A piece of history…

I was reading about the history of Gwalior Gharana in an interview with Pandit Laxman Krishnarao Pandit and came across this piece of history. What passionate people the days gone by have produced!

There was a court musician during the time of Daultarao Scindia called Ustad Nathan Pir Bakhsh and his maternal grandsons were the legendary Haddu, Hassu and Nathu Khan. The main musician in the court at the time was Ustad Bade Mohammad Khan who was famous for his taanbaazi. The trouble however was that there was a relationship of professional jealousy between Ustad Nathan Pir Bakhsh and Ustad Bade Mohammad Khan due to which the latter refused to teach the former’s maternal grandsons even though they belonged to the same tradition of Shah Sadarang. The king solved this problem by asking Haddu and Hassu Khan to sit under his throne hidden from the eyes of Ustad Bade Mohammad Khan while he sang in the court! The two youngsters were already talented and knowledgeable and with this impetus to their style, they picked up quickly and became good singers of khayal gayaki in their own right. This can be said to be the critical moment in the development of khayal gayaki and all the other gharanas of khayal thus owe their existence to Gwalior.

One day the king asked Ustad Bade Mohammad Khan to sing and asked Haddu and Hassu Khan to follow. Bade Mohammad Khan saheb was amazed at the singing prowess of the two youngsters and felt betrayed. He left the court but did something nasty before leaving. There is a particular taan called the ‘kadak bijli ki taan’ which can only be employed once during a performance due to the pressure it puts on the lungs. Bade Mohammad Khan praised Hassu Khan and asked him to take the same taan a second time. When Hassu Khan took the taan, his lungs got ruptured. Ustad Nathan Pir Bakhsh tied his turban around Hassu Khan’s chest and asked him to complete the taan even if it meant his death! Hassu Khan died prematurely but Haddu Khan lived on and taught many people and remained an unparalleled khayal singer all his life.

Lyrics maketh the song…

All the inanity that passes for lyrics these days in hip-hop, reggaeton, reggae and what not probably inspired this guy! Enjoy!!

Pablo Neruda for the soul.

Poetry

And it was at that time… Poetry came
to find me. Don’t know, don’t know from where,
it leapt, winter or the river.
Don’t know how or when
no, not words, not
voices, not silence,
but I was called from the street,
from the branches of the night,
suddenly, from the others,
in violent flames,
or coming back alone,
I, without a face,
it touched me.
I did not know how to say, my mouth
no names,
my eyes
were blind,
and something began in my soul,
fever or lost wings,
and I made it alone,
deciphering,
that fire,
and I wrote the first, vague line,
vague, without a body, pure
nonsense,
pure knowledge,
of he who knows nothing,
and suddenly saw
the sky
unlock
and open,
planets,
pulsating spaces,
perforated shadows,
riddled
with fires, flowers, flights,
the revolving night, the universe.
And I the smallest thing,
made drunk by the great void,
starred,
in the image, likeness
of mystery,
felt myself pure part
of abyss,
turned with the starlight,
my heart broken loose in the wind.

- Pablo Neruda

PS: This post inspired by the movie Il Postino

More tea with Mara or Shut up?!

I was friended on Facebook recently by an interesting person named Dvorahji Dvorah Adler. She blogs here.

She says: Shut up and be happy! Enlightenment (==happiness?) is already within you, do not chase after it.

With respect to the original post, I want to analyze and respond to all of unawokens comments, but right now I feel empty. I am doing it more as an academic exercise than with real purpose. So, when it comes from within there shall be another post with more questions and perhaps some answers.

Great Masters

I had to share these videos. I am spellbound every time I hear this kind of music. In the first, Pt. Bhimsen Joshi unleashes a drut bandish in Raga Todi at the Sawai Gandharva festival ‘63. In the second, the other master from Karnataka, Pt. Mallikarjun Mansur presents a sublime Raga Bihagda.

On tea with Mara

I read this on unawoken’s blog and felt “tempted” to respond with a post.

You can read about Mara here.

For the purpose of discussion, I assume Mara is temptation.

I use the word temptation for it has negative connotations as does Mara. Temptation is associated with sin. Temptation is associated with a weak character, with weakness.

But why?

There is a perfectly good anti-theory to the Buddhist way. Temptation is the means to happiness. Strive to achieve what you want, to get what you lust after and you shall reach Nirvana. Treat your mind and body as your temples. Offer them what they want and they shall give you ample happiness in return. Recognize that we are animals. Bow to the animal instincts and satisfy them.

Why does salvation become tastier when achieved through hardship? Why does Nirvana have to come after remaining celibate and fasting for many years? All organized religions advocate moderation. Clearly there is benefit to society from moderation. It works for the greater good. But the anti-theory wouldn’t care for the greater good.

There is clearly benefit in not stressing over what you can’t get. There is clearly benefit in accepting your limitations and working within them. But what are the benefits of depriving yourself of a tasty morsel when it presents itself? Would you rather be Zorba or Buddha?

WTF quote of the day!

I stumbled upon the India Uncut blog recently and love it! Found this quote over there:

“… the following statement qualifies as a boast, not a confession?

I was the one who had had a leading Bengali daily’s office vandalised because it had defamed Jyoti Basu.

That’s Subhas Chakraborty, a West Bengal minister, speaking to Rediff in the WTF interview of the day.”

Has politics in India come down to this?

Off to Peru…

Folks, I am off to Peru for a 10 day backpacking trip! Should be a lot of fun! Arequipa, Cusco, Machu Picchu, Tambopata and Lima are the destinations. Along the way I hope to make some new friends, and get to know better some old ones

Pictures, et al when I’m back.

PS: I also visited Yosemite national park, Florida (all of it) and Santa Barbara recently - pictures of which I shall put up soon!

The energy crisis in your pocket!

How many times has your cellphone died just when you needed directions?! Here’s the answer to all your troubles. The ever entertaining Reuters carried this news article about a charger for cellphones that converts motion to electricity. So all you have to do is strap it to your arm and dance! They are going to try it out at a rock festival where people are jumping around anyway! Talk about renewable energy at a micro level!!

Along similar lines, there are a bunch of awesome inventions in the renewable energy zone. Like a car, that runs purely on water, manufactured somewhere in Japan.

Or the Tesla roadster which is a mad cool sports car that runs on batteries and batteries alone! To recharge just plug it into your 110/220V outlet!

Green is here to stay. w00t!

Funny email !

Got this on a mailing list at work today! Hehe!

All,

Due to a burst pipe the water to the women's locker
room wing has been shut off as repairs
are being made to the pipe.
We hope the water will be turned back on in a
timely fashion and
we apologize for any unconvinced.

Thank You,
**** Management