The Untold Story of a Sitar 3
The Untold story of a Sitar Part 3 Concluded
.
A soothing musical note
Was coming out and floating
In the air
In that White coated
Old auditorium
Of a different era
Which was so alive before me
As if I was a guest listener
Of its vibrant musical lore’s
Now being produced for the
Listeners of that gathering
By Tan
In her exclusive style
I have never witnessed before. 22
.
And the girl Tan
Was playing and playing
Forgetting everything
Which was there in the surrounding of her
With many gazing eyes and eager ears
Who were too keen to feast their eyes
Whenever they get any chance to see her face
To relish the sparking beauty of that artist Tan. 23
.
These listeners were restlessly waiting
For the climax
Of that classical Raga Bholali*
She was playing
On her charming Sitar
With a flute to accompany her
In its heart fetching melodious voice. 24
.
That beautiful young girl Tan
Was still creating in the air
A magical effect
For all those melody hungry ears
And the music listeners
Were listening that performance
In a pin drop silence. 25
.
The strings of Sitar
With the sound of Flute were creating
Their enchanting notes
Making the listeners almost
Drowsy as if they had drank
An intoxicating drink
Which was dear to Lord Shiva*
Or the heavenly wine
Prepared by Bacchus. 26
.
She kept on playing
And producing that magic
Among the galaxy of music lovers
Who used to gather quite often
To enjoy the enchanting voices and instruments
Of singers and musicians
In that wonderful small auditorium
Which was created only
For listening
The music performances
Of artists like Tan and others . 27
In that era when
When the world was not
So close to each other
When hearts were more endowed
With love and passion
For music, songs and sightseeing and knowledge
Which was dwelling in almost every
Vibrant heart
I was watching that grand show
As an unknown and invisible spectator. 28
.
Suddenly a strange fellow
Came on the Dias
Who was dressed very elegantly
But behaved like a rustic
He made almost a hit
On the neck of that Sitar
And caught and almost pulled
The right arm of Tan all of a sudden.
In doing so he not only broken
The delicate upper wooden stem
And strings of Sitar
But even wounded
The soft and beautiful right hand of Tan
While damaging the Sitar
And many of its strings. 29
That tall and good looking man
In his beastly stroke
Not only gave a jolt to that
Beautiful girl
But he even spoiled
The evening of all those
Who had gathered there
To relish the beauty and magic
Of her performances
As the target of this young intruder
Was the innocent lady Tan only
Who was the main attraction and charm
Of that pleasant and wonderful evening. 30
.
Before
Even anyone could have understood
What was the intension
Of that decent looking rustic
He dragged the musician
To the other side gate of that hall
While leaving the Sitar
In that broken condition
On the floor of that small auditorium. 31
.
Everyone was shocked and bewildered
By that sudden jolt and break
Which had destroyed completely
The rhythms and flow of that great musical evening. 32
.
It was like depriving suddenly
Someone very thirsty
When only a part of some cool and refreshing water
Had gone down his throat
In the form of that music magic
Which she was creating on the Dias. 33
.
The strange thing was
The more she played on Sitar with Flute
A deeper thirst was awakening among listeners
For that music and all those sounds
She and her flute partner were creating
In everyone’s heart. 34
Watching that scene
As an uncalled and unseen visitor
I tried to knew by listening
The voices of the people
Who were enjoying that music
In a pin drop scilence
I had never witnessed before. 35
.
One of them was saying
“Oh He is the Prince of our State
The young Raja Saheb*
He seems to have returned
From his foreign trip
After nearly a year
And appears to be not in his senses
When he dragged his young and beautiful wife
From the Dias
Like she was not human
But a toy of his Palace. 36
.
“Everyone knows here
That he never tolerates
His wife giving any stage performances
Among the gathering
Of common men and women”
And his earlier wife too had to commit suicide
For these reasons only. 37
.
A lady of that gathering was saying
“He is an insane fellow
He would take the life
Of his charming wife once again
Only because
She had given a public performance
Of her music in his absence.” 38
.
I was stunned to hear all that
When suddenly I felt, as if
I had awakened from a nap
And whatever I saw was only a dream
As there was no girl like Tan
And no auditorium
which was breathing so alive
Only few minutes ago in my dream
And the girl Tan too was not visible anywhere. 39
.
The only thing I could see and feel
Was my Sitar
With its new rejuvenated look
Which was still lying before me
Inviting me to play its strings
To produce once again
Some simple basic Surs*
Like SA RE GA MA PA DHA NI SA
Or Do Ray Me Fa La Ti Doe . 40
Ravindra
Kanpur 25th April 2016
Raag* A raga uses a series of five to nine musical notes upon which a melody is constructed. However, the way the notes are approached and rendered in musical phrases and the mood they convey are more important in defining a raga than the notes themselves. In the Indian musical tradition, ragas are associated with different times of the day, or with seasons.
Copyright © Ravindra K Kapoor | Year Posted 2016
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