Carnatic Diploma Exam

Miscellaneous topics on Carnatic music
Post Reply
Advaith
Posts: 4
Joined: 02 Apr 2020, 16:49

Carnatic Diploma Exam

Post by Advaith »

I have completed my Carnatic Certificate Exam and am currently preparing for Diploma. I have searched for a theory book for the Diploma Exam, but it was only Available in the language of Telugu. I am attempting the exam in English, so I will need an English printed book to prepare. A few shops have even said that the Theory book for diploma doesnt exist in english.

Can anyone kindly help me out by letting me know if any book exists and if so which book can I refer to for my Diploma Exam. If possible maybe try to send a pdf, if it is available. Any help will be really appreciated. Thank You.

Lakshman
Posts: 14019
Joined: 10 Feb 2010, 18:52

Re: Carnatic Diploma Exam

Post by Lakshman »

What is the title of the Telugu book?

msakella
Posts: 2127
Joined: 30 Sep 2006, 21:16

Re: Carnatic Diploma Exam

Post by msakella »

In Karnatic Music to be helpful for the Telugu candidates appearing for the examinations in Certificate (Sangitashaastra Deepika) and Diploma (Sangitashaastra Chandrika & Sangitashaastra Manjari) are available only in Telugu, not available in English.

Having worked for nearly 35 years as Lecturer in Violin & Principal in the Govt. Colleges of usic & Dance I sincerely feel very sad to say that we musicians did never bother about our kids’ future to survive in this sacred art. Without proper idea or understanding or a plan we musicians always strive hard to prosper as professionals but more than one thousand times it has very undoubtedly been proved that we never did things always helpful to our own kids. It becomes a very huge list to write here which I cannot do at this old age. At the least, we did never bother even to look into their problems and even to list them leave alone finding ways even to solve them and in doing something logically and constructively with efficiency and honesty. I feel extremely sorry to write here all this at this old age. All such things must be discussed at length in a meeting and make a plan of immediate action even to help our own kids. Who bells the cat!!!

Thus, having thought of only few things, long back I brought out five books both in Telugu and English for our music students and also each book along with audio CDs which all are available from Music Cabin (040-27711122 & M-98492 50128). amsharma/msakella

shankarank
Posts: 4043
Joined: 15 Jun 2009, 07:16

Re: Carnatic Diploma Exam

Post by shankarank »

@msakella - Adyam, namaskarams. I cannot talk to you as an equal. I am a rasika enthusiast. I post here from "information" gathered and "thoughts" derived from them if at all.

Now I heard recently , there is yet another trust that wants to preserve the "angas" of our traditional knowledge base. The trustee spoke in the kEdaram event. He mentioned "kEdAram" is the musical arm of that preservation.

He talked about the dire state of vEdic heritage - where those who know the bhAshyams or meaning are numbered around 30 or 33 in all of India. There is no documentation - he goes. And he predicted if nothing is done , there won't be anybody in 30 years as all of them are in their 60s. They are trying to revive that knowledge.

The forum members know the rigor of your work and I have heard your students render with the aids - especially the karaharapriya video you posted.

Some such Trust needs to take charge and disseminate to select committed students your knowledge base. And you may have to swallow certain unpleasant conditions / situations to work with them.

The university system has failed according to you, in the lakshana method stream. If I listen to Smt. Brinda's video (interview from "The sampradAya") , she stopped short of being critical of the same system from lakshya perspective , saying she drew her pension from teaching in the same system. The students didn't come there to learn her bANi she said.

So both lakshya and lakshaNa failed in that system.

When systems spending crores fail, what can people outside do?

As Palghat Mani Iyer said, quoting his son Sri T R Rajamani, "what I have learnt in hard ways I can impart in much easy ways to my son" - when one friend was trying to tell him to go soft on his son. Same Palghat Mani Iyer would have none to do with a Sastra vaadin, who wanted to have a discussion with him. It seems Chowdiah lifted him lock stock and barrel, out of the house - as heard in a recent video.

Repositories of knowledge may not realize sometimes, that a new Sastra needs to be written to disseminate new knowledge discovered. That is the only way it can even be fractionally captured - as a lakshya vidyArthin may not be around to capture it organically.

In your case you have made the effort.

As much as I can warm up to the rigor of your methods, I also see none of us parents can intervene in the musical education of our own children which happens in informal settings. And I won't lay the blame with the teachers. It is highly risky for any practitioner to change their method. It can lead to total collapse and confusion if they are not adequately prepared. And that is impossible in mid-life for somebody to take a diversion.

Also I don't believe in interfering with a Guru-SiShya conversation. ganga jala lava kaNikA pIta. Whatever little happens , let it happen for good.

It only happens with tenured professors who are well paid in U.S. Universities - some of whom change fields and they have a long runway to do it, in terms of sabbaticals etc.

So what I would say is we need to scout around for a trust to formalize this. And they may extend the same support to any other musician too. Why not? Preserve each method as is.

I cannot think of anything else. And I am not some all knowing advisor to you either. I just wanted to again put out my thoughts - whether it is valid, works or not.

Namaskarams!

msakella
Posts: 2127
Joined: 30 Sep 2006, 21:16

Re: Carnatic Diploma Exam

Post by msakella »

Excellent, blessings dear brother-member, shankarank,

Very glad to see your encouraging post and the details given in. Who bells the cat? – sosmebody must!

But, I sincerely feel, this kind of responsibilities must be taken by efficient and honest teachers only, but not students as they are students only. Either for the student or the teacher, how much efficient, the basic must be the logic. Then only it becomes long lasting.

Particularly in our music, either southern or northern, mostly this logic is missing from the beginning as everybody is bothered about tradition only but couldn’t look into the basic logic. The same thing happened in my case too. Me too belong to the old tradition and also learnt in the same manner. But very sadly the results are very slow and poor. Unfortunately, I realised this very little only after 20 years after my Lecturership in the Music College as an inefficient teacher. Even after sincerely following my colleagues I couldn’t become an average teacher. Thus, I was compelled into look into my own face which was not good at all. Later, upto the date of my retirement in 1996 I could somehow manage to become the best of the bad lot. Only in 2001, having just fully finished my TASLAPRASTARA, when I saw at my back this inefficiency as a music-teacher was hanging along and, again I was compelled to sit firmly for this task. At last, only after 5 years struggle, only by the grace of the Almighty, I could find the entrance of the logical longway in 2001 and been travelling along with it finding many things very strictly on the basic of logic which gave me thumping results.
Very strictly speaking, HE only made me all these things of uploading more than 1300+ videos and five books on practical music all fully with respective audios in Google-links. Even in this forum I have already given most of the information in the Beginner Q & A- Learning Area / AMS Easy methods in learning Karnataka Music -2007.

At this old age I am very strictly confined to my home and better not to move to remain in one piece. If anybody is interested he/she can go through all this information and material very freely and contact my email, msakella2002@gmail.com (I am trying even to reduce my telephone links). amsharma/msakella

Post Reply