Mastering Tihai – Farmaishi/Chakkardar

Mastering Tihai is an in depth look at the mechanics of a Tihai.
 
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Video links are below.
 
In Hindustani Music, Tihai is a concept of playing an identical phrase of music three times with identical intervals to create a high moment in a performance. Tihais are a living proof that complex mathematical interplay can be so enjoyable.
 
In this series you will learn how to make simple tihais and then proceed to explore the hidden simplicity of Farmaishi and Kamali Chakkardar Tihais.
 
The mathematics of these concepts have never been explained in this way before. This series should be equally fun for new and advance students of rhythm.
 
To understand the logics behind Sangtar’s methods we suggest viewing this series multiple times. If you still need more explanation or have a question beyond the subjects covered in this series, please comment below.
 
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Making Thaats with Tetrachords Part IV

In the last two posts we have learned to make 32 Thaats from 8 Tetrachords. Now here is an interactive movie to put them altogether. Study these three posts, find the pattern of note changes. Once you understand the sequence how notes are moving from natural to flats (and fourth sharp), it will never leave your memory again.

[iframe width=”100%” height=”300″ src=”https://www.sangtar.com/canvas/170203-tetrachords-32thaats.html”]

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Making Thaats with Tetrachords Part III

0194-trinity.jpg

Making the next 16 Thaats with 8 Tetrachords:
In the last post, we put together our 8 Tetrachords and figured that there are 16 available combinations. That made our first 16 Thaats. Now to make the next 16, we will have to make only one change in each, that is the position of the fourth or Madhyam.
All Thaats in the last post, had a natural Madhyam, now we are going to use Tivar Madhyam or sharp fourth. Here in a simple table, I am going to write each Thaat’s Tivar Madhyam counterpart Thaat right in front of it. I will present all 32 Thaats in a flash movie in the next post:

Natural Madhyam Thaat
Vikrat
Tivar Madhyam Thaat
Vikrat
1. Bilaval
none
to 17.. Kalian
M’
2. Sarsangi
d,
to 18. Latangi
M’, d,
3. Khamaj
n,
to 19. Vachaspati
M’, n,
4. Charukeshi
d, n,
to 20. Rishavpirya
M’, d, n,
5. Suryakant
r,
to 21. Gamanpirya
M’, r,
6. Bhairav
r, d,
to 22. Pooravi
M’, r, d,
7. Chakarvak
r, n,
to 23. Rampirya
M’, r, n,
8. Bakulabharan
r, d, n,
to 24. NamNarayani
M’, r, d, n,
9. Gauri Manohari
g,
to 25. Dharamvati
M’, g,
10. Kirvani
g, d,
to 26. SahinderMadhyam
M’, g, d,
11. Kafi
g, n,
to 27. Hemvati
M’, g, n,
12. Asavari
g, d, n,
to 28. ShanMukhPirya
M’, g, d, n,
13. Kokilpirya
r, g,
to 29. Svaranangi
M’, r, g,
14. Dhenuka
r, g, d,
to 30. Todi
M’, r, g, d,
15. Natakpirya
r, g, n,
to 31. ShadvidhMargani
M’, r, g, n,
16. Bhairavi
r, g, d, n,
to 32. Bhavpirya
M’, r, g, d, n,

sangtar.com > Music Theory > Advanced Theory

Making Thaats with Tetrachords Part II

Making The First 16 Thaats with 8 Tetrachords:

In the last post we saw that there are 4 poorvang Tetrachords and 4 Utrang Tetrachords.

By combining the upper and the lower Tetrachords, we can get 16 (4×4) unique scales.

The scale structure will be as shown below:

Tetrachord Number
Poorvang
Utrang
Thaat Names
Vikrat
1. Bilaval
1
+
1
none
2. Sarsangi
1
+
2
‘d’
3. Khamaj
1
+
3
‘n’
4. Charukeshi
1
+
4
‘d’, ‘n’
5. Suryakant
2
+
1
‘r’
6. Bhairav
2
+
2
‘r’,’d’
7. Chakarvak
2
+
3
‘r’,’n’
8. Bakulabharan
2
+
4
‘r’, ‘d’, ‘n’
9. Gauri Manohari
3
+
1
‘g’
10. Kirvani
3
+
2
‘g’,’d’
11. Kafi
3
+
3
‘g’,’n’
12. Asavari
3
+
4
‘g’, ‘d’, ‘n’
13. Kokilpirya
4
+
1
‘r’, ‘g’
14. Dhenuka
4
+
2
‘r’, ‘g’,’d’
15. Natakpirya
4
+
3
‘r’, ‘g’, ‘n’
16. Bhairavi
4
+
4
‘r’, ‘g’, ‘d’, ‘n’

The scales will look as shown below:

1. Bilaval:

Bilaval is the combination of Bilaval Tetrachords from the both sides (1+1).

