tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-163654092024-03-07T16:25:37.419-08:00kirwaninotes begun impromptu / but likely to find form / or after a fashion haunt youdavid raphael israelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16621521896693000470noreply@blogger.comBlogger812125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16365409.post-24233754335174533292007-05-29T03:50:00.000-07:002007-05-28T15:23:23.819-07:00new land / new blogKINDLY NOTE . . .<br /><br />After spending almost six months in India -- and staying afar from blogging -- I've launched a new blog.<br /><br />The gentle reader's attention is herewith directed to:<br /><br /><a href="http://bhairava.blogspot.com/">Bhairo in the Morning</a><br /><br />Bhairo (or Bhairava) is a name of Siva in a certain phase of his myth, and is likewise the name of the morning raaga evoking this.<br /><br />Due to some complications involving user identity, email address & whatnot, I've not been able to link the new blog into my prior virtual self (in Blogger). No matter. I remain<br /><br />yours truly,<br />d.i.<div class="blogger-post-footer">david raphael israel: poems, musings & stories;
the English Ghazal; dhrupad</div>david raphael israelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16621521896693000470noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16365409.post-1167064346325558772006-12-25T14:30:00.000-08:002006-12-25T09:17:23.460-08:00merry xmas / world music<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/5672/1550/1600/427788/bascilica-02.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/5672/1550/320/226437/bascilica-02.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Much enjoyed, last night, a midnight mass at the newly restored <a href="http://www.baltimorebasilica.org/">Basilica of the Assumption</a> in Baltimore ("America's First Cathedral" -- or more fully, and per Wikipedia, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_of_the_National_Shrine_of_the_Assumption_of_the_Blessed_Virgin_Mary">Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary</a>), officiated by a friend-of-friends, Bishop Denis James Madden. A good 80% (or so) of the choir's music was drawn from Handel's Messaih -- a treat. Madden's well-wraught sermon musings were likewise most enjoyable. What could have been merely ritualistic and dry, was rendered thoughtful, heartfelt and fresh.<br /><br />/ / / /<br /><br />Another treat: clips of diverse world musics -- from one Robert Garfius, spanning performances from 1966-1982 -- including a lot of Korean music, and also notably featuring (under rubric of Indian music) Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagar's Rudra bin, and T. Brinda's Saraswati vina. (Needs Real Player to view.)<br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/5672/1550/1600/219137/film-dagar-01.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/5672/1550/320/284283/film-dagar-01.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><div class="blogger-post-footer">david raphael israel: poems, musings & stories;
the English Ghazal; dhrupad</div>david raphael israelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16621521896693000470noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16365409.post-1164845544465779702006-12-01T00:45:00.000-08:002006-11-30T18:54:54.993-08:00 prolixity           [couplet into rubai] <font face="verdana"; color=#eeccaa><br />What frenzy has of late possessed the brain<br />though few can write   yet fewer can refrain<br />as we sink   into the basin of prolixity<br />the sound you hear is us   gone down the drain</font><br /><br><br />============<br /><br />The first two lines are borrowed from <a href="http://www.geocities.com/juscurious/LightVerse.html">Samuel Garth</a> (1661-1719). (I suppose I felt his showoffy snobbery required more nuanced embelishment.)<div class="blogger-post-footer">david raphael israel: poems, musings & stories;
the English Ghazal; dhrupad</div>david raphael israelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16621521896693000470noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16365409.post-1164849595860708142006-11-29T23:20:00.000-08:002006-11-29T17:26:29.436-08:00 A Marathi proverb           [gyan] <blockquote><font face="verdana"; color=#eecc33; size=3>Do not look for the source of a river<br />nor the ancestry of a rishi </font></blockquote><br />per: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Water-Womanhood-Religious-Meanings-Maharashtra/dp/019509283X/sr=8-1/qid=1164849686/ref=sr_1_1/105-1918670-4759644?ie=UTF8&s=books">Water and Womanhood ... Maharashtra</a> (1995)<div class="blogger-post-footer">david raphael israel: poems, musings & stories;
the English Ghazal; dhrupad</div>david raphael israelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16621521896693000470noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16365409.post-1164771004403667632006-11-29T01:30:00.000-08:002006-11-28T20:16:55.516-08:00 Day to day           [rubai] <font face="verdana"; color=#eeccaa><br />From moment to moment and day to day   my mood keeps changing<br />whatever it is that comprises me   keeps rearranging<br />at times the sense of love prevails   at times it dwindles<br />are we designed for ardency?   or built for estranging?<br /><br />whatever I'd hoped to learn   I have not yet discovered<br />whatever I'd feared would burn   I have not yet recovered<br />the simplest fact of being alive   has fiction bested<br />except perhaps when we discern   how truth is covered<br /><br />we initially felt an ambition for film <br />                                    but somehow it faltered<br />we originally sought for to sail the brine whelm <br />                                    but somehow it altered<br />we primoridally dreamed how we'd live in a palace <br />                                    and drink cherry tea<br />we once were disposed to explore the wide road <br />                                    we somehow got sheltered</font><br /><br><br />============<br /><br /><blockquote><font face="verdana"; color=#99aacc><br />That history deals with real events and literature with imagined ones may now be seen as a difference in degree rather than in kind.</font></blockquote> (Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, in her essay "'Breast-giver': for author, reader, teacher, subaltern, historian," in Mahasweta Devi, <i>Breast Stories</i> (1997))<br /><br />The interest of this fine formulation transcends, for me, the particular context of its original presentation. It seems to have diverse, ubiquitous, and perhaps one may say endless applications.<br /><br><div class="blogger-post-footer">david raphael israel: poems, musings & stories;
