CONTACT US
Get in touch with Raga Seva to discover more about our work or to contribute your time. We thank you for your support.
RAVANTH BASKARAN
Co-Founder
A Carnatic Flautist for approximately 9 years, Ravanth has performed throughout Singapore. Ravanth is also an International Baccalaureate Programme graduate from Anglo-Chinese School (Independent).
A special acknowledgement to Harul Dass, a Carnatic Flautist and connoisseur himself, and "Vamshidwani" for their contributions to the knowledge-base of information on Raga Seva.
RAMANA SABAPATHY
Co-Founder/Strategic Advisor
Sabapathy Tirupathi Ramana began learning the flute in 2004 in SIFAS under Sri Trichy L. Saravanan. He continued his flute education under Sri V. K. Sivakumar. In 2012, Ramana took his flute studies to a higher level by learning first-hand under flute maestro Sangeetha Kalanidhi Dr. N. Ramani and his grandson Sri Athulkumar Rangarajan. He clinched the first prize in the National Indian Music Competition two years later, and held SIFAS’s first-ever Arangetram in 2016 after the completion of his 8th Grade in the same year. Ramana is a regular performer in Singapore, most notably having been chosen to perform at the Music and Dance Season 2015 in Chennai, and at “Sangae Muzhangu 2013” at the Esplanade Theatres by the NUS Tamil Literary Society, making him one of the youngest musicians to participate in the programme. Ramana is also an active member of the SIFAS Alumni, having performed in their productions over the past few years, and most recently performed in Sree Neelakanta Sivan Sangeetha Sabha in Kerala. Ramana is currently pursuing the nuances of the Carnatic flute under flute prodigy Sri Shashank Subramanyam.
SHARANNIYAN RAGAVAN
Founder
Having been a disciple of the Carnatic Flute for nearly a decade, Sharanniyan was the catalyst in engineering Raga Seva from the ground up. Sharanniyan is a recent International Baccalaureate Programme graduate from Anglo-Chinese School (Independent).
THE PEOPLE
Just your ordinary twenty-year-olds with an extraordinary passion.
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
We are optimistic of reaching out to the many senior music students and individual artistes who have graduated in the various Carnatic disciplines. With their assistance, Raga Seva would have the sustained growth required for our efforts.
OFFICIAL SUPPORT
As Raga Seva takes hold, we intend to source support from existing organisations that already support movements like ours. Through these official endorsements Raga Seva would reach the next level of attention.
OVERSEAS INVOLVEMENT
As our founders intend to begin their undergraduate studies overseas, Raga Seva look towards migrating to those respective universities and surrounding regions. At that point, we hope Raga Seva would truly have become a global venture.
OUR PLANS
As we move forward from inception, we have outlined our objectives for the future.
SO WHAT EXACTLY ARE YOU TRYING TO ACHIEVE?
Simply put, we feel that the classical Indian arts have not received much attention in the world of today. We believe that everyone should be able to play the Flute, Veena, Tabla or Sitar or any Indian instrument of their choice as easily as watching a YouTube video and we are tapping onto what we have learnt and social media to achieve our goal.
WHY DO YOU THINK YOU WILL BE ABLE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
As ex-teenagers ourselves, we know that the first place youths turn to learn about something is the Internet. Thus by publicising what we already do as students of Classical music, we aim to capture the interests of those within our social circle and thereby rapidly gain momentum for our cause.
SO HOW DO WE MOVE FORWARD?
Our initial efforts are to have a firm footing for Raga Seva. From there we look towards having like-minded pundits of Classical Indian music, official organisations, schools and arts institutions volunteer to come on board to further our aims.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
You are probably puzzled as to what we are doing so just to clarify...
RECENT UPDATES
May 20, 2017
A multi-instrumentalist Carnatic musician, Balamuralikrishna was one of south India's most influential vocalists and composers.
April 13, 2017
Designed to evoke various feelings amongst the audience, the ragas form the fundamentals of composition in classical Indian music.
March 17, 2017
Back from a hiatus, our latest article is on the Pancharatna Kritis, a set of 5 compositions by Tyagaraja, amongst the most prominent pieces in Carnatic music.
Our latest article discusses improvisation, a prominent feature in Carnatic compositions and concerts.
February 04, 2017
Back from a short hiatus, our latest tidbit explores the life of the great Papanasam Sivan a Carnatic vocalist from the 1930s.
January 01, 2017
As a permanent feature, we have created a section for the legendary artistes of Carnatic music.
January 01, 2017
Bass and treble clefs, semitones and semibreves, these are fairly common terms used in today's vocabularies. But what are srutis and ragas? So what are the key facets of Carnatic music? Read on to find out.
December 31, 2016
So how exactly does one play the flute? How would you hold it and blow? Read on to find out.
December 23, 2016
In our second instalment we discuss the history of the flute and its genesis.
December 16, 2016
Our first tidbit discusses the origins of Carnatic Music and what it exactly is.
PERFORMANCES
The cornerstone of Raga Seva's pursuits are the various performances that we partake in throughout the year. From events of cultural significance to fundraisers, this is perhaps the most impactful avenue for our efforts.
MENTORSHIP
Although music is an endless process, having 3 decades of combined experience in Carnatic music under our belts, we routinely look towards sharing this knowledge with newcomers to the scene and are active in tutoring our juniors at our music school.
ALUMNI WORK
Through grounded ties with our high schools, we are able to endeavour towards forming smaller music interest groups within school, guiding their formation, growth and ensuring continued support.
WHAT WE DO
Working together with existing institutions such as local music schools, Raga Seva is active through performances, guiding new/junior music students and alumni work at our respective alma maters.
 |  |
|---|
MISSION
Although not as well-known as their Western counterpart, Indian Classical music has been a staple of Indian culture since ancient times. Both branches, Carnatic and Hindustani, have been said to have divine origins. Ancient treatises describe the connection of the origin of the swaras, or notes, to the sounds of animals and birds and man's effort to simulate these sounds through a keen sense of observation and perception.
The evident religious connotations of Indian Classical music, the difficulty of picking up an instrument that one might not have even seen before and the language barriers have served as hindrances to those who might be interested in pursuing these art forms.
Breaking these walls and misconceptions and encouraging the continued growth of Indian Classical music not just in Singapore but throughout the world was the main principle upon which Raga Seva was founded as well as the goal we are working towards.
ABOUT US
Established in 2016, locally in Singapore, Raga Seva (literally "melody service") is an unique social organization dedicated to nurturing the Indian Classical Arts and making it accessible to the masses.
servants of melody