Unfair Maligning of Sitar School of Toronto
P.N. Mathur
I have worked with the Sitar School of Toronto over the past three
years. Together we have organized several (at least 7) very successful
concerts in Eastern and Central Canada.
I have not had any problems with their staff OR any of their visiting
artists.
Ustad Shahid Parvez has also performed for us on several occasions,
and his concerts have been delightful. My interaction with him was
cordial, professional and even humorous at times. It was my pleasure
to host him and I would do it again.
It is not in the interest of visiting artists to spoil relationships
with organizers in North America. Most come here to work hard, spread
their (our) music and develop a following.
The recent attempts by members of this forum to discredit the Sitar
School of Toronto (and its visting artists) is unfair and plain ill
mannered.
While sponsoring musicians from India for visas in the past, I have
also faced problems. However these minor issues are bound to occur
when one takes the challenge of organizing concert tours.
In my case, the Canadian High Commission in New Delhi actually
misplaced the documentation of the artist! I had to scramble at the
last minute to get the visas issued. This only happened one time in my
many years of correspondence with the Canadian HC in New Delhi.
Unfortunate incidents such as this do in fact occur.
I wish the best of luck to future organizers and artists alike.
P.N. Mathur
P.S.
It was my pleasure to witness Ustad Shahid Parvez in concert in
Ottawa, Canada on Sunday, September 7 with Akram Khansahib. He gave a
fine rendition of Raags Madhuvanti, Des and Jaijaivanti.
His tour of North America seems to be going fine in my estimation.
r.d. golub
Mehfil.
Mathur ji is absolutely right; the Sitar School of Toronto is a
wonderful institution that provides Toronto with the highest quality
musical education, and also presents concerts of the highest calibre
all around the world.
Sitar School of Toronto has a pure mission: to provide people with
music. Their primary focus always has been music, something which is
difficult enough to maintain here in North America. Its director and
students work extremely hard to obtain visas, organise tours, and make
everything smooth for Ustad Shahid Parvez.
I cannot imagine that they would do anything dishonest, especially
since they are devoted students of Ustadji, who is such an honest,
open and wonderful human being, with a fantastic sense of humour. And
of course, he is a musician of great genius.
We should take care that we treat the musicians of our given era with
respect and honor, especially when they are travelling so far in order
to ensure that Indian Classical Music thrives in the diaspora, and
thus in the Subcontinent as well.
The concert in Ottawa on Sunday evening was a wonderful preesntation
in a warm ambience. Ustadji's music speaks louder than words. I urge
you all to attend his concerts on this North American tour and see for
yourselves.
There will be two concerts in the New York area-- October 17 and
November 1. In addition, both Ustad Shahid Parvez and Akram Khan
Saheb will hold workshops in New York City in October. Please check
www.nymehfil.com for further details as the dates approach.
Rachel Golub.
Sajjad Khaliq
: Sitar School of Toronto has a pure mission: to provide people with
: music. Their primary focus always has been music, something which is
: difficult enough to maintain here in North America.
: Rachel Golub.
I take great exception to your description and understanding of Sitar
School's mission. You write that "their primary mission is to provide
music".
I would put it that Sitar School's mission is merely to serve the
interests of it's Director and students. And that is to obtain training
and taleem in Sitar. I believe that this does not serve
very well, the wider interests of the concert going public.
As a result of Shahid Pervez's commitment to Anwar Khurshid to come to
Toronto and provide training, this year already seen two concerts by
Shahid Pervez Khan in Toronto. And a third one is upon us in the next few
days. Over the last 3 years or so, Shahid Pervez has performed
in the Toronto area at least twice a year. I am sure that I would speak
for the vast majority of concert going music lovers, in that we need to
have variety. I wonder how many of us really want to see Shahid Pervez
perform year after year, or three times in the space of 9 months.
I have observed that the number and variety of concerts presented in
Toronto over the last several years has steadily declined. In talking to
various people connected with the presentation of concerts in the Toronto
area, I get the distinct impression, that audiences have declined, causing
the frequency of presentation to also decline. Some people attribute this
to the lack of variety of artists performing in Toronto. The same artists
were coming year after year, and even playing the same rags concert after
concert.
I also take exception to Anwar Khurshid's assertion that there is a "huge
dirth" of "high quality" sitar instruction in the Toronto area. There are
at least four people I can think of living in the Toronto area
that provide sitar instruction, and two of them are full-time professional
performing artists. I wonder if the current group of Sitar School students
were to continue their training for the next five, ten or fifteen years,
whether even one of them would rise to the level of a performing artist.
