Bansuri to take Hollywood by storm
HOLLYWOOD’s fascination with the “Indian touch” seems to have just begun. After Om Puri and Shekhar Kapoor, it is now the turn of the Indian bansuri to take over.

Embroidery of Punjab
By Parvesh Handa
PUNJABI entrepreneurship has found expression not only in modern industry, but also in traditional crafts. Phulkari, the embroidery of Punjab providing livelihood to a large number of craftsmen of Patiala district, has become a business worth several crores of rupees.

Audioscan by ASC

Puppetry a potent instrument
By Nonika Singh

WHEN a small boy is jeered at for pursuing ