- The Divine Kura Tribe Kuravanci
and other Prabandhams
M. Muilwijk
1996 xvi, 288 pp. Paper: 90 6980 082 9
Series: Gonda Indological Studies, IV
Distributed in North America by John Benjamins North America
US/Canada only: Price: $72.00 ~ Contact:
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Rest of the world contact: Egbert Forsten, Publisher
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Poetry and music have always been important parts of Tamil literature and from early
times, Tamil poetry has been sung. It is not surprising, therefore, to find a number of
operatic genres in Tamil literature.
One of these is 'kuravanci,' which was especially popular in the seventeenth to
nineteenth century. In kuravanci, poetry and music are combined with dance to form highly
entertaining works, in which serious parts are interspersed with humorous ones. This study
deals with this fascinating opera-form. It gives an account of the stories told in these
operas and of the various embellishments used in telling them. There is a large section on
the poetical and musical forms used, explaining their construction and analyzing their
use. Several examples of verses and songs are included. About two dozen kuravanci-works
are discussed and a comparison is made between kuravanci and genres dealing with related
themes. As may be expected, there has been much mutual influence.
Finally, there is a section on the large group of genres called 'prabandhams', of which
kuravanci is one. These prabandhams form a varied group, ranging from very short to very
long works and from purely descriptive to epic and operatic ones.
For further information please e-mail
Bernadette
Keck: service@benjamins.com