This is not to deny the need or right of these students to pursue their
training in sitar for whatever personal reasons they may have.
But I do feel that the needs of the concert going public and the needs of
the Sitar School students should be looked at by members of this forum in
perspective. And that presenting the same artist to Toronto audiences again,
and again and again is not serving their needs and interests, but more so
the interests of only the Sitar School itself.
Personlly, knowing Anwar Khurshid as a reasonable and professional
gentleman, I would hope that his organization would take some steps to
redress the imbalance in variety of artists they present to Toronto
audiences. Lest Shahid Pervez's presence in the Toronto area may become
all too "pervez-ive" (pervaisive) (pun intended)!!
--
Sajjad Khaliq / Mississauga / Ontario / Canada
r.d. golub
Sitar School of Toronto does a fantastic job of teaching music to
those interested in learning, understanding and being surrounded with
it-- including several blossoming young performers. Such a pure
institution is a treasure in and of itself in any society.
I am not sure how this fact has been lost in the melee.
I would advise you, should you be so dissatisfied with the state of
the arts in Toronto-- or dearth thereof-- to start a concert-promoting
organisation, or to work for an existing one.
As a student of Ustadji's, I speak from an intimate knowledge of Sitar
School. And as a musician, I am saddened to see how many of our
concert-going public are so quick to malign a great musician and a
blameless institution of such musical integrity. Fortunately, this
could not hinder us in our pursuit of music.
Your pernicious commentary in a public forum is unnecessary.
Khuda Hafiz.
a c
and can be quite difficult for both artists and tour organizers.
Furthermore, what happened at the Bombay consulate is rare, and
singularly unfortunate. It is unfair to accuse Shahid Parvez and Akram
Khan of unprofessionalism if they were kept waiting by the consular
office.
The concert organizer has a valid reason to worry if the artists do
not have their visas stamped at least two weeks before departure for
the US, since this increases the risk at the organizer's end. However,
if Bharati Choksi's musical appetite was satiated by Shujaat Hussain's
performance, there is no reason to go public, accusing Shahid & Co of
lying. Such mistakes do happen, especially when the visa process is
managed by an amateur organizer, and people have to learn how to live
with them. If you want top-quality performance from the artist
management, then don't book sitarists who do not work with
professional managers. This would, sadly, reduce your options to Ravi
and Anoushka Shankar. Else, make provisions for error.
The Sitar School's intentions may be extremely noble, but Sajjad does
have a point here. Shahid Parvez, though undoubtedly an excellent
sitarist, is not the only living sitarist. If an institution
purportedly deals with such a broad (in this context) as sitar music,
it ought to embrace the diversity demanded by such a theme. Even if
they wish to host only sitar performances, the broadly defined mission
of "giving the Toronto area music" is ill-served if one artist is
repeated at all shows. Sadly, however, this is a chronic problem with
many Indian music schools in the West that revolve around
personality-cults instead of seeking to create a library of material
from various sources. That said, none of the "professional"
Toronto-based sitarists are of Shahid Parvez's caliber.
DIVERGING A BIT FROM THE THREAD TOPIC: Any sitar student who wishes to
make progress must hear the earlier 20th C (RS, VK, NB, BP,
MusthtaqAK, AHJK, etc.) as well as contemporary artists: Rais Khan,
Deepak Chowdhury, Shahid Parvez, B Mukherjee, Kushal Das, Soumitra
Lahiri, Nayan Ghosh, Niladri Kumar, Purbayan C, etc. (Sorry, Nani,
babe. You're gonna have to live with the fact that almost all the top
sitarists today are Bengalis) In my opinion, a serious student of
instrumental music must also spend many hours a day listening to
khayal and solo tabla. Finally, analytical absorption of taleem is of
far greater consequence to the development of an artist than the
volume of taleem. A student should know what suits her and what
doesn't, and should consciously adopt or reject aspects of taleem
based on such considerations. Conscious adoption of the teacher's
personal musical mannersisms does not come across (to me) as a
pleasing aspect of a musician's performance.
Cheers,
Arnab
rdg...@hotmail.com (r.d. golub) wrote in message news:<9607e476.03091...@posting.google.com>...
Sajjad Khaliq
This was an event that had been in the planning for over a year.