the English Ghazal; dhrupad</div>david raphael israelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16621521896693000470noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16365409.post-1164742670351636542006-11-28T17:24:00.000-08:002006-11-28T12:19:11.116-08:00 Dakshineswar Kali Temple     [pilgrimage info / notes] <a href="http://www.londonthamesfencingclub.50megs.com/Dak/Ramakrishna.html">Pilgrimage to Sri Ramakrishna 2002</a> has useful information and a bunch of photos (plus a map of the temple grounds). Among other things, the chap writes: <blockquote>Travel to Dakshineswar is easy by taxi or by Metro to Dum Dum then cycle-rickshaw (neither avoids the noise and pollution but the latter does minimise it). The best way by far is boat to/from Belur ghat but you still have to take a taxi to/from Belur. And finally, on the basis of harsh experience, never go anywhere without a supply of toilet paper.</blockquote> I definitely like the boat idea! He also notes that there is <blockquote>no guide book for visitors to the Ramakrishna sites although the book 'Sri Ramakrishna's Dakshineswar' by the Ramakrishna Sarada Mission, Delhi, is extremely useful.</blockquote> <br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5672/1550/1600/Ramakrishna_room-02.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5672/1550/400/Ramakrishna_room-02.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />(Paramahamsa Ramakrishna's room)<br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5672/1550/1600/dakshineswar_temple.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5672/1550/400/dakshineswar_temple.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />==============<br /><br />Meanwhile, a woman in my office remarked, "I hear you're heading for greener pastures."<br /><br />"I plan to take a year's sabbatical from my American life," I explained.<br /><br />"What do you plan to do?"<br /><br />"I'll mainly be in India, studying music . . . "<br /><br />She instantly fished out the current issue of <a href="http://www.redherring.com/">Red Herring</a>, pointing to an article --<blockquote>Many 20-something Europeans are heading to India to give their careers a kick start. “<b>Eastward-Bound</b>” tells why U.S. and Asian expats may soon follow.</blockquote> -- but the article's not available online right now (sans rigamarole). Perhaps I'll have to fend for meself, lacking cutting-edge rumor. :-)<div class="blogger-post-footer">david raphael israel: poems, musings & stories;
the English Ghazal; dhrupad</div>david raphael israelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16621521896693000470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16365409.post-1164703677108887102006-11-28T06:48:00.000-08:002006-11-28T12:18:31.103-08:00 Mehera-Meher     [books / Meher Baba] <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5672/1550/1600/Mehera-Meher.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5672/1550/400/Mehera-Meher.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> This just in: David Fenster, painstaking scholar-author of the significant dual-biography Mehera-Meher (chronicling the linked lives of Mehera J. Irani and Merwan Sheriar Irani a.k.a. Meher Baba) has launched a website:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.meherameher.com/">Mehera-Meher: A Divine Romance</a><br /><br />A special feature on the website is a little selection of audio recordings of Mehera telling stories -- her voice colorful, distinctive, vivid.<div class="blogger-post-footer">david raphael israel: poems, musings & stories;
the English Ghazal; dhrupad</div>david raphael israelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16621521896693000470noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16365409.post-1164670920307053672006-11-27T21:24:00.000-08:002006-11-27T16:20:07.743-08:00 Ali Akbar Khan     [music documentary video] <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5672/1550/1600/Ali_Akbar_Khan-03.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5672/1550/320/Ali_Akbar_Khan-02.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />There's a likeable little documentary video (streaming, 8min 43sec) about Ustad Ali Akbar Khan as music teacher, <a href="http://www.kqed.org/arts/people/spark/profile.jsp?id=4127">here</a>. Evidently it was created for a public television program in San Francisco. The level of info is basic; but it's nice to have a glimpse of Khansaheb. His young son, Alam (whom one finds humble and likeable), is hintingly introduced as the face of the future in Khansaheb's teaching lineage. Khansaheb's wife Mary also figures in the footage. Overall, it's a good snapshot of the music teacher. He could spend his whole life concertizing, if so disposed. Instead, he tours for a couple months of the year in the winter (some of that time, teaching at the <a href="http://www.kenzuckerman.com/sm_ind.htm">music school in Basel</a>, Switzerland), spending the rest of his time indefatigably teaching students (of all levels) in San Rafael, California.<br /><br />Born in 1922, the maestro is now in his mid-80s. May he live long, may we enjoy his music more.<br /><br />=========<br /><br />Relatedly, see my earlier posts about <a href="http://kirwani.blogspot.com/2006/10/mehfil-tube-music-note.html">Mehfil Tube</a> and <a href="http://kirwani.blogspot.com/2006/10/my-name-is-gauhar-jan-indian-classical.html">Gauhar Jan</a>.<div class="blogger-post-footer">david raphael israel: poems, musings & stories;
the English Ghazal; dhrupad</div>david raphael israelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16621521896693000470noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16365409.post-1164662662073092992006-11-27T19:14:00.000-08:002006-11-27T13:48:59.010-08:00 Pacific Ackworth Friends School       [recollections] Googling can be general, cultural, personal. Somehow I finally got around to googling Pacific Ackworth Friends School (Temple City, California) -- the small, well-loved educational institution that (I can say without irony) nurtured me from the age of 5 through 14. There's surprisingly little info about the school online. It's not yet included (for instance) in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Friends_Schools">Wikipedia roster of Friends Schools</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://westernquaker.net/western_quaker_reader_chapter_three.htm">This overview</a> history of Quaker educational activities includes a brief sketch of PA's origins (under section "Quaker Educational Experiments"): <blockquote>The first educational venture of Western unprogrammed Friends was Pacific Ackworth School. This alternative school was founded in 1942 because Friends felt that children in the public schools were being pressured to support the war. John and Alice Way , along with several other Orange Grove Meeting families, purchased five acres of property in Temple City, California (not far from Pasadena). The Ways moved a house to the property and settled there in early 1942. [etc.]</blockquote> Those five acres were the world for us, for a stretch of years.<br /><br />I'll expand on these reflections a bit, later.<div class="blogger-post-footer">david raphael israel: poems, musings & stories;
the English Ghazal; dhrupad</div>david raphael israelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16621521896693000470noreply@blogger.com37tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16365409.post-1164582994296929372006-11-26T21:08:00.000-08:002006-11-26T15:22:27.106-08:00 Meher Baba on couch       [image + rubai] <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/5672/1550/1600/807409/meher_baba_on_couch.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/5672/1550/400/55693/meher_baba_on_couch.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />a rare photo (found on <a href="http://people.tribe.net/jaik/photos/52615368-b0c3-4e6d-b284-d0a3c39662d6">Tribe</a>). My speculation is, it may have been around 1952 or so? (obviously in India -- but where exactly?)<br /><blockquote><font face="verdana"; color=#eeccaa><br />You might call this a parlor game<br />(at least we know the sitter's name)<br />we might not know the where and when -- <br />to know not who would be a shame</font> </blockquote><div class="blogger-post-footer">david raphael israel: poems, musings & stories;
