Swarabat Players
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Swarabat Players
The Swarabat, Swarbat or Swaragat is a rare plucked string instrument of the classical Carnatic music genre of South India. It belongs to the chordophone, lute family of musical instruments, and is closely related to the ''veena'' and ''yazh'' instruments of the ancient South Asian orchestral ensemble. Etymology Although popularly known as Swarabat, its correct pronunciation is Swaragat. ''Swara'' from Sanskrit connotes a note in the successive steps of the octave, ''ghat'' refers to steps leading down towards a river, while ''bhat'' in the language means scholar. Construction Like its Carnatic cousin, the veena, it has frets, a feature that also distinguishes it from their ancestor, the Yazh harp (ancient veena). Part of the chordophonic lute family of instruments, the Swarabat body is made of wood on which a skin is stretched. On top of this skin, a bridge is placed upon which silk strings pass, which are plucked with a plectrum carved out of horn. There is a resonator and ...
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Raja Ravi Varma, Malabar Lady
''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested from the Rigveda, where a ' is a ruler, see for example the ', the "Battle of Ten Kings". Raja-ruled Indian states While most of the Indian salute states (those granted a gun salute by the British Crown) were ruled by a Maharaja (or variation; some promoted from an earlier Raja- or equivalent style), even exclusively from 13 guns up, a number had Rajas: ; Hereditary salutes of 11-guns : * the Raja of Pindrawal * the Raja of Morni * the Raja of Rajouri * the Raja of Ali Rajpur * the Raja of Bilaspur * the Raja of Chamba * the Raja of Faridkot * the Raja of Jhabua * the Raja of Mandi * the Raja of Manipur * the Raja of Narsinghgarh * the Raja of Pudukkottai * the Raja of Rajgarh * the Raja of Sangli * the Raja of Sailana * the Raja ...
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Timbre
In music, timbre ( ), also known as tone color or tone quality (from psychoacoustics), is the perceived sound quality of a musical note, sound or musical tone, tone. Timbre distinguishes different types of sound production, such as choir voices and musical instruments. It also enables listeners to distinguish different instruments in the same category (e.g., an oboe and a clarinet, both Woodwind instrument, woodwind instruments). In simple terms, timbre is what makes a particular musical instrument or human voice have a different sound from another, even when they play or sing the same note. For instance, it is the difference in sound between a guitar and a piano playing the same note at the same volume. Both instruments can sound equally tuned in relation to each other as they play the same note, and while playing at the same amplitude level each instrument will still sound distinctively with its own unique tone color. Experienced musicians are able to distinguish between diff ...
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Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma
( ml, സ്വാതി തിരുനാള്‍ രാമവർമ്മ) (16 April 1813 – 26 December 1846) was the Maharaja of the Kingdom of Travancore. He is also considered as a brilliant music composer and is credited with over 400 classical compositions in both Carnatic and Hindustani style.http://print.achuth.googlepages.com/SwathiThirunalandSciencev3.0.pdf A well-formulated code of laws, courts of justice, introduction of English education, construction of an observatory, installation of the first Government printing press, establishment of the first manuscripts library were amongst the many initiatives taken by Svāti Tirunāḷ‍, as a King, to modernise Travancore. Early life Svāti Tirunāḷ‍ was born into the Venad dynasty of the Matrilineal royal family of Travancore, which is now a part of Kerala, on 16 April 1813. He was the second child of Queen Gowri Lakshmi Bayi who ruled Travancore from 1811 to 1815, and Raja Raja Varma Koil Thampuran of C ...
