ET TU BRUTE, THEN FALL CAESAR !

ET TU BRUTE, THEN FALL CAESAR !

Musician, however great, is mostly slave to name and fame. Rare is even the maestro who does not openly or under camouflage vaunt his/her attainments. It is so sad to see even great musicians beating their own drum when the public have already acknowledged them and their art gloriously for posterity to remember them as master craftsmen, artistes who have created new pathways for generations of musicians to follow. Yet it seems, as they say, old habits die hard, and past tendencies that have taken root in the psyche of these established artistes spring anew each time these maestros are interviewed when they artfully or openly boast about their achievements in their chosen vocation. Is this artistic? Perhaps it is in a decadent way, and hence this self-proclamation for an establishment in human memory when all that effort leads to is a surface-dragging of the artiste's attainments from the depths to which his earlier efforts had planted them. Strange are the ways of the musical mind and strange are the cultural contradictions thereof.

Written by Sugata Bose

Photo : Ustad Allarakha Khan, a drummer with a difference, an artless artiste of the magical membrane, a legacy he has passed on to his gifted son of equally universal acclaim. Maestros such as he and his son, Ustad Zakir Hussain, wear their attributes and attainments as a natural apparel where humility shines through in its artless absence, as in the father, and in its optimal artistic appearance, as in the son. These are iconic figures who must be emulated and not adhered to for gaining prominence otherwise. Geniuses such as this father and son duo are the salt of the musical world and it is these that teach lesser artistes how best to carry oneself in a world much polluted by self-proclamation beyond artistic proficiency that ought to speak better for itself.

WORDS, WASTEFUL WORDS ... 1

WORDS, WASTEFUL WORDS ... 1

Sometimes I feel that too much time is lost in unnecessary talk when such moments could be better spent sensing the spirit of the subject talked about. Music is one such subject where the spirit comes through best in the rendition of quality rather than in fruitless preliminary talk followed by a lacklustre performance. Even in spiritual matters I find people asking too many questions instead of engaging themselves in the pure pursuit of the instructions already given by the preceptor and holding one's patience till God blesses them with vision, either now or in a hundred lifetimes.

Talk, talk and talk -- too much talk spoils the show wherever I set my eyes on and words cover up the essence which is unreachable by the clever assemblage of syllables. Now, I am of a different temperament and like to wait on a lifetime for the Lord to reveal Himself out of His infinite grace if it so pleases Him. Who am I to keep asking Him this or that question and bother Him while I have even till now failed to discharge my allotted duties coming from Him?

Written by Sugata Bose

THE ART AND THE SCIENCE OF CHARITY ... 1

THE ART AND THE SCIENCE OF CHARITY ... 1

First make large profits, so become rich, then practise charity to have godlike feeling. Name, fame, greed, power do not make of one a god but pure, intense sympathy and a sense of terrible sharing of their woes that afflict these manmade beggars whose only fault is that they do not know how to charge enough for their life's labour, how to master the art of making money at any cost. Charity it is and charity, indeed.

Written by Sugata Bose

35th Baithak | Shri Nityanand Haldipur | Multifaceted Artistry of Maihar...

Here is one artiste who held his own throughout the interview in a becoming manner, for his character has been formed in the mould of the ascetic among artistes, Guru Ma Annapurna Devi. Not once did Nityanand Haldipur give way to cheapness in conversation, levity of spirit or a compromised stance to gain favour with the audience or the anchor, Pt. Arvind Parikh. This is called character-formation which, when once achieved, holds a person through the thick and thin of life without he giving in to adverse circumstances, and does not precipitate a person in the mire of material craving with its concomitant pitfalls. The manner in which Pt. Haldipur held his own was not just dignified but was a lesson for all in upright human behaviour devoid of arrogance to sustain it. May the young artistes and the old ones seek guidance in Pt. Haldipur's ways and means in order to reset their erroneous watches and realign their bent ways to what ought to be deemed as classically correct in every sense of the term, from music to manhood.

