Madhavi Tumkur
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madhavi.bsky.social
Madhavi Tumkur
@madhavi.bsky.social
Music. Architecture. Nature. Poetry. Language. Culture. Folklores.
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How stereotypical is belly dancing that it overshadows other forms of dance fm the ME. Belly dance was never meant to entertain men; it was a fertility dance performed for women. Here too, men entertain themselves; not the opposite sex. Anyone out there knows what this dance is & where it is fm?
January 11, 2026 at 10:24 PM
Hong Kong’s golden hour from The Peak. Don’t know how many times I have seen it and still drawn to it like a moth to a flame.
December 31, 2025 at 10:44 PM
Anoushka Shankar’s Grammy-nominated “We Burn So Brightly” mixing classical Indian music with Goa trance is absolutely electrifying.
December 14, 2025 at 2:38 AM
The Khaleeji rap track topping Spotify’s viral chart after appearing in a Bollywood new release: #Dhuandhar. The song Fa9la by Bahraini rapper Flipperachi was originally released last year. The exposure in the Hindi espionage film helped push the track to the no 1 spot in the chart. V v v v catchy.
December 13, 2025 at 9:53 AM
It’s been 20 years and Lebanese Arab pop singer, Nancy Ajram, remains iconic, bridging generations; so much that even Billie Eilish recently said she “loooooooves her”.
December 4, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Sri Lankan curries are another level of yumminess. Beetroot Thel Dala, Wattakka (pumpkin) Curry, Bathala (sweet potato) curry and dhal eaten with Samba rice and coconut sambol is a ticket to gastro-heaven.
November 14, 2025 at 3:14 AM
Reposted by Madhavi Tumkur
In 1974, Surinder Gupta needed help and dialed a stranger in the phone book with a familiar Indian name. The man who answered went on to play a surprising role in his life.
A parent calls on a stranger in a moment of crisis, sparking a lifelong friendship
In 1974, Surinder Gupta needed help and dialed a stranger in the phone book with a familiar Indian name. The man who answered went on to play a surprising role in his life.
n.pr
August 19, 2025 at 10:53 PM
Galdive, an Indonesian duo made up of Tisha and Osvaldo, marry their love for R&B, electronic, classical & jazz music. Dreamy, ethereal & soulful, their “Teach Me How to Love” has become a standout success.
open.spotify.com/track/1VW5B2...
Teach Me How To Love
Galdive · Blue · Song · 2025
open.spotify.com
August 19, 2025 at 8:14 PM
August 14, 2025 at 9:10 AM
John Updike’s 1973 Phi Beta Kappa poem that was chosen as a prelude to Erich Segal’s The Class, published in 1985.
August 3, 2025 at 1:58 PM
The reason the horizon shines
Is that somewhere it's hiding you.
The reason I long for the many lights
Is that you are there in one of them.

Kimi o nosete (Carrying You) from the anime classic, Laputa: Castle in the Sky sung by Azumi Inoue is a melodious, foreboding song. youtu.be/3RE3KiwBrtw?...
youtu.be
July 31, 2025 at 6:00 PM
So soulful - Jalen Ngonda. Like Marvin Gaye. Like in the 70s. Like yesterday.
July 30, 2025 at 1:10 PM
Joy Crookes, a half-Bangladeshi; half-Irish singer from South London has dropped a new video: ‘Perfect Crime’, shot in Bangladesh. Her R&B style of singing reminiscent of Amy Winehouse or Lauryn Hill.

youtu.be/JhAqvMxo49I
Joy Crookes - Perfect Crime (Official Video)
YouTube video by JoyCrookesVEVO
youtu.be
July 20, 2025 at 2:28 AM
Lenin in Bishkek. Relegated to a less important square but hasn’t been pulled down.
July 14, 2025 at 4:46 PM
Dilruba, which literally means ‘one that steals your heart’, was once popular in Afghanistan. With the Taliban considering music anti-Islam, so much of its music is now lost to the world. The musician in the video is not an Afghani but the music will surely steal your heart youtu.be/CjFpKQk00c0?...
Dilruba Alap
YouTube video by Josh Bennett
youtu.be
June 25, 2025 at 2:25 PM
Circassian dance from the Caucasus is about combat & courtship. Circassian dance shares commonalities with ballet; men dance on the tips of their toes while women glide across the floor. The black outfit called a cherkes, a military style outfit with bullet cartridges worn across the chest.
June 25, 2025 at 2:07 PM
The existential dread
June 25, 2025 at 3:47 AM
The Kalbelia tribe from Rajasthan in India are snake charmers & their dance movements & costumes are inspired by the serpent's motions. Women dancers wear black attire & mimic the movements of a snake to the poongi (a woodwind instrument). The songs are often passed down orally.
June 24, 2025 at 6:47 PM
Balkan dances from Albania, Bosnia/ Serbia, Greece and Bulgaria. (Not sure if Greece can be considered a Balkan country though).
June 24, 2025 at 1:31 PM
Zulala Hashemi, an Afghan singer silenced under the Taliban rule was recently abducted & missing for the past 15 days. She is a mother to a 4-year old son. In Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, music is outlawed & artists forced into exile. youtu.be/HDzP9tcmxRQ?...
Zulala Hashemi & Baryalai Samadi Beautiful Songs | د زلاله هاشمي او بریالي صمدي په زړه پورې سندرې
YouTube video by Barbud Pashto
youtu.be
June 24, 2025 at 5:44 AM
‘Rato Bhale’, an iconic Nepali song about parents’ hopes & dreams about their children finding the right education, a life partner & spiritual growth, stands for life & tradition. It was sung by veteran Nepali singer, Ganesh Rasik, who passed away earlier this month.
open.spotify.com/track/46HQkp...
Rato Bhale
Ganesh Rasik, Hiranya Bhojpure · Lekali · Song · 1988
open.spotify.com
June 24, 2025 at 1:28 AM
Eléonore Fourniau was born in France & moved to Türkiye to learn Turkish & Kurdish music. Here, she sings an Azerbaijani Mugham at the Philharmonie de Paris a composition by Sami Yusuf, the Iranian-British songwriter of Azerbaijani descent.
June 23, 2025 at 6:16 PM
Could I be forgiven to believe this sounds Korean? Came by this piece & totally blew me away. Took me an age to find out who the singer is. She is Mongolia state artist, B. Narangerel, but just look at her attire & tell me Star Wars didn’t take inspiration for Padmé Amidala. youtu.be/oMevwSHQ4xk?...
Нуган заяаны чимэг Nugan zayanii chimeg Дуучин Л.Нарангэрэл СТА
YouTube video by Udshiin khemnel STUDIO
youtu.be
June 23, 2025 at 9:54 AM
Chakrulo is a Georgian polyphonic choral folk song about a man who is fighting for his own freedom and does not fear anything. The song breached galaxy after it was sent into space as a part of 27 musical recordings in NASA’s Voyager 2 in 1977. youtu.be/_dJSM8hPNcY?...
Georgian folk song - Chakrulo
YouTube video by Georgia Voyage
youtu.be
June 22, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Asru Dhiyaee Gelligen, a Dhivehi song written by Mariyam Saeed, wife of Maldivian Prez Ibrahim Nasir after their divorce is about love & its loss. “I’ve lost the beautiful days I imagined as petals blow away in the dry wind.” Mariyam was a renowned poet in Maldivian history. youtu.be/zSHZhjPC-Ho?...
Asru Dhiyaee Gelligen Ummeedhu Kuramun Ai Nayaa
YouTube video by Lucas Jaleel
youtu.be
June 22, 2025 at 10:51 AM