#mallikarjun mansur

[pyotra]

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Such a lovely reenactment of Mallikarjun Mansur's life.

[pyotra]

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[pyotra]

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Anna became disheartened after Manjhi Khan died. But he was fortunate that Bhurji Khan Saheb agreed to be his guru. Bhurji Khan was an outstanding teacher. He trained students cleverly by showing them the pathways to becoming a singer. He also became very fond of this student. Thus, the training under this particular tradition did not get interrupted. Continuing tradition does not mean copying the singing of one’s guru. That reminds me. There was a private mehfil of Mallikarjunji’s in Pune. That day, he presented bandishs from such difficult ragas that we were stunned. There was a gentleman in the audience with an expressionless face like that of a custom officer. In this world of music—also that of theatre—there are always special members of the audience that are like camels, who seem to have been created by Allah Mian at leisure. 

Amazingly ignorant and superior! Anna had presented one cheez so beautifully and hit the top shadja (high tonic) so accurately that applauding it by saying “wah, wah” would have been inappropriate! At that point, this insolent man claimed, “Bade Khan Saheb antare ki aisi uthavat nahi karte thay” (Bade Khan Saheb would not execute the antara this way) – implying that the antara was not presented properly. Looking at that man with his piercing eyes, Anna said, in his Kannada Urdu, “Bademian antara aisa nahi uthate thay, hum ko bhi accha malum hai. Magar hum aisa uthate hain. Hum kya Bademian ke khali stenographer hain? Ab suno Bademian kaise uthate thay – humare guru Manjhi Khan Saheb kaise uthate thay – aur hum kaisa uthate hain” (I know very well that Bademian did not present the antara like this. But this is the way I present it. Am I just a stenographer to Bademian? Now listen to how my guru Manjhi Khan Saheb presented the antara and how I present it). And then, keeping in mind the overall balance in the antara, he hit the sam at the taar shadja (the tonic of the upper octave) in two different ways, one after another!

This ignorant, arrogant “gharana” man did not know the simple fact that when an accomplished artist fills out the bandish in various ways, he is not doing that out of ignorance of the “original” way of presentation, but he is presenting it by playing around with the rhythm in many different attractive ways. This is what distinguishes a thinking artist and a gharana sycophant. Even Manjhi Khan himself did not simply copy Alladiya Khan Saheb. Each artist has a distinct personality. Nature has endowed him with an ability to think, with imagination. But the world of music is riddled with a level of confusion between tradition and creativity that one does not find in the other arts.

via The Man Who Resides in Music

[pyotra]

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this is so amazing! mallikarjun mansur sings a vachana of akka mahadevi

[filmsdivisionindia]

Rasayatra (The Travelling Song) Director: Nandan Kudhyadi Year:1994 (48:03) [ed. note: another terrific post from Phong Tran! please be advised that the film itself doesn't begin until 1:30] "O Lord of the Rivers In ignorance of the poetic meters In ignorance of the musical beats I sing for I know, nothing would hurt you" --Basavanna This luminous tribute to Pt. Mallikarjun Mansur (1910-92), who died during its making, was filmed by the Film and Television Institute of India graduate and acute documentarian Nandan Kudhyadi. It was inspired by Mansur's autobiography. Even now, it's baffling how even the highest echelon of sarkari bureaucracy via the Ministry of External Affairs would sponsor this level of abstraction. But let's take it as a boon that it happened. Mansur, an impeccable maestro of the old school of 20th century Hindustani vocal music, belonged to the esteemed Jaipur-Atrauli gharana. Founded by the legendary Ud. Alladiya Khan (1855–1946), this gharana produced such astral luminaries as Smt. Kesarbai Kerkar (1892-1977), Smt. Mogubai Kurdikar (1904-2001) and her daughter Smt. Kishori Amonkar (1931- ), as well as many others. Among its distinguishing features, Jaipur-Atrauli is especially renowned for its treatment of aprachalit ('rare') and jod ('mixed') ragas. Prof. Bonnie Wade, in her important 1984 study Khyal, relates the often-used descriptions of the gharana as being "close to dhrupad" and "difficult". Mansur hailed from his namesake village in, yes, that same Dharwar region (cf. other Sarkari Shorts features on Pt. Bhimsen Joshi and Smt. Gangubai Hangal) which was so imbued with rasas. Poignant details of Mansur's fascinating life unfolds... running away from home at age 9 to join a touring Yakshagana troupe; being discovered by Neelkanthbuwa Mirajkar who then led him to ultimately Alladiya Khan via his illustrious sons Manjhi Khan and Burji Khan. His persistent yatra in rasas eventually garnered much-deserved recognition. Even so, he led quite a humble life in simple devotion to the music. Behold the palpable influence of the auteurs Mani Kaul and Kumar Shahani's visual treatments of music. The titling and subtitling of the 'chapters' of the film. The near-absence of dialogue with occasional narration being provided by voice-overs ... Temporal displacement in the juxtaposition of real time and flashbacks (several non-professional actors portray Mansur during the film), of archival footage and contemporaneous scenes ... The deliberate pacing enhancing the aching beauty of the camera work ... Indeed, the film is just as much a visual poem about the music as it is about the person. And of course, there's the precious soundtrack highlighted by archival gems from private and institutional collections. Bonus: this wondrous 1930s recording of Raga Durga, before Mansur's entry into the Jaipur-Atrauli fold. Extra bonus: this stunning rendition of the Jaipur-Atrauli chestnut Raga Bihagda on Doordarshan with son Rajashekhar Mansur, Mahmood Dholpuri and Faiyaz Khan. Phong Tran’s previous post was on Gulzar's Pandit Bhimsen Joshi.

[unsungtunes]

Hypnotic rendition in Raga Gauri by Mallikarjun Mansur. Never heard this raga before. Beautiful!