Tamil Music

[Bharat Gupt]

C.R. (Selva) Selvakumar wrote:

>        There is a live tradition of OtuvAr spanning more than 800
> years.
>          What I mentioned here is only   a subset of the musical
> traditions in Tamil.
>          There had been a continuous musical tradition spanning more
> than 2300 years
>          as evident from the Tamil literature until the
>          emergence of fascisitic 'subha culture' of Chennai.

After the emergence of Pop , all classical or traditioal music in India is a
"subset", the "subhaa" of Chennai or "baithak" of North are endangered species,
please recognise the real fascists of commercial pop and their lullabuys.


>           As I understand the word Raaga itself occurs first only in
> Matanga's Brhaddesi

"Raaga" is first found in Natyasastr 28, meaning not scale but tonal color.


>           (of 8th century C.E. ) which is again supposed to be about
> folk music (desi raagas).It does not mean folk music but new scales called "Grama-ragas". Brihaddeshi should be
correctly translated as "Pan-geographic" For folk the sanskrit is janapadiya or
gramya,not desa,desi or loka.


>           Sanksrit works including the Natyasastra are heavily based on
> Tamil systems.

If Tamil musicological works, giving details of musical systems, defining and measuring
scales , notes, talas, etc,  had survived, I would be very to accept this.

>           Tamils are the originators of the 7-note system known today as
> sa, ri, ga, ma, pa, da, ni.

The credit goes to Sama Veda singing and Nardiya Shiksha. Development of seven notes
from Udaatta, Anudaata and Svarita is recorded matter in the Shikhas upto Abhinavagupta.
(Please refer to my Translation of NS)

>           The Arya system had only 5 or 6 notes and not 7 until they
> adopted Tamil system.This is not a musical question but of defining "Arya" and "Tamil".

>           Even the sanskrit word Shandjam for the first note shows that
> it is born out of  6 (notes).Yes, and it also means giving birth to six. Musicologially it is explained by
the ascending and descending scales in history of music.

>
> >Even the ancient Indian system shows deep parallels with the Greek
> system.
>
> > Originality and separate identity,  Tamil or  Northen Aryan is not so
> > easy to locate.
>
>        May not be easy, but it is there. See above. Tamil musical system
> is independent and ancient. Tamils from from very ancient times
> considered their 'culture'
>        in terms of the triad  'iyal-icai-kUtttu'
> (literature-music-dance)  and  they are proud of their
>        numerous art forms and crafts. I greatly admire and respect their pride, but the same concept is reiterated in the
Natyasastra , Sangeetratnakara, Sangeetparijaat etc;, and even in Aristotle's Poetics.
>The sad thing is it is being put
> down or sidelined
>        or marginalized or portayed to be a less important subset of the
> Aryan
>        'fold'. But I believe time will tell the merits, calibre and
> contributions of Tamils.The sadness arises only when cultures, regions or languages claim exclusive and
independent origin, whether "Aryan", Tamil, or anyother and do not accept the
interchange which is the  origin and sustenance of cultures. The problem is not of
culture but of its political exploitation.

Bharat Gupt
Associate Prof. Delhi Univ.