Tirthankar Benerjee speaks:

Verbatim:

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???? ????? ?????? – ??? ???? ????? ??? ??? ??????? ??? ???? ?? ??? ?? ??????? ???????…??????? ???????, ?? ?????? ????? ??? ???? ???? ?????? ??????? ??? ??????????, ??? ??????? ?????- ???? ????? ????? ???, ????? ??? ????? ??? …… ??? ??? ?????? ?????? ?????? ???? ??????? ???????? ???? ????? ???? ????? ??? ??????? ??? ?????? ??? ?? ??????? ??? ????????? ?? ?????? ??????? ???? ????? ??????? ??? ???? ????? ??? ??????? ??? ???????????? ??? ???? ???????????? ?????? ?? ??????????? ??? ??? ???????? ??, ???? ?????? ????? ???? ??????? ???? ?? ?????? ???? ??? ??? ???? ????? ???? ?? ?????? ???? ?????? ???? ?? ?? ???? ? ???? ??? ????? ??? ???, ???? ?? ?? ????, ??? ?? ??? ???? ??? ?? ????

Verbatim by: Dr. Suranjita Paul

Translation:

I don’t know if someone has told about this incident. I heard this from Shyamal Bose, the husband of Mili Bose.

This happened sometime in the 70s, when begum Akhtar was to sing at Rabindra Sadan. The day of her programme coincided with the wedding ceremony of Pahari Sanyal’s nephew on his sister’s side. Naturally he would have to accompany his nephew as part of the groom’s retinue or ‘barjatri’. But he still paid a visit to Rabindra Sadan as Begum Akhtar would be singing. He went to the hall and sat in the front row.

When the screen went up, begum Akhtar spotted Pahari Sanyal and said, “Why are you sitting there? Come up here, on the stage…” and made him sit beside her on stage. Pahari Sanyal told her, “Begum, I was not meant to be here tonight, it’s my Bhanja’s wedding today. I have to go and join the Barjatri. I came only because you are singing today. It can’t be that you would be singing in Kolkata and I wouldn’t be there to listen! I’ll stay for one song and then leave. Please forgive me , I cannot stay today.

Begum Akhtar said – All right and then started singing.

And she sang it so splendidly, so wonderfully. After the song was over, Pahari Sanyal stood up and said – “Forgive me today, I must leave”….and started walking away towards the wings. But Begum Akhtar had went into the next song in the meantime, and such melody she had put into the opening of the song, it made Pahari Sanyal turn around and sit down there again. Eventually he stayed on for the full duration of the programme.

Later, after the programme was over, he told her, “You can well understand what my position would be in my family after this, what I would have to face when I return home. But what could I do? If you sing like this, what choice do I have? How can I leave such music?”

Translated by: Arundhati Banerjee

Picture Courtesy: Google

http://www.india.com/hindi-news/topic/akhtari-bai-faizabadi/

https://www.revolvy.com/main/index.php?s=Nai+Roshni+(1967+film)

Edited & Designed: Dr. Suranjita Paul

Data processed at SAP-DRS Lab, Department of Instrumental Music, Rabindra Bharati University

Prof. Amlan Dasgupta Speaks :

Text version:

Malikarjun Mansoor sang, I think, for the last time in Kolkata in January  of 19–, I think 1992, the year he died. He died later that year, and this programme was at Ramkrishna Mission. There was Tabla performance after his, morning concert, and there was a tabla performance after his singing. There was lot of people who wanted to listen to the Tabla, lot of people coming into the greenroom, and filling up the corridors, very difficult.  So, he was sitting in the  greenroom and singing. There was Kanan Sahab, who was there. He was always there when Mansoorji sang, and he was very–, he was not well, because later we knew, that we learnt,  that already  you know that the  disease has started, — he had cancer,– the disease could have been there. He was not well, he was tired, little tired. (The) day before he had sang at, I think at,  Netaji, the open air , open air theatre next to, no next to the Eden Gardens, yes, (in) the stadium.  So there he had sung, then there was some problem also, because  the audience  didn’t like his singing, so he had some problem, I wasn’t there, there was something that I didn’t listen to.  So he came here and he was singing  and he was told that he had forty minutes, perhaps little more than that, fifty minutes to sing a song, that was really sad. So he started with something,