Bilaval
Bilaval
1. S R G m
+1. P D N S*

2. Sarsangi:

Sarsangi is the combination of Bilaval & Sarsangi Tetrachords (1+2).

bilaval
sarsangi
1. S R G m
+2. P d N S*

3. Khamaj:

Khamaj is the combination of Bilaval & Khamaj Tetrachords (1+3).

bilaval
khamaj
1. S R G m
+3. P D n S*

4. Charukeshi:

Charukeshi is the combination of Bilaval & Charukeshi Tetrachords (1+4).

bilaval
charukeshi
1. S R G m
+4. P d n S*

5. Suryakant:

Sutyakant is the combination of Surykant & Bilaval Tetrachords (2+1). Suryakant is also known as Anand Bhairav.

suryakant
Bilaval
2. S r G m
+1. P D N S*

6. Bhairav:

Bhairav is the combination of Surykant & Sarsangi Tetrachords (2+2).

suryakant
sarsangi
2. S r G m
+2. P d N S*

7. Chakarvak:

Chakarvak is the combination of Surykant & Khamaj Tetrachords (2+3). Chakarvak is also known as Ahir Bhairav.

suryakant
khamaj
2. S r G m
+3. P D n S*

8. Bakulabharan:

Bakulabharan is the combination of Surykant & Charukeshi Tetrachords (2+4).

suryakant
charukeshi
2. S r G m
+4. P d n S*

9. Gauri Manohari:

Gauri Manohari is the combination of Gauri Manohari & Bilaval Tetrachords (3+1).

Gauri Manohari
Bilaval
3. S R g m
+1. P D N S*

10. Kirvani:

Kirvani is the combination of Gauri Manohari & Sarsangi Tetrachords (3+2).

Gauri Manohari
sarsangi
3. S R g m
+2. P d N S*

11. Kafi:

Kafi is the combination of Gauri Manohari & Khamaj Tetrachords (3+3).

Gauri Manohari
khamaj
3. S R g m
+3. P D n S*

12. Asavari:

Asavari is the combination of Gauri Manohari & Charukeshi Tetrachords (3+4).

Gauri Manohari
3. S R g m
+4. P d n S*

13. Kokilpirya:

Kokilpirya is the combination of Kokilpirya & Bilaval Tetrachords (4+1).

kokilpirya
Bilaval
4. S r g m
+1. P D N S*

14. Dhenuka:

Dhenuka is the combination of Kokilpirya & Sarsangi Tetrachords (4+2). Dhenuka is also known as Pilu.

kokilpirya
sarsangi
4. S r g m
+2. P d N S*

15. Natakpirya:

Natakpirya is the combination of Kokilpirya & Khamaj Tetrachords (4+3).

kokilpirya
khamaj
4. S r g m
+3. P D n S*

16. Bhairavi:

Bhairavi is the combination of Kokilpirya & Charukeshi Tetrachords (4+4).

kokilpirya
charukeshi
4. S r g m
+4. P d n S*

Please note that all these Thaats have ‘Komal Madhyam’. Which is also know as Natural Fourth or Shudh Madhyam.
Making the rest of the 16 Thaats is easy now. Just change the Madhyam to Tivar in all the above. We will talk about those in the next post.

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Making Thaats with Tetrachords Part I

Ustad Mehdi HassanIn the last post, we looked at eight Tetrachords. As I mentioned in that post, these Tetrachords are holding the key to all musical scales. How easy is it? Just memorize eight groups of four notes and construct 32 Thaats on the fly. Review the Tetrachords once more here before proceeding.

