THE TOUCH OF CLASS
Old age does not sufficiently rob the maestro's magic touch which penetrates the rough cover of physical debility to touch the souls of perceptive listeners. Thus is music saved the loss of link with its glorious past as each generation passes on its best fruits of austere attainment to its succeeding generation and the heritage is so preserved.
But the epithet 'maestro' is hardly much applicable to the current crop of commercial artistes who have hardly the patience or the perseverance to rise to that level where they may deserve such a title. And the few who truly aspire to learn the rudiments of raag music are denied thus the opportunity, for commerce ruins it all now, and the corruption of course has reached its nadir. For these sincere adherents of the pristine tradition there remained till the other day two musical geniuses, both pupils of the patriarch of instrumental music, Baba Allauddin Khan, in Ma Annapurna Devi and Pandit Ajoy Sinha Roy. However, now that both are gone, there is an absolute vacuum of sorts that is consuming the world of Hindustani classical music. Who will now salvage the situation and help pupils retrace the meandering musical course right to its very source in the glacial peaks?
Written by Sugata Bose
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