Finger cap and knuckle cap used by thavil vidwans

[VK RAMAN]

I like to know how to make the finger and knuckle caps being worn by thavil vidwans in India. I understand these are made using maida maavu. Any clue?

[Nick H]

I had a go at this once, and made nothing but ...a mess.

[VK RAMAN]

any takers

[mahakavi]

If these caps are not known to be plastic but made from natural materials you can try the so-called post office paste method. Starch is known to make one of the best natural glues. So, take arisi mAvu (rice flour), cook it with a little salt and get a thick paste. Then shape it around certain moulds resembling knuckles and finger tips and dry them slowly over a few days at room temperature. The moulds must be non-sticky materials so that when completely dry the caps should slip off the moulds. Worth a try!
PS: Rapid drying may make them brittle.

Best way is to ask a tavil vidwAn when you get a chance.

[Nick H]

That is, more or less, what I tried, except that I used fabric bandage to carry the paste and to help build up thickness.

As I said... I ended up with just a mess, but I understand that the principle is correct.

[VK RAMAN]

I am looking for some successful recipe; since I do not know when I will visit India, one of the rasikas may help by contacting a tavil vidwan and get the details, if it is possible.

[mahakavi]

Nadaswara vidwan Kasim (and/or Babu) is currently touring the US accompanied by his tavil vidwan. They were in New Jersey 2 weeks ago. I don't know their schedule. If you get access to them through others (tour schedule) you can get some info.

[VK RAMAN]

Thanks mahakavi. My part of the country is full of gambling tourists and we are not blessed to have CM artists coming over here because of paltry south Indian population. I request other rasikas to help me.

[cienu]

Somehow I was under the impression that VKR was based in Chennai

[ShrutiLaya]

From http://www.tak.co.in/aboutthavil.html

"The Thavil players wear small sheath like covering on their finaers for producting sound on the valandalai.This is called the 'koodu'. A lengthy while piece of cloth is pasted with boiled rice or with a special gum made of maida flour and is wound round the fingers of the players. This was on ingenious method to make the dull soft sound in the beginning a louder one, after some time, because of the heat from their palms!"

The wikipedia entry and others (good picture at http://www.indiadailyphoto.com/2009/08/29/thavil) also seem to suggest maida instead of rice flour ..

Worth a try, I guess

- Sreenadh

[ksrimech]

My part of the country is full of gambling tourists.

My part of the country is full of hippies and happies (hippies after smoking marijuana)!

[mahakavi]

The region where I live is Utopia. That is because I close my eyes when I watch it. Imagination is bliss!

[VK RAMAN]

gambling tourists look for WWW

[kssr]

Why not use the thimbles used by tailors/embroiders on which you can roll whichever maavu you choose, and make the ultimate finger cap/cup!! After all the expert rasikas do not know the answer. Why should I not throw in the hat with my "suggestion"!!

BTW, what is the maavu that mridanga vidwans mix on the stage itself and put on the leather cap? All I know is that they invariably leave the carpet on which they are seated on stage messy with a lot of maavu urundais!! Well, we excuse them for the good music they provide

[mahakavi]

I remember a wag telling me that he saw a signboard in front of a violin vidwan's house reading "ingE marattUL viRkappaDum" (sawdust will be sold here!). If mAvu (don't they call it "ravai"?) is permitted on stage, so is sawdust, so long as good music preceded them.

[Nick H]

BTW, what is the maavu that mridanga vidwans mix on the stage itself and put on the leather cap?

Yes, it is rava (ravai? Semolina, in English, anyway).

[mahakavi]

Cream of wheat (in the US)

[kssr]

Cream of wheat (in the US)

Once again an american mix up. Cream of wheat is the milk that you extract from wheat for the preparation of the :$ GODHUMAI ALWA

[arasi]

Didn't the tavil vidvAns wear ivory (or bone) caps on their fingers in the olden days? I vaguely remember seeing grooves too on them.
Ravai is semolina durum. The grit in semolina cannot be found in cream of wheat. I don't know if mrudangam vidvAns have a preference or, do the very cautious ones bring their own little packet of it with them?
MannarguDi E to the rescue!

[VK RAMAN]

"Once again an american mix up. Cream of wheat is the milk that you extract from wheat for the preparation of the GODHUMAI ALWA" - Really? Has any one made halwa out of cream of wheat?