It was also riding on a county grant. And to be informed after
much prodding only a week before the event that the artist
is awaiting a visa, I can imagine the stress and panic that
would create in an organiser. These things do happen and one cannot
blame the organiser for being pro-active and making alternative
arrangements. Moreover, for an artist like Shahid Pervez who is
coming to North America two or even three times a year, one
would hardly expect him to be held up by visa problems.
I have nothing personally against Anwar Khurshid. We used to work for the
same company at one time. He is a good friend of mine. I am only in
disgreement with his mission to provide "pure music" to Toronto
audiences, by presenting the same artist again and again, and again.
This is doing a dis-service to the Indian Classical Music listening
public.
I would however disagree with Arnab Chakravarti's remarks "many Indian
music schools in the West that revolve around personality-cults instead of
seeking to create a library of material from various sources" I would
have thought being a semi-professional musician, and having gone through
the guri-shishiya mill himself, Arnab would prefer to stick to one source
as is traditionally mandated, rather than "seeking to create a library of
material from various sources".
That said, and at the risk of starting another "sitar-wars", I would add
to Arnab's list of "must hear" sitarists for beginning sitar students:
Imrat Khan, Debu Chaudhuri, Pandit Giri Raj, Nishat Khan, Irshad Khan,
Mahmud Mirza, Usman Ali Khan, Pushparaj Chosti.
a c (ar...@hampshire.edu) wrote:
: This thread is beginning to get stale. The P3 visa process is tedious
: and can be quite difficult for both artists and tour organizers.
: The concert organizer has a valid reason to worry if the artists do
: Cheers,
: Arnab
--
Sajjad Khaliq
Rachel,
Thankyou for responding to my comments regarding Sitar School and it's
presentation of Shahid Pervez to the Toronto area concert going public.
I am of the opinion that starting one's own organisation if one does not
agree with the aims or policies of an existing organisation(s) is
extremely harmful and fractitious.I would much rather prefer to work with
the existing organisation(s). Hence my remarks to this group. The comments
I expressed can only be benefical to an organisation like Sitar School
that is in the business of presenting concerts. Companies pay money to
find out what their consumers are saying about them. I have merely
expressed my views, and the facts as I see them, in a public forum so as
to invite further debate. There is nothing harmful or
destructive in this. I have not said anything against Shahid Pervez. I
have nothing against Anwar Khurshid. He and I used to work at the same
company, so we know each other.
I have not commented negatively about the quality of Sitar School's
instruction, as I am not in a position to do that, not being a student of
the school. I did state, and stand by the asserton that even 10-15
years from now, I highly doubt if the school will produce one accomplished
professional sitarist. I know people who have been studying music for
decades and they still apologise before beginning to pickup their
instrument and play. So what is the service that Sitar School is doing for
the public? Their aim and mission is entirely self-serving. There is
nothing wrong with that. However, it disturbs me greatly, when you and
others connected with the Sitar School expect the public to exonerate
it for whatever errors and ommissions it may or may not have made, simply
because the School is presenting Shahid Pervez again and again to the
the public out of it's own self interests.
-----
r.d. golub (rdg...@hotmail.com) wrote:
: Sajjad Saheb,
: Khuda Hafiz.
--
Nick H (UK)
Sajjad Khaliq wrote:
> One cannot overlook Bharati Choksi's viewpoint as an organiser.
> This was an event that had been in the planning for over a year.
> It was also riding on a county grant. And to be informed after
> much prodding only a week before the event that the artist
> is awaiting a visa,
It was interesting to read the defense. I did not agree with the
assertion that "six days was not 'at the last minute'".
> I can imagine the stress and panic that
> would create in an organiser. These things do happen and one cannot
> blame the organiser for being pro-active and making alternative
> arrangements. Moreover, for an artist like Shahid Pervez who is
> coming to North America two or even three times a year, one
> would hardly expect him to be held up by visa problems.
>
> I have nothing personally against Anwar Khurshid. We used to work for the
> same company at one time. He is a good friend of mine. I am only in
> disgreement with his mission to provide "pure music" to Toronto
> audiences, by presenting the same artist again and again, and again.
> This is doing a dis-service to the Indian Classical Music listening
> public.
>
> I would however disagree with Arnab Chakravarti's remarks "many Indian
> music schools in the West that revolve around personality-cults instead of
> seeking to create a library of material from various sources" I would
> have thought being a semi-professional musician, and having gone through
> the guri-shishiya mill himself, Arnab would prefer to stick to one source
> as is traditionally mandated, rather than "seeking to create a library of
> material from various sources".
