ChinmayC Blog

The living legend of Indian Classical (Hindustani) Music and the senior most vocalist of the Kirana Gharana , Padma Vibhushan Dr. Prabha Atre celebrates her 90 th birthday on 13 th September, 2022. This is indeed a most significant and momentous occasion in the history of Indian classical music as the complete artiste goes tirelessly on serving the cause of music with her lilting compositions, her sweet and melodious presentations, her scholarly discourses, her progressive outlook, her in-depth research and enlightening books and her devoted role as the most ideal beloved Guru for her countless disciples. Dr Prabha Atre holds the world record in releasing 11 books on a single subject which is music and has been instrumental in propagating and popularizing Indian classical vocal music in the West as the late Pt. Ravishankar did with the Sitar . On this occasion the legendary artiste is also initiating a new chapter with the inauguration of the Kirana Gharana Library and Resource ...

I did indeed have some regrets though as I couldn’t pay my homage to the legendary Santoor maestro Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma on time, and as an aftereffect failed to write about the Australian cricketer Andrew Symonds . Pt. Shiv Kumar Sharma passed away in a Mumbai hospital on 10 th May 2022 after a prolonged period of kidney ailments and dialysis, at the age of 84. The glowing and flowing tributes paid to him from the music world, particularly the field of Indian Classical Music , and from all other fields which are still continuing show what a music stalwart he had been since the fifties. Panditji had introduced a folk string instrument called Santoor that used to be played in Kashmir and had Persian origins to Indian Classical Music and popularized it immensely with his learning, concerts and fusion all over the globe and through an invaluable collection of albums. At his very initiation to this instrument by his vocalist father Uma Dutt Sharma young Shiv Kumar observed the playin...

‘Our ragas are based on time periods like the morning, afternoon, evening and late night hours. But the time slot now-a-days for concerts is 6pm to 10pm due to security reasons or whatever. If we exceed police will come and arrest the artists and the organizers. This means performances can be done only on a few limited ragas again and again. Morning and afternoon concerts are rare and late night concerts whether indoor or outdoor are impossible.’ Said santoor legend Pandit Shivkumar Sharma on 10th January, 2009 at a two-day seminar on ‘Reconsidering Fundamental Issues in Indian Art Music’ organized by ITC Sangeet Research Academy at NCPA, Mumbai. Panditji was speaking at the session on ‘Time Theory’. While making it clear that he was speaking neither for or against the time theory Pandit Shivkumar Sharma elaborated further, ‘In old days we were closer to nature and most concerts were organized outdoor with nature manifested in full glory. Now in air conditioned auditoriums time becom...