RMIM Archive Article "76".
From the RMIM Article Archive maintained by Satish Subramanian
#
# RMIM/C Archives..
# Subject: Great Master's series
# Great Masters #16: Kishori Amonkar - The Consummate Master!
#
# Posted by: Rajan Parrikar (parrikar@colorado.edu)
#
# Sources: Sangeet Kalavihar (Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidhy-
# alaya Prakashan) April-May 1988. Thanks are due Shri Arun Parvatkar,
# Head Librarian - Kala Academy, Panjim, Goa, for making available the
# same.
#
#
Great Masters Part XVI: KISHORI AMONKAR - The Consummate Master!
Part XVI of Great Masters, the first one this year, features
Kishori Amonkar, L'Enfant Terrible de Hindustani Music:-). Born
in 1932, this music genius from Goa has attained such mastery
over her art that she can justifiably claim to be the sole heir
to the exacting standards set by her predecessors- her illustri-
ous mother, Mogubai Kurdikar, and the formidable Surashree Kesar-
bai Kerkar. The following article is taken from a commemorative
issue of Sangeet Kalavihar (Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidhy-
alaya Prakashan) April-May 1988. Thanks are due Shri Arun Parvat-
kar, Head Librarian - Kala Academy, Panjim, Goa, for making
available the same.
Rajan Parrikar
----------------------------------------------------------------
Smt. KISHORI AMONKAR
Perfectionist and a Dreamer
by
Vibha Purandare
----------------------------------------------------------------
To know Smt. Kishori Amonkar is to know genius. She has in her a
concentrated essence of tbe good, the bad and the beautiful that
any genius could boast of.
I have known Kishoritai now for many a year, yet I find that the
passage of time does not help me to bind in words her elusive and
many dimensional persona- lity. It is one thing to know her and
another to write about her. Like a great poet, she can say "Yes.
I contradict myself. I contain many." And look at the variety
within her - a concrete love for the abstract, a sharp analytical
power to dissect systematically an intellectual problem and also
an ability to synthesise beautifully the diverse shades of
thought, a unique intensity to fathom the mystery of music, a
scientific approach towards the ancient and modern theories of
Art and Art Creation, a child-like faith in Guru Raghavendra
Swami, a sense of wonder of being lost in the fantastic, illogi-
cal world of fairy tales and a strong belief in superstitions.
All these colourful bits of a jigsaw puzzle refuse to form a very
sedate straight picture. At the most one can say, she is a
supersti- tious rationalist and an adult who continues to be
child.
" I love to be a child. I know that I am foolish and obstinate as
a child. But this state is very precious for me." Kishoritai said
to me one evening, with her tan- puras standing in front as mute
witnesses, " But at the same time, let me tell you I will not be
a child in my Art, " she added vehemently. Her witnesses must
have silently consented. For when her fingers play on their
strings, thc musical instruments are thrilled with the touch of a
master. Kishoritai tunes her tanpura with the precision of a
scientist. It has to be the exact shade of 'nishad', the correct
She believes that playing the tanpura well is of utmost impor-
tance - even more important than tuning it. " Then how does one
do it ? " I asked. Pausing only for thc well anticipated question
to end, she replied, " Well, it is an art. You see, though the
frequencies of the notes vary, their sound level should be the
same. One should strike the next string in such a manner that the
sound of the second is blended into the first and so on and thus
thereby there is being established sacred serious, musical cyclic
pattern. Of course it inspires me to sing, but at times I am
afraid even to mingle my own vocal notes into that divine sound.
However, one thing I must state that the scientific rendering of
a tanpura is different from its aesthetical rendering; in thc
case of the latter, the stress is significant."
And when she is tuning the tanpura - to the admiration of some,
whilst tesing the patience of many - she is a picture of concen-
tration. Her eyes gently shut, one hand adjusting thc beads
below, the other stretching out towards the knobs at the other
end, she becomes an object of beauty for any photographer, a por-
trait painter or even all ordinary viewer.
And when the tanpuras are tuned to perfection, we have beautiful-
ly spanned for our ears a musical rain- bow. And the colour is
the colour of love. For, this artiste, has a profound love for
notes, musical instru- -ments, musicians and music; in fact, any-
thing and everything that is musical. Her love, more than her
scholarship, makes her ask, "I wonder from where these these
notes come? "
A musicologist, a musician or a commoner could as well give an
appropriate answer. But that will never satisfy her. She has in
her a uniqne combination of a child, mystic and artist. The seen
world she does love but the pull and the insight into the unseen
world is more fascinating. Her imagination then knows no bounds
"How must be the home of these notes ? How do they behave with
each other ? I wish I could see them, then I would be able to
talk to them."
Actually, the notes are as familiar to her as her face, in fact
definitely more so, for she has spent much more time with her
tanpura than with a mirror.
