Master Musicians of India: Hereditary Sarangi Players Speak

354 Pages·2007·5.868 MB·English

by  Regula Burckhardt Qureshi

Master Musicians of India
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Master Musicians of India
Hereditary Sarangi
Players Speak
Regula Burckhardt Qureshi
University of Alberta, Canada
RO Routledge
U
TLE
DG Taylor & Francis Group
E
LONDON AND NEW YORK
First published 2007 by Routledge
Published 2016by R outledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017, USA
Routledge is an imprintof the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
Copyright © 2007 by Taylor & Francis
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in
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Notice:
Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are
used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
Credits and acknowledgments borrowed from other sources and reproduce d,with
permission, in this textbook appear on appropriate page within text.
ISBN: 9780415972017 (hbk)
ISBN: 9780415972024 (pbk)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Qureshi, Regula Burckhardt.
Master musicians of India : hereditary sarangi players speak / Regula Burckhardt
Qureshi.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
ISBN 978-0-415-97201-7 -- ISBN 978-0-415-97202-4
1. Sarangi players--India--Interviews. 2. Sarangi players--Education--India. I.
Title.
ML398.Q74 2007
787.6’1690954--dc22 2006031356
Contents
List of Plates xi
Acknowledgments xiii
Note on Transliteration and Musical Notation xvii
Preface xxi
Introduction 1
Delhi: Center of Power 27
Chapter 1 Sabri Khan: My Guru, a Complete Musician 29
Introducing Ustad Sabri Khan 29
Family Training: A Tough Foundation 32
My Grandfather Taught All of Us 34
A Passion for Learning More 36
Playing from Notation 37
Learning from Other Masters 38
I Have 50 Styles 40
Your Ustad Has Not Been Idle: A Splendid Career 41
About All India Radio 42
Travel Abroad 43
Chapter 2 Sabri Khan: The Master and His Disciples 49
Introduction 49
v
vi • Contents
The Ritual of Shagirdi—A Tie That Binds 50
Accepting Regula as a Disciple 50
Hosting an Informal Gathering 52
Testing Instruments: The Star Student Performs 53
Shagirdi Ceremony 55
Tying the Thread 57
Shabbir Husain, Oldest Disciple: Devotion to the Ustad 59
Introducing Shabbir Husain 59
The Musical Family in Action 60
Shabbir Husain’s Radio Audition 63
Performing for Regula 65
Long Live My Ustad 65
Kamal Sabri: Beginner to Rising Professional 67
Introducing Kamal 67
Kamal and His Brother on the Terrace (1984) 69
Forging the Profession Today (2005) 75
Chapter 3 Teaching Regula: I Will Make You into a
Sarangi Player 83
Introduction 83
Session 1: Preparing for a Performance 84
Technique and Fingering 86
The Way to Practice 86
Session 2: Generating Ideas—An Ocean in a Cup 90
New Techniques 91
From a Single Idea Come 50 More 92
Session 3: A Holistic Approach to Musical Competence 99
Bowing Technique 101
Posture and Presentation 102
Bombay: Freelance Center 105
Chapter 4 Ram Narayan: The Concert Sarangi 107
Introducing Pandit Ram Narayan 107
Pandit Ram Narayan and Regula 108
Like Coming Home 110
A New Life for the Sarangi 110
The Temptation to Become a Singer 112
Being an Accompanist 114
A Musical Contest 115
Creating Recordings and Film Music 117
When I Worked in Film 118
Contents • vii
Sarangi, Voice of Separation? 119
Teaching: Learn Properly, Don’t Just Imitate 120
Final Advice 122
Words of Wisdom from 1969 124
Aruna Narayan Kalle: First Woman Sarangi Player of India 126
Introducing Aruna 126
Playing with Depth at Home Abroad 128
An Unusual Training Path 129
A Special Role Model 130
My Father’s Teaching 133
From India to Canada: Does Being Female Matter? 136
