MUSIC AND ITS MALADIES ... 3
It is better that eminent classical musicians do not remain surrounded by sycophants who are devoid of character, opportunistic in nature and and full of the slippery tendencies as is the defining feature of people wishing somehow to rise through the rungs of musical eminence by low cunning and crafty planning. Music is the gift of God and the eminent one who himself / herself uses it to gain material momentum in life to the detriment of the overall welfare of this classical tradition is culpable to a grievous cultural offence for which he / she ought to take full responsibility. It is sickening to see so many flock round classical artistes of repute with the intent of self-seeking and even worse it is to behold these artistes giving them undue attention merely for gaining personal ends. But the worst offence in this field of classical music is that of ingratitude to the not-so-famous Guru of long duration whose name artistes so often fail to mention after their personal rise to fame, preferring instead to mention the names of the likes of Pandit Ravi Shankar and Ustad Ali Akbar Khan with whom they may have spent in their lifetime an odd fortnight in tutelage. This is a rampant practice and is most blameworthy. Thus, along with sublimity of rendition, the politics played by classical artistes of eminence, barring the exceptional few, has much tainted this artistic discipline which has been dubbed 'shastriya sangeet', that is, scriptural music, holy and sacrosanct.
I can forsooth say that this piece will resonate to the common man's thinking but will cast not even a scratch in the minds of these aspirant artistes and in the more invulnerable minds of the seasoned practitioners of this trade, the musical maestros who are squarely to blame for this despicable state of things in the musical line on the ethical side of it. I rest my case here. Jai Ma Saraswati, nadadhvanirupini!
Written by Sugata Bose
It is better that eminent classical musicians do not remain surrounded by sycophants who are devoid of character, opportunistic in nature and and full of the slippery tendencies as is the defining feature of people wishing somehow to rise through the rungs of musical eminence by low cunning and crafty planning. Music is the gift of God and the eminent one who himself / herself uses it to gain material momentum in life to the detriment of the overall welfare of this classical tradition is culpable to a grievous cultural offence for which he / she ought to take full responsibility. It is sickening to see so many flock round classical artistes of repute with the intent of self-seeking and even worse it is to behold these artistes giving them undue attention merely for gaining personal ends. But the worst offence in this field of classical music is that of ingratitude to the not-so-famous Guru of long duration whose name artistes so often fail to mention after their personal rise to fame, preferring instead to mention the names of the likes of Pandit Ravi Shankar and Ustad Ali Akbar Khan with whom they may have spent in their lifetime an odd fortnight in tutelage. This is a rampant practice and is most blameworthy. Thus, along with sublimity of rendition, the politics played by classical artistes of eminence, barring the exceptional few, has much tainted this artistic discipline which has been dubbed 'shastriya sangeet', that is, scriptural music, holy and sacrosanct.
I can forsooth say that this piece will resonate to the common man's thinking but will cast not even a scratch in the minds of these aspirant artistes and in the more invulnerable minds of the seasoned practitioners of this trade, the musical maestros who are squarely to blame for this despicable state of things in the musical line on the ethical side of it. I rest my case here. Jai Ma Saraswati, nadadhvanirupini!
Written by Sugata Bose
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