She is an ideal student of her subject. She has thonght con-
sistently and deeply on the various problems that face a creative
artist. Thc hard core of her philosophy of Music is her faith in
its power to trans- cend the material world and touch the spiri-
tual. Her notes are divine and their singing is sacred. With her
singing, a concert hall is transformed into a temple and the
listeners become her Guru Raghavendra. There- fore, after a con-
cert, whenever and wherever, she humbly bows down her head at the
people in front- this gesture has an added dimension.
There are two different beings that harmoniously dwell in her -
one a romanticist and the other a classi- cist. She herself does
not very much like this classi- fication. She feels that an ar-
tist is an artist. All other nomenclatures are secondary. Her ap-
proach toward Art is spiritual. She believes that realism is dep-
icted in art to take you to the ideal, and the ideal is self-
realisa- tion - for the singer as well as for the listener. Like
a true romanticist, she has an undying urge to reach out to Beau-
ty. Her singing has its birth in the beautiful and it merges too
in thc beautiful.
She said to me some years ago, "People say that I look beautiful
when I sing. Today I seem to have got an answer. When I sing, I
want everything to be beautiful - my notes, ny rhythm and myself
too. My desire is so intense that on the stage you have beauty
personified, not Kishori looking beautiful." And how true it is !
Her search for beauty does not turn her into an escapist. She is
aware of the ugliness of life, its sordid- ness, its darkness and
drabness. Yet she is convinced that when Art touches it, it does
not wipe it out, but the innate strength of an art-medium makes
it different. There is sorrow and joy inexplicably experienced
together. Wheras, in life most often than not, they are mutually
exclusive. In her heaven of art, a rose does have a thorn, and a
thorn does prick, but its pain leads to peace. That is the
uniqueness of art. Music may thrive on and be enriched by the
depth and expanse of a 'Karuna Rasa' or 'Shringar Rasa', but it
ultimately culminates in 'Shanti Rasa' that is
If Kishoritai adores Beauty, she worships Truth anf therefore
respects knowledge. Knowledge for her is not trapped wholly in
books or fettered only in labora- tories. She believes that
knowledge is free. It can be found anytime, anywhere. You meet it
like friend in a marketplace, or like a "bhakta" you are blessed
by its "darshan" in the " santum sanctorum" of a temple. Yet, I
must tell you, that Kishoritai is a treasurer of books, and as a
student of science in Jai Hind College, had done some of the best
dissection work in the Botany laboratory. Her love for books is
natural and has grown with time. At times she intui- tively buys
a very good book. Some of the rarest titles in English Literature
have been presented to me by Kishoritai, having bought the books
in a bookshop, at various airports or on the pavement. She her-
self possesses one of the best libraries on aesthetics. Like
gems, her books are well taken care of. They are neatly covered
and bound. She will go to any extent to get a book she intently
wants. Once she had wanted a book on " Indian Aesthetics" by Dr.
Pandey. She searched for it high and low, She leafed through all
the shops in Bombay, Delhi, Allahabad nd other smaller cities in
India as well. The search was futile. But Kishoritai did not
give in. And when she did get a copy of the book in a University
Library, she got the whole significant part of the book cyclos-
tyled. Today, it is one of her proud possessions, to be admired
by the connoisseurs and not to be lent even to an ardent book
lover.
It is well known that Dnyaneshwar, Tukaram, Surdas and Meera are
her "singing partners" but few may know that Bharat Muni, Sarang-
dev, Narad and Anandvardhan- the great ancient literary masters-
-- are her 'thought companions." She is extremely happy in their
company and it gives her equal joy to sing them or talk about
them.
Kishoritai feels intently and thinks deeply. You cannot segregate
" feeling " in life from "feeling" in art; for their roots go
right down to that land which everyone owns but no one knows---
i.e. the human mind. As far as feeling is concerned for Kishori-
tai, every- thing in this area is a "little more" than what the
other people experience. For her the ruby-mud of her beloved Goa
is a "little more" red; and its "sapphire- sky" a "little more"
blue. Jasmine, Champak, Roses and Lilies, all these flowers are
more fragrant when they have to be offered to Guru Raghavendra
Swami; at the same time a "more expensive" saree is " less expen-
sive " if it is to be given to her mother Mai. And if Mai is
unwell, Kishoritai is terribly disturbed. She repeatedly rings
up her younger sister Lalitatai's place and keeps on enquiring
about Mai's health. At that time, it is easier for Lalitatai to
nurse Mai than attend her Tai's frequent and demanding phone
calls. Not satisfied with what she hears, Kishoritai than de-
cides to rely on her own eyes. She straight- as she is - dashes
to Mai. "How are you Mai?" her transparent concern for her mother
is evident in the curve of the question. And as soon as Mai says,
"I am having a stomach ache or a little palpitation," Kishoritai
leaves her side to sit besides the telephone. Then she rings up
a Doctor or two. She rings up the Doctor so often and with so
much of urgency that she makes the Doctor sick. But her Doctors
know well that though a rebel in the field of music, she is also
a nervous, highly strung daughter. They therefore smilingly take
the "doses" she gives them. And only when Mai says that "she is
feeling a little better" Kishoritai is at a little peace with
herself. But her health is not even considered when it is a
question of her music concerts. With a temperature as high as 103
raging in her body, I have seen her give all excellent full
fledged concert in Dadar. She has also rendered a 3 1/2 hour pro-
gramme on our Saint- Poet Dynaneshar in a Bombay Hall, with the
excru- ciating and relentless agony of a Herpes infection runn-
ing a deadly line of pain on her face across thc nose. I can
still see her holding her tanpura in her right hand and with the
left hand dipping cotton in a medicinal solution and applying it
to her face. One had only to see it to believe it. That is the
fierce intensity she has for her music. It is almost inhuman or
superhuman.
