Full Time Programme

Weeklong programme ( 2 hours per day) – In this, there are 7 sessions of two hours duration daily. 2 full day session – This is a day long programme for two days ( Saturday & Sunday) from9a.m to 5p.m In the above sessions, a complete sketch about Karnatic music is presented and the rasikas get to have a broad idea about how and what to appreciate in a concert. It gives them an idea of how the Karnatic music system works and what its salient features are. The topics covered include - what is music, benefits of music, types of music, raga and tala structure, compositional forms, concert structure, creativity in concerts , role of accompaniments , methods of identifying ragas etc. The idea of this programme is to give a broad overview of Karnatic music and its salient features to rasikas so that they get a glimpse of what it actually encompasses.

Music Appreciation Programme – First 7 days programme - Nungambakkam

May 2004

Appreciating any art requires an understanding of its form and content. There is a general lament that audience for Karnatic music is limited because of a lack of understanding of the system. With a view to remedy this problem, Mudhra Bhaskar thought of devising the “Music Appreciatiopn Programme” wherein rasikas would be enlightened about the finer nuances of Karnatic music. Dr.Radha Bhaskar in turn devised a syllabus keeping in mind the requirements of a music rasika.Power point presentations were made and practical demonstration was given to explain various topics.

The first session, a week long course consisting of two hours session per day as organized at the Chandrasekhara Saraswathi hall, Nungambakkam where over 50 rasikas participated and joined the journey of experiencing the beauty of Karnatic music. Tilakavathi, IPS was one of the keen participants.

The session covered topics like – salient features of Karnatic music, raga, tala, compositions, manodharma aspects etc. Dr.Radha was also joined by T.V.Ramprasadh, Kandadevi Vijayraghavan, Ghatam V.Suresh, Mudhra Bhaskar and VVS Mani who shared many interesting aspects of music and also made suitable demonstrations. The valedictory function was presided by A.Natarajan. Rasikas of all age groups attended the function and benefitted a lot from it. They also shared their appreciation at the valedictory function and thanked Mudhra for taking this unique initiative to help rasikas understand our music better. The participants were given certificates of appreciation.

Press Review

MAP Bharathiya Vidya Bhavan (BVB)

August and September 2004

After the tremendous success of the first Music Appreciation Programme, Mudhra Bhaskar felt that the programme needed to be organized in a more wide spread manner and be taken to other parts of the cities as well. So, the second session was organized in Bharathiya Vidya Bhavan, Mylapore where about 160 rasikas registered for the course. As the hall could accommodate only 90 members, two courses were held in succession. This programme was inaugurated by D.Chandrasekar, managing Director of Thejus. The valedictory function was presided by Dr.Nalli Kuppuswamy Chetti and A.Natarajan. A proper book containing the synopsis of the course was given to all the participants who also had the opportunity to have their queries answered by the course Director Dr.Radha Bhaskar. Interesting sessions on the role of percussion in concerts was presented by Mudhra Bhaskar and Ghatam V.Suresh.

MAP – Indira Nagar 2005

After the successful completion of two Music Appreciation Programmes in Mylapore, Mudhra moved to Adyar and conducted a course at Ranjith Hall, Indira Nagar. Here also, a group of enthusiastic rasikas enrolled for the weeklong course. Dr.Radha Bhaskar and Mudhra Bhaskar explained the fundamental aspects of Karnatic music to them, with suitable demonstrations. Noted musician Sriram Gangadharan was invited as a special guest to demonstrate on the topic of Manodhrama in music. On the valedictory day, the participants were blessed to have the presence of veteran musician T.K.Govinda Rao who appreciated the efforts of Mudhra and also distributed the certificates to the participants.

MAP – Freedom Hall – Mudhra

Dec 2005

As part of its 11th Fine Arts Fetsival, Mudhra organized a two days music appreciation programme at Freedom Hall, Nungambakkam, Chennai. The programme was inaugurated by noted musician Madurai G.S.Mani. The enthusiastic rasikas sat through the entire two –days session with great enthusiasm. Lunch and snacks were provided to all the participants. A few rasikas shared how they had benefitted from the course. Ghatam Karthick participated as a special guest and shared his experiences as a percussionist. Parthasarathy, Vice President of Indus Ind Bank praised Mudhra for their notable effort.

Infosys Hall – Mudhra

Dec 2006

The next MAP programme was conducted in Infosys Hall, RKM School, T.Nagar. Here, about 30 rasikas participated in the two-days session. All the participants were given a book as study material.

Infosys Hall – Mudhra

Dec 2006

Yet another MAP programme was conducted in Infosys Hall, RKM School, T.Nagar in December 2006 as a two days programme on 24th and 25th December. This was well attended by rasikas who were made to understand the nuances of music in a simple way by Dr.Radha Bhaskar & Mudhra Bhaskar. After each topic was covered, the rasikas were given an opportunity to ask questions pertaining to the subject.

2 day course – MAP - Infosys hall – Mudhra

Dec 2007

MAP programme was conducted in Infosys Hall, RKM School, T.Nagar on 22nd and 23rd December 2007 as a two full days programme. This was well attended by rasikas who were made to understand the nuances of music in a simple way.

2 day course – Infosys Hall – Mudhra

Dec 2008

In the year 2008, on 20th and 21st December, MAP programme was conducted in Infosys Hall, RKM School, T.Nagar. It had good participation from rasikas.

Bharathiya Vidya Bhavan – 1 week course

June 2009

From 22nd to 28th June, 2009 a one week Music Appreciation programme was conducted at Bharathiya Vidya Bhavan, Mylapore and it had about 60 particpants. The rasikas were of an advanced level and Dr.Radha and Mudhra Bhaskar enlightened them about many aspects related to concerts and Karnatic music in general.

2 day Music appreciation programme - Infosys Hall – Mudhra

Dec 2009

In the year 2009, on 26th and 27th December, MAP programme was conducted in Infosys Hall, RKM School, T.Nagar. It had good participation from rasikas.
Muscat – Music Appreciation Programme

September 2010

The embassy of India, Muscat and the Tamil Sangam jointly organized the Music appreciation programme by Dr.Radha Bhskar at Muscat as a one full day programme in September 2010 to an international audience. A beautiful power point presentation on definition of music & its types, its benefits, social and cultural relevance, different genres of music was presented. Apt video clippings and live demonstration was also presented to make the presentation more clear and interesting. There was overwhelming response and the Embassy auditorium was packed to capacity. The participants consisted of a wide gamut – people of different ages and profession, all wanting to know more about Karnatic music. A group of western music teachers also attended and were thrilled to know that Indian classical music had so much to offer in terms of variety and content. A very interesting interactive session followed the presentation wherein rasikas put forth many questions to Dr.Radha and she answered them in a very satisfactory manner.All the participants were served sumptuous lunch, tea and snacks. In the valedictory function, Dr.Radha was appreciated and felicitated in a grand manner.

Infosys Hall – Mudhra

Dec 2010

In December 2010, as part of its Fine Arts festival, Mudhra organized a two days MAP programme. Raiskas of various professions and ages attended and benefitted from it.