Ananda Shankar passes on
Ke...@iag.net
If there is anything that I will ever thank Doordarshan and especially Bombay
Doordarshan for, it is for introducing his music to me in my early years when I
had yet to become a hardcore music fan. I only found LPs of his music in those
years, no tapes till about 10 years back, and not having a turntable at home,
had no access to his music other than on the TV. They played his music
constantly, for news breaks, regular breaks, unscheduled technical breaks, but
when his music came on, such was its power and uniqueness that despite it being
a break, (sometimes for as long as 30 mins) I remained glued to my chair. Even
today there is a tape of his music always there in the glove compartment of my
car incase I get stuck in traffic.
First Kishore, then RDB, and now with him passing on it's not just music that I
feel I have lost. I feel that I have lost one of the deepest musical links to my
childhood and growing up years. In some ways the loss of that link, attached as
it is to millions of memories is more painful than the loss of his music which
is still available and hopefully will continue to live on.
To the man, who till this day has composed the best Raag Bairagi piece that I
have ever heard, a heartfelt--- THANK YOU and May your soul be happy wherever
you are.
To Shekhar of Dubai--Thank you for the tape of his music, which brought back all
those memories.
Ketan
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http://www.rediff.co.in/therediffmusicshop/index.html
A genius says goodbye
Syed Firdaus Ashraf in Bombay
At 0845 hours on Friday morning, fusion music received a blow. For that was when
Ananda Shankar, one of those who pioneered the movement, died. The news shook
the music industry, some of whose most illustrious members are related to him.
In a statement from London, Pandit Ravi Shankar said, "I was deeply shocked to
hear the news of his untimely death." Ravi Shankar is the younger brother of
Uday Shankar, Ananda Shankar' s father.
"I share the terrible grief along with his mother Amala Shankar, his wife
Tanushree, his daughter Srinanda and his siser Mamata. It seems so unfair
that[he left us] in the prime of life." For Ananda Shankar was only 56.
Gajendra Singh, the director of TVS Saregama, a popular music show on Zee
television, too was shocked when Rediff On The NeT informed him of the death of
the musician. "I can't express my grief. It has come as a big shock for me. Only
last week he appeared in our programme." Gajendra Singh repeatedly asked this
correspondent if he was certain that Ananda Shankar was dead. "Are you sure he
is no more?" It was only last Sunday that TVS Saregama focussed on him. He later
regained his composure to say, "It's a big loss for Indian music. In fact, I was
planning to work with him further for Saregama. His death has shattered me."
Singer Sonu Nigam, who comperes TVS Saregama, was also shaken to hear the news.
"Shankarji's music was very different from that other music directors. He used
Western instruments to play Indian music... "I remember, our shooting was at
Calcutta and he, with his entire group, perormed brilliantly for our show. He
was so humble and down-to-earth... I just cannot believe it..." "He never
boasted about his music and was very friendly with everybody. I'm fortunate to
have met this man before he passed away," says Nigam.
Though he learnt the sitar from Dr Lalmani Mishra in Benares, Ananda Shankar
drifted away from pure classical music and came up with the fusion form around
1970.
Ananda Shankar has, among other awards, won the national award for best music
director for his work in Mrinal Sen's Chorus. British Airways still has a
special channel playing the fusion guru's music on all its flights.
Besides music, Ananda Shankar also headed a troupe whose presentations include
Indian ballet and a live orchestra. He also wrote stories and scripts and
planned the lighting for his shows himself.
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Calcutta grieves Ananda's passing
Arup Chanda in Calcutta
The sudden death of music director Ananda Shankar came as a rude shock to most
Calcuttans. The city, which has always boasted about its love for music and
culture, was plunged in grief. The shock was worsened because Ananda Shankar
showed no sign of ill-health.
Son of the internationally acclaimed choreographer, Uday Shankar and danseuse
Amala Shankar, Ananda Shankar first started out as a sitarist. But since he was
the nephew of famous sitarist "Raghukaka" Pandit Ravi Shankar, he decided that
he would rather not remain in the shadow of his famous uncle and try measuring
up to him.
Recalls one of his friends, Shankarlal Bhattacharya, a senior journalist in
the Bengali magazine, Sananda, "In the mid-1960s he had to go to the USA when
Uday Shankar fell sick. He was very much impressed with the kind of music he
heard there. That left a mark on his mind."
Ananda Shankar was also caught up in the Beatle mania sweeping the globe then.
He left his father's troupe in 1968 and branched out on his own. He is the first
Indian composer who tried to create modern pop fusion, mixing Western tunes with
Indian classical music, creating a unique mix of oriental and occidental music.
Critics say his music had a dream-like quality and purity since he used both
Western and Indian classical board instruments in his dance and song
compositions.
Ananda Shankar was clearly going against the current with his experiments in the
late sixties. Calcutta, then deeply entrenched in Indian classical music, was
not quite ready to welcome this upstart, whatever his lineage. He had it even
tougher since he did not compose music for films, which could have given him an
edge.
But along with wife Tanusree he successfully composed song and dance
compositions that utilised both Western and Indian classical movements. These
were great hits in India though their troupe frequently performed abroad too.
Ananda Shankar had a unique sense of humour. Recently, during a television
interview with Tanusree, he remarked, "I am an exceptional husband. Like others
I do not dance to the tune of my wife. She dances to my tune."
Their troupe performed at many inaugural ceremonies, including the Asian Games
in 1982 and the World Cup ceremony in Calcutta in 1996. Ananda Shankar was
admitted to the Woodlands Nursing home here recently for a hernia operation. He
was recuperating but his condition deteriorated following a series of asthma
attacks and he expired on Friday morning.
His sister, actress Mamata Shankar, informed his mother, Amala Shankar, who has
gone to Hyderabad along with her dance troupe. Members of his troupe are
inconsolable and people here feel that the void created by his sudden death can
never be filled.
S Ravi Krishna
mainly as fillers between 2 programs in doordarshan and in railway stations between
announcement of arrival/departure), 2 songs stood out in terms of sheer brilliance.
1. Jumping Jack Flash.
2. Melting Point.
The first one has one of the finest sitar work I have ever heard.
RK-