Pandit Manilal Nag - Musing Surbahar - Raga Miyan Ki Todi - 2003

• 01 Raga Miyan Ki Todi

Об исполнителе (рус.) | About Artist (ru)

Дискография Ragas Jog, Bhairavi (Ray Spiegel, tabla): Raga Records 215
Raga Lalit (Anand Gopal Bandopadhyay, tabla): Raga Records 213.
Classical Music of North India - Raga Suha Kanada (Mahapurush Misra, tabla): Koch World Music Library KICC 5111; King Records (Japan) K30Y 5101.
Classical Music of North India - Ragas Puriya Dhanashri, Rageshri (Mahapurush Misra, tabla): Koch World Music Library KICC 5112; King Records K30Y 5119.
Ragas Darbari Kanada, Mishra Kafi (Sankha Chatterjee, tabla): Dunya Records fy 8025 (Italy)
Jugalbandi, a shenai and sitar duet. Ali Ahmad Hussein Khan shenai, Subhen Chatterjee tabla. Raga Desh: Rhyme Records RCD 9805
Sitar & Sehnai - Manilal Nag & Ali Ahmed Hussain shenai, Subhen Chatterjee tabla. Marwa, Abhogi, Anand Kalyan, Purvi dhun Biswas BIS 115
Harmony Of Strings V G Jog violin, Anand Gopal Bhandopadhyay tabla: Raga Shyam Kalyan, Raga Basant, Raga Bihari. Vista India VIST 114770
Raga Charukeshi (Homnath Upadhyay, tabla): Ravi Shankar Music Circle RSMC-18.
Ragas Jogkauns, Saraswati (Sabir Khan, tabla): Gramophone Co. of India STCS 02B 6189.
The Japan Concerts, 1985 - Ragas Puriya Kalyan, Misra Piloo, Khamaj (Mahapurush Misra, tabla): Raga Records 103
en./wiki/Manilal_Nag

Об исполнителе (англ.) | About Artist (en)