the English Ghazal; dhrupad</div>david raphael israelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16621521896693000470noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16365409.post-1164581247317286882006-11-26T20:40:00.000-08:002006-11-26T14:49:41.343-08:00 Success and its discontents   [gnomic rubai] <font face="verdana"; color=#eeccaa><br />He seeks the chair of nothingness and nothing less<br />allowing as his happiness is nothingness<br />there's nothing stopping someone from attaining that<br />except perhaps a hint of wanting something yes?</font><br /><br><br />=============<br /><br />Responsive to Kirby Olson's evidently ironic rumination on the topic of success (for a poet), <a href="http://ronsilliman.blogspot.com/2006/11/low-carb-one-of-pleasures-of-eating.html">in a comment</a> on Silliman's blog, viz.: <blockquote>I think success would be to have a large independent income and do nothing at all. Not even stare at one's feet. Just sit in a bathtub all day pretending to be dead with eyes closed and ears plugged, and the water at skin tem,perature so you can't even feel it.<br /><br />Given that that is next to impossible, the closest thing to it would be an ideal academic job: a chair of nothingness at nothing state university in nothingsville.<br /><br />Now that would be something!</blockquote><div class="blogger-post-footer">david raphael israel: poems, musings & stories;
the English Ghazal; dhrupad</div>david raphael israelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16621521896693000470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16365409.post-1164560075115456752006-11-26T14:46:00.000-08:002006-11-26T11:10:36.620-08:00Google Book Searchrather cool, it is<br /><br /><br />For example: I submitted a line from Tagore ("Who stole sleep from Baby's eyes?") and presto! here's the source for your full perusal:<br /><br /><a href="http://books.google.com/books?vid=OCLC02195657&id=9wCFltNKCmAC&printsec=titlepage&dq=Who+stole+sleep+from+baby%27s+eyes%3F">The Crescent Moon</a> (page 13, but this link shows the full book).<br /><br /><a href="http://books.google.com/books?vid=OCLC02195657&id=9wCFltNKCmAC&printsec=titlepage&dq=Who+stole+sleep+from+baby%27s+eyes%3F"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/5672/1550/400/339275/crescent_moon.png" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Learned about it via article in Slate (<a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2153313/">Dead Plagiarists Society</a>)<div class="blogger-post-footer">david raphael israel: poems, musings & stories;
the English Ghazal; dhrupad</div>david raphael israelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16621521896693000470noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16365409.post-1164521947191868242006-11-26T04:12:00.000-08:002006-11-26T07:10:31.956-08:00passage to India cont'd     [travel research] (picking up from <a href="http://kirwani.blogspot.com/2006/11/passage-to-india-travel-research.html">my earlier post</a> of misc. research notes)<br /><br />This wiki-based page at MaxTravelz.com -- re: <a href="http://www.maxtravelz.com/travel-guides/Bangalore.html#By_plane">Bangalore-by-plane</a> -- has a good rundown of airlines (and origin cities) with Bangalore destination.<br /><br />As I'm trying to work out an affordable route to Bangalore (from DC) via Beijing, this point seems of poss. interest: <blockquote>From Jan 2006, the low cost airline <a href="http://www.jetstar.com/home.html">JetStarAsia</a> will fly between Bangalore and Singapore five times a week.</blockquote> Indeed, on dates that there are flights, one finds a "JetSaver" rate circa $179 (1-way) from Singapore to Bangalore (nonrefundable; $30 charge if changing date of flight). At the moment, I find these dates & rates:<br />Jan. 1 (Mon. $168): 01:25 Singapore / 02:55 Bangalore<br />Jan. 3 (Wed. $179): 01:25 Singapore / 02:55 Bangalore<br />Jan. 6 (Sat. $168): 01:25 Singapore / 02:55 Bangalore<br />Jan. 8 (Mon. $189) . . .<br />So, perhaps it's just Monday/Wednesday/Saturday<br />(The "JetFlux" rate is about double the JetSaver rate, but has less restrictions.)<br /><br />Via <a href="http://www1.cheapoair.com/Default.aspx?tabid=1676">CheapoAir.com</a>, I find 1-way flights DC/Singapore as low as around $560 (United)<br /><br />Maybe best for me is DC / Beijing / Singapore / Bangalore.<br /><br />Yes, via CheapoAir, I find a United flight 1-way (DC/Beijing) for $465 (Jan.9).<br />Via CheapoAir, I find a Garuda flight 1-way (Beijing/Singapore) for $211 -- but not right date. <a href="http://www.garuda-indonesia.com/">Garuda Airlines</a> seems maybe the airline to look for though.<br />(Their website does show some Beijing/Singapore flights, but doesn't give rates; one has to check via contacting their representatives.)<br /><br />(Poss. also notable is the <a href="http://www.airgorilla.com/ggeo/asia.html">AirGorilla.com/Asia</a> site.)<br /><br />=============<br /><br />Regarding Bangalore, note:<br /><blockquote>MEHER BABA UNIVERSAL SPIRITUAL CENTRE,<br />Byramangala, Abbanakuppe Village, Ittamadu Post, <br />Bidadi Hobli, Ramangaram Taluk, <br />Bangalore 560109 Karnataka.<br />(Mr.V.Deva Rao - 080-27202160, +919880311569)<br />Monthly Program, Every Second Sunday - 10.30 AM to 12.30 PM1.</blockquote> (per <a href="http://www.meherbabatheavatar.org/address.htm">this list</a>)<br />Ah, <a href="http://mehergalore.org/pages/BangaloreCenters.htm">this site</a> seems to have the clearest info (and an email address).<br />Which is the "2nd Sunday"? -- if it's once per month, it must literally be the 2nd Sunday, viz. January 14. (This, now confirmed by email.)<br /><br />So: Sunday, Jan.14 can be departure day from Bangalore for Bhopal (via rajdhani express, Train No. 2429, as noted earlier): <blockquote>Days of service M,W,Th,Su<br />Bangalore (Dep) 18.35<br />Secunderabad (Dep) 06.55<br />Nagpur (Dep) 15.10<br />Bhopal (Dep) 20.50 </blockquote> (ergo, arriving Bhopal evening of Monday, January 15th -- presumably by around 8pm)<br /><br />=============<br /><br />Also of note in Bangalore -- <blockquote>The Samadhi of Sadguru Shri Narayan Maharaj is at Bangalore at the following address / location which you may like to visit to take the Darshan:<br /><br />Sri Bet Narayan Maharaj ashram and Brindavan <br />No 70, Gavi gangadhareshwara circle <br />Gavipura, Kempe gowda nagar<br />Bangalore - 19 (Karnataka) India<br /><br />(It is opposite to Gavigangadhareshwara cave temple (1 kms from Bull temple) and near a lake called Kempambudhi tank.)</blockquote> -- per <a href="http://www.trustmeher.com/files/five/narayan.htm">detailed webpage about Narayan Maharaj</a>.<br /><br />Of course during his life, Narayan Maharaj was based at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kedgaon">Kedgaon</a>, which is near Ahmednagar (Maharashtra). His bio-note mentions his having travelled to Bangalore just prior to completing his life; evidently this is why his Samadhi is in Bangalore.<div class="blogger-post-footer">david raphael israel: poems, musings & stories;
the English Ghazal; dhrupad</div>david raphael israelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16621521896693000470noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16365409.post-1163764426354286562006-11-17T09:47:00.000-08:002006-11-17T03:53:46.393-08:00Jigar Muradabadi's Aadmi Aadmi-se milta hai   [Urdu verse translation] <font face="verdana"; color=#eeccaa><br />When one man another man   merely meets<br />the heart within the other man   he rarely meets<br /><br />the ways she injures me   I keep on overlooking<br />with round simplicity   my soul she squarely meets<br /><br />the weirdest thing!   the exact color of those flowers<br />today in the arbor of your smile   one clearly meets<br /><br />O she's the sort you'll meet   but can never meet<br />till mere survival   the broken heart   barely meets</font><br /><br><br />=============<br /><br />My rendering of Jigar's poem is based on <a href="http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474976806206">a literal translation</a> provided by Max Babi. The original Urdu poem is transliterated thus: <blockquote><font face="verdana"; color=#aabbee>Aadmi Aadmi-se milta hai<br />Dil magar kam kisi-se milta hai<br />Bhool jaataa hun mein sitam uske<br />Voh kuchh iss saadgi-se milta hai<br />Aaj kyaa baat hai ki phoolon ka<br />Rang teri hansi se milta hai<br />Mil ke bhi joh kabhi nahin miltaa<br />Toot kar il us-hi-se miltaa hai</font></blockquote><div class="blogger-post-footer">david raphael israel: poems, musings & stories;
