The inHarmony series blends travel and music, through specially curated tours with Indian classical music blended together with elements of Heritage, Yoga, Literature and Classical dance. The series was conceptualized by accomplished musician-academic Dr. Padma Sugavanam, to take Carnatic music to new spaces beyond the auditoriums and concert halls – and share a heightened experience of the artform in some of the most breathtaking environs in the world.
inHarmony is a ‘musical offsite’ where participants are zoned away from their daily mundane concerns, and literally transported to a different experience of immersion. Padma has collaborated with eminent historian Dr. Chithra Madhavan, and accomplished musicians Shreya Devnath (violin), R Ramkumar (mridangam), J A Jayanth (flute) and N C Bharadwaj (mridangam) for these tours.
The first edition of inHarmony was a five-day musical retreat in Breathtaking Bali, focused on a relaxed experience of music,on daily excursions from Beingsattvaa – Ubud’s top rated Vegetarian retreat center. The second edition was a five-day Heritage and Music Tour of Splendid Sri Lanka, with heritage and music lovers going on a curated tour across Sri Lanka, along with Dr. Chithra Madhavan, Padma, Shreya and Ramkumar.
This concept has offered participants an unforgettable aesthetic experience of music recitals in pristine rainforests, lake-side terraces, sunrise cruises, ancient temples, palaces and heritage sites – along with curated visits of heritage sites with history lectures by scholars and experts. In future editions, elements of Yoga, Literature, and Classical dance will also be featured, along with Classical Music – in some of the most fascinating and breathtaking environs that the world has to offer.
Ravanan-kai-vettu is a fracture in a large, sheer rock looking into the beautiful seashore adjoining the 'paadal-petra sthalam' of Konesvaram in Trikonamalai (Trincomalee) in Sri Lanka. Legend has it that Ravana created a fracture in the rock through a powerful chop of his bare hand.In a dark incident in the history of this beautiful country, the Portuguese had ransacked this temple, and thrown the idol into the ocean, right around where this video was shot from. Arthur C Clarke, the pre-eminent science fiction writer, futurist and inventor, who was deeply influenced by Hinduism, led a scuba diving team to recover the idol and re-install it in the temple. The experience of re-discovering the idol in the ocean was so intense, that one of his fellow-divers actually renounced the world and became a sannyasi after its re-installation.What better way to celebrate the intensity of this place, Ravanan-kai-vettu, than with the intense rhythms of R Ramkumar 's mridangam!This video of Ramkumar playing a thani avartanam on a boat, is the quintessential picture of what we aspire to do on the #Inharmony series - take Carnatic music to new spaces, and share a heightened experience of the artfom, in some of the most breathtaking environs that the world offers.This video is from the just-completed second edition of this series - a Heritage and Music Tour of Splendid Sri Lanka for lovers of heritage and music, with eminent historian-scholar Dr. Chithra Madhavan, and accomplished musicians Shreya Devnath and R Ramkumar along with yours truly.More photos and videos to follow...Please like our page In Harmony : Blending Music, Travel and Nature for more updates on this tour, and future ones... #takingcarnatictonewspaces
Posted by Padma Sugavanam on Thursday, October 5, 2017
