DJ Divine

Aneesh ji, you have raised some very interesting points here and educated people like me about the traditional way the Ganeshotsav’s used to be organized in Maharashtra in general and Mumbai in particular.
I look upon as Maharashtra as possibly the richest state when it comes to the field of classical music in the present scenario, especially in terms of vocal music. It does seem very disturbing indeed that in a culturally rich and diverse city like Mumbai, everything has been homogenized in terms of conceptions of celebration and it inevitably means either a Bollywood nite or a DJ nite or something like that.
You are right in that music companies do release recordings which would be categorized under the “devotional” genre, but scarcely do they really pay attention to the quality of the content and the richness of the classical and folk repertoires on that topic.
Perhaps it is only artist and connoisseur activism which could bring back, in some measure, the way things used to be done and present them as a probable alternative to what goes on under the name of religious fervour and awakening.

Very true .

I am just back from visiting the Kullu dassera,the folk extravagnza,that was part of my usual weekend tours that I try to undergo when I am to receive and know more about
Indian Music .This is the only duration when I am away from my riyaaz.During the trip I also visited Dharmshala (Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts)and North most part of Himachal Pradesh(i.e.Lahoul & Spiti ),thinking that the area and its ambience would teach me w.r.t. the rusticness and the ancient folk culture of India.

I have been in Delhi for almost 6months now and been transferred from Pune,where I regularly used to visit “Sawai Gandharva Music Festival” and other musical mehfills taking places.

In those mehfills I used to listen to great performers talking very highly about Pune’s very keen and observant audiences, and used to say that these people(the audience of Pune) is the major factor to bridge the gap between old and new generation of classical music or in other way to sustain the culture of Indian classical music.
Those days I being in Pune , was a little surprised to understand that how could such a vast and deep culture of Indian classical music ,according to these people is vanishing gradually?Then started my quest for the exploration of more music and incidently happen to come to Delhi.

While roaming in Cannought Place (The Bookwirm book store to be precise),I found a book titled “India’s lost music”-that talked literally about the demise of Indian classical music giving some snapshots of the great masters like Ustd. Bade Ghulam Ali Khan Sahab,Pdt.Mallikarjun Manoor Ji,Pdt.Omkarnath Thakur Ji ,Roshanara begum ji,Pandita Saraswati baai Rane and many other respected exponents of Indian classical music of the era earlier than 1960s.Does west really think that Indian classical music is dead,or do we think except Punekars,Banaraswallas and Mumbai & Delhiites??

While attending a concert of Pdt.Bhajan Sopori ji in Delhi ,when he asked audience about the farmaish (by this time he has already finished raagas Gawati & Bageshri ),then one of the front seaters said very enthusiastically(yes enthusiastically as the fellow seemed to enjoy the show till then very much ) “Panditji Bhairavi ho jaye”.
On the other occasion another audience said “Panditji Jan Gan Man bajaiye”.

Well todays generation (of which I am also a part of),seems to be drifting away with whatever has been shown by the media.It really hurts when the folk dances and music is also biased with the tunes of Reshmiya and Malik’s songs.Enchanting of stotras and artis are composed with bollywood’s tunes,on Ganesh or navratri prosessions there is always a race w.r.t. the loud speaker’s decibel levels and mostly everywhere one can listen to “Kaala Kouwa Kaat Khayega” and songs like this on which people are dancing to the limitless.

I believe that media has to take the responsibilty to preserve and broadcast some good stuff to the youth ,if doordarshan or AIR needs a sponsorship then Indian corporate circle has to come forward or the advertising has to be done accordingly by the responsible intellectual media personalities of our country.

At last being a learner of Indian classical music, I can only say that this is the high time to preserve the music of south asia in the form of Ghazals(those old sonorous from Great Mehdi Hassan which used to be composed on some or the other raag only ),folk music and Indian Classical Music-the core ,I would say .

The classical music is definitley not gone and cannot die also ,but we need to aggressively carry out a crisp plan so that we can give the Indian Classical Music its due.We the youth are ready to implement the path shown by our Gurujans to the ultimate.

Rudra hoon vish chod ,madhu ki kaamna main kyon karoonga,
Hai amit samrthya mujhme,yaachna main kyon karoonga ||

Sorry for the very delayed response. Thanks for bringing this issue up Aneesh! It is disturbing to see the growth of bollywood song/dance as the ONLY means of creative expression, at celebrations – school functions, birthdays, weddings, Ganeshotsavs, Garba’s, Navjot’s, corporate events…!! Of course my perspective is coloured by my experience - which is of living in the midst of the production center of the industry. I am sure there are other realities. I will simply present my subjective experience here.