>
> That said, and at the risk of starting another
> "sitar-wars",
>
:) Nice. Very nice. :-)))
--
Nick H (UK)
a c
<snipped to save space>
<.. ..>
> I would however disagree with Arnab Chakravarti's remarks "many Indian
> music schools in the West that revolve around personality-cults instead of
> seeking to create a library of material from various sources" I would
> have thought being a semi-professional musician, and having gone through
> the guri-shishiya mill himself, Arnab would prefer to stick to one source
> as is traditionally mandated, rather than "seeking to create a library of
> material from various sources".
Sajjad, whoever or whatever gave you the idea that I was a
"semi-professional" musician is wrong. I am a professional musician. I
earn my daal-roti by playing the sarod on the concert stage, as well
as composing and recording for the film and television industry. You
may not like my music. That's perfectly justified, as liking a certain
artist or musical style is, after all, a matter of taste. This should
not, however, lead you to post misleading information about my
employment status in a public forum. FYI, my name is spelled Arnab
Chakrabarty.
On your second point:
Having gone through the "guru-shishya mill" with much dedication, I
have learnt to look beyond just that, and always feel a need to grow
musically beyond the realm of the khandani taleem. I think it is
perfectly legitimitate to compile as vast a library of information as
one can from various gayakis/styles and then use or reject material
based on the musical temperament bestowed on one by his/her basic
taleem. I think choosing the right material from "external" sources is
the key. I just played a concert tonight in Calcutta. Tilak Kamod was
presented using thee bandishes from three different sources. The first
one was based on a Tagore melody (in Sulfakta Taal), followed by my
Guru's composition with two sams (on D anr R), and finally, Inayat
Khan Saheb's ati-drut composition, which I have also heard Wajahat
play. As long as I am able to establish my statement of the raga and
do not change the basic approach with every bandish that is presented,
there is no real harm in presenting materials collected from a number
of sources. There are many directions in which my "gharana" does not
provide me a chance to grow. Does this mean that I'll leave my musical
fate to God? (Can't do that since I am an atheist).
Shubha Mudgal's gayaki is a fine example of a cross-sectional
assortment rooted in a basic (possibly 'Gwalior'* in her case) style.
Hers is a emotionally and content-rich approach that appeals immensely
to me. There are many other examples from the recent past, the most
prominent being Kumar Gandharva. It is difficult, dear fellow, to
point to any "pure" or "authentic" baaj in these times.
What you so fondly call the "Imdad Khani" baaj has little to do with
the actual music of Imdad Khan but can at best be called a
"contemporary interpretation of the Imdad Khan tradition". Again, that
is a stretch because his work was improved upon by his son and student
Inayat Khan, and the contemporary "representatives" of that gharana
are essentially Vilayat clones, most of them second-rate. The only
musician I find playing the Inayat Khan baaj today is one Mr.
Budhaditya Mukherjee who lives on Purna Das Road, and I am yet to find
someone who can equal his mastery of that baaj. Among the pure-blooded
Etawah'ites, Shahid Parvez is an outstanding exception. Again, his
musical intelligence has led him to adopt and to adapt.
Things I admire about Sahid Parvez:
Precise intonation.
Polished presentation.
Impeccable finish to every taan, toda and tihai.
Command over laya.
What bugs me about his playing:
All gats in jhap/matta/sawari taals are formula-bound. The rhythmic
structures of all gats are identical, with only the melody being
replaced by something that contains the notes of a different raga. If
a Matta taal gat in Megh starts with the refrain "n-- P-- n-- S--
R...", one in Gawati is likely to be "n-- P-- n-- S-- G...".
Similarly, all madhyala gats usually begin with a refrain that is
structured as "DIR DA DIR DA RA DA...", and all drut gats start on an
ekhara run and go "DA DIR DA RA DA" from the sam. Gets boring at
times.
All that said and done, SP is a fantastic musician.
But my personal preference is for Budhaditya. One can only wish he'd
play with better tabla players more often.
I think Sajjad and I disagree on the very meaning of tradition, so
there is no real point in us discussing/debating this particular
issue! Another contemporary musician whom I admire intensely is Ulhas
Kashalkar, whom I regard as one of my gurus. His gayaki, too, though
firmly rooted in the Antubuwa/Gajananbuwa branch, is a highly
sophisticated and successful blend of three-four gayakis. Now that IS
one first-rate artist for you - a pure aesthetic delight.