[arasi]

VKR,
kEsari--yes. Halwah, may be not.

[kssr]

"Once again an american mix up. Cream of wheat is the milk that you extract from wheat for the preparation of the GODHUMAI ALWA" - Really? Has any one made halwa out of cream of wheat?

You grind whole wheat and squeeze out the milk, repeatedly. Boil the wheat milk with appropriate ingredients (kssr secret!) and stir and stir and stir in a vengala uruLi (thick large but shallow bronze vessel) till the golden brown GA emerges! What is cream of wheat- no idea- could it be the same as ravai? ?

[rshankar]

Cream of wheat is not a creamy extract of wheat - it is this.

[Nick H]

That would not look good on a mridangam!

[mahakavi]

Of course, not! You don't apply that goo on the mridangam. Don't judge the book by the cover. The inside contents are pretty nutritious. The picture on the box is for the average American to gobble as breakfast (1 min cooking) as he rushes out (no time to add a berry!) in the morning for work.

[mahakavi]

Once again an american mix up. Cream of wheat is the milk that you extract from wheat for the preparation of the :$ GODHUMAI ALWA

With the American "cream of wheat" you cannot make halwA but only kEsari or what was originally called sojji (Ask Crazy Mohan if you don't know what it is)
However, technically speaking the material that is used to prepare gOdumai alwA should be called "milk of wheat" or "wheat milk" just like coconut milk. By the way, coconut milk can mean two things: 1. the tender sweet water inside the coconut seed called iLanIr or 2. what is called tEngAyp pAl--- which is obtained by blending the grated coconut with water in a blender.
The first one (mostly water containing some sugar) is to drink on a hot day on the streets of Chennai while the second one is to make desserts or aviyal. The second one has to be consumed sparingly since it is an emulsion of mostly saturated fat in water.

[arasi]

With my many years in the kitchen lab of working with substitutes, I can say that cream of wheat used to be a very good substitute for ravai in making uppumA, UNTIL they stopped putting the five minute cooking, original kind on the supermarket shelves. The fast cooking ones are not satisfactory. They can goo up! What they call 'original' still isn't the same. They do not stock farina (Pillsburys) widely either.That produces uppumA with the right texture.

Nick,
For me in the sixties, Sainsbury's semolina made the best uppumA

[rshankar]

All this talk about gOdumai alvA reminds me of this, or if one wants to enjoy it in hindi, here you go.

[Nick H]

Semolina is rava, surely?

There are two 'grades' available; course, which is gritty, and fine, which is the consistency of flour. Either can be used for the mridangam, it is a matter of personal choice. I did not like using the course, but it was my teacher's preference.

It has a slightly yellow colour; I have seen a white powder, looking like a very fine flour (mada?) also used, as different mridangists have their personal tricks and recipes.

Mahakavi, thanks for the explanation about coconut milk, which I had no idea about.

[VK RAMAN]

The first one (mostly water containing some sugar) is to drink on a hot day on the streets of Chennai while the second one is to make desserts or aviyal - Ask Keralites; aviyal is only one item of preparation with grated coconut. Pittu/Kadalai, aracchuvitta sambar, moru kuttan, koottukari, moLakoottal, etc. etc. including coconut oil used as medium of cooking.

[arasi]

Well, they are differentiated by their very names. Coconut water is iLa nIR (tender coconut water) and is the stuff Harry Balafonte sang of: Coconut water, is good for your daughter, coconut! It's good for all of us!
Yes, coconut milk is the 'cream of coconut ' which has a lot of cholestrol.

[Nick H]

arasi a Harry Balefonte fan!

You never cease to amaze us

[mahakavi]

Yes, coconut milk is the 'cream of coconut ' which has a lot of cholestrol.

I beg your pardon! coconut has NO cholesterol--zilch, zero!
It is tagged only for its saturated fat, not cholesterol.
There is no cholesterol in any plant products including coconut, cashew, or other fruit and nut products. Coconut and cashew really got a bum rap.
Cholesterol is purely an animal product (butter, milk, meat, egg etc.,)

The only guilt coconut carries is guilt-by-association. It is high in saturated fat (as opposed to oils) which elevates the LDL (low density lipoprotein) in our bodies. LDL is known to associate with cholesterol (which is synthesized in our bodies) in large amounts (unlike HDL--high density lipoprotein) and is responsible for cardiovascular complications.

