Book Release : “La musique Carnatique, une musique pour bercer les Dieux”

On the occasion of his Book Release, “La musique Carnatique, une musique pour bercer les Dieux” (“The Carnatic music: a music to lull the Gods"), Raghunath Manet and his musicians performed a Veena concert on the terrace of the French Institute of Pondicherry, on February 9, 2007, in the esteemed presence of Dr.M. Balamurali Krishna, Chevalier, World famous singer, Composer and Instrumentalist, and Mr. R. Radhakrishnan, Hon’ble Speaker of the Government of Puducherry, as the Chief Guests

About the book

There are many books on Carnatic Music in English language, but this one is the first of its kind to be released in French.

In this book, Raghunath Manet explains the History of Carnatic Music, the fundamentals of what is a Ragam (Melody), what is a Talam. He compares today’s repertoire of Music with the old Tamil Music. He clearly explains the two main parts of Indian Music: composed music (kalpita sangitam) and the improvised music (manodharma sangitam). Raghunath makes us understand what is a concert format and how to listen to Carnatic Music.

He describes in detail, his veena (how the veena resembles the human body) and also all the South Indian stringed instruments, the different drums as well as the South Indian folk instruments.

This book is not only written for scholars but also for the layman and any foreigner who wants to understand old Indian Classical Music. This book is very resourceful for all the French-speaking public to understand and enjoy Carnatic Music.

About the author

Raghunath Manet is a renowned musician who has released more than 19 CDs & 3 DVDs, including a "Karnatik" CD with the legendary Dr. Balamurali Krishna.

He is a multi-faceted artist. He is at once a dancer, musician, choreographer, music-composer and singer, and perhaps the only artist who can perform in both traditional dance (the Bharata Natyam) and music (on the veena). At the same time he is also a creator and an innovator. He is appreciated for his creativity all over the world and has been a recipient of several prestigious awards, among which a Gold medal in music and dance from the Academy of Madras.

Ragunath is known as one of the few male dancers who has been able to leave a mark on Bharata Natyam, which has long been dominated by female dancers. At the same time, in his capacity as a musician, he has released around twenty CDs & DVDs, including a CD titled Karnatik along with Dr. Balamurali Krishna, our Chief Guest today.

Ragunath is also the author of three books on dance and music.

Dr. Balamurali krishna says : “Raghunath Manet is a multi-faceted artist who wants to break the notion that an artist can be the master of only one art at a time. He says that one cannot be a complete dancer without enjoying the rhythm and melody of the musicians accompanying him. This search for universality has made him “an excellent veena player” and refined Bharata Natyam dancer”.

Organised by

French Institute of Pondicherry (IFP)
Tala Sruti

Venue

French Institute of Pondicherry (IFP)

Date and Time

February 9, 2007 at 7 pm