Saturday, August 20, 2011

Auroville Recording

Do listen to my interview and a recording of me plying the Araban Oudh at Auroville Pondicherry.

http://www.aurovilleradio.org/arts-a-culture/performing-arts/2315-vasudev-murthy-on-the-oudh

Monday, August 15, 2011

Barbarians at Thiruvaiyaru







I visited Thiruvaiyaru, where the great saint-composer Thyagaraja lived and composed wonders.


His house has been restored by barbarians. Bizarre ideas like ugly metal gates, shocking gold paint, absolutely ugly sculptures, bathroom tiles - oh God, where did these idiots show up from??? What have they done to our heritage??

Inside you see horribly painted walls, with pictures of other musicians - and hold your breath - photos of politicians leering down, taking credit for this 'restoration'! What could be more outrageous???


The house opposite - very humble - is probably what Thyagaraja's house actually looked like. Now we have a concrete monstrosity, and no one can imagine that great musical wonders took form there. India is destroyed by modern vandals, clueless about aesthetics, philistines with no sense of colour, proportion and heritage.