Foreword by Sugata Bose

Ravi Shankar & Ali Akbar Khan in concert 1972

In memory of Baba Allauddin Khan within months of his grand departure to the Gandharvalok. This was once in a lifetime performance for it was in memory of the master who had brought them (Pandit Ravi Shankar and Ustad Ali Akbar Khan) both up into musical maturity from early innocence in the art.

The weeping sarod and the weeping sitar. Baba from Gandharvalok listens with tears in his eyes. This concert was within months of Baba's ascension to the other world. A tribute, a memorial, a final pranam at his feet.

Foreword written by Sugata Bose

ANNAPURNA DEVI ... 7

ANNAPURNA DEVI ... 7

The greater the 'thhehrao' (standing on a note), the deeper the expression of the raag. This unnecessary rush of notes, this undue speed of movement along the scale renders a raag sterile, although, it pleases the public of fickle mind and short-spanned attention a deal. But the spirit of raag music is lost in this melee of notes jostling for momentary space and position. All this stems from a hurried approach to life in general which in turn causes this hustle and bustle in performance and destroys the very soul of classical music. The most culpable for this state of affairs are musicians of mastery themselves who keep the public in a state of musical excitation with a torrential flow of high-speed notes, musical phrases and melodic pieces which keep them in favour with the masses while lowering public taste for good music all the while. Minor artistes merely mimic this trend set up by major ones and, thus, the saga continues of classical music being rendered cheap for the sake of self-sustenance at any cost. Regrettable !

A notable exception to this general occurrence -- now almost a rule by dint of repetition -- was Ma Annapurna Devi who renounced the platform of popular approval for the pyre of self-immolation where she lit the fire of pure music herself and set to flames all earthly aspirations which may have remained in her subconscious mind, for knowingly she had never cared for material gain from music as all her peers did. There, in her remote altitude in her 'Akash Ganga' apartment, she lay in repose with her surbahar even as her heart was torn to shreds by a marriage that lay in ruins.

Written by Sugata Bose

USTAD BISMILLAH KHAN

USTAD BISMILLAH KHAN

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nXYYuorTm4

This rendition opens up so many pathways of development of the raag Yaman. The gat must be set to words so that it serves as a delectable bandish that may be sung to its aesthetic evening end. How many marriages have witnessed the shehnai rendition of Ustad Bismillah Khan, how many souls have been united while the soft strains of the maestro's instrument have purified the evening air of all the mundane dross to set up the hour of union ! The beauty, the sublimity and the pathos come out in Bismillah Khan's rendition in a holy wedlock of moods that stir up feelings quite unparalleled despite the occasional lapses here and there which, perhaps, give the rendition a touch of imperfection and make the melody all the more touching in its human fallibility and fragile fragrance.

Ustad Bismillah Khan draws a veil over the evening and cuts off outside influences with his raag rendition, and that is the hallmark of his genius, this ability to create an atmosphere unearthly in some sense and intensely human in some other, a mixture of moods that carries the audience into an altered state of consciousness where everything is bright and beautiful. Such is his mastery over this difficult instrument that it seems to sing, which is the ultimate aim of instrumental music but is rarely achieved.

The shehnai in Ustadji's care comes alive as an individual with an exquisite soul. The instrument is no longer inert but is very much a living companion of the maestro, not so much as an extension of his being but an inseparably entwined separate individual like lovers distinct in locked embrace.

As the raag unfolds the evening draws its shade over the Ganga and Varanasi beholds the nightly spread across the holy stretch where Vishwanath and Annapurna bless the notes with their ethereal touch.

Blessed Bismillah, blessed Benaras, blessed Bharatvarsha that has given birth to such a soul, a ratna (jewel) of Bharat indeed !

