tour amid threats.Īrun is based in Chennai, formerly known as Madras, the capital of India's Tamil Nadu state. This summer, Arun became the target of a fierce social media campaign by Hindu traditionalists, angry that he planned to give a concert of Christian hymns in Carnatic style. Arun is a Carnatic singer famous for adapting outside songs to the local Indian classical music style. Out of India's 1.3 billion people, the greatest number are Hindus, followed by Muslims and then Christians. Some songs are also in other regional languages including Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam, which is spoken mostly in the southern Indian state of Kerala, where there is a large Christian population. Many Carnatic songs are in Tamil, one of the languages spoken in parts of South India where Carnatic singing is most popular. It's improvisational, like jazz, but relies most heavily on accompaniment from the violin, flute, tanpura and percussion instruments like theĬarnatic music is built on an intricate and highly technical system of Some verses are from as early as the 2nd century, but most were composed from the 16th century onward, especially during the 18th and 19th

Most Carnatic songs are devotional, in praise of Hindu deities.

' explore different genres, out of love for music - not that I want to convert to any other religion. It is very, very easy to adapt yourself to any style,' Arun tells NPR.

'I'm Hindu - 100 percent Hindu! And that's the beauty of Carnatic music. He also played a Carnatic tribute to the late Beatle George Harrison alongside the Indian musician Ravi Shankar and others at London's Royal Albert Hall during a concert featuring Eric Clapton and Ringo Starr.īut this summer, when Arun advertised a concert of Christian hymns in Carnatic style, social media erupted, calling him a traitor to his Hindu faith. He once performed a Carnatic version of 'Danny Boy' onstage in Ireland. He's recorded several dozen albums.Īrun is famous for adapting outside songs to Carnatic style. The tanpura, a long-necked, stringed instrument that emits a constant drone. It's an embellished form of singing frequently backed by Arun has been a professional singer of Carnatic music, a classical genre popular in South India.

Carnatic christian songs in tamil