Features: Magazine | Literary Review | Life | Metro Plus | Open Page | Education Plus | Book Review | Business | SciTech | Entertainment | Young World | Property Plus | Quest | Folio |

ENGLISH MANIA

Ravikiran's introductions to the compositions played at his melharmony concert at Chettinad Vidyashram were really interesting. He spoke in English, prompting the organisers to request him to switch over to Tamil. He was fluent in Tamil.

I am familiar with our Carnatic musicians making stylish (!) announcements in English (``This is a composition by saint-something-or-the-other in raga Raudrapriya or Koparanjini'' kind of stuff). So it came as a pleasant surprise to hear Ranjini Santhanagopalan offering a Tamil commentary to her father Neyveli Santhanagopalan's concert at the same venue earlier.

I didn't quite get the highfalutin spiritual pronouncements about nadavellam and atmaanubhavam, but the diction was natural and chaste.

What a relief from the affectations of television Tamil!

Chandran Ramani
Karpagam Gardens

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail