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Carnatic Music & Tabla Classes – New batches

Music Lessons poster with logo

With the start of the Autumn term, we have new batches starting in Indian classical Carnatic Music vocals as well as Tabla Classes.

Indian classical vocal classes are run by Preetha Gopal for beginners/intermediate  or Advanced levels and caters for Adults and Children of all ages. The teaching is based on the age old tradition of learning the Swaravalis and gradually build up to Alankarams, Gitam & Varnams. Here are some testimonials

Tabla Lessons – Percussion lessons in Tabla are held as group lessons by Santhana Gopal and are conducted for children and adults on Sunday evenings. Lessons usually delve into the theory & practical aspects such as Kaydas/Paltas and gradually progressing into taals, Moharas, Mukhdas and Relas.

All lessons include theory and the necessary preparation for Grade exams conducted by the OFAAL/PRSSV/Open University.

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Aavani Avittam 2018, Birmingham

This year’s Aavani Avittam/ Yajur upakarma is being conducted at Geetha Bhavan, Handsworth on the 26th Aug 2018.

Time – We will start at 8am sharp.

Attire – kindly come in Traditional attire ( if possible).

Items required – Pancha paathram, Udharani, Tharpanam Plate (capacity 500ml), Rice 250g, Toor Dhal 50g, Jaggery 10g approx, Beatle leaves x4, Supaari (few), Dhakshna for Vaadyaar

Please contact us for those that are interested. A whatsapp group has been formed for this purpose.

Bhajan event at Stoke-On-Trent

Carnatic-Circle was invited to come and perform in front a discerning audience on Saturday the 14th of July at Stoke-On-Trent. Our Sampradaya Bhajanai Satsangham team spent 3 weeks preparing for this day. A list of songs were prepared based on the traditional format and keeping variety Ragams in mind. This time, the plan was to provide the lyrics to the audience so that they can get actively involved. In addition, we had the company of over 18 children participating in the vocals alongwith us.

The Vocals received a pep by the accompaniment of by Karthik on Mridangam and Sai on Dholak.

Our repertoire of 28 songs were delivered in succession in a space of 2 hours. Following songs were sung – Thodaya Mangalam, Kamakoti Peeta Guru, Sree Guru Bhodendram,
Gurumouli Mane Bhaje Bhavantham, Naane Unnai Nambinen – Gnananda, Abhang – Vittala Yere Pandhari Raya(Shanka Chakra dhara), RAma parAku raGurAma parAku– Bhadrachala Ramdas, CharanamulE namiti, Nara Janma bandhaaga– Purandara Dasa,
Hari smarane maado, Deva Banda Namma Swami Bandano, Abhang – Hari mana tumi govinda mana, Vanamali Vasudeva Manamohana Radharamana, Rajani Janita Guru – 17th Ashtapadhi, Narayana Theertha Tharangini- AlokayE Sree bAlakrishnam, Abhang-KastooriChi Uti, Tilaka Lalati, Gopala Meva Deivatham, Sharade Karunanidhe, Gopalasi khelathi, ananda dolathi,  Bhagyadha Lakshmi Baramma, Yehi Gopala Sri Vanamala Radhalola Aayahi, Prabhu Ramachandra Ke Dootha

Many thanks to the organisers Chitra Sudhar and Sudharshan for making the event memorable to all the participants.

 

Lalitha Sahasranamam & its significance

During one of weekly sessions in Bournville,Birmingham, we had the opportunity to interact with Sanskrit scholar Mr K Balasubramanyam. Mr Balasubramanyam (http://eeswaraha.co.in) has mastered the scriptures and provides regular classes in Bhagawat Gita and many other spiritual texts. His knowledge in these subjects is indeed immense and the group used this event to learn further in their quest for learning. The session lasted just beyond an hour where we tried to understand the significance of Lalitha Sahasranamam. Why Lalitha Sahasranamam is one among the pinnacle of the Namams? How some of the siginificant vedic compositions have been compressed into a few words in Lalitha Sahasranamam? How to chant Lalitha Sahasranamam and what are the benefits? Thanks to our official Videographer Vasantha Raman, we were able to capture the happenings in the below 5 videos. Please use below playlist for your deep dive into Lalitha Sahasranamam.

Our Matrasara and Sampradaya Groups in Solihull/Birmingham perform various devotional/musical activities throughout the week. We chant Narayaneeyam, Devi Mahatmiyam, Sundarakandam and various sahasranamams and Ashtakams. 

We also perform Sampradaya Bhajans on a weekly basis. Adults/Children get involved in these activity.

Ramanavami Carnatic Bhajans – Birmingham

Carnatic-Circle.com was invited to perform at the phenomenal Ramanavami celebrations on Saturday, the 31st March at the Spacious New Bingley Hall, Birmingham. The divine Sita-Rama kalyanam event held on Utharapalguni Nakshatram in Vilambi nama year was attended by not less than 2500 people – full of energy and lively. The ambience at the hall was stunning due to sheer numbers. This shows the excellent strength of our community and a typical example for the togetherness in serving the lord by serving for the community.

Carnatic-Circle’s music/singing was an integral part of the community and enjoyed the blessings of Sree Rama. We primarily chose some Telugu based krithis composed by Annamacharya & Bhadrachala Ramdas keeping in line with the interests of the audience. The energised performance kept up a relentless pace for 40 minutes. It was full of positive vibrations and was very well received by the community. We received quite a lot of words of praise. Admittedly, we had some background noise in our video recordings, but the fact that we were invited to perform for this divine event as a highlight was indeed a great blessing.

