yet again ... getting lost ... then enjoying self-discovery ...

More from the pre March 2020 memories A decked up temple - one that lends its name to the locality This 6 day festival (shringar) is an annual feature Our love for giving instructions, putting locks Shovana Narayan performed that evening I wondered how she managed in that small space amidst the chaos At Banaras we artists perform for ourselves and for the craft - she had said Some saw it on the screens Here I came across more women than other similar events in town Some continued to line up - to meet God All around one saw people and low hanging fruits (decoration) Someday, I recall thinking then, I want to be like him Irrespective of all the action around I will read what I want to and thank the book (and its creators)

  Reassembling the Assembly   This piece appears in the Teacher Plus, August 2021 here .  Thanks are due to colleagues at the school and the team at Teacher Plus.   The past few months have seen only the teachers grace our school premises. This uninterrupted time, structured or otherwise, that teachers have had as a team, has presented a basket of opportunities and raised a host of questions.   One of these questions pertains to the morning assembly. Teachers,   not unlike students, were keen to move on from the ‘regular’ assembly -   singing from a prescribed set of songs.   The morning assembly had – during recent past - raised multiple questions with students as well. After deliberations, the school put in place a fresh schedule for the day’s initial interactions. It tried to make the mornings more fun and inclusive by bringing in activities like story-telling, book-reading, sharing experiences and exercises. Students welcomed t...

Title: ZAKIR and his tabla Text: Sandhya Rao Illustration: Priya Kurian Publisher: Tulika ISBN: 978-93-89203-70-7 Published in: English (275/-) + Hindi (165/-) First Published: 2020 An image of Zakir Hussain and Allahrakha sits on one of the walls at home. The focus is on Allahrakha with Zakir Hussain in the foreground. I have many a time looked at it and each time felt that there was a special feel to the image. And, perhaps, to their relationship as well. This book brings it out. The musical bonding of the father and son. Watch them perform together here . The book begins with an incident Zakir Hussain has narrated in one of his earlier interviews. That of the one and half day young Zakir Hussain getting to hear music (“ bols”, “magical rythms” ) from his father instead of prayers. It also talks of how, during childhood years, he used to wake up around 3 am each day to learn music from his father. Of this he has mentioned in a recent interview as we...

Musical offerings in Hanuman’s court Thanks are due to the team at Sruti . An edited version of this piece appears in their September 2019 issue. Ustad Moinuddin Khan, prior to his performance, shared, “ This is where I derive pleasure in playing ” while Vidushi Kaushiki Chatterjee conveyed respects of each of her family members to the deity. Her father too, like was the case with few other artists, had previously performed at the venue. Kankana Banerjee, the first lady to perform at Sankat Mochan, set up a record of sorts   by performing at the venue for the 41 st consecutive year. Shailaja Khanna in her article, An ode to the master musician, put it thus, “ the concert is regarded as on offering – a ‘hazari’ which literally translates to formal presence in the court of the ruler or divine ”. Banaras too has a role. Kathak maestro Shovana Narayanan had stated, during a performance at a temple nearby, “ at temples of Banaras we perform for God and ourselves, neither ...

At Varanasi’s Dhrupad Mela, a celebration of classical music unlike any other in India Thanks are due to the team at First Post. The unedited version placed below. The piece on First Post here . All images by Roshni Subhash. During my trips to Ramnagar for the Ramleela I came across people refer to the performance as Mela – celebration of the epic. On similar lines, this music festival, organized under the auspices of the Banaras Vidya Mandir Nyas, and now in its 45 th year, is known as the ‘Dhrupad Mela’ – a celebration of Dhrupad. Where else to celebrate the oldest existing form of north Indian classical music but in one of the oldest cities in the world?   The entry, like at most music events in town is free, decoration is simple or basic while the artists and connoisseurs mingle ( away from the stage ) after performances. Absence of the west influenced practices for music concerts, read formal and dry, is conspicuous. Shailaja Khanna , during 2018, wrote,...

As Varanasi's ghats come alive with music, the city could stake its claim to being India's cultural capital This piece was published on FirstPost on 27 th June, 2018. Thanks are due to the team at FirstPost. Bathing to purify oneself of sins, the final rituals of the dead, boating, evening  aartis ,  sadhus , and hippies are among the things that come to mind when one thinks about the  ghats  at Varanasi. Seldom, however, does music find a place. This, when the town could well boast of yet another tag — that of being the musical capital of the country. Raj Ghat is at one end of the eight-kilometre stretch of  ghats  along the Ganga, and Assi Ghat stands at the other end. Each of these  ghats  is on the side of the Ganga that touches the town. These famed  ghats  play host to a majority of events, some which are relatively new, such as the Kabir Festival which had its second edition during November last...

Varanasi's Sankat Mochan Sangeet Samaroh celebrates the city, and the Indian classical music tradition Published by First Post on 16th April here .  Thanks are due to friends and colleagues for the ( almost ) daily trips to Sankat Mochan during the event, sharing music, sweets and else;  First Post and Rohini. Ghulam Mustafa Khan, mesmerising at 88 and a recent recipient of the Padma Vibhushan, sang a bhajan in Bhairvi. Nizami Brothers, of the Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah fame, sang Amir Khusrau’s Chaap Tilap, one of the few songs that elicited requests for an encore. Rashid Khan had the audience requesting specific songs and when he got up after his allotted time successfully urge him to take the stage again for yet another rendition.    Moinuddin Khan was also among the performers. Artists of this stature may often be a part of an event’s line up so why it is worth writing about? Well, because the event was held in a temple – the Sankat Mochan Temp...

Kabir on the Ghats The Setting Dharbhanga Ghat What a setting it was.   Early days of a winter eager to come to Banaras. Late rays of the Sun reaching down to touch the Ganga. People bowing to both – the river and the Sun like they have all been doing for eons. Some tourists passed by on boats while a few stopped their boats and walked up the dozen odd steps – the stage for the session. Some just walked by while few Sadhus remained unaffected. The world continued to do what it did. About 80 odd people sat amidst flowing curtains and resting pillows – both in lively colours. Flowers added to the colours! Chota Nagpur Bageecha For the evening session Roy (of the JLF fame) entered at the same time as us and greeted me in English and mumi in Hindi. He did this with an ease and elan I have come to associate with him in what little glimpses I have had of him. The audience size was friendly and demeanour pleasant. 2 stalls – one of chaat and the other of cl...