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Modern mythsA visit to Gwalior is not quite complete without a pilgrimage to the tomb of the legendary exponent of Hindustani classical mu...

Modern myths
A visit to Gwalior is not quite complete without a pilgrimage to the tomb of the legendary exponent of Hindustani classical music. He was none other than Tansen, one of the nine gems of Mughal emperor Akbar8217;s court. The tomb is a small and humble structure in a garden which houses the rather grand tomb of Mohammad Gaus, a Muslim saint of Akbar8217;s time. But it is Tansen8217;s tomb which attracts tourists. And the tour guides have a great time recounting the story of Tansen with all its frills and fancies. For Tansen is one the most cherished legends of our land.

Two foreigners listen to the self-appointed guide who is saying, 8220;He was a simple Brahmin boy called Tanu Pandey. He had no talents but penance to divinity blessed him with great musical powers and he became a singer. Then he went to Akbar8217;s court and was soon a singing star.8221; We drift away from this conversation to see the singer8217;s tomb. A music buff, who is accompanying me, exclaims: 8220;What a great singer but so ordinary atomb!8221; The tomb is covered with a green satin cloth edged in tinsel and a few wilted flowers. Yes, the tomb is nothing much to write home about. But then Tansen is one of those who needs not tomb stones. For he is a person who has passed into legend and is very alive in folk culture, the surest route to immortality.

The Archaeological Survey of India board by the tomb says that credulous singers come to chew the leaves of a tamarind tree nearby so that their voice would become more melodious. Of course, the tree is a young one that has seen just a decade or so. Maybe the same spot had older trees which fell and were replaced from time to time. As far as myths go, it does not take very long for them to grow in our very fertile soil.

I recall another Tansen related spot far removed from Gwalior. It is at Banur, a small town between Chandigarh and Patiala. On the main road, which has everything from a bank to a post office, from a school to a police station, there is also a temple bearing the name of MaiBanno. The temple is built around an old well. Local lore has it that Mai Banno was a washerwoman in the times of Tansen. She also had great musical talent.

But what did she have to do with Tansen? Well, as the old story goes, Tansen after being scorched by the singing of the Deepak Raga was wandering in pain all over the plains of the north, and came to Mai Banno8217;s well. Not only did she give him cool water but also sang Raga Malhar to bring the rains and heal Tansen. The miracle did happen. One isn8217;t quite sure if this story is not borrowed to fit the local scene from the K.L. Saigal and Khurshid starrer Tansen. In the film the scorched Tansen returns to his village and Tani, his childhood sweetheart sings the Malhar. Anyway, Mai Banno8217;s temple for the past few years gets singers of the Punjabi pop variety who make a wish there before releasing a cassette. The saviour of Tansen, Mai Banno has certainly been granting pop wishes.

Well, a myth has a fluidity. It can be changed, adapted and re-interpreted.The only danger is when a myth turns rigid and the result is an unhappy Ayodhya. We turn to walk out and the guide is telling some story of Tanu Pandey8217;s conversion to Islam to marry a Muslim girl the emperor picked for him. The pained music buff remarks, 8220;But what an ordinary tomb built by Akbar for so great a singer.8221; The guide stops and says, 8220;Who knows, this grand tomb may be Tansen8217;s and this the Muslim saint8217;s and subsequent rulers merely changed the tomb stones.8221; Another myth in the making? Or are these acts of chewing tamarind leaves, making wishes or imagining that tomb stones were switched just little acts of keeping faith in times when faith is lost.