I had the pleasure of attending the Carnatic concert by the RaGa sisters, titled “Rasa by RaGa.” I absolutely adore their incredible talent and unique take on traditional music. Mind you, this was pure Carnatic, or Shastriya Sangeetham, so it may not be everyone’s cup of tea. But if you love Carnatic music, this was a treat!

The concert kicked off with “Sri Vignarajambhaje” and “Gnyana Vinayagane” in Raga Gambhiranattai. Their seamless alternation between Tamil and Sanskrit was simply breathtaking. This was followed by a Syama Sastri kriti in Raga Anandabhairavi. And then came grahabheda—a concept I still find challenging to grasp. I’ll admit, I mostly attend RaGa sisters’ concerts just to hear their take on grahabheda.

They performed “Bhagyada Lakshmi Baramma,” a Purandaradasa composition in Madhyamavati, which can apparently be transformed into Raaga Mohanam using the concept of grahabheda. Isn’t that amazing! Having struggled to play this on the veena myself, I was in awe of their mastery. The first half wrapped up with “Manasa Sancharare” by Sadashiva Brahmendrar, just before a short break.

After a brief intermission, the show resumed with a medley, but the taniavartanam truly stole the spotlight. The mridangam and ghatam artists transported us to another world—honestly, I wouldn’t have minded an entire performance just with the percussionists!

The medley of folk songs that followed was a beautiful journey through Bharathiyar’s Tamil compositions, Kannada, Malayalam, Telugu, and Brij songs, all culminating in another graceful medley.

It was an evening well spent, immersed in musical brilliance. Although I couldn’t stay to speak with the artists (thanks to my husband’s need to return early), if you’re a Carnatic music lover and missed this event, you truly missed out on something special!