2. John Clough, Jack Douthett, N. Ramanathan, and Lewis Rowell, "Early Indian Heptatonic Scales and Recent Diatonic Theory," Music Theory Spectrum, Vol. 15, No. 1. (Spring, 1993), pp. 36-58.
In [1], Rowell says the following.
"The Cilappatikāram is far from a technical treatise, but some of the passages on music contain extremely detailed information. The following account of the Tamil modal system is woven around five text passages (reproduced here as Texts 1-5 and amplified by information from the two commentaries (as discussed below). While the focus of the present article is upon interpretation and not textual matters per se, it will be useful to point out what we mean, in this case, by the "text." The Cilappatikāram, like other major epics of the ancient world, existed as a flexible oral text long before it was edited and set down in the form in which we have received it. We do not know the age of the musical system whose details it records. The most that can be said is that the Tamil system apparently arose as an independent tradition, but subsequently came under the influence of the central Sanskritic musical tradition, with which it shared or came to share many common features."
In [2] we find the following passage.
"But the ancient Tamil musical
tradition, the music of the Draviḍa people who inhabited the southern tip of
the subcontinent (including the modern states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu),
presents solid evidence for a cyclical 12-note system as early as the second
century A.D.
15
In this system. 22 micro-tones (called, in Tamil, the rnaattirais) were
distributed among 12 chromatic degrees in more-or-less regular pattern, and a
rotating set of diatonic scales was then selected from this 12-note chromatic
universe."
15
In these paragraphs, we draw upon
the information and interpretations presented in S. Ramanathan. Music in Cilappatikāram (Madurai: Madurai Kamaraj University. 1979). We are also grateful to
Sister Margaret Bastin of the University of Madras for assistance with the
details of the ancient Tamil musical system.
Here is a bio of Prof. Rowell (http://www.indiana.edu/~deanfac/bios/2005/LRowell.pdf). ;If a Western scholar in US was able to consult Prof. N. Ramanathan , Retired Professor of Indian Music in the University of Madras, in Chennai and Sister Dr. Margaret Bastin, Principal of Kalai Kaviri College in Tiruchi and write these articles, I am sure the authors of the CBSE module could have consulted them if they had wanted.
-----Original Message-----
From: Jean-Luc Chevillard <
jean-luc.chevillard@univ-paris-diderot.fr>
To: INDOLOGY <
INDOLOGY@liverpool.ac.uk>
Cc: rajam <
rajam@earthlink.net>; George Hart <
glhart@berkeley.edu>; Palaniappa <
Palaniappa@aol.com>
Sent: Thu, Oct 4, 2012 8:29 am
Subject: Re: [INDOLOGY] Indian school children offered courses in Knowledge Traditions and Practices of India
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@GMAIL.COM>
> To: INDOLOGY <INDOLOGY@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