Indian school children offered courses in Knowledge Traditions and Practices of India

Thu Oct 4 13:28:37 UTC 2012

Dear SP,

why should you be disappointed?

Which books in English can you recommend for an initiation of all Indian 
children to ancient Tamil music (which is an important branch of ancient 
Indian music)?

I have recently acquired a book (இன்னிசை யாழ் [iṉṉicai yāḻ]) by மார்கரெட் 
பாஸ்டின் (mārkareṭ pāsṭiṉ) which appeared in 2006 (see attached file) in 
which she comments on the path-breaking 1947 book யாழ் நூல் என்னும் இசைத்தமிழ் 
நூல் [yāḻ nūl eṉṉum icaittamiḻ nūl] by விபுலானந்த சுவாமி [vipulāṉanta cuvāmi],
and it seems to be interesting, but until an English version appears, 
what to do?

The books by Prof. P. Sambamurthy are not specific enough.

And the 1979 book by S. Ramanathan (/Music in the Cilappatikaaram/) was 
not written for the general public.

I don't suppose you would recommend the reading of books by Abraham 
Pandithar (who was a believer in Lemuria) ...

If the instances which are capable of action in Tamil Nadu had 
concentrated their energy in preparing English translations of important 
Tamil books rather than fighting for a long time against Unicode (this 
is fortunately now a thing of the past), there might be more useable 
documents in wide circulation.

-- Jean-Luc Chevillard (Paris)

