Kabir was essentially a poet and musician: rhythm and harmony were to him the garments of beauty and truth. Hence in his lyrics he shows himself to be, like Richard Rolle, above all things a musical mystic. Creation, he says again and again, is full of music: it is music. At the heart of the Universe “white music is blossoming”: love weaves the melody, whilst renunciation beats the time. It can be heard in the home as well as in the heavens; discerned by the ears of common men as well as by the trained senses of the ascetic. Moreover, the body of every man is a lyre on which Brahma, “the source of all music,” plays.
Everywhere Kabir discerns the “Unstruck Music of the Infinite”—that celestial melody which the angel played to St. Francis, that ghostly symphony which filled the soul of Rolle with ecstatic joy.
Listen to Tagore: Unlocking Cages: Sunil Khilnani tells the story of the Bengali writer and thinker Rabindranath Tagore: https://bbc.in/1KVh4Cf >> The acclaimed BBC 4 podcast series titled Incarnations: India in 50 Lives has also been published in book form (Allen Lane).
“I was moved by how many of these lives pose challenges to the Indian present,” he writes, “and remind us of future possibilities that are in danger of being closed off.”1
Sunil Khilnani quoted in a review by William Dalrymple in The Guardian, 14 March 2016[↩]
It should not be an exaggeration if one claims that in terms of the average citizen’s ability to recall a large number of songs and to hum them in however terrible a voice, India probably tops the world chart.
When I was three or four years old, my father brought home a radio set. This was six decades ago. It was among the few radiograms that the village had by then, a proud possession for us and quite a public spectacle for the neighbours.[…]
Six decades later, I still recall with great clarity the sweet melodies I heard coming through the first radio programme I ever heard. Over these decades, I have been listening to the radio, almost entirely for the musical part of its broadcast. Of course, it was not the radio alone that brought songs to me. They came from older members of the family who used to hum while carrying out activities at home. They came to one during festivals and weddings and during ceremonies associated with welcoming new arrivals in the family. They came from wandering mendicants, bullock-cart drivers, farmers engrossed in sowing fields, women gathered to make pickles and spices, katha and kirtan performers and the sweetest among them came from mothers trying to put babies to sleep.
Later, much later, when I was in my thirties, I started working with adivasis in western India. Whenever our discussion revolved round their identity, they invariably alluded to the traditions of songs they had. By then, I had read plenty of Marx, Gandhi, Ambedkar and Lohia, and I liked to imagine that adivasis would want to speak in agony about the injustice that the ‘system’ had caused them. To my surprise, they were not as much articulate about things political as they were about things cultural. Through my years of work with them, I have met individuals who can go on singing the entire Mahabharata. The Bhils living on the border of Rajasthan and Gujarat have several epics of their own: the singers took immense pride in rendering the entire opus, without missing out a single syllable. I also came across members of the Bharthari community from central Indian forest states who could render, just for the asking, an entire saga of a legendary king. A friend of mine from the Banjara community once told me that the Banjaras have a poetic genre called ‘lehngi’. When I suggested that he should pen them down if he remembered any of the compositions, he said that he could recall close to 6,000 ‘lehngis’. I was not stunned by his claim because previously I had heard from a friend from the Nayak community that he knew more than 9,000 songs. And this one had a great voice. I still recall how mesmerized I was when he sang for a few hours, one song after another. […]
Very few people know that Gandhi was extremely fond of Music and arts. Most of us have been all along under the impression that he was against all arts such as music. In fact, he was a great lover of music, though his philosophy of music was different. In his own words ‘Music does not proceed from the throat alone. There is music of mind, of the senses and of the heart.’ […]
According to Mahatma ‘In true music there is no place for communal differences and hostility.’ Music was a great example of national integration because only there we see Hindu and Muslim musicians sitting together and partaking in musical concerts. He often said, ‘We shall consider music in a narrow sense to mean the ability to sing and play an instrument well, but, in its wider sense, true music is created only when life is attuned to a single tune and a single time beat. Music is born only where the strings of the heart are not out of tune.’
Wir sollen heiter Raum um Raum durchschreiten, An keinem wie an einer Heimat hängen, Der Weltgeist will nicht fesseln uns und engen, Er will uns Stuf‘ um Stufe heben, weiten.
