About the Book

varn̤a varn̤anam is an exposition of 26 varn̤ams, which include tāna, pada/cãuka and daru varn̤ams in Telugu, Tamil, Samskr̤tam, Malayāl̤am and Kannad̤a, taken from 17th century till date. In an effort to make these compositions accessible to a wider audience, lyrics have been given in the root language of the varn̤am, Samskr̤tam and English. Lyrics of every varn̤am are supported with notations, meanings and a comprehensive explanation that make the book an informative tool for any discerning learner. Audio for all the compositions is available for download.

About the Author

Dr. Kanakam Devaguptapu, retired as the Head of Department of English from Stenden University. She has been a Carnatic Music (Veena) practitioner for over 5 decades; a music teacher and researcher for over 20 years. Since her retirement, she has devoted her time to further her interest in musicology and music research. A native Telugu speaker, she has focussed her research efforts towards exploring rare Telugu compositions, in particular, works of yester-year composers. She strives to formalize and document her research and share the same through books that serve as self-learning guides for practitioners and connoisseurs of music and dance alike.

“I strongly feel that this book is very useful for Dancers and Musicians equally as they can understand the bhavam of the varnam and appreciate the lyrics much better, along with understanding and appreciating the raga bhava”

– Prof B Krishnamoorthy, Retired Principal, Government Music College, Madras

“This publication of rare varnams is crafted very intelligently to suit the present generation of students and give them a comprehensive in-depth understanding of the language, meaning of the song, correct notation and accurate intonation.”

– Nātyāchārya V P Dhananjayan, Padma Bhushan Awardee

“This book presents meticulously the whole gamut of ‘VarNa-s’ in all their dimensions and improves further in all regards on her fore-runners’ efforts on the subject.”

– Prof. Dr. Veturi Ananda Murthy, Bhasha Samman National Awardee of the Sahitya Academy, Delhi.

Audio Guide for Varna Varnanam available Now!

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