> That said, and at the risk of starting another "sitar-wars", I would add
> to Arnab's list of "must hear" sitarists for beginning sitar students:
> Imrat Khan, Debu Chaudhuri, Pandit Giri Raj, Nishat Khan, Irshad Khan,
> Mahmud Mirza, Usman Ali Khan, Pushparaj Chosti.
Again, you are entitled to your opinions, just as I am to mine. Why
add names to my list when you can compile your own?
Regards,
Arnab
* 'Gwalior' is also a very vague definition, since there are a number
of distinct branches within that school.
Sajjad Khaliq
: Sajjad, whoever or whatever gave you the idea that I was a
: "semi-professional" musician is wrong. I am a professional musician. I
: earn my daal-roti by playing the sarod on the concert stage..
Sorry. I was under the impression that you came to the US some years back
to attend university, and hence, music was not your full-time occuptaion.
: On your second point:
: Having gone through the "guru-shishya mill" with much dedication, I
: have learnt to look beyond just that, and always feel a need to grow
: musically beyond the realm of the khandani taleem.
Agreed, at the stage you have reached in your muscial career, you need to
grow musically beyond the realm of the knowledge received from your guru.
But I think beginning students in sitar hardly need to do this.
: Shubha Mudgal's gayaki is a fine example of a cross-sectional
: assortment rooted in a basic (possibly 'Gwalior'* in her case) style.
: Hers is a emotionally and content-rich approach that appeals immensely
: to me. There are many other examples from the recent past, the most
: prominent being Kumar Gandharva. It is difficult, dear fellow, to
: point to any "pure" or "authentic" baaj in these times.
Another good example is late Nazakat and Salamat Ali Khan. The latter
always acknowledged how he had sought and integrated the style of a number
of different gharanas and teachers into his gayaki.
: What you so fondly call the "Imdad Khani" baaj has little to do with
: the actual music of Imdad Khan but can at best be called a
: "contemporary interpretation of the Imdad Khan tradition".
Most definitely. How many practitioners of that baaj have even heard
more than a handful of recordings, let alone were alive to see Imdad Khan
perform. So at best, what these practitioners play today are mere
interpretations or approximations.
: What bugs me about his playing:
What bugs me about his playing (Shahid Pervez) is the less than appealing
tone of his instrument. No matter how good the music, theoretically and
aesthetically, if the sound is not good to the ears, it does not appeal
very much.
: Ulhas Kashalkar, whom I regard as one of my gurus. His gayaki, too,
: though firmly rooted in the Antubuwa/Gajananbuwa branch, is a highly
: sophisticated and successful blend of three-four gayakis. Now that IS
: one first-rate artist for you - a pure aesthetic delight.
Have you heard his rendition of Sanjh Saravali that he sang earlier this
year for the first time? If so, what are your thoughts on it?
: Again, you are entitled to your opinions, just as I am to mine. Why
: add names to my list when you can compile your own?
Why re-invent the wheel?
Regards,
Amit Srinivas
> aa...@freenet.hamilton.on.ca (Sajjad Khaliq) wrote in message news:<bjsjjj$k4n$1...@mohawk.hwcn.org>...
>
> <snipped to save space>
> <.. ..>
>
> > I would however disagree with Arnab Chakravarti's remarks "many Indian
> > music schools in the West that revolve around personality-cults instead of
> > seeking to create a library of material from various sources" I would
> > have thought being a semi-professional musician, and having gone through
> > the guri-shishiya mill himself, Arnab would prefer to stick to one source
> > as is traditionally mandated, rather than "seeking to create a library of
> > material from various sources".
>
> Sajjad, whoever or whatever gave you the idea that I was a
> "semi-professional" musician is wrong. I am a professional musician. I
> earn my daal-roti by playing the sarod on the concert stage, as well
> as composing and recording for the film and television industry. You
> may not like my music. That's perfectly justified, as liking a certain
> artist or musical style is, after all, a matter of taste. This should
> not, however, lead you to post misleading information about my
> employment status in a public forum. FYI, my name is spelled Arnab
> Chakrabarty.
