Rooted in Carnatic tradition yet shaped by contemporary imagination, the production takes listeners across ragas, rhythms and moods without breaking the flow.
CHENNAI: A World Music Day release ‘Potful of Swaraas - Melodic magic, Rhythmic resonance’ brings together DA Srinivas, Punya Srinivas and Navya Umesh in an ambitious exploration of melody, rhythm and reinvention
Every Chittaswaram has a life of its own. It carries melody, rhythm and character within it. We wanted to preserve that individuality while creating a journey that listeners could experience as one complete workDA Srinivas, Mridangam artist and performer
For nearly seven months, rehearsals revolved around a deceptively simple idea -- could five celebrated Chittaswarams, each complete and distinctive in its own right, be transformed into a single musical conversation?
The result is ‘Potful of Swaraas', a World Music Day (June 21) release that brings together veteran mridangam artiste DA Srinivas, acclaimed veena exponent Punya Srinivas and young performer Navya Umesh. Rooted in Carnatic tradition yet shaped by contemporary imagination, the production takes listeners across ragas, rhythms and moods without breaking the flow.
For Srinivas, the idea emerged from a long-standing fascination with the possibilities hidden within Chittaswarams. Known for his rhythmic productions and his efforts to bring percussion into the spotlight, the mridangam artiste saw an opportunity to present familiar Carnatic material from a fresh perspective.
"Every Chittaswaram has a life of its own. It carries melody, rhythm and character within it. We wanted to preserve that individuality while creating a journey that listeners could experience as one complete work," he says.
The challenge lay not in selecting the compositions, but in connecting them. The transitions had to feel natural, allowing one raga to lead seamlessly into another. “The result is a musical tapestry where each Chittaswaram retains its identity while contributing to a larger narrative,” he adds.
If rhythm forms the foundation of Potful of Swaraas, its melodic heart lies in the veena of Punya Srinivas.
Widely regarded as one of India's leading contemporary veena artistes, Punya has spent decades expanding the instrument's reach through collaborations with global musicians while remaining firmly rooted in Carnatic tradition. Yet even for someone who has worked with legends such as Ravi Shankar, and Ilaiyaraaja, the concept felt refreshingly new.
"What excited me was that nobody had approached Chittaswarams this way before," she says. "These are passages, which every Carnatic listener instantly recognises.”
The project also aligns with a larger mission she has pursued throughout her career, bringing greater visibility to the veena. "Veena is one of our most beautiful instruments, but it deserves to be heard more. Projects like this help introduce it to newer listeners in a different way."
Having represented India on stages across Europe, and Asia, Punya views music not merely as performance but as a deeply personal space. "Music gives me joy. It rejuvenates me. It is where I feel most myself,” she says.
The youngest member of the trio, Navya Umesh, brings a different perspective to the production.
A singer, pianist, theatre artist and practitioner of konnakol, Navya grew up surrounded by music. Yet stepping into a project alongside two seasoned artists was both daunting and exhilarating. "I was nervous, excited and grateful all at once," she recalls. "Just being given this opportunity felt like a blessing."
Over months of rehearsals, she found herself drawing on multiple aspects of her training. In Potful of Swaraas, she contributes vocals, piano and konnakol, creating textures that complement both the veena and the mridangam.
"There was so much to learn from them. Every rehearsal taught me something new. They constantly pushed me to give my best." For Navya, whose artistic journey also includes live musical theatre performances that combine singing, acting and costume changes on stage, music has evolved into something far greater than a profession.
"Music has become my identity. It balances me. No matter what is happening around me, it always brings me back to myself." That sense of continuity perhaps mirrors the essence of Potful of Swaraas itself.
As World Music Day celebrates music's ability to cross borders, Potful of Swaraas offers a reminder that some of the most meaningful journeys happen within tradition itself. For the trip, classical music is not a relic to be preserved behind glass, but a living, breathing art form capable of endless reinvention. When the final note fades, what remains is not merely a composition, but a conversation between melody and rhythm, past and present, teacher and student, silence and sound. And in that conversation lies the enduring magic of music.
Every Chittaswaram has a life of its own. It carries melody, rhythm and character within it. We wanted to preserve that individuality while creating a journey that listeners could experience as one complete work
– DA Srinivas, Mridangam artist and performer