Written by Sugata Bose

Photo : courtesy, Instagram / @balkaursinghdhillon

ANANPURNA DEVI ... 6

ANANPURNA DEVI ... 6

Usually daughters resemble their fathers in looks and attributes and sons their mothers. It ought to be 'like father, like daughter' and 'like mother, like son'. Of course, this is the major rule. The minor exception the other way round still holds where it comes out 'like father, like son'. But that is the minor occurrence. Accordingly, Annapurna Devi resembled her father Baba Allauddin Khan in personality traits and in musical excellence. In rejecting her, someone had rejected in effect the brightest progeny of his Guru and the greatest musician of the 20th century after Baba Allauddin Khan himself. It is, therefore, highly improper to remember her as her first husband's estranged wife, especially when such reference is made not merely to state a fact but to glorify her, as if, in connection with her virtuoso ex-husband. The bare fact is that she was arguably a far greater musician than her estranged first husband and that she needed no such props to stand on her own feet in the hierarchy of Indian music. Annapurna Devi was the greatest product from Maihar and will be remembered in the ages to come as one of the finest exponents of the surbahar ever and a musician who was far above her peers both in musical excellence and in character attributes. She was, indeed, a true Guru in the mould of her great father.

Written by Sugata Bose

WHEN MUSICAL 'MASTERS' PLAY MISCHIEF AND THE MASSES LEND 'MORAL' SUPPORT

WHEN MUSICAL 'MASTERS' PLAY MISCHIEF AND THE MASSES LEND 'MORAL' SUPPORT

Classical music is not for the coarse commoner with little aesthetic sense and lesser artistic taste. It needs refinement in absorption and not mere sycophantic appreciation of anything and everything that is dished out as classical music when they are patently cheap gimmickry of sorts and have little to do with the pure tradition of raag music.

Playing to the gallery to a certain extent may have always been there but it has been perfected to its degenerate endpoint in its counter-curve today when mimicry of classical music goes on in the name of pure rendition and the public consume such garbage blissfully for they have never savoured true music in all its divine delight.

Now the masses have become connoisseurs as connoisseurs have retired to 'dwindledom' (word coined here and now by the author). Hence, followers rule with their raucous support for surpassing senselessness passing off as classical music from the throats of musical 'masters' even as culture plummets to its precipitous end. Now only a grand renaissance can save the situation but one wonders how it is to be brought about, for the growing mass of human members in society are of a progressively degenerate kind. Who will save culture and the arts from their rough and roguish grasp?

Written by Sugata Bose

Photo : A notable exception to the decadent trend most visible over the last few decades, Pandit Ajoy Sinha Roy, disciple of Baba Allauddin Khan, who lent his entire life's energy in resuscitating the traditional musical art form from its sinking status. But then who cares after all for such genuine musicians? Those who resort to gimmickry remain the toast of the day.

WHEN SOMEONE WRITES AND PAINTS WELL

WHEN SOMEONE WRITES AND PAINTS WELL

Learnt so much more about this genius (Sister Nivedita) who died young like her spiritual father (Swami Vivekananda) from poverty, neglect and sheer overwork for the cause of raising the motherland from her fallen state. Nivedita is gone but let us not fail to recognise Sharmistha Chatterjee's incredible talents -- both literary and artistic, as her writing and portrait of Nivedita amply reveal -- and let go of our brightest minds thus while we merely ruminate over the past and glorify those who our forefathers often did not sufficiently care to give them their dues. Let us not be culpable to the same sin of present neglect even as we pay our homage to the past heroes -- no doubt an estimable approach to heritage -- and let us, thus, wholeheartedly appreciate and, so, encourage artists of the pen and the brush like Sharmistha Chatterjee so that they persist with inspiration in their mission to bring to the door of all and sundry the gifts of Nature they have been endowed with and so bring cheer to all in this otherwise humdrum existence of daily life.

Words, they have a lot of power, and words, they mean a lot, especially to those who are gifted and seek to communicate with kindred souls the message of their soul, for gregarious we all are and thrive on such sympathies. So, to sum it up, let us give our whole support and not be niggardly in our praise, for praise it is only when we lavish it on the deserving. Else, a highhanded attitude ought to deem it better to cast talents of the day into the bin of neglect for them to perish for good, for all are not so fortunate as the unfortunate Sister to survive the ordeal of the day to see a brighter morrow post mortem.

Thank you, Sharmistha Chatterjee, yet again for this wonderful piece full of facts and data but written with restrained rigour that never lets us lose sight of the subject once.