Now let’s name these Tetrachords:

Natural scale “C D E F – G A B C” is ‘Bilaval’ in Indian music, and these notes are:

S R G m – P D N S*

When we assign a name to a Tetrachord, we assume that its counterpart is natural. So when we are naming Poorvang Tetrachords, we assume that Utrang is “P D N S*” or “G A B C;” and when we are naming the Utrang Tetrachord, we assume that the Poorvang is “S R G m” or “C D E F.”

Later we will cross match them to build different scales.Now have a look at these images along with the assigned names:

Poorvang Tetrachords:

tetrachords
tetrachords
1. Bilaval
gap
2. Suryakant
tetrachords
tetrachords
3. Gauri Manohari
4. Kokilpirya

1. S R G m is Bilaval
2. S r G m is Suryakant
3. S R g m is Gauri Manohari
4. S r g m is Kokilpirya

Utrang Tetrachords:

tetrachords
tetrachords
1. Bilaval
2. Sarsangi
tetrachords
tetrachords
3. Khamaj
4. Charukeshi

1. P D N S* is Bilaval
2. P d N S* is Sarsangi
3. P D n S* is Khamaj
4. P d n S* is Charukeshi

Complete the scales by adding upper or lower natural (Bilaval) Tetrachord as needed.

sangtar.com > Music Theory > Advanced Theory

Understanding Tetrachords

Persian Music - The Evergreen Song
In essence, a Tetrachord is a series of four tones filling in the interval of a ‘perfect fourth’, a 4:3 frequency ratio. In modern Persian music, two Tetrachords come together to construct an octave. When Persian musicians came to India, they also brought the Tetrachord theory with them. In Indian music, these are known as the Poorvang and the Utrang (lower and upper half of octave).
Two Tetrachords of any octave are:

1. C D E F
2. G A B C

In Indian music, these will become:

1. S R G m
2. P D N S*

Here C and F in the lower, and, G and C in the upper Tetrachord are sitting at a 4:3. The positions of the middle notes are variable.
Now, let’s talk about the variables. Take the Poorvang, or the lower Tetrachord first.

S R G m

We know, that S and M (1st and fourth) have to stay permanently at an interval of fourth to make it a Tetrachord. So the only variables are the middle notes, R and G. These both notes can move freely between their two positions (Komal and Tivar). Knowing that, it is very simple to find that there are only four ways to write this Tetrachord:

1. S R G m
2. S r G m
3. S R g m
4. S r g m

If your Sa is on C, then these four variations are:

1. C D E F
2. C Db E F
3. C D Eb F
4. C Db Eb F

Here are four illustrations showing four variations of the ‘Poorvang’ or the lower Tetrachord.

tetrachords
tetrachords
1.
gap
2.
tetrachords
tetrachords
3.
4.

The Utrang or the upper Tetrachord also has four similar (or identical, technically speaking) variations:

1. P D N S*
2. P d N S*
3. P D n S*
4. P d n S*

If your Sa is on C, then the ‘Utrang’ variations are:

1. G A B C
2. G Ab B C
3. G A Bb C
4. G Ab Bb C

Here are four illustrations showing the four possible variations of the ‘Utrang’ or the upper Tetrachord.

tetrachords
tetrachords
1.
2.
tetrachords
tetrachords
3.
4.

Study them well. It seems so simple. However, thousands of scales (All possible Thaats and Raags) are hidden in the eight illustrations above.

sangtar.com > Music Theory > Advanced Theory

32 Thaats (Scales) Flipped – Part IV

Cave Carvings 500 AD Ajanta Alora Here is one last look at creating 32 Thaats by flipping the scales.
The 12 notes of Indian music are:

S, r, R, g, G, m, M’, P, d, D, n, N

As you can see, S and P (1st and 5th) are immovable. Both of these notes have only one permanent position in the scale.
The other five notes have two positions each, lower and upper position or Komal and Tivar position. When we flip a Thaat, we simply change the positions of these five notes. We move the Tivars to Komal position and the Komals to Tivar position.

The all Tivar scale is: S, R, G, M’, P, D, N, S (Kalian) and
The all Komal scale is S, r, g, m, P, d, n, S. (Bhairavi)

The entire secret to understand this theory lies in understanding these two scales. If one scale is made by lowering a certain note in Kalian, in essence, its flipped Thaat is made by making the same note Tivar in Bhairavi.