Western Collaborations and Trips to India 138
Chapter 5 Dhruba Ghosh: The New Generation 141
Introducing Dhruba Ghosh 141
The Egg Must Break the Shell 143
We Must Strike Out on Our Own 144
Pioneers and the Quest for a New Idiom 148
Changing People’s Attitudes Toward the Sarangi 150
The Physical Instrument—Innovations 151
Chapter 6 Sultan Khan: Globalizing Heritage 153
Introducing Sultan Khan 153
Respect for the Old and the New 156
We Are All Descendants of Adam 156
Heredity and Humanity 157
“My Heart Was Set on This Instrument” 160
“My Father Taught Me; My Elders Blessed Me” 161
Training: My Own Way of Thinking 164
“Formulas of Our Ancestors” 164
“Mind and Hand” 166
“I’ll Tell You the Major Points in Your Playing” 167
A Competitive Métier: What It Takes 169
When Masters Competed: A Time of Real Music 169
“Those Khansahibs with Their Big Heads” 171
Accompaniment as Competition 172
Playing Sarangi in a Global Context 173
Joining Zakir Husain: The Art of Rhythmic Accompaniment 173
“Honor the Middleman and Trust in God” 175
Lucknow: Center of Tradition 177
Chapter 7 Mahmud Ali Lineage: College Ties 179
viii • Contents
Introducing the Lineage 179
Mirza Mahmud Ali: The Founder 181
Introducing Mirza Mahmud Ali 181
The “Interview”: Heritage Despite College 182
Mirza Maqsud Ali: My College Teacher 186
Introducing Mirza Maqsud Ali 186
Personal Encounters 187
Teaching a Beginner 189
Two Kinds of Training 189
Yaqub Husain Khan: Inheriting a College Post 190
Introducing Yaqub Husain Khan 190
Between Lineage and College 191
A Clash of Values 194
Our Last Conversation: Fees 196
Munawwar Husain: New Sounds and Tragedy 196
Introducing Munawwar Husain Khan 196
Claims to Family and Job 197
Family History 197
Trying the College 199
Experimenting with “Sound” 199
Chapter 8 Bahadur Khan: A Freelance Past 203
Introducing Bahadur Khan 203
Life in the Courtesan Era 205
From Schooling to Family Training 205
Training on the Job 207
Measuring Competence: Juma and Audition 209
Recognizing Banda 212
Chapter 9 Bhagvan Das: Sons and Disciples 213
Bhagvan Das Mishra 213
Introducing Bhagvan Das 213
Bhagvan Das—Risking a First Encounter 216
The Fish under the Grooves 217
Travel and Freelancing 218
Launching Six Sons in Music 221
The Training of Bhagvan Das: A Family Model 223
Building the Benares Gharana 224
Conclusion 226
Santosh Kumar Mishra: Accomplished Virtuoso 227
Introducing Santosh Kumar 227
Santosh Kumar Mishra—Triumph of the Joint Family Model 229
Learning to Sing God’s Name 230
Contents • ix
Practicing for a Lifetime 236
Mr. Omkar: The Patron-Disciple 237
Introducing Mr. Omkar 237
An Evening Session at the Villa 238
Archana Yadav: Breaking the Gender Barrier 241
Introducing Archana 241
Archana and Her Guru 242
Focus on Performance 243
Focus on Teaching 244
Becoming a Player 247
Epilogue: A Working Mother 249
Benares: Center of Indian Culture 251
Chapter 10 Hanuman Prasad Mishra: Make Your Mark! 253
Introducing Hanuman Prasad Mishra 253
Spread Your Fame by Staying Home 256
An ‘Artist Colony’ 256
Sarangi Playing: Benares Perspectives 259
About Women Musicians 266
Karachi: Center of Émigrés 269
Chapter 11 Hamid Husain: An Indian Past Remembered 271
Introducing Ustad Hamid Husain 271
A Memoir from the Court of Rampur 274
My Grandfather Was a Court Musician 274
I Was Educated with Love 277
My Introduction to the Darbar—20 Years Later 278
Facing the World of Work 279
Inventing a New Instrument 281
Hindu and Muslim Musicians: Religion and Music 282
A Rising Career Cut Short: Travels and Migration 284
Bringing Music to a New World 286
Teaching Regula: Let Music Be Beautiful and Personal 287
Sonic Beauty 287
Power of Music 288
Taking Music Forward 288
Epilogue: Memoir of an Era for the Future 291
Glossary 295