{"id":3481,"date":"2015-04-17T08:58:00","date_gmt":"2015-04-17T08:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/2015\/04\/17\/dr-r-neerunjun-gopee-127\/"},"modified":"2017-11-20T16:48:15","modified_gmt":"2017-11-20T12:48:15","slug":"dr-r-neerunjun-gopee-127","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/dr-r-neerunjun-gopee-127\/","title":{"rendered":"An Evening of Magical Empathy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Annual Show at the MGI<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

On Friday last the students of the School of Performing Arts (SPA) of the Mahatma Gandhi Institute presented their Annual Show, Sangeet Sadhana, under the guidance of their gurus and in a number of items accompanied by them.<\/span><\/p>\n

The students were drawn from the certificate\/advanced certificate to the diploma and degree course levels. A large gathering of parents and relatives, friends and well-wishers, as well as \u2018emeritus\u2019 retiree gurus were present to encourage and applaud the performers, who delighted their audience, lovers of Indian classical music. <\/span><\/p>\n

For indeed Sangeet refers to Indian classical music, and those who decide to take it up know that they are henceforth set on a path of sadhana \u2013 spiritual discipline. That\u2019s an important qualification, which makes Indian classical music distinct, for it is considered to be of divine origin. Music is sound, Naad, and to quote from the book of Shri Mohurlall Chummun on Hindustani Music, \u2018Naad is the source of all sounds\u2026 considered to be the manifested form of God, the source of everything and the primordial sound, Naad Brahma.\u2019 Another way of putting it is that \u2018Like all art forms in Indian culture, Indian classical music is believed to be a divine art form which originated from the Devas and Devis (Hindu Gods and Goddesses), and is venerated as symbolic of n\u0101da br\u0101hman.\u2019 <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

The implication therefore is that performing or enjoying such music brings us closer to the divine, such is the intense feeling evoked and the elevated atmosphere generated when the music is played. This was certainly the case on that wonderful evening, and if only more people would care to partake of, learn to appreciate and enjoy this universal art form, there would be less chaos and more harmony all around. One cannot listen to such music and be left unmoved, with a sense of inner peace. And we know that all round peace, of which we cannot deny that the world is in critical need, begins in the heart of man as Mahatma Gandhi said.<\/span><\/p>\n

All sounds can be either musical, or unmusical: noise, which irritates the ears and mind. Musical sounds are known as Swaras in Indian music and there is a complex variety of arrangements of swaras that make up the sublime edifice of Indian classical music. In fact, it must be pointed out that the term sangeet refers to the three arts combined, namely those of singing, playing musical instruments and dancing. Invariably, therefore, most performances include these three art forms, as happened at the Annual Show. <\/span><\/p>\n

It started with the item \u2018Ganga Kaveri\u2019, performed by students of Diploma and Degree programmes of studies of the Department of Vocal Music. So it was a vocal rendering that combined Hindustani and Carnatic styles, respectively from the north and the south of India. Hence Ganga Kaveri: the river Ganga is in the north and river Kaveri is in the south of India respectively. Whatever be the geographical or political landscape of these two regions, the undeniable reality is that there is a fundamental unity that underlies Indian culture, especially Indian classical music, a reflection of its divine origin which knows no boundaries. No doubt there is a demarcation of form <\/em>between Hindustani and Carnatic music, but what resonates in one\u2019s inner being on hearing either is one and the same: the divine sound, n\u0101da br\u0101hman.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

This resonance is even stronger when the mridangam is played: this was the item Madhura Tarangam, and the performance was faithful to the description \u2018scintillating sounds\u2026 depicting the exuberant and gracious flow of waves of rhythm\u2019 featured in the programme booklet. As exuberant and gracious too were the dancers who executed Kathak and Bharatnatyam in their respective items, what with their colourful and dazzling costumes, their footworks and hand gestures, and their facial expressions \u2013 truly a kaleidoscope of magnificent articulations. <\/span><\/p>\n

Tat Vadya Sangam was an instrumental item based on a late night melody Raag, the Raag Bihaag which was played in Teentaal, a rhythmic cycle of sixteen beats. A raag is \u2018a musical idiom which expresses and emotion\u2019 in which the Swaras must be used \u2018in such a way that they are capable of pleasing the human mind and soul.\u2019 This was essentially an execution of stringed instruments \u2013 sitar and violin \u2013 and, what with over forty participants including those on tabla, tanpuri and swar mandal, it assumed an orchestral dimension. <\/span><\/p>\n

