| Told by | Samir Chatterjee |
| Obtained by | Sanjoy Bandopadhyay |
| Date | 29 December 2014 |
| Place | At Kolkata residence of Samir Chatterjee, 15A Gobinda Mondal Lane, Cossipur, Kolkata |
| About Samir Chatterjee | Eminent tabla player, thinker. To know detaisl click here |
| Tags | Audience, Tansen Music Conference, Kishen maharaj, Darbari Kanada, Dhamar, Lady sarod player, 1970’s |
| Language | English |
Samir Chatterjee speaks:
Rebuking Audience
Told By: Samir Chatterjee
Text Version :
This is about how compromising Calcutta audience were when it comes to real good music. You remember ‘Tansen Music Conference’ – right? We would all eagerly wait (for) year around when the festival come about and people would gather to listen some of the most renowned and able musicians. I would refrain from mention the name of the musician but she was a Sarod player and she came with one of the most renowned Tabla player from Benaras Gharana (Pandit Kishan Maharaj Ji) . They were on the stage. She started playing raga Darbari Kanada.
She was young to handle the raga and it sounded like, she used the alap section only to introduce the raga and went straight into Dhamar.
After a couple of rounds of Dhamar, brilliant Dhamar from Pandit Kishan Maharaj; few members of the audience actually walked up to the stage and asked her to stop and remind her that if you have chosen raga Darbari Kanada you should do proper justice by doing a proper alap, we can wait for the Dhamar.
It was such a strong message and for us as young students of music to see that happening in front of ours it was educable. In those days in the first couple of rows would be filled up with musicians and they had the time, they had the interest and the patience to listen to other musicians they would come. Today we don’t see that happens at all. Musicians just come for their own item, they would play and leave. They would not even wait for or stay on for next performance. But, in those days (whether) they had no performance they would still come and listen and first 3 or few rows, you know and remember, when Ustad Vilayat Khan Sahab played, half of the auditorium was always filled up with musicians. So this was one of such learning lessons.
Another occasion you remember what kind of embarrassment was it when the organizer decided to do a zugalbandi with Ustad Bismillah Khan sahib.
Prof. Sanjoy Bandopadhyay : But it was a good example of Rebuking Audience. Raga Darbari Kanada; this is never a fighting ground. Thank you for the wonderful story.
Verbatim by: Mousumi Das
Picture Courtesy: Google
Edited & Designed: Ms. Rajeswary Ganguly Banerjee
Data processed at SAP-DRS Lab, Department of Instrumental Music, Rabindra Bharati University.