When we started this website, we were a little skeptical about the response we'd get, but we have had a truly delightful journey so far. What makes this more special is having esteemed visitors, who have, through various ways, encouraged us -- be it responding regularly, week after week, to our Raga Quiz, giving their wholesome praise, encouragement and even spreading the word about Raga Surabhi to others. We want to showcase some of the great feedback we have received in this page.
Note: We will be happy to feature your comments in this page.. Just send an email with your feedback and your details
Vijayanand Narayanan from London
Hearty congratulations to Raga Surabhi on completing 25 weeks since inception. As a rasika, it has been a brilliant journey thus far, filled with a load of memorable experiences. I get a true feeling of gaining knowledge being associated with Raga Surabhi.
In my humble opinion, Raga Surabhi is the best website out there on the internet when you are looking for information in the realm of carnatic music. There are numerous websites which offer podcasts and snippets on how to identify ragas. But, what makes Raga Surabhi head and shoulders above them all? I think the answer is in the wealth of information that the website offers. A totally committed team, eminent mentors, continuity in the lessons and in particular, the ability of Raga Surabhi to connect to the listeners.
Honestly, when I first stumbled upon Raga Surabhi, I thought it is 'just another' carnatic music website. But, within minutes of looking through the content, my perception changed significantly. The unique way presenting a raga in 4 different formats certainly does the trick for me. If the raga does not register in your mind based on the Arohanam - Avarohanam, not to worry, there is a Carnatic song tuned in that raga. If that fails there is another back up i.e Cine song in that raga. Well, if all the aforementioned ways let the raga slip through the net then the Signature piece ought to nail it. In this way, I have learnt so many of the ragas presented in the website. I am not actually embarrassed to say that I started pretty much at ground zero without any knowledge of the ragas. In many months of staying with Raga Surabhi, I have learnt almost effortlessly so many ragas.
There is so much more offering on the website besides identifying ragas. You are able to download full songs, read Surabhi post that has interesting articles about music theory, follow up blogs and last but not the least, Raga Surabhi Quiz - a litmus test.
Learning how to identify ragas is so essential to be an ardent fan of carnatic music. It makes the listening experience so much more fun. Sincere thanks to the Raga Surabhi team for their effort and the incredible knowledge they are imparting on their listeners. Carry on marching forward!!
About me
I am an Asian British, born and bred in Chennai , now living with my lovely wife and daughter in London. I am a Computer Engineer and work in the IT as a Technical Lead. My passion is listening to music, be it Carnatic, Western or Cine songs. I am now an avid follower of Raga Surabhi. I also play western music (Grade 4 standard) on keyboard and at present studying at the Trinity College of music in London. I love travelling to places and visiting my beloved parents who are living in Chennai. Just like many other boys, I love new toys (a gadget gizmo!!). My long term ambition is to complete Grade 8 on keyboard and play for the ‘music genius’ ARR.
Govindarajan N.
Hello Hats off to you people who have set up this.Brilliant and one understands the value of internet when we get to see these sites.I get the feeling that even I can learn ragas.
Ummettala Chandrashekhar from Chennai
I was a zero in Carnatic music when I hit this Raga Surabhi site just by chance. After going through thoroughly all the contents of this site, I was happy to feel in my heart I reached the heavenly plane of the Carnatic music. I have an aptitude for music and good ear for listening to live concerts and recorded renderings, but I always wondered how this form of music could be so intoxicating to artists as well as rasikas for years. I was looking for ways to demystify this wonderful field of human excellence. Now that I got RS site, I know I have every possible opportunity to understand, appreciate and really enjoy the Carnatic music style for the rest of my life.
Many congratulations and my grateful prostrations to those who are selflessly endeavoring to spread this traditional yet very rich form of music to anyone seeking to explore it right from scratch. I have actually no words to express how joyful I became knowing that such light is thrown by RS to rasikas to see the path of Carnatic music and light up their own music journeys! All glories to the Raga Surabhi! Long Live Raga Surabhi! Long live people behind it!
Ummettala Chandrashekhar, Aged 54, Chennai
G Parthasarathy from Chennai
We are glad to know that Ragasurabhi is celebrating silver jubilee of weeks. We are sure that in due course RS will celebrate golden jubilee and diamond jubilee of not only weeks but also of months and years. Let Raga Surabhi grow as a banyan tree and fulfill the needs and wishes of not only Stalwarts in music but also those of beginners and amateurs. Raga Surabhi ,true to its name is re-creating all classical tunes bringing out their salient features and sending rasikas, into raptures and fans the jwala in the hearts of fans. It is quite heartening to note that a dedicated mission and vision in the field of divine classical music is being carried out by a talented family of mucisians. We wish the Raga Surabhi workers all success in their endeavour.....
