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In A Monsoon Of Music, Mitra Phukan gives us an insightful peek into the multi-faceted lives of Hindustani Classical music singers
Mitra Phukan's A Monsoon of Music
In A Monsoon Of Music, Mitra Phukan gives us an insightful peek into the multi-faceted lives of Hindustani Classical music singers.
Review by Anjana Basu
What makes A Monsoon Of Music interesting is its glimpse into the world of Hindustani Classical music. Recently quite a few authors have been giving us their take on this previously closed world, including Amit Chaudhuri in The Immortals. Known for her novel The Collector’s Wife and her journalism, Mitra Phukan is also a vocalist who studied Hindustani Classical music under the late Biren Phukan and is currently studying under Pandit Samaresh Choudhury of Kolkata.
A Monsoon Of Music tells the story of an up and coming student, Nomita, two gurus and her unexpected relationship with a global superstar in the Hindustani Classical music world. Nomita comes from the backwater of Tamulbari and is very conscious of being a small town girl – her trips outside town are in the company of her Guruma, Sandhya Sanapathy. Phukan details the relationships between performers and the petty jealousies that fester at the heart of the world. She also gives insights into the technical aspects of performing, the problems with sound systems, the way sarod players have to toughen their fingers, or shehnai players blow sand and bubbles to strengthen their cheek muscles. She also discusses why it is that most women in this field stick to vocals and tanpuras rather than perfecting their skills on shehnais and tablas.
At the heart of the book is a clash between traditional middle class values and the more liberated world that music opens up with its songs of love and parting. This is accentuated by Nomita’s small town background which makes her vulnerable to the glamour of the world outside, despite being a realistic, sensitive person who prefers teaching physically challenged children to find themselves through song. Because of the world in which she lives, Nomita has never really understood that she has the freedom to be herself, even though she is known as the ‘independent daughter’. Not very much happens in the book – the incidents are more internal than external, though Nomita narrowly misses being hit by a falling chandelier in the opening pages of the book and there is a final climactic car crash which is hinted at through the repetition of the tale of a well-known musician who was flung out of his car at night on a Calcutta street, as his driver took a turn recklessly.
Sensitive readers will be able to anticipate what happens and in fact may find themselves fretting for what they can see coming almost from the middle of the book. Phukan’s stories of the world of Hindustani Classical music, though fascinating for the lay person, serve to hold up the story until occasionally it almost seems to be at a standstill. Perhaps in the end one expected a tale of parting and romance in keeping with the passionate themes of the drupads that her protagonists sing, love, longing betrayal and drama. Instead it remains a tranquil book on the lives of Hindustani Classical music singers and what they have to undergo in their personal and professional lives.
Publishers: Penguin-Zubaan
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UP Boards Topper Prachi Nigam was trolled on social media for her facial hair; our obsession with appearance is harsh on young minds.
Prachi Nigam’s photo has been doing the rounds on social media for the right reasons. Well, scratch that- I wish the above statement were true. This 15-year-old girl should ideally be revelling in her spectacular achievement of scoring a whopping 98.05% and topping her tenth-grade boards. But oddly enough, along with her marks, it’s something else that garners more attention – her facial hair.
While the trolls are driving themselves giddy by mocking this girl who hasn’t even completed her school yet, the ones who are taking her side are going one step ahead – they are sharing her photoshopped pictures, sans the facial hair, looking nothing less than a celebrity with captions saying – “Prachi Nigam, ten years later”.
Doctors have already diagnosed her with PCOD in their comments, based on photographic evidence. While we have names for people shamed for their weight – body shaming, for their skin colour- racism, for their age- age shaming, for being a female- sexism, this category of shaming where one faces criticism for their appearance has no name. With that, it also has zero shame attached to it.
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