Songs Sung True

Katha Sur Srishti,Pandit Arun Bhaduri’s first book,could very well have been an autobiography. This virtuoso’s eventful life — his comparatively late initiation to the world of music,his humble early life in Murshidabad,his years with All India Radio— would have made for a compelling read indeed. But Bhaduri had other plans. “I believe my music tells my story in the best possible manner. This book is a collection of 95 bandishes that speak of different aspects of my life,” says Bhaduri. His understanding of Bengal’s musical tradition,insists Bhaduri,represents the combined efforts of numerous teachers from whom he learned. “I learnt music from my gurus,Md A Daud and Md Sagiruddin Khan,” says Bhaduri. Then,he went on to study at the Sangeet Research Academy with the late Ustad Ishtiaq Hussain Khan of the Rampur-Sahaswan Gharana. He later studied light and classical Indian music with Padmabhushan Pandit Jnan Prakash Ghosh.

The bandishes mentioned in his book are Bhaduri’s way of reaching out to his listeners and serious students of music. “Every musician wants his or her work to live on. Generally,the legacy travels from a guru to his students,but I felt that this book will as good as that,” he says.

Bhaduri has ensured that these bandishes are sung with correct intonations. “Generally Bengalis have a lot of trouble pronouncing Hindi words and they make a mess out of a beautiful song with incorrect pronunciation. In this book I have transcribed each and every word in such a way that the singer faces no such problem,” says Bhaduri.

An autobiography,however,is on the anvil. “I will bring out my memoirs soon. There are so many interesting people I have met who I want to talk about and many interesting incidents I want to share. As a youngster I took to the streets with fellow musicians singing our hearts out on 15th August 1947. Anecdotes like this will feature in my memoirs,” says Bhaduri.