Does anyone (Rasika's) have the UKS (Mridanga Cintamanih)?

[sangeetham_srinivasan]

Dear Rasikas,

It was a great gift from Shri. Umayalpuram K.Sivaraman sir to all our rasikas and aspiring beginners, who wish to excel on Mridungam can buy this 7 DVD's(Mridanga Cintamanih). Meanwhile, Curious to know if anyone already has purchased it? The total Cost comes around Rs.4000.

Also, Kindly do let me know if any one wants to share the prices in buying the same and will be happy to buy the DVD's.

Thanks,

[RamLakshmanan]

It's a great collection. Sri Sivaraman explains the lessons in lucid English. The whole flow is pretty methodical and measured, just like a well-played Thani Avarthanam! The Lec-Dem method chosen is very very useful. Outstanding vidya daanam!

[prashant]

I am on volume 3 right now and am thoroughly enjoying it. Totally worth the price.

[erode14]

Thank you RamLakshmanan and Prashant... Yes, Ram has played rUpaka chApu - Level 2.

I request the moderators to keep all posts regarding "mrudanga cintamani" in one thread...

[Nick H]

Better request the members to keep all the posts in one thread

But, members having transgressed, moderators can save the day!

[vasanthakokilam]

It is best that members keep the posts in one relevant thread. With the new forum software, even the mods can not move posts from one thread to other, while keeping the member name, member stats and date of posting etc. exactly the same. Admin is investigating how to make that work. Until then, please bear with some scattering and disorganization.

[prashant]

The section on sankIrNa gati is especially informative and educative. I wish this gati would be taken up more in concerts... we get to hear tisrams and khanDams often, misrams from time to time, but sankIrNams, almost never!

[bluepencil]

Not everyone gets to learn from the master. But today, thanks to technology, one of the greatest living mridangam vidwans, Sangita Kalanidhi Umayalpuram K Sivaraman, is accessible to all people passionate about Carnatic music.

The incredible genius of Umayalpuram has been distilled into Mridanga Cintamanih (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQFODJGB ... =vijuhegde), a pack of 7 DVDs, with the intention of preserving something invaluable for the generations to come. The DVDs, divided into four levels, are instructional and cover the entire spectrum of playing the mridangam - from the beginner level to the nuances of accompaniment to vocal music. This DVD pack has great value as reference material to students at universities and the like.

The Level I DVD, begins from the beginning and instructs the novice mridangam player on the placement of fingers, posture, and introduces him/her to Adhi, Roopaka Chappu, Misra Chappu and Kanda Chappu talas.

The rest of the levels are broken up into two DVDs each. The Level II DVD showcases advanced sequences along with demonstrations of Gathi Bedham (change of speed), aruthis (short endings), moras, and korvais. They seem easy and simple when Umayalpuram handles them masterfully, but can be a challenge to learners.

The undeterred student of percussion music will find more treasures waiting to be explored in Levels 3 and 4. The former hands out more insider knowledge, normally acquired only after years of learning from the master, like intricate patterns and techniques like Pecking, Gumki, Arai Chapu followed by detailed Taniavarthanams in the 4 basic talas. The art of tuning the Mridangam is a bonus with this DVD.

In Level 4, the student learns about what it takes to play mridangam for concerts, both vocal and instrumental, where the mridangam player has to not only hold his/her own, but also play in harmony with the vocalist or other instrument players and contribute to the unified beauty of the music. Light classical music, from folk to bhajans, is also packed in.

The mridangam lessons enunciated in the DVDs are also available in .pdf format and includes an excerpt from Umayalpuram’s book, too.
The total length of the 7-pack instructional music series is 22 hours at the end of which, the mridangam learner is many musical miles ahead from where he/she started. Of course, the journey is never complete but one is definitely well equipped for it.

And, it’s not just the mridangam enthusiast, but the world of classical music at large, that profits from this presentation, which can rightly be called Umayalpuram Sivaraman’s magnum opus. This marriage of musical genius and the best of technology is to be treasured.