the English Ghazal; dhrupad</div>david raphael israelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16621521896693000470noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16365409.post-1163759242990729772006-11-17T08:10:00.000-08:002006-11-17T02:31:20.490-08:00Maryam Gazala: "These moments"   [ghazal translation] <font face="verdana"; color=#eeccaa><br />Lacking clear cause   I'm assaulted   by these moments<br />when I'm minded to move   I'm halted   by these moments<br /><br />say I'm settling to sit?   these moments push me along<br />do they peddle mirages? yes   I'm exalted   by these moments<br /><br />they have levied from me   the habit of regular sleep<br />a midnight knock   my door has defaulted   from these moments<br /><br />on some days   they raid my larder of every morsel!<br />other days my begging bowl's filled and salted   by these moments<br /><br />O when I make a try for the path of being simple<br />with what riddles and puzzles   I get pelted   by these moments!<br /><br />day and night   I keep on piling up more errors<br />like a soothing friend   I'm lulled and lilted   by these moments<br /><br />the entire world is disclosed as a vast museum<br />when into its labyrinth   I've been tilted   by these moments<br /><br />what I most cherish is my desire for the murmur of roses<br />but here on the stairwell   thorns are belted   by these moments<br /><br />oh what courteous physicians   they can prove to be!<br />when you wound me   I'm gauzed and felted   by these moments<br /><br />why now falsify your newsbrief   darling Gazala?<br />when they choose to leave   you'll be jilted   by these moments</font><br /><br><br />=============<br /><br />Rendering of a Gujarati ghazal ("Amthi amthi mujhne aklaave kshano") by Maryam Gazala Radhanpuri -- following from Max Babi's <a href="http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474976820693">literal translation</a>.<br /><br><div class="blogger-post-footer">david raphael israel: poems, musings & stories;
the English Ghazal; dhrupad</div>david raphael israelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16621521896693000470noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16365409.post-1163702381544671532006-11-16T16:30:00.000-08:002006-11-16T10:42:23.400-08:00 "20-sec shoeshine"       [ghazal] <font face="verdana"; color=#eeccaa><br />a short line you seek?<br />no deep wine you seek?<br /><br />begone long horizon!<br />a nano-eglantine you seek<br /><br />no sprawl of the tall pole-vault<br />a quill of porcupine you seek<br /><br />no gambol of the giraffe now<br />a 20-sec shoeshine you seek<br /><br />no thousand-page doorstop<br />a neon's flash-sign you seek<br /><br />no endless lace of digression<br />a tie of terse twine you seek<br /><br />who'd guess Max favors mini?<br />a micron engine you seek<br /><br />the diety of fire is<br />"Ardeo" in Greek<br /><br />while in Latin "to love" is<br />a nom-de-plume (mine) you seek<br /><br />Ardeo's but tuning the strings<br />when jhala in double-time seek?<br /></font><br /><br><br />======<br /><br />Regarding my light ghazal, <a href="http://kirwani.blogspot.com/2006/11/search-engine-ghazal_15.html">Search Engine</a>, Max Babi wrote: <blockquote>This one reads well, d.i.<br /><br />One small nitpick though -can you rephrase the whole ghazal with slightly shorter lines please?<br /><br />The lyricism of ghazal shines out like a nova, when it is compact, for instance some of the tersely worded ghazals by Jigar Muradabadi, or even Ghalib at times. <br /><br />The import does get diluted with longer lines. The profusion of words, distracts the wisdom seeker, as it were.<br /><br />Pray enlighten this moron with genesis of Ardeo, a nom de plume you have used since long.</blockquote> The above poem is by way of reply to those remarks.<div class="blogger-post-footer">david raphael israel: poems, musings & stories;
the English Ghazal; dhrupad</div>david raphael israelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16621521896693000470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16365409.post-1163649562106577692006-11-16T01:48:00.001-08:002006-11-18T11:55:43.473-08:00 Search Engine       [ghazal] <font face="verdana"; color=#eeccaa><br />I'm burrowing into the net   with a search engine<br />but what has my seeking soul met   with a search engine?<br /><br />abandoning the world   and abiding in virtual limbo<br />you'll discover a land of regret   with a search engine<br /><br />though born in one city   growing up in another   & dying in a third<br />can you reach past your micro-hamlet   with a search engine?<br /><br />if I start with one word   it will sire an ocean of words!<br />all these fishes my loaf can beget   with a search engine<br /><br />you could google for God   but Sunyata is absent from Ebay<br />still you'll nab each wine-dark epithet   with a search engine<br /><br />is the library outmoded?   will the papersome book be abandoned?<br />is it turned (like a rock) to a pet   with a search engine?<br /><br />when you live incognito   none guess at the ruse for a spell<br />all bewildered   they look for you yet   with a search engine<br /><br />When Ardeo reached out for the moon   in her arc through the night<br />did he round out his peripatet   with a search engine?</font><br /><br><div class="blogger-post-footer">david raphael israel: poems, musings & stories;
the English Ghazal; dhrupad</div>david raphael israelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16621521896693000470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16365409.post-1163505378467985272006-11-14T09:52:00.000-08:002006-11-14T03:59:33.620-08:00Shambhu Das: Guinness World Record (sitar)   [music oddities] He played sitar for 24 hours nonstop [to win a place in the Guinness Book of World Records -- and raise money for Bangladesh] . . . <a href="http://www.shambhudas.com/bio.html">details here</a>. shambhu Das, a student of Ravi Shankar's (and noted as long-ago instructor of the late George Harrison), evidently lives in Toronto.<div class="blogger-post-footer">david raphael israel: poems, musings & stories;
the English Ghazal; dhrupad</div>david raphael israelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16621521896693000470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16365409.post-1163482896519385932006-11-14T03:33:00.000-08:002006-11-14T02:07:23.110-08:00Maryam Gazala: "Slumbering deep"   [ghazal translation] <font face="verdana"; color=#eeccaa><br />Slumbering deep   the morning bringing   please don't be<br />let me abide in dream!   rude-wakening   please don't be<br /><br />go and inscribe my name with care   on a plinth of marble<br />don't scrawl it in sand   and forever erasing   please don't be!<br /><br />I've come back   out of the river Ganges   after centuries!<br />my vacuous moments   freshly reviving   please don't be<br /><br />amid these worlds   far stars keep twinkling   firefly-like<br />forever along my path   lamp-lighting   please don't be<br /><br />my eyes aren't actually eyes!   no   these are darkling mirrors<br />mine own visage   yet again revealing   please don't be<br /><br />but what after all is life?   merely the play of breathing<br />leave it victorious   back from losing   please don't be<br /><br />in the mirror-hall of my heart   how many scenarios blossom!<br />with shyly lowered gaze   herein stealing   please don't be!<br /><br />shading your peepers with phony glamour   of darksome glasses<br />at the starkly real   monotonously gazing   please don't be<br /><br />unheeding of the unscattered shadows   in your own dwelling<br />in blazing day   a dozen torches kindling   please don't be<br /><br />if Gazala's tears don't look so appealing   in your opinion<br />with vapid dewdrops   decorating   please don't be</font><br /><br><br />=============<br /><br />From an Urdu ghazal ("Neend Gehri Hai") by Maryam Gazala Radhanpuri -- following from Max Babi's <a href="http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474976816970">literal translation</a>.<br /><br><div class="blogger-post-footer">david raphael israel: poems, musings & stories;
