Singing birds - email from Dawood.

Carnatic Music Raga Notes Discernible in the Tuneful Sounds of Birds

23 January 2014, 10:42 pm

By
Hema Vijay

Special Arrangement Life’s A Song: Cuckoo

From koels and flycatchers to magpie robins and whistling thrushes, birds seem to have their own concerts with raga and thala intact — think Mohanam, Bilahari, Kalyani and kanda chapu thaalam! Hema Vijay sets out to learn more about their melody- and rhythm-based tweets

Sudha Ragunathan

The city’s annual musical extravaganza may have just winded up, but plenty of complex music still hangs in the air — thanks to the city’s diverse birds and their sweet songs.

To the untrained ear, bird calls may sound like noises in different pitches and tones. For that sound to be perceived as a melody and translated into a scale, one does need a fair amount of musical training. But could there be a definite raga in the chirps and tweets?

Nithyashree

“Bird songs, too, are in different ragas. For example, koels tend to choose Shankarabaranam. The Malabar whistling thrush, a versatile singer, sings very complicated phrases, and is heard singing in Mohanam and Bilahari. The orange-headed ground thrush can be heard singing in Kalyani. Indian robins are heard singing to kanda chapu thaalam, the 5/8 time signature in Western music,” says A.J. Mithra, music teacher, zoo musicologist, and someone who has been studying bird calls for several years now. As in Indian classical music, birds use microtones in their songs. This creates a great degree of musicality in their songs, Mithra points out.

Special Arrangement Life’s A Song: Indian robin

In a sense, the perception of a raga in a birdcall could be a subjective matter too. “I never heard anything as beautiful as the whistling thrush I heard during a camping holiday in the hills. And when I hear the koel sing, I hear the basic sa-pa-sa in its song. When the cuckoo oscillates its songs, I hear a few distinct notes in it, representative of raga Suddha Dhanyasi. But bird calls could translate to different ragas to different people. That is because we identify a raga in the bird call, based upon the pitch we take from its call as its base note. For instance, a pentatonic raga like Mohanam can become Madhyamavathi or Hindolam, if I take a different base note in the song,” remarks Carnatic vocalist Sikkil Gurucharan.

Special Arrangement Life’s A Song: Koel

Moving further, it becomes clear that musical improvisations of a basic tune are not the prerogative of Carnatic maestros alone. “Birds such as the Oriental magpie robin and Tickell’s blue flycatcher improvise their songs all the time. Sometimes, within the same morning, they may improvise their basic song with up to 20 variations,” mentions Mithra. Another point he makes is that birds use the ambience pitch to sing their song, the way Carnatic vocalists use the tanpura to help them sing in pitch.
“When the frequency of the background sound rises, the birds raise the pitch of their songs too,” Mithra says. Meanwhile, the saptaswaras or the seven notes — Sa, Ri, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha, Ni, in Indian Classical music, are considered by many to be inspired by the call of both birds and animals such as peacock, dove, cuckoo, frog, and elephant, while ragas such as Hamsadhvani are considered to have been inspired directly by birds.

Special Arrangement Life’s A Song: Oriental Magpie Robin Photo: A.J. Mithra

Complex ragas evolved over centuries, taking cues from Nature’s sounds, ranging from incoherent sounds such as that of the wind, the waves and the rain, to the precise and modulated phrases of birds. Further, birdsongs have inspired compositions in the Western operatic tradition too. Says Anil Srinivasan, Classical pianist, “For instance, French composer Louis-Claude Daquin’s ‘Le coucou’ (The Cuckoo) played in a higher octave sounds exactly like a cuckoo’s cry.

Special Arrangement Life’s A Song: Skylark Photo: A.J. Mithra

Special Arrangement Life’s A Song Tickell’s blue flycatcher. Photo: A.J. Mithra

‘La Gazza Ladra’ (The Thieving Magpie) by Giuseppe Verdi sounds like the magpie’s song, and Robert Schumann’s ‘Vogel als Prophet’ (The Prophet Bird) lets you hear forest birds’ calls. Then, of course, there is Mozart’s ‘The Magic Flute’ composed as a duet between a male and female parakeet. It sounds exactly like the parakeet’s songs.”

