Vande Mataram: In rewind mode

SABYASACHI BHATTACHARYA

The present controversy over the song Vande Mataram is a rerun of fragments of the political discourse of the 1930s.
Bankim Chandra Chatterjee. The first two stanzas of Vande Mataram and the later stanzas belong to two different strata of his literary life.
THE present controversy over the song "Vande Mataram" may be seen as a re-enactment of what happened decades earlier. At the same time, it may be worthwhile to ponder whether there is a new meaning in the battle of words that has been started against the "compulsion" to sing the song. It is a rerun of fragments of the political discourse of the 1930s, which has played over and again many times since then. But whether that carries a new message, in that it speaks of a fragility of confidence in the integrity of a historically evolved community identity, is an issue that should be a common concern.
To set the record straight, the issue of compulsion was settled about 70 years ago, during 1937-39. Mohammed Ali Jinnah purportedly gave vent to the anxiety of the Muslim community, that its members would be compelled to sing Vande Mataram. At a time when the nationalist leadership or the Indian National Congress did not have much power to compel, how genuine this anxiety was is a matter of debate. However, Jinnah put this point at the top of his agenda in his talks with Jawaharlal Nehru; among the Quaid-e-Azam papers, now in Pakistan, his discussion notes of February 1, 1938, bear this out: "Vande Mataram must go."
On March 1, 1938, in an article in The New Times of Lahore, Jinnah stated: "Muslims all over [India] have refused to accept Vande Mataram or any expurgated edition of the anti-Muslim song as a binding national anthem." On April 16, 1938, in his presidential address at the special session of the All India Muslim League in Calcutta, he focussed attention on the charge that the Indian National Congress "endeavoured to impose the Vande Mataram song in the legislatures".
In his presidential address at the Sind Provincial Muslim League Conference, Jinnah reiterated the charge as indeed he did on many other occasions.
While one must acknowledge the build-up of considerable opposition to a song thus targeted by Jinnah, one must not forget the other side of the story. Although Vande Mataram, as a song and as a slogan, had been a part of the freedom struggle since the Swadeshi movement of 1905, there were doubts in Congress circles about its acceptability as a whole. The "expurgated edition" of the song, which Jinnah refers to in his article, was the outcome of these doubts.
A part of the song was indeed dropped by the Congress from the "officially" accepted version, by a resolution of the Congress Working Committee in October 1937.
Gandhi's words
This was the part against which Muslim sentiment was strong. Further, the Congress addressed the issue of "compulsion" with a series of steps leading to the resolution drafted by Mahatma Gandhi himself in January 1939. The resolution was of vital importance in guiding the party as well as, in the long run, the Constituent Assembly in its decision to designate Vande Mataram as the national song, while "Jana-gana-mana" was given the status of the national anthem.
It is evident from the draft resolution that Gandhi wrote with great caution and circumspection, and he wrote on top: "Strictly Confidential: Not for Publication."
The resolution said: "As to the singing of the long established national song, Vande Mataram, the Congress, anticipating objections, has retained as national song only those stanzas to which no objection could be taken on religious and other grounds. But except at purely Congress gatherings it should be left open to individuals whether they will stand up when the stanzas are sung. In the present state of things, in Local Board and Assembly meetings, which their members are obliged to attend, the singing of Vande Mataram should be discontinued."
Dissenting voices
There were some dissenting voices in the Congress. C. Rajagopalachari thought that such a "concession will not save the situation" (Rajagopalachari to Sardar Vallabbhai Patel, January 7, 1939), and even G.B. Pant was quite lukewarm about the idea (Pant to Nehru, January 8, 1939). Nevertheless, Gandhi and, by and large, the top leadership of the Congress regarded the measure as essential. The main idea was to decisively remove any apprehension of compulsion.
It was nevertheless a decision that went against the grain of Gandhi's cast of mind, and he wrote a sort of apologia in Harijan (July 1, 1939): ".now we have fallen on evil days.. I will not risk a single quarrel over singing Vande Mataram at a mixed gathering. It will never suffer from disuse. It is enthroned in the hearts of millions."
Differences among leaders
THE HINDU PHOTO LIBRARY
Mohammed Ali Jinnah (sixth from left) with Muslim leaders at a conference in Bombay. On April 16, 1938, Jinnah, while addressing a special session of the All India Muslim League in Calcutta, focussed attention on the charge that the Indian National Congress "endeavoured to impose the Vande Mataram song in the legislatures".
Of these two policy decisions, that of October 1937 on "expurgating" the song and that of January 1939 recognising freedom from any compulsory participation in events where the song was sung, the first one caused agonising moments to the national leaders for it was the first time that they faced the task of reappraisal of a song sanctified by its historical associations. Thereby hangs a tale, which has as its protagonists not only Nehru, Rajendra Prasad, Subhas Chandra Bose and others in political decision-making but also Rabindranath Tagore.
Nehru was one of those Congress members who were not familiar with the song - in fact as late as October 20, 1937, he wrote, "I do not understand it without the help of a dictionary", but he had "managed to get an English translation". He read for the first time Bankim Chandra Chatterjee's novel in which the song features only six days before the Working Committee meeting to decide the fate of the song. There were others among his peers who had a strong attachment to it. Congress members noted that Vallabbhai Patel and Rajendra Prasad concluded their address as Congress presidents, in 1931 and 1934, with the Vande Mataram slogan; Nehru did not in 1929 and 1936. Thus, there was a difference in attitude within the leadership.
Dropping any part of the song was not an easy task. (The same difference probably persisted until the Constituent Assembly passed its resolution making "Jana-gana-mana", not Vande Mataram, the national anthem. Since it was moved from the Chair by Rajendra Prasad, it was neither discussed nor put to vote and that conveniently put a stop to the controversy on the song's status.)
The problem due to differences within Congress was exacerbated by two factors. The Hindu Mahasabha organised a Vanda Mataram day in Pune and Bombay in October 1937, and elsewhere on other occasions, the party spokesmen began to urge the adoption of that song as the national anthem. Subhas Chandra Bose, in the meanwhile, was up in arms in favour of Vande Mataram. Nehru's response to him was that considering that there was an outcry against the song and "people who have been communistically inclined" were watching the Congress actions in this regard, the Congress must "meet real grievances where they exist", without pandering to communalism (Nehru to Bose, October 20, 1937).
Tagore's advice
Nehru sought a way out of the situation by appealing to Tagore, who delivered a judgment that ultimately decided the issue for the Congress. Tagore's reply was complex since he squarely faced the dilemma of reconciling loyalty to literary sensibility with political expediency.
The basic advice he offered was as follows: The first two stanzas of the song were unexceptionable. As regards the rest of the song, there could be objections from those with "monotheistic ideals", and these stanzas could be dissociated from the first two. His advice was that while the song taken as a whole "might wound Muslim susceptibilities", delinked from the rest of the lyric the first two stanzas might be accepted since they appeal to everyone on account of "the spirit of tenderness and devotion expressed".
In his letter to Nehru (October 26, 1937), Tagore also mentioned that he "was the first person to sing it at a session of the Indian National Congress", presumably the session in 1896 in Calcutta.
Different parts, different times
Recent research has established that Vande Mataram was indeed written in two distinctly different parts, and at different times. When Bankim Chandra wrote the first two stanzas sometime around 1872, it was just a beautiful hymn, the classical vandana in Sanskrit, to the motherland, richly watered, richly fruited, dark with the crops of the harvest, sweet of laughter, sweet of speech, the giver of bliss.
For several years, these first two stanzas remained unpublished. In 1881, this poem was included by Bankim Chandra in the novel Anandamath, and then it was expanded to endow the motherland with militant religious symbolism as the context of the narrative demanded. There now emerged a new icon of the motherland, "terrible with the clamour of seventy million throats", likened to "Durga holding ten weapons of war". The first two stanzas and the later stanzas belong to two different strata of Bankim Chandra's literary life. Thus, the two parts of the song can be justifiably separated. However, when the decision was made to drop the latter part of the song, these facts were not known to the decision-makers.
THE HINDU PHOTO LIBRARY
Mahatma Gandhi and Kasturba Gandhi at a reception given by Rabindranath Tagore at Santiniketan. Tagore, at Jawaharlal Nehru's behest, delivered a judgment on the "Vande Mataram" situation that ultimately decided the issue for the Congress.
On the lines of Tagore's advice, the Congress Working Committee passed the resolution mentioned earlier. "The committee recognises the validity of the objection raised by Muslim friends to certain parts of the song." The committee accepted only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram and not the other stanzas.
Most important was the degree of freedom conceded in the resolution: "The committee recommends that wherever Vande Mataram is sung at national gatherings only the first two stanzas should be sung, with perfect freedom to the organisers to sing any other song of an unobjectionable character, in addition to, or in the place of, the Vande Mataram song."
The attempts to eliminate the element of compulsion are beyond question, but that did not satisfy the song's opponents. Jinnah continued with his tirades.
The political appropriation or conspicuous rejection of cultural symbols and artefacts was part of the identity assertion that a political agenda demanded.
There were a number of Muslim intellectuals and public spokespersons who accepted the song, specially the amended version that the Congress adopted. Rafi Ahmed Kidwai, for instance, considered the attitude of Jinnah as only a subterfuge. He pointed out that for years the song was sung at the beginning of Congress sessions and no objections were raised by Muslim members including Jinnah (Kidwai's press statement, The Pioneer, October 19, 1937).
Widely shared discomfort
Likewise, Dr Syed Mahmood of the Bihar Legislative Assembly or Professor Reza-ul Karim in Bengal were not persuaded by Jinnah's arguments about the song. At the same time, there was undoubtedly a widely shared discomfort with the song in Muslim political circles in these provinces as well as Sind, Madras and Bombay. Jinnah gave voice to it stridently, but it was not entirely his creation.
Today, when there are reassertions of old charges and re-enactments of old battles, it is encouraging to see how many Muslim intellectuals and public persons have reacted. Of the many enlightened reactions, perhaps, the most delightful for its directness is that of the poet Javed Akhtar. He reportedly said:
"What is this new resistance? The objection is redundant. You don't want to sing Vande Mataram, don't. Who is forcing you? I sing it. I don't see it as objectionable. If you do, don't sing it."
However, perhaps there is an inadequacy and a probably widespread intellectual tendency to say that at the root of it there is ignorance about the battles that are over. It is not enough to say that. What makes uninformed conceptions acceptable to a number of people? It is not enough to say that the misconception originated among a section of clerics; some of them may be plebeians among the intellectuals, but there are also intellectuals among the plebeians. They exercise great influence and merit attention.
And finally, if there is a generalised perception of a threat to cultural identity, even if it is based on wrong premises, it needs to be studied and addressed.
In these few pages an attempt has been made to put the record straight in terms of history, but one has to think of tasks beyond that.
Sabyasachi Bhattacharya, formerly Professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University and Vice-Chancellor of Visva-Bharati University at Santiniketan, is Chairman, Indian Council of Historical Research. The views expressed in this essay are entirely personal.

While surfing on the Net, I came across this piece of info about the unforgettable play-back singer of yester-years. It again reminded me of the golden era of Indian cinema. The article follows:

 

Talat Mahmood is known as 'velvet-voice' singer, 'unique transparent voice' singer, 'silky voice' singer,' satin-voice singer,' golden-voice singer,' 'king of ghazals', 'king of sad and soulful songs' etc. He was born on February 24, 1924, in Lucknow, India, in a conservative, middle-class family with a musical background in the sense that his father and sisters were talented singers. However, he was essentially left with two options: either to keep a low profile and remain in the background, or to embark upon a movie career. He thought for a while and then decided to become a singer. It took Talat ten years to regain the confidence and respect from his near and dear ones, because by that time, the then Indian film industry had achieved considerable respect and recognition. Talat took music lessons for three years and then completed his music course at Morris college, Lucknow.

Soon he moved to Calcutta in 1945, at the age of 22, and began his career in broadcasting from 'All-India radio',Calcutta, where he achieved popularity as a singer, and his songs were regularly broadcast from the radio station. Anil Biswas, gave Talat his first major break-through in Bombay, at the end of 1948, for film 'Arzoo':' Aye dil mujhe aesi jagah lay chal'.

