CONWAY — Two Kennett High graduates — Grace Castonguay and Sean Doherty — will make up a quarter of the U.S. Biathlon Team that opens the 2024-25 World Cup season in Kontiolahti, Finland, on Saturday. The team of four women and four men was announced Sunday. Castonguay, 23, of Jackson graduated from Kennett in 2020. Doherty, 28, of Center Conway is a 2013 graduate of Kennett. He competed in the last three Winter Olympics: In Sochi in 2014; in Pyeongchang in 2018; and in Beijing in 2022. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.
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When T.M. Krishna received a standing ovation from an overflowing audience at the Music Academy on a bright Christmas morning this year, it marked a momentous point in his musical journey and, indeed, in the history of Carnatic music and the cultural history of South India. Here was a venerable institution, established nearly a century ago to uphold values in Carnatic music, announcing its coveted award to the “enfant terrible” of that world with the cream of the Carnatic audience cheering and congratulating him at his concert leading up to the conferment of the award. Krishna has antagonised many in the Carnatic community by calling it out on its hypocrisies and its exclusive and elitist practices. Over the past few months, there have been embarrassingly shrill protests from a section of the community over the Music Academy’s Sangita Kalanidhi award being conferred on him and by the calls for a boycott of the Academy. But, the large turnout on that day showed that Krishna does not seem to have lost the support of a large section of the community for the sheer brilliance of his music and also showed, possibly, the capacity of this highly intelligent community to acknowledge the truth behind his often abrasive statements. It was not a crowd of liberal, left-wing ideologues but the usual, typical crowd of Carnatic rasikas of the December music season with a generous sprinkling of NRIs. A lady sitting a couple of seats away was the nightmare of every concertgoer. She excitedly identified the ragas for the benefit of everyone around; she sang along and impatiently completed phrases for Krishna whenever he sustained a swara in a kaarvai . It is all about the music If Krishna’s political statements lack nuance and restraint, his music is a stark contrast. “He is completely immersed in his music. It is bhakti, surrender, without a god necessarily in the picture,” observed a friend who teaches at IIT Madras. Also Read | The Carnatic wars As befitted the momentous occasion, Krishna made two remarks about his journey. He had sung on that very same stage 30 years ago with the same accompanists—R.K. Shriram Kumar and Arun Prakash. Amidst all the controversy and anger about Krishna, these two men, especially RKS since he is “orthodox” and not expected to brook Krishna’s “ anti-Brahminical stance ”, have faced the ire for continuing to play with Krishna. In the second historical reference and homage, Krishna sang “ Pankaja Lochana ”, the Swathi Tirunal composition in ragam Kalyani, a song one associates with Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, Krishna’s guru. Without naming him, he remarked, “We have heard him sing this at this very venue— avar paadi kettirukkom .” Krishna has evolved as a musician like few others have, challenging the norms and expectations of a Carnatic concert. In an early departure from the norm, Krishna did away with “the list”. The list is just that—a list of songs that are to be included in a concert in a certain order. It is meant to give structure to the concert as a whole and help the audience to relate and anticipate better. And it incorporates “variety”—a range of composers, of talas and ragas. Musicians take great pains to craft a perfect list for every concert. Variety is a strange obsession with the Carnatic audience, and more curious is their taking pride in “the variety” that Carnatic concerts incorporate. Unable to reconcile expectations of offering variety with his artistic quest, Krishna abandoned the list. A fresh take The going was not easy since the list is beloved, but today we go to a Krishna concert without any expectations of what he will include in it and how he might present it. The exquisite “ Javali Jaanaro ” in Khamas was positioned early on in the concert preceded by a Ragamalika alapana ; he sang similar ragas like Mukhari and Manjhi, which does not serve the purpose of variety; he sang a Todi alapana and then switched to Kalyani —nothing surprises us anymore. He has managed to draw the Carnatic audience’s attention towards the quest for the raga rather than exhibitionism of any sort—of repertoire, of vocal prowess, or virtuosic skills. Thoughts, reminiscences, and musings swirled amidst the exhilaration of listening to a gripping concert. What is a raga? Wherein lies its identity? As president of the Academy’s conference this year, Krishna has had a strong role in curating it around the theme of raga, and the historical, technical, aesthetic, and philosophical issues around it were very much in the air. Somewhat adventurously, he sang the raga Poorna Shadjam after a sublime Mukhari. The list would not have permitted such a juxtaposition since the two ragas draw from the same basket of swaras. He entered Poorna Shadjam with tara sthayi avarohi phrases using the swaras Ga Ri, swaras that are common to both ragas. Here were questions of raga aesthetics and identity that are central to this music. Tonal material is inevitably shared between multiple ragas since we only have a very limited number of swaras. Phrases, too, are shared as in this case; Ga Ri Ri is common to both ragas. Should they always be rendered in such a manner—the accent, the srutis, the gamakas —that there is no mistaking which ragam is being sung? In this case, dare I say that Mukhari’s Ga Ri Ri is generally launched from a starting point of an elongated Ri? So that it is always Ri...Ga Ri Ri? And the final Ri is launched from the Sa, while in Poorna Shadjam the final Ri is rendered as a janta prayogam ? Once the raga is established, can one take liberties with this? Unless one does so, expansive alapanas are probably difficult. Or are they? What is the value of an expansive, long alapana ? The audience at the vocal concert of Sangita