Some Photos/Excerpts from our previous Weekly Bhajan sessions since last year

 

Musings from the Srinivasa Kalyanam, Birmingham/Solihull

What a glorious event! It was one like never before. The Lord was adorned in the choicest ornaments & flowers and looked exquisite. The colours, music and festivity that Carnatic-Circle rendered was appreciated by one and many that attended the event. The day long religious rituals were elegantly interlaced with our thoughtfully designed music making the event especially special.

We would like to thank all the participants that learnt the Song repertoire and soothingly sang to keep up with the energy and vibrancy of the occasion.

 

 

 

Continue reading “Musings from the Srinivasa Kalyanam, Birmingham/Solihull”

Sri Srinivasa Kalyanam, Birmingham/Solihull

Solihull/Birmingham’s grand SriSrinivasa Kalyanam is today, 17th March. The response has been tremendous and we are happy to announce that we are now fully booked/subscribed. Students from Carnatic-Circle will be providing the traditional vocals/singing/music for the Celestial wedding. Unlike other musical programmes, this one is unique because the Singing is event/rituals based.

See you all soon. Lets get together to make this event a success.

Time – 9am to 4pm
Annadhaanam/Mahaprasadam – 1pm (free for everyone)
Venue – Shirley Centre, 274 Stratford Rd, Shirley, Solihull B90 3AD. Car Parking is free for 3 hours and payable thereafter.

The event has been carefully planned and put together. Meticulous care has been taken to perform religious rituals according to our sastras. The Celestial wedding will be accompanied by some mellifluous Carnatic Vocals & music as per our rich traditions. All our students from Carnatic-circle are fully geared up for the day. Annadhaanam (Prasadam) shall be provided to everyone attending the event. Yejamans/Ubhayakarthas will be able to fully participate in the Kannika Dhaanam. Kindly partake in the event and help us make a success of it.

Perumal Kalyanam simpler Booked.jpg

Carnatic Kritis/Bhajan/Chanting Balaji temple, Birmingham

Sampradaya Bhajanai 17th Feb 2018

Our “Sampradaya” group has grown from strength to strength and sings a very vast and varied repertoire. Being a one of kind, the group has attracted talent from across the Midlands. The interest is still growing, in fact soaring. In this forthcoming session, our Sampradaya group from Carnatic-Circle will be singing a repertoire accompanied by Senior musician Mr Viswanathan & Mr Sugavanam on the violin, Devavrat on his Dholak and Shravan Gopal on Tabla.

Our “Mantrasara” group will also have a chanting session in the afternoon covering Devi Mahatmiyam, Sundarakandam and Narayaneeyam.

The Birmingham Balaji temple invites our group to perform on selected Saturdays. The above is one of them. Please come and attend this event at the main temple Sannadhi. Come and sing along!

Carnatic Choral Singing- Providence Hall, Birmingham

Sunaada Vidyalayam kindly invited Carnatic-Circle to come and perform Thodaya Mangalam Bhajanai at Providence hall in Bilston, Birmingham on Saturday, the 2nd of December. This was part of a bigger & a more elaborate event which included Saraswathi Puja, Rudram Namakkam & Carnatic Flute/Veena/Guitar music performances by students and various guest artists.

Our Choral singing performance at Providence hall was very well received by the audience. The 200 people audience could be seen enjoying, tapping, waving and even singing along with us. We were accompanied by Ram Nemani on Flute/Guitar, Dr Selvakumar on Mridangam and Mr H.Viswanathan on Violin. Dr Selvakumar is Doctor by profession but an avid percussionist from heart. Visiting violinist Mr Viswanathan is a very senior and experienced violinist who hails from a musical family and has a strong background in Sampradaya Bhajanai activities. Mr Viswanathan has played for over 2,000 (yes, Two thousand) concerts. His father Sangeetha Surendra Nagercoil Harihara Iyer has played violin with doyens like MS Subbalakshmi, GNB, Chembai and DK Pattammal.

We look forward to supporting such cultural activities and promote our diversity. Sincere thanks to Ram Nemani and other organisers at Sunaada Vidyalayam.

Click here for Excerpts from our previous such Choral performances

Continue reading “Carnatic Choral Singing- Providence Hall, Birmingham”

Bhajans/Krithis Birmingham Balaji Temple 21st Oct 2017

Carnatic-Circle’s Midlands based “Sampradaya” Bhajan group and “Mantrasara” came together to put together a traditional & impressive performance at the Tividale Balaji temple community hall on Saturday, the 21st Oct 2017 (5pm- 7.15pm).

The event was graced by the presence of Tabla Pandit Sandip Banerjee (From Kolkata) and Chief guest – Dr Kanakaratnam (Chairman of Trustees at the Balaji Temple)  who graced the occasion with their presence and support.

The Balaji temple has been ever supportive of our Carnatic based Devotional singing & Bhakthi initiatives and we are very grateful to them and their volunteers who made this event successful in every sphere. Such a unique choir consisting of Adults & Children does not exist in the entire country and it is with utmost pride that we present our Bhajans/Krithis and ensure that we uplift everyone that participate in our community gatherings.

This performance was well received by the audience who came from across the midlands to see us perform. One of the feedbacks that we received from few of the experienced elders was that, we have implemented a traditional system in the same lines as it is done in South India. Below were the songs that were sung as a part of our repertoire at the temple Continue reading “Bhajans/Krithis Birmingham Balaji Temple 21st Oct 2017”