Topics for Discussing Carnatic Music

shadjam · Post by **shadjam** » 31 Mar 2008, 06:18

I have a bunch of friends who are interested in learning the concepts of carnatic music. They are not interested in learning full fledged carnatic music but are only interested in learning how to appreciate carnatic music better. I am in a dilemma about what topics to choose and discuss with them to make them appreciate carnatic music better. Can the members suggest a pool of topics that I can discuss with them about? As far as possible, I would like to get them involved with some simple exercises to make them understand the concepts. Thanks a lot.

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 31 Mar 2008, 06:40

I recently got a similar request from a friend of mine. I referred him to the carnatica site where they describe the appreciation aspects in three categories: Raganubhava, Layanubhava and Sahityanubhava. Given that it comes from Carnatica, the information tends to be accurate and reliable. My own personal view after reading them is that they have taken a good shot at presenting the material to the beginner. I especially liked their attempt to describe the relationship between Laya and Tala. The articles still go to the theory a bit much ( melakartha stuff on the melody side and the tala anga aspects on the rhythm side ) which may be daunting for a beginner rasika but even without those, there is enough there to get a feel for the appreciation aspects. Highly recommended.

Music Appreciation: http://www.carnatica.net/appreciation-main.htm

Music Handbook ( for some more in depth info including a comprehensive history of CM and CM Composers): http://carnatica.net/handbook-main.htm

Since they are your friends, let them read the above stuff and see if they can give you feedback on if they got anything out of it. If this is too dry or they could not relate to it, may be there is a project for a bunch of us here where we can work on text + clickable music snippets. Over time, it can be built to something comprehensive and useful.

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 31 Mar 2008, 06:59

This is one of the best ones I have found to get started with:

http://www.musicindiaonline.com/music/c ... /album.88/

coolkarni · Post by **coolkarni** » 31 Mar 2008, 07:24

Tyagaraja Tyagaraja Tyagaraja Ty..........
If your friends start appreciating Music in the context of Tyagaraja , his Life story and his compositions, it should be smooth sailing.
Everything else is likely to make it look a bit more daunting.
You could also tell them that it may take decades to reach , where other rasikas have reached.
at least that was my experience and continues as such.

shadjam · Post by **shadjam** » 31 Mar 2008, 08:19

Thanks, vk and rshankar. I will check them out.

Coolji, your approach sounds interesting as well as a little confounding for me. Do you want me to do it as a thyagaraja charithram discourse? I am not sure how one can teach the basics by directly starting with his compositions. Can you please elaborate? Thanks.

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 31 Mar 2008, 08:57

Ravi: Thanks for that link. I have forwarded that to my friend.

coolkarni · Post by **coolkarni** » 31 Mar 2008, 08:59

I am only saying that the Concept of a Carnatic Krithi is beyond the reach of understanding, for a newcomer.
It was my experience,atleast.

This single aspect which has bits and pieces of philosophy, mythology ,and the science of music set up in a brilliant mosaic will be the simplest mode by which a newcomer grasps the whole first and then tentatively steps in.
Tyagaraja-- I chose simply because so many of his krithis first impact our consciousness as a song or a muse , and then only as a scale.But I do not intend to make distinctions within the Trinity.It was purely a personal choice.
Decades ago ,MD and SS scared me at first.It was Tyagaraja who took me in , as a blundering HMite..straying into CM.

mridangamkid · Post by **mridangamkid** » 31 Mar 2008, 09:20

coolkarni wrote:Tyagaraja Tyagaraja Tyagaraja Ty..........
If your friends start appreciating Music in the context of Tyagaraja , his Life story and his compositions, it should be smooth sailing.
Everything else is likely to make it look a bit more daunting.
You could also tell them that it may take decades to reach , where other rasikas have reached.
at least that was my experience and continues as such.

QFT

If any one wants appreciate Carnatic music more, it should start and end with Saint Tyagaraja.

mri_fan · Post by **mri_fan** » 31 Mar 2008, 09:37

End with Tyagaraja?

How would you ever be able to play for Navagraha kritis mkid?

coolkarni · Post by **coolkarni** » 31 Mar 2008, 09:52

my views are not to be pulled out of context,please.
mridangamkid , if you have a different viewpoint to make , to answer the original question, please feel free to do so.
I dont want to see another kid calling me an anarchist or something so equally silly.

cienu · Post by **cienu** » 31 Mar 2008, 11:10

Shadjam,

Coolji is right. Thyagabrahmam would be the best option to get introduced to CM. I remember in an earlier thread that Coolji had mentioned that it takes many Janmas to master CM. I could not agree more.

