"Vikram Sampath"

// I cant understand why something like classical music needs to be seen through a linguistic prism?//

Well-said... Will you please ELABORATE... as to Why it should Not be Viewed So?

//.. first and foremost carnatic music is NOT tamil music! //

No.. It is Not correct to say so....Ancient History proves... that MUSIC was part of the Advanced Tamilian-culture... predating other HUman- Cultures...

Even though named differently in Tamil, ... like PANH to mean Raga and PAANHAR for an Instrumentalist... the Carnatic-Music was the Ancestral property of the Ancient- Tamilians, which is being shared by others now all over the world... like Several -light-flames emanating from one Main Jothi...

That is the reason for any Music-concert anywhere in the World... we can find the majority of Audience Tamilians... because it has been continued since several centuries back... whereas others started only recently... and so Rasikas are comparatively lesser from the other parts of India..

Alwars Arulhi-cheyal (Divya-prabhandham) as well as Saivai- Thirumurhais of Nayanmars have been SUNG in Musical-tunes ... just in the presence of God to them.. Those Ragas have been recorded even in the olden Palm-leaves as well as Copper-plated and the like Documents.

// it is perhaps true that today the world of carnatic music boasts of many musicians who happen to be Tamilians and chennai is quite a hub for this art form...//

Because Tamilians were the the earliest Owners... several centuries prior to others... which they nurtured further... as detailed above.

...// But historically speaking most of the great composers have used Telugu in abundance for their compositions, be it Saint Thyagaraja and Shyama Shastri or... hence all these concepts of "alien language" to carnatic musicians doesnot make any sense to me...(alien to whom? and why?)//

That is the Question ... I will answer... after hearing from all of you.