"Jagu Mai sari raina" and "Tan man tope waru", those two were renditions on the two sides of an L.P. which was one of the earliest of the records in our "record" collection. Consciously have I put the word "record" in inverted commas because this record was played literally ad infinitum by us. Papa used to like it a lot.
So did I. There was something gentle, soft, tender about those sur's. I suppose that is the defining note of the Kirana gharana to which belonged the great singer, Prabhatai Atre, whose trademark performances these two Raga's were.
May be, it is I alone who would feel so, but there was something gentle and soft about her demeanour that decked the cover jacket of the L.P. One always felt that she would not scream at you if you were her student, and committed an error or two while singing. That trademark big bindi added, in my opinion, to this kind of pleasant feel about her.
Yet another touching association when I read about the news of her sad demise was the fact that she, too, like my Aai, succumbed to a heart attack while asleep in the wee hours of the morning. May be, that is what makes me more emotional.
Undoubtedly, her swara's would linger on as she had dedicated a lifetime to Indian classical music. Why, at the ripe old age of ninety-two, she was to perform next week in Mumbai!
Surely, as a nonagenarian, she did live a long life dedicated to music. Undoubtedly, her contribution was much recognised, respected and rewarded which may not often be the fate of a talented artist. Why, a gifted music director like THE Madan Mohan never got the recognition he hugely deserved in his lifetime!
And yet her passing away somehow seems to take away something personal. It is heart-rending to know that just as that L.P. can no longer play sweetly, given the demise of that technology, nor can the singer whose sur's ended the Sawai year after year! RIP, Prabhatai!
Pratima@Mortal voices may die/Music tho' would Time defy!
No comments:
Post a Comment