the English Ghazal; dhrupad</div>david raphael israelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16621521896693000470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16365409.post-1163478824344543382006-11-14T02:25:00.002-08:002006-11-14T02:08:55.126-08:00Maryam Gazala [ars poetica]   [rubai & translation] <blockquote><font face="verdana"; color=#aaccee> Hunar khilta sada hai sadgi se<br />Gazal ka rabt hai deevangise<br />panapte hain kawal dal dal me yaaro<br />Guhar chupte nahin hai aadmi se</font></blockquote><br /><font face="times new roman; times"; color=#eeccaa; size=3> Genius blossoms clearly through simplicity <br />the ghazal is entangled with insanity <br />don't lotuses develop in the mud my friend? <br />it's deeply human to reveal one's misery </font><br /><br><br />=============<br /><br />When I posted a note to Maryam Gazala's Ryze <a href="http://www.ryze.com/go/maryamgazala">guest book</a> mentioning a recent attempt to translate her ghazal ("<a href="http://kirwani.blogspot.com/2006/11/maryam-gazala-on-surface-of-fog-ghazal.html">On a surface of fog</a>"), she replied with a pleasing surprise of the above (extemporized, it seems) Urdu <i>rubai</i> (quatrain). The latter -- with help (in form of a literal translation) offered by Max Babi -- I forthwith rendered into English, as seen above.<br /><br />The verse somewhat calls to mind a couplet by Huang Jingren (黄景仁, 1749-1783):<br /><font face="verdana"; color=#aaeecc><br />perhaps it is   for poetry-books   that grief turns into sight<br />birds in spring   bugs in autumn   naturally make their sounds<br /></font><br /><br><div class="blogger-post-footer">david raphael israel: poems, musings & stories;
the English Ghazal; dhrupad</div>david raphael israelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16621521896693000470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16365409.post-1163466738843327762006-11-13T23:05:00.001-08:002006-11-13T20:41:21.223-08:00Sivakami Vellangiri's poetry reading       [media coverage] a poet-friend in Chennai gets some notice . . .<br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5672/1550/1600/sivakami__deccan.png"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5672/1550/400/sivakami__deccan.png" border="0" alt="" /></a><div class="blogger-post-footer">david raphael israel: poems, musings & stories;
the English Ghazal; dhrupad</div>david raphael israelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16621521896693000470noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16365409.post-1163326079584883032006-11-12T07:30:00.000-08:002006-11-12T03:51:41.593-08:00dhrupad etc.    [Indian classical music notes] A scholar, Deepak Raja Suvarnalata Rao, published an essay found here: <a href="http://www.ragascape.com/Ragascapes/6.html">Perspectives on Dhrupad</a> (from Journal of the Indian Musicological Society, 1999). The approach he takes to the topic seems both interesting and somewhat dubious; its gist is suggested by this summary paragraph at the article's conclusion: <blockquote>At the present juncture in Dhrupad's history, it is not cynical, but realistic, to analyze Dhrupad primarily as a response to a "market". The genre will merit examination afresh when, and if, it attains the stage of delivering an abundant supply of quality musicianship.</blockquote> At any rate, I found these paragraphs interesting: <blockquote>From a contemporary perspective, the feasibility of a Dhrupad revival owes a great deal to the towering duo, Ustad Nasir Ameenuddin and Ustad Nasir Moinuddin Dagar. They demonstrated the value of what Indian music was about to lose, perhaps irretrievably. But for their legacy, Indian society might not have mustered the will and the resources to initiate revivalist movements. <br /><br />Their recordings remain, to this day, the most powerful testimony available to the maturity and sophistication of the genre. Their formidable musicianship remains a durable challenge for all vocalists -- Dhrupadiyas as well as Khayaliyas. Their music also earned for them the admiration of serious musicologists in Europe, who helped to create an international constituency not only for Dhrupad, but for all of Hindustani music. <br /><br />The departure of the Elder Dagar Brothers from the concert platform created the conditions for Dhrupad enthusiasts to clamor for revivalist initiatives. Two significant initiatives, each qualitatively different from the other, are noteworthy. Both of them have attempted to extend the boundaries of musicianship in Dhrupad beyond heredity. <br /><br />The Bhopal initiative was spearheaded and funded by a state government, with pedagogical and stylistic inputs from one of the streams of the Dagar tradition. In contrast, the Brindaban movement was initiated and funded by the hereditary clergy of a Vaishnava denomination, and functions under the guidance of another reputed Dhrupad lineage, the Mallik family from Darbhanga in Bihar. <br /><br />The Bhopal initiative has attracted good talent, and so far trained about twenty Dhrupad musicians, of whom a handful are now established concert performers. In terms of its sustainability, this initiative faces two major uncertainties -- the uncertainties associated with all government supported cultural projects, and the scarcity of competent and dedicated Gurus. <br /><br />The Brindaban movement's contribution to musicianship has been comparatively modest. However, it has utilized the growing interest in the culture of the Vraja region and its Vaishnava cults, to promote the hitherto lesser known Darbhanga gharana.of Dhrupad. The movement claims significance also on account of having restored Dhrupad's link with its original home in the Vaishnava temples. From available evidence, this link appears tenuous, and its long-term value to either Haveli Sangeet or to classical Dhrupad is debatable. <br /><br />Neither of these establishments has been around long enough to bring Dhrupad to a state of self-generating growth. Dhrupad requires superior momentum to reach such a stage. This will probably come from the future role of the alumni of these establishments as teachers and performers, and the continued growth in Dhrupad's popularity with audiences.</blockquote> The website presenting this essay is called <a href="http://www.ragascape.com/">Ragascape</a> -- including a musical archive as well as <a href="http://www.ragascape.com/ragascapes.html">this section of essays</a> (including, for instance, Deepak Raja's good essay, <a href="http://www.ragascape.com/Ragascapes/3.html">More about the Surbahar</a>).<br /><br />/ / / / / / / / /<br /><br />One can hear <a href="http://cdbaby.com/cd/sankaran1">Shubha Sankaran's surbahar</a> [excerpts from the "Resurrecting a Raga" CD (2005)] via the CD Baby website. Also, from her <a href="http://cdbaby.com/cd/sankaran2">Seven Ragas in Seven Talas</a>.<br /><br />The Prakriti Foundation (in Chennai) held a dhrupad festival last February; their site has good <a href="http://www.prakritifoundation.com/events06/dhrupad/dhrupad.html">bio-notes</a> about several performers.<br /><br />The MusicalNirvana site has a couple of good clips of the <a href="http://www.musicalnirvana.com/hindustani/gundecha_brothers.html">Gundecha Brothers</a> singing -- especially nice is the 2nd (Komal Rishabh Asavari, 5 min excerpt).<div class="blogger-post-footer">david raphael israel: poems, musings & stories;