So while initiating your friends into appreciating CM , you may advise them that their long journey has infact just begun

vainika · Post by **vainika** » 31 Mar 2008, 11:27

Shadjam,

It is not clear if your friends are of Indian origin, have prior exposure to the cultures of the subcontinent, or are familiar with musical traditions of other parts of the world. Depending on their background, you could use different starting points for the dialogue.

I strongly recommend Todd McCombs 1999 piece 'Why Carnatic Music' available at http://www.medieval.org/music/world/carnatic/cmc.html , and his annotated listening list for beginners at http://www.medieval.org/music/world/carnatic/cbl.html

shadjam · Post by **shadjam** » 31 Mar 2008, 12:00

vainika,

My friends are all of south indian origin. Unfortunately, they haven't been initiated into carnatic music. Whenever I try to make them attend a concert the answer I get is that they don't understand the technical parts of the concert. I agree with coolji that it takes years to understand the nuances of a CM concert and the only way to master it is by attending concerts. But the main problem here is making them attend the concert. It's just another chicken/egg problem. I am trying to provide them with some easy to understand information/exercises that would stimulate their interest in attending CM concerts.

coolji and cienu, thyagaraja's compositions are like a ocean. I am not sure where to start. Can you please provide this dumbo (:)) some examples to start with? Thanks a lot.

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 31 Mar 2008, 13:20

I think Coolji's point is that theory becomes boring if it is removed from an experiential context. Playing Thyagaraja's songs or describing the greatness of his life would provide a fantastic hook to grab the audience's attention. Of course this does not mean you leave out the other greats...but the fact is both the history of the saint and his musical works hold immediate appeal. Just off the cuff you could try the following in say, 5 sessions:

1) History and context of CM dwelling liberally on the Saint's life a'nd the Trinity, development of musical forms, basic cutcheri format, languages used etc. Play some catchy songs that were milestones in his life...Vara Veena Gana Lola, Nadatanumanisham, Kanukonti Nee, Nidhi Tsala Sukhama and Paramatmudu in that order, would be my choice. You can add a Deekshitar kriti - say Sri Rajagopala just to highlight the elaborate gamaka structure of his works and a varnam (Viribhoni everytime!). You could also play some film songs either based on carnatic ragas or where melodies have been directly lifted. Alipayuthe suggests itself ...I believe there is a knock off of Manaviyala floating about somewhere. The objective should be to pass on the message that enjoyment is not dependent on understanding/knowledge

2) Start them on the theory part, starting ragas, answering the following Qs:
What is a raga? Janaka and Janya ragas. Types of Janya ragas
The 12 notes and how they combine into 72 melakarthas. Concept of Vivadhi ragas
Demonstration of 12 notes by singing/playing instrument/harmonium
Concept of gamakas and demonstration by playing a raga on keyboard and actual singing/playing
Songs in 5 major scales
Songs in 4 janyas â€“ an audava, a shadava, a vakra and a bhashanga

3) Tala/Laya
Major talas used in songs â€“ Adi, Rupakam, Ata and the chapus
Scheme of 35 Taalas
Concept of Eduppu and finishing on samam
Kalais and Nadais
Suitable illustrations for each of the major talas mixing up different paces. Say 1 krithi each in Desadi, Khanda Chapu, Misra Chapu, Adi Tisra Nadai, Misra JHampa, 2 Kalai Rupakam and Ata

4) Manodharma
Difference between kalpita and manodharma sangeetham
Alaapanas â€“ Length, progression & structure, akaras and ukaras, brighas.
Swara Kalpana â€“ Basic concept, speeds, significance of eduppu, jathi patterns/kanakkus versus sarvalaghu, koraippu, korvai/conclusion.
Neraval - - Basic Concept, significance of artha bhava, appropriateness of line chosen, speeds/koraippu as above.
Tani Avarthanam â€“ Nadais/Vinyasa, Koraippu, Mohra, Korvai
Ragam Taanam Pallavi â€“ Structure, Taanam, Types/themes of Pallavi lines, trikaalam, tisram/khandam etc., nadai pallavis
Introduction to maestroâ€™s renditions. Would suggest the following â€“ GNB/Rajarathnam/Mali for alaapanas, Madurai Mani/TVS/Alathoor Brothers for Swara Kalpana, KVN/Semmangudi/DKP for Neraval and TNS/Suguna Purushottaman for Pallavisâ€¦of course this can be structured based on your preferences

