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The Symphony Lecture on 'Music and Freedom'
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Vibha B Madhava
9:05
Hello and welcome to The Symphony Lecture on 'Music and Freedom: Sounds of a border-crossing symphony' by Sugata Bose, Gardiner Professor of History at Harvard University.
9:10
The host for the evening, Anusha Andrews, welcomes the audience with an introduction of the South Indian Symphony Foundation and speaker Sugata Bose.
9:12
Sugata Bose is presented a token of appreciation by the students of ACJ.
9:14
Bose begins his address on the topic for the day - 'Music and Freedom'.
9:15
" 'In our fear of strife you brought the message of music and harmony'. These beautiful lines composed by Dilip Kumar Roy capture the essence of the aspiration of the South Asian Symphony. Foundation," says Bose as part of his introduction.
9:17
With the mention of compositions like Vande Mataram and the contributions of the likes of Rabindranath Tagore, Bose delves into the theme of music.
9:20
He enthrals the audience with a rendition of the final verse of the song 'Dhono dhanno' which goes as -
Bhayer mayer eto sneho, kothai gele pabe keho
O maa tomar choron duti bokkhe amar dhori
Amar ei deshe te jonmo jeno ei deshe te mori
Emon deshti kothao khuje pabe nako tumi
Shokol desher raani shey je amar jonmobhumi
Shey je amar jonmobhumi, shey je amar jonmobhumi."
9:21
He provides a new musical perspective about the partition of Bengal and sings another famous verse that was sung during the particularly difficult time.
9:22
"Dilip Kumar Roy serves as a good expression of music," says Bose.
9:23
Bose finds Dilip as a huge inspiration as he continues to talk about the education, childhood and his journey through music and literature.
9:25
Tracing back, Bose provides incredibly insightful details on Bengali music during the yesteryears, including the music-oriented discourse between Roy and Tagore.
9:26
He also talks about the similarities between Rabindranath Tagore and Dilip Kumar's interests in Indian classical music. However, they apparently differed in their views on the subject of poetry and modern Bengal.
9:27
Bose adds: "Both of them wanted to promote Hindustani music to bring people of different cultures together."
9:30
Bose puts forth an interesting intersectional theme. "In terms of folk music and dance, the way the culture and art have developed is very artful to me."
9:36
Talking about the late 1930s, Bose enlightens the audience with anecdotes revolving around music and the Indian freedom struggle.
9:38
Mentioning 'Vande Mataram', 'Saare Jahan Se Accha', 'Jana Gana Mana', Bose talks about the ideas behind the inception of these songs and their musical relevance.
9:41
Moving towards Carnatic music, he now talks about the maestro TM Krishna.
9:42
Bose adds a surprisingly lesser-known fact, 'Kadam Kadam Badaye Jaa' was based on a popular Japanese tune."
9:43
In appreciation, he sings Azad Hind Sena Ne Jab Netaji Ka Paigam Liya.
9:45
9:53
"Freedom poses two challenges for our musical tradition. First, what might be the best way to present the music of the subcontinent to the world? And second, how could music conversation in the subcontinent continue in the aftermath of partition?” opines Bose.
9:54
As an elaborate response to the questions posed, Bose says that the Indian cultural democracy with China required a different set of music.
Adding a specific incident to drive the point home, Bose adds: "On August 15 1953, a bunch of Chinese men and women asked the Indian men to sing 'Hindi Chini' and was followed by a cyclonic dance between Indian and Chinese."
9:55
As a personal take, Bose tells the audience that for anyone bred in the tradition of India, it required effort then to develop an ear for other songs.
9:56
He recalls Dilip Kumar Roy. “I first encountered  Roy who served as my guide for a lecture in 1953. As a six-year-old, I was in awe of his tunes,” he emphasises.
9:57
Continuing to express his appreciation, he talks about the incredible usage of ragas by Ravi Shankar.
9:58
About his personal musical pursuit, he says: "It was only after going to Cambridge in 1979, I began to attend performances of western music."
9:59
"We knew something of the accomplishment of Omar Bangla. It was research as a PhD student of research in Bengal, that I got the true taste of Bengali music."
10:00
He points out that South Asian music took the West by storm, all thanks to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.
10:01
"It is almost impossible to stop the flow of music. It is possible to obstruct the flow of music," says Bose rightfully.
10:02
Talking about contemporary Indian music, Bose opines, "While many songs have become hits in recent years, my personal favourite remains Atif Aslam and Mai Dhai's Kadi Aao Ni"
10:05
Rabindranath reportedly declared to Albert Thomas that the starting point of all art is the breath. "The rhythm which is inherent in the human body is the same everywhere and is therefore universal," says Bose.
10:08
10:10
Sugata Bose concludes the address by saying: " Music is a medium that enriches the beauty of life, and it needs to be embraced by all of us".
10:11
Nirupama Rao delivers the vote of thanks and introduces the South Asian Symphony Orchestra who are all set to present a chamber concert now.
10:14
The orchestra comprises musicians from India, Sri Lanka, and Nepal and Afghanistan. Unfortunately, the musician from Afghanistan, owing to the fall of Kabul to the Taliban, could not make it here today.
10:15
"Strangers come together to make music and understand the concept of symphony in its true essence," says Rao asking the audience to surrender and enjoy the music they are about to experience.
10:19
Are you excited to experience the chamber concert?
YES! (50% | 2 votes)
 
Who wouldn't be!! (50% | 2 votes)
 
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Total Votes: 4
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