the English Ghazal; dhrupad</div>david raphael israelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16621521896693000470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16365409.post-1163316652685979572006-11-12T05:23:00.000-08:002006-11-13T10:59:53.420-08:00 Lost and Found   [reply poem] <i>for John Matthew</i><br /><br /><font face="verdana"; color=#eeccaa><br />As with reincarnation<br />begin again with a new one!<br /><br />admittedly it won't remember<br />all those old phone numbers<br /><br />yet won't it bring the very same<br />beloved voices to your waiting ear?<br /><br />and might it suggest the selfsame<br />cellphone disguised in fresh garb?<br /></font><br /><br><br />=============<br /><br />Responsive to the poem <a href="http://www.ryze.com/posttopic.php?topicid=773909&confid=1199">Sonnet for a Stolen Mobile Phone</a><div class="blogger-post-footer">david raphael israel: poems, musings & stories;
the English Ghazal; dhrupad</div>david raphael israelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16621521896693000470noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16365409.post-1163245322959754552006-11-11T09:30:00.000-08:002006-11-13T20:42:28.886-08:00Maryam Gazala: "On a surface of fog"   [ghazal translation] <font face="verdana"; color=#eeccaa><br />On a surface of fog to seek   this face to find<br />what's the purpose of such a peek   this face to find?<br /><br />Why return yet again   with your platter of empty hunger?<br />day and night   of the watchman's pique   this face you find<br /><br />The seductive allure of the beautiful world   gets sundered<br />when in flowery bowers   an oblique dry face   you find<br /><br />Is it not a lost heartbroke vagabond   whom you glimpse<br />on his hill brought low   till no cheek-of-face   you find?<br /><br />With no hesitant thought   you'd let Gazala jump right in<br />if yourself   a well right deep   aface   you find<br /></font><br /><br><br />=============<br /><br />A transliteration of the original, his literal translation, and his own transcreated version of this Urdu ghazal (composed by contemporary poet Maryam Gazala Radhanpuri) are all presented by Max Babi <a href="http://www.ryze.com/posttopic.php?confid=1199&topicid=644091">here</a>. The poem was drawn from Gazala's volume of ghazals, <b>Kshitij ki Dehliz Par</b> (On The First Rung of The Horizon).<br /><br />See also another (version-of-a-)ghazal of hers, blogged earlier: "<a href="http://kirwani.blogspot.com/2006/02/mariam-gazala-its-delicatesse.html">It's delicatesse</a>"<div class="blogger-post-footer">david raphael israel: poems, musings & stories;
the English Ghazal; dhrupad</div>david raphael israelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16621521896693000470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16365409.post-1162883224829055332006-11-07T04:30:00.000-08:002006-11-15T22:30:03.606-08:00vichitra vina     [Indian classical music notes] Further google-notes on the Vichitra Vina.<br /><br />The Nad Sadhana [Jaipur, Rajasthan-based] site includes <a href="http://www.nadsadhna.com/vichitraveena.html">these notes</a>: <blockquote>In general appearance and structure, the vichitra veena is very similar to the northern bin or veena. For an instrument so young, it is fairly widespread. The main difference between the northern veena and the vichitra veena is that the former is a fretted instrument with a bamboo stem while the vichitra veena has a much broader and stronger wooden stem without frets which can accommodate the large number of main and sympathetic strings. This hollow stem, about three feet long and about six inches wide, with a flattop and a rounded bottom, is placed on two large gourds about a foot and a half in diameter. An ivory bridge covering the entire width of the stem is placed at one end. Six main strings made of brass and steel run the whole length of the stem and are fastened to wooden pegs fixed to the other end.<br /><br />The vichitra veena has about twelve sympathetic strings of varying lengths which run parallel to and under the main strings. They are usually tuned to reproduce the scale of the raga which is being played.<br /><br />The vichitra veena is played by means of wire plectums (mizrabs) worn on the fingers of the right hand which pluck the strings near the bridge. The notes are stopped with a piece of rounded glass, rather like a paper weight. The musician slides the glass piece from one note to another over the strings by holding it in his left hand. It is rather difficult to play fast passages on the vichitra veena but slow passages emerge on this instrument with a beauty and richness of tone which few other instruments possess.<br /><br />The obvious disadvantage of this instrument is that a paper weight can never do what human fingers can. And so, some of the delicate graces and embellishments in very fast passages have to be sacrificed. The vichitra veena has these advantages in common with the gottuvadyam of the south.<br /><br />It is said that the Vichitra veena was introduced by the late <b>Ustad Abdul Aziz Khan</b> who was a court musician at Indore. In fashioning the instrument, Ustad Abdul Aziz Khan, during his musical contacts with the south, probably took his ideas from the southern gottuvadyam which was already popular.</blockquote> Mustafa Raza's <a href="http://www.vichiterveena.com/">vichitravina.com</a> site may also be noted. He is said to play "khayal gayaki style." His father was Ustad Ahmed Raza (who was a student of Ustad Abdul Aziz Khan). Some interesting remarks about the instrument found there include: <blockquote>Vichiter Veena's ancient name is Shiv Veena. It is also known previously in different names -- Shutri Veena, Tantra Veena, Batta Veena etc. But today it is known as Vichiter Veena. Ustad Abdul Aziz Khan of Patiala family has given a new life to this instrument. Vichiter Veena is believed to be a divine instrument and the music produced through it always devoted to the absolute. The Veena has the distinction of being the only plucked instrument that is considered to be the purest musical sound and by legend is the foundation of all art.<br /><br />The Vichiter Veena has four main strings three front side supporting strings and along with two chikaris, 15th Tarabs (resonance strings) having a range of three and half octaves. Resonance strings confine a player to "pure" or "perfect" note as they themselves are tuned on "perfect"....</blockquote> Dr. Raza is also amusingly quoted in one press clipping: "You can learn the sitar in a year or two, you make more money with it too so why should any one spend six years learning the Vichitra Veena?"<br /><br />/ / / / /<br /><br />The <a href="http://www.sadarang.com/INDEX.HTM">Sadarang Archive</a> website says it is dedicated to "Safeguarding the classical music traditions of Pakistan."