy of a Global Music Revolutionary
A musical titan bowed out too early. For six decades he mesmerised the world with his rhythms and melodies, defying close-minded orthodoxy of traditions, breaking musical barriers, creating new genres, and trying to heal a fractured world the way only a supreme musician can. And what is particularly tragic is
Quiet Dies a Craft: Traditional Bengal Boat Making Documentary 2024
WATCH | Quiet Dies a Craft: Traditional Bengal Boat Making Documentary 2024 | Video Credit: Reporting and narration: Suhrid Sankar Chattopadhyay; Videography: Jayanta Shaw; Editing: Samson Ronald K., Kavya Pradeep M; Team Frontline: Abhinav Chakraborty, Saatvika Radhakrishna, and Mridula V.; Produced By: Jinoy Jose P. In West Bengal’s Shyampur, 74-year-old master
Tabla Legend Zakir Hussain Dies: Grammy Winner, Global Music Pioneer Was 73
His fingers flew, fluttered and floated in quicksilver changes of raga and rhythm, drumming up music and magic. Zakir Hussain was the maestro of tabla, percussionist, composer and even an actor—a legend who was India’s very own and yet belonged to the world. Hussain died from ‘idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis’, a
Does Rasam Hold the Secret to Transforming A Glum Day Into A Flavourful Experience?
As the sun slouches westward, are you having a day like mine? Snail-slow, all grimace and growl, stagnant, the very air in aspic—in a word, glum? Breakfast is a memory from deep time, lunch is a receding mirage—did I just see you reach for chai? Toxic masala or green detox?