GAUR SARANG LINGERS ON
In 1982 I had heard Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri in the Dover Lane Music Conference with my friend, Partha Bose, who is today a reputed sitarist. That day the celebrated percussionist had accompanied Pandit Ravi Shankar on the tabla and enthralled the audience with the magic of his deft touches on the drum. Panditiji seemed that day to my young eyes, both in appearance and in his rendition, a Gandharva descended from the ethereal realm unto this earthy earth, and lifted us to a supernal plane by a performance which remains ever etched deep in my memory even unto this day. And today, after a lapse of 38 years, I witnessed the eternally youthful maestro weaving his magic with the membrane as his fingers danced on the floor of his instrument and by their pressure produced such sonorous effect that sitar was eclipsed from memory as my eyes remained glued to the vibrating surface of his drum, the soft hands creating such cadence as one associates with a golden voice or an ace instrument completing a pulsating musical phrase. And the sitarist Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri accompanied this day was none other than my boyhood buddy, Partha Bose, who completed a full circle in his musical journey by playing to Swamiji on his 158th birthday at the Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Golpark.
The morning session began with Uday Bhawalkar giving a dhrupad rendition. Then Pandit Shubhankar Banerjee gave a solo recital on the tabla, beginning with a jhaptal piece in 10 beats and ending with a teental piece in 16 beats. The sound system gave slight trouble even as the maestro hammered home his bols on his instrument with gusto.
But the best was yet to come and when Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri took to the stage with Partha Bose, the entire atmosphere changed colour and contour with the percussion maestro, recently adorned with the Padma Shree, making light of the self-proclamation of the epithets 'Pandit' and 'Ustad' by artistes these days. He said with wry humour that the honorific 'Shree' was far more honourable for an artiste these days than the self-styled 'Pandit' or 'Ustad' dangling in an unbecoming manner. Swapan Chaudhuri recounted how Ustad Ali Akbar Khan had once in a jocular mood exhorted him to shed his 'Pandit' honorific even as the sarod maestro would likewise do with his 'Ustad' title. Thus, each, shorn of meaningless epithet, as the said honorifics by overuse have become these days, they would stand clean of such titular taint. After all, these titles were earlier conferred upon individual artistes by connoisseurs of music unlike self-giving of such as is the wont these days. The audience highly appreciated such plain-speaking.
Sitarist Partha Bose, in his characteristic manner, spoke a few warm words to the audience before beginning with Jaunpuri, alaap, jor jhala and gat, vilambit and drut. He then glided into the pleasing notes of the raag Gaur Sarang in which he played a madhya laya gat followed by another in the drut teental. He ended his performance with a short Bhairavi piece to the applause of the packed house. The Gaur Sarang was especially pleasing on account of its melodic structure and the beauty of the composition of the gat.
Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri's accompaniment was delightful as he ambled into greener pastures occasionally even as he restrained himself to perfectly act as foil to the sitarist who complemented him in equal terms to make music 'measure for measure'.
After the performance I met Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri and Partha Bose who, as I have said, is my childhood mate from school. I mentioned my name and added that I was his Facebook friend to which he instantly complied by recognising me and encouraging me to write on more in the future. His naturalness touched me and I came away the richer for the experience and fulfilled that Partha had risen to the occasion when pitted against such a stalwart of the century, a percussionist who has carried his craft across the continents to enthral audiences worldwide.
May Swamiji bless Partha Bose and Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri on this his 157th birth anniversary ! May they remain in good health to be able to enrapture audiences worldwide !
Jai Swamiji !
Written by Sugata Bose
In 1982 I had heard Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri in the Dover Lane Music Conference with my friend, Partha Bose, who is today a reputed sitarist. That day the celebrated percussionist had accompanied Pandit Ravi Shankar on the tabla and enthralled the audience with the magic of his deft touches on the drum. Panditiji seemed that day to my young eyes, both in appearance and in his rendition, a Gandharva descended from the ethereal realm unto this earthy earth, and lifted us to a supernal plane by a performance which remains ever etched deep in my memory even unto this day. And today, after a lapse of 38 years, I witnessed the eternally youthful maestro weaving his magic with the membrane as his fingers danced on the floor of his instrument and by their pressure produced such sonorous effect that sitar was eclipsed from memory as my eyes remained glued to the vibrating surface of his drum, the soft hands creating such cadence as one associates with a golden voice or an ace instrument completing a pulsating musical phrase. And the sitarist Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri accompanied this day was none other than my boyhood buddy, Partha Bose, who completed a full circle in his musical journey by playing to Swamiji on his 158th birthday at the Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Golpark.
The morning session began with Uday Bhawalkar giving a dhrupad rendition. Then Pandit Shubhankar Banerjee gave a solo recital on the tabla, beginning with a jhaptal piece in 10 beats and ending with a teental piece in 16 beats. The sound system gave slight trouble even as the maestro hammered home his bols on his instrument with gusto.
But the best was yet to come and when Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri took to the stage with Partha Bose, the entire atmosphere changed colour and contour with the percussion maestro, recently adorned with the Padma Shree, making light of the self-proclamation of the epithets 'Pandit' and 'Ustad' by artistes these days. He said with wry humour that the honorific 'Shree' was far more honourable for an artiste these days than the self-styled 'Pandit' or 'Ustad' dangling in an unbecoming manner. Swapan Chaudhuri recounted how Ustad Ali Akbar Khan had once in a jocular mood exhorted him to shed his 'Pandit' honorific even as the sarod maestro would likewise do with his 'Ustad' title. Thus, each, shorn of meaningless epithet, as the said honorifics by overuse have become these days, they would stand clean of such titular taint. After all, these titles were earlier conferred upon individual artistes by connoisseurs of music unlike self-giving of such as is the wont these days. The audience highly appreciated such plain-speaking.
Sitarist Partha Bose, in his characteristic manner, spoke a few warm words to the audience before beginning with Jaunpuri, alaap, jor jhala and gat, vilambit and drut. He then glided into the pleasing notes of the raag Gaur Sarang in which he played a madhya laya gat followed by another in the drut teental. He ended his performance with a short Bhairavi piece to the applause of the packed house. The Gaur Sarang was especially pleasing on account of its melodic structure and the beauty of the composition of the gat.
Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri's accompaniment was delightful as he ambled into greener pastures occasionally even as he restrained himself to perfectly act as foil to the sitarist who complemented him in equal terms to make music 'measure for measure'.
After the performance I met Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri and Partha Bose who, as I have said, is my childhood mate from school. I mentioned my name and added that I was his Facebook friend to which he instantly complied by recognising me and encouraging me to write on more in the future. His naturalness touched me and I came away the richer for the experience and fulfilled that Partha had risen to the occasion when pitted against such a stalwart of the century, a percussionist who has carried his craft across the continents to enthral audiences worldwide.
May Swamiji bless Partha Bose and Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri on this his 157th birth anniversary ! May they remain in good health to be able to enrapture audiences worldwide !
Jai Swamiji !
Written by Sugata Bose
Sugata Bose God of tabla, indeed. Seemed like Mahadev on the percussion.
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