Dr. Lakshminarayana Subramaniam is an acclaimed Indian violinist, composer and conductor, trained in the classical Carnatic music tradition& Western classical music, renowned for virtuoso playing techniques & compositions in orchestral fusion. Ragam Thanam Pallavi is a form of singing in Carnatic South Indian Classical music which allows the musicians to improvise to a great extent. It is one of the most complete aspects of classical music, demonstrating the entire gamut of talents and the depth of knowledge of the musician. It incorporates raga alapana, tanam, niraval, and kalpanaswara. In more elaborate ragam thanam pallavis, a thani avarthanam may follow. In this form of pure melodic improvisation, the musician starts with a refrain to create the mood of raga and lays a foundation for composition to follow. Each ragam thanam pallavi has at least one raga associated with it. Thanam is one of the most important forms of improvisation, and is integral to ragam thanam pallavi. It is the second component of this composite form of improvisation. Originally developed for the veena, it consists of expanding the raga with syllables like tha, nam, thom, aa, nom, na, etc. Thanam is a rhythmic version of the raga alapana. Although tanam is often rendered without percussion support, the element of rhythm is more obvious in this type of improvisation. It is rendered in medium speed and just before commencing the third component of this composite form of improvisation; the pallavi. Pallavi is the equivalent of a refrain in Western music. Pallavi has 2 portions to it. The first half of Pallavi is an ascending piece of notes should always end at the strike of the beginning of the 2nd half of the Talam cycle.