T. Janakiraman’s love for music flows deeply in his writing, peaking in his novel Mohamul, later made into a film. Chennai’s vibrant music scene continues to inspire as Kalachuvadu publishes a fresh collection of his short stories about music. The book includes a preface by Sangita Kalanidhi Sanjay Subrahmanyan. Janakiraman’s father, Thyagaraja Sastry, excelled in Harikatha, and Janakiraman learned music under Umayalpuram Swaminatha Iyer in Kumbakonam. Although trained in music, Janakiraman did not choose it as a career. As Kalyanaraman shares, “Swaminatha Iyer passed away on the very day Janakiraman was to make his debut. When he went out to confirm the news, he saw the body being taken for the funeral.” The collection features ten stories that mix musical themes and the experience of listening. Readers find Janakiraman’s clear preference for Carnatic music and his skepticism about other music forms and criticism. Sanjay Subrahmanyan remarks in his preface, “This cannot be dismissed as Janakiraman’s personal taste alone... I encountered listeners who shared his views.” The story Kottumelam reflects this stance, showing Janakiraman's enthusiasm for the nagaswaram in traditional settings, but his dislike when used with folk dance. Janakiraman rarely digs into music’s technical details. Instead, as Subrahmanyan notes, “It is about the experience — just the name of a raga, a line from a keerthana, a few musical terms scattered through the writing.” His works evoke the rich joy of listening. In Rasikarum Rasikaiyum, the musician hero Markandam cannot exploit a woman's admiration, as she boldly tells him he is wrong to praise himself over Tyagaraja. Other stories like Kuzhanthaimethai and Pashanga Ragam explore the struggles of musical prodigies and harsh critiques of failed musicians turned critics. Sadly, one of Janakiraman’s best stories, Natesanna, is not in this collection. This new book invites readers to experience music not just as sound, but as a deeply felt journey.