Written by Sugata Bose

P.S. : 1. Sharmistha, see how your post is making waves in so many groups and profiles. This indeed is the way to serve and spread the message of the masters and the mistresses of yesteryears, men of genius whose ideas, when they touch people's hearts, bring about changes in them and alter character contours to align them Godward. The technique of the soul is simplicity and the art of writing simplicity, too, whereby the author remains hidden behind the subject of his writing. This has been unconsciously or artfully achieved by some writers who have thus communicated with their audience best. This is humility of literary expression and you have touched upon this chord in this piece. Hence, the resonance of your post with your readers here. Please continue to read and write so that others reading your delightful posts will feel inspired to read more about these messiahs among men.

2. Sharmistha, never consider yourself 'a cipher' for that is doing a disservice to the Lord who abides within, waiting to unfold in all His sublimity. The Sister had envisioned the coming of great Indian women in the ensuing decades and you are one such. Hence, never be humble expressively. Let humility shine as 'an attribute in absence' as Tagore so accurately put it. May your work shine and may your life be a shining testament unto the God that dwells within you !

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ANNAPURNA DEVI ... 5

ANNAPURNA DEVI ... 5

Annapurna Devi was the greatest musician produced by Baba Allauddin Khan. She was the greatest instrumentalist of the 20th century of the generation of Ustad Vilayat Khan, Pt. Ravi Shankar, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and a host of other leading lights of the music world. This I have concluded, of course, after hearing a few pieces of her recorded music and the renditions of her disciples like Pt. Nityanand Haldipur, Pt. Basant Kabra and Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia among others. There is a singular beauty to the pieces played by her disciples, from the depth of the alaap to the melodic sublimity in the gats of unparalleled aesthetic delight. This is my assessment and no verdict that others must abide by. I am moved by her music coming through her disciples. How much more moving must have been her own music played by her own hands on the surbahar and the sitar and rendered by her super-sweet voice, music that so delighted her Guru and father, Baba Allauddin Khan, that he revelled one day in ecstatic delight to articulate thus : "When Annapurna plays the surbahar, it seems Mother Saraswati is playing it." What more may I say after this?

Written by Sugata Bose

LET NOT PRETENTIOUS MODERATORS SULLY THE SANCITIFIED ATMOSPHERE OF SWAMIJI'S BIRTH ANNIVERSARY MUSICAL PROGRAMMES ON 12 JANUARY EVERY YEAR AT THE RAMAKRISHNA MISSION INSTITUTE OF CULTURE

LET NOT PRETENTIOUS MODERATORS SULLY THE SANCITIFIED ATMOSPHERE OF SWAMIJI'S BIRTH ANNIVERSARY MUSICAL PROGRAMMES ON 12 JANUARY EVERY YEAR AT THE RAMAKRISHNA MISSION INSTITUTE OF CULTURE

The Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture conducts annual programmes on Hindustani Classical Music on Swami Vivekananda's birthday, 12 January. But the moderators they employ for the purpose are thoroughly pretentious in the way they speak with their standard affected tone and mock-poetic manners.

Why does the Mission allow these moderators to make a mockery of a classical programme with their standard gibberish each time? It does not befit the Ramakrishna Mission to engage these superficial articulates to make their improper appraisal of artistes in such pretentious manner at the time of introducing them before the programme and by way of final flourish at the end of their performance. A programme conducted at the Ramakrishna Mission ought to be free of Avidya Maya. Unfortunately, it is not so as these moderators with their affected tone and mock mannerisms spoil the show to some extent and bring the touch of detestable Avidya Maya to the programme which the venerable monks of the Order ought to object to and take care that such degenerate deliveries are not made from the microphone of the Mission.

I rest my case here hoping that some monk may read this criticism of mine and take the necessary steps to see to it that the Mission's musical programmes are devoid of despicable Maya and that pure music in all its pristine flow alone sanctifies the abode of Thakur-Ma-Swamiji.

Jai Ramakrishna !