[mahakavi]

>>There are two 'grades' available; course, which is gritty, and fine, which is the consistency of flour. Either can be used for the mridangam, it is a matter of personal choice. I did not like using the course, but it was my teacher's preference<<

Coarse grade of ravai is the one used for upmA. The fine variety will make a very gooey upmA. I am digressing. I am wondering about the purpose of using the ravai on the mridangam striking surface. Is it to remove moisture that might condense on the surface? If so the fine variety will be more useful since it has a lot of surface area for a given amount (compared to the coarse variety)--like powdered charcoal. That means lots of pores which can suck moisture away from the mridangam surface. However, it might leave a film of the powder which may not be desirable. The coarse variety while less efficient in removing moisture will not leave a trace of its existence on the surface.

[ShrutiLaya]

(Digression) In the Indian stores here, we recently found some "cracked wheat" which has the grain size of ravva. Upma made from this comes out with each grain separate, almost as if the ravva had been roasted but without the oil. Plus it is healthier because of the whole wheat ..

Back to the headline topic, I find it astonishing that 35 posts later, we still don't have even one authoritative answer, only speculation and homework assignments - don't we have any thavil vidwans or students here on the forum, or is this considered a "trade secret" to be passed on from guru to sishya?!

- Sreenadh

[Nick H]

I am wondering about the purpose of using the ravai on the mridangam striking surface. Is it to remove moisture that might condense on the surface? If so the fine variety will be more useful since it has a lot of surface area for a given amount (compared to the coarse variety)--like powdered charcoal. That means lots of pores which can suck moisture away from the mridangam surface. However, it might leave a film of the powder which may not be desirable. The coarse variety while less efficient in removing moisture will not leave a trace of its existence on the surface.

On the contrary, the left-hand head of the mridangam may be regularly wetted with water during playing. This reduces the tension in the leather (which expands when wetted) and also increases its weight. The rava is applied as a dough, in a lump, more or less the size of a Rs2 (very approx) coin. Its thickness will depend on the individual mridangam, and the individual mridangist. It increases the weight of the sounding surface, and regularises the wave form.

Without ravva = tick tick

With ravva = boom boom (or thom, in a more appropriate language!)

Now I have brain cell failure, or I could refer you to the paper on Indian percussion instruments written by a very eminent and famous Indian scientist/rasika. Somebody else will jump in with the name, and you can find the research on the internet.

don't we have any thavil vidwans or students here on the forum,

I don't think we do --- but it would surprise me if some of our mridangists don't know the answer, as, even if they only play one instrument on stage, they are likely to have great general knowledge of, at least, South Indian percussion.

[mahakavi]

[quote="Nick H]On the contrary, the left-hand head of the mridangam may be regularly wetted with water during playing. This reduces the tension in the leather (which expands when wetted) and also increases its weight. The rava is applied as a dough, in a lump, more or less the size of a Rs2 (very approx) coin. Its thickness will depend on the individual mridangam, and the individual mridangist. It increases the weight of the sounding surface, and regularises the wave form.

Without ravva = tick tick

With ravva = boom boom (or thom, in a more appropriate language!)

Now I have brain cell failure, or I could refer you to the paper on Indian percussion instruments written by a very eminent and famous Indian scientist/rasika. Somebody else will jump in with the name, and you can find the research on the internet.

The next question(s):
Is the dough applied to the edge of leather surface? Does it stay there during playing? Does it have to be replaced periodically during a concert? If so is it akin to the lead weights used balance the tires in the automobile?
If it is a dough (and not dry powdery/grainy material) why does it matter what you start with (grainy or powdery)?

The scientist/rasika you refer to: C V Raman?

[Nick H]

Yes, of course! Thanks for filling in the name. You can see why I am a bad music student!

The rava is applied in a lump to the centre of the leather, and it does indeed stay there during playing, though it may need a little replenishing, or keeping damp.

Really not sure about the grainy thing!

It is a shame that the secrets of the left-hand side of the mridangam are so well kept. One of the first things that fascinated me in going to class was actually seeing what the left hand does. It would be very instructive to occasionally see mridangists play facing the "wrong" way --- especially those who have a particular speciality of gumaka and/or playing sruti on the left hand.