1) Byblos Antiquarian & Rare Books: Sellers of Rare, Antiquarian, Manuscripts, Fine, Second Hand, Out-of-Print, Used and First Edition books. Specialising in Children's, Illustrated, History and Literature with many General Subjects in Stock.

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2) Vasudev Murthy's Book What The Raags Told Me:

Vasudev Murthy's Book What The Raags Told Me is certainly unusual for a book on music

Vasudev Murthy's What The Raags Told Me is surely a one-of-its-kind book, a mystical exploration. The late V.G. Jog, overwhelmed by the book, calls it a "piece of art" in his foreword.

The Hindu: Deepa Ganesh interviews Vasudev Murthy

3) Core of Karnatic Music:

'Core of Karnatic Music', compiled and edited by Mr.A.D.Madhavan, a management professional retired from service having keen interest in music, is an anthology of 404 famous Karnatic Music Krithis of 33 well-known composers in seven Indian languages.Against each Krithi, there is the text or 'Sahithya' in Devanagari, English and Malayalam and its meaning or 'Saramsa' in English and Malayalam. An anthology of this kind, with as large as 404 popular Krithis of 33 famous composers, in seven Indian languages, with features mentioned above, under a single folder is unique and perhaps the first of its kind in Karnatic music literature. This work therefore is bound to benefit music lovers, teachers and students around the world, who have knowledge of Devanagari, English or Malayalam.

Of the 404 compilations, 118 are of Thyagaraja Swamikal, 75 of Muthuswami Dikshithar, 31 of Shyama Sasthri, 39 of Swathithirunal, 23 of Purandaradas, 23 of Annamacharya, 19 of Papanasam Shivan and balance 72 of various other distinguished composers like Uthukad Venkatasubbaiyer, Mysore Vasudevacharya, Sadasiva Brahmendrar, Narayana Theerthar, Kanaka Dasa, Mutthaiah Bhagavathar, Arunagirinathar, Subrahmanya Bharathi, K.C. Kesava Pillai, Irayimman Thampy, Kuttikkunju Thankachi, Narsinh Mehta and others.

'Ganagandharva', Dr. K.J.Yesudas, who has written the 'Foreword' to this book, has observed that this book should be possessed by every music student and sangeetha vidwan not only as a reference book, but to understand the meaning of the Krithis, so that they will be able to sing with the right 'bhava'.

The above book, having 626 pages of A4 size, already published by M/s Pen Books Pvt.Ltd, Aluva, Kerala and released to the public by His Excellency : The Governor of Kerala, Shri.Sikander Bakht, on 4 th May 2003, at a cultural function of "Swaralaya", Thiruvananthapuram , is priced at Rs.650/- in India and US $ 35/- abroad.

The Author, Mr.A.D.Madhavan (admadhavan at admadhavan.com) and the Publishers, Pen Books Pvt Ltd (penbooks at satyam.net.in) can be contacted through e-mail.

A dozen sample Krithis extracted from the book and other details about this work can be had from the website of the author(www.admadhavan.com).

4) Book 'Alphabetical Index of Karnatak Songs' and CD 'Ultimate Index': Contents of the CD and the 2 part set of Karnatak song Index

33400 song entries arranged: 1. Alphabetically, 2. Ragawise, 3. Composerwise (songs alphabetical), 4. Melawise and 5. Composerwise (songs by ragas). In addition there are two lists of the arohanas/avarohanas of all the ragas, some 5000 of them, one arranged alphabetically and the other janyawise. There are also other related files on raga equivalents, synonyms, raga mudras and so on. Price is US 25.00, includes postage.

For those who wish to refer to refer to songs at a concert, an Alphabetical Index of Karnatak Songs is also available in a two volume set. The first part has the same 33400 entries with raga, tala, composer, janya, text reference and notation reference where available. The second part has two cross-reference indexes, one for ragas and the other for composers, the two arohas/avarohas lists mentioned earlier and the related files. Each book has about 570 pp., 8 1/2" X 11" size. Price of each part is US 25.00. (US 50.00 per set). Mailing charges are extra (about 8.00)

Please email shalak@gate-way.net for further details.

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5) Manufacture and Repair of Tabla: "Manufacture and Repair of Tabla" is the third book in the series "The Complete Reference for Tabla". The first two volumes are "Fundamentals of Tabla", and "Advanced Theory of Tabla".

This book has several functions. The primary function is to document the traditional approaches to the manufacture and repair of tabla. This will also deal with the materials science involved. This book covers such additional topics as metal, rawhide, and wood. There is a also a discussion of the physics behind the instrument. There is also a special emphasis on issues that effect non-Indian repair personnel. These including labor saving techniques and health concerns.

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