THE JOURNAL OF THE MUSIC ACADEMY DEVOTED TO THE ADVANCEMENT OF THE SCIENCE AND ART OF MUSIC Vol. LVII 1986 *rcr iirafcr vr fagrfa rr* ii “ I dwell not in Vaiknntli8, nor in the hearts o f Yogins nor in the Son : (but) where my bhaktas sing, there be I, Narada 1 * Edited by T. S. PARTHASARATHY 1986 The Music Academy Madras 306, T. T. K. Road, Madras-600 014 Annual Subscription - Inland - Rs. 2 0 : Foreign $ 3.00 OURSELVES This Journal is published as an Annual. All correspondence relating to the Journal should be addressed •and all books etc., intended for it should be sent to The Editor, Journal of the Music Academy, 306, T. T. K. Road, Madras-600 014. Articles on music and dance are accepted for publication on the understanding that they are contributed solely to the Journal o f the Music Academy. Manuscripts should be legibly written or, preferably, type­ written (double-spaced and on one side of the paper only) and should be signed by the writer (giving his or her address in full). The Editor of the Journal is not responsible for the views ex­ pressed by contributors in their articles. JOURNAL COMMITTEE OF THE MUSIC ACADEMY 1. Sri T.S. Parthasarathy — Editor (and Secretary, Music Academy) 2. „ S. Ramaswamy Executive Trustee 3. „ S. Ramanathan Member 4. „ S. Natarajan Secretaries of the Music 5. „ T.S. Rangarajan Academy, Ex-officio 6. „ V. Subramanayam members. CONTENTS The 59th Madras Music Conference Official Report I Proceedings of the Experts Committee 22 The Sadas 41 Prizes for competitions and concerts 54 Sri Muthusvami Dikshita and his Contribution to Carnatic Music 63 S. R. Janakiraman The Ancient Tala System : A Comparative Approach 83 Lewis Rowell d Improvisation in Indian (Karnatak) Music with a special reference to its Rhythmic Aspects 100 Trichy Sankaran Karnataka Isai Medai Pundarika Vitthalar (Tamil) 110 T. S. Parthasarathy The Krti form in Karnatik Music 118 Fiorella Rossi Pasoiti Tagore’s Dance Concept 129 Gayatti Chatterjee The History of the Mandolin 135 Geetha Bennett The Singing Voice 139 Brinda Varadarajan Select Vamams of the Present Century 145 Sitamani Sreenivasan Abhinaya and Abhinavagupta 149 Sudharani Raghupathy Margadarsi Sesha Iyengar 162 Gowri Kuppuswamy & M . Hariharan Music in the Natya Sastra Bharat Gupt. 1T2 The Padams of Svati Tirunal 182 T. S. Parthasarathy Bargitas and their various modes of presentation 187 Dr. Kesavananda Dev Goswami Sopana Music 199 S. Natarajan Development of the Sitar in India 205 Lovely Sharma Book Reviews Dr. N. Ramanathan T. S. Parthasarathy 213 TH E 59th MADRAS MUSIC CONFERENCE OFFICIAL REPORT THE OPENING DAY 20—12—1985 The 59th Annual Conference of the Music Academy, Madras, was held at the T. T, Krishnamachari Auditorium in the premises of the Academy, 306, T. T. K, Road, Madras from the 20th Dec­ ember 1985 to 2nd January 1986, The Conference was inaugu­ rated by His Excellency Sri S. L. Khurana. Governor of Tamil Nadu, The inaugural function began with the singing of prayer by Smt. Malathi Jsnardanan and Kum. Vasumathi. MESSAGES Sri S. Natarajan, Secretary of the Academy, read messages received from prominent persons all over India and abroad for the success of the Conference. The President of the Academy, Sri T. T. Vasu. welcomed the distinguished guests, members of the Academy and the public. In his address, Sri Vasu said : The Music Academy is on the threshhold of its Shashtyabda- purti an event which a Hindu householder celebratres with pardona­ ble pomp and profound prayerfulness - pomp because his children would want to treat it as a great occasion and would, therefore*- persuade him to agree, of course with the usual reluctance, and prayerfulness because he would like to remain a usefuf guide and counsellor to the family members. The Music Academy js a fami'y of aesthetes and it is for this family to decide as to how this great event in its history should be celebrated. There is- one full year before them to take appropriate decisions. 2 THE JOURNAL OF THE MADRAS MUSIC ACADBMY [Vol. LV II The Music Academy has had the unique distinction of attra­ cting eminent leaders in the social, political and academic world to inaugurate its annual Conferences. Rajaji, Rt. Hon'ble Srinivasa Sastri, Dr. Radhakrishnan, Sri C. P. Ramaswamy Iyer, Sir R. K. Shanmukham Chetty. Dr. C. D. Deshmukh, Maharaja of Mysore, Maharaja of Travancore, Kamaraj, Sir C. V. Raman, Raja Sir Anna- malai Chettiar are some of the distinguished citizens of India who have inaugurated the past Conferences. Shri S. L. Khurana, whose title to eminence rests as much on his proud record in the Defence forces as on his achievements as a distinguished member of the Indian Administrative Service, com­ bines the order, the discipline and the firmness of his army back­ ground