Apart from being a legend in the music world, Talat was an extremely friendly and a highly refined gentleman. His typical smile was his hallmark. He was at peace with himself all his life. Since he was born and bred in Lucknow, therefore, he was immaculate in urdu literature and poetry. His pronunciation was flawless. He spoke softly and he was a very softhearted person. He had too much respect for other singers and music directors. Those who met him once never forgot his hospitality and kind nature. His immediate family was comprised of a wife, a son, and a daughter, and they always enjoyed mutual trust and understanding. He never engaged in backbiting, nor spoke loudly; these things were not in his habit.

From day one, Talat knew his limitations. He was acquainted with the fact that his extra-soft voice was not conducive for loud songs, which required a high-pitched voice. Thus, Talat's songs, geeth and ghazals have a selected audience. His fans are proud of the fact that Talat, with his unique voice had ruled the Indian music for twenty years. Primarily due to his high moral character and superb family background, he always kept away from scandals and rumors.

In the endless list of super hits, there is one song, which is not only filled with utter pathos, but it conspicuously combines complain and pain. Who could have done justice to that tragic score other then Talat: 'Dekh lee teri khudai, bus mera dil bhar gaya'.

Talat played the lead role in a few movies, including:

Dil-e-nadan, [1953] Malik, Waris, Babul, Sonay ki chirya, Aik gaaon ki kahani etc.

 

Some of his popular songs are:

'Tujhko parda rukh-e-roshan say hatana hoga': Music: Khayyam, Lyrics: Kaifi Azmi) Film: Uran Khatola,'Bay-reham Aasmaan, meri manzil: Film: Bahana, Composer: Madan Mohan'

Ham say Aaya na gaya':Film: Dekh kabira roya, Composer: Madan Mohan
'Dau dinki mohabbat mein': Film: Chotay babu, Composer: Madan Mohan
'Jab chhayekabhi sawan ki ghata: Film: Reshmi roomal, Composer: Babul
'Ashkon mein jo paya hai': Film: Chandi ki deewar, Composer:N.Dutta.
'Ghazal kay saaz uthao, bariudaas hai raat'
'Jahan mein koye naheen apna'.
'Nigahon ko chura kar reh'
'Gham-e- zindagi ka ya rub'.
'Dil ki duniya basa gaya'
'Phir mujhay deedaitar yaad Aaya'
'Ishq mujh ko na sahi'
'Dil-e-nadan tujhay'
'Mera pyar mujhay lauta dau'
'Tum ko neend ayegi, tum tau'
'Ro,ro beeta, jeewan sara'
'Kiya itna bhi adhi kaar naheen'

Talat's velvet-voice was literally immortalized under the baton of Burman Dada (Sajan Dev Burman). Take, for instance, this inimitable ghazal: 'Jaltay hain jis kay liye': Film: 'Sujata', film director:Bimal Roy, Lyric: Majrooh Sultan Puri, music: S.D.Burman. Some other great songs with S D Burman.

'Bharam teri wafaon ka, bata detay tau kiya hota':Film:' Armaan', music: S.D.Burman
'Jaayein tau jaayein kahan':Film: Taxi driver, music: S.D.Burman, picturised on Dev Anand.
'Teray saath chal rahayhain: Film: 'Ungaray', music: S.D.Burman

Madan Mohan was convinced about the enormous potentials of Talat from the beginning, and Talat's silky voice gave new dimensions to the Indian music. Talat-Madan team created one masterpiece after another, like:

'Mein pagal, mera munwa pagal':Film: 'Aashiana, music: Madan Mohan
'Teri chamakti Aankhon kay Aagay': Film: 'Chotay babu' music: Madan Mohan

Music lovers will never forget that evergreen Talat-Rafi duet, highlighting the harsh reality of life:'Gham ki andheri raat mein': Film:'Sushila', Composer: C.Arjun. lyrics: Jan Nisar Akhtar. Similarly, tens of hundreds of movie -goers have found solace in the following lyrics, which brings a ray of hope for the heart-broken people:'Jab gham ka andhera ghir Aaye, sumjho kay sawera dooor nahi'

Talat teamed up with Anil Biswas and produced numerous hits like:'Seenay mein sulagtay hain armaan': Film: 'Tarana': Talat- Lata, music: Anil Biswas. 'Tera khayal dil say mitaya naheen abhi': Film: Doraha, music: Anil Biswas.

Talat always felt at ease with the music maestro, Naushad. The two had tremendous understanding and respect for each other. The first song which Talat recorded for Naushad was: 'Mera jiwan saathi bichar gaya': Film: Babul, picturised on Dilip Kumar. 'Husn waalon ko na dil dau': Film : Babul, picturised on Dilip Kumar.

Likewise, composer Ghulam Mohammed did full justice to the silky-voice Talat to record tragic numbers like:'Zindagi denaywalay': Film: 'Dil-e-nadan': 1953. Super performer Talat brought laurels for composer Roshan with scores like:

'Kisi soorat lagi dil ki': Film: 'Naubahar', music: Roshan.
'Mein dil hoon ik armaan bhara': Film: 'Unhoni', music: Roshan, picturised on Raj Kapoor.
'Dil-e- bay qaraar so ja': Film: Raagran, music: Roshan.

Shankar-Jaikishan produced marvelous compositions for the golden-voice Talat, which resulted in magnificent numbers like:

'Hain sub say mudhur wo geeth jinhein': Film:'Patita', music: Shankar-Jaikishan
'Hum dard kay maaron ka': Film:'Daagh':music: Shankar-Jaikishan, picturised on Dilip Kumar.

Further, composer Salil Chowdhury availed Talat's satin voice for hit numbers like:

'Aansoo samajh kay kyon mujhay: Film: 'Chhya, music:Salil Chowdhury.
'Dil diwana, dil mastana': Film: 'Aawaaz': music: Salil Chowdhury.

Furthermore, Talat's soulful songs brought fame and glory for many other musicians, for instance:

'Teri zulfon say pyar kaun karay': Film: 'Joru ka bhai', music: Jaider.
'Pyar per bus tau naheen': Film: 'Sonay ki chirya', music: O.P.Nayyar.
"Sub kuchh luta kay hosh mein aye': Film: Aik Saal, music:Ravi.
'Teiray dar pay Aaya hoon': Film: Laila mujnu, music:Sardar Malik
'Mohabbat main aye say zamanay': Film: 'Sagaai', music: C.Ramchandar
'Raaz seenay mein mohabbat ka': Film: 'Hum hain rahi pyar kay', music:Khayyam.

Moreover, melancholy strains like:'Aye gham-e-dil kiya karun': Talat-Asha Bhonsle, is yet another example of Talat's artistry. Although Talat was the king of tragic songs, however, he gave excellent performance for relatively faster scores like:

'Raat nay kya, kya, khwab dikhaye'
'Itna na mujh say tu pyar barha:Talat-Lata.

Aankhon mein masti sharab ki.

Andhay jahan kay andhay rastay.
Neela amber jhoomay, dharti ko choomay

Talat had been battling with parkinson's for a long time, which had virtually stopped him from singing. Slowly but surely, his health grew from bad to worse, so much so that people could not understand a word he spoke. Besides, he could not properly sit, stand or walk. He went into profound depression and was bed-ridden.

Amidst immense misery and acute affliction, Talat greeted all his visitors with his peculiar smile, though his adorers knew what Talat felt in the innermost recesses of his shattered heart. Talat did spend long, lonely evenings, looking at the four walls of his room and the door, as if to say: 'Sham-e-gham ki qasam, Aaj ghamgeen hain hum':Film: 'Footpath': 1953,music:khayyam, picturised on Dilip Kumar. And also: 'Sunnay walay meri Aawaz tau suni, dil bhi toota hai mera, uski bhi jhankar suni'.

Talat breathed his last due to a heart attack, on Saturday morning, May 9, 1998 at his 'Sunbeam' house at Bandra, which is located in northwest Bombay. He was 74: 'Teri rehmath chup rahi, mein rotay, rotay mar gaya'. Today, 11 years after his death, he is still very much here. His innumerable loyal fans who share enthusiasm and interest agree that Talat was one of the most decent artist, ever to grace the Indian film industry, with his charismatic personality.

He was a friend of friends. Apparently, his admirers will keep his name alive by listening to his songs again and again. 'Daleel -e- qurb-e- qayamath tau wo na tha laykin, juda hua tau qayamath see dha gaya ik shaks' This is, indeed, the greatest reward, appreciation and tribute that we can offer to the singer with the wistful magic, whom we all know as Talat Mahmood.

Rafi’s Contribution to Indian Film Music

Forgetting the phenomenal talent of Rafi?

MOHAMMED YAHYA ANSARI

A voice that was superb when musical scope was minimal

It is highly gratifying news that singing maestro Manna Dey has been awarded the prestigious Dada Saheb Phalke Award for 2007. He richly deserves the honour.
The award has come his way rather a bit too late. But it is most welcome.

My greatest regret is that this Central government has ignored Mohammed Rafi, arguably India's best and most versatile, gifted male playback singer, who
rode unchallenged like a colossus on the musical firmament of Bollywood for four decades. Though fate snatched him away from us at the early age of 55,
his discography exceeds 20, 000 songs in 20 languages. Besides, he had a large volume of non-filmi renderings. Imagine and choose any occasion, and you
have Rafi's number absolutely suiting it. Be it bhangra, ghazal, qawwali, romantic songs, lullaby, classical, folk song, patriotic song, playful number,
bhajan and even the rare 'rukhsati'song, the magic of Rafi's voice holds the listener in ethereal thrall. The legendary K.L. Sehgal blessed him and prophesied
that he would one day outshine him. Kishore Kumar used to sing his own songs in his films. But even he, used playback by Rafi in three or four songs.

Rafi's phenomenal talent transcended eras, ages and styles. He had the ability to become the voice of every generation. His magical, velvety and manly voice
suited every actor. If any, his match can be found only in the inimitable Lata Mangeshkar. If she is the queen of melody, Rafi is undoubtedly the king.
Individually, they are masters but together in their duets, they are magical and divine.

Singing package

He was Mukesh, Talat Mehmood, Mahendra Kapoor, Manna Dey, Kishore Kumar, all rolled into one. He was the most complete singing package. What these worthy
contemporaries of Rafi could sing individually as their forte, he could acquit himself single-handedly with greater honour, perfection and felicity. He
sang any composition flawlessly, effortlessly and elegantly. He was one stop and single window shop for all music composers, film directors, producers,
lyricists and actors. Once Laxmikant Pyarelal remarked on his death that before Rafi, when we invented a tune, we used to search for singers, as who could
sing it, but when he came on the scene, he put a challenge before us that you dare compose such a tune which he could not sing. He was a perfectionist
to the core and lent his immortal voice to songs in every possible genre of music. His usual was so much better than the best around him.

We are indeed spoilt for choice when we look at his awe-inspiring repertoire. His voice lifted the ordinaries into memorable and divine and was superb when
the musical scope was minimal. His voice mirrored the whole gamut of human emotions, viz., sorrow, romance, love, its pain, separation, union, hatred,
revenge, elation, patriotism, chutzpah, etc. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru called Rafi to be the magician of voice. Naushad, the doyen of Hindi classical music,
who had the knack of drawing the purity of a raga with an aesthete's Midas' touch, used only Rafi's voice for his composition throughout his distinguished
career. He combined classical and popular music and produced a new genre for which Rafi gave the soul through his mellifluous voice.

His silken voice made Rajendra Kumar a jubilee star and imparted to Shammi Kapoor, his sui generis style. He sang for Johnny Walker in his unique thin voice.
He crooned for thespian Dilip Kumar. He sang for Raj Kumar and mesmerised the nation by his golden voice in the song, Duniya KeRakhwaale(Baiju Bawra) for
Bharat Bhushan. The list is daunting and endless. He sang for Rishi Kapoor and hypnotised the youngistan of his times.