Written by Sugata Bose

WHEN THE SOM STRIKES THE KHAALI

WHEN THE SOM STRIKES THE KHAALI

It is difficult for me to fathom how people can so blissfully sing out of tune (never touching the right shrutis) and yet make such happy facial expressions as if they are super-content with their woeful performances which they deem, though, as superb renditions of the raag they are performing. In an age of mass population, mass culture, massive mediocrity and massive lowering of artistic levels this is but to be expected. Yet, it becomes unfathomable at times how 'artistes' can dupe themselves and their audience by pretending to be at high levels of artistic excellence when what they dish out as music is utter rubbish and the public are for a while exposed to accepting them as high-quality music before good sense prevails and these pretentious performers are thrown out of popular favour by a gradually discerning audience. As the saying goes, 'You can fool some men for all time, all men for some time, but not all men for all time.' Alas, the days of connoisseurs in music seem to be sadly over and it is the businessman of little understanding who strikes the commercial chord with rogue representatives of this classical art !

Written by Sugata Bose

Photo : Khalifa Ustad Badal Khan Sahib, the great Guru of Pandit Vishmadev Chattopadhyay, who had once set the standards of Hindustani classical music in erstwhile Calcutta.

'THEY ALSO SERVE WHO ONLY STAND AND WAIT.' - JOHN MILTON

'THEY ALSO SERVE WHO ONLY STAND AND WAIT.' - JOHN MILTON

The flood of information forces us into a restless mode. Patience is now at a premium as men succumb to this information revolution which illumines as it darkens consciousness, enlightening on facts and covering up consciousness.

We must be judicious in our choice of intake of information and must not be commercially coaxed into it nor coerced by the force of habitual acceptance of such garbage coming in the shape of facts and figures, matters of no consequence in the larger scheme of things, in the solving of 'the riddle of existence' (courtesy, Jawaharlal Nehru) and in the reaching of life's ultimate destination, the realisation of the Self.

Advertisement and its ilk, commerce and its coarseness, the propensity to profit by any means are the causes of this progressive degradation of human culture. The flood of wrongs must be arrested by setting right life's clock and rescheduling ourselves to the Ancient One that resides beyond the pale of darkness and is reachable only by the purified mind without which death cannot be avoided and immortality will forever remain a distant dream.

Heaven and Hell, God and Devil, reward and punishment are but baby's dream and will not actuate beyond one's limits of conception and the resolution of one's karma. What is needed is here and now to set right life's grand machinery, both on the individual front and in the collective scheme of things, by going beyond commercial compulsions and absorbing the grand message of the Lord in the Ramakrishna incarnation, that of 'Taka maati, maati taka' (money is mud, mud money). In it lies the panacea for life's ills, it being the golden aphorism for the Age that shall guide humanity unto its impending spiritual renaissance.

Written by Sugata Bose

THE DISH DIVINE

THE DISH DIVINE

Out of the savage is being fashioned man in the laboratory of life (idea, courtesy, Vivekananda and Aurobindo). Billions of souls are being cooked up in this great cauldron called society where civilisation is the dish that is being prepared. Information, selective and pertinent, is being added to spice up the delicacy that will be dished out at the terminus of this terrible culinary experiment. As the fire rages on, so do souls refine unto liberation from unnecessary appendage. Cover after cover is peeled off as newer forms release fresh life unto this grand ignition process that ever fashions possibilities out of fluctuating models unto its eventual course where the estuary empties itself into the sea.

Infinite is the beginning, finite the intermediary and infinite the end. Through this meandering path of evolutionary organisation is built the fabric of life and its grand receptacle which we term society, an intermediary stage where souls are fashioned from the savage state to the sublime state of high spirituality. We are right now caught in such an intermediary state of organic evolution and are rigorously rendering this raag of gradual unfoldment in the alaap. Now let us be still and hearken to its deeper resonance for in the surface we have struck chords that are now bringing forth deeper pulsations.

Written by Sugata Bose

OM PITRI DEVO BHAVA, MATRI DEVO BHAVA !

OM PITRI DEVO BHAVA, MATRI DEVO BHAVA !

If we wish to achieve greatness in life in the real sense, we need to revere our parents and others' parents, too. In the absence of such reverence, greatness is well nigh impossible to achieve. It is this absence of 'shraddhaa' (worshipful reverence for all that is holy and good, for elders, for tradition and values) that our country has sunk to such a cultural low.