On 04/10/2012 03:41, Sudalaimuthu Palaniappan wrote:
> Dominik,
>
> I just looked at Module 9: Music in India. I am utterly disappointed
> with the contents. Seeing the picture of the statue of Kaṇṇaki on the
> cover, I thought the module would cover the history of music in the
> Tamil country with a discussion of Cilappatikāram along with Nāṭyaśāstra
> . After all, there are two sets of names for the seven notes -  in
> Sanskrit and Tamil. There seems to be a deliberate attempt to present a
> monochromatic Sanskrit-centered view of India instead of presenting the
> real diversity of cultural elements in India. When they talk about
> Bhakti music, the authors do not even acknowledge the existence of
> Tēvāram hymns sung in Śaiva temples. Whether it is the Congress
> government or BJP government, fundamentalism marches on.
>
> Since it looked like the cover was not specific to a module, I looked at
> the literature modules. They only added to my dismay. Classical period
> is said to begin from 1200 BC? Classical Tamil literature is not
> represented.  With the presence of people like Michael Danino, I guess I
> should not expect anything better.
>
> Sadly,
> Palaniappan
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Dominik Wujastyk <wujastyk at GMAIL.COM>
> To: INDOLOGY <INDOLOGY at liverpool.ac.uk>
> Sent: Wed, Oct 3, 2012 7:58 pm
> Subject: [INDOLOGY] Indian school children offered courses in Knowledge
> Traditions and Practices of India
>
> Times of India, 21 Sept 2012:
>
>     NAGPUR: After a successful pilot run, the Central Board of Secondary
>     Education (CBSE) has decided to introduce a new elective course for
>     Std XI. The course known as Knowledge Traditions and Practices of
>     India
>     <http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Knowledge-Traditions-and-Practices-of-India>
>     will be available to students from this academic session under the
>     elective course code no. 073.
>
>     CBSE's circular says that the newly introduced course has "received
>     an overwhelming response from educationists and the teaching
>     community all over India". It aims to engage students with a sense
>     of exploration and discovery while highlighting the concepts and
>     major achievements in various disciplines of knowledge.
>
>     This elective is keeping in line with the board's endeavour to
>     develop the curriculum in various subjects with a deep focus on
>     values inherent in Indian education system. This focus further takes
>     shape in facilitating knowledge of traditional practices through the
>     course material developed for students.
>
>     The various modules of this course have already been put online and
>     a printed book version is currently under process. The board is also
>     preparing a Hindi version of the course. The board has written to
>     principals requesting them to include this elective in their scheme
>     of studies. There are a total of 10 modules being offered by CBSE
>     <http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/CBSE> in this course.
>
>
> Full newspaper text:
>
>   * http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/education/news/CBSE-starts-new-elective-course-for-Std-XI-in-knowledge-traditions/articleshow/16493937.cms?intenttarget=no
>
> The CBSE's own documentation on these modules is as follows:
>
>   * Introduction of a new elective titled ?Knowledge Traditions and
>     Practices of India" for classes XI-XII
>     <http://www.cbseacademic.in/web_material/Circulars/2012/KTPI_7_2012.pdf>
>   * Complete Modules of Knowledge Traditions and Practices of India (An
>     Elective Course Code no.: 073) for Class XI
>     <http://www.cbseacademic.in/web_material/Circulars/2012/68_KTPI.pdf>	
>     <http://www.cbseacademic.in/web_material/Circulars/2012/68_KTPI/Module_1.pdf>
>       o Module 1 : Astronomy in India
>         <http://www.cbseacademic.in/web_material/Circulars/2012/68_KTPI/Module_1.pdf>
>             |
>         <http://www.cbseacademic.in/web_material/Circulars/2012/68_KTPI/Module_2.pdf>
>       o Module 2 : Chemistry in India
>         <http://www.cbseacademic.in/web_material/Circulars/2012/68_KTPI/Module_2.pdf>
>             |
>       o Module 3 : Indian Literatures Part 1
>         <http://www.cbseacademic.in/web_material/Circulars/2012/68_KTPI/Module_3_1.pdf>
>             |
>         <http://www.cbseacademic.in/web_material/Circulars/2012/68_KTPI/Module_3_2.pdf>
>       o Module 3 : Indian Literatures Part 2
>         <http://www.cbseacademic.in/web_material/Circulars/2012/68_KTPI/Module_3_2.pdf>
>             |
>         <http://www.cbseacademic.in/web_material/Circulars/2012/68_KTPI/Module_4.pdf>
>       o Module 4 : Indian Philosophical Systems
>         <http://www.cbseacademic.in/web_material/Circulars/2012/68_KTPI/Module_4.pdf>
>             |
>         <http://www.cbseacademic.in/web_material/Circulars/2012/68_KTPI/Module_5.pdf>
>       o Module 5 : Indian Traditional Knowledge on Environmental
>         Conservation
>         <http://www.cbseacademic.in/web_material/Circulars/2012/68_KTPI/Module_5.pdf>
>             |
>         <http://www.cbseacademic.in/web_material/Circulars/2012/68_KTPI/Module_6_1.pdf>
>       o Module 6 : Life Sciences (1) Ayurveda for Life, Health and
>         Well-being - Part 1
>         <http://www.cbseacademic.in/web_material/Circulars/2012/68_KTPI/Module_6_1.pdf>
>             |
>         <http://www.cbseacademic.in/web_material/Circulars/2012/68_KTPI/Module_6_2.pdf>
>       o Module 6 : Life Sciences (2) The Historical Evolution of Medical
>         Tradition in Ancient India - Part 2
>         <http://www.cbseacademic.in/web_material/Circulars/2012/68_KTPI/Module_6_2.pdf>
>             |
>         <http://www.cbseacademic.in/web_material/Circulars/2012/68_KTPI/Module_7.pdf>
>       o Module 7 : Mathematics in India
>         <http://www.cbseacademic.in/web_material/Circulars/2012/68_KTPI/Module_7.pdf>
>             |
>       o Module 8 : Metallurgy in India
>         <http://www.cbseacademic.in/web_material/Circulars/2012/68_KTPI/Module_8.pdf>
>             |
>         <http://www.cbseacademic.in/web_material/Circulars/2012/68_KTPI/Module_9.pdf>
>       o Module 9 : Music in India
>         <http://www.cbseacademic.in/web_material/Circulars/2012/68_KTPI/Module_9.pdf>
>             |
>       o Module 10 : Theatre and Drama in India
>         <http://www.cbseacademic.in/web_material/Circulars/2012/68_KTPI/Module_10.pdf>
>
> Best,
> DW

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