Thursday, November 28, 2013

TRACES OF YOU, ANUOSHKA SHANKAR at NYU

TRACES OF YOU, ANUOSHKA SHANKAR


I am not a fan of the popularly know fusion music. My default opinion is that fusion creates noise and confusion. Mixing of music is hard for me to appreciate even when it includes some of the work by Late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.
In the last few weeks I had a chance to attend two performances. Both were experiments of fusion music between East and West. The names of performers were too tempting to resist.



First was Anuoskha Shankar, the daughter of legendary Ravi Shankar. I had heard her before when she accompanied her father years back in Carnegie Hall. Over the years she had developed her own style and has been experimenting with western music for a while. For the fans of Spanish flamenco it is a treat listening to her album Traveller, for which she earned one of her three Grammy nominations.

She performed at NYU Skirball Center of Performing Arts on November 16th, 2013. The concert was in conjunction of new 2013 release Traces of You.

It was a sold out performance, with an eclectic mixture of instruments, both eastern and western. The interesting exception was absence of tabla. The percussionist Pirashanna Thevarajah used the supposedly less sophisticated dhol which was on his lap all the times. He made good use of if and the sounded just as great.

Another percussion instrument was the Hang. It is a steel drum, a recent invention out of Switzerland,  looks like a UFO and played by hand.  It could be used both sides, he had three of them and turned upside down when needed. Gave a dull note but was interesting to watch and hear. The player was Manu Delago and when I looked up the Hand in Wikipedia, he is featured  there. Perhaps he is considered a master of this instrument and he is on her team. 
  
One very emotional piece is In Jyoti's Name. Jyoti is the name of the girl who was assaulted in a gang rape and ultimately died. It is very disturbing and the accelerated escalations of notes depict the distress, anger and despair experienced in such a horrible experience.

All her pieces were a mix of sitar along with Shehnai, dhol, tanpura, cello, keyboard, Hang and drums. It got fast and loud too much and too soon. Some items had lyrics in it. they were all in English. Supposedly the actual album would have Nora Jones, (her half sister) but in the concert it was Ayanna Witter-Johnson. She has a great voice,  but some lyrics seem out of meter.

Perhaps I did not understand this music that well. Perhaps I am a generation removed to enjoy this kind of mix. It was a bit loud for me, but still there were many enjoyable moments in the performance.


I kept on waiting to hear something purely classical. It did happen, after the concert was almost over. After taking the collective bow, she returned to the stage to play a classical piece, in memory of her father. It was no fusion, just pure sitar, and it was fantastic.

I think of all her work, the Traveller is the best. It is a fusion with the Spanish flamenco music, which some say originated from the folk tunes of gypsy Roma people, whom many consider of Indian origin.

A week later, Sachal Jazz at Lincoln Center-----

Thursday, November 14, 2013

Miss You, Abbaji

This was written on November 14th, 2013








http://www.flickr.com/photos/nasirgondal/5323497382/sizes/z/in/photostream/


Today is the Aushura Day, ie 10th of Muharram, and is also the 19th anniversary of Abbaji.
May his soul rest in eternal peace.
The more I grow older the more I realize what a guy he was.
Carefree, funny, witty, caring, sensitive and honest.
He was unable to acheive many wordly goals.
In fact he settled for a lot less than what was expected of him by his family.
Somehow he was content with what he had. What he did not have bothered him not that much.
Always managed to bring some fruit on daily basis on his way home. We always had sweets at home.
Perhaps that is why mother always thought he had more than he actually had.
When mother got sick, he took care of her for a long time, assisting her in all activities of daily life.
She perhaps did not know that he was not that well either.
He never let me know what problems and humiliation he had to go for me for my issues with the authorities.
He made sure if either of us were unaware of the expectation of the others.
Worked behind the scenes to keep us together.
He was a good man. Wish that I had known him more when he was around.
I miss you Abbaji.
Be Well.

Saturday, November 9, 2013

The Buddha's of Silla

SILLA
SHIFTING OF EMPHASIS
FROM AFTERLIFE TO HERE AND NOW



http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/11/08/arts/SILLA1_SPAN/SILLA1-articleLarge.jpg


Last week on our way upstate we stopped at Met for short while. There was a special exhibition on Silla. There had been much advertisement about it to generated interest. I was ambivalent about it in the beginning. Some old history of ancient Korea. Anyhow, I am glad we were there.

There is a good review in yesterday's New York Times. Here are my own impressions. 

This is the story of a place called Silla (pronounced Shilla). Some of the nomads in ancient Korea settled down and over a period of time settled in the south of peninsula. It eventually formed an empire which for a period of time occupied the greater part of Korea and present day North China. It is one of the longest running dynasties of the world, ruled for almost a millennium i.e, 57 BCE to 935 CE.

The exhibition has a few sections. and it starts with the tombs of its kings. Discovered in last century, they were buried under huge heaps of dirt and looked like small mountains from the outside. In a way completely merged with the environment. 

Once excavated, one sees the earlier kings to have majestic tombs. with a lot of worldly wealth and paraphernalia of goods, gold and jars, which may be needed for the afterlife. Here one sees articles from all over the world, The silk road, which spanned almost four thousand miles, from Italy through Central Asia, actually ends in Korea. This was unknown to me. Here you see a Roman glass vase to an Afghani dagger. It is a kind of museum of fifth-sixth century all in one tomb of the kings. 

Interesting to me was the gradual transformation of the contents of the tombs with the arrival of Buddhism in sixth century and its adoption by the kings. Now you see smaller tombs as the emphasis on after life was reduced and focus turned on the life of the living. At sometime the cremation replaced burial as the preferred way to go. Now the gold and the art was invested more and more for the living. This naturally turned into more artwork in the form of statues and  resemblances of Buddha.


Three Buddhas are worth seeing if you ever have a chance to see them. One is the bronze Bodhisattva in pensive pose. (see above). A thin Bodhisattva, a later reincarnation of the Buddha sitting on a pedestal, right foot resting on the left thigh, right hand holding the face, looks like he is nodding his head and the fingers are about to touch the cheek. Thinking deeply and perhaps pensively, he does not seem to be stationary. This is supposedly one of the highest treasured possession of the National Museum of Korea, National Treasure 83. Really a treat to watch. 




The second is the small, all gold Amitaba Buddha. It is a delicate piece of art. Here Buddha is rather plump, considered a celestial Buddha, probably in his our recreated paradise. where environment is right to pursue enlightenment.

The biggest prize is the larger than life Buddha, made of cast iron, sitting in a lotus chokri position. His hands are gone, but the description is that the left hand sits in the lap with palm up denoting meditation. The right hand is supposedly touching the earth. That is the position, the audio guide explains, first seen in Pakistan. The legend goes that while the Buddha was mediating, evil forces tried to distract him. While sitting still he just touched the earth with his right hand and the evil forces vanished away. A connection with the earth, was instrumental in getting rid of all worldly distractions, sifli jazbaat.

Take home for me was the re-realization of Buddha and his teachings: focus on this life, an attempt and quest to seek light and truth in this world, least-to-no emphasis on the after life, and strength to field away distractions, worldly or otherwise. 

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