Whatever song his golden voice touched made it classic. He had rigorous training in classical music at the hands of very able gurus. He sang every raga
with consummate skill. He died in harness. He received his last Filmfare award for best playback singing only a year before his sudden demise.

The Central government ignored the prodigious contributions of Rafi to the world of music. The least it could do to redeem its laxity and mistake is to
confer both the Bharat Ratna and Dada Saheb Phalke awards on him posthumously. The nation owes him a stupendous debt of gratitude. If Lata Mangeshkar can
be a Bharat Ratna, why not Rafi? Even a belated gesture on the part of the government will warm the cockles of the hearts of millions and millions of Rafi's
fans and aficionados all over the world.

Confusing signals

 

In the light of the fact that a deal has been struck between the Maoists and the West Bengal Administration, I cannot stop myself from expressing my anguish and frustration.

On one hand, the Union government presents a view that it will initiate no dialogue with the Maoists unless they desist from the violence and on the other hand, the State Government of West Bengal not only open a channel of communication with the same violent Maoists, (through a nongovernmental arbitrator) but it also strikes a deal with them, of course to ensure the safe release of one of the policemen who was just abducted.

My question is from the West Bengal government, "Was the first policeman, who has been cruelly killed a few days back by the same Maoists, not worthy of a deal like this? If then such deal could not take place, (and an impression was made that we are tough on terror and can sacrifice the personal interests for a greater cause), why the so-called toughness on terror evaporated this time?"

From the Union Government I would like to ask, "Who is the supreme authority? If the Home Minister is talking tough on terror, and local leadership is giving the opposite impression, what is the meaning of the statements of P. Chidambaram?"

Let us have a proper policy on the blackmailing tactics of the terrorists. It is our soft stand on terror which sends the wrong signals to the terrorists not only locally but internationally. Why cannot we withstand the pressures of blackmailing? If we would not learn to combat terror in a befitting manner, there will be a day when some terrorists will kidnap some VIP's and ask for a piece of land in Kashmir or elsewhere in return.

Whenever we try to wage a war on terror, the human right groups begin to shed tears for nothing. A terrorist is a terrorist and should be treated like a prisoner of war and all his cases should be decided suitably. There is no need to make a mockery of our justice system as we did in the case of Ajmal Kasab.

If we keep on releasing the "soft" or "hard" terrorists for one or the other excuse, what is the need to fighting against them and arrest them? Why the security forces should waste their precious lives and resources to nab them if they are to be released in due course of time?

Most of the terrorists use the loop holes in our legal system and get released untouched. Later, the same scoundrels try (and sometimes succeed too), to enter the politics. This is ridiculous and needs serious consideration.

 

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Manna De receives Phalke Award

It's manna from God: Manna Dey

BANGALORE: For legendary singer Manna Dey, who has mesmerised audiences the world over with his lilting voice, his being chosen for the coveted Dada Saheb Phalke Award came as God's gift.
President Pratibha Patil will confer the country's highest honour in Indian cinema on him in New Delhi on October 21.
"It's very flattering, the government thinking it is right to confer the award on me. It came as a pleasant surprise. It's God's gift, I accept it with all humility," he told PTI. - PTI
Manna Dey, the 2007 Dada Saheb Phalke Award winner, has enthralled discerning listeners since the 1950s.

G.P. SAMPATH KUMAR

Manna Dey performing in Bangalore on May 10.

THE Dada Saheb Phalke Award for 2007 has gone to Manna Dey, one of the finest singers to have sung for Hindi and Bengali and other regional language films.The honour, in the opinion of many, has come to him rather late in the day. It cannot be truly exhilarating to be recognised for one’s contribution tothe art of playback singing at the age of 90, especially if the last memorable song one sung was well over 30 years ago.

Manna Dey shot into fame in the early 1950s with his rendering of “Chaley Radhey Rani”, a kirtan-based song for Bimal Roy’s moving cinematic rendering ofSarat Chandra Chatterjee’s Bengali novel Parinita. His sound training in Hindustani music was amply evident here as was his feeling for an emotive formlike the kirtan, which he inherited from his uncle, the legendary Krishna Chandra Dey.

After this song, Manna Dey was recognised as a singer with immense potential. Doors opened for him in the Hindi film industry of Bombay, as Mumbai was knownin those days. The legendary actor-director Raj Kapoor invited him to sing for Shree 420, the former’s take on socialism; and sing he did. Manna Dey, alongwith Lata Mangeshkar, sang “Pyaar hua iqrar hua”, written by the poet of the people, Shailendra, and tuned by the music composer duo Shankar-Jaikishan.Recorded 55 years ago, this romantic duet continues to be aired on the radio to this day. It is amongst the finest in the annals of Hindi film songs.

In his autobiography Memories Come Alive, Manna Dey remembers the composer duo thus: “The most interesting feature of Shankar and Jaikishan’s melodies wastheir sheer novelty and, in that respect, they remain unrivalled.” He felt particularly indebted to Shankar, who, he felt, brought out the best in him.He does not feel the same way though about another stalwart, Sachin Dev Burman, who, when he engaged Manna Dey to render “Upar gagan vishal” for NitinBose’s Mashaal, actually wanted him to resurrect K.C. Dey’s style. Of course, it is one of Manna Babu’s finest songs and is terribly difficult to sing.But S.D. Burman never asked him to sing regularly for him even after the singer proved his mettle a hundred times over with other noteworthy composers.

The Hindi film industry has always lacked imagination and has therefore toed the line of least resistance and closed the possibility for innovation. Justbecause Manna Babu was classically trained and could sing raga-based compositions really well, he was considered “unsuitable” for singing playback on aregular basis for the leading actors of his time, such as Dev Anand, Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor. This problem, however, did not affect Mohammed Rafi, alsoclassically trained, who was asked to sing very often for Dev Anand, Dilip Kumar, Bharat Bhushan, Guru Dutt, Rajendra Kumar and Shammi Kapoor, not to forgetDharmendra and Jeetendra. Why Manna Babu was not given similar opportunities remains inexplicable.

It is not that he did not sing for major composers. He did, but they thought he was at his mellifluous best only when he sang raga-based melodies or folkmelodies. Given half a chance, he always excelled. There are not many romantic duets to equal the four he sang with Lata Mangeshkar for Chori Chori, the1956 romantic comedy based on the 1934 Hollywood blockbuster It Happened One Night. “Panchi banu udti phiru”, “Ye raat bheegi bheegi”, “Jahan meye jateehoon”, and “Aja sanam madhur chandni meye hum” are among Shankar-Jaikishan’s loveliest and deceptively intricate melodies. These songs certainly neededthe technical expertise, or taiyyari, that Manna Dey and Lata Mangeshkar could offer. The plaintive quality of Manna Dey’s voice perfectly complementsthe sheer sweetness in Lata’s.

It was said of Manna Dey’s voice that it acquired a silvery sheen as it went higher. An apt example is “Aja sanam madhur chandni meye hum”. This skill washard won. After training under Ustad Abdul Rehman Khan of the Patiala gharana, Manna Dey turned to Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan. Manna Babu told him thathe was more comfortable in the lower register than in the upper. Khan Saheb asked him to take a more flexible approach. “Normally, I preferred singingin D sharp. Ustadji asked me to change from the fifth key to the sixth before practising my notes. I did so for a couple of days and was delighted withthe results. I had actually done it! Travelling down the notes had become child’s play for me,” Manna Dey said.

Mohammad Rafi too had noticed this positive change in his colleague’s voice. Manna Babu believes that his ustad’s training extended the range of his voice,and for that alone he feels eternally grateful.

Madan Mohan, another great composer from Hindi cinema’s Golden Age, while still finding his feet in the film industry, did the music for the film Dekh KabiraRoya. It did only average business, but the songs are still remembered especially “Kaun aya mere man ke dwarey” sung by Manna Dey. Despite having composedexquisite melody after exquisite melody, Madan Mohan never quite had a hit film to his credit. In his pursuit of success, he opted for well-known playbacksingers with box-office hits in their kitty, such as Talat Mahmood and later, more consistently, Mohammad Rafi, both artists of exceptional calibre. MannaDey was every bit their equal and to boot as versatile as Mohammad Rafi, but he was sidelined.

His destiny, it would seem, was to sing haunting melodies either for character actors or to have them used to comment on the onscreen action. His firstsong to become a nationwide hit was “Chaley Radhey Rani”, picturised on a wandering mendicant in Parinita. In retrospect, that one example decided thefate of Manna Dey’s career as a playback singer in Hindi films. Take for instance the powerfully emotive qawwali “Na toh karva ke talash heye” from theGolden Jubilee hit Barsaat Ki Raat. Sahir Ludhianvi’s lyrics and Roshan’s music are brought vividly to life by the singing of Manna Dey in particular.

His heart-rending solo “Aye mere pyare watan”, from Hemen Gupta’s Kabuliwalla, is picturised on an acquaintance of the protagonist. Salil Chaudhury’s compositionset to Prem Dhawan’s lyrics continues to work its magic on music lovers, especially on account of Manna Babu’s singing.

In mid-career he sang “Kasme vadey pyar wafa sab” for Pran, the riveting character actor, in Manoj Kumar’s Upkar. It was a difficult song, but Manna Deyrendered it effortlessly. Predictably, the Kalyanji-Anandji composition became a huge hit. Everybody praised the singing. Excellence had, after all, becomesecond nature to the singer.

Manna Babu’s career in Bengali films was a different story. The veteran Anil Bagchi, composing the music for the Uttam Kumar-Tanuja starrer Anthony Firangi,which was based on the life of an excellent Bengali poet of Portuguese origin, called for Manna Dey to do the playback for the most enduring hero of Bengalicinema. Manna Babu’s rendering of “Ami jey jalsha ghaurey” and “Ami jamini tumi shashi hey” sat perfectly on Uttam Kumar’s lips. Manna Dey’s position inBengal as a playback singer and as a singer of adhunik or non-film songs remains unchallenged. He did some of his most interesting work in the second phaseof his career in Calcutta, now Kolkata.

In the early 1960s, S.D. Burman summoned him to render “Poocho na kaise mainey raen bitaee” in the raga Ahir Bhairav for Meri Soorat Teri Ankhen, producedby actor Pradip Kumar. It was picturised on Ashok Kumar in “blackface”. The primitive, not to say distorted, conception of the scene notwithstanding –the protagonist was supposed to be ugly and therefore black-complexioned – the song sung by Manna Dey is haunting. The poignancy inherent in Shailendra’slyrics is brought out effortlessly. There is a story about the composing of the song. S.D. Burman had only given a cryptic brief that the song was to bein Ahir Bhairav and had asked his singer to do what he could with it. Manna Babu actually chiselled out the form given to the melody, and so he deservescredit as its composer.

YEN FOR COMPOSING

Composing was a part of his training under K.C. Dey. When Manna Babu accompanied him to Bombay in 1942, he did not expect to be anything other than hisuncle’s assistant and an occasional singer in the films carrying his music. It was quite by chance that he sang for composer Shankar Rao Vyas for the filmRam Rajya directed by Vijay Bhatt. The film, made in Hindi and Marathi, had the famous actor Badri Prasad playing the role of the sage Valmiki.

The director was keen that K.C. Dey sing the songs for Valmiki. To Vijay Bhatt’s utter consternation, he refused, saying that he [K.C. Dey] sang only forhimself in the films he acted in. He suggested that they try his nephew, young Manna. The producers, at first doubtful, decided to give the greenhorn achance. Manna Dey came good as a singer and also assisted Shankar Rao Vyas with the composing. The year was 1943.

Manna Babu went on to assist Hariprasanna Das, who did the music for Kadambari, a film starring Shanta Apte and Pahari Sanyal. Ironically, his career asa music director did not take off despite his obvious talent. Singing, his “subsidiary” talent, suddenly became primary. He made steady progress as a singerand, within a short time, carved a niche for himself in the competitive world of playback singing in Bombay. His yen for composing did not go away. Overthe years, he composed songs in Hindi and Bengali, and many of them became popular.

