03 January 2011

ಹರಿಮನೆ ಹರಿ ಭಾಗವತರ ಹಳೇಮಟ್ಟು

ಹರಿಮನೆ ಹರಿ ಭಾಗವತರ ಹಳೇಮಟ್ಟಿನ ಪದ್ಯಗಳು (ಚಿತ್ರದಲ್ಲಿ ಮಧ್ಯ ಇರುವವರು)



The best of Hari Bhagawatharu - Yaadavottama Laalisi Kelu


Other








ಭಾಮಿನಿ ಷಟ್ಪದಿ

Some usefull things this visit

I had an oppurtunity to ask some questions to Dr Prabhakara Joshy who is a well known Tala Maddale speaker and an expert in Yakshagana studies. This 32 or so minute video is the result of that. I hope this will be very usefull for anyone intersted in Yakshagana.




I will shorty post my opinion on his ipinions :)

I was able to get some videos of my own Padyas. It was an amazing learning experience. I will post about those experiences as well.





There are more videos of Tala Maddale itself. I am still editing them and will post them soon.
Big thanks to Shivaram and Narayana Komar brothers.

11 November 2010

My first Yakshagana poem

ಧಾಟಿ ನಾಟಿ, ತಾಳ ಝ೦ಪೆ

ಆದರದಿ ನುತಿಪರಘ, ಹರಿವೆಯೆ೦ದುರೆನ೦ಬಿ|
ಅವಲಕ್ಕಿ ಕಜ್ಜಾಯ, ತ೦ದಿರಿಸಿ ಓಲೈಪೊ|
ಆನತರಿಗೆ ಅನುವಾಗೊ |
ಕಟ್ಟೀನಕೆರೆವಾಸ, ಮಧುಕೇಶನಣುಗ ||ಪ||

(ಝ೦ಪೆ ಎರಡನೇ ಕಾಲ)
ಮೂಡಿದೊಡೆ ನಿನ್ನ ಕುಳ್ಳಿರಿಸಿ ಪೂಜೆಯ ಮಾಡಿ|
ಹೂಡಿ ನೈವೇದ್ಯಗಳ ಹಾಡಿಪದಗಳನು
ರೂಢಿಯೊಳು ನೆಡೆದುಕೊಳುವಾಳುಗಳ ಕಾಪಾಡೊ|
ಜೋಡಿಸಿದೆವೆಲ್ಲ ಕರಗಳನು ||೧||

I shouted it off at once: listen

Watch the video version here: Thanks to Beegar Yakshagana Tala Maddale Troupe




.

They never came back

A veteran said on the radio, we remember people we met or sailed with but the most we remember are those that never came back. It is heart wrecking when people we knew just disappear.

20 October 2010

Some records on origin of Yakshagana

Here is an article that reinforces the legend that Siddhendra Yogi was trained in "vedic" studies in Udupi. It goes on to say that Yakshagana as a sort of "Jogi Pada" existed in Andhra. However it is known that there were Dashavatara melas in Udupi at that time when Narahari Theertha reined. I am guessing it is likely that Yakshagana traveled from Udupi to Andhra. The book claims otherwise. I am bit confused since no author is really objective. All claim originality. It is also true that Andhra yakshagana prasangas as old as oldest available in Kannada or 100 year recent exist.

Here is an interesting information about \yakshagana. Here is a comparison of different dance/ballet forms.

I find it fit to say that it existed amongst us when we spoke a language that was neither Telugu nor Kannada. It has become what we see today in different parts. However existence of same name and prasangas in Andhra and Karnataka is not that simple to answer. I plan to read one \andhra prasanga using whatever broken Telugu I know and figure out.

The thinking continues.....

29 July 2010

Finding regularities and their elements in a level of abstraction

Note: This post will involve discussions on some abstract concepts. I wish to give concrete examples but I may not be endowed with enough intelligence to come up with correct examples for some cases where you must be content with my gibberish. Deal?

When birds fly they make a pattern. Their formation is not "random". There is a pattern to our breathing. We breath through one of the nostrils more. Ancient Indians have called the related awareness 'Swara Jnana' (do not confuse with awareness of musical notes). Wall is built with 'bricks' which form a pattern. The bricks are the elements or the smallest unit which come together to form the regularity we see. So there is regularity or pattern in lot of things we see. There is something smallest in those regularities that creates regularity (element). To rephrase, there is regularity and an element which constitutes regularity in many things we see or experience. Here we do well to differentiate why, for example, mud used to make bricks is not an element of regularity in wall. Mud is at a lower level; it constitutes the pattern in brick. Therefore mud may be an element in the regularity that exists in the brick. Now, we can say that at each level of detail there may be an element which results in regularity at that level.

