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For bookworms and music lovers

The devotional music CD and cassette festival is on at Paico

Vast repertoire Priya Pai gave a carnatic music recital as part of the festival

If you like to go for spiritual pursuit on the wings of music, then browse through the devotional cassette exhibition being organised by the Paico books at its MG Road showroom.

Realising the hectic schedule on which men have been journeying on in the 21th century, Paico ventured into devotional cassette exhibition to bring back Kochiites on to the path of spiritual sojourn. The exhibition has on display a vast reportoire of devotional music ranging from Lord Ayyappa songs to that of Osho teachings of Music Today and regional cassette companies.

Beside the Lord Shiva and Venkiteshwara Suprabhatham, the exhibition has a vast collection of cassettes and CDs on vedic chants, slokas, bhajans and qawwali.

Exclusively devotional

"This is the third time we are organising cassette and CD exhibitions exclusively for devotional songs at our shop. All through the years the response of music lovers to devotional songs has been encouraging. To attract music lovers, we are also organising various musical and cultural programmes along with the exhibition," said Manoj V. Pai, proprietor, Paico Books.

Reiki Whale, a CD brought out by Music Today, helps transport you on a beautiful journey with complete relaxation and a state of `serenity that seems to have no end', has been selling like hot cakes the exhibition. "Devotional songs help us nurture soothing and harmonious tones in our life, which leave us in a state of tranquillity," says Prakasan, an employee with FACT.

People's fascination for Osho is still there in the air with many cassettes of his sold at the exhibition. With the music simplified to attain mass popularity, Paico's devotional cassette exhibition is attracting large section of music buffs in the city reinforcing the connection of music and religious devotion world over. The exhibition will conclude on September 2.

The Carnatic vocal recital of Priya R. Pai held as part of the devotional CD/cassette exhibition attracted music lovers.

Priya's raga delineation with the right emphasis on required jeevaswaras and composition rendered with sumptuous fare of kalpanaswaras, made the recital a memorable one. Endowed with a golden voice, she went on with Bhajans and Keerthanams of Swathithirunal, Shemmagudi and others.

Besides receiving Junior and senior Scholarship instated by Department of music, under Ministry of Cultural Affairs, she had won coveted prizes from innumerable competition in and outside Kerala.

With a vast repertoire of music to her credit, Priya has sung under the baton of music director Mohan Sithara for `Kazcha', besides many devotional albums like `Thrimadhuram', on Guruvayoorappan. Her mellifluous voice has been enthralling music lovers in cassettes of `Mappilapattu' and `Slokamalika'. "It was really a dream come true for me when I composed and directed music for my album Bhav Tharang. It is a classical western fusion released for the first time in Kerala," said Priya. According to her fusion music is to stay since they help classical music to reach masses. Her rendezvous with experimentation on classical music propelled her to release Kirthi Malika, a collection of classical keerthans and bhajan of famous composers like Thyagaraja, Muthu Swami Deekishithar etc.

Music lovers have accepted her latest album, Vishnu Sahasranam, which is composed using eight eminent ragas and rendered in a thala that is different from the usual one. "My style is different, but it does not lose the feel of Bhakti," says Priya.

N.V.VIJAYAKUMAR

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