5) Modern History of CM
This is essentially to trace the development of CM in recent times, let us say from 20th century onwards. The idea is to develop an acquaintance with the stalwarts, major schools and the specialties of each. Here, it is important that they be introduced to present day performers and their relative merits (depending on your judgment of course!) so that they are encouraged to go and attend concerts and decide for themselves. Even if you think present day standards are poor, saying so will only keep your audience away from cutcheries forever!

Irrespective of the structure you follow, it is critically important that you mix it up with a lot of aided listening and provide exmaples using clips. Otherwise you risk losing your audience forever.

By the end of this series, you should at least 25% of your audience hooked to CM. Some of the rest will suddenly develop an interest at some later point (usually as a result of hearing something that touches the heart)â€¦as for the othersâ€¦well, CM is not for them!

All the best - I do wish I could do something like this myself!

cienu · Post by **cienu** » 31 Mar 2008, 13:35

Wow Vijay,

That was a fantastic SOP for beginners.

coolkarni · Post by **coolkarni** » 31 Mar 2008, 13:43

theory becomes boring

correction vijay
theory may become intimidating....

just listening to somus sangeetha gnanamu and suddenly find myself retracing my steps over the past 25 years or so.
I was once caught red handed at venus colony, while recording balakrishna sastrigal , on the sly.the show was stopped for a few minutes and TSB peered down through the glaring lights , and enquired.
on being told about my misdemeanour,he asked for a closer look.I was moved nearer to the dias and with one look at me , he exclaimed :
Now look at this ! The only chap who is on the wrong side of the age 50-for a harikatha- and you have managed to ctach and threaten him.
Give him a Royal seat , and please let him record to his hearts content.He brings in experience from his poorva janma which we are not able to visualise.
That night I walked back home with 20 wonderful tapes and was promised the remaining ones too as the series concluded.

sbala · Post by **sbala** » 31 Mar 2008, 13:51

CM has cultivated this image of being a highly technical artform and that does act as a stumbling block for newbies. My suggestion is to let go of your favourites and make them listen to artistes who have a good voice. They are not popular for no reason. For instance, I would possibly initiate them with songs sung by Sudha, Jaishree or RG. Tukkadas help a lot if they are absolute beginners, preferably in a language they are familiar with. Once they cross that stage, you can ask them to listen to krithis from the same raga. You can start with popular ones like Mohanam, Kalyani etc. This will help them start identifying ragas. If they get there, the fourth law of motion will bring them to this forum.

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 31 Mar 2008, 15:02

If they are interested in learning the concepts, I'd guess that they already enjoy Carnatic music.

In that situation, it is fairly safe to teach some theory, and to let them know that they can stop whenever and wherever they like. There are no exams to be passed before music can be enjoyed, and I do so agree with sbala that CM's image as a technical artform for the esoteric few that understand it has done it (or at least audience numbers) a great dis-service.

My raga theory stumbling block comes right at the start, with SRGMPDN being little more than letters on the page to me and, as I never studied Western music either, even those books that attempt a conversion to Western notation do not help much. If you able to bring all that to life for your friends, by playing or singing, then they are onto a wonderful chance!

Cool... you seem to have led a life full of the angels of music

coolkarni · Post by **coolkarni** » 31 Mar 2008, 15:37

Nick.
Yes it has been a wonderful listening career,indeed.This is Really an Incredible India.

shadjam · Post by **shadjam** » 31 Mar 2008, 21:31

Vijay, that list is very detailed and informative. Thanks a lot for that. Thanks also to coolji, sbala and nick H.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 31 Mar 2008, 22:01

Vijay, Cool, sbala,
Words of wisdom, indeed. I would follow some of Vijay's suggestions myself. I empathize with Cool because my love for CM was cultivated with experiences such as his. sbala's approach sounds very effective.
Would be nice if parents of children who love CM (not necessarily contest winners) bring us instances which sparked their interest...