In the following table, I have written the Flipped Thaats opposite of each other. Notice how the positions of these five notes (R, G, M, D and N) are swapped. Then there is also an interactive flash movie below to visualize these notes on a keyboard.

Thaat
Scale
flip
Scale
Thaat
Vachaspati
S,R,G,M’,P,D,n,S
flip
S,r,g,m,P,d,N,S
Dhenuka
Latangi
S,R,G,M’,P,d,N,S
flip
S,r,g,m,P,D,n,S
Natakpirya
Rishavpirya
S,R,G,M’,P,d,n,S
flip
S,r,g,m,P,D,N,S
Kokilpirya
Dharamvati
S,R,g,M’,P,D,N,S
flip
S,r,G,m,P,d,n,S
Bakulabharan
Hemvati
S,R,g,M’,P,D,g,S
flip
S,r,G,m,P,d,N,S
Bhairav or Malavgaud
Sahinder Madhyam
S,R,g,M’,P,d,N,S
flip
S,r,G,m,P,D,n,S
Chakarvak or Ahir Bhairav
Shanmukhpirya
S,R,g,M’,P,d,n,S
flip
S,r,G,m,P,D,N,S
Suryakant or Anand Bhairav
Gamanpirya or Marava
S,r,G,M’,P,D,N,S
flip
S,R,g,m,P,d,n,S
Asavari
Rampirya
S,r,G,M’,P,D,n,S
flip
S,R,g,m,P,d,N,S
Kirvani
Kamvardhani or Pooravi
S,r,G,M’,P,d,N,S
flip
S,R,g,m,P,D,n,S
Kafi or Kharharpirya
Namnarayani
S,r,G,M’,P,d,n,S
flip
S,R,g,m,P,D,N,S
Gauri Manohari
Swaranangi
S,r,g,M’,P,D,N,S
flip
S,R,G,m,P,d,n,S
Charukeshi
Shadvidhmargani
S,r,g,M’,P,D,n,S
flip
S,R,G,m,P,d,N,S
Sarsangi
Shubh Pantuvarali or Todi
S,r,g,M’,P,d,N,S
flip
S,R,G,m,P,D,n,S
Khamaj or Harkambhoji
Bhavpirya
S,r,g,M’,P,d,n,S
flip
S,R,G,m,P,D,N,S
Bilaval or Shankrabharan
Bhairavi
S,r,g,m,P,d,n,S
flip
S,R,G,M’,P,D,N,S
Kalian

[iframe width=”100%” height=”300″ src=”https://www.sangtar.com/canvas/170202-flip-thaats_Canvas.html” align=”middle”]

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32 Thaats (Scales) Flipped – Part III

