On the eve of June 21

 June 21 is indeed unique. Yes, it is on June 21 that the summer solstice takes place. In other words, it is the biggest, largest, longest day of the year. Like the heart of a father! 

Yes, this year, on June 21, falls the Father's Day. For me personally, June 21 is always special because June 21 is Papa's death anniversary. Hence tomorrow I shall write about Papa.

Today, on the eve of June 21, because June 21 is also the World Music Day, let me talk about 'natya sangeet', which Papa loved hugely.

Papa had heard Bal Gandharva himself  sing, perform on stage his famous lead lady roles. As he was very young, when Deenanath passed away, he never witnessed Deenanath perform. Yet he liked a lot the Deenanath mode of singing. In brief, Papa loved 'natya sangeet'.

'Natya sangeet', the gift of Maharashtra to the music world, is indeed unique. These songs are an inextricable and apt part of the dialogue of that particular play. Yet they are great music by themselves, too. Most often based on some raagdari cheez, the natya geet is a unique combination of the deep meaning of the dramatic dialogues, 'sur' or musical notes n rhythm.

Actually, these excellent musical pieces were in their immediate context a critique  of the colonial India. "Parwashta: pash", which Papa liked a lot, was in fact suspiciously  banned by the British who were wary of those night-long performances with any number of encores.  Entertainment, in those days charged with national fervour, was education, too! Happy world music day!

Pratima@ Rahul Deshpande has revived the great natya sangeet, nay, the traditional Marathi theatre itself. He deserves our heart felt thanks!

Quote of the day:                                                          Says Diane Paulus, "Opera is the ultimate art form. It has singing and music and dance and drama and emotions and story." Replace 'opera' with 'Marathi sangeet natak ', add 'humour', and you have a ready definition of the great Marathi tradition.

Word of the day: sonorous                                      Sonorous is an adjective used to describe sounds that are rich, deep, resonant, and full. It can also describe speech or writing that has an imposing, grand, or impressive style.