<br /><br />Lakshmi Tewari's website includes a nicely detailed <a href="http://www.kinar.com/sangeet/AboutDrLalmaniMisra.htm">bio-note</a> about the late vichitra vinakar, Lalmani Misra (1924-1979). Leaving aside here his interesting childhood, this portion has many points of note: <blockquote>From 1944, he began to be influenced by the Batta Bin of Ustad Abdul Aziz Khan of Patiala. Around 1946, he came to the realization that the Veena is primarily a Hindu devotional instrument. The responsibility of preserving its tradition lay primarily with Hindu artists. If the Hindu tradition that had survived due to the efforts of Muslim musicians now disappeared, the responsibility for its demise would lie with Hindu artists. Therefore, he learned to play Veena in the traditional manner from Abdul Aziz Khan and began his practice in secret. <br /><br />In 1950, on the invitation of Dr. Ratanjankar to the Bhatkhande Jayanti in Lakhnau’s Morris College, he performed on the Vichitra Veena for the first time. Encouraged by the response of the artists and connoisseurs in the audience, he made the Vichitra Veena his primary instrument. <br /><br />In 1946, Lalmani Misra established the Kanpur Orchestral Society, and created many compositions. He composed music for plays, as well as directed several of them. In 1947, together with close associates he founded the Bharatiya Sangeet Parishad in Kanpur; under its auspices the Gandhi Sangeet Mahavidyalaya was established on August 16, 1947. He resigned from Kanyakubja College to dedicate his full attention to the new institution. <br /><br />In 1951, the world renowned dance maestro Uday Shankar appointed him the music director of his troupe. Lalmani Misra was just 27. In 1951 and 1954, with Uday Shankar’s troupe, he toured countries like Sri Lanka, England, France, Belgium, America, and Canada, to very favorable reviews of his music direction and Veena concerts. A Hollywood film company invited him to help make an Indian film. Not used to the atmosphere in the West, he turned the offer down. After returning to India, he was asked to compose music for Hindi films. But his interest in music scholarship and teaching pulled him back to Kanpur. In the course of his world travels, he came to realize that musicians require higher education as well. He went on to receive a Sahitya Ratna, an M.A. from Agra University, and a Ph.D. from Kashi Hindu Vishwavidyalaya. <br /><br />In 1955, in his capacity as the first Registrar of the Akhil Bharatiya Vandharva Mahavidyalaya Mandal, he organized the work of the institution. But the growing demands of the job took him away from his music practice, and he gave up his duties at the Mandal. At the urging of friends, he became Principal of Gandhi Sangeet Mahavidyalaya in 1957. Sangeet Martand Omkarnath Thakur wanted him to join the Music Department at Kashi Hindu Vishwavidyalaya. After much persuasion, he agreed to leave Kanpur for Varanasi, and joined the Instrumental Department as Reader in 1958, believing that it was not the title but the work that brought greatness to an artist. <br /><br />He made many major advances in the field of music instruction at Kashi Hindu Vishwavidyalaya. After intense effort, he created a Veena on which all the exercises in Bharat’s Sarana Chatushtadi could be played, and the 22 shrutis recorded by Bharat could be heard and played. After hearing these shrutis on his Veena, Indian and Western scholars alike praised his achievement. <br /><br />He studied both academically and empirically Indian instruments of the ancient, medieval, and modern eras, and proved that Amir Khusro had nothing to do with the evolution of the Sitar and the Tabla. The sitar evolved naturally from the ancient Tritantriya Veena, and Tabla from the Pushkar Vadya. The modern Sarod and medieval Sursingar and Rabab are evolved forms of the ancient Chitra Veena. His research findings in the field of music created a sensation, and debunked many commonly accepted myths. <br /><br />Lalmani Misra helped create and reform the syllabi of prominent educational institutions and universities. Having created many instruments, he demonstrated them to the public. After the publication of material for smaller classes, he started work on books on Vedic music and the Sitar, but could not complete them due to poor health. <br /><br />Lalmani Misra is one of those seminal artists of the music world who excelled as a performer, critic, and scholar. According to him, India has two types of scholars: academic and empirical. The empirical scholar is the one that tests ancient principles on the platform of contemporary music, and puts his faith in its growth and evolution. On the other hand, the academic scholar worships tradition at the cost of new currents in art, and wants the artist to retreat in the past rather than look forward. <br /><br />Lalmani Misra was working on specific research, such as Vedic music, the rebirth of dhruvapad-dhamar, and the promotion of instrumental music, when he suddenly took ill. At the age of 55, on July 17, 1979, he left the music world and ended his tenure on earth prematurely.</blockquote> My question include: what is that Batta Vina of Abdul Aziz Khan? And what is this about Lalmani Misra "creat[ing] a Veena on which all the exercises in Bharat’s Sarana Chatushtadi could be played, and the 22 shrutis recorded by Bharat could be heard and played"? Does this suggest that he MODIFIED the Vichitra Vina? If that's the meaning, then one should wish to know about those who may build instruments on his model.<br /><br />/ / / / /<br /><br />Lalmani Misra's son <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gopal_Shankar_Misra">Gopal Sankar Misra</a> also played vichitra vina (and recorded one LP with Real World records in UK -- I've not yet heard it); he passed away in 1999. His sister, <a href="http://www.darshanam.com/Virasat.asp">Ragini Trivedi</a> (of Indore), plays sitar. (She could be a good source for info about her father's vina.)<br /><br />More about Ragini Trivedi: here's her very interestingly written <a href="http://www.darshanam.com/Message_Archive/Message5.htm">review</a> of a sitar album (viz., Chandrakant Sardeshmukh's <i>Pure Joy</i> [<a href="http://www.darshanam.com/index.htm">Darshanam</a>, 1998]).<br /><br />Another, longer article of Ragini Trivedi's: "<a href="http://www.artindia.net/ragini.html">If Music be the Soul....</a>" (from ArtScape) -- she writes knowledgeably and interestingly.<br /><br />Ragini's interestingly appreciative yet critically equivocal review of Shahid Parvez's performance (at a music festival in Indore in 1999) is worth quoting: <blockquote>The second half of the evening carried the audience into realm of further abstraction. Shahid Parvez, on the verge of being a legend, revealed all on his magical Sitar. Bageshri was the vehicle for demonstration of his skill, this evening. During the Alaap itself, he fascinated one and all with his Meend work. Enticing and amazing, while it succeeded in riveting the attention of the audience, the deft display did little to maintain the mood of the Raga. The slow and rapid compositions were both in Teen Taal and the medium paced composition was in Ek Taal. He brought the evening to a reluctant close with a rendering of a Bhairavi Gat composed in Addha Taal. Even though the compositions were different, the style could easily be discerned as that of his mentor and uncle, Ustaad Vilayat Khan. With a perfect accompaniment on Tabla by Mukesh Jadhav, Shahid could well involve the audience and transport them; he could also break the charm and make them evaluate his effortless mastery over the instrument without any undue influence. Such a practice might bode ill for ancient aesthetics, but it certainly goes a long way in garnering support for Indian Classical Music in its own fashion.</blockquote> -- from her <a href="http://www.artindia.net/ragini2.html">review in ArtScape</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indore%2C_India">Indore</a> is the largest city in Madhya Pradesh (186 km from Bhopal -- due west, looks like).<br /><br /><b>Note: This is one of the very best listings of professional musicians' contact info in India -- <a href="http://www.artindia.net/index1.html">Art India Net</a>. Astonishingly good in fact.</b><br /><br />/ / / / /<br /><br />Note: there's a <b>Pt. Lalmani Misra Music Festival</b> held annually in Bhopal, in August, organized by <a href="http://opchourasiya.com/madhukali.htm">Madhukali</a> (the organization named after a raaga created by Lalmani Misra).