How to approach a Raga by Sri Saravanapriyan Sriraman

CCC thanks Vidwan Dr. Saravanapriyan Sriraman for giving a thematic presentation on "How to Approach a Raga", a topic that is broad, deep, and very important for all budding musicians and music lovers to understand. As part of CCC's Feature A Guru Series, Shri Saravanapriyan elegantly explained the vast topic into easily understandable parts by demonstrating with songs, phrases, and a slideshow presentation. He spoke about how each raga is identified by the gamakam associated with its swaras and how the gamakams and kaalapramaNam differentiate the ragas even though some ragas might have the same swaras. He eloquently explained how the gamakams associated with the notes create the mood and characteristics of a raga. Shri Saravanapriyan also briefed about the Trayodasha lakshaNaas of a raga, giving examples of some of its parts and also how to identify the allied ragas. The tips he gave on how to build manodharmam within the rules of a raga and practical methods on how to become proficient in a ragam were priceless to every budding musician. We immensely thank Shri Saravanapriyan, for taking the time to prepare and present this key topic to our members.