„Stufen“ von Hermann Hesse (4. Mai 1941) Ein Gedicht, das für viele vertraut klingt: Deutschlandfunk Kultur >>
On rights, peace and reconciliation. And peaceful co-existence. Rights, Peace and Reconciliation Tamils, Sinhalese, Muslims Everybody living with dignity That’s the true meaning of Rights. Celebrate each others’ rights That’s the true meaning of Peace. Race, language, caste, difference Living in harmony. Agnus dei, qui tollis pecatur mundi, Miserere domini. O Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us. Speaking: So, it’s been possible to talk peace. Indeed, live in peace. There is an alternative to war and destruction. Everyone remember these three words. They may not be religious mottos, but important for the future of Sri Lanka. Important for the future of this unfair world. Rights, Peace and Reconciliation.
Gathe Gathe para gathe paragadhi Gathe Bodhi swaha. Gone gone all gone beyond Gone into Buddha nature. This is the first preaching of Buddha after his enlightenment under the Bodhi tree.
Um Pia’s Persönlichkeit gerecht zu werden wollen wir heute mehr als “nur” Abschied nehmen, wenn wir uns zunächst einer respektierten wie engagierten Forscherin und Förderin der indischen Musik erinnern: gemeinsam mit ihrem Ehemann Srinivasan (“Srini” für Pia und viele von uns) öffnete sie Türen, die anders verschlossen geblieben wären. | Begrüßungstext >>
“Heute ist die karnatische Musik noch in hohem Maße lebendig. Der Besuch eines Konzertes gehört zu den zentralen Erlebnissen eines Indienaufenthaltes. Wie immer mehr Menschen aus Asien und Europa mit ihren ganz anders gearteten Musiksystemen feststellen, kann diese Musik leicht auch solchen, die zu ihr erst sekundär Zugang finden, zu einem nicht unwesentlichen Lebensinhalt werden.” – Begleittext von Pia Srinivasan für die preisgekrönte Schallplattenaufnahme Sambho Mahadeva Vina/South India (Live Aufnahme mit Rajeswari Padmanabhan & Karaikudi Subramanian)
Tribute to Pia Srinivasan – vocal, vina and tambura Tamil song by Sreevidhya Chandramouli & Chandramouli Narayanan
“Im Westen aufgewachsen ging Pia auf eine musikalische Reise, die sie zur südindischen Musik führte. Auf bewundernswerte Weise gelang es ihr, zugleich Freundin, Schwester und Schülerin von Rajeswari – Interpretin der Karaikudi Lautentradition – zu sein. Ihre Musik studierte und förderte sie. Gemeinsam mit Srinivasan stellte sie sich zugleich in den Dienst großer Anliegen unserer Zeit.”
“Blossoming from the West, she embarked on a journey to spotlight us. Attracted by South Indian music, Pia came in search of our Karaikudi Veena. Among a thousand women is the only Pia, a friend as well as sister of Rajeswari, seer of history, and student of the crown jewel–Goddess Sarasvati who is the Queen of Veena … and with Srinivasan was dedicated to serving the world” – Tribute to Pia Srinivasan by Chandramouli Narayanan tuned by Sreevidhya Chandramouli >>
Pia Srinivasan mit Rajeswari Padmanabhan & SA Srinivasan Kumudam (Tamil Zeitschrift, 1969) | Nachruf >>
Musik zum Nachhören (Auszüge)
1. Sankarabharana Raga (Alapana, Tanam) Rajeswari Padmanabhan & Karaikudi S Subramanian – Vina, Tanjore Upendran – Mridangam – CD Sambho Mahadeva Vina/South India (Juni 1975 live in Berlin)
2. Sobhillu Saptasvara – Tyagaraja kriti – Jaganmohini – Adi Tala “O Mind! Praise the divine forms of the seven musical notes” Rajeswari Padmanabhan & Karaikudi S Subramanian – Vina, Tanjore Upendran – Mridangam – CD Sambho Mahadeva Vina/South India (live in Berlin, Juni 1975)
3. Pia Srinivasan – Vina, TR Sundaresan – Ghatam (Auszug 0:46, Konzert in Wentorf)
Pia Srinivasan in Reinbek
4. Lied gesungen von der Sangitam Gruppe geleitet von Pia Srinivasan mit TR Sundaresan – Kanjira (Auszug 1:33, Konzert in Wentorf)5. Pallavi komponiert von TR Sundaresan als Tribut an Pia Srinivasan und SA Srinivasan Srīnivāsa Pia Priyāya Namaste – Sangīta Sāhitya Rasika Hamsānandi Raga – Catusra Jati Triputa Tala (Atita eduppu)
“Wir erinnern uns voller Liebe an Pia und Srinivasan, herausragende Kenner und Förderer der klassischen Musik und Literatur.“
“Let us pay homage to Pia and Srinivasan whom we remember fondly for their support of music and learning “
6. Ranjani Mala composed by T Sankara Iyer, gesungen von DK Jayaraman “O procuress of happiness, with lotus-soft eyes, soft-spoken one, procuress of delight to the mind, who mothered the god of love, You the one to purify all and everything” (translated by SA Srinivasan)
“Oggi abbiamo cominciato un pezzo in un altro raga, Ranjani, che mi era piaciuto molto in un concerto. […] Suoniamo e ripetiamo il pezzo nel raga Ranjani […] Fuori intanto continua a diluviare: sarà il monsone che arriva con ritardo o dipende dal raga Ranjani? Che sia un malai raga (un raga che porta la pioggia)? Rajeswari dice di no.”