Parthasarathys, Adambakkam
Vijayakumar from Chennai
I am an engineering professional, a music illiterate with passion to start somewhere in this unexplored area of mine. In fact, the ragasurabhi site got launched when I was really looking to learn and identify ragas so that concert hearing becomes more enjoyable. The features of this site provided just exactly what I was looking for and thanks to the patient efforts of the site masters and virtual gurus behind the idea, I am getting better and better in appreciating ragas and carnatic music. In fact, the whole family of ours including my spouse, daughter and father listen to the audio files of this site and constantly upgrade our exposure. To put it simple and straight, this site has changed the way I spend my spare time and use my weekends for some solid learning.
My humble pranams to the virtual gurus behind this learning experience of ours. May your efforts take us to great heights of enlightenment!!
Krishnan V from Bangalore
I have been following this site regularly, i must say its humbling & spiritual experience for me personally. I would like to congratulate the team for their accomplishment so far. Keep up the good work.
Radha Rangarajan from Jakarta
Thank you so much for making so much efforts in spreading our divine Shastriya sageetham ! I enjoy every bit of your presentation and eagerly look forward for your updates every Saturday. Congratulations for the wonderful work and you have all the divine blessings!
Sushma Deepak from Bangalore
Being a carnatic music enthusiast and a student of carnatic classical vocal,I got to know of this website from a colleague in Infosys,Bangalore.Listening to the songs sung by Uma Ma'am,I am inspired to take music as a serious hobby and devote as much time as possible.The song rendition has been simple yet beautiful;anyone can enjoy as well as learn to sing the songs easily.In this era of fast life,Raga Surabhi has provided a very good channel for music lovers to keep in touch with carnatic music.Though we have some many other platforms for music,I like this platform as we get to learn new concepts be it through the Raga Quiz or the full songs that Uma Ma'am renders or the blogs which provide the conceptual knowledge.
I wish Raga Surabhi will scale new heights,reach many more listeners and inspire many people like me!
Meena Menon, freelance web designer as well as a freelance journalist from Kerala
This is just to express my sincere thanks to you for starting such a wonderful site as ragasurabhi which is extremely useful to rasikas like us. today during my search for some songs in 'marga hindolam' i came across your site fortunately !! i was really over whelmed with joy that i couldn't stop myself from mailing you to thank.. :) ..Your idea of reciting each raaga with its name is extremely brilliant !! latest upload comparing poorvikalyani & panthuvarali was really helpful to me
..Thanking you again for such a brilliant contribution to the world of music.
expecting more and more from you..... may god bless you always…
Subash Swaminathan from Decatur, Illinois, USA
Ragasurabhi is really a welcome venture & an admirable site amongst the numerous Carnatic music online portals. Other sites only talk about either the theory or upload few audio of some prerecorded CD piece. But Ragasurabhi is the only site that I know of, which brings in both the theory & practice, inculcating the concepts through well diversified examples. I love every section of your site specially Identifying raga and the audio Quiz. I've been telling my friends/relatives also to visit your site and to learn/benefit something new every time they visit your site. I sincerely hope that Ragasurabhi will continue to grow like Amudhasurabhi. I wish you good luck on that and a big 'kudos' to the entire team of Ragasurabhi.
Sreenadh Jonnavithula, Director, Shruti Laya, from New York
...This is a great concept, I really like the idea of the "Raga Signature". I think it will really help beginners fix the ragam in their mind...
Geetha Upadhyaya, Artistic Director/CEO of Kalasangam from UK
Many congratulations on such a wonderfully illuminating site and a very useful site educationally, artistically and culturally.
Hareesh Panicker, Lecturer in Mech Engg., Carmel Polytechnic College, Alappuzha, Kerala
My hearty congrats for the surabhi team for taking the initiative to start such a wonderful site. It is very informative and helps both beginners as well as experts in carnatic music.Thanx once again for this idea.
Anil Potty from Kilimanur, Kerala
As a whole.............GREAT EFFORT...APPRECIABLE EFFORT BY ALL.. Thank you very much for the sincere approach//effort
Srivathsan Nadathur, New Jersey
First of all thanks to the entire team for coming up with such a novel implementation of raga identification. The content, presentation and artistry are all superb. Winston Churchill said '"If you have knowledge, let others light their candles with it." My horizons have broadened considerably after frequent visits to ragasurabhi.
