The inaugural event of The Hindu Fridays celebrates the power of word and voice

The Hindu Fridays: A delightful launch

A cozy gathering of music enthusiasts convened at The Hindu office premises to revel in an evening filled with the magic of music, composition, and lyrics. It was an intimate setting that underlined the beauty and significance of inclusivity in classical music and literature. It also sent out the message of how we need to appreciate art beyond labels and categories.

The Hindu Friday Review and Storiculture recently hosted The Hindu Fridays, a musical session featuring Carnatic vocalist Sikkil Gurucharan and lyricist Madhan Karky. 

The event, proposed to be part of a series, has been conceived to make Carnatic music accessible by facilitating exciting cross-genre dialogue and placing the art form in new settings.

Gurucharan and Madhan shared insights into their artistic journeys, paving the way for a discussion on their collaborations, techniques, memorable works, and more. 

Madhan mentioned he isn’t someone who frequently reads books, but those by his father, mother and brother are a part of his ‘curriculum’. He recalled chancing upon Carol Travis’s Anger: The  Misunderstood Emotion while visiting the library at University of Queensland in Australia. That inspired him to write ‘Sinam kol maname.’

Gurucharan shared his experience of singing Madhan’s anger-themed song. During a performance, he sang two songs centered around anger. While ‘Sinam Adaiyaadhe’  by Dandapani Desikar discourages the display of anger, Madhan’s ‘Sinam kol maname’ (which he set to tune in raga Vasantha) emphasises the importance of expressing anger. He realised how interesting it is to combine contrasting ideas in a piece and chuckled that the audience was confused as to which song to applaud for.

Gurucharan mentioned singing four songs by Madhan on a specific theme during a concert, and how they came up with their latest album Maagamaaga Nee. Gurucharan had requested for a lyric that could be tuned in raga Yamuna Kalyani, which has two Madhyamams. “Charan suggested the raga for the song and mentioned that the notes Ma and Ga would be prominent in this composition. I decided to use the swaras in the lyric and wrote ‘Maaga Maaga Nee’,” explained Madhan, a PhD in Computer Science.