Brahma Sri Tiruchendur Appadurai Aiyengar ~ Karaharapriya-Athi (1910)

Released in August 1910, this lovely piece is set in the kharahapriya rag with an 8 beat time cycle called athi. The performer is Brahma Sri Tiruchendur Appadurai Aiyengar (or Iyengar), a Carnatic (Southern) Indian classical musician of some renown in his time. Most likely recorded in Madras (present day Chennai), the performer was perhaps from -- or employed in -- the city of Tiruchendur, in the Southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, where Telugu is one of the primary languages. Tamil Nadu is the heart of Dravidian culture, and simply one of the most ancient places on Earth. The jaltharangam, often written jalatarang, is an oddity. Meaning “water waves,“ the jalatarang consists of small -- often porcelain -- bowls filled with water and struck with small -- often bamboo -- sticks. The bowls are arranged in front of the player in a semi-circle not unlike the tuned drums and gongs of Southeast Asia. The amount of water in each bowl determines the tuning (you ca