Mridangam paste. How...

Vedic · Post by **Vedic** » 21 Sep 2009, 04:19

Hi !. Dear Frends!
My frend from Hindu Tempel ( in Poland) He have a 1 question. I cannot help to Him. If You can ,please help .
This is His question: " How make a Mridangam paste ( Rava paste (?) in Poland?".
Big Thanks For Help!.
Vedic.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 21 Sep 2009, 09:07

Durum semolina, is my guess.

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 21 Sep 2009, 14:22

Yes, it is made from semolina. I do not know about Poland, but I suspect it is available, as it is in UK. They probably have their own translation, I guess, althouhg one could always ask for rava in a Tamil shop. Some prefer the course-grained, some prefer the fine.

Pour a small heap of powder in the left hand; make a depression in the middle, like a volcano crater, and pour in a little water. Fold the powder in, like mixing cement in miniature, until a lump of even consistency is formed. Balance can be corrected by adding more powder or water.

If it will not stick to the leather, this can be helped by wetting the lump, and wiping this on the skin, to give some tackiness.

Tell your friend to remove promptly after use. It sets very hard, and is difficult to get off once it is dry.

laks1972 · Post by **laks1972** » 21 Sep 2009, 16:26

And if you don't get semolina, use wheat flour

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 21 Sep 2009, 22:59

If this is for a beginner, (or even for any beginner that reads this thread in the future) it should be stressed to be careful to keep any water away from the "right" side, as getting the black spot wet will ruin it.

mridhangam · Post by **mridhangam** » 22 Sep 2009, 00:47

The best is to use Play-doh by funskool in such places as it is available world over.
JB

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 22 Sep 2009, 02:15

There's also Blutack, or its imitators like whitetack which is great for practice, as it does not have to be removed.

Balaji, does Play-Doh have any place on the stage, or is it practice-only?

Sundara Rajan · Post by **Sundara Rajan** » 22 Sep 2009, 05:17

A related basic question: What is the purpose of using such a paste? Is it to keep the leather moist ?

laks1972 · Post by **laks1972** » 22 Sep 2009, 06:58

It brings down the vibrating frequency atleast by an octave, depending on the how much it is applied.

It also brings different vibration pattern due to "loaded membrane" effect

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 22 Sep 2009, 14:17

Without: chtick chtick

With: boom boom

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 22 Sep 2009, 19:37

Nick,
like taka taka dhIm dhIm? chtick chtick boom boom

VK RAMAN · Post by **VK RAMAN** » 22 Sep 2009, 19:38

good example for what paste does!

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 22 Sep 2009, 23:21

taka taka dhim dhim chtick chtick goon goon

--- There! I arranged it for morsing!

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 23 Sep 2009, 06:35

Now the mOrsing sings more!

mridhangam · Post by **mridhangam** » 23 Sep 2009, 08:47

Nick sir .. i use it in concerts it is very convenient and also it doesnt fall of since you dont have to bother about the consistency as it is in the case of Rava. I have heard some mridanga vidwans say that the rava should be made like a fine paste like "Butter" and some other mridangists say that it should not be like the consistency of "Butter" it should be in between. Much might be said on both sides.

J.Balaji

semmu86 · Post by **semmu86** » 23 Sep 2009, 09:14

i have heard erOde nAgarAj sir say this. Dont remember whether this was posted in the hilarity thread , but neverthless " if ravA is not applied properly on the thoppi , then adhu pAdaravA , vAsikkaravA , kEkkaravA lukku romba thondharavA irukkum ".

srinivasrgvn · Post by **srinivasrgvn** » 23 Sep 2009, 09:21

erode sir's joke :

mridhangam · Post by **mridhangam** » 23 Sep 2009, 11:23

semmu86 --> adukkappuram varavA pOravA ellam ida pathiye pesuva ...

J.B

semmu86 · Post by **semmu86** » 23 Sep 2009, 11:27

mridhangam wrote:semmu86 --> adukkappuram varavA pOravA ellam ida pathiye pesuva ...

J.B

balaji sir u said it

.. sorry for deviating from the topic though..

Arvind..

mridhangam · Post by **mridhangam** » 23 Sep 2009, 11:57

It was a ravA sangathi that we were all discussing .. so no worries ...

JB

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 23 Sep 2009, 22:23

Now I have to wait for Arasi to kindly translate....

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 24 Sep 2009, 02:55

Nick,
A bit tricky because it is pun-oriented, but I will try.

naga'raj', the 'king' of pun: pADa'RavA': those who sing, kEkka'RavA'Lukku: for those who hear, romba tonda'ravA' irukkum: will sound disturbing (disagreeable).

Balaji: Then, va'ravA': those who come and pO'RavA': those who go, will all talk about this.
When Arvind speaks of straying from the subject, Balaji assures: that's fine, it's only sangati (news, and also a musical word, after all!) about ravA!
I think tamizh lends itself to more puns than many other languages. The bard of Avon would have loved tamizh for that

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 24 Sep 2009, 10:49

Thanks for trying, arasi!

Te bard of avon is famed for apparently having made up many of the words in his plays!

Vedic · Post by **Vedic** » 30 Sep 2009, 17:35

Thanks For Your's ansver's!. But this paste in skin is black. So, I think it is not :"remove promptly after use".

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 30 Sep 2009, 19:34

<confused>

The large round spot on the right face, like that on the tabla, is black, permanent (although it wears out eventually), and would be damaged by water.

The paste placed on the left side, traditionally made from rava, is creamy light brown, and rava should be removed, not allowed to dry in place.

Occasional, instruments are seen with a permanent black spot on the left side. This is permanent also, but likely to be seen only on very old instruments.

.

Vedic · Post by **Vedic** » 01 Oct 2009, 00:02

Aha!. Thanks !.

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 01 Oct 2009, 01:55

You're welcome

The structure of these instruments is really quite complex.