Shyamala's response to Cyber Padam Assignment

I created a padam as a conversation between a young woman and her mother. I never managed to create the cyber part, but the piece itself, with a lot of coaching from Cynthia, actually became a part of my solo show, Carrie's Web. Here's the finished version.

Carrie's Web Excerpt: Artesia to her Mother from Shyamala Moorty on Vimeo.

Cynthia's Response to Cyber-Padam Assignment

For my "cyber-padam," I decided to create a sound-score. I thought about what the usual elements of our internet conference calls are: bad reception, overlapping voices, the sounds of typing, and the occasional interruption by Anjali's little daughter Neva.  In addition to referencing some of these sounds literally, I created a more abstract sense of overlapping voices through the use of kathak bols. I took two different compositions - one an amad and one a chakradar, but both based on the syllables "tat tat ta tuka" - that I had learned from my teacher Bandana Sen, and overlapped them.  This compositional technique reflects my interest in exploring polyrhythms in a North Indian rhythmic context, an interest that was sparked by my collaborations with tabla player Lenny Seidman. Underneath all this, I added an old field recording of Begum Akhtar singing a ghazal to give a sense of a love story.

Creative Assignment: Cyber-Padam

by Shyamala Moorty

Create a padam with yourself as the heroine in conversation with an actual lover, or child, home, parent, self, media parsonality, pet, etc. Communicate the padam as if it is being told during the trials and tribulations of one of our remote conference meetings via the interenet.