India

71 articles related to India:

Film
Chaiyya Chaiyya: Sufi-inspired lyrics of the Dil Se train scene

The train-top dance made Chaiyya Chaiyya famous. Beneath that public spectacle sits a lyric image drawn from Sufi…

June 27, 2026
Meditation
Namo Amitabha: meaning and benefits behind the Buddhist mantra

The Namo Amitabha mantra is a sacred chant associated with Amitabha, a celestial buddha held in high esteem in Mahayana…

July 8, 2023
Rudra Veena
Zia Mohiuddin Dagar: the maestro of Dhrupad and Rudra Veena

Zia Mohiuddin Dagar—a distinguished Hindustani musician—was a master of the Dhrupad genre which dates back to the 15th…

May 27, 2023
Meditation
Aham Prema: meaning behind the modern yoga chant

Aham Prema is one of the essential mantras recommended for daily practice by many modern yoga schools. Surprisingly,…

March 18, 2023
Sarod
Amjad Ali Khan: the revered classical player whose ancestors canonized the sarod

Ustad Amjad Ali Khan is among the most honored Indian virtuosos whose musical skill was nurtured in the tradition of…

May 12, 2022
Meditation
Vinayagar Agaval: medieval lyrics linking Ganesha with yoga practice

Vinayagar Agaval is a popular sacred hymn of South India praising Ganesh—one of the most worshipped deities in the…

January 6, 2022
Meditation
Bharata Muni and the Natya Shastra as a formative treatise of Indian classics

Bharata Muni was an eminent Indian philosopher and musicologist who is believed to have lived around 200 BC. The only…

November 4, 2021
Meditation
Om Namo Narayanaya: meaning and purpose of popular Vishnu mantra

Om Namo Narayanaya is one of the best-known Sanskrit mantras addressed to the god Vishnu—one of the principal deities…

October 5, 2021
Saxophone
Kadri Gopalnath: nadaswaram musician who canonized the Сarnatic saxophone

Kadri Gopalnath was a distinguished South Indian musician who introduced the saxophone into the classical repertoire…

September 11, 2021
Meditation
Nirvana Shatkam: meaning behind the major chant of non-duality

The Atmashatkam or Nirvāṇaṣatkam is the essential Sanskrit hymn composed around the 8th century AD by the leading…

August 19, 2021
Meditation
Rudra Veena: evolution of the instrument and Lydian mood of the Yaman raga

Rudra veena is a string instrument originating from the Indian subcontinent where different types of veena have existed…

July 26, 2021
Meditation
Sri Lalitha Sahasranama: 1000-name lyrics praising the beauty of Goddess Shakti

Lalita Sahasranama is a Hindu chant dedicated to the Divine Mother known as Shakti who manifests as the triple…

July 3, 2021
Meditation
Progressive rhythms and sacred themes of Shyama Shastri songs

Syama Sastri was one of the most influential Indian composers of the 18th century whose extensive contributions to the…

June 7, 2021
Meditation
Hare Krishna Mantra: meaning and purpose of best-known Hindu chant

The Hare Krishna mantra is a highly popular religious chant in India, the original lyrics of which can be traced back…

May 15, 2021
Male Vocal
Vasantrao Deshpande's musical career sparked by Begum Akhtar

Vasantrao Deshpande was an eminent Indian artist best known for his contributions to vocal classical music and the…

April 21, 2021
Meditation
Mrityunjaya Mantra: meaning and lyrics of the oldest Shiva chant

The Mahamrityunjaya Mantra lyrics first appeared as a verse in the Rigveda—a collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns…

March 28, 2021
Meditation
Kumar Gandharva and the perseverance of musical spirit over disease

Kumar Gandharva was an eminent vocalist who sang Hindustani ragas and Carnatic devotional songs while also exploring…

March 5, 2021
Meditation
Vishnu Sahasranama: chant meaning and complete lyrics by Subbulakshmi

Sahasranāma, literally meaning a thousand names in Sanskrit, is a common term for Dharmic religions of the Indian…

February 10, 2021
Meditation
Shurangama Mantra as a vital Buddhist practice to save the universe and achieve enlightenment

Shurangama Mantra is the longest Buddhist chant highly revered in Tibet and China, where it is considered to be the …

January 27, 2021
Swarmandal
Kishori Amonkar reclaimed her lost voice with Ayurveda

Kishori Amonkar was one of the most respected classical vocalists of the Hindustani tradition who intensively developed…

January 14, 2021
Film
Dum Maro Dum: psychedelic Hindi lyrics in Western arrangement that influenced generations

Dum Maro Dum is a popular Hindi song written by Anand Bakshi and composed by Rahul Dev Burman for the 1971 Bollywood…

December 31, 2020
Male Vocal
First musical steps of Bhimsen Joshi

Bhimsen Joshi was a highly regarded vocalist who organically combined all aspects of Indian classical music, be it…

December 10, 2020
Violin
The art of Carnatic violin by Lalgudi Jayaraman

Lalgudi Jayaraman was an Indian violinist whose impeccable performing technique, coupled with his deep understanding of…

November 5, 2020
Poetry
12,000 Annamayya songs discovered in a Hindu temple after 300 years of oblivion

It is believed that Tallapaka Annamacharya—a 15th-century songwriter who lived in South India—wrote over thirty…

October 4, 2020
Meditation
Om Namah Shivaya: chant meaning and lyrics diversity in songs set in Panchakshari Mantra

Om Namah Shivaya mantra has been an essential chant in Hinduism for over three thousand years. It is meant to express…

September 17, 2020
Jugalbandi
Merging traditions of Indian classic in jugalbandi duets of Balamuralikrishna

Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna was an iconic composer, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist whose contributions to the…

August 16, 2020
Bansuri
Hindustani flute by Ronu Majumdar brings meditative mood to classical ragas

Ronu Majumdar is the most influential Indian flutist of our time whose impressive output touches upon most aspects of…

July 12, 2020
Meditation
Navkar Mantra: meaning and concept behind the most essential Jains chant

Chanting or reciting of the Navkar Mantra is a fundamental spiritual practice of Jainism, an ancient Dharmic religion…

June 21, 2020
Sitar
Bhatkhande: the man who canonized music theory that introduced Indian classics to the West

Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande was an Indian sitarist and major musicologist who, in the early 20th century, developed a…

June 7, 2020
Meditation
Ganapati songs and mantras devoted to Ganesha

Many-armed Ganesh is undoubtedly one of the most popular deities of the Indian subcontinent who is honored by all…

May 17, 2020