Report of One Day FDP on Gamaka Vachana

Gamaka, also known as kaavya vaachana, is a form of storytelling by singing that originated in Karnataka,One person reads a stanza of a poem with highest emphasis on meaning, applying suitable raga or a dhaati (melodic line), usually matching the emotion of the poem; the song generally has no established rhythm. Another person then explains the meaning of the stanza with examples and anecdotes. Gamaka draws ragas from Kannada folk music, Yakshagana and Carnatic music. The singing itself is called gamaka and the singer a gamaki. The explanation of the rendering is called vyakyana. The emphasis in kaavya vaachana is on literature (Saahithya) and not on music where singer splits, compounds words in poems to make them easier to understand.

In viewing the importance of Gamaka Vaccghana in the Karnataka Culture, The Department of Indian Languages organized a One Day Faculty Development Program on 21.07.2023, Friday in Dr. Abdul Kalam auditorium. The program was of Gamaka Vachana of selected parts of the Kannada poetry ‘Kumaravyasa Bharata’. The resource persons for this Gamaka Vachana were Dr. A. V. Prasanna who was the Vyakhyata and Smt. Nirmala Prasanna who was the Gamaki. The two hours of program turned out to be a musical and literary feast revitalizing the faculties amidst the monotonous routine.

It was a matter of honour that the program was presided by Dr. M. R. Jayaram, Chairman – GEF, with the presence of Sri. B. S. Ramaprasad, Chief Executive – GEF (GS & Eng), and Sri. Ramachandra. G, Chief of Finance – GEF (GS & Eng) as guests of honour.
It was our pleasure to have various officers of Ramaiah group of institutions present in the program.
1. Sri. M. R. Srinivasmurthy – Chief Executive, GEF (Medical)
2. Dr. Venkatesh – Registrar, GEF (Medical)
3. Sri. Venugopal Shastri – Chief of Finance, GEF (Medical)
4. Sri. H. G. Vara – Chief of HR & Legal affairs, GEF (Medical)
5. Sri. Krishnaiah – IAS Academy
6. Dr. Manasa Nagabhushan – Director, Ramaiah Institute of Management
7. LT (Ret.) Suneeta Dikshit – Principal, Ramaiah PU College
8. Shanti Velayudha Nair – Principal, Ramaiah Vidyaniketan