The use of tala and raga in different performance styles

The final day of The Music Academy’s academic sessions featured a lecture on ‘Tala Laya Sampradayam, Jaati, Gathi and Jathi’ by vidwan Parasala Ravi. Ragas in the Melattur Bhagavatha Mela’ The final lecture demonstration was presented by the Thiruvaiyyaru Brothers — S. Narasimhan and S. Venkatesan — on the topic ‘Ragas in the Melattur Bhagavatha Mela’. The lecture shed light on the intricate use of ragas to portray various emotions and characters in the Melattur Bhagavatha Mela tradition. Raga Bhairavi, often associated with bhakti, was used in Prahlada Charitam to express Prahalada’s heartfelt plea to Lord Vishnu through an elegant swara-sahitya portion.