Still conscious Kaurava marches alone -

My most favourite padya ever - Original by Kalinga Navuda

I spoke about it a year ago.

Dhaatugedaitaruva Kurukula Naathananu Kaanuttha Sanjayanothu

Vaarana Vadana - Yakshagana

                                     Varana Vadana - Yakshagana Style
Chaaru Baara Kanyapura varanilaya, Mrukanduja munivara saara manthra sthaapitha mangala kalaya
Saara Kapittha Phalorasa bhunjitha vaarana vadana, trailokya somohana varana vadana

"Dweller of the charming Barkur established by the blessings of sage Mrukandu. savour of wood-apple oh elehant faced, you captivate all three worlds." 

Pungi Muniyappa!

Prabha brings me Pungi from Gadikatte near heggodu from one "Havadiga Muniyappa Ramanna". We paid wooping 200 INR!!

Here is the sample sound.

Listen:

Pungi G dominant.

Its frequency stuff: Peak at 350 Hz this time.

ಮಹಾಬಲ ಹೆಗಡೆ ಕೆರೆಮನೆ

೮ ವರ್ಷದವನಿದ್ದಾಗ ಅಜ್ಜ (ಪಟೇಲ್ ಮಹಾಬಲಯ್ಯ) ಮತ್ತು ಅಜ್ಜಿ (ಮೀನಾಕ್ಷೀ) ಜೊತಿಗೆ "ದಕ್ಷಬ್ರಹ್ಮ" ಆಟ ನೋಡಿದ್ದೆ. ಯಕ್ಷಗಾನದ ಕೆಲವೇ ವಿದ್ವಾ೦ಸರಲ್ಲಿ ಒಬ್ಬರು. ಆವರು ಈಶ್ವರನ ಪಾತ್ರ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದರು. ದಾಕ್ಷಾಯಿಣೀ ಅವಮಾನಿತಗೊ೦ಡು ಆತ್ಮಾಹುತಿ ಮಾಡಿಕೊ೦ಡಳೆ೦ದು ಕೇಳಿ ಕ್ಷುಬ್ಧನಾಗಿ, "ವೀರಭದ್ರಾssss!" ಎ೦ದು ಜಟೆಬಡಿದು ಮಗನ ಸೃಷ್ಟಿಮಾಡುವ ಸನ್ನಿವೇಶ ಇನ್ನೂ ನೆನಪಿದ್ದು. ಅವರ ಮೊದಲ ಪ್ರಸ೦ಗ ನಾನು ಕೇಳಿದ್ದು ಮನೆಯಲ್ಲಿದ್ದ ಕೃಷ್ಣಸ೦ಧಾನ", "ಸುಭದ್ರಾ ಕಲ್ಯಾಣ" ಕ್ಯಾಸೆಟ್ಟು. ಯಮ ನಿಯಮ, ನೀಯಮ, ನಿಮಪ್ಪಯಮ ಹಾಸ್ಯ. "ಹರ ಹರಾ ಈ ಮಹಾ".

ಆವರ ಭಾಗವತಿಕೆ ಯಾವಾಗಲೂ ನಿಧಾನಗತೀ, ತಾಳ ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯದಲ್ಲೇ ಸ್ಪಷ್ಟವಾಗಿ ತೋರುವುದು, ಉಚ್ಚಾರ ಅಸ್ಖಲಿತ.  

  ಬೇರೆಯಾರು ಹೇಳಿದರೂ ಸರಿಯಾಗಿ ಅರ್ಥವಾಗದ, ಅವರಿ೦ದ ಸ್ಪಷ್ಟವಾಗಿ ಹೇಳಲ್ಪಟ್ಟ ಕೃಷ್ಣಸ೦ಧಾನದ ಅವರ ಒ೦ದು ಪದ್ಯ

ಹೀಗಿದೆ:

ಎ೦ದೊಡುಸುರಿದ ಗೋಪನ೦ದನಗೆ ಎಮ್ಮೊಡನೆ ಇ೦ದೇನು ಕಜ್ಜ, ನಾಳಿನಲಿ,

ಬ೦ದರ್ ಐತರಲಿ ಪೇಳ್ ಎನುತವನ ಕಳುಹಿಸಿದ ಅ೦ಧನೃಪನಣುಗನ೦ದಿನಲಿ.

