The search for Sangam literature that could be presented as songs gave me access to a lot of work that is path-breaking. Each concert was a curation of Tamil compositions beginning with poems from Sangam literature and ending with the modern-day kritis that evolved alongside Carnatic music around the 17th century, covering en route works like ‘Tirukkural’, ‘Tevaram’ and ‘Divyaprabandham’ and songs of Siddhars. It was the first time that most of the songs featured in my concerts were secular in nature, a prerequisite to the theme I had chosen - Tamizh Isai Ula - songs from the Sangam era to the 21st century for the tour organized by New York Tamizh Sangam. I have just returned from a concert tour of the US. But that question gave me a lot to contemplate about. One student said, “So, if you take God out of the context, is it still Carnatic music?” Instinctively I blurted out “Yes, of course.” It was more out of contention than conviction. Seizing the opportunity, I introduced to them compositions of Muthuswami Dikshitar, Papanasam Sivan and Shyama Shastri. A few students became so engrossed that they requested me to illustrate with more examples. I promptly sang “Ma Janaki” and “Bantureethi”, compositions of Saint Thyagaraja. I was doing my Fulbright-Nehru research at UC Davis and was an associate teacher in the classroom. To prove a point about the concept of sangatis in Carnatic music, my professor asked me to demonstrate with an example.
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