Pandit Manilal Nag (born 16 August 1939) is an Indian classical sitar player and an exponent of the Bishnupur gharana of Bengal.
Manilal was born in Bankura and was taught to play sitar by his father, Gokul Nag. He made his first public appearance in the All India Music Conference of 1953, accompanied by Samta Prasad on tabla. He has been performing many times in the National Programme of Music and Akashvani Sangeet Sammelan since 1954.
He was invited to the United States and other European Countries through the I.C.C.R (Government of India) in the year 1973. In 1979 he was also invited to Australia by the Government Of India as a delegate for participation in the Indian Ocean Art Festival, to mark the 150th Anniversary of the Government of Australia.
Manilal was attached to the Instrumental Music Division of the ITC Sangeet Research Academy from 2005 to 2011.
Awards He received the Sangeet Natak Akademy Award in 2001 and also the Senior Fellowship Award from India's Ministry of Culture in 2005 and an Honorary Gold Medal from the Asiatic Society, Kolkata, in 2008. The Government of West Bengal awarded him the Allauddin Puraskar in 2012 and the Banga Bibhushan in 2015, as well as the Sangeet Mahasamman Award. He has also received the ITC Sangeet Samman, Doverlane Sangeet Samman, Koser Award from Pracheen Kala Kendra, Chandigarh, Sangeet Ratna Award from Mumbai, and Vitasta Award from New Delhi.
Discography Ragas Jog, Bhairavi (Ray Spiegel, tabla): Raga Records 215
Raga Lalit (Anand Gopal Bandopadhyay, tabla): Raga Records 213.
Classical Music of North India - Raga Suha Kanada (Mahapurush Misra, tabla): Koch World Music Library KICC 5111; King Records (Japan) K30Y 5101.
Classical Music of North India - Ragas Puriya Dhanashri, Rageshri (Mahapurush Misra, tabla): Koch World Music Library KICC 5112; King Records K30Y 5119.
Ragas Darbari Kanada, Mishra Kafi (Sankha Chatterjee, tabla): Dunya Records fy 8025 (Italy)
Jugalbandi, a shenai and sitar duet. Ali Ahmad Hussein Khan shenai, Subhen Chatterjee tabla. Raga Desh: Rhyme Records RCD 9805
Sitar & Sehnai - Manilal Nag & Ali Ahmed Hussain shenai, Subhen Chatterjee tabla. Marwa, Abhogi, Anand Kalyan, Purvi dhun Biswas BIS 115
Harmony Of Strings V G Jog violin, Anand Gopal Bhandopadhyay tabla: Raga Shyam Kalyan, Raga Basant, Raga Bihari. Vista India VIST 114770
Raga Charukeshi (Homnath Upadhyay, tabla): Ravi Shankar Music Circle RSMC-18.
Ragas Jogkauns, Saraswati (Sabir Khan, tabla): Gramophone Co. of India STCS 02B 6189.
The Japan Concerts, 1985 - Ragas Puriya Kalyan, Misra Piloo, Khamaj (Mahapurush Misra, tabla): Raga Records 103
en./wiki/Manilal_Nag
Manilal Nag's interviews West Hurley, New York · November 1994
By Ira Landgarten Ira Landgarten: First of all, about your background, where and when were you born?
Manilal Nag: I was born in Bankura town, of the Bankura district of West Bengal in the year 1939, on 16th August. Then I came to Uttarpara with my father. Uttarpara is near to Calcutta, in the Hooghly district. Uttarpara was a very cultural town-once upon a time many, many big men visited Uttarpara like Madhosudan Dutta, Ram Mohan Roy, Rabindranath Tagore, Dr. B.C. Roy. At that time, my father, the late Sri Gokul Nag, lived in the jamindar bari, that means the house of the jamindar [landlord], as a music teacher. The children of the jamindar learned some music-sitar, vocal-from my father.
My father could play all kinds of instruments, many, many instruments like beena, surbahar, esraj, sitar, sarod, tabla, tabla taranga, harmonium, jaltaranga, nastaranga, kasturtaranga (made from wood). Due to that reason Uday Shankar, the great, famous dancer of that time, visited Uttarpara and listened to my father perform on so many instruments. He was surprised how it was possible for a man to play so many instruments! Then Uday Shankar requested my father, "Please join my party as the music composer."
My father agreed, and he visited all the country, all over India many times with this party. Then within a year or two Uday Shankar requested him to visit abroad. My father told him, "I need to take permission from my father." But my grandfather didn't agree; in those days those old-fashioned Indian old men didn't allow their children to go abroad. So my father didn't go and Uday Shankar invited Ustad Allauddin Khan (photo) to join his party as music composer instead. Then my father lived in Uttarpara, and he admitted me to the school but my father didn't like that I will study and do any job, as an engineer, as a doctor, or a lawyer. Why? At that time the musicians were much welcomed by the maharajas, rajas and jamindars, and they loved musicians. They invited him as the court musician and honored him very much. My father always used to take me along for practicing sitar.
When did you actually first start your real practice?