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Palghat Parameswara Bhagavathar
Palghat Parameswara Bhagavathar (1815-1892) was a Carnatic music composer and musician born in Nurani, Kerala, India. His musical talents developed to such an extent that Swati Tirunal had great admiration and confidence in him. Whenever the Maharaja composed songs, the Bhagavathar was made to copy them. He used to practice veena and swarabat along with the Maharaja during his leisure. He also was trained in violin by Vadivelu in the royal court. Swati Tirunal made him the Chief Palace Musician towards the end of his regime after the death of Vadivelu. His compositions are in Sanskrit, resembling those of Swati Tirunal and Dikshitar Dīkṣitars (Tamil: தீக்ஷிதர்) or Thillai Vazh Anthaanar are a Vedic Shaiva Brahmin servitor community of Tamil Nadu who are based mainly in the town of Chidambaram. Smartha (especially the Vadamas), Sri Vaishnava and other .... He composed many Varnams and Keertanams. The Varnam beginning with Sarasijanabha (Natta Raga) i ...
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Saraswati Veena
The Sarasvatī vīṇa (also spelled Saraswati vina) (Devanagari: सरस्वती वीणा (vīṇā), te, సరస్వతి వీణ, kan, ಸರಸ್ವತಿ ವೀಣೆ, ta, சரஸ்வதி வீணை, Malayalam: സരസ്വതി വീണ) is an ancient Indian plucked veena. It is named after the Hindu goddess Saraswati, who is usually depicted holding or playing the instrument. Also known as ''raghunatha veena,'' it is used mostly in Carnatic music, Carnatic Indian classical music. There are several variations of the veena, which in its South Indian form is a member of the lute family. One who plays the veena is referred to as a ''vainika''. The Saraswati veena is one of major types of veena today. The others include chitra veena, vichitra veena and rudra veena. Out of these the rudra and vichitra veenas are used more often in Hindustani music, while the Saraswati veena and the chitra veena are used more frequently in the Carnatic music of ...
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Pudukottai
Pudukkottai is the administrative headquarters of Pudukkottai District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is a large city located on the banks of the Vellar River. It has been ruled, at different times, by the mutharaiyar dynasty , Cholas, Early Pandyas, Thondaimans, and the British. It is situated about southwest of the state capital Chennai and about southeast of Tiruchirappalli. Tamil Nadu's first woman Asian Games competitor, Santhi Soundarajan, is from Pudukkottai. Being the district headquarters, Pudukkottai has district administrative offices, besides government educational institutes, colleges, and schools. Pudukkottai is a part of the Pudukkottai constituency and elects its member to the legislative assembly every five years; and is a part of the Lok Sabha constituency comprising Ramanathapuram, Sivaganga, Tiruchirappalli and Karur. The city is administered by a selection-grade municipality established in 1912 as per the Municipal Corporation Act. Pudukkottai cov ...
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Thondaman Dynasty
The Thondaimans are chieftains who ruled the region in and around Pudukottai from the 17th to 20th century. The Pudukkottai Thondaiman dynasty was founded by Raghunatha Thondaiman, the brother-in-law of the then Raja of Ramnad, RaghunathaKilavan Setupati. The Pudukottai Samasthanam was under Thondaiman dynasty for one year even after Indian Independence. The Thondaiman dynasty had a special Valari regiment. History In 1686, the Ramnad kingdom was ruled by Raghunatha Kilavan Setupati, the Raja of Ramnad and the Pudukottai region was ruled by a chief called Pallavarayan. The Raja of Ramnad suspected the chief's loyalty to the Ramnad kingdom and believed that the chief would shift his allegiance to the ruler of Thanjavur. So the Raja of Ramnad ousted the chief and appointed his brother-in-law Ragunatha Raya Tondaman, the brother of his queen Kathayi Nachiar, as the new ruler of Pudukottai. Thondaiman, the son of Avadai Raghunatha Tondaiman, was earlier ruling Thirumayam. In ...
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Thanjavur Nayak Kingdom
The Thanjavur Nayak kingdom or Thanjavur Nayak dynasty were the rulers of Thanjavur in the 15th and 17th centuries. The Nayaks of the Balija social group, were originally appointed as provincial governors by the Vijayanagara Emperor in the 15th century, who divided the territory into Nayak kingdoms which were Madurai, Tanjore, Gingee and Kalahasthi. In the mid 15th century they became an independent kingdom, although they continued their alliance with the Vijayanagara Empire. The Thanjavur Nayaks were notable for their patronage of literature and the arts. A translation from '' Raghunathabhyudayam (p. 284)'', says this about Timma Nayak the father of Sevappa Nayak, the founder of the Tanjore Nayak in line: ''In the sathria caste born from the feet of Vishnu was born a king called Timma Nayak''.''Nayaks of Tanjore'', by V. Vriddhagirisan, p.26 The ''Mannaru'' (Vishnu) of the Mannargudi temple was their ''kula daivam'' (family deity). Origins of Nayak rule With the demise of the ...
