Kindle Notes & Highlights
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May 27 - October 8, 2024
‘The faintest ink is better than the sharpest memory.’
The only thing remarkable about her was her exceptionally high focus on doing something as mundane as sweeping the floor.
‘Those who don’t have time, can’t learn music.’
His ancestors were Bengali Brahmins with their surname as Devsharman.
Baba’s ancestors converted to Islam, but behind closed doors, they continued practising Hinduism. They eventually settled in Shivpur.’
Every day, come rain or shine, Baba climbs 1063 steps, scaling the height of 600 feet, to pay his obeisance to Shārdā Ma. In the evenings, Baba visits the local mosque to offer namaaz.’
The net savings from such a long and arduous tour finally amounted to zero.
‘Genius is composed of 2 percent talent and 98 percent persevering application.’ —Ludwig van Beethoven
“If the top dog is dominating, the underdog becomes cunning.”
Dhrupad compositions taught to us had four parts; स्थायी [Sthāyi], अंतरा [Antarā], संचारी [Sanchāri] and अभोग [Abhog].
there is no such thing as a free lunch.
The true identity of an artiste is known from his music.
In 1945, after hearing Ali Akbar Khansaheb’s recital on the radio, the maharaja of Jodhpur, Umed Singh, appointed him as the court musician and bestowed the title of ‘Sarod Nawaaz’ upon him.
These kings were connoisseurs and patrons of music
“माँ मैंने तुम्हारी शादी तुम्हारे यंत्र के साथ कर दी। तुम्हारे सारे जीवन की व्यवस्था मैं कर जाऊँगा। तुम मन प्राण से बजाओ। जनता के सामने बजा कर तुम्हें अर्थ-उर्पाजन करना नहीं होगा। तुम अपने चिदानंद के लिए बजाओगी और अपना वादन सुनाओगी उस ऊपर वाले भगवान को। संगीत ही तुम्हारा पित होगा। साज़ बजाकर कृपया मत कमाना, वरना असल संगीत नहीं रहेगा।
‘भात कैसा है समझकर घी डालना, और लड़का कैसा है समझकर ही बेटी देना
[There is no art greater than music]
In Hindu culture, dance, music and drama were performed mostly in the theatre room constructed in the precincts of temples. This was because the act of both performing and witnessing were considered to be spiritual exercises with the purpose of transporting the audience to a parallel reality where they could introspect and ponder over the subtle emotions of their subconscious. It was much later that the kings and emperors made the artistes perform in the royal courts.
“During your sādhanā, you’ll encounter many such milestones. You need to be extremely careful to not let these experiences inflate your ego or distract you from the path of your sādhanā. No matter how attractive such milestones may seem, they are not your destination. Your destination is beyond the sensory world.”’
‘However, if you practise sādhanā with expectations of any reward, it is no more a sādhanā.’
सौदा-गरी नहीं ये इबादत खुदा की है ऐ बे-खबर जज़ा की तमन्ना भी छोड़ दे
As his riyaaz progressed, we experienced something which cannot be described in mere words. My mother and I saw Baba’s body glowing with a golden halo around it.
‘Baba said, always do your sādhanā in seclusion. In the presence of someone, the instinct of seeking validation and showing off your prowess to impress them awakens in your mind.
Riyaaz without introspection is not sādhanā. No matter how learned and technically proficient you may be, without renunciation and divine grace your true destination will elude you.
sādhanā is possible only in solitude.
there are two ways of making a living. One is the way of a bootlegger and the other is the way of a gardener. The gardener makes much less money compared to the bootlegger, but is in congruence with nature and is not swayed from the righteous path. The bootlegger spreads toxicity, while the gardener spreads colours and fragrance from nature’s bounty. You have to choose the path you want to tread.’
To use Oscar Wilde’s analogy, they are able to reproduce every aspect of the peacock except its colours.
[The organized sound of chosen notes, structured, ornamented, Which pleases the mind, is called Raag by the learned]
‘Raagdari is like storytelling. No matter how beautiful the independent sentences may be, they ought to collectively make a thematic sense, they should create a mood, an abstract image visible only to the subconscious.’
‘Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent.’ —Victor Hugo
‘Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thought.’ —Percy Bysshe Shelley
एको रस: करुण एव निमित्तभेदाद् भिन्न: पृथक पृथगिव श्रयते विवर्तान। आवर्तबुद् बुद् तरङ्गमयास्वि कारान् अम्भो यथा सिललमेव तु तत्समतमि्॥ [The fundamental emotion is karuna—compassion. Water keeps changing forms like whirlpools, bubbles, waves, etc., but fundamentally it is but water] —Uttarramcharitam 3:47
entertainment is the desired effect of any performing art, but never the primary goal, which fundamentally is meant to transport the audience into another parallel reality, full of wonder and bliss, where they experience the essence of their own consciousness, and reflect on spiritual and moral questions. The aim is to enlighten, not entertain.
Shringār (शृङ्गारः): Romance, love, attractiveness Hāsya (हास्ं): Laughter, mirth, comedy Raudra रौद्र): Fury Kaarunya (कारुण्य): Pathos, compassion Bibhatsa (बीभत्सं): Disgust, aversion Bhayānak (भयानकं ): Horror, terror Veer (वीरं): Heroism Adbhut (अद्भुतं): Wonder, amazement The ninth rasa is: Shānta (शांतं): Peace or tranquillity
Navrasa
‘The poet ranks far below the painter in the representation of visible things, and far below the musician in that of invisible things.’
When Baba visited Shantiniketan, Rabindranath Tagore asked the sculptor Ram Kinkar to create a statue of Baba. It was Tagore who bestowed the title ‘Acharya’ on Baba.
‘There is nothing in the world so much like prayer as music is.’ —William Merrill
in order to fully focus on my performance, my attempt has always been to immerse myself in the raag I render. Like all the greats of Maihar Gharana, I too am used to shutting my eyes and ignoring the audience while performing.
When you shut your eyes to the external world, only then will your inner eyes open to see within. Play for the one within you. Because the one within you is the one within all. Whenever you play a raag, begin by worshipping it. Imagine it to be a deity. Pray for her mercy on you, that she may manifest herself through you. Let the music emerge out of the purest feelings of your heart. Let your music be an oblation—a holy offering to the God.”’
If two students of the same guru could be so different, imagine the differences among different gharanas.
‘Art ought to be a sādhanā; an endeavour for perfection. What is the point of running after popularity when most of what is popular is mediocre?’ —Annapurna Devi
[The elevated yogi, master of the scriptures, unagitated by the worldlycurrents, serene, forgiving, pacified, practising forbearance, committedto virtuosity; the one who purifies the minds of the disciples with his ownconcourse, such a true guru, selflessly emancipates others as well as himself]
‘In everyone’s life, there comes a time when he feels stranded, all the doors seem shutting on him. I can see that happening to you, and when you feel so, please go to Annapurna Devi and make her your guru; she is the rishi of our gharana.’
‘The beginning of your rendition should manifest the raag vaachak—the thematic phrase which denotes the essence of the raag and establishes its mood.’
‘Never depend on your wife’s earnings.
‘Then keep away from artists, or you’ll stop loving art.’
[But the lover of the inner Self, though operating throughthe organs of action, is unaffected by joy and sorrow;he is held to be in equanimity]
[Guru is the one who treats all equally, without favouritism or discrimination. Who has risen above sensory pleasures, pious, versed, and virtuous
