Happy Diwali...

Tamaso Ma Jyotir Gamaya wishes its readers a very happy Diwali.

It is possible to bring a light into our own lives and other's lives in every possible, seemingly small and insignificant way.

Music - the road to salvation....

The author was treated to two scintillating Hindustani concerts this weekend. The concerts vindicate the truth that music is the road to salvation. The world couldn't have been any better. Nothing else seemed to matter. It was like a flying dream. There are certain things in the world that cannot be expressed. Expressions of Silence would be the best approach. Nevertheless, I want to write about these concerts and the musical aspects in my own humble way.

Hindustani Classical Music, with its highly romantic concepts of Ragas for the moods and the time of the day, does touch the heart of a person. This post is not meant to denigrate other forms that exist in the world. The emphasis is on the Hindustani form alone. All other forms converge to the road to salvation.

What was special about the two concerts was the universal nature of the recitals. Instrumental Khayals, could be appreciated by a western audience too. Languages often prove to be a barrier for the proper appreciation of music.

Concert #1 A Sitar Recital

A contemporary sitarist, of the Maihar Gharana, Sri. Partha Bose enthralled an audience of around 150 people, with his virtuousity on the sitar. Sri. Gourisankar accompanied him on the tabla. He started off with an elaborate essay of Raga Patadip, an afternoon raga. He ended with a light classical composition on Raga Khammaj.

An interview with Sri. Partha Bose can be found here.

Concert #2 Sarode, Sitar and Jugalbandhi Recitals

Dr. Shankar Bhattacharyya, a disciple of Ustad Ali Akbar Khan Sahib since 1982, treated us to Raga Zila Kafi, a late afternoon raga, a mixture of Raga Kafi and Raga Zila. He followed with a short composition of Raga Tilak Kamod.

Sri. Indrajit Banerjee, a senior disciple of Kartick Kumar, a senior disciple of Pandit Ravi Shankar, played three different Ragas - Desh, Charukeshi, and Piloo.

We were fortunate to witness a Jugalbandhi of Raga Manj Khammaj by these two musicians, that definitely reminded me of the great Jugalbandhi duo Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and Pandit Nikhil Banerjee.

One word that would best describe the performances - sparkling.

***

Words failed me. I was speechless. Silence would be the best way of expressing the aesthetic and emotional impact of the concert. This brings me back to the question of surrender. Is it all right to emotionally surrender to musical compostions? Is it all right to be just musically alive and break down each composition for a detailed analysis of the technical aspects. I feel that it is all right to emotionally surrender to a musical piece within the gambit of the technical aspects. Sounds vague, right? Well, music has been a road to spiritual bliss and emotional contentment. The rasas and the bhaavas of the compositions are for us to discern and appreciate. It is a circular loop. What starts with feelings and moods has to converge back to the same.

***

Isn't it a wonder that music had, has and would continue to hold its own appeal among the people of the world. Life without music, unimaginable and frightening.

Tell me your dreams...

Is it wrong to dream? It is one thing to dream, and an another to chase it. Wouldn't it be better to simply sit laidback and let time takes its own course. Why does it so happen that following your dream also comes with the heavy price of pain, hurt, tears and suffering?

As much as I love the concept of "The Alchemist", I seem to have these questions. Answers from my readers are more than welcome.

A different post at a different point of time.

Happy Dassehra....

Tamaso Ma Jyotir Gamaya wishes its readers a Happy Dassehra.

May all your dreams come true.

PS: More than 1000 visitors since June 17, 2005.
A sincere thanks to one and all.

The Lens....

The human eye would undoubtedly be one of the best when it comes to the quality of the lens and the visions captured by it. Stored in the memory of the human brain, the pictures are often unerasable and deeply imprinted. The memories could be good or bad. What the heart understands, the mind does not and is merciless. Sadly, we take such wonderful functions for granted at times. The true incident cited over here, highlighted this fact in a rather embarassing manner for the author.

One of my friends had purchased a new state-of-the-art digital SLR camera with amazing features. We were naturally enthusiastic and had wanted to capture the beautiful small crescent and an adjoining "small" star on a night sky. What we finally managed to obtain was in no way comparable to what the human eye had captured. It merits mention, that we were amateurs in photography and didn't know the features provided by the camera as we would have desired. Nevertheless, the human eye would still be the best camera in the world.

Often, we are moved by wonderful photography. Photography is a medium where in a person can communicate with an another soul what he/she wants to convey. It is mostly a personal statement. While it is a good practice to appreciate the pictures captured by a camera; over reliance and dependence on a camera would only make us not appreciate the beautiful visions captured by our own eye.

Further, the vision gets modulated with the state of the mind. A beautiful vision might appear blurred due to a frenzied and frustrated state of mind. A worried mind is similar to over exposing a camera to light. We would then obviously fail to appreciate. I would treat this incident as a gentle reminder to me and to my readers to have that smile and look out for the beauty everywhere through our very own eyes.

The fine art of dancing.....

The author had two refreshing, and charmingly different experiences with the fine art of dancing. The stark contrasts in them would definitely bring upon a smile on any one's face. The purpose of this article is not to denigrate one art form over the another. The author, admits, out here, that he enjoyed both the performances. It is not that one is spiritually elevated over the another. The more and more we resist the emotions, whatever be them (incl. lust), the more and more they persist.

***

#1 Bellydancing

Courtesy: Turkish Festival, Houston, Oct 1 2005

Ms. Pinar, enthralled the audience consisting of young men, old men, children, women with her belly histrionics. She would have definitely put all those histrionic gyrators that we get to see in commercial Indian cinema to shame. Agreed that she was minimally clad, to just cover the woman in her, and that she would have definitely evoked emotions of lust in men, and envy in the women... thankully, there was more to it. Her control and mastery over her own belly was awesome. Swaying to the apt music, she definitely brought a smile on everyone's face. Needless to mention, she was the most popular and the bellydancing event the most anticipated event of the day.

#2 Bharata Natyam

Courtesy: SPIC MACAY, TAMU, Oct 2 2005

Mrs. Shirisha Shashank, a Bharata Natyam danseuse, enthralled the audience with her grace, charm and dance. Her eyes were brilliant and emoting appropriately the moods to be conveyed. Her recital of Jagadodharana(where she played the roles of Yashodha and Krishna, interchangeably) was the best of the best. She is a talented contemporary dancer and she needs the support and encouragement of the populace. Well, more than her, it is the danceform that needs to be kept alive through such talented dancers. Some of her recitals also had the underlying philosophical and spiritual meanings in them.

***

Lastly, I dedicate this post to Ms. Pinar and Mrs. Shirisha for their spectacular dance recitals.