Belonging through Emotional Resonance in Carnatic Music.
Publication information:
Abstract
Carnatic music will be presented as a yogic practice in which rāga, rhythm, lyrics, and
improvisation unite the artist, the audience, and the divine Self through the nine rasas. Through sustained sādhana, the kalākar refines breath, presence, and emotional clarity, transmitting bhāva that listeners experience as shared aesthetic emotion. The session invites participants to dissolve the performer-listener divide through guided listening, svara singing, and demonstrations of kṛti expression. Participants directly experience how emotion lives in sound, observe its effects on body and mind, and reflect together. The goal is to encounter Carnatic music not as entertainment but as a relational, contemplative practice and a pathway toward inner stillness.
Presenter Biographies
Snehapriya Rao, founder of Pranava Arts Collective, holds an MA in Hindu Studies from the Hindu University of America and is a certified Yoga teacher. A student of Carnatic music under Lalitha Chithra Ravindran, her work explores Yogic arts, community building, and intergenerational stewardship of Indic traditions within the Hindu diaspora in America.
Mallika Vadlamani is a Carnatic music educator and performer with twenty-five years of teaching and forty years of training. She holds Master’s degrees in Carnatic Music, English Literature, and Creative Writing, and studies with Dr. Vijayalakshmy Subramaniam in Chennai. Her work explores connections between spiritual longing, music, and the written word.