Top Ten South Asian Pieces of Music

Ekalvya, add one more of SD in the list, ``Ore Majhi, mere majhi, mere sajan hai us par, main ispar`` of Bandini. By the way, sajan can be interpreted as God in Bengali Bowl geet.

Here is the meaning of the first two lines of Bhupen Hazarika`s Bistirna Dupere. This is a song about the deprived masses of India.

`` O Ganga, why you are still flowing quietly after hearing the cries of vast number of deprived people on both sides of your banks?

Upon witnessing the degradation of morality and humanity, why are you still flowing lazily and shamelessly?

O how helpless I am expressing those powerful words? The writer is Sadashib Banerjee.

Both Salil Chowdhury and Hazarika had composed many songs on this theme, and they are all very good. In fact Calcutta Youth Coir under the direction of Ruma Guhathakurta (Kishore Kumar`s first wife and Amit Kumar`s mother)had also recorded Bistirno Dupare. One of the nicest songs of Calcutta Youth Coir which has a tremendous appeal to the united world is:

``Tomar amaar thikana, Padma Meghna Jamuna

Mekong Bhalga ghure, Gangar tir dhare peyechi chalar nishana``.

Don`t forget to include Roshan and Khaiyam in your list Eklavaya and Sameer,

``Rahe na rahe hum, meheka karenge, banke kali banke sabab....

``Justojoo jiski thi usko to na paya hamne, is bahanepe magar dekh li duniya hamne``

Sayonara or is it cionara?

Mr. Asif Nagshbundi

I read yourleter. Thank u very much.

About ``basant`` festaval. my thinking. is it be banned in punjab also.This year sindh banned all that hindu festival by govt. order. But sorry your punjab no ban but selebrate same stuf. Its wrong as punjab is captan of pakistan correct.They called spring festaval but every PPL though as Basant festival. Its shikh hindu thing. we chased all hindu and shikhs type out punjab why now selebrate and fly kite stupid stuf?.its stupid to do things to make your enemy happy.

Reply to #121

nasah writes:``These Indian classical ragas are eternal -- nothing compares to it -- in the Iranian or the Arab music system -- yet the Muslims turned -- that Dhurpud gem -- into an exquisitely cut polished diamond -- Kheyal -- its most popular form for the past several centuries.``

I agree only partially. Yes, the Indian ragas are eternal, the product of the highest musical thought and imagination.

No, these fantasies about Muslims coming in and polishing things won`t wash. It is curious that while you are quick to rush in to take credit for ``Muslims`` you don`t find it necessary to associate ``Hindus`` with the idea of raga.

Dhrupad was (still is) a highly developed form. To say that it was polished into a diamond (khayal) is to betray one`s ignorance of BOTH the forms. The faith of the practitioners is quite incidental to much of this development. Further, khayal has not been around ``several centuries.`` The beginnings are placed more like in the 18th C. This ``several centuries`` is another myth calculated to elevate Amir Khusro by ascribing to him all manner of fictitious musical inventions (solely with the goal of trumpeting ``muslim`` contribution). These chauvinists, of course, never find it convenient to mention Khusro`s own estimation of the music of India exiting in his times!

Finally, most of the great Indian ustads have never found it a problem acknowledging their Hindu roots and the Hindu antecedents of their music. In fact, several of them, eg. Alladiya Khan, Alladdin Khan etc, lived much like Hindus. Which is not surprising since the gharanedar musicians typically came from a lineage where at the top of the line you would find a Hindu convert.

Bottom line: Paki version of history won`t wash.