>
Why is it important whether somebody is "Professional" or not? It is
rather amusing to see that you take umbrage. I am sure that many
musicians who have made a lasting mark are what you derogatorily refer
to as "semi-professional" e.g. Omkar Gulvady who rules the land of
vocal accompaniment in Bombay was for many years employed at Canara
Bank. I am sure rmic readers have many other examples...
Amit
a c
There is absolutely no doubt that there have been many exceptional
artists who have not pursued music as their main profession. There are
many others great musicians aside from Omkar Gulvady, and they are
indeed too numerous to name. I chose my response to Mr. Khaliq based
on an individual profile built over years of direct correspondence and
studying his usenet posts. Of course, had I been described as such by
some other poster, the correction would have been nuanced to account
for their preferences and prejudices. In the context of our
discussion, I sensed condescention in Sajjad's wording. While any
rasika is valuable to the musical community, one's connoisseurship
loses lustre if it verges on fanaticism of any kind. Not that I
haven't been guilty of being such a biased commentator in the past,
but both Rachel's rigidity on sitar music and Sajjad's awesome
fascination with Imrat and his litter aren't terribly inconspicuous.
I have benefited greatly since turning to music as my sole profession.
The best part has been learning to respect multiple-viewpoints and to
give all artists (unless absolutely incompetent) numerous open-minded
hearings before forming an opinion. Gharanabazi leads to exactly the
opposite effect, and when not supported by concrete musicianship, it
is even more difficult to endure.
And of course, amusing yourself is an irrevokable right in the Land of
The Free. Even if your amusement stems from seeing a cat chase a
mouse, it is your call!
Cheers,
Arnab
Blue Morpho
Blue Morpho
> r.d. golub (rdg...@hotmail.com) wrote:
>
> : Sitar School of Toronto has a pure mission: to provide people with
> : music. Their primary focus always has been music, something which is
> : difficult enough to maintain here in North America.
>
> : Rachel Golub.
>
> I take great exception to your description and understanding of Sitar
> School's mission. You write that "their primary mission is to provide
> music".
>
> I would put it that Sitar School's mission is merely to serve the
> interests of it's Director and students. And that is to obtain training
> and taleem in Sitar. I believe that this does not serve
> very well, the wider interests of the concert going public.
What is wrong with getting training and taleem from a good artist? It
is nice if in the process of getting taleem some other people get
exposed to Indian music.
> As a result of Shahid Pervez's commitment to Anwar Khurshid to come to
> Toronto and provide training, this year already seen two concerts by
> Shahid Pervez Khan in Toronto. And a third one is upon us in the next few
> days. Over the last 3 years or so, Shahid Pervez has performed
> in the Toronto area at least twice a year. I am sure that I would speak
> for the vast majority of concert going music lovers, in that we need to
> have variety. I wonder how many of us really want to see Shahid Pervez
> perform year after year, or three times in the space of 9 months.
Of these three how many did you go to see yourself? Infact how manny
did you go and see yourself in the past three years? It sounds like
you did not go for any concerts. Torontonians are lucky.
I saw Shahid Parvez in Midland Texas earlier this month and we decided
to host him again this year. We cannot get enough of his wonderful
music. It is tragic that you seem to be involved in cult politics. I
wonder who it is that you would go and see three times a year? Don't
you listen to a recording over and over again? Then why shouldn't we
listen to a great artists over and over?
It is better to listen to a good artists again than to go for bad
music for the sake of novelty. Indian classical music is different
from pop music where a new artist or a new song implies good.
> Some people attribute this
> to the lack of variety of artists performing in Toronto. The same artists
> were coming year after year, and even playing the same rags concert after
> concert.
>
> I also take exception to Anwar Khurshid's assertion that there is a "huge
> dirth" of "high quality" sitar instruction in the Toronto area. There are
> at least four people I can think of living in the Toronto area
> that provide sitar instruction, and two of them are full-time professional
> performing artists.
If you are comparing jokers like Irshad Khan, BansRaji, Neeraj Prem,
Mahesh Moulvani, Chaya Gupta and Mrs. Sohail Rana to Ustad Shahid
Parvez you don't know much about guaging the caliber of musicianship
and teaching standards. All these people including Irshad Khan need
to learn more of music yet. These clowns just charge exorbitant
amounts of fees and dole out garbage instructions. Charging fees is
ok, but not giving out anything in return as is the wont of Irshad
Khan and the group is not right. Do you know how many people Irshad
Khan has alienated in the last twelve years that he has been in
Canada?