<br /><br />Also note (per Wikipedia <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allauddin_Khan">bio for Allauddin Khan</a>): the Bhopal-based, state [Madhya Pradesh]-run Allauddin Khan Sangeet Academy has an annual festival, in Maihar, in February or early March. (Allauddin Khan had been court musician for Maihar maharajas.)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.himalayankingdom.com/distance.html">Distance</a> between Bhopal and Maihar: 359 km.<br /><br />/ / / / /<br /><br />I've seen two or three websites that offer vichitra vinas for sale.<br />Offhand, <a href="http://www.indian-instruments.com/stringed_instruments/vichitra_vina.htm">this</a> is the only one where the photos impress me -- as presenting a nice-looking instrument. (Some I've seen seem to overdue the inlaid ivory. This has some, but not excessive.) The company in fact is based in Germany; they import their instruments from various manufacturers; so one doesn't (from this site) know who the builders are. The price however (1290 EUR = $1645) is also lower than other vichitra vinas I've seen online.<br /><br />The Ali Akbar College of Music offers <a href="http://www.aacm.org/shop/vina.html">a vichitra vina</a> (for $3,000), noting it's built by Mangla Prasad Sharma. Their <a href="http://www.aacm.org/shop/guarantee.html">guarantee</a> is worth noting (as is likewise a similar one from the German folks at Tarana).<br /><br />Another purveyor (are they actually builders?) of vichitra vinas is the new outfit called <a href="http://www.eastwestmusicindia.com/vichitra.html">Madhubani</a> (in Delhi).<br /><br />Also note the <a href="http://www.binaswar.com/index.htm">Bina Musical Stores</a> website (Delhi-based).<br /><br />/ / / / /<br /><br /><a href="http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mag/2002/11/10/stories/2002111000330500.htm">This article</a> (in The Hindu, by Leela Venkataraman) reports on a conference in Delhi regarding the culture of instrument-making, and mentions the Calcutta instrument-builder Murari Mohan Adhikari as having "fashioned "over 100" Rudra vinas -- "which starts with an elaborate prelude of ritual and prayer before selecting the right wood, seasoning it and then sizing and fashioning it to the exact torso and neck measurements of the individual musician!" The article also amusingly quotes the late Gopal Krishan, regarding his practice of vichitra vina: "When I settled down in the Padmasana, with the baby I was asked to look after ('or else no food,' was the threat held out) on my lap, and practiced for hours, the little one just slept through."<br /><br />The article also mentions (and critiques) a newer instrument: <blockquote>For the today's musician, in Damascus today, in New York a couple of days later, travelling with large instruments with two resonators like the veena can be a nightmare. Vainika Suma Sudhindra of Karnataka has invented a new instrument named Tarangini — one that is compact, light, weather resistant and travels well. Sruti stability, ensured by guitar keys, does away with the pegs of the veena. The acoustic resonator of the conventional veena is replaced by a magnetic pickup and the hind resonator made of fibreglass can be unscrewed and packed away separately! But its music sounds more like the electric guitar. Some instruments, it would seem, will not be easily substituted.</blockquote> Yet another interesting point made is this: <blockquote>Teak forests are no longer plentiful and other types of wood have to be used for making musical instruments. Raw material like bone and ivory are no longer easily available and substitutes are being experimented with. Ravi Kiran, the chitra veena expert recounting his experience with the instrument, said that after trying out many metals for the slide bar called gottu used to glide on the strings, he now uses a Teflon side bar, which is smooth and easy to wield.</blockquote> The article concludes with this anecdotal flourish: <blockquote>Gopal Krishnan [sic; Krishan], the vichitra veena maestro, was jailed during the British Raj. He mesmerised the hardened criminals in his cell with music played on ektara, the only instrument he was allowed to take with him. He played it like a veena and his live demonstration during the symposium floored all with its undiluted sweetness.</blockquote> / / / / /<br /><br />A certain <a href="http://www.dkpd.com/servlet/dkGetBiblio?bno=080314">Concise Dictionary of Hindustani Music</a>, by Ashok Da Ranade (2006), lists a section on the Batta Been.<br /><br />Ah! <a href="http://www.india-instruments.de/pages/glossar/g-vichitra.html">here</a> is why it is called the Batta Been! (and note, too, the important point about variations in numbers of strings) -- <blockquote>The vichitra veena has nine to eleven main strings and eleven to fifteen sympathetic strings. The number of strings (main as well as sympathetic), their tuning system and their gauge vary from artist to artist.<br />The vichitra veena is played with the help of a small egg- shaped glass, called batta, which looks like a paper weight (although it is bigger than a paper weight), held in the left hand and made to slide upon the strings. In the right hand, the artist wears sitar-like plectrums on the index and middle fingers. Some artists wear a small plectrum on the small finger as well to facilitate playing the drone strings.</blockquote> The author then follows that up with an interesting but mildly absurd remark -- <blockquote>Because of various reasons the instrument is now losing its popularity among the younger generation of artists. The introduction of the slide guitar, a popular western instrument, to Hindustani classical music is one of the principal reasons for its decline.</blockquote> (Evidently these notes, generally good, are drawn from a certain Suneera Kasliwal, <i>Classical Musical Instruments</i>, Delhi (2001))<br /><br />/ / / / /<br /><br />Curiously, the flowery prose in the opening paragraph of an essay (<a href="http://www.omenad.net/articles/honeybuds.htm">Nestling Among Honey-Buds</a>) by Dr. Rajiv Trivedi [presumably related to Ragini Trivedi?] hints at vichitra vina conceived not as modern invention, but as a revived ancient instrument: <blockquote>If it was Rosebud that haunted Citizen Kane all his life, it was nectar of honey-buds, which sweetened the notes of that ancient instrument, whenever the maestro caressed it. <b>Vedic Bana, called Brahmaveena, Ghoshvati or Ektantri Veena in ninth century AD is known today as Vichitra Veena.</b> When one comes to learn that Madhukali [sliver of honey?] is an organisation dedicated to the memory of internationally renowned Vichitra-veena player Sangeetendu Dr. Lalmani Misra, he ceases to wonder why such great masters as Pt. Ravishankar, Pt. Hariprasad Chourasia, Pt. Shivkumar Sharma, Ustad Zia Fariddudin Dagar, Dr. N. Rajam, Pt. Rajan & Sajan Mishra have accorded their patronage and unreserved support to it. Named after one of the Raga-s this avid scholar created, Madhukali is also the name of the choral group that in the past fifteen years has established the joy and power of group-singing. Madhukali Vrind performed with probably the largest group ever, which included almost 5,000 children in 1986. By picking up choicest poetry of traditional and modern poets, Madhukali Vrind has created awareness in the young generation for the form of Vrindagana, as well as good poetry throughout Madhya Pradesh.</blockquote><div class="blogger-post-footer">david raphael israel: poems, musings & stories;
the English Ghazal; dhrupad</div>david raphael israelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16621521896693000470noreply@blogger.com3