He has boundless admiration for Anil Biswas, who composed for him a melody of surpassing beauty, “Ritu aye sakhi ree, man ke” in four ragas – Sarang, Malhar,Jogiya and Basant Bahar – to depict the change of seasons, in the film Hamdard. He also has great respect for Salil Choudhury, who made him sing immortalduets such as “Hariyala sawan dhol bajata aya” and “Dharti kahey pukar ke” with Lata Mangeshkar for Bimal Roy’s Do Bigha Zameen, and then 18 years later,in 1970, “Zindagi kaisey ye paheli haye”, picturised on the ebullient romantic hero Rajesh Khanna in Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Anand.

Hot favourites for his fans include his songs from the film Basant Bahar under Shankar-Jaikishan’s music direction. Think of “Sur na saje”, “Bhay bhanjanavandana”, “Nain miley chaen kahan” (a delectable duet with Lata), and “Ketaki gulab” (a genuinely fine duet with the Hindustani classical vocalist BhimsenJoshi, who was then at the peak of his career). The two songs from Raj Kapoor’s Boot Polish composed by Shankar-Jaikishan – “O raat gayee phir din aya”and “Lapak jhapak tu aa re badariya” – are also very popular. There are many more songs that touch the heart.

Manna Dey’s career has been rich and varied, despite the ups and downs. Indeed very few singers in popular genres like film music and light vocal musichave had such a long and distinguished career. He has given continuous pleasure to discerning listeners since the early 1950s. His contribution to filmmusic in its most fecund period is as great as that of any of his gifted male contemporaries.

His wife, Sulochana, who is a Keralite, sums up his art simply and accurately: “He sings from the heart.” That indeed is the secret of his enduring popularity.

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‘I want to carry on singing’

RANJAN DAS GUPTA

Interview with Manna Dey.

THE HINDU PHOTO LIBRARY

An 80-year-old Manna Dey singing. At 90, he still loves to accept challenges and to experiment.

MOHAMMED RAFI, Manna Dey, Mukesh, Hemant Kumar and Kishore Kumar formed a quintet of male playback singers who dominated Hindi film music of an era. Amongthem Manna Dey is the only one to receive the prestigious Dada Saheb Phalke award, the highest national award for lifetime contribution to Indian cinema.

Prabodh Chandra Dey, or Manna Dey, began playback singing way back in 1943, in a duet with Suraiya for Tamanna. “Upar gagan vishal” in Mashaal gave hima solid footing as a playback singer and “Dharti kahe pukar ke” made him an icon in the true sense of the term.

Nephew of the legendary singer-composer K.C. Dey, Manna Dey is the only singer to have rendered a duet with the maestro Bhimsen Joshi and earned his appreciation.He has rendered hundreds of songs in Hindi, his mother tongue Bengali and also other regional languages. Excerpts from an exclusive interview the legendarysinger gave after his return from a tour of the United States:

Do you like being branded a classical singer?

I don’t. I am not a full-fledged classical singer like Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Bhimsen Joshi or Amir Khan. I did have my training in classical musicand still practise my riwaz daily for three hours. My uncle [K.C. Dey] wanted me to be involved fully in classical music. I was really not interested.Classical music appeals to only a class of audience and it is very difficult to reach out to the masses. Music based on pure ragas and bandishes has limitations.

The Dada Saheb Phalke Award must mean a lot to you.

Not exactly. I feel honoured but am in no mood to go overboard as I passed that period of my life long ago. Mohammed Rafi, Mukesh or Kishore Kumar neverreceived the Phalke Award. It does not lower their status as singers in any way. My real award is when I hear a man on the streets of Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbaior Bangalore humming “Laga chunri mein daag” or “Aye meri zohra zabin”. Nothing can beat that recognition. A singer should be identified on the basis ofhis songs, and a listener should be able to figure out the name of the crooner of a number even with his eyes closed.

You have rendered a wide variety of songs in your illustrious career spanning seven decades.

THE HINDU PHOTO LIBRARY

The music director duo Shanker (left) and Jaikishan. The team understood Manna Dey’s full depths as a singer.

If I was monochromatic as a singer, I would have been nowhere. Just as I was at ease with raga-oriented songs, I could equally sing pop, sentimental songsand numbers with rhythm. Right from the beginning, it was my nature to experiment with different melodies.

Take the number “Gori tore banke” from Adhe Din Adhe Raat. I rendered it in pure Bhairavi but composer Chitragupta conducted a pure Western musical backgroundto the song with the Spanish guitar, the bongo and snare drums. It was a unique experiment. He requested me to render the lines “Gore gore mukhde pe” witha rock-and-roll punch. The song was a super hit.

Who is the best music director you have worked with?

Shanker-Jaikishan, obviously. The duo, the most versatile in the nation, composed the maximum number of hits in the maximum number of films possible. Shanker-Jaikishanunderstood my full depth as a singer and used me brilliantly to sing for Raj Kapoor, Raaj Kumar and Shammi Kapoor. I rendered the majority of my memorablesongs for Raj Kapoor, whom I consider a genius. The other music directors I have worked very well with include S.D. Burman, Salil Chowdhury, Madan Mohan,Roshan, Ravi [Ravi Shankar Sharma alias Bombay Ravi] and R.D. Burman.

You forgot to mention C. Ramchandra.

Thank you for reminding me. In his days, Annasaab was the greatest music director and I owe a lot of my success to him. A uncompromising music director,he had a perfect sense of melody. I still fondly remember the number “Dil ka gulzar jhuta” in Amardeep, which he tuned and which I sang jointly with Rafi,Lata [Mangeshkar] and Asha [Bhonsle]. It was a marvellous tune based on the beats of the dholak – something which only C. Ramchandra could compose. Hecould not adjust with the Hindi film world later.

What sort of rapport did you share with your colleagues?

We were healthy competitors and never rivals. Rafi was undoubtedly the greatest playback singer, Mukesh was nonpareil in his nasal tone, Hemant Kumar hada golden voice, and Kishore was a self-trained genius. I sang the maximum of my duet numbers with Rafi and we shared a deep silent regard for each other.The competition I had with Kishore whilst singing “Ek chatur naar” is something unknown to today’s singers. Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhonsle are versatileand powerful. Sandhya Mukherjee has a tremendous range in classical music, and Geeta Dutt’s voice seeped with emotion.

What was the difference in singing for Uttam Kumar and Soumitra Chatterjee in Bengali films?

Uttam was a trained musician and his sense of music was more than that of Soumitra. Though Uttam’s voice suited Hemanta Mukherjee the best, he adapted verywell to my singing and never had any problems. Uttam Kumar and Raj Kapoor were two actors who were lip masters. Soumitra Chatterjee is a method actor whoaccommodated himself well to each song situation and delivered what was required of him well.

Which are your most favourite Bengali numbers?

“Raat jaga duti chokh”, “Tumi aar deko na” and “Aami tar thikana rakhini”. I tuned a number of Bengali songs and sang them too. Music directors who workedvery successfully with me include Nachiketa Ghosh and Sudhin Das Gupta. Bengali lyrics in those days were at their peak by virtue of their words, feelingsand depth. Even a popular number like “Aami shri shri” had some lyrical essence.

How did you adjust to South Indian songs?

I did sing a number of them confidently. My wife [a Malayalee] and daughter helped me with the right pronunciation and I rehearsed thoroughly before therecording of each number. South Indian pronunciation requires a special sort of accent without stylisation, and needs to appeal at once.

What are your immediate plans?

Currently, I am recording [Rabindranath] Tagore songs, a non-filmy Hindi album and a Bengali album in the blues style. At 90, I still love to accept challenges,experiment and want to carry on singing as long as I am alive. •

An American: Artist of Indian Music

An American who loved India and its arts

Geetha Ramanathan Bennett

Remembering William Skelton (1923-2009)

- Photo: The Hindu Archives

William Skelton playing on the nagaswaram.

America will not be the same for me anymore. Our good family friend William Skelton passed away in Hamilton, New York, on September 23. Anyone who loves Carnatic music knows his name.

Bill Skelton was one of the first Americans to come to Chennai to study Carnatic music. Being a bassoon-player, he took up the nagaswaram. (The bassoon is a double reed orchestral instrument.)

I met him when I was in Class VII. He used to come to our 20 Sydoji Street, Thiruvallikeni house in Chennai to take veena lessons with my father S. Ramanathan. One day I was sitting on the staircase when he came to the class. I handed him a note saying that it was from my father and that there was no class that day. He opened the note and found that it said 'April fool's day'. He laughed so much and, after that prank he adopted me as his daughter.

Annual visits

Bill Skelton (and his wife Mary Lou, who passed away 14 years ago) would bring several Colgate University students every year to India to study Indian music and absorb Indian culture first-hand. I was living in the east coast of the U.S. at that time and went to Colgate University several summers to train students in vocal and veena before they started undertaking those trips.

After our marriage, Frank and I went to visit him together for the first time. His beautiful house was decorated like an Indian household, and there was a huge temple bell hanging outside on the porch. We arrived at his house in the middle of the night. Without thinking, Frank gave the bell a strong hit. The enormous sound floated down the hillside and woke up half the village. Bill came to the door and looked around. With his usual mischievous smile he said: "It's okay you woke me. I had to get up anyway. Some damn fool was ringing the porch bell." Frank fell in love with him that very moment, and became part of Bill's family.

The pioneer

Bill Skelton was a pioneer in many ways. When he taught his Colgate students the story of Rama and Sita, he demonstrated the events of the story by renting a train which took the students around to all the places where the Ramayana events had occurred. He and Mary Lou climbed the Tibetan Himalayas to Mount Kailash for a darshan. Bill was the only non-Indian invited to be part of the Navaratri festival in the Mysore palace. He arranged to have dancer Kamala Lakshminarayanan do the world premiere performance of Thyagaraja's opera 'Prahlada Bhakta Vijayam' which my father had collected and published.

Bill Skelton was the first to see potential in me and he invited me to perform solo on the veena selections of Russian composer Rimsky Korsakoff's 'Scheherazade' with the Colgate University Orchestra that he conducted. Thanks to him, after this performance I had the opportunity to tour and record with several renowned fusion groups and travel the world.

Love for Chennai

Bill Skelton loved Chennai as if it were his home town. His culinary talents were also remarkable. All by himself he could prepare in one afternoon a four-course south Indian meal served on the traditional banana leaf for 60 people.

I was fortunate to play for his 85th birthday celebration in October 2008 hosted by Colgate University. A number of his former students, including the president of a dot-com company, Professors of music professors and admirers, came from all over the country to celebrate that day. Wearing his dhoti and kurta he played 'chakkani raja' on the nagaswaram, and showed the videotapes of his days in India to take us all down memory lane.

Among those who had experienced Bill Skelton's devotion to and love for India and its arts, there is not a pair of dry eyes today.

© Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu

Unplugged: Lata Mangeshkar

 

28 August 2009, 12:00am IST

 

A Krishna devotee, she believes receiving love is the greatest thing... Her mother once said, "The more she suffers, the more her art excels".

 

Lata Mangeshkar was born at home on September 28, 1929 in Indore in a Maharashtrian Brahmin household. Her father was Deenanath Mangeshkar (Maharashtrian) and her mother Shudhamati (Gujarati). Deenanath was earlier married to Narmada, daughter of a wealthy business family from Gujarat. Their daughter was named Lata, who survived only nine months!

She loved riding the bicycle but never owned one. Her first car was a grey Hillman for Rs 8,000! Today, she drives in a Merc gifted by Yash Chopra.

Her first public performance was at age nine, in 1938 at Nutan theatre, Sholapur. She sang Raag Khambavati and two Marathi songs.

 

She's a fan of Bond movies. Her favourite film is The King and I, which she saw 16 times! Her favourite Hindi films are Trishul, Madhumati, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jaayenge, Sholay, Seeta Aur Geeta. She's seen Kismet over 50 times.

 

She never liked make-up and lights. Though she agreed to trim her eyebrows and hair for the film Pahili Mangalagaur, she broke down later.

 

She was allowed to sing only K L Saigal songs at home. Her father preferred classical music.

 

She bought her first radio when she was 18. But when she turned it on, the first thing she heard was K L Saigal had died. She returned it!

