NARAYANA GURU COMPOSITIONS
___
Narayana Guru was a man who donned several hats. A social reformer, spiritualist, thinker, modernist but more importantly, a poet. The Backwaters Collective approached TM Krishna to turn some of his poetic works into the framework of Carnatic Music. Written in three languages, Sanskrit, Malayalam, and Tamil, these compositions had a sense of musicality intertwined, setting them aside from the other works of Narayana Guru. TM Krishna reimagined these pieces to suit the enormous scope of Carnatic Music, giving way to use these compositions in Manodharmam or the creative aspect of Carnatic Music. This ensures that these compositions are not just left out for the tukada section and take center stage of the concert. About 12 pieces have now been set to tune, and this project keeps growing, giving the scope to explore numerous other works of Narayana Guru.