I remember when I started at the age of 5 or 6. First my father taught me vocal-dhrupad-and I sang about 14 years, but after that due to the problem of tonsillitis I didn't sing well, and after that I practiced much on sitar. When I lived in Uttarpara I loved very much to play football and cricket like other boys, but my father at all times watched me and told me, "Please come here, take your sitar!" and he himself would take me and play sitar. I practiced minimum 8 to 10 hours every day! And believe me, I practiced only paltas, mir, gamaks and exercises of different types more than 3 or 4 years. After that he taught me only two ragas: one morning raga, Bhairo [or Bhairav], and a night raga, Sohini. Only two ragas, and those two ragas I practiced, you believe me, for two years! Nothing, nothing, nothing else. Sometimes I felt bored, and sometimes I listened to the radio, many music concerts, but when I listened to the radio, immediately my father came to me and turned off the radio and snapped at me, "Why do you listen?" Because if I listen my mind will be 'fickle' and I can't do good practice. At that time, the musicians knew, but at present the students don't practice paltas, gamaks; they want to become artists within 4 or 5 years. How is it possible? It's not possible! Anyway, after those 2 years every day my father gave me different ragas, many ragas within 3 or 4 years, mostly all the common ragas I could play. After that he asked me to listen to the concerts. When I started music, for at least 7 or 8 years he didn't allow me to listen to any program, not even to the radio. He started to take me to different concerts to listen, and from my very childhood at the age of 12-13 I have listened to many musicians with my father. I listened to Ustad Faiyaz Khan (photo), Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, and I have often listened to Pandit Omkarnath Thakur, Vinayakrao Patwardhan, Narayanrao Vyas, Kumar Gandharva, Gangubai Hangal, and in Benares, Rasoolanbai, Siddheswari Devi, Hirabai Barodekar, so many artists I don't even remember all the names now!
Due to the blessings of God I had the opportunity to accompany with the great maestros of tabla, tabla wizards, stalwarts of tabla like Ustad Ahmedjan Thirakwa, Pandit Kante Maharaj, Ustad Majid Khan. Naturally, the general public will not believe this because these artists are like my grandfather! How is it possible they accompanied me? I'm telling you frankly-when I was 12 or 13 years old I went to Benares with my uncle, and at that time I was accompanied by Ashutosh Bhattacharya, the great tabla player, and he was the student of Pandit Kante Maharaj. After listening to my recital he was very happy and told his guru, Pandit Kante Maharaj, that a boy, the son of Gokul Nag is here and played very nicely. Then Kante Maharaj told him, "Please, come with him here." And I went with Ashutosh Bhattacharya and my uncle, and Kante Maharaj said, "Ba, betam, bejao." It was just a homey atmosphere, and he took his tabla and I played near about half an hour, and he blessed me very much, "Acchaa! Very nice! Ba, beta!" When I was in Bombay I got the opportunity to play with Ahmedjan Thirakwa in the residence of Nikhil Ghosh; just half an hour I played with his accompaniment there.
What about Majid Khan? Majid Khan was the father of Ustad Keramatullah Khan, and Jnan Prakash [Ghosh] is his [Majid Khan's] disciple. What happened? When Sabir was born, after 6 months, his father Keramatullah said, "Manilal, come to my house with your sitar and you will play here for this auspicious occasion." I went with my sitar to Keramatullah's house, and Ustadji, Majid Khan told me, "Please come" and he took his tabla and started to play with me. I got these opportunities due to the blessings of God I think; very few musicians had these opportunities. And I'm so lucky: when I sat for the audition for All-India Radio, Keramatullah Khan accompanied me. This is a really very historical matter! Ustad Keramatullah Khan didn't accompany just any new musicians for auditions! This is due to the blessings of Baba, my father, and God! After that, my father always told me, "When you will play in any music concert, don't play with ordinary tabla accompanists. At all times try to play with the top-most artists."
From my boyhood I got the opportunity to play with Pandit Shanta Prasad at the All-India Music Conference in 1953 at the Roxy Cinema Hall, Calcutta. He accompanied me nicely and he was very surprised, and D.V. Paluskar listened and praised me very much. After one month in Calcutta there was a very big conference-nine nights-called Rag-o-Roop. The vocalist A.T. Kanan was very young and he was volunteering to perform for very cheap. The first day I accompanied with a new tabla player of similar age, Maharaj Banerjee, the son of Mantu Banerjee who was a very great harmonium player in Calcutta. When I played, so many musicians-Ustad Allauddin Khan, Pandit Kante Maharaj, Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan (photo), Omkarnath, Vinayakrao Patwardhan-were seated in front, and after that program every musician was very glad. Suddenly Vinayakrao Patwardhan came to the dais and took the microphone and personally announced, "Tomorrow Manilal will play again with Pandit Anokelal." Then there was a lot of applause! But I'm very sorry there was no opportunity to take a picture or tape record. Nothing! But I remember! I was very lucky-next I played with Pandit Anokelal, the great maestro of Benares tabla. In 1954 I auditioned for All-India Radio and was selected as 'A Grade' artist.
So you were still quite young?