I was very happy to notice the presence of several young children among the performers, especially on the violin, and I only pray and hope that more and more of their age group will join the courses, for there is nothing like starting early where music is concerned. Not only is it an enjoyable activity; it also helps one to develop an all-rounded, beautiful personality and pleasant character, besides other skills that one may benefit from and that have been documented \u2013 for example, in mathematics. <\/span><\/p>\n

In all, eleven items were presented, and although I enjoyed all of them, I have a weakness for the tabla, and so the Tabla Vaadan and the Tabla Ensemble in Jhaptaal touched me very profoundly. It would be no exaggeration to say that the Tabla Ensemble in particular left me spellbound and since it was the last item, \u2018the music in my heart I bore, long after it was heard no more,\u2019 \u2013 reminding me of these concluding lines from the poem The Reaper <\/em>by William Wordsworth. <\/span><\/p>\n

Courtesy my professional (medical) bias, I could not help noting that one of the six tabla players in the Tabla Ensemble was left-handed \u2013 he was playing the tabla with the left hand and the daga with the right hand, which is the opposite of what is done by a right-handed person. Left-handedness is a condition which is present in about 15% of people, and normally one would come across it in one person doing something or the other, like writing, alone. But here the player was part of an Ensemble, and I was practically mesmerized to see the perfect synchronization he had with his right-handed partners. To me this showed the remarkable versatility of the human brain, and added to the aesthetics of the performance. <\/span><\/p>\n

It would be amiss for me not to mention the Saraswati Vandana, which was performed by the students of my guru Shri Mohurlall Chummun, who accompanied the vocalists on the harmonium. We had a little chat before the show started, and we agreed that it was a small matter that this item did not begin the programme. Phirbhi, koi baat nahin\u2026 What was important was that the show was on, but very especially when we sing or hear the first line Vandna karoun sharda Saraswati there are no words to describe how our hearts melt\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

Were there some weaknesses? Yes, there were, like in some introductions of the items by the students, and a slight lack of coordination between the master of ceremonies and the others during the protocol part of the programme. As to the performances, the tans did present a little difficulty \u2013 but then we know that learning to do tans is one of the toughest parts of sangeet for beginners. Further, of course much more maturity is still to come in the vocal renderings, and it\u2019s only practice, practice and more practice that can get one there. <\/span><\/p>\n

Sangeet sadhana is a lifelong affair, and the two or three years of formal study are nothing in terms of the learning process, which has to continue for the rest of one\u2019s career or life if one is genuinely interested. When we think that it can take almost a full year to be reasonably good at Alankaar practice, this gives an idea of how demanding, painstaking and time-consuming the art is. <\/span><\/p>\n

And this is why we must laud and commend the efforts put in by the organizers and staff at MGI and in particular those of the students, because it is only through such support and cooperation that the cause of Indian classical music will be advanced further locally. As it is, going beyond the confines of MGI to different regions of the island has already shown the results that gladdened our ears and hearts last Friday, and this outreach and spread — let\u2019s safely leave out the clich\u00e9 \u2018democratisation! \u2013 would enhance the cultural quasi-desert that we are in as far as Indian classical music is concerned. Further, while polishing and perfection will always be a work in progress, a small suggestion is to have this kind of show somewhat more regularly, perhaps starting with twice a year, precisely so as to give a boost to the scene. <\/span><\/p>\n

Overall, therefore, thanks a ton to the students for their marvellous performance and best wishes for the future. It was a lovely evening of \u2018magical empathy,\u2019 in the words of an accomplished artist who thus qualified the unique connect that is established between performer and audience. Perhaps with the help of the Ministry of Arts and Culture, we may look forward to more such \u2018decentralised\u2019 evenings of magical empathy put up by the MGI\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

* Published in print edition on 17 April \u00a02015<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Annual Show at the MGI<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":6560,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3962],"tags":[7553,103,7556,7557,7551,7559,7554,7562,7552,7555,7558,7560,7561,4516],"class_list":["post-3481","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culturereligion","tag-annual-show-at-the-mgi","tag-dr-r-neerunjun-gopee","tag-ganga-kaveri","tag-madhura-tarangam","tag-magical-empathy","tag-raag-bihaag","tag-sangeet-sadhana","tag-saraswati-vandana","tag-school-of-performing-art","tag-shri-mohurlall-chummun","tag-tat-vadya-sangam","tag-teentaal","tag-the-reaper","tag-william-wordsworth"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/MT-Logokk.jpg?fit=1200%2C880&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8QzSF-U9","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3481","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3481"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3481\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6560"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3481"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3481"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3481"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}