| Music lovers in Madison were treated to two very different systems of Indian classical music over the last couple of weekends. On April 16, 2006, Ustad Ali Ahmed Hossain Khan and his son Abbas played the shehnai at the Mills Hall and were accompanied on the tabla* by SubhenChatterjee. Then on April 28, sisters Ranjani and Gayathri gave a splendid Carnatic* vocal recital at the Norman Mitby theater at the MATC Truax campus. They were accompanied on the violin by H.N. Bhaskar and on the mridangam* by K. ArunPrakash. Both concerts were organized as part of the Music of India series by the AIA Cultural Committee in association with the Indian Graduate Students Association. |
| The Shehnai |
| The shehnai, commonly referred to as the North Indian oboe, is said to be of Persian origin and later became a part of the naubat* at royal courts. It is considered to be an auspicious instrument and is commonly played at temples in North India and at North Indian weddings. The shehnai is a quadruple reed instrument with two upper reeds and two lower reeds. The reed is attached to a brass tube which is wrapped in string. The instrument body is made of a smooth, dark-grained black wood and has a brass bell. The shehnai has eight holes, but often, two or more holes are either partially or completely occluded with wax. |
| Said Ustadji over a steaming cup of chai*, "The shehnai is one of the most sensitive man-made instruments. Producing true, beautiful Hindustani* music by sheer breath control and the manner in which the lips and the tongue play upon the mouthpiece is no mean task." His son Abbas agrees. "All semitones and full-tones which characterize the subtle differences between the ragas* are produced by the way the holes are opened or closed. This requires years and years of riyaz*." The tradition of the shehnai is generally passed from father to son, mostly in Muslim families. "It is a hard instrument to play. One has to be very committed to take it up seriously," said Ustadji. "For many decades now, this has been our only means of livelihood. We had to take up any kind of work -- be it playing at weddings or for film music. Thanks to UstadBismillah Khan sahib*, people are slowly giving the shehnai the respect and attention it deserves." |
| Ustadji opened the concert with a beautiful rendition of Raga AnandKalyan*, followed by a bandish* in a Ragamalika*. The final piece was a short folk chaiti-dhun* from Benares. |
| Glossary: |
| Bandish - short composition |
| Carnatic - Classical music prevalent in South India |
| chai - tea |
| chaiti-dhun - Folk tune |
| Hindustani - Classical music prevalent in North India |
| Mridangam - Double-barreled drum; primary rhythmic instrument in Carnatic music |
| naubat - Traditional ensemble of nine instruments found at royal courts |
| raga - A specific set of notes that defines a particular melody |
| riyaz - Practice |
| sahib - Sir |
| tabla - A pair of hand drums of contrasting sizes and timbres; among the primary rhythmic instruments in Hindustani music |
| Ustadji :Ustad ? Maestro; ji ? suffix used out of respect for others in North India |
| Creative Syncopations/Ramya Kapadia Evenements (de la Musique) |
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