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Kingdom Of Travancore
The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often vocalize it as star (as, for example, in ''the A* search algorithm'' or '' C*-algebra''). In English, an asterisk is usually five- or six-pointed in sans-serif typefaces, six-pointed in serif typefaces, and six- or eight-pointed when handwritten. Its most common use is to call out a footnote. It is also often used to censor offensive words. In computer science, the asterisk is commonly used as a wildcard character, or to denote pointers, repetition, or multiplication. History The asterisk has already been used as a symbol in ice age cave paintings. There is also a two thousand-year-old character used by Aristarchus of Samothrace called the , , which he used when proofreading Homeric poetry to mark lines that were duplicated. Origen is kn ...
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Musicians Of The Kingdom Of Mysore
The Kingdom of Mysore (1399–1950) was founded by Yaduraya in 1399 as a feudatory of the Vijayanagara Empire and became an independent kingdom in the early 17th century, after the decline of the Vijayanagara Empire. Many musicians and composers have presumably adorned the courts of the Mysore kings from Yaduraya's time, furthering the ''Dakshinadi'' school (southern school) of music that had developed in earlier centuries. However, records are only available from the time of King Ranadheera Kanteerava Narasaraja Wodeyar (1638).Pranesh (2003), pix in author's noteKamath (2001), p282 Musical treatises surviving from this time, though, provide ample information on the music, musical instruments, the types of compositions, the ''raga'' (melodies) and the '' tala'' (rhythms) used. Though all the Mysore kings patronised music, the golden age of Carnatic music was considered to be during the reigns of Kings Krishnaraja Wodeyar III (1794–1868), Chamaraja Wodeyar IX (1862–1894), Krishn ...
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Harikatha
''Harikatha'' (Kannada: ಹರಿಕಥೆ : ''Harikathe''; Telugu: హరికథ : ''Harikatha;'' Marathi: हरीपाठ '': Haripatha'', ), also known as ''Harikatha Kaalakshepam'' in Telugu and Tamil (), is a form of Hindu traditional discourse in which the storyteller explores a traditional theme, usually the life of a saint or a story from an Indian epic. The person telling the story through songs, music and narration is called a ''Haridasa''. Harikatha is a composite art form composed of storytelling, poetry, music, drama, dance, and philosophy most prevalent in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Karnataka and ancient Tamil Nadu. Any Hindu religious theme may be the subject for the ''Harikatha''. At its peak ''Harikatha'' was a popular medium of entertainment, which helped transmit cultural, educational and religious values to the masses. The main aim of ''Harikatha'' is to imbue truth and righteousness in the minds of people and sow the seeds of devotion i ...
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Katcheri
A kacheri is an assembly of musicians and audience in the context of Carnatic music or Karnatak music. It is presented in the concert format. The music fraternity of connoisseurs and common people assemble at the katcheri venues to listen to classical music concerts of vidwans. Etymologically the word "katcheri" is derived from Urdu language and in Hindi to mean a court of law. Vocalist Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar (1890–1967) established the modern ''kacheri'' (concert) traditions in Carnatic music. Among the women artists, M.L. Vasanthakumari and D.K. Pattammal pioneered the promotion of kutcheri culture. Among the most notable vocalists the first woman artist to receive the highest civilian award of Bharat Ratna in 1998 was M. S. Subbulakshmi (1916–2004); who had started her career with her very first katcheri given when she was just 15 years old. It was a big hit among audience and music critics. History The word ''katcheri'' used in the context of Karnatik music con ...
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