 

In the early days, she and Hemant Kumar used the same microphone. She had a problem singing with him because he was much taller than her and she needed a small box or stool to stand on to sing.

 

In 1962, she fell very ill and thought she would never be able to sing again. Medical reports revealed she was being slow poisoned by the cook, who sneaked off without collecting his pay.

 

She likes very spicy food with lots of chillies. She used to eat raw chillies, 12 at a time.

 

Once, while travelling by train to Bombay Talkies, Kishore Kumar, who got on at Mahalaxmi station, sat in her compartment and also hired a taanga there. She thought he was following her. That day they sang their first duet 'Ye kaun aya re karke sola singar' for Ziddi...

 

Loves to visit Los Angeles where she spends her nights playing the slot machines and drinking Coca-Cola!

 

The songstress maintained a diary for years. She wrote some stories and songs in Hindi but one day decided there was no point and tore it all up!

 

Lata went to school only for a day. When she was scolded by her teacher for bringing 10-month-old Asha to the class, she left never to return.

 

Self-taught, she learnt the alphabet and the basics from the family servant.

 

Her unfulfilled desires - never having met K L Saigal and never being able to sing for Dilip Kumar!

 

She likes listening to Mozart, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Chopin, Nat King Cole and The Beatles.

 

Dilip Kumar once said, "Is she Maharashtrian? Their Urdu pronunciation isn't correct and in their singing you can smell daalbhaat." Though terribly hurt, Lata started learning Urdu.

 

The melody queen loves photography. Her first camera was a Rolleiflex for Rs 1,200. A dog-lover, she once owned nine pet dogs, much to the chagrin of her mother.

 

She loves diamonds and emeralds. She got her first diamond ring in 1947 for Rs 700. She designed it herself. Doesn't like gold much but wears gold payals.

 

Lata is a perfectionist. She begins orchestra rehearsals two months prior to a concert. If a musician makes a mistake, she smiles to say "It happens. Carry on."

 

She was close to Nargis and Meena Kumari. She liked their ghagras and saris and often visited Nargis at home. She's fond of Nimmi, Sulochana, Waheeda Rehman and Rekha.

 

Madhubala had it put in her contract that Lata would sing for her.

(Taken from a Mailing List. A tribute to teachers.)

The dinner guests were sitting around the table discussing life. One man, a CEO, decided to explain the problem with education. He argued, 'What's a kid going to learn from someone who decided his best option in life was to become a teacher?'

He reminded the other dinner guests what they say about teachers: 'Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach.'

To stress his point he said to another guest; 'You're a teacher, Bonnie. Be honest. What do you make?'

Bonnie, who had a reputation for honesty and frankness replied, 'You want to know what I make? (She paused for a second, and then began...) 'Well, I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could.

I make a C+ feel like the Congressional Medal of Honour.

I make kids sit through 40 minutes of class time when their parents can't make them sit for 5 minutes without an I Pod, Game Cube or movie rental.

(She paused and looked at each and every person at the table.)

''I make kids wonder. I make them question. I make them apologize and mean it. I make them have respect and take responsibility for their actions. I teach them to write and then I make them write. Keyboarding isn't everything. I make them read, read, read. I make them show all their work in math. They use their God given brain, not the man-made calculator. I make my students from other countries learn everything they need to know in English while preserving their unique cultural identity. I make my classroom a place where all my students feel safe. I make my students stand, placing their hand over their heart to say the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, One Nation Under God, because we live in the United States of America. Finally, I make them understand that if they use the gifts they were given, work hard, and follow their hearts, they can succeed in life.' (Bonnie paused one last time and then continued.)

'Then, when people try to judge me by what I make, with me knowing money isn't everything, I can hold my head up high and pay no attention because they are ignorant.... . You want to know what do I make? I MAKE A DIFFERENCE. What do you make Mr. CEO?' His jaw dropped, he went silent.

Visit my homepage!

Deflating Water Sources

When we think of the water-shortage in local terms, it looks that there is no problem. We have enough water around. But shift from a local to a global water perspective, and the terms dramatically change. The World Bank reports that 80 countries now have water shortages that threaten health and economies while 40 percent of the world — more than 2 billion people — have no access to clean water or sanitation. In this context, we cannot expect water conflicts to always be amicably resolved. That is why, it is said that the third world-war may happen on account of deflating water from the Blue Planet.

Sandra Postel's book, "Pillar of Sand: Can the Irrigation Miracle Last?" explores 8,000 years of irrigation history and discusses whether irrigation can feasiblely be used to feed the world's population as it approaches seven billion. The dramatic increase in population is accompanied by depletion of groundwater supplies, inadequacy of surface water supplies, salination of land, and conversion of agricultural land to other uses. None of these developments is conducive to irrigated agriculture. Meanwhile growers maintain the status quo because it is uneconomical to invest in major new water schemes. According to the author the problem of food supply will not be solved by increasing agriculture acreage or productivity since water is the limiting factor. The book includes many charts and graphs that show increases in irrigated acreage, changes in water supplies, etc.

It is worth-mentioning here that more than a dozen nations receive most of their water from rivers that cross borders of neighboring countries viewed as hostile. There is a dispute between India and Bangladesh over the sharing of Ganges water. Likewise, the identical situation is with Pakistan in the Kashmir region. Other such examples include Botswana, Bulgaria, Cambodia, the Congo, Gambia, the Sudan, and Syria, all of whom receive 75 percent or more of their fresh water from the river flow of often hostile upstream neighbors. In the Middle East, a region marked by hostility between nations, obtaining adequate water supplies is a high political priority. For example, water has been a contentious issue in recent negotiations between Israel and Syria. In recent years, Iraq, Syria and Turkey have exchanged verbal threats over their use of shared rivers. (It should come as no surprise to learn that the words "river" and "rival" share the same Latin root; a rival is "someone who shares the same stream.")

It is easy to forget that fresh water is a life-or-death issue in many parts of the world. Of a population of roughly 6.1 billion, more than 1 billion lack access to potable water. The World Health Organization says that at any time, up to half of humanity has one of the six main diseases -- diarrhea, schistosomiasis, or trachoma, or infestation with ascaris, guinea worm, or hookworm -- associated with poor drinking water and inadequate sanitation. About 5 million people die each year from poor drinking water, poor sanitation, or a dirty home environment -- often resulting from water shortage.

A prime cause of the global water concern is the ever-increasing world population. As populations grow, industrial, agricultural and individual water demands escalate. According to the World Bank, world-wide demand for water is doubling every 21 years, more in some regions. Water supply cannot remotely keep pace with demand, as populations soar and cities explode.

Population growth alone does not account for increased water demand. Since 1900, there has been a six-fold increase in water use for only a two-fold increase in population size. This reflects greater water usage associated with rising standards of living it also reflects potentially unsustainable levels of irrigated agriculture. World population has recently reached six billion and United Nation's projections indicate nine billion by 2050. What water supplies will be available for this expanding population?

Meanwhile many countries suffer accelerating desertification. Water quality is deteriorating in many areas of the developing world as population increases and salinity caused by industrial farming and over-extraction rises. About 95 percent of the world's cities still dump raw sewage into their waters.

Climate change represents a wild card in this developing scenario. If, in fact, climate change is occurring — and most experts now concur that it is — what effect will it have on water resources? Some experts claim climate change has the potential to worsen an already gloomy situation. With higher temperatures and more rapid melting of winter snowpacks, fewer water supplies will be available to farms and cities during summer months when demand is high.

A technological solution that some believe would provide ample supplies of additional water resources is desalination. In India, some effort has been initiated in this direction. Some researchers fault the United States for not providing more support for desalination research. Once the world leader in such research, this country has abdicated its role, to Saudi Arabia, Israel and Japan. There are approximately 11,000 desalination plants in 120 nations in the world, 60 percent of them in the Middle East. Others argue that a market approach to water management would help resolve the situation by putting matters on a businesslike footing. They say such an approach would help mitigate the political and security tensions that exacerbate international affairs. For example, the Harvard Middle East Water Project wants to assign a value to water, rather than treat rivers and streams as some kind of free natural commodity, like air.

Other strategies to confront the growing global water problem include slowing population growth, reducing pollution, better management of present supply and demand and, of course, not to be overlooked, water conservation. As Sandra Postel writes in her book, Last Oasis, "Doing more with less is the first and easiest step along the path toward water security."

Ultimately, however, an awareness of the global water crisis should serve to put our own water concerns in perspective. We've seen projections that three billion people -- half of today's population -- will be short of water in 2025. In India, around one billion people are dependent on irrigation for agriculture and hence, water is being over pumped, and the soil is growing saltier through contamination with irrigation water. Irrigation was a key to increasing food production in India during the green revolution, and as the population surges toward a projected 1.363 billion in 2025, its crops will continue to depend on clean water and clean soil. The time has come when we have to conserve water through all possible means. We have to stop just wasting water in futile activities like washing of cars, having three baths a day; ignoring running taps as well as leakages etc. we have also to learn that the rivers are like our mothers. Let us not fill them with dirt and contamination. Let us begin worship them again. Then only the water crisis can be contained.

A tribute to a Genius musician

PTISunday, July 26, 2009 12:34 IST
Pune: Eminent music director and sitarist Bhaskar Chandavarkar died of cancer here early this morning. He was 73.

Chandavarkar, a reputed academician who blended Indian classical and Western music in his work, was a disciple of Pandit Ravi Shankar.

He composed the musical scores for about 40 films in Hindi, Marathi, and Malayalam. He won acclaim for the innovative music he composed for the landmark Marathi play Ghashiram Kotwal, written by Vijay Tendulkar and directed by Jabbar Patel in the early 1970s.

Known for his academic proficiency, Chandavarkar taught music at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) here for 15 years and was a popular teacher for his insightful sessions that unfolded the intricate nuances of both Indian classical and Western music.

A recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1988, Chandavarkar also scored the music in many offbeat films like Amol Palekar's Aakrit and Jabbar Patel's Saamna and Sinhasan. His other films include Thodasa Rumaani Ho Jaye, Kairi, Raosaheb, and Mati Mai.

The music he scored for PL Deshpande's Marathi play Teen Paishacha Tamasha won him kudos for his experimental yet pleasing compositions.

Jabbar Patel paid tribute to Chandavarkar saying the world of music had lost an exceptionally creative artist who was known for his profound study of various domains.

Chandavarkar, who was ailing for the last couple of years, is survived by his wife and son.

Man without moral valuesIs a beast

Gandhiji has once said that it is important to achiev the destination but equally important are the means which have been used to achieve them. However, in the present circumstances, we seem to have forgotten this important observation of the great Mahatma. Twenty-first Century is the manifestation of speed and technology. In this era, most of the time we do not even think in the terms of the means. Our only objective is to achieve the target by hook or by crook. For instance, whenever we purchase something, our attention is upon its techno making. The decision of something being modern is taken on these two criteria: the speed and the technology. In this era of speed and technology, our sensitivities have dried up. We have been indifferent to our moral growth. Traditionally acclaimed moral values have since been forgotten. It does not matter to us if the tasks before us are unethical or immoral ones. In the futile race of money, power and defeating others, somewhere we have defeated our own morality. The stream of compassion and sympathy is fast drying up. That is why; we see so much violence over the print as well as the electronic media and our hearts do not cry. Instead, we enjoy such news. Is not it a shame upon us? Is not it the proof that we have forgotten our real values? This is one great point to understand. And let me tell you that without the moral values, man becomes like an beast. There is no difference between the man and the beast except we the human beings have culturally developed and the beasts have not. Our culture and civilization is nothing but a convention of empathy and affection. It teaches us to love others it directs to help those who are in need and it makes us accountable for those whom we did not help when they were in need and we were in a position to help them.

This sense of love for others is expressed in the various places in the great Indian culture. The famous verse that declares, "may all be happy, may all be healthy, may all be noble, let nobody feel sad", is a perfect example of these moral values which we are observing for around five thousand years. However, in last hundred years, this great heritage of ethical character has weakened. The reasons for the weakening of the tradition of moral values are numerous. Not a single point can be held responsible for this. The main thing is that we have forgotten our real goal. We have forgotten that the real character of the human beings is to love the fellow beings. It is not in the habit of us to hate and kill others. It is the nature of the beasts. We have the real knowledge to learn and teach others the feeling of "live and let live". Therefore, it is very crucial that we should find the reasons of this demoralization and the degradation amongst us.

