Performance by Mysore Doreswami Iyyengar (Vi Doresvāmi Ayyaṅgār) and D. Balakrishna, Carnatic musicians, masters of the vīṇā in the Mysore tradition. <br/><br/>1. Kedāra Alap, Tanam and Kriti. Vīṇā musician Mysore Doreswamy Iyyengar performs Kedāra alap, tanam and kriti, stopping due to a cough. <br/><br/>2. Kedāra Kriti (retake). Repeat of Kriti. <br/><br/>3. Kedāra Kalpana Svara.<br/><br/>4. Kedāra Kriti duet with his son, D. Balakrishna. <br/><br/>5. Demonstration of Mysore vīṇā style of fingering. <br/><br/>6. Jhinjhoti Tillana duet. Jhinjhoti Tillana by Vīṇā Seshanna in adi talam, duet with D. Balakrishna, stopping for cough. <br/><br/>7. Photographs. At the end the camera pans to photographs of Veene Sheshanna, a vīṇā musician, and Veena Venkatagiriyappa, a vīṇā musician and composer.
Views of the Kota village of Ticgār (Trichagadi) and the surrounding hills with terraced areas (00:00-01:54). <br/><br/>1. Pulāng demonstration. A Kota musician plays a pulāng idioglot clarinet (pulla, pilla), a free-reed pipe and comments that it is "used as training instrument for circular breathing." He shakes his head because instrument is not responding properly. Dr. P. Vardharajan translates. (07:03-07:42) View of the entrance to an ancient underground Kota temple. Wooden posts frame the low temple opening. Chiseled stones form a circular boundary around the temple entrance. Tall stone posts demark the inner limits of the temple ground. <br/><br/>2. "Buffalo-catching tune." Session to play back songs recorded by A. A. Bake in 1938, and re-record them. Playback of the Bake 48.7 "Buffalo-catching tune" (9:50-12:25). The musicians play a ked kol (funeral tune) in ten beat cycles (13:00-15:33), and said it was "the same" as Bake's recording, but Bake's was not in ten beat cycles. The natural context for the melody would be in a dry funeral in December, for all people who had died that year. The tradition is still being followed. Instruments: three kob curved brass trumpets, two kinpar cylindrical drum, one tabaṭk frame drum, two kombu or kol (shawms, double-reed aerophones), one pair jālra cymbals. <br/><br/>3. Kota dance music. Bake 48.8 "Dance tune" is played to the group (15:38-16:00). The Kota musicians playback the tune (16:08-18:50). <br/><br/>4. Kota wet funeral. Bake 48.9 "Funeral music for Todas" is played to the group (18:57-19:28). The Kota musicians play the tune back (19:33-20:58). There is no sound (21:06-22:12). It looks like no music is played during this silence. <br/><br/>5. Kota mourning song. Bake 48.11 "Toda women's wail" is played to the group (22:15-23:55). Richard Wolf has identified this as a Kota mourning song, sung by Sulli. A woman listens. When the song ends there is discussion. A man and woman sing the song back (26:01-29:02). <br/><br/>6. Kota song. A man and woman sing another song.<br/><br/>7. Kota women's devotional song. A song is sung by four women who clap as they sing and are accompanied by kinpar drum and cymbals. <br/><br/>8. Kota women's devotional song to Kambattyara and Ayannur/Rammu. A song is sung by four women who clap as they sing and are accompanied by kinpar drum and cymbals. <br/><br/>9. Playback of Bake 49.2 "Jew's harp." Nobody knew the song. <br/><br/>10. Playback of a Bake recording; the song is recognized as from Kollimalai village, Bake 49.3 "Man's song," a devotional song. <br/><br/>11. Bhugri demonstration of a trumpet about two feet long with six holes in the front. They say it is not played any more. <br/><br/>12. Kota music ensemble. Five instrumental items are played, the last one including voices. (47:54) The second tune, duple meter, (49:16) the third tune, triple meter/hemiola. (50:35) There is a cut followed by a new tune, slow triple meter. (51:33) There is a cut, followed by a similar tune, rhythm. There are off-camera comments at the end, followed by (53:42) a similar tune, rhythm, with non-unison long tones sung by many male voices. 55:38 A musician speaks. (55:43) There is a fadeup before the men's dance. <br/><br/>13. Kota men's dances. A series of dances, with instruments: tirukanat / tiruganāṭ (turning dance), Kuchat, and Koinat. <br/><br/>14. Kota performer's names. Dr. P. Varadharajan announces the name of each performer. Dr. Varadharajan is an MBBS, Medical Officer, Hindustan Photo Films Mfg. Co., Ootacamund 5, Nilgiri Dt., South India. Musicians: Velakkara Kambattan (kol), Kambattan, (kol), Batta Kambattan (tapatk), Tapasa Kambattan (kinpar), Radhakrishnan (kinpar), Arava Kambattan (kob), Subramaniam (kob) "That's bugle," Krishnabani (kob) "Bugle." Dancers: K. Ranjan, R. Subramaniam, Somasundara, Subramanya, U. Balan, Shanmugam, Malali (Magali?), another Malali (Magali?), "over." Cut (1:08:09) Women: Rajamma (singer), Deviki (singer, dancer), Devi Maji (dancer), Niji Maji (dancer), Mamali (dancer), S. Maji, Kamala Maji, Muttulakshmi Maji (singer, dancer). Cut (1:09:23). Magali (Malali?) (singer). <br/><br/>15. Kota women's dances. Three women's and girls' dances for the Kambattaraya festival with instruments: Kalkujattam: instruments begin in triple meter. Tirukanat /tiruganāṭ (turning dance), in duple meter. Bibarmarat, in triple meter (6/8). <br/><br/>16. Name of last performer and dances. After the dances end, there is a close-up of a Kota performer in a red, black and white shawl smiling at the camera. The Kota guide speaks to Nazir Jairazbhoy who is off camera "Sir, you want to now what is this dance?" Jairazbhoy replies "Yes." "Lakshman will tell later. For every dance, there are names, and steps also." Speaking to the Kota performer "Start now." Name of the last singer is provided: "Mr. Raman," singer. He had sung earlier, but his name had not been given onscreen (1:18:05). Dr. Varadharajan speaks on camera: "First male dance is Tirukanat." (37:02). "First is known as kalkuchat in our language, Kota language. Second dance is tirukanat. Turning-wise we are playing. Third dance is Bibarmarat. (discussion) First male dance is tirukanat. The next dance is called Kuchat. The third is Koinat. Three dances.
Dr. Kota Shivaram Karanth was interviewed by Nazir Ali Jairazbhoy over two days at the Karanth home in Saligrama village, Bhramavara taluk, Udupi District, Karnataka. Also present were Leela Alva Karanth, wife of Kota Shivaram Karanth, and ethnomusicologist Amy Catlin-Jairazbhoy. The first day of the interview was recorded on audio cassette. This video records the second day. During the interview, pieces of music that were recorded by A. A. Bake in India in 1938 were played back to Dr. Karanth, who comments. He also discusses the meetings that he had with Bake in India.
