Kolkata residence of Dr. Rajib Chakraborty, Swinhoe Street, Kolkata 700019
About Dr. Rajeeb Chakraborty
Dr. Rajeeb Chakraborty is a renowned Sarod player, a music composer, and also involved in a large number of experimental projects internationally. He received several awards for his experimental work in music.
Tags
Sarod maker, Hemen Chandra Sen, Dulal Kanji, Dulal Chandra Kanji, Naba Kanji, Russian Instrument, travel friendly, sarode
Language
Bengali
Dr. Rajeeb Chakraborty speaks :
Metadata is generated by Suranjita Paul
Data processed at SAP-DRS Lab, Department of Instrumental Music, Rabindra Bharati University.
I have accompanied with kheyal many times though I have realised that the audience loved my accompaniment more with Thumri rather than Kheyal. I want to share my experience with two artists of BenarasGharana. In my early years of performances I have accompanied VidushiGirija Debi several times. She generally preferred to perform kheyal at the beginning of her performances. It was almost 15-20 years ago. She used to sing khayal first and then go for thumri, dadra, chaiti, kajri and other semi classical forms in the Concerts which was a specialization of BenerasGharana. She had a very unique voice, though sheused to avoid variations and embellishments those were commonly applied in Thumrirecitals, but on a sudden she often rendered some beautiful variations with hercontrolled gayekiwhich turned the whole recital into a new level. She always allowed her accompanists a fair chance to perform. She gave equal importance to harmonium and sarangi. She always granted one full abartan(one time circle) for harmonium, another for sarangiand then she would take one full avartan for herself. During her later performances sheusually allowed her disciplesto sing one whole avartan as she could not sing continuously because of her age. But giving a chance to her accompanists to express themselves independently in the concerts between her singings was a regular event since her initial days of performances.It was her style. So, I got enough space during accompanying her. During her performances when she rendered I used to follow her, and then sheused to give me clues to play on my own. I used to play freely but I had always kept her style in mind.
Vidushi Purnima Choudhury
After Girija Devi when Purnima Choudhury came to Kolkata, I became her regular accompanist till her last breath. It was almost10 to 12 years. She was also from Beneras gharana. If it is back calculated then the time must be 2001 or 2002. Sometimes I played with both of them during that time period. Though both of them were from Benaras gharana still Purnimadi’s style was different from Girija Devi. Her style of singing was little bit swift moving but she had established her signature style so fascinatingly that not only the connoisseurs but also the masses couldenjoy the renditions. She encouraged me lot. We used to travel together and formed a strong bond. She sometimes took Sarangi as an accompanying instrument. Once we were performing in Madhusudan Mancha where she had not taken Sarengi. There she gave me the opportunity to play at the beginning and then she started to sing. Sometimes she would openly comment in between the rendition that if I played so nicely then audiences might not listen to her any more.She used to joke a lot.
Once in a programme in Ballygunge where my wife was present she was singing a thumri on Khambaj raga named Mrignayani. Suddenly, she stopped and said that Debubhai is in a jovial mood as his Mrignayani is present right here and then pointed at my wife. Such was her sense of humour.
It was a unique experience I want to share. I went to perform in a glass temple in Baranagar in 2004 or 05. The pakhwaj player wanted atta (wheat flour ) to put in his instrument and they gave him some. But a little while later he did not feel the desired effect and it was quite oily, so we asked about the flour and they answered that it was dough made for luchi. So we had to remove all oil and then put the correct flour and then perform.
Another experience was that I was playing veena in Vivekananda society in Maniktala in 2004-05. It was a hurriedly assembled lot of musicians, a tanpura, harmonium and pakhawaj player was their own. Sarat Ghoshal in pakhawaj, Sudip Ghosh in tanpura and I can’t remember the harmonium player’s name. I play in G sharp scale, it was quite high but the other instruments collided and kept a lower scale. I played raga Maya Vasant and recorded it on my own player. I came home and replayed it and I heard Raga Kafi was being played. I did not play that raga. I know it but I did not play it. So, I heard quite keenly and still it was raga kafi. Because of the scale difference the other instruments became prevalent and I played with their scale and I played raga Kafi.
