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Harivanshrai
Bachchan, Doyen of Hindi Literature, Passes Away MUMBAI: Harivanshrai Bachchan, a doyen of Hindi poetry and megastar Amitabh Bachchan's father, died at his residence in Mumbai late on Saturday night after a prolonged illness. He is survived by his wife Teji Bachchan and sons Amitabh and Ajitabh. The 96-year-old poet had been suffering from respiratory problems for quite some time and was in a critical condition for the last few days. When the end came, all family members of the poet, including son Amitabh, daughter-in-law Jaya and grandson Abhishek were at his bedside. Leading film personalities, friends and admirers made a beeline at 'Pratiksha', the bungalow of super-star Amitabh Bachchan, to to pay their respects. "Our country has lost a great poet. And the family has lost a senior member whose blessings and protection will always be missed," said actor and director Anupam Kher. "Harivanshrai was a great hero of a literary era. With him it is an era that has come to an end," said Amar Singh, general secretary, Samajwadi Party, and a close friend of the Bachchans. Dr Harivanshrai Bachchan burst upon the horizon of Hindi poetry as a bright star in 1935 with his critically acclaimed 'Madhushala, a 142 verse piece, which many have compared to the brilliant 'Rubaiyyat' of Omar Khayyam. He was to carve out another niche for himself decades later with his autobiography in four volumes, beginning with 'Kya Bhoolun Kya Yaad Karoon' regarded till date as a literary masterpiece. Born in Allahabad on November 27, 1907, Bachchan was the first Indian to obtain a Phd in English literature from Cambridge University. On his return, he worked as a teacher for a year and after a short stint as a producer at All India Radio, he joined the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi as an Officer on Special Duty in 1955. He remained there for about ten years and was intimately associated with the evolution of Hindi as the official language. In recognition of his contribution to the world of literature and Hindi language, he was nominated to the Upper House of Parliament in 1966. He was conferred the Padma Bhushan, one among the country's highest civilian decorations, Soviet Land Nehru Prize, Afro-Asian Writers' Conference Lotus Prize besides many literary honours. His early writings consisted of the famous triology of Madhushala, Madhubala and Madhukalash, noted for their profound sensitivity and simple diction. This was followed by some of his finest lyrical poetry. He has about 30 collections of poems to his credit. Unique
Fusion Music Enthralls Mumbaiites (Go
To Top) MUMBAI: A unique fusion music festival organised recently in this metropolis was a hit with music lovers. Organised by renowned tabla player Bikram Ghosh, who shot to fame performing alongside maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar, the festival had some of the music industry's biggest names, including Shubha Mudgal, as participants. Ghosh kicked off the event with a spectacular instrumental composition comprising tabla, mridangam, violin, flute and a variety of other Western and Indian instruments. Named after the theme of the festival, 'Rythmscape', the meledious composition enthralled everybody. Ghosh, however, was sceptical of the 'Fusion' jargon and instead chose to call his music as one representing different forces of music. "Rythmscape was something which I wanted to do for say five years or so. You can call it cross-over music or call it world music because there is a lack of definition when this kind of music is concerned. But the way I see it is the combination of the different forces in the musical world," said Ghosh. Adding glamour and variety to the event was national award winning actress and a trained Bharatnatyam dancer, Shobhana. Shobhana presented to the audience a specially choreographed number which was a mix of Indian classical and western film music. Shobhana said her long experience in the film industry gave her an open mind and an ability to adapt and enjoy all kinds of music and dance forms. "Well I feel that after listening to this music, though I am a classical dancer, I loved it. I have a very strong base in films so I am very open to such songs and I feel the music is wonderful, though the name Rythmscape might give the impression that it is all catchy or racy but it has beautiful melodies," she said. The highlight of the event was the lady who stole the show with her powerful voice and strong classical base. Shubha Mudgal performed to a packed house and ended the show with a truly magical rendering of 'Piya Bawari', a beautfiul Indian classical song performed with Western instruments. Fusion
Concert for Global Peace(Go
To Top) BANGALORE: Music is an important aspect of human life. It has a mass appeal and it does not have any specified boundaries, in other words it is universal. All this was proved in a fusion music concert performed for global peace in Bangalore by the two legends of Eastern and Western music, Dr L Subramaniam and France-born American Jean Luc Ponty. It was just two violins speaking in perfect harmony along with percussions of Norwegian folk music. It was Eastern, Western and all chords reverberated to breathe the message of peace. Two greats of the East and the West Dr L Subramaniam and the rock and jazz maestro Jean Luc Ponty lifted the audience to a new level. The message of peace reverberated through the sounds of violin and other instruments proving again and again that music has no boundaries and is the only alternative to heal the wounds of the world. Jean Luc Ponty and L Subramaniam played their own compositions to the percussions of Norwegian musicians like Stian Carstensen, an accordion player and Frode Haltli, a great soloist and also Guy Nsangue Akwa, a West African guitarist and other Indian artistes. For the violin maestro of the West, Jean Luc Ponty, peace was the need of the hour. Compositions like Gypsy Train, Open Mind, Conversations, Mother Land and Necklace Road left audiences spell-bound. The fusion music with the theme connecting the people and for global peace was organised by Lakshminarayana Trust and would be performing in other Indian cities also. Ustad