Atheism will not do in this country, neither religious bigotry nor narrowness. What we need is a broad sympathy for all, a wonderful harmony of 'the head and the heart' (Vivekananda) and a concentrated aspiration for achieving the higher ends of life, highest among which is the realisation of God.

Sri Ramakrishna had appeared at the onset of this decadent age of scepticism and sin to set the standards of this intense aspiration for the higher values of life, values that have formed the backbone of Indian civilisation for 'scores of shining centuries' (Vivekananda). No amount of mockery of our culture and our civilisation will make any headway in this country of profound spiritual roots. No amount of attempted alienation of the masses from their native culture through the propagation of agnosticism, atheism, communism and antitheism will gain ground in this holy land that has for ages been sanctified by the dust of the feet of countless seers and sages. Here have flown the Ganga, the Sindhu and the Saraswati to set the scale of the national symphony, the 'raag Bharatvarsha'. Those that mock our spiritual culture, seek to pervert our masses and uproot them from their secure soil are themselves going to be side-lined in the long run.

Hence, with utmost shraddha we must cultivate our culture in its manifold variation and enhance it. In it lies our highest good, for in the life of a rejuvenated nation lies our own rejuvenation as individual selves. And in this holy task let us seek the blessings of our parents first for they are the visible representatives of God. For those who have lost their parents, their memory ought to serve as beacons in this darkened world of little delight. Then their lives will fill up as well with bliss and inspire them unto golden thoughts and deeds.

Written by Sugata Bose

''LEAVE ME ALONE,'' CRIETH HINDUSTANI CLASSICAL MUSIC.

''LEAVE ME ALONE,'' CRIETH HINDUSTANI CLASSICAL MUSIC.

I fervently hope that these modern 'masters' of Hindustani classical music will not attempt changes to the traditional way of singing bandishes with the gayaki that allows not for clear diction such that the words are not well spelt out for clear understanding. To alter this unclear but beautiful style of semi-clarity will be to destroy the very delivery which is the essence of gayaki in terms of stylistic representation of the raag. Let these modern self-affirmed masters keep their counsel and not pass on garbage to their students in their much-publicised schools. May Hindustani classical music survive the onslaughts of these neo-seekers of fame and fortune and adhere to its age-old undying identity !

I shudder to contemplate the corrosive course that these modern 'masters' are leading their students to. Hindustani classical music will survive best if the great artistes of yesteryears are followed intelligently and undue changes not attempted at all to the grand art of singing the khayal. Creativity does not mean that one will change the basic elements of the art form. Creativity means that one will merely embellish it by bringing in individuality to one's style and leave it there. Let music survive these modern 'masters'.

Written by Sugata Bose

Photo : Khan Sahib Abdul Karim Khan, the legendary musician one may well follow leaving these modern 'masters'.

LIVE TO LOVE BUT KEEP LOVE FREE

LIVE TO LOVE BUT KEEP LOVE FREE

There is none on earth that ought to be beholden to you, for all are divine, all are free. You owe them service ; they owe none to you. Love all, free of expectation of return. That is the way to bliss. This body has come ; it will go one day. But in the interim is the chance to love and be free.

Be not attached to any in love, for attachment kills love by bringing in fleshly cravings, base bondage. Let your love flow for the ideal even as the springtime scented air drifts through the boughs making life youthful and honeyed for the while. Then the river will darken as shadows lengthen enveloping space and time. It will be time to depart to another realm but let the swan song be sung in melodic Marwa before the boat sails on the high seas of another world.

Let life on earth be not wasted before the hour is out. Here is the grand occasion, the golden opportunity to strike the fetters off with the very hands with which you hold them in tight self-bondage, in oblivion of your real Self. Come off now and break free without resorting to those vain assertions of your godhead which you cannot live up to. Live the life. Live up to your aspirations. Let bold deeds declare your bold intent, and not empty assertions. Be not deluded by the magic of words if you wish to break free of this mighty magic called Maya. Love your way through but be wary that none holds you like glue to the petty self. Let the Ganga of love course through unto the ocean of immortality which lies in wait for you. You were never born, never lived, nor will you ever die. These are grand words but need to be realised in life's thoroughfare through discrimination in the right way and not through vanity, however fair.

