and/or www.mantra.com/jai (Dr. Jai Maharaj)
2011-02-16 18:27:21 UTC
Bhimsen Joshi: The voice that crossed the Vindhyas
By Shishir Prasad
Forbes India Magazine of February 25, 2011
Published on Tue, Feb 15, 2011 at 09:35
Updated at Wed, Feb 16, 2011 at 11:15
Pandit Bhimsen Joshi is the male voice that transcended India's
north-south musical divide and captured popular imagination.
So who can be described as the voice of India? Arguably it would have
to be Lata Mangeshkar and MS Subbulakshmi. At least 70% Indians would
have loved their voice and their singing. In the age of coalition
governments that's as good a majority as we will ever get on
anything. Now try the same question but with a gender twist. Who can
be described as the male voice of India? The certainty disappears.
SP Balasubrahmanyam -- great singer -- doesn't cross the Vindhyas
frequently enough. Yesudas had a great run in the Seventies but only
for a brief while. The great GN Balasubramaniam went virtually
unknown to large parts of the North. Madurai Mani Iyer, God bless his
quarter-tones, would draw a blank in most parts of India. M
Balamuralikrishna is a legend, but would again stop short of Narmada.
Kishore Kumar, in his hey days, was reasonably popular down south and
perhaps still is to an extent. Ditto for Mohammed Rafi. But it is
doubtful if they ever held the popular imagination there.
That's why Bhimsen Joshi is so important. His voice travelled right
across India. He was, perhaps after Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, the
one singer who caught popular imagination even though he was a
classicist. His popularity down south is much more than what Ustad
Bade Ghulam Ali Khan ever had. For many, Bhimsen Joshi's mass
popularity was because of television, because of his participation in
public service films like Mile Sur Mera Tumhara and Baje Sargam aired
on Doordarshan in the late Eighties. That might sound like blasphemy
but reveals a deeper truth. He could take a classical ditty and
deliver it in a manner that just about anyone could appreciate. It
wasn't unusual for people to use their fake baritone to try and sing
Jo Bhaje Hari Ko Sada after they left a Joshi concert. "Even in those
Doordarshan films where many stalwarts performed, his portions stood
out," says Shubha Mudgal, a Hindustani classical vocalist.
Truth be told, classical music, especially Hindustani with its accent
on improvisation, can be terribly boring and tedious if it falls in
the wrong hands or throat. Repetitive phrasing, wooden singing and
unimaginative development (badhat) are some reasons why the laity
doesn't warm up to this form of music. Joshi could never be accused
of this. He knew what could catch his audience's ear.
"It is hard to describe that attribute. It could have been a well-
timed murki [a mini-cascade of notes] or a well-positioned khatka
[playful use of adjacent notes]," says Mudgal.
Indeed, Joshi understood that the dry and rigorous terrain of
classical music needed the drip irrigation of alankaars (ornamental
movements) to keep the listener alive.
One of life's more thrilling moments is to experience the profusion
of glide notes simulating zero gravity in the listener's
consciousness while listening to Joshi's Shuddh Kalyan. GN Joshi,
who was the artiste and repertoire person for HMV from 1938 to 1970,
recalls in his superb book Down Melody Lane that way back in 1944 --
when Joshi was just 22! -- he was already a master at presenting a
song. And he began his recording career recording Hindi and Kannada
Bhajans. He soon graduated to recording a poem, Uttar Druva Dum,
written by DR Bendre.
At that time, he had not yet established his credentials as a
traditional classical singer, but his voice and his stylish singing
later found its way into his classical delivery as well. That does
not lessen his rigour, only increases its lustre.
Much has been made of his brilliant voice; and yet when you ponder
over it you are struck by how oversized it is, especially in the
middle octave. The voices of singers like Kumar Gandharva or
Mallikarjun Mansur had a quicksilver quality and Jasraj a spiritual
gravitas, but Joshi's voice had raw power and that's where the
intriguing part of his music came from.
As he began the development of a raga he would try and keep the raw
power of voice on a tight leash, merely exhibiting a quiet menace.
