Busking: Busking is the practice of performing music, dance, juggling, magic, and similar activities in public places to entertain passersby and solicit tips. People engaging in this practice are called buskers. Busking is a British term used in many areas of the English-speaking world and in former British territories. In the United States, buskers are more often called street performers …
→ Read this postOften I experience something that leaves me with more questions than answers. Music, especially, is like a supernatural force that transports me into some unknown dimension, and I lose sense of everything,… repeat, everything. It has happened more than once. Particularly memorable were listening to pandit Shivkumar Sharma playing Santoor at Sawai Gandharva 2003, pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia playing Bansuri at …
→ Read this postInspired by Krish Ashok’s masterpiece, I attempted playing the same Punjabi music on my Sitar. This is a bhangra song, I don’t remember the name, but if you do then let me know. (I hope it sounds like what it is supposed to.) Here is the result: [audio:http://priyank.com/audio/bhangra_on_sitar.mp3] If you are unable to see the player above, here is the …
→ Read this post“कौन बीज बोता है यारो, फल ये कौन चखे, ये जग जंतर मंतर माया कौन ये खेल रचे… कौन चढाए रोज ये सूरज, पवन कौन फूंके, ऋत् जो आए जाए निरंतर, कौन हिसाब धरे…” Loosely translated: “[tag]Who[/tag] sows the seed, who tastes the fruit? the world is full of mysteries and puzzles, who sets the game? Who makes the sun …
→ Read this postQuestion: Which music would you prefer to hear early in the morning? (1) Gayatri Mantra (2) Prabhaat geet (3) jhalak dikhalaa jaa …. Recently when I was on a trip to North India, a small tea shop at Chandigarh was blaring Himesh Reshammiya’s numbers one after the other. As if we didn’t have enough of Himmesh during the day, we …
→ Read this postपंडित जसराज व पंडित हरीप्रसाद चौरसीया Yesterday I witnessed a live joint performance by Pandit Jasraj and Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia. Pandit Jasraj is a distinguished artist from the Mewati Gharana (मेवाती घराणा) of vocal music and Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasiya plays the bansuri, an expertise of lord Krishna. The concert was at Shanmukhanand Sabhagruh, Sion, Mumbai. Accompanied by the eminent Pandit …
→ Read this postSitar on Sunday As on any other Sunday, I woke up late today. I was disappointed for ‘wasting’ a precious Saturday in office, when I should have been out on a hike to Sahyadris. Sunday was going to be no different, I thought. After lying idle for days, I finally dusted my Sitar and watched it spring back to life …
→ Read this postOk, ok,… Don’t get excited, I’m not talking about any person here, but about my sudden attraction towards Konkani language and Goan culture in general. Here is something I know: Konkani and Marathi are thought as sisters, but on first introduction, it sounded way different to me. (My mother tongue is Marathi, btw). Konkani uses Devnagri script. It is spoken …
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