“Heute übten wir ein neues Stück im Raga Ranjani, der mir während eines Konzerts gut gefallen hatte. Als es stark zu regnen begann, fragte ich Rajeswari, ob der verspätete Monsun von diesem Raga abhinge, er somit als Regen-Raga gelte. Sie sagte ‘nein’.”– Pia Srinivasan in ihren memoiren Il raga che porta la pioggia
“One who is the source of the immortality nectar, priya- loved, kamini- who is loved, aananda- bliss, joy, amritha- nectar of immortality, varshini- who showers, rains” – Translation on https://www.karnatik.com/c1045.shtml
Pia und Srini waren wir jahrzehntelang verbunden. Was wir an ihnen schätzten, lässt sich nicht mit wenigen Worten umreißen. Offenheit, freundliche Zugewandtheit, menschliche Wärme, Achtsamkeit, Bildung, Liebe zur Musik, geistige Regsamkeit bis ins hohe Alter, ihre Treue zueinander – das sind nur einige Stichworte. Unsere Begegnungen mit Pia und Srini haben uns jedesmal bereichert. Durch Pia lernten wir klassische indische Musik kennen, und bei einem Besuch in Reinbek bekamen unsere beiden damals noch jugendlichen Töchter eine kurze Einweisung an der Tambura. Zu der Zeit wohnten wir schon in Bayern, und bei unseren Kontakten per E-Mail und Telefon war die Entwicklung unserer Kinder immer ein wichtiges Thema für Pia. Unsere ältere Tochter schrieb, dass sie Pias ansteckende Begeisterung für die indische Musik, ihre Freude am Gesang, ihre herzliche und aufgeschlossene Art, ihre Gastfreundschaft, Energie und Lebensfreude sehr bildhaft in Erinnerung habe, und die jüngere Tochter bekräftigt dies. Wir sind dankbar dafür, dass wir Pia und Srini kennengelernt haben und über so lange Zeit mit ihnen in Kontakt waren. Uns bleiben wertvolle Erinnerungen an zwei liebenswerte Menschen.
Mein Bruder schrieb mir über Pia: vor meinen Augen sehe ich sie immer noch zu Zeiten des Altonaer Konzerts von Rajeswari Padmanabhan, an das ich mich immer gern erinnere. Die Welt wird wieder ein kleines Stück ärmer, wenn liebe Menschen, die das Leben eine lange Zeit begleitet und bereichert haben, sie verlassen.
“I will miss her presence in my life a lot.” – Eminent Carnatic vocalist Kiranavali Vidyasankar
“Pia and Srini were both very dear to us over the decades since we met in the late 60s in Madras. We’ve shared some good times, experiences and lots of music together.” – Carol Reck also speaking on behalf of her late husband, Prof. David Reck (Amherst University)
Day places its golden veena In the silent hands of the stars, To be tuned to Eternity’s raga
Rabindranath Tagore: The Jewel That is Best by William Radice (2011)
I cling to the belief that for any culture as old and ancient as ours to have survived over time and in time, there could only be one basic common and acceptable core thought: humaneness. To accept each other’s right to be human with dignity.
Mahasweta Devi in “The Republic of Dreams”, inaugural speech for the Frankfurt Book Fair
