THE FUNERAL OF MUSIC ... 4
A performer, flawed and frail, incompetent and incongruous often in musical presentation, without the knowledge of an expert is called Pandit and another one devoid of the musical skill attributed to the master is called Ustad. A wonderful assortment of words for rather wordy performers full of stunts and gimmicks, self-publicity and mastery in manipulation of the media and adroitness in winning favourable public opinion by pandering to low popular culture, is the order of the day and is spelling the doom of Hindustani classical music.
A maestro of the stature of Baba Allauddin Khan failed to check this proliferating debasement of music and one wonders how classical music is to survive the ravages of the times when apparently almost everything is downgrading without any inkling of a hope of resurrection in the horizon whatsoever.
The perceptive ear can hear the death-throes of Hindustani classical music at the hands of incompetent fools brash enough to self-label themselves Pandits and Ustads as they make a living out of selling cheap their low brand of performance on stage masquerading as music. It is a scary situation, for music in its pristine form will soon die out of India if these braggarts and pretentious performers are allowed to steal the show without any resistance whatsoever.
Connoisseurs of music, where are you today?
Gone are the days of palace music when aristocracy held the reins of quality in classical music through their selective patronage. Commerce has replaced the connoisseur and is daily delivering the death-deal to Hindustani classical music. While the feudal set-up is gone forever and palaces have been renovated into luxury hotels, the trained ear of the connoisseur and his refined sensibility ought not to have so easily disappeared for principles of evolution are slow that way in altering nervous organisations. And thank heavens for it that there still remain some such who can combine to foster all that is true and great in classical music in it pristine form, its virgin state of spiritual communion. Therein now lies our only hope. If not, then 'Ram naam satya hai.'
Written by Sugata Bose
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