And then as he moved into faster paced part of the raga he would let
it rip, his voice bucking across octaves at tremendous pace. The
transition of his voice from a filly to a stallion, in the course of
an hour, blindsided listeners into submission. Now of course, he is
on to eternal music and his listeners have to make do with the
silence. Damn!
More at:
http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/features/bhimsen-joshi-the-voice-that-crossedvindhyas_522989.html
Jai Maharaj, Jyotishi
Om Shanti
A previous post:
[ Subject: DEATH SILENCES HIS VOICE - But Bhimsen Joshi's music will live on forever
[ From: Dr. Jai Maharaj
[ Date: Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Death silences his voice
Editorial
The Pioneer
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
But Bhimsen Joshi's music will live on forever
He called himself the "high commissioner of music", but he was more
than that: Pandit Bhimsen Joshi was a Renaissance man. A wanderer, an
over-reacher, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi constantly strove to go beyond his
limits, to rise above the boundaries of his gharana , and take his
music to new levels of height and depth -- a character trait he
exhibited even as a child when he would often disappear from home,
leading his parents to lodge complaints with the police. On most
occasions, little Bhimsen would just let himself be carried away by
the sound of music -- be it the muezzin's call to prayer or songs
sung by a rejoicing baraat or even the gramophone records played at
the local music shop. In fact, he was listening to music at the music
shop when he first heard the voice of Abdul Karim Khan, the founder
of the Kirana gharana. This was a turning point in his life, for on
that day he took it upon himself to sing like the maestro himself, a
decision which prompted him to ultimately leave home at the age of 11
in pursuit of a guru. In the years ahead, he undertook a long and
arduous journey, seeking his spiritual master who would guide his way
to music of the celestial kind. He travelled across the country from
his hometown Gadag to Bijapur, Pune and Mumbai, from Gwalior to
Bengal and Jalandhar -- sometimes supporting himself by singing
bhajans on trains which he often boarded without a ticket, and at
other times by working as a domestic help. Eventually, Pandit Bhimsen
Joshi returned to Karnataka where he met the eminent exponent of
Kirana gharana, Sawai Gandharva, and thus began an illustrious
chapter in the guru-shishya tradition. Pandit Bhimsen Joshi's
tutelage under Sawai Gandharva lasted only five years but it laid the
foundation of his musical genius. It is only natural that his big
break was a concert organised to mark his guru's 60th birthday.
In the years since that awe-inspiring concert, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi
established himself as a celebrated exponent of the golden Kirana
gharana . His heartfelt performances in a voice that was both potent
and piercing, allowed his melodies to penetrate our souls,
positioning him as the most revered Hindustani classical music
vocalist of our times. Indeed, it was a breathtaking synthesis of
skill and passion that separated Pandit Bhimsen Joshi from his
contemporaries, many of whom remain dogmatically committed to their
respective gharana in a manner that has possibly hurt their creative
spirit. Pandit Bhimsen Joshi was the last of the titans of his
gharana but the music that he has left behind rises above its
predetermined notations and, instead, has become an integral part of
the vast repertoire of Hindustani classical music. His death marks
the end of an era; his music remains.
http://dailypioneer.com/312995/Death-silences-his-voice.html
More at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com
Jai Maharaj, Jyotishi
Om Shanti
o Not for commercial use. Solely to be fairly used for the educational
purposes of research and open discussion. The contents of this post may not
have been authored by, and do not necessarily represent the opinion of the
poster. The contents are protected by copyright law and the exemption for
fair use of copyrighted works.
o If you send private e-mail to me, it will likely not be read,
considered or answered if it does not contain your full legal name, current
e-mail and postal addresses, and live-voice telephone number.
o Posted for information and discussion. Views expressed by others are
not necessarily those of the poster who may or may not have read the article.
FAIR USE NOTICE: This article may contain copyrighted material the use of
which may or may not have been specifically authorized by the copyright
owner. This material is being made available in efforts to advance the
understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic,
democratic, scientific, social, and cultural, etc., issues. It is believed
that this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as
provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title
17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without
profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included
information for research, comment, discussion and educational purposes by
subscribing to USENET newsgroups or visiting web sites. For more information
go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
If you wish to use copyrighted material from this article for purposes of
your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the
copyright owner.