My first guru was my elder sister Mira Sil. Our home had a heritage of music. My elder sisters were all very talented. My eldest sister was a good singer while middle sister was a disciple of Chhabi Bandyaopadhyay. She sang many devotional songs and Kirtans. My elder brother Dr.Arun Sil was the mastermind behind these learning processes. He once decided to send my sister to learn from Birendra Kishore Roy Chaudhury. I remember the incident clearly. My sister asked my brother whether he knew the legendary musician and my brother took out the telephone directory and called the maestro and fixed the time for her to learn from him.
It was in 1968 that my sister was married and went to live in London. Then I started to learn from Birendra Kishore and continued till his death. He passed away in 1974 or 75, I think. Then I got transferred to North Bengal and discontinued learning. I used to learn sitar from him also, as learning Sitar would help mastering the skill of playing Veena with ease. Birendra Kishore used to follow Dhrupad style of Seni Gharana. He taught me Sitar and Veena both.
Rudraveena
I was quite young then, must be 20 years of age, so I didn’t understand a lot of his teaching, I think. He used to sing the things. Gauharbani, Dagarbani and Khandarbani were the fundamentals of my learning. Gauharbani had long Meends and then comes Dagarbani, he used to teach me between Dagarbani and Khandarbani which was typical of Seni Gharana. At first, he taught me small ragas and I passed Prabhakar from there. He used to sing the ragas and had to copy it down then I had to render it through the instrument. I cannot express the teaching learning process more explicitly than that.
I had to go away due to my job, as I told you earlier. When I returned I started learning from Panchanan Roychaudhry. He was a disciple of Birendrababu for sixteen years. The year was 2005, I think. I learnt from him for a period of five years until his death. Before that I used to practise the learnt ragas and my own compositions.
128/1A, Raja Ram Mohan Roy sarani (Amherst Street), Kolkata – 9
About the speaker
Mangla Prasad Sharma is a renowned manufacturer and exporter of Indian traditional musical instruments.
Tags
Hafiz Ali Khan, Amjad Ali Khan, Gwalior, Rampur, Sindhia Darwar, Madhav Rao Sindhia, Ali Akbar Khan, Rampur, Rewar Darwar, Annapurna Debi, Rabi Shankar, Chikari, Taraf, Drum size, Bridge, Sarangi, Tota, Taraf, Roda, Zil, Debar, Kharaj, Magaz, Chhauni, Posli, Mahjid, Chhati, Peda, Gaz, Parampara, Kanethi, Sarangi, Sarod, Sitar, Sundari, Sahanai, South India, Violin, Tarafdar Sitar, Veena, Surbahar, Sitar, Rabab, Sarod
Language
Bengali, Hindi, English
Mangla Prasad Sharma speaks:
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The old musical texts refer to the measurement of musical instruments and define the connection between the body of the musicians and the musical instruments. It is nice to observe the pride of Mr. Mangla Prasad Sharma as a possessor of the ancient wisdom and knowledge. — Editor
Hafiz Ali Khan’s father Amjad Ali Khan, along with his brothers originally belonged to Gwalior. But they came to live in Rampur, when according to the Rajas of Rampur’s wishes, they moved to the Sindhia Darwar, which was then under Madhav Rao Sindhia. And Alauddin Khan was at the Rimpur state of Mewar under the Rampur Gharana. This Gharana was created by Ali Akbar Khan. Annapurna Ji, the wife of Ravi Shankar, also belonged to this place. Ali Akbar used to play his Sarod in eleven or twelve inches drum. But they used to play in nine inch drum. There are six ears in this type of instrument, but they have eight ears in Ali Akbar’s Gharana. There are two chikaris of 10 in each, while they have eight chikaris. Both Gharanas have fifteen. To measure these, one needs a plate size of eighteen inches. The neck and drum sizes hugely differ. But if we come to the main strings, there are four strings in each. One has teo chikaris and the other has two chikaris, accompanied by two Dhars.
There are three types of Sarangis. First, we have the Tota, which is used to introduce the Sarangi to children for learning. On the Tota, there are seven Tarafs and three Rodas. The names of the Rodas are Zil, Debar and Kharaj. The Zil is the main string, the Debar is the one in the middle, which can go both ways. On the sides of the instrument, there are seven strings. The Tarafs lie on the front of it. The head of the instrument, also known as Magaz, contains eleven to thirteen tarafs. Do you understand? If I am to name the parts of the Sarangi from the top, there is first, the Magaz, then the Masjid, and the Chhati. From below, there is the Peda, and the Chhauni, which is made of leather. The strings on the side are known as Posli. There are nine Poslis on the side of the Sarangi and fifteen on the Chhati.