I wonder if the current group of Sitar School students
> were to continue their training for the next five, ten or fifteen years,
> whether even one of them would rise to the level of a performing artist.
> This is not to deny the need or right of these students to pursue their
> training in sitar for whatever personal reasons they may have.
How many performing artists has Irshad Khan produced in the twelve
years that he has been in Canada? The students have a better chance
of getting somewhere with the Sitar School than with any of these
nincompoops.
> Personlly, knowing Anwar Khurshid as a reasonable and professional
> gentleman,
What does he do for a living?
Blue Morpho
>
> The Sitar School's intentions may be extremely noble, but Sajjad does
> have a point here. Shahid Parvez, though undoubtedly an excellent
> sitarist, is not the only living sitarist. If an institution
> purportedly deals with such a broad (in this context) as sitar music,
> it ought to embrace the diversity demanded by such a theme. Even if
> they wish to host only sitar performances, the broadly defined mission
> of "giving the Toronto area music" is ill-served if one artist is
> repeated at all shows. Sadly, however, this is a chronic problem with
> many Indian music schools in the West that revolve around
> personality-cults instead of seeking to create a library of material
> from various sources.
If Sitar School is committed to Shahid, let them bring him. Where is
Raag Mala and Ameer Khusro Society in all this. Why don't the bring
other Sitar players?
>That said, none of the "professional"
> Toronto-based sitarists are of Shahid Parvez's caliber.
I agree with you 100%
>>
> rdg...@hotmail.com (r.d. golub) wrote in message news:<9607e476.03091...@posting.google.com>...
> > Sajjad Saheb,
> >
> > Sitar School of Toronto does a fantastic job of teaching music to
> > those interested in learning, understanding and being surrounded with
> > it-- including several blossoming young performers.
It is way better than Shumbo Das'academy or Irshad Khan's spurious
Universal Academy of churing money.
Blue Morpho
>
> I have nothing personally against Anwar Khurshid. We used to work for the
> same company at one time. He is a good friend of mine.
It certainly does not sound like it. :) You need to work on your tone
a bit.
>I am only in
> disgreement with his mission to provide "pure music" to Toronto
> audiences, by presenting the same artist again and again, and again.
> This is doing a dis-service to the Indian Classical Music listening
> public.
Shahid Parvez does not do any gimmics in his performance. It is pure
music. So Sitar School is providing pure music to Toronto. If
dissasatisfied you can go and listen to Pundit Ravi Shankar, Oops I
mean Anoushka Shankar and enjoy an evening of pure music in Toronto in
October.
> That said, and at the risk of starting another "sitar-wars", I would add
> to Arnab's list of "must hear" sitarists for beginning sitar students:
> Imrat Khan, Debu Chaudhuri, Pandit Giri Raj, Nishat Khan, Irshad Khan,
> Mahmud Mirza, Usman Ali Khan, Pushparaj Chosti.
Nishat is good but don't include Irshad's absolute maligning of Sitar
as listening material.
Blue Morpho
> : What bugs me about his playing:
>
> What bugs me about his playing (Shahid Pervez) is the less than appealing
> tone of his instrument. No matter how good the music, theoretically and
> aesthetically, if the sound is not good to the ears, it does not appeal
> very much.
You must be either tone deaf or extremely biased. How do you describe
the tone of a Sitar? People who play sitar themselves, praise Shahid
Parvez for the tone of his Sitar, including Villayat Khan, Rais Khan
and Shujaat Khan.
>
> : Ulhas Kashalkar, whom I regard as one of my gurus. His gayaki, too,
> : though firmly rooted in the Antubuwa/Gajananbuwa branch, is a highly
> : sophisticated and successful blend of three-four gayakis. Now that IS
> : one first-rate artist for you - a pure aesthetic delight.
I agree, Ulhas is a very good musician and a very good performer too.
Blue Morpho
>
> I am of the opinion that starting one's own organisation if one does not
> agree with the aims or policies of an existing organisation(s) is
> extremely harmful and fractitious.I would much rather prefer to work with
> the existing organisation(s). Hence my remarks to this group.
So which organization in Toronto do you work with?
>The comments
> I expressed can only be benefical to an organisation like Sitar School
> that is in the business of presenting concerts. Companies pay money to
> find out what their consumers are saying about them. I have merely
> expressed my views, and the facts as I see them, in a public forum so as
> to invite further debate. There is nothing harmful or
> destructive in this.