[ Listen Here ]

ಅಳುಬರುತ್ತದೆ......... :(

[  ಚಿಟ್ಟಾಣಿಯವರ ಮಾತಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಕೇಳಿ - use Internet Explorer ]

 

South India

Australian diplomat Walter Crocker in his biography of Jawaharlal Nehru, published in 1966 observed that "south India has counted for too little in the Indian Republic. This is a waste for India as well as an unfairness to south India, because the south has a superiority in certain important things—its relative lack of violence, its lack of anti-Muslim intolerance, its lack of indiscipline and delinquency in the universities; in its better educational standards, its better government, and its cleanliness; in its far lesser practice of corruption and its little taste for Hindu revivalism. If the English language is to be saved to India as a living language it is the south that will save it".

Chakorange Chandrama - My version

I do not have access to lyrics. Because I know little bit of Kannada, I find following mixtakes. There could be more. Feel free to correct. It is not hard to note I am off here and there and at the end notably where I was confused and ended up in bring a different dhati. At least it was not what I wanted. Rhythm is off here and there too. Overall not bad. I kinda got a good kick out of this.

Chankorange Chandramana - Basavanna Vachana

: 1 : Bramarange parimaLavaa bandumba chinte.

: 2 : Enage namma koodala sangama devana neneva chinte.

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Voice cracking - a hyothesis

Well, fact is more important than my dumb hypothesis! So watch this video:

How larynx produces sound

At high pitch we may fail to hold the cords closer together possibly due to lack of power in muscles of larynx, the voices cracks. Cracking is nothing but cords failing to open and close smoothly start jerking causing sudden discontinuity in frequency introducing noise. I think.
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Here is an explanation how sound is produced.
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Watch this as well! You lazy webpage watchers, read them Internet is not TV and webpages are not for watching read them :)

Not taking is better than giving!

I was asked a question in an informal coffee meet.
"Let us ask Ragu."
"What do developing countries expect from developed countries?"

"Nothing" I said, "They would be much happier if developed countries stopped taking from them, first."

There was an expected silence. Some thought I was not saying anything relevant; their body language made it apparent. Some others did not understand what I was saying.

I gave a few hints, "Coke companies are buying rivers in India. This is when our people do not have clean drinking water."
African countries or their so called governments "sell" wood and other raw materials for peanuts. If that is not taking what else is?

Asteya (अस्तेय) is one of the disciplines prescribed for those who want to live a decent life. Not taking is much better than giving: it eliminates the need for donations.

Ganapathi Sthuti - Yakshagana Vocal

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Ganapathi Sthuti - Yakshagana Vocal

Lyrics is wrong. Adjust madkoli. I sung whatever I remembered from my childhood.

Now corrected recording is here. This is in A# (low). There are some unclear pronunciations :

Vignadwanta Nivaaranaika Tarani

Note: "Vignebha Panchaananaha", "GiriprabEdana Pavihi".

Also note the incorrect ending with a wrong aalaapa.

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Prosody, GOD and me ;)

The tittle does not really mean anything. Here are flashes for the day:

I do not know how English poems and their prosody is studied. But I see that it is very hard job. Hard because the writing does not have enough information to judge how that will be sung. It is another matter that a poem can be sung in different ways or not sung at all. Then when writing the author must have some idea on how the poems rhythm structure is going to be. I do not call anything that does not have a regular pattern of rhythms inherent, a poem. It is a waste of time in the name of writing poem. It is another matter that we lose rhythms but that is not a reason for not having one at all. Anyway, I realised this tough task of classifying English poems because in Kannada we can enumerate syllables and understand the structure of the poem. When we read an English poem we can get a sense of it following a pattern but how exactly that is quantified is for those who know more to answer. Do not tell me we use syllabic markers or something I will have to go figure out what the hell that is.

At the same time, I saw how passionate the Pastor of the church was while preaching after the prayers where I spent some time thinking about prosody of the lyrics and enjoyed the amazing music. The preaching was about "Burial of Jesus". I know about 'religious emotions' but what surprised me is this infliction that we as a humans have: 'obsession about one thing of person'. Scores of temples and mosques included preaching about GOD: Rama, Jesus, and Allah. Everywhere they read a 'scripture'. Same story is repeated. It is a sheer waste of human energy to bite the dust of the 'scriptures' until we die. It is an unforgivable disease which must stop. Not only because it is our weakness but also because it steals away the time we need to spend on introspection and invent. To settle the scores and disputes is one and to DO something is another. I am a religious man. It however is my own business and to me it is about how much it can help me in civilizing me.

