March 26 2008, 7 pm
HarperCollins Publishers
India and Prakriti Foundation
in association with Madras Book Club launched The Silent Raga
by Ameen Merchant
Reading of excerpts from the book by Subhasri Ramachandran Deesh Mariwalla & Ameen Merchant Venue: Taj Connemara, Binny Room, Chennai
Ameen Merchant is a first-time novelist and author of The Silent Raga, a lyrical book that traces the paths of two sisters from Madras to Bollywood and back. Janaki’s mastery involves a deep understanding of ragas -- the musical scales of Indian classical music. In the story, the raga seems mysterious
and exotic The fundamental structure is no different from that of Western
Classical Music. Seven
The ragas are always classical; it is the interpretation of a raga that has modern possibilities. If one decides to step out of the set order of one particular raga, one must also be ready to accept the corruption that comes with it. The sections in the novel are titled Varnam, Alaapana, Krithi, Ragam Thaanam Pallavi, Padham, Thillaana, and Mangalam. Evidently these reflect the elements of a raga. The sections in the novel correspond to the categories during a South Indian (Carnatic) classical concert. It is within these categories that the artiste explores the same or different ragas. The structure is integral to the novel in many ways. Most importantly, it captures the concert of emotions between the two sisters as they prepare for their meeting.
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Ameen
Merchant was born in Bombay and raised in Madras, India. The Silent Raga
is his first novel. He lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, where he is
working on his next novel and programming a new Bollywood audio channel
for the CBC.
