Art as oasis

 After a blazing hot day, the evening was particularly muggy. The ever busy D.P. road was overflowing as usual with crazily  chaotic traffic. The nearby posh and not-so-very-posh hotels, et al, were puking out reeling drunks. The typical evening in a Pune aspiring to be a  mega metro!

Just a canopy away, in the scenic Keshavbaug  Gardens, the world was absolutely different though. Here ruled the mellifluous trills of santoor played by a devoted artist who, moreover, dedicated the power-packed performance to the ever-alive memory of his favourite school teacher.

Yes, you are right. I am referring to the "Chaitra Dhwani" concert by Pune's promising artist, Dr. Shantanu Gokhale. He curated it in the company of his schoolmate, Saleel Savarkar. The concert began with a heartfelt tribute to the memory of the late Meena Chandavarkar, by her colleague and by her fond students, Saleel and Shantanu.

In his pre-performance speech, Shantanu spoke about the 'death, it shalt die' (to play a little with Donne's dare to death) feel when it comes to lives lived full, be it Meena Tai's or his favourite grandpa's. 

His santoor performance which followed reflected this celebration of the end of life, not as a forever full stop, but as an ever anew creative exploration of meanings. 

The performance was divided in to two parts. In the first part, Shatanu explored in a brilliant way the Raga Vachaspati, ( the South Indian version of Maru Bihag with a slightly different arrangement of the basic  notes, right?), made famous across India by his Guru's partner, Hariprasad Chaurasia.

He explained first how the santoor performance of a classical music  structure builds up. Believe me, the notes truly bloomed during his performance of the Raga. Honestly, immersed the audience felt in the melody he explored so sensitively.

In the second half, he played the mukhada's of the much admired songs from the golden era of Bollywood. Given the harsh realities of finding a vehicle back home in the late evening, I had to leave mid-way, but by then his renditions of the ever great Ganesh Vandana, the haunting Madan Mohan melodies, the  naughty Naayar notes, the inimitable Shiv-Hari, and the superb  RD-Kishore Kumar duo had wowed the audience.

The two hours spent in the companionship of lovely music proved how art is indeed an oasis where nothing disturbs, neither the din some meters away, nor the mosquitoes, nor the repellents. Only art, heart-felt both by the performer and the audience, wins. In brief, I cannot thank Gokhale Madam and Shantanu enough for the invite! Long lives art, beyond bounds of all sorts.

Pratima@"Music, when soft voices die/vibrates in the memory," wrote Shelley! How very true! 

Meanings

Languages are unique. Every month has a unique meaning therein. April is the cruellest month, while the March ides are indeed worth being cautious about. Such unique meanings mostly come from literature. 

English is so replete with such meanings that my brother sent me a literary clock wherein for every minute there is a quote which uses that exact time precisely. It is a great gift by Parag because I can spend a very happy half an hour every  now and then reading the most interesting quotes every minute!

Obviously, every language has such unique connotations. Spanish, for example, may not talk about the nine lives of a cat. It allows us, human beings, seven falls, for example, and exhorts us to get up the eighth time. How very encouraging, right?

In German, the most favourite food there, der Wurst, the sausage, has two ends which means everything wonderful comes to an end. Why, in German, the morning has gold in its mouth. What a way to make one an early bird, right?

French has that Cartesian, very Frenchie, tres intellectual, axiom to the effect that ' I think therefore I am (or I am because i think).' Not only does French grant you the complex hope that 'what will be, will be'. It assures you, moreover, most philosophically that 'one who lives will see' while the reverse 'one who sees will live' is inherent to the deeply lovely quote structure. Very French!

Japanese agrees that there is no fight if there is no opponent. Now this can either mean 'do not fight at all' or it can mean 'fight with a worthy foe', that is to say, choose your battles well/wisely. Every barking cur is not worth a bite by, right? 

Our very own Marathi is picturesque, right? It informs us that just because somebody hides a rooster, the sun does not stop its rise! Yet another very worldly wise and quite wor(l)d wary dictum asserts as well as assures that the mother-in-law and the  daughter-in-law both would have their own day!

Sanskrit, after all the 'devbhasha', so overflows with such  meaningful sayings that during my school days, I had the duty of writing on the special school board a 'subhashitam' each day. May be, the writing on the wall, our school would have hoped, would make us all wiser!

So wonderfully meaningful are languages that the Czech language believes that learning a new language is getting a new soul, while Gaston Bachelard, a critic/philosopher who initiated a phenomenological paradigm shift, talks of the beauty in/of/by language.

Pratima@Why have I not referred to Hindi? Is that your question? Well, Saturday evening, my colleague's son, Shantanu Gokhale, a hugely talented santoor player (and a surgeon, too!) is going to explore the Chaitra mood via classical, folk and the      gold(e)n great Bollywood renditions which would be an evening  worth a great (Hindi) listen, right?

Songs and singers are to be seen!?!