Ustad Baba Allaudin

Finally, here is the same illustration explained in plain text:
1. Kalian is the first Thaat in this system. All notes in Kalian are in their upper position or are Tivar. Kalian’s notes are: S, R, G, M’, P, D, N, S.
2. Lowering the seventh (N Komal) in Kalian creates ‘Vachaspati’ mail or Thaat. Vachaspati is S, R,G,M’, P, D, n, S. In this Thaat, no suwar is in perfect harmony (4th or 5th) with the seventh.
3. Flipping Vachaspati gives us Dhenuka Thaat. Dhenuka is: S, r, g,m, p, d, N, S. Again, the Seventh or Nishad of Dhenuka has no Samvadi suwar.
4. Lowering the sixth (Dhaivat) in Kalian Creates Latangi. Latangi is: S, R, G, M’, P, d, N, S.
5. Flipping Latangi makes it Natakpirya. Natakpirya is S, r, g, m, P, D, n, S. There is no Samvadi of Dhaivat in Natakpirya.
6. Lowering Dhaivat and Nishad in Kalian gives us Rishavpirya. Rishavpirya is: S, R, G, M’, P, d, n, S. Rishavpirya lacks a Samvadi suwar for its Gandhar.
7. Flipping Rishavpirya gives us Kokilpirya. Kokilpirya is: S, r, g, m, P, D, N, S. Dhaivat has no Samvadi note in Kokilpirya.
8. Lowering Gandhar or third in Kalian creates Dharamvati. Dharamvati is: S,R,g,M’, P,D, N, S.
9. The opposite of Dharampati stands Bakulabharan. Bakulabharan is: S, r, G, m, P, d, n, S.
10. Lowering Gandhar and Nishad in Kalian gives us Hemvati. Hemvati is: S, R, g, M’, P, D, n, S.
11. Thaat Malavgaud is on the flip side of Hemvati. Malavgaud’s notes are: S, r, G, m, P, d, N, S. Thus, Malavgaud is current Bhairav Thaat of Hindustani music.
12. Lowering Gandhar and Dhaivat in Kalian gives birth to Sahinder Madhyam. Which is: S, R, g, M’, P, g, N, S.
13. Thaat Chakarvak is the flip side of Sahinder Madhyam. Chakarvak is same as Ahir Bhairav, the notes are: S, r, G, m, P, D, n, S.
14. When Gandhar, Dhaivat and Nishad or third, sixth and seventh are komal in Kalian, it becomes Shanmukhpirya Thaat. Shanmukhpirya’s notes are: S, R, g, M’, P, d, n, S.
15. Flipping Shanmukhpirya creates Suryakant or Anad Bhairav. The notes are: S, r, G, m, P, D, N , S.
16. Lowering just the second or Rishav in Kalian makes it Marva Thaat. Marva is: S, r, G, M’, P, D, N, S. Marva is also known as Gamanpirya Mail of Carnatic music.
17. Flipping Gamanpirya makes it Asavari. Asavari’s notes are: S, R, g, m, P, d, n, S.
18. Lowering Rishav and Nishad in Kalian creates Rampirya Thaat. Rampirya is: S, r, G, M’, P, D, n, S.
19. Flipping Rampirya gives us Girvani. Girvani is S, R, g, m, P, d, N, S. This can also be called Adana Thaat.
20. Lowering Rishav and Dhaivat in Kalian makes it Poorvi or Kamvardhani. The notes are: S, r, G, M’, P, d, N, S.
21. Kafi Thaat or Kharharpirya is the flip side of Kamvarshani. The notes are: S, R, g, m, P, D, n, S.
22. Lowering Rishav, Dhaivat and Nishad make it Namnarayni. Namnarayni is: S, r, G, M’, P, d, n, S.
23. Gauri Manohar is the flipped version of Namnarayni. Gari Manohari’s notes are: S, R, g, m, P, D, N, S.
24. Lowering Second and Third or Rishav and Gandhar in Kalian makes it Sawarnangi. Sawarnangi is: S, r, g, M’, P, D, N, S.
25. Thaat Charukeshi takes shape when we flip Sawarnangi. Charukeshi is: S, R, G, m, P, d, n, S.
26. When we lower Rishav, Gandhar and Nishad in Kalian, we create Shadvidhmargani thaat. Pronounce it Shad-Vidh-Mar-Gani. Shadvishmargani’s notes are: S, r, g, M’, P, D, n, S.
27. Thaat Sarsani takes shape by flipping Shadvidhmargani. Sarsangi is: S, R, G, m, P, d, N, S.
28. Lowering Rishav, Gandhar and Dhaivat in Kalian creates Shubhpantuvarali or Todi Thaat. The notes are; S, r, g, M’, P, d, N, S.
29. Flipping Todi makes it Khamaj or Harkambhoji. Khamaj’s notes are: S, R, G, m, P, D, n, S.
30. Lowering 2nd, 3rd, 6th and 7th (r, g, d, n) in Kalian creates Bhavpirya Thaat. The notes of Bhavpirya look like this: S, r, g, M’, P, d, n, S.
31. Our modern natural scale Bilaval is the flipped version of Bhavpirya. Bilaval is also known as Shankrabharan mail in the southern music. The notes of this Thaat are: S, R, G, m, P, D, N, S.
32. Now the final thaat has all five movable notes in the lower position. When we lower Rishav, Gandhar, Madhyam, Dhaivat and Nishad in Kalian, it creates Bhairavi Thaat. So if Kalian is all Tivars, then Bhairavi is all Komals. Flipping Bhairvi takes us back to our number one Thaat Kalian. Bhairavi’s notes are: S, r, g, m, P, d, n, S.