The great things about this site: Barely a few minutes and the essence of a raga is laid out clearly. The presentation is succinct and crisp. Clear and to the point. Even the allied raga comparison is dealt within a few minutes and you come away becoming an expert yourself. The site has no annoying flash animations, advertisements, popups etc. The interface is very simple and unintimidating. I love the quiz section, that provides the necessary challenge.
A job done really well, and thanks for bestowing your visitors with the gift of knowledge.
From Rasikas.org website
http://www.rasikas.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=12993
Anu Pajjur from Washington DC
Thank you so much for creating and maintaining the website. In my opinion, ragasurabhi is definitely the best web site to find the scale of ragams and learn to identify them.
My name is Anu Pajjur, and I have learnt Carnatic music since a young age, in Mysore. I find it very useful to get the scale and become more familiar with certain not-so-common ragams, by listening to you on your website.
Thank you very much for your website, and wish you all the best!
Praveen Kota, Electrical engineer from San Diego, CA
There are numerous web pages that attempt to educate readers on the various aspects of carnAtic music, but there are a few things about rAga surabhi that struck me the most. While it's mostly about identifying rAgas, the brief discussions in the posts section offer an interesting read. The way Dr. Uma offers proof through an audio clip is exemplary, be it the pidi sanchArAs of sankarAbharaNam or sangathis in banturEthi kolu. The training DIY swara sthAna exercises are very useful for relative beginners like me. I also find the brief rAga muthirai (authors call it "signature") and the twin rAga comparison sections very novel and enjoyable. Add to all this the weekly quiz that I look forward to the most, isn't it great to get those rAga's right and see your name in the winners' list, yay :) Being a professional myself, I can imagine how difficult it might be to find time to do all this and answer questions from a lot of readers so promptly and patiently. For this a special thanks to Dr. Uma and the rAga surabhi team.
All in all personally to me these past several weeks of rAga surabhi experience has been very refreshing and inspiring. Kudos to the team on their efforts to instill a passion about our classical system of music and make the listener understand and appreciate this great ancient music form better. I'd like to congratulate the entire rAga surabhi crew and secretly hope that it continues for a long time :)
Vijay Vijayaseelan - Sydney
I am looking for a WEB site like this for years and today I bumped into your WEB site.
Thank You. This is a wonderful effort.
I am 53, a fanatic rasika of Carnatic music for the last 10 years. Attends the Chennai December music festival every year.
In the last few years I had the urge to learn Carnatic music to understand the structure & Ragas so that I can appreciate more and to identify Ragas. Thank you again for your good work and encouraging people like me to learn more.
Emilija from Slovenia, Europe
I would like to compliment your great effort and work you are doing with ragasurabhi website. Site like yours is specially helpful for us foreigners who love Carnatic music but are far from teachers, concerts, ect.
Wishing you a lot of success with your work and all the best to the whole team.
Dr. Jayakumar R Menon, Kerala
I first came across your wonderful website few months back while I was searching for the scientific aspects of classical music (vocal). Immediately I knew that this is the site I was looking for. Everything was explained very clearly and with illustrating examples. I think your excellent skills in music coupled with your scientific background made all the articles very useful.
I by profession is a phonosurgeon (specialist in voice disorders) and am immensely benefitted from your teachings. As I have suggested earlier it is my wish to get you two as the faculty members for the professional voice care workshops I conduct. I also wish to congratulate the entire team inclusive of the web master. Good luck.
A Carnatic Music Student from Malaysia.
First of all, I would like to convey a huge THANK YOU through this e-mail to you for providing such great support to Carnatic music students, as well as to Rasikas etc. Being a student from Southeast Asia, I've always felt that I was lagging in some aspects due to the unavailability of access to regular live kutcheris and proper lecture sessions. I could hardly guess swarams in particular sangatis or would take forever to do so (there were many more problems that I faced). However, things started changing when a friend of mine introduced this site to me. I have to say honestly that when I opened it for the first time, I fell in love with it right away. Everything in Raga Surabhi is so well-arranged and does not complicate me- each section is easily accessible. I find the simplicity of this site very interesting!
The detailed lec-dems together with the DIYs and most importantly, the Weekly Quizzes have really made me improve- I can even guess swarams with minimal errors now! Laya Lahiri too has given me knowledge of talas. I have even introduced Raga Surabhi to my sister and my friends- they too find it very useful.
Thank you Raga Surabhi for providing this wonderful support! :)