VAGEESHWARIVAGEESHWARIVAGEESHWARI March 2018
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Vol. XXXII Regd No. ISSN 0975-7872 VAGEESHWARIVAGEESHWARIVAGEESHWARI March 2018 DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC FACULTY OF MUSIC & FINE ARTS UNIVERSITY OF DELHI Prof. Tarun Kumar Das, Registrar, University of Delhi, and Chief Guest during the International seminar – Indian Classical Music: Teaching and Performing Abroad”, organized by the Department, in collaboration with the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (I.C.C.R.), at the Conference Centre, University of Delhi, on 27-28 February 2018. Seated on the dais are the Keynote Speaker – Prof. Joep Bor, Professor at the Academy of Creative and Performing Arts, Leiden University, The Netherlands, Ms. Padmaja, Dy. Director General, I.C.C.R., and Prof. Suneera Kasliwal, Dean & Head, Faculty of Music & Fine Arts, University of Delhi A Hungarian folk group – Kalaka – performing, in a collaboration between the Dept. of Music and the Dept. of Slavonic & Finno-Ugrian Studies, University of Delhi, in Dec. 2017 Vol. XXXII Regd. No. ISSN 0975-7872 VAGEESHWARI March 2018 Proceedings of a two-day International seminar on “Indian Classical Music: Teaching and Performing Abroad” Organized by The Department of Music, University of Delhi In collaboration with the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (I.C.C.R.) on 27-28 February, 2018 Editor Prof. Suneera Kasliwal Editorial Board Prof. Deepti Omchery Bhalla Prof. Shailendra Goswami Dr. Ananya Kumar Dey Dr. Jagbandhu Prasad Dr. Rajpal Singh Dr. Ajay Kumar Dr. Rishitosh Kumar Student Editors Ms. Aditi Sharma Mr. Rahul Prakash Ms. Rindana Rahasya Ms. Tara Sharma SUBSCRIPTION RATES Price India : Rs.200.00 Abroad : $ 5.00 per annum For enquiry, payment, book review, subscription etc please write to : The Editor, Vageeshwari, Journal of the Department of Music Faculty of Music and Fine Arts, University of Delhi Delhi-110007 All articles published in the Journal are the copyright of the Department of Music, Faculty of Music and Fine Arts, University of Delhi, Delhi and no part thereof may be reproduced without the prior permission of the Editor. The opinions expressed in the Journal do not necessarily reflect the view of the Editorial Board. Note : In conformation with the U.G.C. regulations 2009, Vageeshwari is an International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) certified journal, bearing ISSN 0975-7872 registration, which is displayed at the top right hand corner of the cover page of the journal. All research papers and articles published in this journal are recognized by all universities, institutions and organizations in India and abroad. Cover page - Sketch of Rudra Veena by Dr. Meenakshi Kasliwal Bharti, Retired Associate Professor, Govt. PG College, Bundi, Rajasthan. From the Editor's desk… Prof. Suneera Kasliwal Dean & Head, Faculty of Music & Fine Arts, University of Delhi It gives me immense pleasure to place before you all, Vol. XXXII of Vageeshwari, an ISSN certified Departmental journal.Vageeshwari carries articles written by musicians, musicologists, performers, teachers and research scholars from various universities and colleges of India. Alternatively, it also publishes the proceedings of important seminars from time to time. In the last vein, this issue of the journal is dedicated exclusively to the proceedings of an International Seminar, titled – “Indian Classical Music: Teaching and Performing Abroad”, that was organized by the Department on 27-28 February 2018 at the Conference Centre, University of Delhi, in collaboration with the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (I.C.C.R.). As we all know, Indian Classical Music was an unknown entity outside India till the mid twentieth century. One of the prime reasons for this was that India was a vassal state of the British empire. Being a subjugated country, Indian artistes, though very well known, loved and respected within the borders of India, were unknown names beyond the borders. The opportunities for Indian artistes to travel abroad for performing, were few and far between. In other words, very difficult to come by, owing to the political and economic situation of not just India, but of the entire world, which by the middle of the twentieth century, was recovering from the calamitous consequences of two world wars. Things started changing somewhat after India gained Independence. The world too had started stabilizing, both politically, socially and economically. It was in these relatively favourable circumstances, that Sitar maestro - Pt. Ravi Shankar, carried Indian classical music to beyond the shores of the country, primarily the USA. Along with his Guru-bhai – Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, and Tabla wizard – Ustad Allahrakha Khan, Pandit ji mesmerized the audiences there, displaying the depth and finer nuances of our music. He was the pioneer and torchbearer in illuminating the hearts and minds of the American public, to not just Indian music, but also Indian culture on the whole. Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, went on to establish the Ali Akbar College of Music in San Rafael, California, USA. Thus, these two illustrious disciples of Baba Allauddin Khan were instrumental in commencing the performance of Indian classical music abroad, followed later on, by its teaching there. Pt. Ravi Shankar’s success was followed by many aspiring and talented classical performers from India, performing in both USA and Europe, and thereafter in the Soviet Union, and countries with a big Indian diaspora, such as Singapore and Mauritius, to name just a few. Indian music gradually started becoming a subject in a few universities and educational institutes. But while we know that the performance aspect of Indian classical music became very strong abroad, can the same be said about the teaching aspect in these countries? Can we, for example, state that Indian classical music is popular with not just the Indian diaspora, but also the inhabitantsof the USA, and that this particular segment of their youth is glued to learning our art, through classes, workshops, lecture-cum-demonstrations, and of course, performances? These and many other questions used to keep cropping up in my mind from time to time. So, when I became the Dean & Head of the Department, I thought of organizing an International seminar to address these issues, and to have them discussed on a public forum. The idea finally started taking shape in June last year, and very soon, I had started work on conceptualizing and preparing the blueprint for the seminar. As I found later on, we had to take approvals from the Ministry of Home Affairs, and the Ministry of External Affairs for the experts from abroad to be approved. So, the road from the start to the finish had many challenges, and thankfully, we were able to overcome them one by one by the time the seminar commenced. In August last year, with the preliminary work complete, I approached the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) seeking collaboration in organizing the seminar, knowing their significant role in imparting teaching and facilitating performance of Indian classical music abroad. My first meeting in this regard, with the Director General of ICCR – Ms. Riva Ganguly Das, was very fruitful, and she soon agreed to collaborate with the Department in organizing the seminar. In this endeavour, I was also assured full cooperation by Prof. Tarun Kumar Das, Registrar, University of Delhi, and his kind consent to be the Chief Guest, was but a very logical extension of his wholehearted cooperation. I was equally fortunate that scholars like Prof. Joep Bor from the Netherlands agreed to be the Key Note Speaker for the seminar, as did our experts on the subject from the USA, Mauritius, Singapore, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka, who readily gave their consent to be a part of the discussion, involving an important issue. With the kind approval from the Chairpersons for the five sessions, all the pieces of a difficult jigsaw puzzle fell into place. For all these experts from both India and abroad, I have a deep and profound sense of gratitude, for they elevated the discussion to such a high level of analytical brilliance, that it seemed that in just two days, we could see issues surrounding the teaching and performance of Indian classical music on a very globalized scale. During the discussions, many problems were discussed, for e.g., the availability of good musical instruments and their maintenance is becoming a big question in front of the teachers and institutes teaching Indian music abroad. Most of the times, they end up with second grade instruments, despite paying for instruments of high quality. In the absence of a good repairer of instruments, they have to do the repairing and maintenance by themselves, which is an arduous task. Another problem facing the teachers, is the non- availability of spare parts of the musical instruments, such as manka, khuti, strings,bridge etc of string instruments, such as Sitar, and pudi of Tabla and Pakhawaj, in foreign countries. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all my colleagues, staff artistes and office staff, without whose cooperation, the seminar could not have been successfully organized. I would especially like to mention the hard work put in by Dr. Ananya Kumar Dey, Dr. Ajay Kumar and Dr. Vineet Goswami, in initiating the preparations from August 2017, and being an integral part of just about everything, till the very end. My affection and blessings for the three of them knows no bounds. Lastly, I would like to express my appreciation to all the members of the Editorial Board of Vageeshwari, especially and again, Dr. Ananya Kumar Dey and Dr. Ajay Kumar, and all the student editors -Ms. Aditi Sharma, Mr. Rahul Prakash, Ms. Rindana Rahasya and Ms. Tara Kannan, for their painstaking patience in preparing the transcriptions of the seminar proceedings. My gratitude also goes out to our publisher – Mr. Khanna, whose smiling cooperation, like previous issues, is instrumental once again in this very important issue of Vageeshwari seeing the light of the day.