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32 Thaats (Scales) Flipped – Part II

Rajtyagi

In the last post, we found all 32 Thaats in a certain process. It went like this:

1. Kalian is the first Thaat,
2. Then we start to lower notes from the top systematically.
3. Every time we lowered one note, then we flipped the Thaat, to get the counterpart Thaat.
4. So we got 16 Thaats directly from Kalian, and got the other 16 by flipping these Thaats.

Here is a table explaining the same process. This may help to make better sense of the Flash animation. I am including the interactive animation again in this post. Read one line and follow the Thaats on the interactive animation below:

Kalian: S, R, G, M’, P,D,N (or all Tivar notes)

Lowered
(Komal)
Notes
Resulted Thaat
Flip

New Komals

Resulted Thaat
n
Vachaspati
arrow
r,g,m,d,
Pilu or Dhenuka
d
Latangi
arrow
r,g,m,n,
Natakpirya
d,n
Rishabhpirya
arrow
r,g,m,
Kokilpirya
g
Dharamvati
arrow
r,m,d,n,
Bakulabharan
g,n
Hemvati
arrow
r,m,d,
Malavgaud or Bhairav
g,d
SahinderMadhyam
arrow
r,m,n,
Chakarvak or Ahirbhairav
g,d,n
Shanmukhpirya
arrow
r,m
Suryakant – AnandBhairav
r
Gamanpirya or
Marva
arrow
g,m,d,n,
Asavari
r,n
Rampirya
arrow
g,m,d,
Girvani
r,d
Kamvardhani or
Poorvi
arrow
g,m,n,
Kafi or Kharharpirya
r,d,n
Namnarayni
arrow
g,m
Gauri Manohari
g,r
Savanangi
arrow
m,d,n,
Charukeshi
r,g,n
Shadvidhmargani
arrow
m,d
Sarsangi
r,g,d
Shubhpantuvarali
or Todi
arrow
m,n
Harkanbhoji or Khamaj
r,g,d,n
Bhavpirya
arrow
m
Bilaval or Shankrabharan
r,g,m,d,n
Bhairvi
arrow
none
Kalian

[iframe width=”100%” height=”300″ src=”https://www.sangtar.com/canvas/170202-flip-thaats_Canvas.html”]
sangtar.com > Music Theory > Advanced Theory

32 Thaats (Scales) Flipped – Part I

I am sure that this post will prove to be the most interesting post for advance students of Indian Music. As we have discussed earlier, the ‘Ten Thaat System’ does not fully describe the scope of Hindustani scales. According to the definition of a Thaat, a Thaat is a scale of seven notes that uses at least one instant of each and every note. That leads us to the 32 Thaat System. 32 Thaats are essential to find all theoretical Raags of Northern and Southern Indian music.

Now, how do we find these 32 Thaats. The formula is purely mathematical. That turns many people off from even touching the subject. However, there are a number of ways to illustrate this formula so it would make perfect sense to all musicians.

In this post, we are going to find 32 Thaats by flipping the scales. I have been talking about Thaat flipping in the last few posts. So by now you must have a very good idea what that is all about.

According to the Thaat Flipping theory, the first scale is Kalian. Kalian looks like this:

S,R,G,M,P,D,N or
Tone, Tone, Tone, Semitone, Tone, Tone, Semitone.

In Kalian, all notes are in their upper position. Or, we can say that all notes are Tivar. Now it is just matter of lowering (making them Komal) the notes systematically to get 32 Thaats.
In the following illustration:

1. First, starting from the top (Nishad), we lower one note to get a scale.
2. Then we flip that scale (swap the Vikrat notes). The Komals become Tivars and the Tivars become Komals.
3. We continue to add notes downwards to find all possible combinations and flip each Thaat to reveal its counterpart.

Remember, there are only five notes in Indian scale that have two positions. These notes are: R, G, M, D, N. Whatever notes are ‘Komal’ in the original Thaat, they should be ‘Tivar’ in the flipped Thaat.

Play with the following interactive infographic, by clicking the ‘Next’ button. In the next post I will describe these Thaats in plain text. Enjoy.
[iframe width=”100%” height=”300″ src=”https://www.sangtar.com/canvas/170202-flip-thaats_Canvas.html”].
 

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