MaheshS · Post by **MaheshS** » 31 Mar 2008, 22:15

Mahadevan Ramesh's Intro to Carnatic music is a good read. You can find it from the following link.

http://www.mahadevanramesh.com/music.html

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 31 Mar 2008, 22:25

Vijay: That is indeed a comprehensive list. Personally, I would lay off on items 2 and 3 and start with 1 and go to 4. Actually, the link Ravi posted does a very good job of accomplishing your list other than items 2 and 3.

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 31 Mar 2008, 22:29

vijay wrote:I think Coolji's point is that theory becomes boring if it is removed from an experiential context. Playing Thyagaraja's songs or describing the greatness of his life would provide a fantastic hook to grab the audience's attention. Of course this does not mean you leave out the other greats...but the fact is both the history of the saint and his musical works hold immediate appeal. Just off the cuff you could try the following in say, 5 sessions:

All the best - I do wish I could do something like this myself!

Vijay,

These are great ideas - worthy of a grant from SNA to present in schools all over India, or anywhere else for that matter. I would certainly attend!

Or, maybe the MMA can take this up as a serious tool/method of 'popularizing' CM.

Madurai Sri GS Mani has given many programmes where he shows how CM maps to FM (Film music) - maybe the trick is to do the opposite - start with the popular FM melody first, and gradually move it along to it's CM origin. Nothing new with that idea - it is just a mere re-statement of Kji's advice on how to learn to appreciate HM - he said, 'start with a few filmy gAnE, then move to a few bhajans, and then go to the full rAga'!

Suji Ram · Post by **Suji Ram** » 31 Mar 2008, 23:30

Vijay,
Nice list ! I would like to attend too if there are such sessions...

But one thing to remember is give them "Home work /assignment" no grading offcourse.

There is something about trying to learn somethings ourselves!

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 01 Apr 2008, 00:27

bring us instances which sparked their interest

Sharing my own experience many decades ago on how I got into CM.. There was CM in the air, mainly through AIR, but not a whole lot. I was not into CM at all. The thing that got me curious about CM is that one can actually identify the ragas. I had seen others do it but it was all a mystery. I used to ask people how they do it but whatever answer they gave was not relatable ( the same answers I would give to somebody now if asked ).

Accidentally, one day, I asked someone near me if the song we just heard on the radio is Kamas. That person said 'Yes'. That is a very critical moment for me. Ah ha..I can relate to this thing called Raga. Actually what triggered me to identify it as Kamas is not the alapana, krithi, niraval or kalpanaswara but rather the little flourish they do at the end of pallavi. It was the same between that song and another song I had heard a few days before in Kamas. ( So musicians, do more of that flourish and in a consistent fashion, alleast one person got into CM because of that ). See, the fact the 'similarities of that kind' across songs is realized through my own personal experience was the turning point. No matter how many times others have told me the same thing was just not enough to act as the hook. It may not sound like much in retrospect but it was huge for me then in that completely uninitiated state. That little personal experience and positive validation from someone else sent me off on my own personal exploration. For me, that fascination was the self-motivating factor. No one from outside pushed me to do it.

The exploration started a bit theoretically at first given my inclination. What is it that makes them sound common? Before that I did not even know that tunes consisted of sequence of swaras because I had never thought about it along those lines though I enjoyed music of various lighter kinds prior to that. On the non-theoretical side, I happened to come across a Thiruppavai cassette with thirty ragas. That came in handy since at that time my goal was to see if I can relate to other ragas, not just kamAs. I asked someone to tell me the ragas of the various pieces and wrote it down. Now, it was an exercise in pattern matching and remembering the label ( raga name ) between one listening session and another. I could latch on to 8 or 10 of the melodies. Obviously, there are some mis-identifications. I always confused Huseni with Ananda Bhairavi. Those are good confusions to have since it lets you focus on those ragas more. From there, I started listening to krithis and started going to concerts.

The time between the kamAs incident and voluntarily seeking out concerts at various sabahas in Chennai was between 6 to 8 months. I had heard about SSI before but did not know anything about him. One such random concert I happened to walk in by myself was that of SSI in the intimate confines of a little hall in the luz area in the first floor ( I do not remember the sabha name ). I was quite captivated. I do not remember much about that concert now except that he sang manavyala in nalinakanthi.

ragam-talam · Post by **ragam-talam** » 01 Apr 2008, 03:08

Check out the Karnatic music primer - was a favorite of mine when it came out in the early 90s...
http://audiophile.tam.cornell.edu/~kc29 ... Primer.pdf

10yearslate · Post by **10yearslate** » 01 Apr 2008, 08:47

Would be nice if parents of children who love CM (not necessarily contest winners) bring us instances which sparked their interest...