Thinking -intuitive, creative thinking - is also an innate part
of her music. Her razor sharp intelligence is used to gently
reach and unfold a particular "bhava" in a bhajan, a thumari, a
ghazal or raga. Kishori tai firmly believes that "feeling" is the
soul of music. She has thought long and lovinly about the vari-
ous "bhavas" in art; how their subtle shades emerge and re- em-
erge, and one being prominent, surges forward towards the for-
mation of a "rasa". Her study of "rasa theory" is very comprehen-
sive. But everything that she reads in the ancient texts and
whatever she herself experiences in the fire of the creative pro-
cess is to be accepted only if it stands the test of actual music
rendered.
Like a sincere hard-working student, she still gets up early in
the morning to study and interpret the texts and spends or in-
vests some time with the textual notes. Then after an interval of
some kitchen work, she turns to and becomes one with her musical
notes. The journey from the world of words to the universe of
"sa-re-ga-ma " is as smooth as the sliding of the finger from one
string to the other of her tanpura.
Kishoritai has given immeasurable joy to her listeners - through
her music and her lectures. By now, she has become a renowned ex-
ponent of the "Rasa Theory of Music". She is an excellent speak-
er, being clear in though and lucid in expression. She has given
lectures - series of lectures all over India. She carries the
same brand of fire in her speeches as in her musical rendering. I
remember its early beginning.
It was the year 1977; Place: New Delhi. Smt. Kishoritai Amonkar
had been invited to participate in an International Seminar on
Arts to be held in the capital of India. Her paper was entitled
"Music and Communication" The audience com- prised of writers,
musicians, dancers, painters, poets, sculptors and architects of
national and international renown. In fact, they were the people
who must have been more on the platform - on the other side of
creation - than on the receiving side.
In the presence of such an illustrious and discern- ing
listeners, Kishoritai read her paper with the ease of a profes-
sional and a fervour of a reformer. The text, born and bred on
experience was appealing and thought- provoking and the diction
was perfect, her breath-control remarkable with the right pauses
and correct stress. The thunderous applause at the end "communi-
cated" the listeners' feeling of appreciation. The impact of the
paper was further seen when the Indian and Foreign Delegates at-
tended her concert at 'Ashoka Hotel' the following day and made
it a point to tell her of the same. As one dancer then remarked
"Is it necessary to read the paper also so well? Can you not
leave anything to others ? "
That is Kishoritai -
Perfectionist and a dreamer,
Lover of words and notes,
Colour and stones,
An old understanding friend,
A singer, setting a new trend,
Bound to music and its Reedeemer too.
And now finally about her Music. Kishoritai doesn't sing music,
she breathes it. Then what can one write about it? It is like
trying to describe and give one's impression of a beautiful sun-
rise. The sun of her " Bhairav " or " Bhup " is the same; yet,
just as, every dawn is new, so also the " ragas " are different
with every rendering. Her Music is as fresh as dew and as ancient
as the earth.
Here I acknowledge my utter helplessness to do justice to her
singing. Much has been written about it, and many are still try-
ing to write about it. She like her mother Mai has also been
awarded a 'Padma- bhushan'. It is indeed a rare feat for a mother
and daughter to get one of the highest National awards in the
same field - i. e. Hindustani Classical Music. Kishoritai sings
with utmost intensity and sincerity. She believes in introspec-
tion and guidance from the ancient sages and seers, therefore the
evolvement of her "raga" is different from others. Like a staunch
classicist she wants to maintain the purity and the discipline of
the " bhava " in a " raga ". She is totally convinced that in
order to depict the " true and living raga " in future, one must
progress towards the past- wherein lies knowledge that is eternal
and Absolute. Trying to analyse the subtle nuances of her music
I find that the river of words merges into the sea of silence.
We can only pray that may Kishoritai continue to sing for a long
long time; and may we all be blessed to listen to that divine
melody.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Rajan Parrikar
From the RMIM Article Archive maintained by Satish Subramanian