There seem to be a few problems with this bollywood song/dance trend at functions:

1. Lack of diversity - At many functions today, entertainment is equal to bollywood dance. I want to clarify that I am not asking to see classical performances always. I am simply asking to see richness and diversity.

2. Pathetic quality. The “hit” recorded music that goes with these live dance programs is often so driving that a few more strobe lights going on and off on stage, and glittering costumes is all you really need to keep the audiences there. Not much of a dance skill/aesthetic required there, which actually should have been the mainstay of the show.

3. Utter vulgarity in many of these song/dance routines. Most songs performed at functions are vulgar and graceless. Images of pawing, clawing, seducing, conquering and controlling are glamourized.

Who watches these naach gaanas? Everybody in the family. They are even a performed by children at school functions. Many parents complain that their young children are hyper, distracted, continuously restless and over stimulated. The same parents may drag young children with them to late night parties to keep up their own social lives, take kids to films they should not see because they themselves want to see them, and mortgage the responsibility of their children to videogames or television….and then expect that control should come back to them as easily as of a house, when a home loan is repaid. It does not.

The entry of the vulgar song/dance into homes and schools is insidious because I don’t think people are concious of the connections between its elements and the impact on psychological, social and aesthetic life.

We know that children learn from experience. Hence the experiential environment that we construct for them has great significance. Certainly I don’t see any existing theory that says children are innately predisposed to rejecting classical/traditional arts! A lot depends on the manner in which the tradition is kept alive or taught.

Hence here are a few personal experiences that have worked well at the individual level. I am sure there are a lot more examples of classical arts being alive, not just preserved.

My daughter learns Oddisi dance, of her own choice. It is now over 3 years. At one birthday party I requested her dance teacher Dr. Prachi Mehta to perform an Oddisi piece set to a story from the audiotape of Karadi tales for children. We had about 15 kids at home watching the performance. The seven year olds were spellbound for the entire 30 minute performance. The teacher asked them about how they interpretated her mudras and abhinaya. They participated in the discussion actively, thoughtfully. Parents were shocked. Should we be shocked that our children are reflective and thinking beings?!

At our home, Ganeshotsav is an occasion to catch up with friends and neighbours, of all faiths, who may visit only once a year. This time Prachi held a dance class at home in the presence of the Ganesh idol and did a Ganapati vandana. The poses, gestures and expressions of Ganesh came to life through the children’s bodies, when they danced. There was relevance. The dance took on meaning. The kids loved it. I think that day there was a sense of empowerment for the children.

I do think it is possible for individuals and schools to change things. Thanks so much for the space on your blog to voice this!

I must add and clarify - the idea of setting the Oddisi piece to Karadi tales for children and its conception is entirely Prachi’s.

The reason Bollywood is all pervasive in our lives is because every society needs a mass culture to perhaps get a definition of itself. I must point out at this time, that I am insanely passionate student of film art, and Bollywood is not art by any stretch. It is a business, and pretty bad one at that, since the producers need to have the mafia fund them. So goes true for what is churned out on Hindi TV these days as well. There is so much great stuff out there! So many stories. The really innovative creative work in music or in any other creative field in India is so sorely absent.

In a country of 1+ billion people, if people can’t produce really innovative work, it is disheartening. Commercialization is necessary, but please lets be reaslistic here. While the news channels try to (so weakly) innundate us with succcess stories of India, we must consider the real fact.. there isn’t much innvotive creative work coming out of India. Something that changes the face of people on a global level! THATs the kind of work I wanna see coming out of India. However the mindset is amazingly cowardly here in India. So if you have a mindset of people who want status quo to remain, which is horrid to me, how can expect things to change for the better? And this is a nation that wants to be a superpower in this century? Puhleez! I don’t think it will happen.

Evolution. Thats what we need. I want to see music evolve on its own in this nation of 1 billion. Hell, I want to see movies being made that are not just designed for immature 6 year olds. But thats another topic altogether.

We have such an amazing history, but we seem to be stuck to the past. We don’t seem to moving forward to evolve our arts here. Future is now. Perhaps that needs to be hammered in to people here.

How? I have no clue…

Well its a sad state of affairs as far as creativity and innovation goes in this country. However, I think a few projects are there to give us cynics some hope. And I am always hopeful. I hope people reading this are as well…

i respect indian classical music more than anything, but soory to say that now a days in india it is very difficult for a youg person who dont have a background of music in family is totally hopeless from cllassical music coz no one is giving breaks to new good artists, it does`nt matter for people that how much telanted that person is the thing which matter is to which classical family he or she is related to, i mean the situation for classical music are pathetic in india , people love to see only well known artists the top personalities in indian classical music and yet their is no chance for upcoming hardworking musicians coz they have no links and plateform to show their talent ,tell me how many shows are thier to give plateform to classical music, but for bollywood music thier are lot and lot most of the TV channels are giving plateformes to new bollywood singer and what about indian classical students are spending their years and years to become something and yet their is no result because no one is serious about classical music accept very few people ,while the country is moving very fast in every feild young people are moving in IT,hotel management,aviation and many popular field after some years they will be at some level thaey can earn their dignity and what about students of classical music they even are not sure that they will get some place in their life or not.. so its good to leave that thing which can spoile ur time because our own country their no chances for classical music the great classical music……