Someone also mentioned that it is hard to find classical music courses in India and Pakistan. It is eminently possible that that situation obtains in Pakistan, the cultural and moral Siberia of our times. But in India, not only is it easy to learn music, one can flourish doing so.

tantralogician

Reply to #118

Wadera writes:``...It was said that when Ustad Bundoo Khan played, his Sa-Rangi became a Sau-Rangi! He came to Pakistan, his land of dreams, and lived in LaluKhet til he died...``

I don`t know where you fellows get your fantasies from. It broke Bundu Khan`s heart to leave his beloved Delhi. He went to Pakistan only after he had no choice. Despite his family having left earlier he stayed behind in Delhi and it was a wrenching decision for him to ultimately leave. Furthermore, Bundu Khan had NO interest in the political happenings. When he once heard that one Jinnah is scheduled to come to the Delhi radio station he is said to have said ``No problem, I will give him Sarangi accompaniment.`` So much for the ``beloved Pakistan`` myth. In Pakistan he was a lost man, neglected and unappreciated, and the emotional stress wrought by the move may have hastened his death. For more on Bundu Khan, read Sheila Dhar`s ``Here is Someone I`d Like you to Meet.`` One chapter is devoted to Bundu, among the most moving accounts one can find on anyone.

tantralogician

Reply to #118

Wadera writes:``...It was said that when Ustad Bundoo Khan played, his Sa-Rangi became a Sau-Rangi! He came to Pakistan, his land of dreams, and lived in LaluKhet til he died...``

I don`t know where you fellows get your fantasies from. It broke Bundu Khan`s heart to leave his beloved Delhi. He went to Pakistan only after he had no choice. Despite his family having left earlier he stayed behind in Delhi and it was a wrenching decision for him to ultimately leave. Furthermore, Bundu Khan had NO interest in the political happenings. When he once heard that one Jinnah is scheduled to come to the Delhi radio station he is said to have said ``No problem, I will give him Sarangi accompaniment.`` So much for the ``beloved Pakistan`` myth. In Pakistan he was a lost man, neglected and unappreciated, and the emotional stress wrought by the move may have hastened his death. For more on Bundu Khan, read Sheila Dhar`s ``Here is Someone I`d Like you to Meet.`` One chapter is devoted to Bundu, among the most moving accounts one can find on anyone.

tantralogician

SameerJB #93:

Regarding your request for more info on Rahmat Fateh Ali Khan concert recently held in NYC. I am a casual music listener so cannot give you any great musical details. He played at a bar called the Village Underground in Greenwich Village and the troupe included his father (who I presume is Nusrats brother) and his kid brother (Wahadat? looked 14 or 15) who was on stage for the first time. Rahmat has a very powerful voice - he comes across as a modest low key person but maybe thats surmising too much from watching a person on a stage. Songs he played included numbers from his new album, Jhoole Lal, Dum-a-dum mast qalandhar etc. and when pressed for an encore he ended with ``Kina Sona Rab Ne Banaye``. Rahmats voice is awesome and he can go up and down the scale with ease. The audience consisted largely of subcontinentals, smoking thankfully wasnt allowed, and there was the obligatory blonde in the audience who would get up and start dancing to the music. Then there were some other guys who would show up on the stage and start dropping dollar bills one by one on the troupe. The close circuit TV operator was intent on using all his special effects. The audience was relatively small about 150-200 people but not bad for a weekday. The whole audience, myself included, was swaying with the music. It was a great evening.

nasah #121

`Dil jalta hai` is actually by Mukesh and not Saigal. The first few years of his career Mukesh consciously copied the singing style of Saigal (because of his popularity I guess). He was convinced (by Anil Biswas? Naushad? don`t remember) later to stick to his own characteristic style.

On the ragas, Darbari and Malkauns both sound sombre with haunting movements, but are quite different as far as ragas go. Darbari belongs to the Asavari thaat while Malkauns is from the Bhairavi thaat.

SameerJB

[Now what is raag darbari and how one can identify it by just listening to any piece in that raga?]

Each raga has a specific set of notes and characteristic movements which are common to any piece set in that raga, and can be used to identify it.

There are quite a few sites on classical music, but check out this one http://www.itcsra.com

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Re:Reply #: 122

Asif Naqshbandi,

Agree with your post. Quality is a must. In this respect i know that a lot of very good Pak plays were made many years ago and i know that these were freely available in Bombay at the time.

