The grand old lady of the vina, Ranganayaki Rajagopalan, took up the instrument at the age of three with the famous master Karaikudi Sambasiva Iyer, who lived nearby and became attached to the child. This musician, with her severe bearing, now has an unrivalled reputation for her breathtaking performances. The word Carnatic denotes the main style of classical music of southern India (that is to say of four states : Andhra-Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka), as distinct from the Hindustani music of the North. This musical corpus is here represented by 4 ragas, played on the vina, a large, long-necked, plucked lute.