From: gangolli@frobenius.math.washington.edu (Ramesh Gangolli)
Newsgroups: rec.music.indian.classical
Subject: Re: Subbarama Dikshitar & Pt.Bhatkande (was Re: Bhatkhande)
Date: 5 Jan 1993 21:37:29 GMT
Organization: University of Washington, Mathematics, Seattle
NNTP-Posting-Host: frobenius.math.washington.edu
Keywords: Bhatkhande; musicology

In article <5ra=lRC@engin.umich.edu> srini@engin.umich.edu (Srinivasan Pichumani) writes:


>If I may add a note: Pt.Bhatkande visited Ettayapuram
>(in the deep South of India -- say about 100 kms from Kanyakumari) in the early
>1900s, around 1904 or so. And probably interacted a lot, in a musical sense, with 
>Subbarama Dikshitar (the grandson of the legendary composer Muttusvami Dikshitar's
>brother, Balusvami; and also Balusvami's adopted son).

Pt Bhatkhande's visit to Ettayapuram, and the inspiration he received from
Subbbarama Dikshitar is copiously acknowledged by Bhatkhande in several
subsequent writings, and especially in Pt. B's Hindustani Sangeet Paddhati
Vols. 1 and 2. A detailed account of his visit is given in Ratanjankar's
biography of Bhatkhande (in Marathi). The impression made on Bhatkhande's
thinking by the scrupulous
care with which musicological questions were analyzed by the scholars of
Karnatak music of the time (and in particular by Subbarama D.), never
abated in its intensity; Bhatkhande's writings even towards the end of his
life refer to this aspect of the Karnatak tradition with admiration and
with a certain wistfulness that indicates that he wished that a similar
tradition of careful musicological thinking  were well established in
Hindustani music as well.


>At that time, Subbarama Dikshitar was working on his magnum opus -- 
>the Sangita Sampradaya Pradarshini -- a compendium on music running to about 
>1700 pages in its original Telugu script edition published in 1904. 

Is this in print? has anyone written an account of this work in other
Indian languages or in English?


>In this
>work, Subbarama Dikshitar has organized the musical material according to 
>the 72 rAgAnga-upAnga-bhAShAnga rAga scheme originating from Venkatamakhi. 
>(rAgAnga rAgas are the name given to the parent scales in the Dikshitar tradition
>- which was rechristened in this century as the asampUrNa mela paddhati to 
>distinguish it from the sampUrNa mela paddhati wherein every melakarta has all
>7 svaras in ArohaNa/avarohaNa)

Please clarify. Are you saying that the parent scales of the
Raganga ragas as conceived by Venkatamakhi/S. Dikshitar did NOT have 7 notes
in the arohana/avarohana?   

>In addition to this classification, Subbarama Dikshitar used an extensive
>set of notations in order to notate about 229 kritis of Muttusvami Dikshitar,
>many varnas, svarajatis, gItas, ... This notation was very closely allied to
>the vaiNika traditioin, and the symbols for gamakas are actually explained 
>wrt vINa playing.
 
Where can I get a look at some of these notated texts? I am particularly
interested in finding out if the system of notation that Bhatkhande
eventually introduced to Hindustani music (and which is now quite widely
prevalent) had some visible relation to S. Dikshitar's system of notation.


>Pt.Bhatkande wrote an English foreword to the beginners music book (also written
>by Subbarama Dikshitar, as an addendum to the SSP) called "prathama abhyAsa 
>pustaka"(?)

Is this available? a reference would be greatly appreciated.




-- 
Ramesh Gangolli (gangolli@math.washington.edu)
Dept. of Mathematics GN-50
University of Washington
Seattle WA 98195.
Newsgroups: rec.music.indian.classical