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Gaana
Gaana (or Gānā) is a genre of Tamil music, which is sung in the Madras Bashai dialect of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is Rapping, rap-like "collection of rhythms, beats and sensibilities native to the Madras people." It evolved over the past two centuries, with influences ranging from the ''siddhars'' (tantric adepts) of ancient Tamilakam to rural Tamil folk music to Tamil Sufism, sufi mystics. Its popularity rose when it was brought to the music of the mainstream Tamil film industry. Contemporary gaana bands are bringing the genre to new audiences while using it for social activism, especially against Caste system in India, caste discrimination. History The term "gaanaa" is the Madras Bashai, colloquial word in Madras for "music", which is of Hindustani language, Hindostani origin. In literary Tamil language, Tamil, the word ''Gaanam'' (கானம்) means "tune", and in modern Hindi–Urdu gānā means "song". The genre arose in the slums and burial grounds of Madra ...
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Gana Bala
Bala Murugan, better known by his stage name Gana Bala is an Indian playback singer in Tamil cinema. He rose to prominence after rendering the songs 'Aadi Pona Aavani' and 'Nadukadalula Kappala' from the soundtrack of '' Attakathi''. He has predominantly sung songs belonging to the gaana genre of Tamil Nadu. He has been credited for reviving the gaana genre in Tamil Cinema after 'Thenisai Thendral' Deva. He has also penned lyrics for some of his songs. Career Bala first tripped on 'Gaana' when he was in high school. He gained confidence as a Gaana singer when he joined Presidency College, Chennai to study Botany. He later contested in the TV reality show ''Gana Kuyil Pattu'' that featured on Kalaignar TV and won it. He has worked on a number of devotional albums and also performed on stage. One of his independent albums, ''Vaanavil'' was released by composers Deva and Dhina. He made his debut in the film industry with '' Piragu'' composed by Srikanth Deva, son of the 'Fa ...
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Tamil Music
Music of Tamil Nadu has a long tradition and history going back thousands of years. Music is a very important aspect of marriage and temple festival Tamil people. Ancient music The tradition of Tamil music goes back to the earliest period of Tamil history. Many poems of the Sangam literature, the classical Tamil literature of the early common era, were set to music. There are various references to this ancient musical tradition found in the ancient Sangam books such as '' Ettuthokai'' and '' Pathupattu''. The early narrative poem ''Silappatikaram'', belonging to the post-Sangam period also mentions various forms of music practiced by the Tamil people. Music was also utilised in the compositions of the Tamil Saiva saints such as Appar, Thirugnana Sambanthar and Manikkavasagar during the Hindu revival period between the sixth and the tenth centuries CE. The musical poet (''sandakkavi'') Arunagirinathar further embellished the Tamil musical tradition through his compositions ...
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The Casteless Collective
The Casteless Collective is an Indian indie band based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The band was formed in 2017, with support from the Neelam Panpaatu Maiyam started by filmmaker Pa. Ranjith and filmmaker and film composer Tenma, founder of the label Madras Records. Early years and band formation Tenma, the leader and the music producer of the band was trying to put together a group of indie musicians and artists, the Madras Indie Collective, in 2017 when he received a call from Neelam's Pa. Ranjith, enquiring if he could train Gaana singers and musicians from the Gaana genre. They put out calls for an audition and received about 150 applications. Since the band was embarking on a socio-political journey, the auditions were looking to understand the motivations of the performers, as much as their musical strengths. A blend of Gaana, hip-hop, rock, rap, and folk musicians were among the ~19 singers who formed the initial ensemble. The band's name originates from the usage, ''J ...
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Kunangudi Masthan Sahib
Kunangudi Masthan Sahib (1792-1838) was a Tamil Qadiriyya Sufi poet and composer. His songs remain popular today, especially in the Gaana music of Chennai. Early life Masthan Sahib was Born at Kunangudi near Thondi in Ramanathapuram district, he was named Sultan Abdul Kadir Sahib at birth his parents Nainar Mohamed Sahib and Fathima bivi were Wealthy Rowther parents but the son chose to give it all up, seeking the supreme truth. He became a Sufi, taking to the Qadariya order. His love for God he expressed in the form of songs. To him, God was the beloved and in some of the songs, in keeping with the Sufi tradition. Eventually he gave up a worldly life and became an ascetic and mystic, wandering from place to place, living in forests, and eventually settling in Chennai. Family background He was the grandson of the Tamil poet Minna Noor-ud-din, who sang 'பொன்னரிய மாலை' (Ponnariya Malai). Minna Noor-ud-din's father was Peer Rowther, and his grandfather wa ...
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Chennai
Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and territories of India, state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Census of India, 2011 Indian census, Chennai is the List of most populous cities in India, sixth-most-populous city in India and forms the List of million-plus urban agglomerations in India, fourth-most-populous urban agglomeration. Incorporated in 1688, the Greater Chennai Corporation is the oldest municipal corporation in India and the second oldest in the world after City of London Corporation, London. Historically, the region was part of the Chola dynasty, Chola, Pandya dynasty, Pandya, Pallava dynasty, Pallava and Vijayanagara Empire, Vijayanagara kingdoms during various eras. The coastal land which then contained th ...