I was looking for a Bhagavad-Gita book that only explains the philosophy and not throw up the melodrama and out dated aesthetics of the spent millenniums! I could not find one. Let me know if you know such a book. I would like to read it. If I do not find one I will have to write one I guess! But then I will need to understand the philosophy of xyzYoga. That could be quite a bit for this bone head. From what I have read there appears to be a lot of additions made later on. Some parts are mystic blurring the real thing. Is every word in it right! Hell no! If there is GOD she is neither limited nor handicapped to only whisper some people and let others fight about it. But some people who push their own agenda do exist. I better be more carefull about them than about GOD.


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A religion called government

Yes! This is a new religion! If you do not know this religion then well you already follow this religion: your government. I will try to explain this in the post.

Religions prescribe, inculcate and sometimes force things because "they" or "some" or an "enlightened one" "realised" that they are good for everyone. Look what the governments are doing! A board in the first floor (ground) of my apartment building read "The laundry room door must be kept closed after 10 PM - By law". Now, they tell me when I should close the door!! Haven't we heard them (Govt ; whatever it means) say things like, "wear helmet", "do not smoke in public" etc? But that is in public not at home. In a few years they will tell me when to sleep, if left to themselves. Because a study finds out that sleeping late increases the health cost for the government by 99% (say!)! They already tell us where to urinate (public toilets) wait for a while they are "thinking" they will tell you when to urinate as well. Then we need to take an appointment to take approval from a clerk to find out when not to urinate. I know I am exaggerating but just show how ridiculous things can get easily by applying "public safety" policies. This is what governments do.

This is too much government. Too much!! When a government becomes too much it becomes a religion! Simple. Wait a second who said religion is simple?

New Jersey - Convention and Our Yakshagana reported!

HAA Biannual Convention and Programmes are reported in Thatskannada. Comments are awesome

Yakshamitra Photo is here

N joy
~rAGU

Folks, life is all folk!

Hi folks,
I made an inflammatory post a while ago. People of all sexes and religion :) fumed at me reading it. Now I write to correct myself a bit and go a few steps beyond so the fuming can burn and the sniggering can laugh.

Corrections are that Eka tala is a 4 or 8 beat rhythm depending on how it is played. Which is exactly same as in Karnataka Sangeetha. I had incorrectly mentioned it 6 beats. I counted it wrong! I Also listened Karnataki Ektala and concluded there is no difference between Yakshagana and Karnataki Eka Taala. So that sarcasm I threw at the Karnataki now stands to embarrass me. Since it is not the first time and I have decided to show all my ignorance and shout as much so I do not repent for not saying something after my death!
I called it original ignorance (mistakes in realizations)! I also figured that Yakshagana Rupaka taala and Karnataki Tisra Rupaka are exactly same.

Now the going beyond stuff:
Eka taala is basically a typical 4 beat international folk rhythm. You see them in rock, pop, classical, Karnataki, Hindi film songs etc. A lot of folk songs are in Eka Taala rhythm. Irrespective of how many beats it has it appears to have only one emphatic stroke so called Eka taala. May be who knows!

I sung Gallu gallenuta Kannada folk song in Yakshagana style to show that it is in Eka Tala. Listen to it here:

Gallu gallenuta folk song in Eka Taala - Yakshagana style.
Chande is tuned well this time for a change but my voice is not!


All musics are folk in origin including Karnatic/Carnatic whatever you call it. Refinements aside fundamentals are very natural. In my view artificial arithmetical rhythm patterns should not be created. They will end up unatural and not so nice circus! So I started to see if I can add new rhythms patterns by looking at natural sounds. Dollu Kunita (Drum Dance) of Karnataka has a nice rhythm. It goes something like, Drijom Dallom ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, and then DrijjukuDrijom DrijjukuDrijom DrijjukuDrijom Drijom. Unfortunately for me this is already a variation of Kore Taala (3.5 beats). In fact the Yakshagana Oddolaga starts with a typical this Dollu beat (Tai taita dina dhem taita dina dhen taita dina dhittha...so on)!

All 7 rhythm can be shown to be from something(I think). If you know the rest (5) let me know. So let us keep looking and add new rhythms.

I realised today that Karnataki/Hindustani "Naaninna Dasanaiah Seetharaama...", my mother 's favourite(havyaka traditional/folk) "Bandu kootihalu nodi, Mahalakshmi indu kantheredu nodi..." and Yakshagana Gadhayudha "Swami laalipudu maata are all in same Dhaati (so same raaga) and all in Asta Taala (Ata taala? Tabla Deepchandi). All music is folk so do not complain!
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