 Well, actually I was researching a little on a semi-classical form of the 'dadra' variety. Obviously hence one came across a lot of videos and images. Thus it struck me rather obviously that in our media-ted times, songs are more 'seen' than heard.

Do I mean that songs are visualised better? No, not exactly! ' Coz even in the black-n-white era, there used to artistically simply great visualisation of songs, and despite the lack of advanced technology available now.

No, I am not being old-fashioned. Let me give you a few examples to clarify what I want to say. In Maharashtra, there is this folk form called 'lavani'. THE name associated with 'lavani' singing is Sulochana Chavan.  

The 'lavani's' she has sung include the rustic "padala piklay amba", the sensuous "kheltana rang Bai" or a 'baithak' song of the "kalidar kapuri" variety, and so on. If you watch her videos/interviews, you would realise that her voice carries the  naughty sensuality of the lyrics, of the folk form. 

She herself, however, is simplicity itself. Her eyes are downcast, she is dressed the simplest way in a saree that covers her entirely. Not a single feel of the song does she express through her gestures or facial expressions, while her throat explores the quite raunchy 'lavani' feel most emotively. One hears her, one listens to her singing, one never sees her.

Look at any of the 'anywhere any time' singing contests today. The contestants, the judges, the jury, and, yes, the spectators are emoting hugely in such a way that the best actors may blush! The contestants and the judges are better dressed and decked up than models and actresses. 

They emote a little through their voices, and more through their gestures, facial expressions, and body movements. The most 'music'al on such platforms are the musicians, right? Rest all is (melo)drama!

Look at Lataji singing in studios or in public programmes. Compare it with the exhibitionism of any of the major singers, (classical, filmy, semi-classical), currently famous. You would notice the difference, I suppose 

Sure the artist must be cleanly, decently dressed. Yet, should how the artist looks matter more than how the artist performs? Oh, yes, in this context, I must say that in such contests children singing, dancing to the raunchiest 'lyrics' appals me, I must say! 

Well, currently the look seems to matter more than the melody. Such, such are the times that the cover counts more than the book!

Pratima@ Performance seems to out-smart purity of art these days. Is it an advance on or a regression of the art of singing when singers are better actors than crooners!?!

True Strength

 As the Ramnavami was a great celebration this "annus magnificus", by cascading effect, the observance of the Hanuman Janmotsav was special, too, this year. Incidentally, it must be noted that as Hanuman is a 'chiranjivi', somebody who is eternal, his cannot be a 'jayanti' as this word is related to mortality. Hence 'janmotsav'! Indeed, every word properly used, carries a wealth of meaning, right?

It would not be hence too off the mark to note that beginning from his 'janmotsav', every aspect of Hanuman's being, his existence is unique. No wonder, for a Mexican author/thinker like Octavio Paz, Hanuman is an interesting symbol.

In my opinion, Hanuman enjoys multiple significations. To begin with, he shows how true dedication leads to the devotee himself/herself becoming the divine. Shri Ram is Hanuman's very heartbeat, is at the core of his existence. In the process, a 'kapi', a monkey by birth,he transcends even humanity, and becomes divine.

Sociologists should look in to this interesting facet of our epics wherein a robber transforms in to a great poet, a 'kapi' evolves in to divinity. To look at a few further examples, Vyasa is the son of a fisher woman. Rama is a Kshatriya. Krishna is brought up as a 'gopa', a milkmaid's son. The list is endless. In other words, looked at carefully, the ancient texts are very inclusive. They do not distinguish on the false premises of casteism!

Why, the Ramayana is replete with how Rama defeats Ravana with the support of the folk, of the Adi-vasis, rhe so-called 'Pancham jati'. In my opinion, the Hanuman symbol is great proof that it is wrong to confuse, to muddle the whole societal debate through a casteist identity politics. In this lies his true strength.

He is indeed strong because he is devotedly dedicated to his work. He can thus attain wonders, cross the seas, carry moutains. Taken metaphorically, such details would mean that his commitment to his duties is not merely absolute, it is highly creative, it is full of alternative thinking, and hence it is truly excellent.

Yet he is joyful, even a little naughty. Look at Lanka dahan, for instance. Even at the time of his birth, it should be noted that the bright sunrise appears to him like a distant luscious fruit. In other words, despite his dedication to duties, such a creative alternative look makes him look at work as fun, too. 

True strength in my opinion lies in such a creative, alternative vision. No wonder, he is an eternal entity, forever alluring!

Pratima@ True strength is not merely physical. It lies in turning any possible weakness in to an achievement, I believe. What say?

Bless(ed) books

 Remember that famous 'Bàzigar' song? "Kitabe bahot to padhi hongi tumne" is the first line of that song. Well, the world today seems to have taken the song seriously. People are reading either face (mostly to pick some moolah on the way) as a book or they are reading the Facebook! 

