Index of Songs in South Indian Music (An Old and Rare Book)

THE present compilation covers more than ten thousand compositions in South Indian (Karnatic) Music arranged in alphabetical order. It represents an attempt to codify the essential features of these songs with a view to making them easily accessible. While most of the songs are in published form, a few unpublished songs-the notations of which are available with us-have also been included in the present volume.
The most important portion of the volume is the General Index. The information given in the General Index would warrant some explana tion. The first line indicates the commencing words of the song and this is followed by the name of the Raga and Tala. The next line contains the name of the Composer of the song. The last line gives the language of the song as well as the book/s in which it is published. The short form of the books given in the last line of each entry is expanded in the section Abbreviations Used".
In addition to the General Index there are four other sections viz., Raga, Composer, Tala and Language. The corresponding cross references of the Raga. Composer. Tala and Language mentioned against each entry. can be found in these respective sections. The main purpose in giving the cross reference numbers for each of these under the different sections is to facilitate location of a song of a given Composer in a particular Raga, Tala or Language.
The present compilation is intended to be a reference work specially designed to serve the needs of the performing artists as well as lovers of music. It should prove particularly invaluable to music teachers who may need a wide range of songs in a particular Raga, Tala or Language or by a particular Composer, Besides it would enable the musicians as well as students of music to locate almost instantaneously the song which he/she may need at any stage. This saving of valuable time coupled with the ready access to a variety of songs of different composers in various Languages, Ragas and Talas is bound to result in a significant upgrading of a quantitative appraisal of the compositions in South Indian (Karnatic) Music.
This compilation covers more than 200 published works of songs in South Indian (Karnatic) Music-all of which are listed in the section Abbreviations Used'. More than 200 composers, 400 ragas, 10 talas and 7 languages have been indexed in the respective sections. No pains have been spared to make this Index as exhaustive as possible.

THE output of compositions in the Karnatic system of music over the centuries has been very vast and varied. It comprises the contributions of well known masters as well as of the lesser luminaries and covers all the types of songs current in South India in the present as well as the past. This rich material has, apart from its musical value, literary, ethical. philosophical and linguistic importance.
The ordinary musician is content with his repertoire which generally consists of a selection of mostly common songs of popular composers, and it seldom exceeds a hundred in number. The inquisitive and enterprising artist has a desire to acquire more, rare compositions of famous composers and those of less known celebrities. The researcher wants the entire bulk with all the variant readings in the different schools, both in the literary text and in the notation, the changes that the songs have undergone in the different traditions and at different times and similar other details in order to understand fully and correctly the history of Karnatic music in all its aspects and make a proper appraisal of its wealth.
In order to accomplish the above, the first requisite and the primary tool is an Index, on modern lines of all the compositions in Karnatic music. The absence of such a work is badly felt, particularly in recent times when serious and systematic studies on the subject are undertaken by musicologists and interested researchers. A complete conspectus of the compositions of Swati Tirunal is appended to in the book Swati Tirunal and his music and one on those of Muthuswami Dikshitar is given in the book on Dikshitar issued by the National Centre for the Performing Arts, Bombay. It is doubtful whether similar works on other composers has been prepared.
The present work Index of Songs in South Indian Music is, therefore, a welcome publication. It meets a longfelt need and provides basic material to be employed in systematic research. The General Index gives, with regard to each published song, the beginning, Raga, Tala, Language, Composer and details of availability. There are separate indices for Raga, Tala, Language and Composer. In a separate part all relevant information about Abbreviations are given.