The Lonely Planet tour to Carnatic Music

[Rsachi]

Dear rasikas,
Happy Pongal and Sankranti!
I have a desire to create the ideal 2 week tour of the most important Carnatic music spots in South India. The tour guide should be of the class of Lonely Planet cataloging all the places to visit, the historic and thematic and lyrical connections, what to see, where to stay and eat, and what to capture as notes. There should even be a 14 day musical selection to hear, of 14 one hour sessions!
In fact, God willing, let us declare 2013 as the Year of Carnatic Exploration and make this happen.
I will shortly post a template to capture your recommendations!
If it makes sense, we should package an itinerary and even appoint local guides.
How do you like this?
I can take the lead in this and be in the first traveller batch.

Sachi R

[Rsachi]

Hello rasikas,
Here is a template to capture your thoughts!
Please respond:
http://bit.ly/ZIStmf

Thanks
Sachi R

[Rsachi]

Someone just now responded: Get a life!!!!!

Well, I agree this looks like a crazy idea and for someone with nothing better to do.
But after hearing so much CM and hearing so much about CM places, I do think such a tour could be interesting for some at least....for those of us who should get a life!

[cmlover]

Nice idea!
Being away from India I would love to accompany you on the tour and exchange comments.
Let the local lead us to the places unknown to us and unravel juicy sites of CM history.
Let this be not tour of big cities like Chennai or Bangalore but that of the "forgotten locales" of CM's historical sites.
How about short anecdotes hitherto unheard of?

[arasi]

Great idea but not so easy to orchestrate. Even a simpler RasikAs meet is difficult to organize, it seems--with all the commitments (mostly work-related) that rasikAs have. Yet, who knows! Your energy and enthusiasm may well power such a project!

Some years ago, Keerthi took a memorable trip to Kanchi with his mother and shared his experience with us. What a musical and meaningful travelog it was! If only someone would give the link here for me and others to read it once again!

[cmlover]

I thought 'Virtual Tour'...

[Rsachi]

Exactly, sir! Whenever I listen to MD kritis or read about Sadasiva Brahmendra or Andal, and hear about Thyagaraja's kritis at specific locations, I wish I could go there with like minded people and enjoy the music and the associated history, ritual, mythology etc. just for example the Matruhutam discussion here.

If people feel put off by the survey they can just give their thoughts in this thread, NP.

PS Virtual tour...for that to happen, we need first travels to collect the photos, stories, etc. we need informed and interested ranconteurs.
Sachi R

[Rsachi]

Already have suggestions! Thanks and come back with more, please:

[nadhasudha]

Nice idea! In terms of pre trinity composers and associated kshetrams - How about Kumbakonam and the surrounding places ? - Oothukadu for Oothukadu Venkata Kavi

[Ponbhairavi]

I filled up the form but..... I am a computer illiterate let me do it again.
the following itinerary is proposed :
kancheepuram--- shyama Sastry
tiruvannamalai-Arunagirinathar and thirupugazh
Pondicherry- Subaramania Bharathy
Chidambaram- Gopalakrihna bharathi--Dr Padma Subramaniam's doctoral works on bharatha Nathym postures
Sirkali- Tamil trinity
tiruvarur- Dikshithar and Thyagarajar
OOthukadu- OVK
Melattur- Bhagavatha mela Sampradayam
thirupoodhuruthi- Narayana Theerthar Samadhi
Thiruvaiyaru- Returning through kumbakonam Tiruvaduthurai can be availed of for the T.N.R Nadaswara tradition.
The travel time between the stations can be used for listening to chosen compositions and exvhange of relevant data.

[Rsachi]

Excellent, Ponbhairavi!
My idea was to hire a Volvo bus, 20 people, start and stop from Blr/Chennai, stay at comfortable hotels, veg.food, two experts on board, PA system on the bus to hear music and QA experts, each one blogs a diary, photos, a few videos too, local old timer experts by prior appointment, nice fireside evening sessions, music and thair sadam for dinner....

[rajeshnat]

thirupoodhuruthi- Narayana Theerthar Samadhi

i am sure it is a small typo
Thirupoonthuruti - NT samAdhi

[RaviSri]

About 8 years ago sangeetham.com organized a musical tour mainly at my insistence. We started on a Friday afternoon and were to return to Madras on Sunday night. This was just before the start of the December season and about 5 days after MS passed away. Everything was arranged, a bus, hotel in Tanjore, a caterer to cook our meals at the hotel itself. No guides were necessary as Sriram V and myself knew those areas and also we had made a reconnaissance trip a month prior to that.

30 of us went. In Tanjore and Tiruvaiyyaru we covered all the musical places. But just one and a half days was not enough to make a leisurely and truly an educational tour.
I suggest that you make it a yearly trip, with each year covering a region. The first could be the Trichy/Tanjore/Tiruvaiyyaru region. The next year could be Tiruvarur/Pulivalam/Keevalur/Kuzhkkarai/Nagapattinam, Kumbhakonam/Mayavaram etc. The next year could be to Kancheepuram/Virinchipuram/Tiruvannamalai and so on. Plan for 5 days or at best a week, so that it does not get tiresome. You can’t get local guides knowledgeable in music history anywhere. They may at best direct you to the places. It is best to equip yourself with all the knowledge.

My idea was to hire a Volvo bus, 20 people, start and stop from Blr/Chennai, stay at comfortable hotels, veg.food, two experts on board, PA system on the bus to hear music and QA experts, each one blogs a diary, photos, a few videos too, local old timer experts by prior appointment, nice fireside evening sessions, music and thair sadam for dinner....

Good, 20 people are enough. Consider my above suggestions too.

[rshankar]

Some time ago, IIRC, Keerthi and his mother went on a trip to Kancheepuram and nearby temples and sang songs composed specifically on each temple - something like that could also be done...

[arasi]

Ravi,
You are right and I've mentioned that inspired/inspiring one day (?) musical tour of mother and son to kAnchi in my earlier post...

[rshankar]

Arasi - sorry for the duplication!

[arasi]

Doubly appreciating something like that is a good thing!

[sridhar]

How about adding some related things to the agenda:

witness skilled artisans make panchaloha idols in Swamimalai and perhaps purchase some for your home
Darasuram AivateswaraTemple for the splendid architecture
Kudumiyanmalai (near pudukottai) musical inscriptions and the marvelous temple architecture. See the mandapam where chola kings were once coronated.
Rajagopalaswami temple in Mannargudi. There is something musical about it but I cannot now find it. May be musical pillars.

[Rsachi]

All can be done.
Let me see about what are the logistics and cost issues.
Ciao.

[Rsachi]

You know what, Lonely Planet agrees with me!

http://youtu.be/f2myzSK69Gk

http://www.lonelyplanet.in/5018/editori ... outh-india

[Nick H]

Temple Trips, South India, and they use a mock North Indian script?

(Although I don't know if anyone has ever made a roman face that resembles any South Indian script?)

(and I suppose I'm wrong anyway, if it supposed to be Sanskrit-like)