In fact, unless we investigate the same, we are not able to develop the skills of morality. We have to be honest in our approach of investigating the reasons of loss of the morality. There is a greater need than ever to inculcate the moral education in the heart of our adolescents.

 

What are moral values?

 

The moral values are discussed in detail but one is not clear about the definition of the same. Morality is related to our soul. The soul is abstract and hence cannot be expressed in the material terms. Therefore, it is not easy to define the moral values. In essence, all that is good is moral and all that is bad is immoral. But the next question arises whether what is good and what is not. There is an old saying which tells that whatever is sad for others is bad and whatever gives happiness to others is good. We are taught that we should live for the service of others and not for just our own self. We are told that we should not tell a lie. But whenever there is need we do not hesitate to tell a lie. If need arises, we do not even hesitate to make others unhappy. So there is a kind of hypocrisy in our behaviour.

The point is how this hypocrisy can be ended. The main idea is to look into our own behaviour. If the behaviour we expect from others is the same that we have for others, there is nothing wrong. But the problem is that we expect of others that they should do well to us and we forget to reciprocate the same to them. If we can change our behaviour and tell ourselves that love begets love, the problems of today's world would be over.

A Tribute to Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson's artistic legacy spans the decades

- USATODAY.com

On a magical night in 1983, Michael Jackson struck a pose on stage, clasping the black fedora on his head with his white sequined glove. His black jacket and silver vest glittered as white socks showed under his high-water black pants. Then he erupted into a flurry of fluid dance moves in a performance of Billie Jean that would catapult the former child singing sensation into full-blown superstardom.
Probably no celebrity has been as revered and reviled over the past 40 years as Jackson, 50, who died Thursday in Los Angeles, according to the Associated Press. The troubled, reclusive star was rushed to UCLA Medical Center by paramedics responding to a call from his home at about 12:30 p.m.
The cause of Jackson's death was not immediately announced, nor were circumstances surrounding it. Jackson was not breathing when Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics got to his Los Angeles home, Capt. Steve Ruda told the Los Angeles Times. The paramedics performed CPR and took him to UCLA Medical Center, Ruda told the newspaper. Jackson had been scheduled next month to begin the first of 50 sold-out concerts at London's O2 Arena, a testament to his enduring popularity with fans around the world, a love affair that reached a peak on that March evening 26 years ago.
The occasion was the Motown 25: Yesterday, Today and Forever television special that celebrated a milestone for the legendary label, but it was also a seminal moment for the King of Pop. A then-record 47 million people watched in awe as Jackson unveiled the moonwalk with an electrifying performance. Other Motown greats performed that night and Jackson himself had reunited with brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Randy for a walk down memory lane with the Jackson 5. But in that moment, Jackson stood alone in the spotlight, a singular figure riding a wave of popularity rarely seen anywhere. His groundbreaking Thriller— still the biggest selling album of all time — was dominating the charts and Jackson was in the process of reshaping the musical landscape with his videos and celebrity. There were still millions of records to be sold, acclaimed videos to be filmed and record-shattering concert tours to be undertaken. It was also before years of tabloid exposes, bizarre behavior, artistic flops, financial crises, health issues and child sex abuse scandals tarnished his image. His run of triumphs in the 1980s, in addition to Thriller, included the blockbuster albums Off the Wall and Bad.
Since he first arrived on the scene in 1969 as the cherubic 11-year-old phenom singing I Want You Backwith the teen heartthrob J5, Jackson has been at the forefront of pop culture.
The brothers were the eldest sons in a family of nine children born in Gary, Indiana, to steelworker Joe Jackson and his wife, Katherine. The father recognized his sons' talent and molded them into a singing group, one that was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. But it was Michael who transformed pop music as a solo act, becoming the first African-American singer to gain mass crossover appeal. The premiere of videos for songs likeBeat It, Billie Jean, Thriller, Bad andSmooth Criminalwere major events and he helped popularize the then-fledgling MTV. It, in turn, brought him into millions of homes daily.
Thriller won a record eight Grammy Awards in 1984. Virtually every song became a hit single and it changed the industry's thinking about how albums were put together and marketed. It also opened the door for artists to have more creative freedom and higher royalty returns. At the same time, he inspired legions of imitators and a line of dolls and accessories. He spent his life under the glare of paparazzi flashbulbs, but in recent years, he has more often been the subject of negative news about his eccentricities and personal life. Jackson's seemingly charmed life started to change when a pyrotechnics accident during the filming of a Pepsi ad set his hair afire and burned his scalp. He got outpouring of sympathy after that and won a $1.5 million settlement from Pepsi, which he donated to charity. But his health also became a public fascination, especially as he began to change his appearance through plastic surgery. He had several nose jobs, his lips thinned, and chin clef put in, among other alterations. Meanwhile, Jackson's brown skin grew progressively lighter, rumored to be the result of skin bleaching, but later diagnosed as vitiligo. The skin disorder causes a loss of pigment.
Jackson himself fueled gossip column by leaking false stories that he slept in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, reportedly to slow the aging process, or next to the bones of Joseph Merrick, the 19th century Englishman known as "The Elephant Man" because of his congenital deformities.
He addressed many of these issues in his 1988 autobiography, Moonwalk, in which he also revealed that he had been physically abused as a child. That same year, he built his $17 million Neverland Ranch near Santa Ynez, Calif., replete with an amusement park and exotic animals.
And while none of his post-Thriller albums matched its success, 1987's Bad, 1991's Dangerous and 1995's HIStory were still commercial successes. Jackson reminded the world again of his power as a artist with an exhilarating halftime performance at 1993's Super Bowl XXVII before a U.S. TV audience of more than 135 million.
But despite such triumphs, curiosity and controversy were his constant companions. Not long after the Super Bowl, he talked abot his troubled childhood, his vitiligo and other tabloid issues in a wrenching 90-minute televised interview with Oprah Winfrey. Later that year, he was accused of sexual abuse by a 13-year-old boy. The stress of that situation led Jackson to become addicted to various painkillers and rather than stand trial, he ultimately settled with the boy's family for $22 million.
His reputation never fully recovered, even when he married singer Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis Presley, later that year. They kept their Dominican Republic ceremony secret for nearly two months, and had an amicable parting two years later.
Jackson's 82-concert HIStory World Tour in 1996 was seen by 4.5 million fans. It was his biggest ever, and also his last. It was also during the tour that he married Deborah Rowe, a dermatologist nurse with whom he had two children — Michael Joseph Jackson Jr. in 1997, and Paris Michael Katherine Jackson in 1998. They divorced in 1999, with Rowe giving Jackson full custody rights.
Again, this parting proved amicable, but his split with Sony Records— his label since Off The Wall— was anything but. Just before the release of 2001's Invincible, he accused Sony chief Tommy Mottola of being a racist. It was another commercial success, though short of Jackson's standards.
In 2002, Jackson had a third child, Prince Michael Jackson II, who he claims was conceived via the artificial insemination of an unidentified surrogate mother. The tabloids scandalized him again after he dangled the baby over a hotel room balcony for photographers.
The following year, he was charged with nine felonies relating to the molestation of a 14-year-old. The charges came after a documentary, Living with Michael
Jackson, showed him holding hands and discussing sleeping arrangements with the boy. Jackson was acquitted of all charges at a highly publicized trial five months later and he left the United States to live in Bahrain as a guest of Sheikh Abdullah, a member of the royal family who had paid Jackson's legal fees. Jackson constantly struggled with his finances after the 2003 trial, with news reports describing the 2009/2010 London concerts as a fight to erase his crushing debts.
Relations with Abdullah soured recently, with Jackson reaching a settlement in November in the sheikh's $7 million breach-of-contract suit. He had accused Jackson of reneging on a deal to produce an album, an autobiography and a musical for his 2 Seas Records company. Jackson, who earlier in the year was photographed at a Bahrain shopping mall disguised an Arab woman, moved back to California, living in a rented home near the Playboy Mansion in Holmby Hills.
In November, Jackson gave up the title to his 2,500-acre Neverland ranch, transferring the deed to a company he partly controls. Jackson had gone into default on the $24.5 million he owes on the property and had faced foreclosure before the real estate investment company Colony Capital bailed him out earlier this year by purchasing his loan.
Jackson's most recent controversy found a spokesperson refuting British tabloid reports that Jackson, who has been seen in a wheelchair and frequently wears a surgical mask on his face, was in dire health suffering from Alpha 1-antitryspsin deficiency, a rare lung disease. The rumors stemmed from an interview given by Ian Halperin, author of an upcoming unauthorized Jackson autobiography.
But despite all of his peccadilloes, Jackson remains a revered figure to those in the record industry. A broad range of pop artists, such as Jay-Z, Kanye West, Akon, Britney Spears, Usher, Justin Timberlake, R.Kelly, Chris Brown, baby sister Janet, and dozens of others cite his influence on their music and even their desire to be entertainers.
Will.i.am, who this year produced three remixes on the celebratory reissue Thriller 25, explained: "It was the first time a black dude was on MTV. It was the first time you saw things that were happening in the ghettos and kids in the suburbs were copying it. It was like Broadway fused with street performance and his wardrobe was fly. He made it possible to be yourself and be free and just do you." Jackson is a two-time inductee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (Jackson 5 and solo), a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, a 13-time Grammy winner, and has 13 solo No. 1 hits and another four with the Jackson 5. Thriller alone sold more than 27 million copies in the USA.
Whether he was wowing fans as a singing/dancing machine, turning heads with his outlandish wardrobes, or alternately amusing or horrifying everyone with his kooky behavior, Jackson could never, would never be ignored.
The King of Pop was always center stage. And the world was always watching.

Dear artists of music!,

An All India Competition for Hindistani Classical Music organized by Rashtriya Sangeet Sankalp is to be held at Allahabad in November 2009 . As a part of the said competition Delhi Sangeet Sankalp proposes to hold its competition at local level on Sunday the 16^th August 2009 at MUKTADHARA, Banga Sanskriti Bhavan, Bhai Veer Singh Marg , near Gole Market, New Delhi.

The rules and regulations for the said competition are enumerated below:

1. The Competition shall start at 9.30 a.m. on 16^th August,2009
   
2. Competition will be held for the following categories:
   
   1. Vocal – Khayal, Dhrupad & Dhamar
      
   2. Instrumental – Sitar, Sarod, Rudra Veena, Guitar Santoor, Violin, Israj,Sarangi , Flute, Shehnai and Tar-shehnai.
      
   3. Percussion – Tabla and Pakhawaj
      
3. Participants should be of the age group of 17 to 24 years as on June 30, 2009 and are required to submit a valid age proof.
   
4. Participants should not be empanelled artistes of Doordarshan or Akashvani and should not have any album recorded for commercial purposes.
   
5. Duration of performance should not exceed 7 minutes.
   
6. An entry fee of Rs.100/- , an authenticated copy of a valid age proof and a Photo I Card are to be deposited to the Officials at the time of registration an hour before the competitions start. However for the sake of convenience, the contestants should intimate their names by 8^th August 2009 to the Convener Dr Ravi Sharma , 28, Bharti Artistes' Colony, Vikas Marg, Delhi -110092 (Tel : 22445624 and Mobile: 9873107335)
   
7. The results shall be announced soon after the competition and the decisions of the judges shall be final.
   
8. The first three contestants in each category shall be nominated to represent Delhi Sangeet Sankalp in the All India competition to be held at Allahabad in November 2009.
   

   To download the guidelines as well as the participation-form, visit my home page and there you will find a heading: Hindustani Classical Music Contest
   

Through the Click Here!Link, the guidelines and the participation-form can be downloaded.

 

Final

 

 

 

Musical Tones As An Alternative Therapy

 

 

Dr. RAVI SHARMA

Reader & Head

Dep't. Of Music

M. D. University.

ROHTAK – 124001.