Vivekananda beckons you, Ramakrishna calls, Krishna draws you in to the woods with his ethereal notes. Let us rush to their inviting embrace ; let us bid each other Godspeed.

Written by Sugata Bose

'WHEN YOU SING YOU BEGIN WITH DO-RE-MI'

'WHEN YOU SING YOU BEGIN WITH DO-RE-MI'

Many years ago, in fact over three decades now, a friend told me that an acquaintance of his had sought discipleship with Ustad Sagiruddin Khan. This young lady in her early twenties had learnt Hindustani classical vocal music from an earlier Guru for over ten years and had now embarked upon expanding her repertoire in the genre in which she wished to excel. Ustadji asked her pointblank to sing the 'Sa' and then sing the basic ascending and descending series (Arohan and Avarohan) of the musical octave once for his satisfaction. The young lady felt highly offended at this but did not quite exhibit her displeasure and proceeded to sing as directed. Ustadji heard attentively and then said, "Beti, aap ko pehele kuch din sargam riyaz karna hoga, uske baad hi raag sangeet ki taalim shuru hoga." ("My daughter, you will have to first practise for a while the basic notes of the octave. Only then will your training in raag music begin.") The young lady was completely flabbergasted by this unexpected opening remark of the Ustad and did not know what to say but grudgingly began her discipleship under the maestro from scratch. Her ego got badly bruised and all notions about her musical expertise that she had harboured thus far vaporised like mist before the morning sun.

Since hearing from my friend about this episode I have often wondered why Ustad Sagiruddin Khan, such a renowned sarangi player, had been so exacting in admitting someone to his tutelage that day. Was she not capable of doing the basics with ease after having already undergone musical training for over a decade? Was it necessary to make her go through this routine rudimentary work of musical practice? The answer has never been so clear as now when I hear so many so-called Ustads and Pandits of Hindustani classical music not knowing how to sing to tune, how to apply the Shadaj (Sa) in the manner that would please the connoisseur, how to economise their taankaari (singing combination notes in a series) and their inordinate meandering of notes, or how to manifest the mood of a raga. And this inefficiency of performance they foolishly attempt to hide by delectable body language, unnecessary smiles and exchanges of glances with the percussionist, short lectures on the ragas they are about to sing and by elaborate apparel and mannerisms to boot. But the public cannot be fooled by such ceremonials for long and quickly sift the grain from the chaff, withdrawing their favour from the pretender sooner or later. This is by no means an indictment against all Ustads and Pandits, some of whom honourably command the respect and even reverence of the audience by their stellar performances. But this is an observation on today's pretenders to this art of Hindustani classical music in general. Most of the performers quickly wish to climb the ladder of success without the requisite preliminary preparation or the basic talent that would merit such a rise. Even well-trained voices lack in musical depth -- for they essentially lack in depth of personality -- as also musical creativity and power of improvisation along lines of aesthetic economy that is so very essential for anyone to be a good performer. In such a scenario where the quick buck must be earned, the quick recognition to be received at the cost of quality of rendition, the standard of classical music is going down by the day and it does not at all augur well for the future despite some politically correct musical maestros voicing opinion to the contrary. Such stalwarts claim that more and more young people are flocking to the classical concerts and more are learning the art on which basis they pronounce the future of classical music to be quite healthy. But there are other more perceptive observers like Pandit Ravi Shankar who are much more despondent about the declining standard of classical music and are somewhat resigned to its floundering fate.

It is not good enough to learn and practise music even for years on end but one must have a degree of genuine musical talent to begin with if one is to raise the bar in performance of this classical art. Mere drilling, sheer diligence is not enough. One must have it in one, this element of aesthetics, poetry, lyricism, musicality of the soul, if one is to proceed towards perfection of performance, advance towards excellence in exposition of one's art. It is a decadent age in which we are living, unduly fast for the stilling of the mind necessary for mastery of classical music. The student of this art must battle against the tide of the times which tends to produce restlessness of the soul, and pacify his spirit in the sublimity of 'sur' (melody), 'taal' (beat) and 'laya' (tempo). He must devote a lifetime to the pursuit of perfection, the striking of the golden mean of the 'Shadaj' (Sa) or the 'Gandhar' (Ga), the middling of the 'Madhyam' (Ma), the perfect pitching of the 'Pancham' (Pa), the dhyan (meditation) on the 'Dhaivat' (Dha), the differentiation of shrutis of the 'Rishabh' (Re) or the 'Nishad' (Ni), and, above all, the awakening of the resonance between the rendition of notes and the environs, the soul of the audience beginning with the singer himself. May Mother Saraswati bless all aspirants to musical excellence with the real spirit of music so that Ustad Sagiruddin Khan Sahib's exhortation to all to work at rudiments may not go in vain! Jai Ma!