with the efficiency, the humanity and the passion for excel lence which we associate with the civil service. Shri Khurana who won great reputation as an administrator, particularly during crisis situations which called for cool courage, tact and firmness, cut him out for a bigger role in wider fields. He proved his mettle as an -administrator when he was made the Lt. Governor of Delhi during the rather trying times. His appointment as Governor of Tamil Nadu is a reiteration of the enormous confidence the Government -of India has in him and in his powers of stewardship. Shri Khurana, who has been the Governor of Tamil Nadu since 1982, has fitted himself neatly into the colourful cultural, social and academic ■mosaic of Tamil life. I thank him most sincerely for so graciously -agreeing to inaugurate this year's Conference and offer him a hearty welcome. Dr. S. Ramanathan who is to preside over this year's Conference, is different from his peers in many ways. He com­ mands immense respect as a vocalist in the field of Carnatic music. Nis loyalty to sampradaya is unflagging and his repertoire is vast and varied. He had the unique advantage of being trained by masters of yester-years and has had opportunities to gain rich and varied experience in different branches of music. He is thus the repository of musical knowledge and authentic music tradition. These apart, there are other dimensions to his personality. As a special officer, he conducted a survey of music and dance. He was a lecturer in music and later the principal of a music college. He has served as a Professor of Music in a number of American ■Colleges and has made a deep study of western music and wes­ ThE 59TH MADRAS MUSIC CONFERENCE 3 tern teaching methods. He taught music and interpreted our music tradition in a manner and style that would easily be under* stood by western students. Dr. Ramanathan's fidelity to sampra- daya does not bar him from attempting innovations in Carnatic music. A scholar, teacher; researcher, author and publisher. Dr. Ramanathan is a multi-splendoured personality. We are fortunate to have him as our president this year. I extend to him a respect­ ful welcome, In my welcome address last year, I announced that the Central Sangeet Natak Akademi would, in collaboration with this Aca­ demy, be holding its "1984 Awards and Investiture Ceremony" and subsequent , music and dance recitals in this auditorium. The functions, which were held from February 23 to March 1 this year, were the most colourful and memorable events in the annals of performing arts in Madras, The Vice-President of India inaugurated the function on the 23rd February and the distinguished awardees hailing from different States in India, gave of their best during the festival that followed. The elite, of Madras witnessed performances which they would have missed but for this Academy's invitation to the Sangeet Natak Akademi to hold the twin functions in this hall. Shri K. V. Krishnaswamy Iyer was one of the distinguished founders of the Academy who, as its second President, held that office for a number of years and toiled ceaselessly to secure for it the prestige and standing it enjoys in the world of Carnatic Music". The birth centenary of Shri K. V. Krishnaswamy Iyer falls this year and the Music Academy proposes to arrange the celebration of this- event in March 1986 in collaboration with other organisations like the Lawyers' Association. Shri R. Venkataraman, Vice-President of India, has graciously agreed to participate in the centenary celebrations. Early next year. The International Dance Alliance Ltd,, New York, in conjunction with the Music Academy, proposes to cele­ brate 'International Dance Day* as a tribute to Balasaraswati and Ben-Semmers, Founder President of IDA Ltd,, when leading dancers of Madras will give a dance each, on the same stage, in the evening between 6.15 p.m. and 9.30 p.m., a unique event, never before witnessed in Madras. 4 THE JOURNAL OF THE MADRAS MUSIC ACADEMY [Vol. LVII Poets, musicians, artists and other men and women of talent as also institutions devoted to the promotion of education and fine arts, had the support and patronage of royal households in the past. The rulers of Baroda, Mysore and Travancore were for long the renowned patrons of culture. When India became free, some of the great industrial houses have taken up that role. The Music Academy has, over the years, secured significant help from a number of industrialists. I mentioned last year that a number of well-wishers of this Academy had come forward with generous help to effect improvements to this auditorium and to the Kastur Srinivasan building, We seldom imagined that their help would be so munificent as to enable us to impart a new look to our entire complex.