Here are Five “easy read books” for you this month.

GANAVISHARADA BIDARAM KRISHNAPPA – HIS LIFE AND MUSIC.

By Shylaja. In Kannada.

Published by Ragamala, Mysuru. March 2024. Pages 160. Price Rs. 200.

Bidaram Krishnappa (1866-1931), famous musician, composer and asthana vidwan in the Mysuru palace. He also served as member of the Advisory Expert Committee of the Music Academy.

While narrating the life and music of Bidaram Krishnappa, the author highlights the travails undergone by him in establishing the famous Rama Mandira in Mysuru. Incidentally, the inaugural concert at the opening of the Mandira in 1928 was by Palghat Rama Bhagavathar (one of the five books listed here is about him). The book on Bidaram Krishnappa includes interesting old photographs from that period along with some of his compositions with notations, and some of his handwritten scripts.

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DHRUVA NAKSHATRAM – PALANI SUBRAMANIA PILLAI.

By Lalitha Ram. Translated from Tamil into English by Prabha Sridevan.

Published by The Sruti Foundation, Chennai. December 2024. 220 pages. Price Rs. 250.

Dhruva Nakshatram is a biography of the mridanga maestro Palani Subramania Pillai, which revolves around his life, his mridangam playing and his enduring percussive legacy. It simultaneously provides the context by exploring the evolution of the mridangam, the initial discrimination that he faced as a left-hander, as well as the contributions of the personalities who shaped his life and art.

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KARUKURICHIYAI THEDI.

By Lalitha Ram. In Tamil.

Published by Ezutthu Prachuram, Chennai. December 2024. 164 pages. Price Rs. 200.

This book is a heartwarming tribute to the extraordinary nagaswara maestro Karukurichi Arunachalam. It narrates Lalitha Ram’s interesting journey in search of “Karukurichi” — the place, the people who had listened to and experienced the music of the maestro, and includes anecdotes and moving short stories about him, his lifesketch, and his music in films. It is peppered with pictures too of the vidwan.

KALPATHY TYAGABRAHMAM PALGHAT RAMA BHAGAVATAR – Life Sketch of a Nadopasaka.

By Sivapriya Krishnan. In English.

Published by Sriram (Hari), grandson of Palghat Rama Bhagavatar. 130 pages. January 2025. Price Rs. 250.

This book tells the story of a musician whom many may not have seen, heard, or read about, but one who has contributed to the Carnatic world by wholeheartedly devoting his life to music. It narrates how young Rama became Rama Bhagavatar and describes his life devoted to music and Tyagaraja. It also includes an interesting Timeline of Rama Bhagavatar, his discography, a list of his music accompanists, reminiscences, anecdotes as well as several interesting photos and sketches. Incidentally, it includes two songs on Palghat Rama Bhagavatar composed by his disciple Puthucode Krishnamurthy.

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COMPOSITIONS OF VIDWAN PUTHUCODE KRISHNAMURTHY.

Collected & Compiled by Smt. Dr. G. Baby Sreeram. Lyrics in Sanskrit, English and Tamil. With notations In English.

Published by Ekatvam, Bengaluru. 144 pages. November 2023. Price Rs. 100.

Vidwan Puthucode Krishnamurthy was a vidwan, music composer, academician, a vaggeyakara and a disciple of Palakkad Rama Bhagavatar. He has more than 200 compositions to his credit in four languages, namely, Sanskrit, Malayalam, Hindi and Tamil.

In this book, Dr. Baby Sreeram has brought out 42 Sanskrit kritis and seven compositions in Tamil, with notations. It has an index of the 50 compositions included in the book — mentioning the raga, tala, the deity, and temple on which it is composed.

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All the Five books are in Paperback. Easy to hold, and easy to read….

S. JANAKI