Zakir Hussain, Rahul Sharma Perform for a Noble Cause
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To Top) MUMBAI: Mumbaiites had the opportunity to witness yet another captivating musical performance last night in the entertainment capital of India - Mumbai. India's classical music guru, tabla maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain, and young santoor player Rahul Sharma (son of legendary santoor maestro Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma) performed together at the Nehru Centre in Mumbai for a noble cause of raising funds for the Mumbai thalassaemic society. In a bid to combat the dreaded disease, the Mumbai thalassaemic society organised the concert to spread awareness about the threatening genetic disorder that causes severe anaemia which requires life-long treatment in the form of blood transfusion every 10-15 days along with other medication. According to the i thalassaemia society, approximately 20 million people carry the gene for thalassaemia. About 7-8 per cent of the population is affected by the disorder which is increasing by 4 per cent each year. Punjab Bid to Get Golden Temple
Listed as World Heritage
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CHANDIGARH: The Government of Punjab wants the Golden Temple to have the status of a World Heritage monument. It is working in that direction. Home to 'Akal Takht', the temporal seat of Sikhs, Golden temple in Amritsar city showcases the religious traditions of Sikhism, the world's youngest religion.
Nominated by the State Government, officials from Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) are preparing a dossier, highlighting the uniqueness of the temple. The documents will have to reach the UNESCO before February 1, the deadline for sending in requests for nominations. The authorities hope the shrine will qualify for the coveted stamp. The foundation stone of the Golden Temple was laid in 1589 by a Muslim saint Mian Mir. The construction began under the 19th century Sikh ruler, Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1830. Ashwini Sekhri, Punjab Tourism Minister, said world Heritage status would give Amritsar and the Sikh religion the publicity they deserved. "Amritsar would get upliftment once Golden Temple is declared a World Heritage site. People from all over the world will visit this beautiful place," Sekhri added. Analysts say that till now no major steps were taken to conserve Punjab's heritage and legacy. The move is considered important in view of the support it received from the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, which would also manage the conservation of the temple. According to Gurmeet Rai, an architect, painstaking efforts were being made to prepare the dossier for the UNESCO. "We have done measure drawings of every square inch of the complex. We are to do conditioning assessment of the historical buildings and give conservation plans for that. In addition, we had to meet historians, read books (both historical and contemporary) to establish the significance of continuing living traditions of the country," Rai elaborated. UNESCO would send a team of experts to evaluate the claims made in INTACH's reports and the work would be completed by 2005. Shiv
Kumar, Chaurasia Concert Enthralls Mumbaiites
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To Top) MUMBAI: Two generations of musical maestros came together to perform in a unique concert titled 'Anubhuti', a concert which enthralled both the young and old classical music lovers in Mumbai, on Saturday, when the classical music stalwarts - santoor maestro Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, renowned flautist Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia and the tabla genius Ustad Zakir Hussain gave their first-ever performance along with their successors, that is, Rahul Sharma and Rakesh Sharma, sons of Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma and Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia, respectively. A unique blend of classical music performances of the gurus and their worthy successors was a first time experience of Ustad Zakir Hussain who has so far given individual performances with Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma and Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia, respectively. Even after a magical and captivating performance to the accompaniment of santoor and flute the tabla maestro says modestly that performing at this particular concert was a challenge. Zakir Hussain' said, "I haven't played in a situation where I had to play together ... sab ki sangat mein, sub ko support karke perform karna ek challenge hai aur iska anubhav ek learning experience hai". Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma said: "This is a very unique concert where two generations of musicians are playing. The hall is packed with the audience and it shows that the young generation is taking interest, a large number of young talent is listening to Indian clasical music. It's a good sign!." Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia believes that there are immensely talented tabla players, sitar players, saarangi players and classical vocalists in India and therefore there is the need for such concerts. He also said that the need to promote young talent is in the hands of the corporates who should support the initiative taken by young musicians. -ANI |
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