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Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India by population, sixth largest by population, Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, who speak the Tamil language—the state's official language and one of the longest surviving Classical languages of India, classical languages of the world. The capital and largest city is Chennai. Located on the south-eastern coast of the Indian peninsula, Tamil Nadu is straddled by the Western Ghats and Deccan Plateau in the west, the Eastern Ghats in the north, the Eastern Coastal Plains lining the Bay of Bengal in the east, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait to the south-east, the Laccadive Sea at the southern Cape (geography), cape of the peninsula, with the river Kaveri bisecting the state. Politically, Tamil Nadu is bound by the Indian sta ...
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Isaivani
Isaivani (Tamil: இசைவாணி; born 1996) is a gaana singer from Chennai, who performs with The Casteless Collective. In 2020 she was recognised for her achievements with one of the BBC 100 Women Awards. Biography Isaivani was born in Royapuram in Chennai in 1996 to Sivakumar D and Selvi. Her father, a self-taught keyboardist, encouraged her musical ability and singing from a young age, encouraging Selvi to sing to Isaivani and her brother while they were in the womb. Her performance career began at the age of six, alongside her father and by 2018 she had performed approximately 10,000 shows with him. She began sing Tamil film songs and to cover gaana songs as a teenager because audiences responded well to them. In 2017, gaana musician Sabesh Solomon contacted her and encouraged her to audition for a new band that was being formed by Tenma - this band became The Casteless Collective. By joining the band, Isaivani became one of the first professional female gaana ...
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100 Women (BBC)
''100 Women'' is a BBC multi-format series established in 2013. The annual series examines the role of women in the 21st century and has included events in London and Mexico. Announcement of the list is the start of an international "BBC's women season", lasting three weeks including broadcast, online reports, debates and journalism on the topic of women. Women around the world are encouraged to participate via social media and comment on the list, as well as on the interviews and debates that follow release of the list. History After the 2012 Delhi gang rape, then BBC Controller Liliane Landor, BBC editor Fiona Crack and other journalists, were inspired to create a series focusing on the issues and achievements of women in society today. They felt that many of the issues women faced were not getting in-depth coverage, and in March 2013 a "flood of feedback from female listeners" was received by the BBC to the effect that the corporation should provide more "content from and a ...
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Deva (composer)
Devanesan Chokkalingam, also known as Deva, is a Tamil film composer and singer who predominantly works in Tamil Cinema. He has composed songs and provided background music for Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, and Malayalam films in a career spanning about 36 years. He has composed music for more than 400 films. Personal life Deva was born on 20 November 1950 to M. C. Chokkalingam and M. C. Krishnaveni. Even in his childhood, Deva was attracted to the world of music. Teaming up with Chandra Bose, he staged many musical programmes. He started learning classical music under JB Krishna and continued the same with Dhanraj and has completed a course in Western music at Trinity College of Music in London. His son Srikanth Deva is also a music director, as are his brothers, who have formed the duo Sabesh–Murali. His nephew Jai is an actor. Career Before coming to cinema, Deva worked for some time in Doordarshan Podhigai channel and composed songs for the show ''Vayalum Vaazhvum''. In ...
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Tamilakam
Tamilakam () also known as ancient Tamil country as was the geographical region inhabited by the ancient Tamil people, covering the southernmost region of the Indian subcontinent. Tamilakam covered today's Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry, Lakshadweep and southern parts of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Traditional accounts and the '' Tolkāppiyam'' referred to these territories as a single cultural area, where Tamil was the natural language and permeated the culture of all its inhabitants. The ancient Tamil country was divided into kingdoms. The best known among them were the Cheras, Cholas, Pandyans and Pallavas. During the Sangam period, Tamil culture began to spread outside Tamilakam. Ancient Tamil settlements were also established in Sri Lanka (Sri Lankan Tamils) and the Maldives ( Giravarus). During the Prehistorical, Classical, Middle and Early Modern ages, the entire region of Tamilakam mostly remained unconquered by the Northern Indo-Aryan dynasties, ranging ...
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Film Music
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to enhance the dramatic narrative and the emotional impact of the scene in question. Scores are written by one or more composers under the guidance of or in collaboration with the film's director or producer and are then most often performed by an ensemble of musicians – usually including an orchestra (most likely a symphony orchestra) or band, instrumental soloists, and choir or vocalists – known as playback singers – and recorded by a sound engineer. The term is less frequently applied to music written for media such as live theatre, television and radio programs, and video games, and said music is typically referred to as either the soundtrack or incidental music. Film scores encompass an enormous variety of style ...
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Dalit Culture
Dalit ( from meaning "broken/scattered") is a term used for untouchables and outcasts, who represented the lowest stratum of the castes in the Indian subcontinent. They are also called Harijans. Dalits were excluded from the fourfold varna of the caste hierarchy and were seen as forming a fifth varna, also known by the name of ''Panchama''. Several scholars have drawn parallels between Dalits and the ''Burakumin'' of Japan, the ''Baekjeong'' of Korea and the peasant class of the medieval European feudal system. Dalits predominantly follow Hinduism with significant populations following Buddhism, Sikhism, Christianity, and Islam. The constitution of India includes Dalits as one of the Scheduled Castes; this gives Dalits the right to protection, positive discrimination (known as reservation in India), and official development resources. Terminology The term ''Dalit'' is for those called the "untouchables" and others that were outside of the traditional Hindu caste hiera ...
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