'A TEARDROP ON THE CHEEK OF TIME' - TAGORE
Classical music has also its classical element as distinct from its pedestrian presentation in most cases. These sublime renditions must not be allowed to mix with the commonplace cases in our critical appraisal if we wish to avert the danger of lowering irreparably the pristine standards of Hindustani music coming down the ages. The critic must never lower his guard in his appraisal and upon his considered estimation depends the future of mass classical culture.
The Taj Mahal is no ordinary mausoleum. Even so are these gems from the masters which must by their sublimity of rendition pass the test of time. When Tagore called the Taj 'a teardrop on the cheek of Time', he had set the standard for what anything classical ought to be in its purest and pristine form. Let us cultivate our sensibilities thus and not call any and every performance by anybody and everybody masquerading as master 'a classic performance'.
This page is dedicated to raising the level of sensibility of the listener and settling him/her in the rare realm of the sublime and the soulful in musical rendition. May the best music inspire us to shed 'a tear on the cheek of Time' even as the Taj Mahal to this date inspires sensitive souls to do so by herself remaining a moving mass of marvel, 'frozen music', to quote Goethe, that sets the standard for artistic excellence for all time to come !
Written by Sugata Bose
Photo : Annapurna Devi (left) and Baba Allauddin Khan (right)
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