Hi Aneesh,

Aneesh, even i totally agree and its great that u gave a proper feedback about this matter, not like other artists that we are doing this and that for upcoming talent, u know i was concerned about ur own area of artisty,
The “Tabla” thier are very few people who are performing (india and abroad) and they have done lot of riyaaz hard work their is no need to tell u that how much riyaaz is needed in “tabla” but even the great musicians have aquired a place for this instrument yet their is no place for the instrument and the students,
U know its like people stick to only one popular name and that is a main problem and what these big names are doing to make new artists, If we talk about the Guru Shishya parmpara,
It was like that in old days that gurus trained their student and they were capable to make a artist, But now the film is totally changed, mostly popular artists dont have time to teach the student and if somehow they take time so thier would be many big breaks between the classes,

And aneesh if we talk about the carrier in music , its totally impossible for a student to get indulge in performance without his mentors support, Even my son, he is learning “Tabla ” From BANARAS,He learnt from Shafaat also, he spend his 15 years with Tabla and he is able to play up to that level which is needed to perform in a concert but he is just struggling in, Its good for him that iam financially capable otherwisw it would be difficult for him to win “bread for his life”
The thing is that thier should be some kind of plateforms for Tabla it is very important thing, while performing in concerts u dont know about the condition of market of music, I mean those big names which are associated with the instrument what they are doing for the sake of instrument and artists, are they just making popularity and fame only or putting their efforts to make new artists from their students……………

Haritji,

In my opinion, it would be incorrect to generalise - not all senior musicians are irresponsive to the situation and not all young students are dedicated enough.

In fact, many who are performing today (that includes myself) don’t belong to hereditary musician families. We began our careers without any support of the kind that you mention. Perhaps, I got the right opportunities at the right time, but I didn’t crave for those.

I think teachers and students need to discuss initially whether or not there would be some sort of schedule for taleem. I don’t teach on a weekly basis, though this changes at times, depending upon my schedule. But I clarify this with my students before agreeing to teach them. Once this transparency is maintained, there is no room for ill-feeling.

DESTINY MATTERS

So the conclusion for the condition is that, somehow it depends on one destiny, I have seen many outstanding performers are struggling, and that you told me about ur own carrier, so if one got chances on right time so thier is success for him or her. Thank u for ur opinion Aneesh.

I am afraid I wouldn’t want to put it in as pessimistic a manner. I think these are decisions that we need to take, and I for one took a decision to go about pursuing my study of music, practice and not bother about how many performances I have. In fact, the problem often lies with the fact that many believe that they are wonderful performers, when their calling perhaps lies elsewhere. In any case, there needs to be a sincerity of approach; one shouldn’t be bothered about the fruits of the exercise. I agree that this may seem a lofty ideal and impractical at some level, but that is the only way I think a student of music like myself can deal with the situation. Meanwhile, music lovers need to think more seriously about responding to the situation in a more responsive and responsible manner and not wait for government agencies or senior musicians to take a lead. The problem lies with the fact that we tend to pass on the buck very easily. I am aware that there are no ready answers for your queries, but this discussion will perhaps invite others to respond with alternatives.

Iam not taking it in pessimistic manner but the thing which comes up is new upcoming students of classical music specially tabla (in delhi) are suffering from ill feeling towards the classical music field and ofcourse even their are some other good options too so there are very much possibilities that the keen students can change there field and our classical music can face crisis for new upcoming artists who can contribute thier best in indian music on this topic i want to share some lines with u….

RAAT BHAR TANHA RAHA DIN BHAR AKELA MAIN HI THA
SEHER KI ABAADIYO MEIN APNE JAISA MAIN HITHA.. AUR

KITNE JAZBO KI NIRALI KHUSHBUYE THI MERE PAAS
KOI UNKO CHAHNE WALA NAHI THA MAIN HI THA……..

These are the lines from shri bashir badr from one gazal sung by hariharan iam very found of gazals and fan of hariharan so these are the thoughts which convey the massage the how an upcoming musician have to struggle to shar his feelings i hope u understand it …..

Students of any art have always had to face obstacles, given the nature of the field. Consequently, there is no straightforward answer to this issue. Ideally, one would need to introspect about one’s own artistic capabilities, before even concluding that the world is against him or her. Even if there are obstacles, one encounters similar ones in other fields too.