 

dr_ravisharma@yahoo.co.in

 

[Abstract: There are many kind of therapies, existing in medical field treating patients with medicines as direct and indirect ways with an alternative therapies. Music has emerged as very strong alternative therapy. Because treating with different kind of medicines resulting into side effects. Though its development is very recent in India, but western countries has already been experimenting and implementing through research and professional music therapist in different hospitals and at patients home as well. There is a boom in the minds of doctors and other practitioners adopting music as alternative therapy now days. This paper deals with the personal experiences and different view to support the facts.]

 

 

Fine arts directly stimulate and sometime excite our senses. Fine arts have this capacity of stimulus. Here we are going to talk specifically about music. Music, which is expressed through various intervals of tones and overtones, these tones are perceived by the mind through one of our five senses the ears.

 

This is the human being, who express their feelings through many ways i.e. language, touch, tones and by being silent too. All these can be divided into two categories, physical and psychological. Through these expressions our senses get a stimulus, which is unique to each of the five senses. Each organ of sense produces peculiar sensation, which cannot be excited by means of any other; the eye gives sensation of light, the ear sensation of sound, the skin sensation of touch. Even when the same sunbeams which excite in the eye sensations of light, impinge on the skin and excite its nerves, they are felt only as heat, not as light. On the same way the vibration of elastic bodies heard by the ear, can also, be felt by the skin, but in that case produce only a whirring fluttering sensation, not sound (Helmholtz:1954,p-7). The sensation of sound is therefore a species of reaction against external stimulus, peculiar to the ear, and excitable in no other organ of the body, and is completely distinct from the sensation of any other sense.

 

As has been already mentioned that music is based upon the different intervals of tones, that is sound. Man is always concerned with the sound. It is said that the universe hangs on sound. What ever we listen and speak is of mixed kind of sounds. It could be musical and non musical too. What ever it is but it is true that we are surrounded by sound. Sound is every where, within an around us a continuum of vital force and latent energy (Rowell: 1992; p-35). It is the air which transmits all kind of vibrations to our ears. It is a matter of everyday experience that whenever two bodies mutually strike each other, an impression is produced on the ears by the vibration of the air adding upon that organ and thus we get the idea of sound. Where there is no air like on the moon we can not hear any kind of sounds through our ordinary ears.

 

We have established the importance of various kinds of tones. It is also known that the music of various nations of different times varies according to the conventions, taste and liking of the people. There are two most common elements exist in any kind of tune, consist of rhythm and sound. It reflects the vibration impact on all the living beings. Though it is totally different that the capacity of reaction is impulsive only on human being. Animals are not capable of identical thinking like human being, thus cannot be included as a part if experiment because they cannot express through speech. Hence, we are limited up to the activities related to the human being. In reality the sense of music is common element not only in human beings but also in almost all living beings.

 

Today specially in urban life our habits and other procedure have develop in such a way that the relation have been more and more complicated resulting in more and more tension and stress. Moreover our life styles are giving more blood pressure and more diabetes. These led to more medicines more prescriptions and more tests. These in turn create more side effects then the real effects. For example an antibiotic which are given in many ailments, gives you acidity as side effect and prolong usage of an antibiotic can create an ulcer in the stomach. Therefore the doctors are in search of some kind of alternative therapy whereby they can reduce the intake of medicines and add to the comfort of the patient. There are other kind of alternative therapies exist also i.e. Homeopathy, Acupressure, Acupuncture, Magnetic therapy, Reiki etc. Whereas the music therapy is considered to be the best. We are not of the view that these therapies have no role in the medical field but here we are more concerned with the music therapy.

 

The most important influence or effect of music on human body is it teaches us how to examine our mind and what changes it under goes from time to time under certain influences. It is also said that Indian Ragas have the capacity to change the entire mood of a person who is under stress. It is just like a doctor observing the change to the physical condition of his patient under the influence of a particular drug. Many Indian musicians have furnished the list if many Ragas claiming with their benefits and disease cured, but without mentioning the research methodology and the nature of experiments through they established the facts and how, when and where did they get the result. I think it is not the Ragas that influence the human body but it is kind of music, which he likes. The dose of music should be given on the basis of one's liking to music or according to his nature. I had an opportunity to be in a clinic with doctors to undergo and experience related to the music therapy. We applied the science of music in certain patients of different diseases and noticed the change in them. We observed that some of them even liked the sound of sea-waves and rejected the whole idea of listening any kind of classical music. A heart patient was also tried with the classical music, but he complaints the increasement of throbbing the heart beats. Initially I experienced that after few cases of music therapy, off course the result was not encouraging at all. We enquire the music of their liking and after playing the music of their taste and got the positive results. It reveals that music therapy should not be bound to any particular class of music; but to provide the music as per liking of the patient. It is evident that music, off course has the patient provided the right approach is made. Hence it gives us more freedom from all kind of boundaries which we had as pre-determination. With reference to the main subject of music therapy, one should not try to impose a particular kind of music instead the liking of the patient. It is a therapy of tones which has it physics of frequency with their colours of mixed combinations on human mind's chemistry which differs from one to another. One cannot treat on the same pattern of sound therapy with another. Because it is a matter of emotional behavior of individual psychology. In fact it is the magnetic power of tiny vibrations of music he appreciates that changes his mind's direction from negative to positive. The mental conditions of a patient cause to create biological changes in the body. Dr. Oliver Lacks stated in a World Music Congress that music therapy is a tool of great promises in many neurological disorders, because of music's unique capacity to organize or re-organize the cerebral function, when it has been deranged (Lacks: 2003). After studying the content of Dr. Oliver Lacks, we analyzed the advance conditions of mental faculties of human being. After a micro study we came to the conclusion that cerebral is related only to the general behavior of human kind. The refined thoughts go to the cerebrum by optic thalamus of the human brain.

 

In certain countries the experiment on music therapy has proved that it allows tremendous relaxation to the nervous system of human being. In other words, music calms their nerves or reduces the mental stress and provides enlightenment. All fine arts like music, dance, painting and architecture etc. have a common quality- that of deep emotional experiments of a collective consciousness which is social but individually and subjectively expressed (Doraiswamy:2007). The main purpose of music is to control all types of emotional irregularities that exist in human beings because it is a subject of emotions. It is a usual practice by the psychologists to treat patients with tranquilizer who are under stress. In this treatment drugs are not important, instead pleasing and soothing music is required.

 

According to famous psychologist, Dr. Anthony Starr, music is the best medicine in relaxing stress. The case of a pregnant woman in this context is very important. She confessed that her delivery was very smooth as she was listening to the piano from a music therapist, playing in a room above the labor ward. It reveals that music stimulates the nerves of a person very mildly and regulates the flow of blood. It creates a power of concentration in the mind and spreads an agreeable massive sensation throughout his body. It reveals that sensations influenced our mind and mind influences the body.

 

A research had been conducted on the recovery of patients after surgery that women undergoing hysterectomies. Who listen to relaxing music and sound of ocean waves while under general anesthesia experienced less pain, were less fatigued when released from the hospital, and were able to sit up sooner after their operation than patients who did not listen to music? Women who enjoyed the music and encouraging words during the operation felt less pain. It revealed that the flow of rhythm and melody had natural ability to enhance the avenues of mental and physical well being.

 

Music has immense amplitude in increasing memory power also. It has been noticed that people lose memory power in old age and it is very difficult to cure it even by using psychological treatments. Here the magic of music works. It is not necessary that one should listen to music only when he is under stress or anxiety. It is always preferable to have music in the background through tape recorder or radio while working at home or in the office. Now days some business houses keep people listening to music while their calls are in hold.

 

Music is a powerful medium which turns the heart and mind of the man kind. Ultimately such type of tuning creates harmony in the faculty of mind and the heart; it has been proved that music imparts a biological effect on every living being.

 

After analyzing all above points we came to the conclusion that music has the special capacity to stimulate our body and to generate positive affects through a prefect combination of tones. Although in India we do not have music therapist. But in the western world, there are music therapist who play a greater role in comforting the patient as whereby the physician. It is the choice of patient whether or not he/she has an inclination to an alternative therapy. He/she can or cannot opt any of these i.e. Homeopathy, Acupressure, Acupuncture, Magnetic Therapy, Reiki etc. Secondly Dance is also a part of music can be treated as yogic exercise. Dance with perfect rhythmic and orchestral effect can cure obesity also, which will help in reducing the risk of diabetics. Dance therapy is very effective on those who are deaf and dumb people. Their physical problem can be cured through it. It is not only benefited for physically challenged people but also for the normal people also to be cured or any irregularities in their physiques. A well known dancer of Bharatnatyam reveals that avoid of caesarean operation of a pregnant women by adopting and learning of Bharatnatyam dance. There is a latest trend in Banglore –where many mothers are to be are happily dancing their way to the labour room. Reveals A. V. Satyanarayan, Banglore-based Bharatnatyam Dancer, who has completed his Ph. D. in dance therapy from International Open University, Sri Lanka, also evaluates the importance and role of exercise at the time of pregnancy that a pregnant woman needs exercise to keep her body and limbs supple for easy labour. According to him, dance therapy, if followed correctly, helps the mother deliver naturally and avoid labour-ralated complications (Chakraborthy: 2007).

 

Many artistes of Indian origin settled in other countries had a great role in popularizing Indian music and different dance forms there. They have already established very deep rooted cultural impact in their respective countries of living. They have given an immense impact and effected not only to Indian origin people but also to the people of that particular country. Recently Mira kaushik, a famous dancer of Indian origin settled in United Kingdom is the first ever Indian dancer had been awarded with prestigious order of the British Empire, recognition of her contribution to the dance. Her academy trained special teachers to teach people with learning difficulties, physical disability and other emotional and social challenges. She is the most committed dancer who has delivered the most talented students of dance from her academy which required special skills to treat patients of physical disorders. Due to her hard work and enthusiasm dancers therapy is now well established in United Kingdom. She also revealed that the classical dances of India were not considered as the therapy in that country. That was a challenge to her which she successfully overcomes. She trained many dancers who are still working as dance therapist in UK very successfully (Bhattacharya: 2007). There is no doubt that music has therapeutic impact mostly on all human body with few common factors that particular sound waves effected the body through conscious and unconscious mind controls the very body of own and is a central part of consciousness but we should not ignore the direct therapeutic value of dance posture which has an immense, direct and immediate effect on body with quick results as mentioned above while discussing the importance if dance as therapeutic value. Author of an article "Music Therapy – Loose Ends Galore" (Doraiswamy: 2007) also established the same views on therapeutic value of music and said that it has widely effects on human being i.e. (a) it is the result of certain frequency pattern which act independently of the patients awareness, perception or appreciation of the music itself and (b) it depends in the patients perceiving the administered sound pattern of music. Though Doraiswamy restricted himself commenting about therapeutic value up to music but dances too have remedial value.

 

I would suggest here that music therapy should not be taken as an emergency tool treating only when some one is under stress or in some psychological disorder, rather music or any other creative art should be a compulsory part of our daily life through learning or listing.

 

Here it is note worthy that medicines have a very special role in curing an ailment we can not say no to medicine. Only music therapy will not give the desired result, but it is true that if this therapy is added to the medication with other routine medicine also it is expected that the patient will be alright with less amount of chemical intakes. It is a great help to the medical science. As music also is a scientific art.

 

 

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

 

Bhattacharya, Nandini, (2007), March 02. Hindu: Article: Succour and Hope through Dance.

Chakraborthy, Ajanta: (2007) The Times of India, Article: Dance your way into Labour, avoid C-section.Times House, 7, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi.

Dorraiswamy, P. K. (2007) Shruti, Issue 268, Music Therapy – Loose Ends Galore?

Helmholtz, Hermann, (1954) On the Sensations of Tones. Dover Publications, Corporation, New York.

Lacks, Oliver, (2003) The Times of India, Article: Music Therapy.Times House, 7, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi.

Rowell, Lewis, (1992) Music and Musical Thoughts in Early India. The University of Chicago Press,Chicago.

 

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Final

 

 

 

Musical Tones As An Alternative Therapy

 

 

Dr. RAVI SHARMA

Reader & Head

Dep't. Of Music

M. D. University.

ROHTAK – 124001.