Arasi,

We used to drag my little girl off to Paattu class and she went along without any sparks catching or fires being lit until her teacher invited along an amateur musicologist to talk to the children about Dikshitar one day.

He described the genesis of the AmrthaVarshiNi classic "Aanandamrtha karshiNi" and how MD in passing through a drought affected area composed it with "Varshaya varshaya" causing a huge cloudburst to hit the parched earth. He told it in the form of a story, interspersed with a brief rendering of the appropriate passage and how MD had to re-sing with the equivalent of "stop-stop" (sorry, the Samskrta escapes me now) when the deluge became uncontrollable.

Luckily we had a Sowmya version in the car on the way home. She played it so often that she was soon able to render a copy complete with swaraprasthaaram!

We believe momentum theory has kicked in, because, after being taken to the local Tyagarajotsavam this year she is forever listening to the CDW Sanjay-Unni duet of the pancharatna kritis. Good news is that her teacher has spotted the small fire that has caught and is now stoking it by teaching her the pancharatnam in time for the next TU!

Peer pressure also helps. We have friends whose two young boys are hooked on the Malladi brothers and we insist on hearing their duets each time we see them. Hearing them sing also provides an impetus to my little girl.

shadjam · Post by **shadjam** » 01 Apr 2008, 09:19

The anecdotes by vk and 10yearslate reminds me of an incident that helped me improve my ability to identify ragas better and in general, attending concerts more regularly. I wasn't a very regular concert goer until Rasika Ranjana Sabha, Trichy brought out a scheme (somewhere during the early 90's) called the "Critic Scheme". This was initiated by Late Shri. L.Venkatraman (fondly known as LV in the Trichy music circle, then president of RR Sabha; He was a pioneer of several other great programs). This program was meant for the music students who have to attend the concerts organized by RR Sabha and have to write a review for the concert (no negative reviews were allowed).

The first few concerts were very frustrating since most of the songs were unknown to me and I had to repeatedly ask others for the details of raga, tala and composer of the songs. As the year went by I was able to recognize atleast the commonly sung ragas without the help of others. The best part of this initiative was attending programs such as Lalgudi Days (series of concerts from the family and disciples of LGJ) and Trinity festival (attended around 15 concerts (mostly 1 hr) in 2 days). Each student who wrote atleast one review were given a cash award and a certificate and the best reviewer was also awarded (this was an extra motivation). I remember attending more than 20 concerts that year and I turned out to be the worst reviewer

I really wish I had more opportunities like this. Are there any sabhas in chennai or other places that promotes such activities for music students?

Sangeet Rasik · Post by **Sangeet Rasik** » 01 Apr 2008, 10:23

All good comments and suggestions. My two cents -

I believe one of the biggest stumbling block to CM appreciation among the "uninitiated" is the initial focus on the nomenclature, numbers of talas and names of ragas, etc.The focus on classification and unnecessary rigor of terminology is a deterrent.

Secondly, the recurring theme of "religious devotion", while not objectionable, obscures the true value and versatility of the art form. What is missing is the approach to raga development, which is the central concept of importance.

Unfortunately, the entire educational scheme in CM (whether for students or for those wishing to gain appreciation of the art) is not geared to raga-appreciation right off the bat. One skilful demonstration of singing/playing "Sami ninne kori" in the "C-major" scale versus repeating the same in Raga Sankarabharanam will do more to attune the lay listener to the intricacy of CM than anything else. Why not attack it head-on rather than go through the details of melakartas and bhaktas and compositional structure ?

In my opinion, one Rajan Parrikar and his website have done more service to Indian classical music in recent years than volumes of writing on the intricacy of talas and melakartas. I can personally attest to this. When asked about Indian classical music by the uninitiated, I invariably point them to Parrikar as well as to a few CM links and audio sources. Predictably (and I am sorry to say) - most of them take to appreciating Indian classical music through the Hindustani idiom.

