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Melakartha Raga

The mēḷa system of ragas was first propounded by Raamamaatya in his work Svaramelakalanidhi c. 1550.He is considered the father of mela system of ragas. Later, Venkatamakhin , a gifted musicologist in the 17th century, expounded a new mela system known today as mēḷakarta in his work Chaturdandi Prakaasikaa . He made some bold and controversial claims and defined somewhat arbitrarily 6 svaras from the known 12 semitones, at that time, to arrive at 72 mēḷakarta ragas. The controversial parts relate to double counting of R2 (and similar svaras ) and his exclusive selection of madyamas for which there is no specific reasoning (also known as asampurna melas as opposed to sampurna ragas ). However, today the 72 mēḷakarta ragas use a standardized pattern, unlike Venkatamakhi's pattern, and have gained a significant following. Govindhacharya is credited with the standardization of rules and known for giving different names for standard ragas that have a different struct
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THE GREAT SAINT PURANDARADASA

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Purandara Dasa (1484-1564) A prolific poet-composer and mystic of Vijayanagar, introduced a music course that is followed to the present day. He is noted for composing Dasa Sahithya, as a Bhakti movement vocalist. Musicologists call him the "Sangeeta Pitamaha" (lit. grandfather) of Carnatic music.
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THE NAME 'CARNATIC MUSIC'

How the name Carnatic Music originated Carnatic music owes its name to the Sanskrit term Karnâtaka Sangîtam which denotes “traditional” or “codified” music. The characteristic concert format of “Carnatic music” evolved during the 20th century. A performer may draw inspiration from sacred texts and epics, mythology, aphorisms, patriotic poetry, stories, customs and dances associated with a particular place of pilgrimage; and conclude with “light” songs such as lullabies and love poetry. Source : Wikipedia
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THE TRINITY

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The Trinity of Carnatic music They refer to the outstanding trio of composer -musicians of Carnatic music in the 18th century, being Tyagaraja , Muthuswami Dikshitar and Syama Sastri . Prolific in composition, the Trinity of Carnatic music are known for creating a new era in the history of Carnatic music by bringing about a noticeable change in what was the existing Carnatic music tradition. Compositions of the Trinity of Carnatic music are recognised as being distinct in style, and original in handling ragas . The type of songs prevailing today, known as  kriti (lit. “creation“), was popularized by them. Their songs built on the kirtana tradition –  easy to  remember tunes suited for the congregational singing of South and North Indian lyrics. Comprising two or three melodic themes (pallavi, anupallavi and charanam), their songs continue to  kindle creativity, even displays of virtuosity, among today’s singers and instrumentalists.   All three compose
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