First appeared in www.scroll.in on January 9, 2016. This column has previously touched upon the issue of eclecticism in Hindustani music, noting that it is not a recent phenomenon. It existed even in the nineteenth century, despite the desire to maintain musical exclusivity and hereditary ownership of knowledge through the gharana model. Vocalist Ramkrishnabuwa Vaze (1871-1945) is a striking example of a musician who studied under many gurus and drew from several influences. He created a style that eminent
Category: Articles
First appeared in www.scroll.in on January 2, 2016. One of the major concerns related to traditional knowledge contained in systems like Hindustani music is the fact that the internet not only empowers musicians to disseminate their music widely on terms that are favourable to them, but that it also gives unhindered scope for collectors to make public hitherto unpublished recordings on a variety of social media platforms. In many cases, these collectors, whether or not connected with established organisations,
First appeared in www.scroll.in on December 26, 2015. Among practitioners of Hindustani music, instrumentalists have had a long association with Hindi cinema. The involvement of vocalists has to that extent been limited. Last week, this column highlighted songs sung in early Hindi films by some of these vocalists. This week, we continue to discover more such voices that brought a different flavour to Hindi film songs. https://youtu.be/jh3udoXQxXA Eminent Kirana gharana vocalist Bhimsen Joshi, in an interview that forms a
First appeared in www.scroll.in on December 19, 2015. At the turn of the last century, practitioners of Hindustani music were suddenly faced with new technologies. Despite their general initial reluctance to record gramophone discs, they soon saw this as yet another means to disseminate their music to a wider audience and as an additional source of income. Cinema similarly provided musicians with a new means of sustenance. With the emergence of the talkies in the 1930s, musicians took up
First appeared in www.scroll.in on December 12, 2015. Radio in India has gone through a long journey, its influence waxing and waning over the decades. Amateur attempts at broadcasting began in the country in the 1920s. But it was on July 23, 1927 that organised broadcasting kicked off with the inauguration of the first station of the Indian Broadcasting Company in Bombay. Lionel Fielden, a senior BBC producer, took over as Controller of Broadcasting on August 30, 1935, and
First appeared in www.scroll.in on December 5, 2015. Among all instruments from North India, it is perhaps the sarangi that closely resembles the human voice. It was therefore traditionally regarded as the best accompaniment to vocal music. A bowed fretless instrument, the sarangi is also a solo instrument and many performers following different styles have developed its technique and scope. Sabri Khan was one of India’s seniormost sarangi exponents. Originally from Moradabad, Sabri Khan lived for the better part
First appeared in www.scroll.in on November 28, 2015. In the light of the many discussions on Digital India, it’s pertinent to note that digital platforms have empowered musicians since the 1990s. Practitioners of Hindustani music have gradually taken to new media, either to disseminate their music commercially or non-commercially, or to send out information about their concerts and recordings. Some have even uploaded lecture-demonstrations that have been especially recorded for these platforms. In this case, the process of using
First appeared in www.scroll.in on November 21, 2015. Pathbreaking sitar maestro Vilayat Khan is an icon for sitar players of successive generations. The tonal quality that he brought to the sitar and the lyricism and virtuosity that marked his recitals remain etched in our memories. Not given easily to creating new raags, Vilayat Khan did however compose a few. Of these, he performed Sanjh Saravali on several occasions. While this evening raag has a combination of phrases from the
First appeared in www.scroll.in on November 14, 2015. Last week, this column featured raag Chandranandan composed by the illustrious sarod player Ali Akbar Khan. This raag has been primarily performed by him and his disciples. Sitar maestro Ravi Shankar’s composition, raag Parmeshwari, has also been rarely performed by musicians other than himself and his disciples. But that does not detract from the beauty, freshness and haunting quality of the melody. Raag Parmeshwari bears close resemblance to raag Ahiri Todi, and
First appeared in www.scroll.in on November 7, 2015. Raag Chandranandan, a creation of Ali Akbar Khan, sarod maestro and one of the chief exponents of the Maihar-Senia gharana, seems to be one of those exceptional raags that have been primarily performed by musicians belonging to a particular guru-shishya or master-disciple lineage. In this case, it is popular mainly among the disciples and grand-disciples of the composer, and not so among others even from the same gharana. A few other