I think he started with ‘Shukla Bilawal’ and went on to sing ‘Jaunpuri’. Now it was not his best. — Whatever he sang was immensely tuneful and even the music that  he sang four five months after this , which I have heard later, was his  last radio concert made in ‘Dharwar’ months before he died, perhaps weeks before he died, even that was so tuneful, — was so tuneful. But it was clearly not  very developed, he was trying to keep things over, he had time for fifteen minutes, at the end I think he sang ‘Bhairavi’ or something. But the thing is that he, we were all sitting there, bunch of, we were young and we had (been) hanging about him for last few days, trying to see him, do you need anything or can we help you with something, I think he saw that and so he finished singing this song, this usual  ‘Vilambit’ that he sang ‘U to jaiyo piyake desh’ and he started singing a song which is as follows, its a Gwalior Bandish, its a Gwalior Bandish. It was recorded by some in 78 rpm artist. I have  heard it, some particularly distinguished, but this song, ‘Sajana Ghar Lagi Sandiya’.  Now  we were extatic, we have never heard him singing this song. Later, he went away, we had a recording. So later I shared this recording with other Mansoor follower, Now nobody has ever heard him singing that song and clearly he sung that song for us, for atleast these young unfortunates who were sitting there, I mean he didn’t have time for some mismanagement or people came late or whatever –whatever could be the reason, there was this hourlong, less than an hour concert and he sang this song and this is I think both the unpredictability and greatness of ustadji.  I mean,  his son Rajshekharji,  Rajsekharji told me that he had never heard his father singing this song. So that’s it, I mean they had these immense reserves and we also think about the kind of training that  these people had that on spot they pull out a song from anywhere, they’ll sing it,  if they feel like it or because they were thinking that there are some people in the audience that they would like it. I don’t think Mansoorji quite enjoy singing in Calcutta because his singing style, kind of singing was not very familiar in Kolkata. We need to understand Nibrutibuaji had not come to Kolkata yet. Many years ago Kesarbai had sung but that was a different thing,   Kesarbai’s singing was quite different thing.  Mansoorji’s singing had a very heavy influence of Gwalior. Gwalior.  Blend of Gwalior and Jaipur, I don’t think  it was very popular. In small audience, a very dedicated following but not a very large following. Some people used to visit all his concerts, I have seen them, there were lot of (them).  So I don’t think that there was much of a taste.

The taste came later, with Ulhasji and people like (him), they built up this taste. Mansoorji, I think,  that’s the reason  why he was happy that people who wanted to listen, he wanted to give them something, that is his piece of  acts of love and that is music is all about.

Verbatim by: Rajeswary Ganguly Banerjee

 Picture Courtesy: Google

https://www.google.com/search?q=mallikarjun+mansur&client=firefox-b&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjC8u34w6_bAhVVbn0KHbc3D70Q_AUICygC&biw=1366&bih=631#imgrc=EkiUoIsNE3ofnM:

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b&biw=1366&bih=631&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=sAIRW4_6C9j59QPrqrGgBA&q=ulhas+kashalkar&oq=ulhas+kas&gs_l=img.1.0.0j0i5i30k1l2j0i24k1l7.27915.32515.0.34573.9.7.0.2.2.0.160.1025.0j7.7.0….0…1c.1.64.img..0.9.1039…0i30k1j0i8i30k1j0i10i24k1.0.4FkDrSCZ374#imgrc=50ILPFV3fWPFaM:

Edited & Designed: Ms. Rajeswary Ganguly Banerjee

Data processed at SAP-DRS Lab, Department of Instrumental Music, Rabindra Bharati University.