oral transmission: motivation and memorization

[Vidyasankar Sundaresan]

On Wed, 11 Jun 1997, George Thompson wrote:

> So recitation as a collective effort would seem to function, among other
> things, as a kind of self-correction device, just like the vikRtis, which
> shuffle the sequence of a recitation in order to ring the changes on the
> sandhi and apparently to prevent the accidental loss of of a pada
> ["word-isolate"].
> 

In this context, list members might be interested in the following. There
is going to be a Atirudra yajna conducted in Pennsylvania, USA from August
22 to September 1. Ghanam recitation is a special part of the ritual.
Also, as part of the associated activities, there will be a lecture by S.
Yegnasubramanian of New Jersey on Vedic recitation, the use of vikRtis in
both ritual and non-ritual contexts, and the differences among different
schools. 

The Atirudram is being organized by the Sringeri Vidya Bharati Foundation.
Of the 121 reciters required for the ritual, more than 80 are being flown
in from India. This would be a good opportunity for north American
scholars to see some aspects of vedic recitation in action. Please contact
one of the following for details. 

Dr. S. S. Iyer - 908 238 1119
Dr. S. Yegnasubramanian - 609 530 0299

- Vidyasankar