Joint production of some interesting historical movies is a very good idea. There are some incredibly talented people on both sides of the border and a mega-project like this would launch their careers. As far as i know, no one has so far made a movie on the Mughal emperor Akbar. Other topics like Heer-Ranjha or Soni-Mahiwal are also of interest to people on both sides. The big question is, will the politicians agree on this. I doubt it. We are having tough time playing cricket. Talking about a joint production of a movie seems far-fetched right now.

Sridhar

Dear SameerJB:

re:#113

``Bare Ghulam Ali Khan is worth lot more than that. I Think that is in raag darbari. Now what is raag darbari and how one can identify it by just listening to any piece in that raga?``

Indeed, he is priceless. Khan Sahib was a rare gem.

That classic thumri by Bade Gulam Ali Khan -- ka karooN sajni aye na balam`` -- is in raag BhairveeN.

Another classic - a gazal by KL Sehgal(?) -- dil jultaa hai to julne de, asooN na baha feryad na ker -- is in rag Darbari -- one of the most popular and enchanting raagas -- rather close to Maalkous.

No other way to identify except to learn the scales -- and listen time after time with the constant reminder that this is such and such raag -- or take a course in Indian classical music -- something not easily available here -- or in India or Pakistan.

Unfortunately there is such a paucity of music teaching tapes and CDs from the subcontinent.

These Indian classical ragas are eternal -- nothing compares to it -- in the Iranian or the Arab music system -- yet the Muslims turned -- that Dhurpud gem -- into an exquisitely cut polished diamond -- Kheyal -- its most popular form for the past several centuries.

Good to know that you are starting classical -- keep us informed about your progress -- I might start taking lessons as well.

sridhar,

I agree with most of what you say and there ARE some v. good films from Bollywood but the majority are mindless repetitions of the same formula. I saw Shatranj kay KhilaRi and I think it was a great movie. Pakeezah and Mughal e AZam, Umrao Jaan Ada, Main Azaad Hoon, Sardari Begum...these are all excellent movies. India certainly makes good movies for the masses but I believe that the cinema of a nation is a good reflection of a society and the fact that so much of Bollywood is still churning out the same old formula must say something. Raj Kapoor was special--he made socially important films which were both of artistic merit and comercially viable (with one or two exceptions).

Anyway, Bollywood caters to a certain market and it is v. good at delivering at that market. Pakistan cannot compete with it in that particular niche due to many reasons, money being the main one (even though our stars are generally more glamorous and attractive in my opinion) SO it will make sense for Pakistan to try and develop a different niche. And given the fact of Pan-Islamism and our cultural affinities with the Arab-Persian world we can learn a lot from them. Our dramas are successful because they are quality. People will watch quality films if they are well made regardless of whether songs are included or not. People often think ``art`` films cannot be entertaining! That`s not true. Therefore the industry should re-think who it tries to emulate. I`m not saying dont produce any Bollywood cloans at all--just produce them much less AND concentrate on making films more like our dramas and like the Arabic and Iranian cinema.

Both India and Pakistan have made versions of Layla Majnun but by far the best film version of this legendary love story I have seen is a Tunisian one called ``Laila, Ma Raison`` (okay it was made partly with French money) and it had no songs and no rain scenes! I am sure it will be better to make 10-12 such films a year of quality rather than making 50-60 typical crap ones. Having said that there is a film coming out soon in Pakistan called ``Usaamah`` which will be interesting...:-) Shaan plays the hero role :-)

Since the movies are one of the best ways of propogating one`s message and values, films with an Islamic ethos should be made in Pakistan. Within Islamic and Indo-Muslim history we have an infinite variety of scripts to choose from. But any film made has to be made WELL.

Quality not quantity must be the motto for our film industry.I`d love to see a top Pakistani director like Syed Noor working with Mohsen Makhalmaf on a joint Iranian-Pakistani project...

:-)

Or how about an ``art`` version of Heer Ranjha? or Sohni Mahivaal? Or a biopic of Muhammad ibn Qasim?