 

dr_ravisharma@yahoo.co.in

 

[Abstract: There are many kind of therapies, existing in medical field treating patients with medicines as direct and indirect ways with an alternative therapies. Music has emerged as very strong alternative therapy. Because treating with different kind of medicines resulting into side effects. Though its development is very recent in India, but western countries has already been experimenting and implementing through research and professional music therapist in different hospitals and at patients home as well. There is a boom in the minds of doctors and other practitioners adopting music as alternative therapy now days. This paper deals with the personal experiences and different view to support the facts.]

 

 

Fine arts directly stimulate and sometime excite our senses. Fine arts have this capacity of stimulus. Here we are going to talk specifically about music. Music, which is expressed through various intervals of tones and overtones, these tones are perceived by the mind through one of our five senses the ears.

 

This is the human being, who express their feelings through many ways i.e. language, touch, tones and by being silent too. All these can be divided into two categories, physical and psychological. Through these expressions our senses get a stimulus, which is unique to each of the five senses. Each organ of sense produces peculiar sensation, which cannot be excited by means of any other; the eye gives sensation of light, the ear sensation of sound, the skin sensation of touch. Even when the same sunbeams which excite in the eye sensations of light, impinge on the skin and excite its nerves, they are felt only as heat, not as light. On the same way the vibration of elastic bodies heard by the ear, can also, be felt by the skin, but in that case produce only a whirring fluttering sensation, not sound (Helmholtz:1954,p-7). The sensation of sound is therefore a species of reaction against external stimulus, peculiar to the ear, and excitable in no other organ of the body, and is completely distinct from the sensation of any other sense.

 

As has been already mentioned that music is based upon the different intervals of tones that is sound. Man is always concerned with the sound. It is said that the universe hangs on sound. What ever we listen and speak is of mixed kind of sounds. It could be musical and non musical too. What ever it is but it is true that we are surrounded by sound. Sound is every where, within an around us a continuum of vital force and latent energy (Rowell: 1992; p-35). It is the air which transmits all kind of vibrations to our ears. It is a matter of everyday experience that whenever two bodies mutually strike each other, an impression is produced on the ears by the vibration of the air adding upon that organ and thus we get the idea of sound. Where there is no air like on the moon we can not hear any kind of sounds through our ordinary ears.

 

We have established the importance of various kinds of tones. It is also known that the music of various nations of different times varies according to the conventions, taste and liking of the people. There are two most common elements exist in any kind of tune, consist of rhythm and sound. It reflects the vibration impact on all the living beings. Though it is totally different that the capacity of reaction is impulsive only on human being. Animals are not capable of identical thinking like human being, thus cannot be included as a part if experiment because they cannot express through speech. Hence, we are limited up to the activities related to the human being. In reality the sense of music is common element not only in human beings but also in almost all living beings.

 

Today specially in urban life our habits and other procedure have develop in such a way that the relation have been more and more complicated resulting in more and more tension and stress. Moreover our life styles are giving more blood pressure and more diabetes. These led to more medicines more prescriptions and more tests. These in turn create more side effects then the real effects. For example an antibiotic which are given in many ailments, gives you acidity as side effect and prolong usage of an antibiotic can create an ulcer in the stomach. Therefore the doctors are in search of some kind of alternative therapy whereby they can reduce the intake of medicines and add to the comfort of the patient. There are other kind of alternative therapies exist also i.e. Homeopathy, Acupressure, Acupuncture, Magnetic therapy, Reiki etc. Whereas music therapy is considered to be the best. We are not of the view that these therapies have no role in the medical field but here we are more concerned with the music therapy.

 

The most important influence or effect of music on human body is it teaches us how to examine our mind and what changes it under goes from time to time under certain influences. It is also said that Indian Ragas have the capacity to change the entire mood of a person who is under stress. It is just like a doctor observing the change to the physical condition of his patient under the influence of a particular drug. Many Indian musicians have furnished the list if many Ragas claiming with their benefits and disease cured, but without mentioning the research methodology and the nature of experiments through they established the facts and how, when and where did they get the result. I think it is not the Ragas that influence the human body but it is kind of music, which he likes. The dose of music should be given on the basis of one's liking to music or according to his nature. I had an opportunity to be in a clinic with doctors to undergo and experience related to the music therapy. We applied the science of music in certain patients of different diseases and noticed the change in them. We observed that some of them even liked the sound of sea-waves and rejected the whole idea of listening any kind of classical music. A heart patient was also tried with the classical music, but he complaints the increasement of throbbing the heart beats. Initially I experienced that after few cases of music therapy, off course the result was not encouraging at all. We enquire the music of their liking and after playing the music of their taste and got the positive results. It reveals that music therapy should not be bound to any particular class of music; but to provide the music as per liking of the patient. It is evident that music, off course has the patient provided the right approach is made. Hence it gives us more freedom from all kind of boundaries which we had as pre-determination. With reference to the main subject of music therapy, one should not try to impose a particular kind of music instead the liking of the patient. It is a therapy of tones which has it physics of frequency with their colours of mixed combinations on human mind's chemistry which differs from one to another. One cannot treat on the same pattern of sound therapy with another. Because it is a matter of emotional behavior of individual psychology. In fact it is the magnetic power of tiny vibrations of music he appreciates that changes his mind's direction from negative to positive. The mental conditions of a patient cause to create biological changes in the body. Dr. Oliver Lacks stated in a World Music Congress that music therapy is a tool of great promises in many neurological disorders, because of music's unique capacity to organize or re-organize the cerebral function, when it has been deranged (Lacks: 2003). After studying the content of Dr. Oliver Lacks, we analyzed the advance conditions of mental faculties of human being. After a micro study we came to the conclusion that cerebral is related only to the general behavior of human kind. The refined thoughts go to the cerebrum by optic thalamus of the human brain.

 

In certain countries the experiment on music therapy has proved that it allows tremendous relaxation to the nervous system of human being. In other words, music calms their nerves or reduces the mental stress and provides enlightenment. All fine arts like music, dance, painting and architecture etc. have a common quality- that of deep emotional experiments of a collective consciousness which is social but individually and subjectively expressed (Doraiswamy:2007). The main purpose of music is to control all types of emotional irregularities that exist in human beings because it is a subject of emotions. It is a usual practice by the psychologists to treat patients with tranquilizer who are under stress. In this treatment drugs are not important, instead pleasing and soothing music is required.

 

According to famous psychologist, Dr. Anthony Starr, music is the best medicine in relaxing stress. The case of a pregnant woman in this context is very important. She confessed that her delivery was very smooth as she was listening to the piano from a music therapist, playing in a room above the labor ward. It reveals that music stimulates the nerves of a person very mildly and regulates the flow of blood. It creates a power of concentration in the mind and spreads an agreeable massive sensation throughout his body. It reveals that sensations influenced our mind and mind influences the body.

 

A research had been conducted on the recovery of patients after surgery that women undergoing hysterectomies. Who listen to relaxing music and sound of ocean waves while under general anesthesia experienced less pain, were less fatigued when released from the hospital, and were able to sit up sooner after their operation than patients who did not listen to music? Women who enjoyed the music and encouraging words during the operation felt less pain. It revealed that the flow of rhythm and melody had natural ability to enhance the avenues of mental and physical well being.

 

Music has immense amplitude in increasing memory power also. It has been noticed that people lose memory power in old age and it is very difficult to cure it even by using psychological treatments. Here the magic of music works. It is not necessary that one should listen to music only when he is under stress or anxiety. It is always preferable to have music in the background through tape recorder or radio while working at home or in the office. Now days some business houses keep people listening to music while their calls are in hold.

 

Music is a powerful medium which turns the heart and mind of the man kind. Ultimately such type of tuning creates harmony in the faculty of mind and the heart; it has been proved that music imparts a biological effect on every living being.

 

After analyzing all above points we came to the conclusion that music has the special capacity to stimulate our body and to generate positive affects through a prefect combination of tones. Although in India we do not have music therapist. But in the western world, there are music therapist who play a greater role in comforting the patient as whereby the physician. It is the choice of patient whether or not he/she has an inclination to an alternative therapy. He/she can or cannot opt any of these i.e. Homeopathy, Acupressure, Acupuncture, Magnetic Therapy, Reiki etc. Secondly Dance is also a part of music can be treated as yogic exercise. Dance with perfect rhythmic and orchestral effect can cure obesity also, which will help in reducing the risk of diabetics. Dance therapy is very effective on those who are deaf and dumb people. Their physical problem can be cured through it. It is not only benefited for physically challenged people but also for the normal people also to be cured or any irregularities in their physiques. A well known dancer of Bharatnatyam reveals that avoid of caesarean operation of a pregnant women by adopting and learning of Bharatnatyam dance. There is a latest trend in Banglore –where many mothers are to be are happily dancing their way to the labour room. Reveals A. V. Satyanarayan, Banglore-based Bharatnatyam Dancer, who has completed his Ph. D. in dance therapy from International Open University, Sri Lanka, also evaluates the importance and role of exercise at the time of pregnancy that a pregnant woman needs exercise to keep her body and limbs supple for easy labour. According to him, dance therapy, if followed correctly, helps the mother deliver naturally and avoid labour-ralated complications (Chakraborthy: 2007).

 

Many artistes of Indian origin settled in other countries had a great role in popularizing Indian music and different dance forms there. They have already established very deep rooted cultural impact in their respective countries of living. They have given an immense impact and effected not only to Indian origin people but also to the people of that particular country. Recently Mira kaushik, a famous dancer of Indian origin settled in United Kingdom is the first ever Indian dancer had been awarded with prestigious order of the British Empire, recognition of her contribution to the dance. Her academy trained special teachers to teach people with learning difficulties, physical disability and other emotional and social challenges. She is the most committed dancer who has delivered the most talented students of dance from her academy which required special skills to treat patients of physical disorders. Due to her hard work and enthusiasm dancers therapy is now well established in United Kingdom. She also revealed that the classical dances of India were not considered as the therapy in that country. That was a challenge to her which she successfully overcomes. She trained many dancers who are still working as dance therapist in UK very successfully (Bhattacharya: 2007). There is no doubt that music has therapeutic impact mostly on all human body with few common factors that particular sound waves effected the body through conscious and unconscious mind controls the very body of own and is a central part of consciousness but we should not ignore the direct therapeutic value of dance posture which has an immense, direct and immediate effect on body with quick results as mentioned above while discussing the importance if dance as therapeutic value. Author of an article "Music Therapy – Loose Ends Galore" (Doraiswamy: 2007) also established the same views on therapeutic value of music and said that it has widely effects on human being i.e. (a) it is the result of certain frequency pattern which act independently of the patients awareness, perception or appreciation of the music itself and (b) it depends in the patients perceiving the administered sound pattern of music. Though Doraiswamy restricted himself commenting about therapeutic value up to music but dances too have remedial value.

 

I would suggest here that music therapy should not be taken as an emergency tool treating only when some one is under stress or in some psychological disorder, rather music or any other creative art should be a compulsory part of our daily life through learning or listing.

 

Here it is note worthy that medicines have a very special role in curing an ailment we can not say no to medicine. Only music therapy will not give the desired result, but it is true that if this therapy is added to the medication with other routine medicine also it is expected that the patient will be alright with less amount of chemical intakes. It is a great help to the medical science. As music also is a scientific art.

 

 

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

 

Bhattacharya, Nandini, (2007), March 02. Hindu: Article: Succour and Hope through Dance.

Chakraborthy, Ajanta: (2007) The Times of India, Article: Dance your way into Labour, avoid C-section.Times House, 7, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi.

Dorraiswamy, P. K. (2007) Shruti, Issue 268, Music Therapy – Loose Ends Galore?

Helmholtz, Hermann, (1954) On the Sensations of Tones. Dover Publications, Corporation, New York.

Lacks, Oliver, (2003) The Times of India, Article: Music Therapy.Times House, 7, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi.

Rowell, Lewis, (1992) Music and Musical Thoughts in Early India. The University of Chicago Press,Chicago.

 

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