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Look before you i-LEAP  

Can this software really help song transmission among Indian languages?

The iLEAP software developed by CDAC India is a major step in enabling Indian languages for desktop publication, e-mail and web-publishing. Transliteration is very important for communication among languages. Perhaps this is a way to establish harmony among languages and cultures. Dance and music are effective means of bringing different linguistic groups on to a common platform. Over the centuries, a great tradition is built around each language.

Indian dance and music depend heavily on lyrics, and associated tunes and rhythms. If one wants to transliterate lyrics in one language into multiple languages, the iLEAP tool does not meet the requirements of accuracy.

The iLEAP transliteration tool does not address the problem of one to one representation of characters.

There is going to be irreparable damage to the original lyrics if somebody uses the imperfect iLEAP transliteration scheme.

Please feel free to comment.

My web-sites: http://www.geocities.com/vara12sreerama/srihari.html
My ideas about bhakti and music: http://vara_sree.tripod.com/sriharidasasamkirtanamulu/id1.html

Sree Sistla

Guitar accident

I am a lead guitarist in a band that plays around the York area in England. My brother recently informed me of a horrific incident where a guitarist on stage got an electric shock when his guitar came into contact with a microphone stand.

Could you please write an article on how to avoid getting electric shocks on stage, because none of my own band (including myself) take any precautions and other bands we've played with don't either?

We wouldn't know what to do, to be honest. Would a simple circuit break do the trick, for example? It seems to be a big potential problem that guitarists, and other musicians, are not aware of or simply don't think of.

Alex Moore

Do you have any suggestions on how such accidents can be avoided? -- Ed

Are they coming?

I’m looking for specific information.

I got an update that Iron Maiden playing in India (sometime in May?). I need to get it confirmed from a trusted source. I couldn’t think of any better source than The Music Magazine!

Any info in this regard would be of much help.

Karan

No, I don't think Iron Maiden is playing in India in the next few months. I've heard from a trusted source that they're slated to come here either the end of this year or (most probably) the middle of next year.

Air Supply, I hear, is planning to come by India while on their tour of SE Asia. -- Niki Nirvikalpa

Negotiating the Straits

This is with regards to Yesudas Jayson's review of Sailing to Philadephia. He forgot Speedway of Nazareth, a typical Straits type song. It reminded me of Telegraph Road. The same story telling, long ballad-like score and similar ending in a rush of some fantastic guitaring.

In many ways, Love over Gold is the peak album of Dire Straits. It was here that Knopfler moved from club rock to a new and individual genre of powerful music writing. The first track Telegraph Road is a classic rock ballad with some wonderful exploration on the guitar. This was where Knopfler excelled in orchestration. Private investigations follws with its dark, secretive and scintillating music. Industrial disease is an out and out comedy with the rhythm-beat music that was again seen in Cannibals from Golden Heart.

Ranganath E Unny 

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