Or of Mahmud Ghaznavi? Or Aurangzeb Alamgir? Or Iqbal? Or Ghalib? Or filming various episodes from Alf Layla wa Layla? Or from Kalila wa Dimana?

etc. etc. Cinema can both be artistic and in this day and age it is the best vehicle for dawah as well.

We can even make joint films with India once we have established a separate niche for ourselves...

heck, maybe i`m in the wrong career :-)

sameerjb,

Sameer, you are talking about the famous maanjhi number by sachinda, Doli Mei Bithai Ke Kahar. And don`t forget Safal Hogi Teri Aradhana from the movie aradhana!

THAT is what I call singing...And yes, not including Mukesh or even Manna Dey in any list of all-time musical greats will be patently unfair.

So nobody knows Assamese here? :(

Banjaara,

Bhaiyaa, tumahi assamese seekh leo na. It isn`t very different from Bengali. You can do it over a weekend :)

My deepest apologies: How could I possibly leave out Attaullah Khan Esakhelvi? Or Noor Jehan? Or Iqbal Bano? Or Mehdi Hasan?

I have been listening to these as I write:

``Mujhay Tum Nazar Sey ...``

``Wo Ishq Jo Hum Sey Rooth Gaya ... ``

``Mohabbat Karney Waley Kum Na Hongay ...``

This demands not just the older songs be listed, but the newer ones as well. And we have been given real gifts in the singers that have come out in Pakistan:

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan: Simply head and shoulders above anyone else. Iran has a singer, Shahram Nazeri, who performs Rumi`s poetry, and sings it as no one else I have heard. He is worth listening to. Once, in a conversation with him, he said of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan: ``A singer like him comes along once every 500 years. We don`t know how fortunate we have been to have had him in our lifetime. We are not going to see anyne close to him for another 500 years.`` While the 500 years is just a number, I think the spirit of what he was trying to say has meaning. (As an aside, another Iranian singer not to be missed is Sima Bina, who sings folk/sufi poetry).

Even with the presence of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (to whom I listen every single day), there are others I would not be without:

Pathana Khan. What he did with that one single performance in Multan, one warm evening in April, moving us incomparably with his rending, poignant ``menda ishq wi toon ...`` has forever left a mark within me.

Abida Parveen. What an incredible, incredible treasure she is!

``Hairan`` Shah: singing Sindhi kafis with a wild, whirling mosaic of voice and movement, in the desert of Larkana,well into the early hours of dawn, til his voice was softened gravel, and his kurta had torn loose as he tried to pull out his very emotions from within his chest ...

Hadiqa Kiyani, Mussarrat Nazeer, Nayyara Noor and Munni Begum, intoxicating us with the shaeiri.

Sajjad Ali, who somehow brought to me the exact same memory and feeling of days in Clifton, Bath Island, of such wonderful innocence.

Junoon, who have suddenly done what I thought would be done by Sajjad Ali: They have come up with a mix of modernized traditional poetry that is an anthem. Just listen to ``Rohnde naina``, ``Ghoom, ghoom`` from ``Parvaaz``.

I have some treasured old 78 RPM`s (handed down) of Surayya Multanikar and Mohammed Rafi and one by Ustad Bundoo Khan who can shift your equilibrium by his performance on the Sarangi. I was told his story, when he came to perform as a backing musician for Ustad Amanat and some others (a performance in the mid-1930`s) No one thought much of this small, frail figure, carrying a still smaller, more delicate instrument. But when he began to play, he simply overpowered everyone and took over. His eyes closed, and the sarangi produced a range and harmony of sounds that had the audience stunned. It was said that when Ustad Bundoo Khan played, his Sa-Rangi became a Sau-Rangi! He came to Pakistan, his land of dreams, and lived in LaluKhet til he died. I went to see him there, and saw him with his beloved instrument. He never left it. It was always with him, in his arms, in his eyes.