Since newsgroup posts are being removed
by forgery by one or more net terrorists,
this post may be reposted several times.
By Shishir Prasad
Forbes India Magazine of February 25, 2011
Published on Tue, Feb 15, 2011 at 09:35
Updated at Wed, Feb 16, 2011 at 11:15
Pandit Bhimsen Joshi is the male voice that transcended India's
north-south musical divide and captured popular imagination.
So who can be described as the voice of India? Arguably it would have
to be Lata Mangeshkar and MS Subbulakshmi. At least 70% Indians would
have loved their voice and their singing. In the age of coalition
governments that's as good a majority as we will ever get on
anything. Now try the same question but with a gender twist. Who can
be described as the male voice of India? The certainty disappears.
SP Balasubrahmanyam -- great singer -- doesn't cross the Vindhyas
frequently enough. Yesudas had a great run in the Seventies but only
for a brief while. The great GN Balasubramaniam went virtually
unknown to large parts of the North. Madurai Mani Iyer, God bless his
quarter-tones, would draw a blank in most parts of India. M
Balamuralikrishna is a legend, but would again stop short of Narmada.
Kishore Kumar, in his hey days, was reasonably popular down south and
perhaps still is to an extent. Ditto for Mohammed Rafi. But it is
doubtful if they ever held the popular imagination there.
That's why Bhimsen Joshi is so important. His voice travelled right
across India. He was, perhaps after Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, the
one singer who caught popular imagination even though he was a
classicist. His popularity down south is much more than what Ustad
Bade Ghulam Ali Khan ever had. For many, Bhimsen Joshi's mass
popularity was because of television, because of his participation in
public service films like Mile Sur Mera Tumhara and Baje Sargam aired
on Doordarshan in the late Eighties. That might sound like blasphemy
but reveals a deeper truth. He could take a classical ditty and
deliver it in a manner that just about anyone could appreciate. It
wasn't unusual for people to use their fake baritone to try and sing
Jo Bhaje Hari Ko Sada after they left a Joshi concert. "Even in those
Doordarshan films where many stalwarts performed, his portions stood
out," says Shubha Mudgal, a Hindustani classical vocalist.
Truth be told, classical music, especially Hindustani with its accent
on improvisation, can be terribly boring and tedious if it falls in
the wrong hands or throat. Repetitive phrasing, wooden singing and
unimaginative development (badhat) are some reasons why the laity
doesn't warm up to this form of music. Joshi could never be accused
of this. He knew what could catch his audience's ear.
"It is hard to describe that attribute. It could have been a well-
timed murki [a mini-cascade of notes] or a well-positioned khatka
[playful use of adjacent notes]," says Mudgal.
Indeed, Joshi understood that the dry and rigorous terrain of
classical music needed the drip irrigation of alankaars (ornamental
movements) to keep the listener alive.
One of life's more thrilling moments is to experience the profusion
of glide notes simulating zero gravity in the listener's
consciousness while listening to Joshi's Shuddh Kalyan. GN Joshi,
who was the artiste and repertoire person for HMV from 1938 to 1970,
recalls in his superb book Down Melody Lane that way back in 1944 --
when Joshi was just 22! -- he was already a master at presenting a
song. And he began his recording career recording Hindi and Kannada
Bhajans. He soon graduated to recording a poem, Uttar Druva Dum,
written by DR Bendre.
At that time, he had not yet established his credentials as a
traditional classical singer, but his voice and his stylish singing
later found its way into his classical delivery as well. That does
not lessen his rigour, only increases its lustre.
Much has been made of his brilliant voice; and yet when you ponder
over it you are struck by how oversized it is, especially in the
middle octave. The voices of singers like Kumar Gandharva or
Mallikarjun Mansur had a quicksilver quality and Jasraj a spiritual
gravitas, but Joshi's voice had raw power and that's where the
intriguing part of his music came from.
As he began the development of a raga he would try and keep the raw
power of voice on a tight leash, merely exhibiting a quiet menace.
And then as he moved into faster paced part of the raga he would let
it rip, his voice bucking across octaves at tremendous pace. The
transition of his voice from a filly to a stallion, in the course of
an hour, blindsided listeners into submission. Now of course, he is
on to eternal music and his listeners have to make do with the
silence. Damn!