Tarafdar Sitar
Till today, no one had dared to alter the language of these terms in the instruments along with the measurements, no matter how far we have come. These terms have always remained intact, for example, Ped Kabala, Ped Dalil. Same applies for Sarangi- it retains its original structure. The hair is kept in braids, which resembles the braids of women’s hair. Today, people might not even know how to tie the hair of the Sarangi. The knob which is used to tune is still called the Kanethi. Similarly, the Sarod and the Sitar, the Sundari, the Sahnai has retained their original form. The Sahanai also exists in three types. The most popular and the largest one is the professional Sahanai, then there is the Surbahar and lastly there is the third type, which people from South India plays. The two types of Violin that we know of are the Professional and the Medium. Among Sitar also, we have the Plain Sitar and the Tarafdar Sitar. Today, what we get to learn is all wrong. We are taught Sarod after Rabab, but actually it should be the other way round. All the instruments used to arrive from the West to the East, and it still continues and there has been no significant change even after Indian independence.
Dr. Suranjita Paul: Sharma Ji, please tell us whether your son or daughter were ever eager to be associated with this traditional profession?
Mangala Sharma Ji: See, if I as a guardian, am myself not confident in this profession, then how can I encourage my children to stick to the traditional profession? It is not possible for them to be in the same business because there is not enough earning in it. As a father, it is very difficult for me to afford a decent lifestyle, and in this situation, I cannot expect my children to be in this profession. They are young, and it is not the right thing to force them into it. As for myself, I have given them an opportunity to learn. My daughter has done her MPhil in Dhrupad from Rabindra Bharati University. She had also done her Masters from the same University. But what do you think she can do with that degree? The government of India has no provision for students who are educated in these lines! In Bengal, no school or college teaches these things where people like my daughter can teach. Where will they go? I don’t know why they have kept a department in Music if there are no job opportunities after getting the degree. The music departments of Biswa Bharati University at Shantiniketan or that of Rabindra Bharati University should be closed down. According to me, they are spending a lot of money on these departments unnecessarily, because the students cannot implement this knowledge anywhere in their future. One sits for his/her examination from Rabindra Bharati University or Biswa Bharati University with a lot of hope, but when it the face the job market, they are left with nothing. What is the point of getting the degree if they cannot feed their own stomach and lead a decent life? If this is the scenario, then why should one invest in taking lessons on making musical instruments? We the makers of instruments are crippled by the government, and I am sure soon this whole tradition of musical instrument making will become a heritage. There is no hope for the future generation to learn from it. After a few years, people will only know of us makers in books. It is so hard to find measurements of musical instruments we make and if there is no adequate income, then why will anyone be encouraged to embrace the profession? In ancient times, people who used to make musical instruments used to get a lot of facilities and thus they were happy in their profession, which resulted in brilliant instruments being made. Now we only enjoy music, but we don’t pay attention to the details of the profession.
Dr. Suranjita Paul: Sir, I think the new generation is not so eager to learn…
Mangla Prasad Sharma: If the government has provision, then one can have ways, without which, why will anyone want to be in this profession?
TRANSLATION: ANKANA DAS
Data processed at SAP-DRS Lab, Department of Instrumental Music, Rabindra Bharati University.
Pt. Asit Kumar Banerjee is an eminent Rudra veena player and representative of Dagarbani Dhrupad in Kolkata
Tags
Jibak Chatterjee, Radio, Conference, Piyal Bhattacharya, Dagar Gharana, Karnatak Veena, Bhimadev Chatterjee, Ansuman Singha Roy [Kaustav], Veena, Vocal, National Programme, Gopal Chandra Paul, Arati Banerjee, Prabir Setari, Ganenbabu, Rabindra Bharati University, Koustav Singha Roy, Germany, Veena, 1980, Zia Mohiuddin Khan Dagar, Asad Ali Khan, Asit Kumar Banerjee, The Way of Music – The Book with Cassette
