Striking a Note

While Rani passed away in 2007,a day before her 80th birthday,four years later her collection of 450 instruments has found permanent place in a refurbished gallery at the National Museum. First inaugurated by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1980,with handful antique instruments,the gallery was initially on the first floor. Moved to the second floor,it reopened after renovation on December 18,to the strains of the delightful morning ragas resonating on sarod,being played by Ustad Amjad Ali Khan. Younger to her,Khan belongs to the Senia Bangash gharana and was taught by Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan while Rani learnt music from Ustad Alauddin Khan — founder of the Maihar gharana.

“This concert is out of respect and admiration for an artiste who played a very difficult and masculine instrument. Her collection deserves honour. It is a place where musicologists and scholars can research and get to know about the treasure trove of India’s cultural heritage,” says Ustad Amjad Ali Khan,who has converted his ancestral house in Gwalior into ‘Sarod Ghar’ — a museum that houses his collection of instruments.

Comprising folk and classical instruments,the collection,that is on display at the second floor of the museum,includes Shambhu Maharaj’s ghungroos,Raja Sir Surendra Mohan Tagore’s veena,pakhawaj of Pandit Ayodhya Prasad,two veenas of Varanasi-based musicologist Ram Prasad Mishra,mukha veena of the late Venu Gopala Reddy,Thomas Edison’s phonograph from the 19th century,with the label ‘patent pending’ and Jodu Bhatt’s veena (he was a musician from Vishnupur,who was the guru of Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore). There is also a range of sarods and percussion instruments,a small organ,collection of rare israjs,an 18th century xylophone and Rani’s dakshinavarta shankh (a rare conch shell with a reverse turning spiral associated with Lord Vishnu),that she used during prayers. “This was her personal collection,formed without any government or institutional aid. It will appeal not just to the lovers of music and scholars. This is a tribute to hundreds of nameless craftsmen who made the instruments with their innate knowledge of the nuances of music,” says Rani’s husband Sultan Singh Backliwal. Radika adds,“She collected these instruments at an orthodox time when women were living in purdah. She even had a miscarriage when she climbed the stairs in her search of an instrument.”

The display is impressive,but visitors might not be able to appreciate its true worth,as the labels are still to be pasted,despite the 60-day period allotted to the gallery for renovation. “We had little time for the makeover. We’ll take care of the rest of the things soon,” says CV Ananda Bose,vice chancellor of the National Museum.