Written by Sugata Bose

THE VAKRA SVAR PRAYOG (SINGING IT OFF THE SCORE)

THE VAKRA SVAR PRAYOG ( SINGING IT OFF THE SCORE )

Arrogance in the guise of humility and being a pious adherent of spiritual musical tradition is the pretence of this famous classical vocalist. Reprehensible when such pretence can even be seen through so easily and makes a mockery of musical manners. When this vocalist of little courtesy, massive ego and imperfect pretence has the temerity to say that he touches the feet of the new entrants to his music school to teach the parents this custom of doing pranam which evidently he assumes they do not know, he crosses the limits of propriety. Such extraneous talk need not fill up the fabric of musical conversation and such pretentious attitude need not any more adorn this musical master of considerable musical accomplishments. Vanity has its limits, so does inferiority complex masquerading in whatever form of assumed wisdom of sorts. One teaches by personal example as Mahaprabhu had famously illustrated in his life by leading a perfectly continent life full of divine devotion, and not by showy stuff doctored to impress and that too in the most arrogant and abrasive manner under the cover of mock modesty. Culture in the hands of these preceptors has applied for a pious precipitation and it remains to be seen when men and women who are of real merit and yet do not seek adulation through self-publicity are born once more and occupy centre-stage to raise culture.

Written by Sugata Bose

P.S : Flattery and veiled boastfulness in alternate terms does mark this musician but does not make true music. Would it were that this vocalist was less vocal about his own self and let others speak in praise of him, if at all. Too much talk about money etc. are extraneous to the discussion and clearly point out the artiste's own fascination for the same. Also it hardly befits a gentleman to vaunt about his own self and his daughter in such carefully crafted terms. After all he is a reputed artiste and so is his daughter which would merit greater self-restraint in speech in real terms and not in such camouflaged terms with a view to giving veiled expression to self-attainment. It is unfortunate to see these developments in men so musically gifted otherwise and is a pointer to the fact that few, after all, pursue music for purer ends. Most do so for commerce and career whose success must be attained at any cost, even if that requires lowering of self-respect, begging for favours from powerful ones and undue and unnecessary vaunting of self-calibre and attainment to seek greater security in a market of mobile mass support that could shift allegiance any time. Unfortunate !

Photo : Ustad Amir Khan, a musician with a difference who has set the standards of not only music but of attitude as well which others may well follow and even try to emulate. It is musicians like Amir Khan who don the stage once in a while to keep the course of classical music along the trajectory of its truest tradition. Let the raag be sung along its right lines, using its pure notes, and let extraneous elements not mar the music in any manner.

N.B. : The subject of this write-up is not Ustad Amir Khan by any stretch of imagination. The Ustad has been called in to purify the atmosphere with his purely spiritual rendition of the raag which is so sadly missing in the subject of our discussion and has been replaced by cheap publicity and politicking to secure earthly ends. Let none misconstrue the context of the post and mess up its meaning by involving Ustad Amir Khan in it in anything but reverential terms which is the intent of including his photograph and this addenda. Amir Khan has here been mentioned by way of providing a reference point to artistes of the day as to what ought to be a true musical attitude devoid of doctored devotion to the stalwarts, pretentious piety and cheap appeals to humour the ones who are in charge of the state of affairs. By his sharp character contrast to the subject of our discussion Ustad Amir Khan helps to draw our attention to the prevailing perverseness in the musical scene and even offers us the panacea for the despicable disease that is afflicting it whose symptom is our subject in many a sense.