More at:
http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/features/bhimsen-joshi-the-voice-that-crossedvindhyas_522989.html
Jai Maharaj, Jyotishi
Om Shanti
A previous post:
[ Subject: DEATH SILENCES HIS VOICE - But Bhimsen Joshi's music will live on forever
[ From: Dr. Jai Maharaj
[ Date: Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Death silences his voice
Editorial
The Pioneer
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
But Bhimsen Joshi's music will live on forever
He called himself the "high commissioner of music", but he was more
than that: Pandit Bhimsen Joshi was a Renaissance man. A wanderer, an
over-reacher, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi constantly strove to go beyond his
limits, to rise above the boundaries of his gharana , and take his
music to new levels of height and depth -- a character trait he
exhibited even as a child when he would often disappear from home,
leading his parents to lodge complaints with the police. On most
occasions, little Bhimsen would just let himself be carried away by
the sound of music -- be it the muezzin's call to prayer or songs
sung by a rejoicing baraat or even the gramophone records played at
the local music shop. In fact, he was listening to music at the music
shop when he first heard the voice of Abdul Karim Khan, the founder
of the Kirana gharana. This was a turning point in his life, for on
that day he took it upon himself to sing like the maestro himself, a
decision which prompted him to ultimately leave home at the age of 11
in pursuit of a guru. In the years ahead, he undertook a long and
arduous journey, seeking his spiritual master who would guide his way
to music of the celestial kind. He travelled across the country from
his hometown Gadag to Bijapur, Pune and Mumbai, from Gwalior to
Bengal and Jalandhar -- sometimes supporting himself by singing
bhajans on trains which he often boarded without a ticket, and at
other times by working as a domestic help. Eventually, Pandit Bhimsen
Joshi returned to Karnataka where he met the eminent exponent of
Kirana gharana, Sawai Gandharva, and thus began an illustrious
chapter in the guru-shishya tradition. Pandit Bhimsen Joshi's
tutelage under Sawai Gandharva lasted only five years but it laid the
foundation of his musical genius. It is only natural that his big
break was a concert organised to mark his guru's 60th birthday.
In the years since that awe-inspiring concert, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi
established himself as a celebrated exponent of the golden Kirana
gharana . His heartfelt performances in a voice that was both potent
and piercing, allowed his melodies to penetrate our souls,
positioning him as the most revered Hindustani classical music
vocalist of our times. Indeed, it was a breathtaking synthesis of
skill and passion that separated Pandit Bhimsen Joshi from his
contemporaries, many of whom remain dogmatically committed to their
respective gharana in a manner that has possibly hurt their creative
spirit. Pandit Bhimsen Joshi was the last of the titans of his
gharana but the music that he has left behind rises above its
predetermined notations and, instead, has become an integral part of
the vast repertoire of Hindustani classical music. His death marks
the end of an era; his music remains.
http://dailypioneer.com/312995/Death-silences-his-voice.html
More at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com
Jai Maharaj, Jyotishi
Om Shanti
o Not for commercial use. Solely to be fairly used for the educational
purposes of research and open discussion. The contents of this post may not
have been authored by, and do not necessarily represent the opinion of the
poster. The contents are protected by copyright law and the exemption for
fair use of copyrighted works.
o If you send private e-mail to me, it will likely not be read,
considered or answered if it does not contain your full legal name, current
e-mail and postal addresses, and live-voice telephone number.
o Posted for information and discussion. Views expressed by others are
not necessarily those of the poster who may or may not have read the article.
FAIR USE NOTICE: This article may contain copyrighted material the use of
which may or may not have been specifically authorized by the copyright
owner. This material is being made available in efforts to advance the
understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic,
democratic, scientific, social, and cultural, etc., issues. It is believed
that this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as
provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title
17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without
profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included
information for research, comment, discussion and educational purposes by
subscribing to USENET newsgroups or visiting web sites. For more information
go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
If you wish to use copyrighted material from this article for purposes of
your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the
copyright owner.
Since newsgroup posts are being removed
by forgery by one or more net terrorists,
this post may be reposted several times.