Parrikar successfully brings out not only the uniquely Indian intellect behind the concept of ragas, but also the emotional/aesthetic basis behind these ragas which transcends saints, bhakts, and indeed words. Recurrent use of this aesthetic foundation mainly for expressing religious devotion has led to a lower level of ability to use this foundation to express more varied and complex emotions (albeit sticking to the technical parameters of course). This is also the root cause of the lack of comprehension among the uninitiated. It cannot be solved by hitting them with more of the same.

CM lacks a sufficient number of skilled communicators who are willing to jettison the baggage of unnecessary rigor (it is not really important how many suladi talas there are, nor how many melakartas) as well as the millstone of "bhakta-charitam", and get to the heart of ragas and their intricacy.

Just my two cents. Sorry in advance for any controversy that might arise from this.

SR

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 01 Apr 2008, 11:40

SR, I think the link rshankar posted in post #3 achieves the essence of what you are saying More of that can be done. CM does not necessarily need to resort to HM way or use Parrikar methods at the uninitiated ( whcih I am not personally convinced will work for the purposes we are talking about here. I come away from that site in awe but also with a feeling 'wow.. these all sound so similar but are called different ragas.. how do lay people keep track of all this.' Meaning there is a good dose of scholarship exhibited there as well , may be not technically oriented, which may only be attractive to and relatable by the already initiated ).

I agree with you on one thing. Suladi saptha thalas and melakartha scheme etc. can come later, They are usually used to showcase the technical superiority or technical completeness of CM when it is first and foremost an art form. I think it is the music books that do that, I do not think the music teachers ( outside of music degree courses ) put the students through all that. But the lay rasikas need to have access to 'music appreciation' resources that take them directly to the soul of the music, whether it is through religious themes or secular themes. There is so much diversity in CM that any approach is just a narrlow slice of that enormity, it is up to the rasikas to cast their net wide to get at the fuller picture as they experience more and more of the art form.

sbala · Post by **sbala** » 01 Apr 2008, 11:42

I agree. The terminology is unnecessary and is a hurdle for newbies. Appreciation should start with the music without all the jargon and theory. Its the same as how does it matter whether a bird is called crow or by any other name. Understanding the behaviour of the bird is more important.

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 03 Apr 2008, 13:23

SNA grant eh? Not bad...except that I am not really qualified to actually conduct such sessions...but if someone suitably competent is willing, I would gladly help!

VK I too feel that 2 and 3 may need to be toned down for beginners...perhaps just an introduction to the major ragas would suffice. Getting a feel for tonal intervals is what really hooks you to Indian music for life but perhaps this ought to be introdced later...

beginner · Post by **beginner** » 03 Apr 2008, 13:45

Can I put some easy 'pidis' (aalap) to identify some rAgs ( as i have understood )

1) VK's favourite kamAs - ma ga ma ni dhaa, dhaa ni Sa dha ni pa, dha nee (gamakA) Ri Ri Saa,(pause+ sruthi alignment) Saa dha pa ma ga maa (gamakA), ma ga ri sa sa

2) kAmbOjhi - da Sa nee dha dha paa(pause + alignment), dha~maa ma ga gaa~ pa dhaa(extending) Saa pa dha Sa, Ri~ ni dha dha pa,

3) Bhairavi - dha pa ma ga ree gaa (gamaka), ma pa dha paa; pa dha dha pa maa (gamaka); pa dha* nee( gamakA); Ri Saa (swing here) nee dha dha pa

4) KalyAni - ga dha pa ma gaa ri sa ni. ree dha. ni. ri ga ma dha pa ma ri sa

Always a joyful CM...

sindhu · Post by **sindhu** » 03 Apr 2008, 15:41

beginner,

I can see some flavour of rAgs. Further comments, I'll wait for Vasant (my pet name for VK)...

mridangamkid · Post by **mridangamkid** » 09 Apr 2008, 01:47

coolkarni wrote:my views are not to be pulled out of context,please.
mridangamkid , if you have a different viewpoint to make , to answer the original question, please feel free to do so.
I dont want to see another kid calling me an anarchist or something so equally silly.

Sorry for the late response

QFT stands for "Quote for that", meaning that I very much agree with what you said about first learning about Tyagaraja. I didn't mean for it to seem like I was mocking you or calling you an "anarchist", (though I don't see how)

mri_fan: What I said was more of rather, a type of saying, rather than for it to be taken literally