(As an aside, based on some of the interacts,for those who are interested in Iranian movies - run, walk, drive - somehow get to see ``Drunken horses``, ``Gabeh``, ``Red Balloon``. Each is wonderful, though difficult to take emotionally (especially ``Drunken Horses`` - THAT was hard for me to watch, emotionally speaking.). ``Two Women`` (Do-Zan) is a ferocious, feminist movie - definitely a must see, although a bit skewed in its portrayal. We Pakistanis could learn from the Iranians. The Khomeini revolution has done wonders for the Iranian cultural and movie industry (who would have thought?!). Someone on this thread suggested we freely encourage Indian movies and that we join them. I hope to God we don`t! I can think of few things more embarrassing, more cheap, more vulgar than the Indian movies. What an embarrassment! I do think that the older Indian movies were very good though and I would go along with that.)

Re:Reply #: 111

ahmed madani Sahib,

Between your thoughless gibberish, mis-spelt English words and atrocious usage of the language, I was finally able to figure out what you were trying to say.

Here are some of your gems:

1. ``i agree Pakistan is contined of mughal empire``.

2. ``Basic singing and cinema is not very importent``

3. ``Reema is as sexy or more than india Chhap stupid actress``

4. ``Anyway.One way to kill india Chhap movie is to have usa type movie, more sex , fighting excite etc. Cinema is imp as there is lot of mony to make.``

5. ``We we not be free till we donot take turki, irani or arab language.``

You see how discordant your thoughts are. One does not know what you are trying to say. As per 2. above, Cinema is not important but you go on to say in 4. that it is important as there is a lot of money to be made. You contradict yourself. That will make few people take your posts seriously.

So, you want to be more like the Iranians and the Turks. One way would be to convince all your Pakistani brothers to marry only Iranian or Turkish girls. It will be interesting to see what the offsprings would be like. Did you bother to find out what Turks and Iranians think of you or all other Pakistanis? You yourself said in your earlier post that many in the middle east think Pakistanis are no different from Indians.

The reality Madani Sahib is that Pakistan is India`s neighbour. Nobody can change that fact. It does not bother us Indians one bit if whole of Pakistan becomes more Arabic or Persian or Turkish. We have our culture and we are comfortable with it.

You want to go into IT. Good luck to you. You will find that if you come to USA as an IT worker, you may have to work with a lot of Hindoos which you hate so much. My advice to you, do not hate anyone. Just be happy with yourself.

Sridhar

Re:Reply #: 111

ahmed madani Sahib,

Between your thoughless gibberish, mis-spelt English words and atrocious usage of the language, I was finally able to figure out what you were trying to say.

Here are some of your gems:

1. ``i agree Pakistan is contined of mughal empire``.

2. ``Basic singing and cinema is not very importent``

3. ``Reema is as sexy or more than india Chhap stupid actress``

4. ``Anyway.One way to kill india Chhap movie is to have usa type movie, more sex , fighting excite etc. Cinema is imp as there is lot of mony to make.``

5. ``We we not be free till we donot take turki, irani or arab language.``

You see how discordant your thoughts are. One does not know what you are trying to say. As per 2. above, Cinema is not important but you go on to say in 4. that it is important as there is a lot of money to be made. You contradict yourself. That will make few people take your posts seriously.

So, you want to be more like the Iranians and the Turks. One way would be to convince all your Pakistani brothers to marry only Iranian or Turkish girls. It will be interesting to see what the offsprings would be like. Did you bother to find out what Turks and Iranians think of you or all other Pakistanis? You yourself said in your earlier post that many in the middle east think Pakistanis are no different from Indians.

The reality Madani Sahib is that Pakistan is India`s neighbour. Nobody can change that fact. It does not bother us Indians one bit if whole of Pakistan becomes more Arabic or Persian or Turkish. We have our culture and we are comfortable with it.

You want to go into IT. Good luck to you. You will find that if you come to USA as an IT worker, you may have to work with a lot of Hindoos which you hate so much. My advice to you, do not hate anyone. Just be happy with yourself.

Sridhar