Criticism is easy, practice much harder. :)
I have not said anything against Shahid Pervez. I
> have nothing against Anwar Khurshid. He and I used to work at the same
> company, so we know each other.
What company was that? Is Anwar not a musician?
> I have not commented negatively about the quality of Sitar School's
> instruction, as I am not in a position to do that, not being a student of
> the school. I did state, and stand by the asserton that even 10-15
> years from now, I highly doubt if the school will produce one accomplished
> professional sitarist.
Had these students been jumping from one idiot to the other in Toronto
in their quest for learning, they would never even learn to play the
sargam properly. My own personal experience with Irshad Khan was of
six years of dissapointment. Bansraj, does not know enough material
to teach any one but a novice. Same applies to Neeraj Prem. Moulvani
and Mrs. Rana teach film songs on Sitar. Shumbo Das is too busy doing
his sensless fusion. Before I moved to Washington, I tried out all of
these jerks to learn Sitar. Irshad Khan is by far the worst as a
person amongst all these pride of humanity.
At least Rachel seems to be be satisfied with the quality of
instruction at Sitar School.
I know people who have been studying music for
> decades and they still apologise before beginning to pickup their
> instrument and play. So what is the service that Sitar School is doing for
> the public?
Had you had an oppurtunity and the tortourous experience of learning
with Irshad Khan you would refrain from such statements. Who has
Irshad produced in so many years? Also, while Anoushka is performing
there is hope for all aspiring musicians. I am sure Sitar School can
produce some one better than Anoushka in the next ten years.
>Their aim and mission is entirely self-serving.
So is the mission of all these other so called teachers in Toronto.
These are extremely selfish people taking advantage of others.
>There is
> nothing wrong with that. However, it disturbs me greatly, when you and
> others connected with the Sitar School expect the public to exonerate
> it for whatever errors and ommissions it may or may not have made, simply
> because the School is presenting Shahid Pervez again and again to the
> the public out of it's own self interests.
I think Toronto is lucky to have Shahid Parvez play so many times.
Blue Morpho
> both Rachel's rigidity on sitar music and Sajjad's awesome
> fascination with Imrat and his litter aren't terribly inconspicuous.
Well said. Even though I like Shahid Parvez a lot, artists should be
respected for their merit and not for our individual preferences.
Though I can safely say that this litter won't meow in front of Shahid
Parvez.
> I have benefited greatly since turning to music as my sole profession.
> The best part has been learning to respect multiple-viewpoints and to
> give all artists (unless absolutely incompetent) numerous open-minded
> hearings before forming an opinion. Gharanabazi leads to exactly the
> opposite effect, and when not supported by concrete musicianship, it
> is even more difficult to endure.
I agree with you totally.
Josh
professional versus semi-professional. Propegation of this music to
everyone is the goal. I, myself, am semi-professional. My job at
Apple computer affords me a lifestyle that permits me to study and
perform ICM as a labor of love and devotion-not for meera khanna. i
have recieved in my 17 years of training from my Ustad all of his khas
taleem, and should i want-I could very well turn this into a
professional venture. That isn't the point though-Preservation and
propegation of ICM is all that matters.....i think even batamiz dn
would agree to that. As far as the maligning of performers and
promoters there should always be some form of jurisprudence and
protocol when contacting/contracting for performance. Things happen
and the best policy is to be understanding and try to learn how better
to facilitate the music. That is all that matters.-Josh
naniwadekar
"Josh" <sit...@excite.com> wrote -
>
> i have recieved in my 17 years of training from my Ustad all of his khas
> taleem, and should i want-I could very well turn this into a
> professional venture.
>
Baby Josh now wants to have us believe that he can become
a professional musician! Nice joke, Baby Josh. You write
like an illiterate. It is a safe assumption that just as 17 years
of exposure to Indian music has not taught you to talk
coherently about it, the long years have been equally useless
to you as Sitar player and your Sitar can't produce anything
except noise.
- dn
dingdon...@yahoo.com
Josh
Oh no Mr...............Ding-Dong(should I address you as that)-I don't
think this is some kinda joke and I take it very seriously........My
point was that despite anyones's claim of their ability, its the music
that must prevail and be propegated. The music must be played as well
as heard so that it can keep evolving and growing. ICM is already a
small sub-culture unto its self, and could easily slip into obscurity
should focus on its importance be lost. Do you not agree?-Josh