Bombay Jayashree

Well, the perception of ragas in bird songs might be either the cause or the effect of mankind’s musical endeavours. But either way, bird songs do remind us that an evolved sense of aesthetics and musical finesse are not exclusive to us humans alone. courtesy: The Hindu

A twinkle in your wrinkle - email from Dawood.

Not that I am even remotely suggesting that you are a wrinkley!    Now here's an e-mail that everyone should get, at least once in their life.  This is wonderful and the thought at the end is so true!  Never look down on anybody, unless you're helping them up. Please read the following quietly then send it back on its journey: Time waits for no one. Treasure every moment you have. You will treasure it even more when you can share it with someone special. Remember ... Hold on tight to the ones you love ! Do not keep this letter Send it to friends & family to whom you wish a good, long, happy, life ~

Rare old photos - Sunil Liyanage.

Sunil Liyanage	22 Jan (4 days ago)
to Sunil

REAL RARE OLD PHOTOS OF OUR CRAZY WORLD & PEOPLE.

EACH ONE SENDS A DEEP MESSAGE WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT DEEPLY TO IMAGINE LIFE IN THAT PLACE, DAY & AGE.

1967 Chaos on Swedish roads with change of driving side from Left to Right

1964 Height of US apartheid-Hotel Manager pours acid into swimming pool 

1948 Mother in shame after advertising children for sale

1990 Old lady (106) guarding her house during Armenian civil war 

1886 Final instalment of French Gift of Liberty Statue on US 100th Anniversary

1980-12-08 Hours before he was shot, Lennon offers autograph to assassin!

1907 Annette Kellerman, Jailed for promoting swim suit

 

1920 Checking excesses of permitted exposure!

  

Holding your water - email from Dr. JKS. Weerasekara.

On a cruise ship an old lady goes to the bar. And orders a Scotch with just two drops of water! Surprised, but  the bartender makes her  drink just so…. She explains 'I'm on this cruise to celebrate my 80th birthday and it's today.' The bartender offers 'Well, since it's your birthday, I'll buy you the next drink. This one is on me.' As the woman finishes the drink The woman to her right says 'I would like to buy you a drink, too.' The old woman says 'Thank you. Bartender, I want a Scotch with two drops of water.' 'Coming up' says the bartender As she finishes that drink, The man to her left says 'I would like to buy you one, too.' The old woman says 'Thank you. Bartender, I want another Scotch with two drops of water.' 'Coming right up' the bartender says. As he gives her the fourth drink, he asks 'Ma'am, I'm dying of curiosity. Why the Scotch with only two drops of water?' The old woman replies 'Sonny, when you're my age, You've learned how to hold your liquor... Holding your water, however, is a whole other issue.'

New Age Daughter-in-law - email from Dr.JKS.Weerasekara.

Some daughters-in-law are well trained and well mannered....
They don't come to change the family, they are here to ... ( READ ON !)

The new wife was being welcomed at the husband's home in a traditional
manner. As expected she gave a speech;
'My dear family members, I thank you for welcoming me in my new home
and family. Firstly, my being here does not mean that I want to change
your way of life, your routine ..'No, I will never do that, never in a
million years.'

'What do you mean my child?' asked the father-in-law.
'What I mean dad is (looking at her in-laws);

Those who used to wash the dishes must carry on washing them.
Those who used to do the laundry must carry on doing it.
Those who cooked should not stop at my account, AND
Those who used to clean should continue cleaning!!!

'And what are you here for?' enquired the mother-in-law.
' I'M HERE TO ENTERTAIN YOUR SON!!!'

A journey to Jaffna from Thondamanaru via Atchuvely, 22nd December 2013.

Click on web-link below with speakers on:-

http://youtu.be/6BT-fQ29EMM

A Sydney policeman' woes.

A policeman in Sydney, Australia pulled over a driver who had been weaving in and out of the traffic. He approached the car window and said "Sir I need you to blow into this breathalyzer". The man reaches into his pocket and produces a doctor's note. On it was written: "This man suffers from chronic asthma. Do not make him perform any action that may leave him short of breath". The policeman said "Okay then I need you to come and give a blood sample" The man produced another letter. This one said: "This man is a haemophiliac. Please do not cause him to bleed in any way". So the officer said: "Right, I need a urine sample then". The man produces a third letter from his pocket. It read: "This man plays Cricket for England, please don't take the piss out of him"