The following excerpt is from a relatively long article send to me as a forward. The article itself deals with the life of a remarkable lady, Annapurna Devi. She was the wife of legendary Ravi Shankar. The famous Indian movie, "Abhimaan", was made on the relationship of Ravi Shankar and Annapurna Devi. You must read that article as it will make you gasp at many places.
Click at Annapurna Devi and her music of silence ( https://bit.ly/2zlHWbn )
But in a context, there was a beautiful mention of Akbar, Tansen and his teacher Haridas.
"..I had always likened Annapurna to Mian Tansen, the legendary 16th-century musician in Emperor Akbar’s court, who could start fires and create rainstorms with his ragas. (In fact, the Maihar gharana traces its teachings back 400 years directly to Tansen, so in some sense she is musically a direct descendant of Tansen.) But after hearing this story, I began to think differently.
Legend has it that one day in court, after yet another soul-satisfying musical performance from Tansen, Emperor Akbar declared there could be no voice more divine than Tansen’s. The singer humbly replied that if the Emperor could hear his teacher, a hermit called Haridas, his own poor efforts would be forgotten. The Emperor wanted to immediately summon Haridas to court but Tansen cautioned him that it was not possible – his teacher did not sing on demand, only when he felt inspired.
Intrigued, the Emperor, with Tansen, set off for the forest in Vrindavan where Haridas lived in a hut. When they arrived, it was early morning, and the teacher was deep in meditation. Akbar hid in the bushes while Tansen prostrated himself before his guru and began singing a sacred hymn his guru had taught him. The teacher, still deep in meditation, did not open in his eyes. Then Tansen, as planned, deliberately sang a note offkey. His guru immediately opened his eyes and corrected him. Tansen begged him to remind him of the correct notes. So the guru lifted his voice and rendered the same hymn so magnificently that Akbar fell into ecstasy. It was only then that Tansen revealed to him that the guest hiding in the bushes was the Emperor of India. When they returned to the capital, a bewildered Akbar told Tansen he had been right: his teacher was beyond anything he had heard before, but one thing puzzled him — how could there be such a vast difference when both had sung the same song, and hit the same notes, flawlessly. It is said that Tansen replied: ‘The cause is simple — I sing to please the king, he sings only to please God.’
Click at Annapurna Devi and her music of silence ( https://bit.ly/2zlHWbn )
But in a context, there was a beautiful mention of Akbar, Tansen and his teacher Haridas.
"..I had always likened Annapurna to Mian Tansen, the legendary 16th-century musician in Emperor Akbar’s court, who could start fires and create rainstorms with his ragas. (In fact, the Maihar gharana traces its teachings back 400 years directly to Tansen, so in some sense she is musically a direct descendant of Tansen.) But after hearing this story, I began to think differently.
Legend has it that one day in court, after yet another soul-satisfying musical performance from Tansen, Emperor Akbar declared there could be no voice more divine than Tansen’s. The singer humbly replied that if the Emperor could hear his teacher, a hermit called Haridas, his own poor efforts would be forgotten. The Emperor wanted to immediately summon Haridas to court but Tansen cautioned him that it was not possible – his teacher did not sing on demand, only when he felt inspired.
Intrigued, the Emperor, with Tansen, set off for the forest in Vrindavan where Haridas lived in a hut. When they arrived, it was early morning, and the teacher was deep in meditation. Akbar hid in the bushes while Tansen prostrated himself before his guru and began singing a sacred hymn his guru had taught him. The teacher, still deep in meditation, did not open in his eyes. Then Tansen, as planned, deliberately sang a note offkey. His guru immediately opened his eyes and corrected him. Tansen begged him to remind him of the correct notes. So the guru lifted his voice and rendered the same hymn so magnificently that Akbar fell into ecstasy. It was only then that Tansen revealed to him that the guest hiding in the bushes was the Emperor of India. When they returned to the capital, a bewildered Akbar told Tansen he had been right: his teacher was beyond anything he had heard before, but one thing puzzled him — how could there be such a vast difference when both had sung the same song, and hit the same notes, flawlessly. It is said that Tansen replied: ‘The cause is simple — I sing to please the king, he sings only to please God.’
1 comment:
Although I have personally listened to Great ravi Shanker perform in London yeras ago I had only vaguely heard the name of Annapurna not realizing who she was but after reading all this I feel it was such a great loss due to her vow that we were deprived of her music. This not greatness of Ravi Shanker. He would have been great if he could relieve Annapurna from that vow and actually make her re appear on the stage by herself what she clearly deserved
Yes I did watch Abhiman movie
Post a Comment