Apr 10 2026 to Apr 10 2026 7 p.m.

Where

Courtyard Koota

Ground floor, Good Earth Tarana Good Earth Malhar, near Rajarajeswari medical college Kambipura, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560074

Event Description

A concert by vocalist Mukul Kulkarni, interspersed with commentary by writer Sumana Ramanan about Hindustani music's history and aesthetics.

In this evening of literature, history and music, writer and award-winning journalist Sumana Ramanan will:

*Talk about and read from her recent book The Secret Master, about a hidden but vibrant underground world of classical music (20 minutes).
* Guide a recital by Mukul Kulkarni, one of India’s finest khayal singers, with live accompaniment (60 minutes).
* Both Sumana and Mukul will interact with the audience in a Q&A session (10 minutes).

About the event:

During the course of the evening, Sumana will trace how khayal, the most widespread genre of Hindustani music, with roots in north India, spread all over the sub-continent, including Karnataka, and how its centre of gravity moved to the Mumbai-Pune belt at the turn of the 20th century from the Delhi region, where it first evolved. Sumana will further talk about the journey of khayal in the 21st century, when some of the best musicians have become marginalised in a hidden underground culture because of unrestrained commercialisation.

In her three-stranded book, The Secret Master: Arun Kashalkar and a Journey to the Edge of Music, a work of literary non-fiction, she has written about her years spent in this underground culture as she learnt from one its most charismatic and accomplished musicians and became part of his large student community; she has charted the life story of this secret master, as he made his way from a remote town in Maharashtra to Mumbai, the centre of khayal; and finally, she has unfolded the history and aesthetics of khayal.

Mukul will present an array of raags, taals, compositions, compositional forms and improvisation techniques from his vast repertoire through a traditional khayal performance in which he will showcase three main styles of the six most widespread today, with Sumana offering historical context and explaining key aesthetic ideas before each rendition so that the audience knows what to look out for while listening.

About the presenters:

Sumana Ramanan is a writer and award-winning journalist with more than thirty-five years of experience. She is based in Bangalore, but has one foot in Mumbai, where she worked for most of her career. Her work is available at sumanaramanan.com.

Mukul Kulkarni, based in Pune, is one of the most exciting contemporary khayal singers. He combines the Gwalior, Agra and Jaipur styles, and is a top-grade artiste of All India Radio. Starting from childhood, he has learnt from five gurus, including the stalwarts Pandit Sharad Sathe and Pandit Arun Kashalkar. His music is available on YouTube on his channel: https://www.youtube.com/@MukulKulkarni.

Sagar Bharatraj is an accomplished and sought-after tabla player who has trained under his father, Bharathraj Venkat Rao, and been guided by the table stalwart Ravindra Yavagal and the vocalist Aditi Upadhya.

Niranjan ‘Bharat’ Hegde is a fine harmonium player who has trained under Shambhu Bhat, Prakash Hegde and Vasanth Kanakapur. He is now learning from Sudhir Nayak. He is consummate both in accompaniment and solo playing.

Age 12+