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Gamaka, also known as kaavya vaachana, is a form of storytelling by singing that originated in Karnataka, India. One person reads a stanza of a poem with highest emphasis on meaning, applying suitable raga or a dhaati (melodic line), usually matching the emotion of the poem; the song generally has no established rhythm. Another person then explains the meaning of the stanza with examples and anecdotes. Gamaka draws ragas from Kannada folk music, Yakshagana and Carnatic music. The singing itself is called gamaka and the singer a gamaki. The explanation of the rendering is called vyakyana. The emphasis in kaavya vaachana is on literature (Saahithya) and not on music where singer splits, compounds words in poems to make them easier to understand.
The poems are chosen mostly from old Kannada epics such as Karnataka Bharatha Kathamanjari, Jaimini Bharatha, Harischandra Kavya, Siddarameshwara charite, Ajita purana, Devi-Bhagavata, and Torave Ramayana and recently from that of Sri Ramayana Darshanam.