Yes. From then until now I've participated in so many music concerts such as National Program of All-India Radio, Radio Sangeet Sammelan, many, many radio programs all over India, and I've participated in most of all the major music conferences throughout India from 1954 up till now. And I've been accompanied by almost all the famous tabla players of India like Ustad Alla Rakha Khan, Pandit Shanta Prasad, Pandit Kishen Maharaj, Keramatullah Khan, Kanai Dutta, Mahapurush Mishra, Shankar Ghosh, and now the very young artists, Anindo Chatterjee, Ananda Gopal, Swapan Chaudhuri, so many artists. In 1973, I got the opportunity to tour abroad with the Cultural Delegation on behalf of the Ministry of Education, Government of India. I visited U.K. and other European countries, then came to the U.S. and Canada. After a few years I visited Australia on behalf of the Government of India, 1976 or 1978. I visited Japan in 1985 [with Mahapurush Mishra]. My father died in 1983, so I am the head of the household, and naturally, I have to look after all my home affairs and my programs-I have no secretary-I have to manage all the things, everything! This time I have come to the States sponsored by the Sangeet Research Academy as an invitee artist and now I'm very glad to visit this country, and I'm really very happy to see this country, and I'm very much pleased especially by the American people who really understand and love our Indian classical music. Now ask any other questions.
Before you mentioned when you were young, after your father began exposing you to other artists, and you listed only vocalists; you did not mention one instrumentalist...
When I was a teen-ager, I heard many musicians for my own interest. Why? My father told me, "If you listen many times to vocal, you can play sitar nicely." Because every instrumentalist has to follow the vocal, especially in alap, and alap means dhrupad. During my college years in Calcutta, I often went to Ballygunje and heard Aminuddin Dagar and his elder brother, Moinuddin Dagar, stalwart specialists in dhrupad, constantly, every day for more than 2 hours! For 2 years, listening, listening, listening! Naturally, I got many ideas for alap. And then I heard many times Omkarnath Thakur, Vinayakrao Patwardhan, Narayanrao Vyas, Kumar Gandharva-just khyal. Khyal especially helped me with different taans, gamaks. And I really love vocal music, and to achieve better instrumental music I follow [vocal] at all times. Now I can't sing due to my voice-no practice, but I love to sing.
At the time did you listen to any instrumentalists, or particularly did any sitarists other than your father have any influence on you?
Yes, yes, yes. At that time, I didn't have the opportunity to listen to the old artists such as Enayat Khan or Barkatullah Khan, but I have listened many times to Ustad Allauddin Khan, Hafiz Ali Khan, and Faiyaz Khan, Bade Ghulam, many, many times. The instrumentalists I have listened to many, many times are Ali Akbar Khan, Ravi Shankar and then Nikhil Banerjee.
I liked to listen to Nikhil Banerjee more, more, more, more! I don't know why-but due to his art, his imagination I loved his style very much. All these musicians-Ali Akbar Khan, his depth on alap; Ravi Shankar's chhandas [rhythm] and everything; Nikhil Banerjee's emotional mood; Vilayat Khan's sapat, fast taans-influenced me much, Naturally, because I'm a music-lover-I love music!-from all artists I took something, something, something! My father told me, "You must listen to all the musicians and take the best." I am an artist, I try to create, and incorporate the best qualities.
Your grandfather was also a sitar player...
Let me say this now: I was very lucky that I was born in a musician's family. In my district town, Bankura, my grandfather, Govinda Nag was a great musician of that time, but he was not a professional musician. His father, Bauridas Nag, was also a very great musician. At that time my grandfather and great-grandfather learned from the Lucknow gharana and the Delhi gharana; many, many artists like Kasim Ali Khan, rabab, and the son of Mohammed Ali Khan. What happened? In my father's boyhood, Ramprasana Banerjee came to Bankura for some music concert, and at that concert my father played sitar. Ramprasana Banerjee listened and he was very happy, and he requested my grandfather, "Please, I will take your son to my house and I want to teach him." My grandfather agreed and allowed him, "Please, go with Ramprasana babu." Then my father went to Vishnupur with his guru, Ramprasana Banerjee. Ramprasana Banerjee was the son of Anantalal Banerjee-Anantalal Banerjee was the disciple of Jadu Bhatta, the great singer of the Vishnupur gharana. He has known as the 'Tansen of Bengal.' Anantalal Banerjee had four sons: Ramprasana, Gopeswar, Surendranath and I can't remember the fourth. All of them were very great musicians. Ramprasana Banerjee knew all the instruments and my father learned many, many instruments from him. Ramprasana Banerjee often went to Calcutta in those days, and in Calcutta were Raja Sourendra Mohan Tagore and Jotindra Mohan Tagore in Jorasanko; a very cultured family. Many musicians from all over the country came to Calcutta and stayed in their house-Imdad Khan, the grandfather of Vilayat Khan, and Sajjad Mohammed, the son of Ghulam Mohammed famous for Seni gharana sitar.
raga/interviews/interview215.html

Об альбоме (рус.) | About Album (ru)
Уважаемый yes-1970 писал:
Miyan Ki Todi.
Самайа: позднее утро (9-12 час.).
Раса: бхакти (поклонение, полное любви); шрингар вирах-милан (обожание, близкое к поклонению).

Состав | Artists
Manilal Nag - Surbahar