Kalanidhi T.M. Krishna at the Music Academy on December 25, 2024. | Photo Credit: SRINATH M And why is it important to identify the raga? Why was the lady sitting next to me so invested in figuring out the raga and announcing it excitedly? Consumption of Carnatic music and how listeners engage with it at multiple levels is another large question that teased the mind. As musicologist Dard Neuman has pointed out, listening to this music for some is like reading: an important dimension of listening for one kind of listener of Carnatic music is that we translate into swaras that we hear, and when there is a mismatch anywhere, the experience is thwarted. What implication does this have for this “oral/aural” tradition? Krishna rendered Dikshitar’s “ Jambupathe ”, a wondrous creation, in the majestic version of Sangita Sampradaya Pradarshini, with a sensitive accompaniment by RKS that moved me to tears. I was reminded of the description of the rasika gayaka, a type of singer in Sarangadeva’s Sangita Ratnakara and Sangita Samaya Sara , the 12th century treatise by the Jain scholar Deva. Rasika gayaka is he who is himself suffused with rasa and moves the listeners to tears, the treatise says, and lists several other kinds of singers. Where did all this vocabulary go? Why do not we have something similar or even dissimilar to talk about Carnatic music? Paying tribute As an artist, Krishna not only pushes the boundaries to render compositions of Perumal Murugan and Narayana Guru, but also reclaims legacies such as the courtesan repertoire and the recensions of compositions in the landmark treatise Sangita Sampradaya Pradarshini . This latter task, which RKS too is engaged in, throws into sharp focus the downside of the oral tradition, which is not always successful in the preservation of compositions. These reconstructed compositions glow with austerity and simplicity, which have been lost, no doubt, to the demands of exhibitionism at concerts. “ Varugalaamo iyaa ”—May I come in to have just a glimpse of you? Krishna sang this song almost as if he were singing it to himself. Held together by a quiet rhythm of melancholy and not the tight one of the Misra Chapu, it flowed gently, with Arun Prakash anticipating every phrase with masterly command. It was quite remarkable that the team rendered the composition without the structure of a tala. Why does tala dominate Carnatic concerts so much—that is another big question. Also Read | Can Carnatic music concerts stand alone without the violin? The Carnatic community redeemed itself that December morning by its show of support for Krishna. But it is sobering that those who came to listen to him and support him exultantly were predominantly from the same community he has repeatedly ruffled with “complicated questions and conversations”. It is an interesting community, to say the least. And it is also interesting that Krishna’s efforts are yet to yield newer audiences. A more open stage When Krishna accepted the award, many of his admirers struggled to make sense of his return to the fold. About a decade ago, Krishna had announced his withdrawal from the December season in Chennai for having become excessively commodified and exclusivist. The Sangita Kalanidhi is the highlight of the season and when Krishna accepted it this year, there was a clear contradiction in his stance, to say the very least. Has he been drawn back into the fold, thus nullifying his politics? I would disagree. Not only can we expect Krishna to continue with his work towards greater inclusivity, but the conference at the Academy this year had a distinctly unusual complexion. It included, for instance, a “lecdem” (a portmanteau of lecture and demonstration) on oppari (grief performance) on the hallowed stage of the Music Academy, which would have been deeply repugnant to Brahmanical sensibility. In levelling the field and discussing the music of oppari, gana , and koothu along with ragas as handled by Thyagaraja and Dikshitar, Krishna appears to have stood his ground. Lakshmi Sreeram is a musician and faculty at Ahmedabad University. CONTRIBUTE YOUR COMMENTS SHARE THIS STORY Copy link Email Facebook Twitter Telegram LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit
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Smart scores 25, leads Grizzlies to 131-111 win over PistonsThe team standings in the boys Division I CIF State cross country race at Woodward Park in Fresno had strong Bay League representation. The Redondo (157 points) and Mira Costa (192) cross country team finished third and fifth, respectively. The Sea Hawks’ duo of Alexander Barbarie (15:28.3) and Mario Montoya (15:28.5) crossed the finish line in 18th and 19th place, respectively. Carson Ehman (15:36.5) led Mira Costa, finishing in 28th place. Krish Desai (15:38.8) was 31st. San Pedro was 18th as a team, led Christopher Frelix (15:39.7) in 34th place. In the girls race, Mira Costa finished 13th in the team standings. Anna Clarke (17:58.2) led the Mustangs, finishing in 27th place. Clarke’s time was the best for all South Bay runners. In Division IV, the Palos Verdes boys secured a fourth-place (166 points). Adrian Miller led the Sea Kings (15:32.4) with a 10th-place finish, with Lucas Nulman (15:34.8) finishing 12th. The Palos Verdes girls were sixth in their Division IV race (215 points). Ivanka Malysheva (18:14.3) led PV with a 12th-place finish Peninsula’s Jadeyn Skefich (18:23.8) finished 31st and he teammate Alexandra Himebauch (18:47.6) was 52nd in Division II. They qualified from CIF-SS finals as individuals. Chadwick was 20th in the Division V girls race. In Division III, West Torrance girls were 10th (283 points). Kamilah Salim led the Warriors (18:01.5) with a 15th-place finish. Alexis Wolfinger was next for West (22nd place) with a time of 18:18.9. The West Torrance finished ninth (261 points), led by Andrew Quast (15:04.7). South’s Liam Miller was second in the Division III race (14:51.9). His time led all South Bay runners and was the eighth-best time in the event. Miller finished second to Dana Hills’ Evan Noonan at last week’s CIF-SS finals and again Saturday. Quast (West) had the second-best time among South Bay runners. Mary Star’s Finn Babbitt finished 12th in the Division V with a time of 15:34.7.
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