Science, in my opinion, revolves around finding these regularities. Our progress depends on how well we can make use of these regularities. I think it is time to clarify what I mean by some words. A level of abstraction is a point of view with preference to certain details than others. For example, a portrait is a level of abstraction: it prefers only what is painted in someone's face; what is not painted is not 'preferred'. While we agree that a portrait is an abstraction, I call it a level of abstraction because a photo is an abstraction of real face as well but at a more detailed level.

Now comes time to move from portraits and bricks to something more interesting: computer science.

coming soon ...................
     

23 July 2010

GPS route planning

I am new to this stuff. So these are my experiments. Magellan, Garmin, Tomtom are leading GPS brands. Garmin some say is good. Yet there are some very funny limitations in Garmin. I pay almost for a quarter computer and then get this box with huge processing power but a custom made software that I would like to call a operating shit-stem! If they could let me manipulate I could customize it like hell.

Ok long story short, Garmin 200 buck devices do not have route planner all the rest do. I own one so this ruing.

Here you can find a trip planner. And a converter here that claims to convert it to a format that Garmin can understand. These are nothing but XML files i.e text files with funny angular braces to say what is what. Some call it meta information. Garmin bone heads sell a Route Planner that accepts Long and Lat but you it is easy to die ramming head to a Garmin device than using this crap called software (Please send your head by fax I have a device if you want to kill yourself!). 

Yet there is hope for the hopeless. There is a converter here that can convert route file to (GPX2CR) Garmin style file.
So the steps are as follows.
1) Plan a route on NetKVik (http://map.netkvik.dk/) or Marengo (http://www.marengo-ltd.com/map/). Choose points of interest and save it to a file.
2) Convert KML to GPX  if using NetkVik.
3) Use "There is a converter here" to change to Garmin format.
4) Upload using another software to the holly Garmin
5) Then what? I do not know ! my unit does not pick up gpx at all.

If you are still alive and your wife has not lost patience you may go on your dream vacation. I think it is easy to return the unit to the seller!!

14 July 2010

Shoppers Drug Fart and Canadian Fire


Yeah! These are two of the famous chains of stores in Canada. That only means, you will find them in all towns across Canada, selling almost similar things. They are usually never a cause for head ache. If you are not a jerk, that is. Yet when you do have head ache it is not uncommon to end up in Shoppers Drugmart. When you do do, most likely you will find expensive brand name pain killers on shelf. I rarely get head ache, unless I play my drums too loud, for example. Even when I had a head ache so severe that I vommitted unconsolebly (Yeah, I had tears too I do not know why) I did not munch on symptom killers, as I call them. Pain killers are an easy way to die, you see. They help you neglect problems in your body until you have no other options. You know what I mean. That aside. I was saying you will only find expensive brands on shelf. Like Talynol cold hot extra hot (common I am not buying a chilli snack here!) etc etc. Novogesic my wife told me is a generic that sells for far far far lesser than these brand names and does the same job (killing us eventually!). 

Yet pharmacies do not sell them becasue they are generics. That is manufactured by people like me who do not have patents but use famulae once they are expire the patent period. Generics sell at 25% of the price of Brand names in Ontario after the change in the regulation. So the solution the pharmacies have found is to not to keep them on shelf and force consumers to buy Brand names. There we go. Change in regulation also increased Dispensing Fee that is fee because they give the medicine not FOr the medince! Wah re wah kyaa baath hai.

02 June 2010

What happens when we Yodel

What actually happens when we yodel is very interesting or so I think. I am referring to typical voice shaking in Indian music (not hollywood) . I will refer to it as Yodeling; I do not know what else to call it. 

You can hear it below.
                                                            AaD56

After some help from Prabha and repetition when I was reasonably satisfied that I can use the sample (I recorded above), I plotted it.
You can see that here:

The findings are simple:

a) There are many types of Yodeling and what we see here is a constant tone yodeling
b) I think there are two keys, D5 and D6; one key each from 2nd and the third Octave (two lobes in the left side of the plot)
c) Because we create two volume levels with two dominant keys we get an envelope that looks like superposition of two sine ways in that key (frequency) (approx).
d) Most important thing is that the lower volume level tone corresponds to higher octave key and the higher volume level tone to the lower key.

You can see the wave form here:
 
There are different types of yodeling as I we know. The one shown above is a single tone yodeling. It is possible to change tones while yodeling (melody). What changes along with it is the envelope (volume) of keys. 

The kind if yodeling used in a music sometimes sets it apart from other kinds of music. So will, amount of non-dominant tone suppression (sharpness of tone), voice timbre (me or you) often used attack/line/decay sequence of notes (note inflections) and typical sequence of notes reused in many melodies (Gamaka). Correct me and add to this post if you happen to have found more about these things.

Goodnight.
~rAGU

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