In that obsession with either fleeting relationships or with technology, reading, seems to have taken a backseat. Oh, yes, the mode of reading does not matter. It can be the Kindle, too, though personally I love the print pattern. Forget the mode though, in our 'social media' obsessed world, reading has dwindled. Well, what with self publishing being rampant, there are millions of writers today. Are there (m)any readers though?

Reading matters hugely. Hence the relevance of the Reading Day, celebrated every year on April 23. It celebrates the copyright conventions, too. Yet it is better known as the Reading Day. Why April 23?

The date of April 23 honours the death anniversaries of literary giants such as William Shakespeare, Miguel Cervantes, and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, as well as notably the birth anniversaries of other greats like Haldor K. Laxness, Maurice Druon, Vladimir Nabokov, Josep Pla (actually his death anniversary falls on April 23), and Manuel Mejía Vallejo.

Reading these and other greats changes your life forever. Remember the childhood kaleidoscope? It was made of broken bangle pieces. Yet each time, you shifted the angle just a wee bit, a new pattern emerged! Well, reading is a kaleidoscope on life. Each new read shifts our understanding of life, of the world.

Reading is living zillion lives vicariously. Reading enriches us immensely.  We understand the grime and the glory of human(e) existence. A head, a heart, a soul nourished on reading is unbelievably better than a person whose t.v. screen is bigger than her bookcase!

Books are silent companions. Their being there, next to you, energises, yet calms you. They are friends of our soul. They never get angry, frustrated, irritated with us. They never ill-treat, bad-mouth or gossip about us. Instead they give the best insight on life.

Books are forever. Whatever the variety, classic or pop, they alter you. They enrich your very style of being (and becoming). Read. Read every day. The corner in the room then becomes the universe. Read all types of books. Discuss them, debate them. Let the read wor(l)ds become a unique cultural vortex that would always give you a still center in the crazily spinning contemporary realities around! Reading is living (a full life)!

Pratima@ Reading is like Hanuman. You never realise how the very devotion in the process makes your soul Ram. Yes, our blog tomorrow would deal with Hanuman. Today let us realise how single minded devotion to reading makes us better versions of ourselves!

Exasperated Earth

 Beware the ire of the gentle, they say. People who are by nature tolerant, by inclination generous, do not easily get angry. They tend to overlook a gaffe too many. They do not react often, but once things reach far beyond their patience, they burst like the molten lava, absolutely unstoppable and hotter than the Thar desert at the height of the summer season.

Parents, mostly mothers, often reveal this unique facet. Today I would like to assert that the arch mother of mankind, the earth, has now long crossed past this boiling point. So badly have human beings ill-treated Mother Earth that visible is her deep distress.

On the Earth Day, many  become aware of the futility of Earth's frustration. At least for a day! Soil is getting arid, water tables are running dry, clean air is getting costlier than life itself. All these phenomena are indicators of the earth's deep anxiety. In our cursed search of development and 'modernity', we have forgotten sustainability!

Time to turn back, time to listen to the grievously hurt earth whose wounded wail  now needs urgently to be assuaged. Well, the rich and the mighty may dream of colonising the Moon and the Mars. Lest they and the others of their ilk forget, neither planet has either the oxygen or the hydrogen or the gravity of the ever forgiving earth!

Pratima@Time to remember that even Lord Krishna forgave hundred trespasses!

Dedicated to Duty Devotedly

 April 21 yet again! On this day, without fail, my mind goes back to the dedicated duty that Papa excelled at. As 21 is the date of his demise, as on every 21, I do keep a fast on April 21, too. Unlike other 21's, on this day, dedicated to Civil Services, I remember his commitment to his work.

He retired as an IRS Officer. Happy were his memories at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Academy of Administrative Training at Mussoorie. He took his job truly seriously. He was absolutely non-corrupt. He went by the rule book, and yet he always saw to it that the humane touch is not lost. There was this junior colleague of his who met with an accident on duty. I remember the way Papa literally moved the earth and the skies to help him.

Any number of his colleagues would talk about how he helped them in small to big ways, though he obviously was a thorn in the flesh of those who were corrupt and would bend rules to suit their ugly purposes. As a result, he would get repeatedly transferred.

 Both of them, Aai-Papa, sacrificed a lot hence for our education. It obviously never occurred to either of them to send us to boarding schools so that they could be together. 

Well, in my opinion, he took people at the face value. To a straightforward person, it is difficult to imagine or understand the dubious duplicities of people who wear myriad masks. May be, if he were to be the committed government officer in this Modi era, his genuineness would have been more recognised.

Well, the real tribute to him would be to perform everything one does with dedication and perfection. I try to for sure! Here is my soulful salute to Papa for being a sincere civil servant!

Pratima@Hidden in him was a teacher who would break out of the civil servant mode time and again. Why, during my SSC year, he used to guide me through letters about how to write essays! Of course, I  still have all these letters, written in his trademark green ink and unique handwriting.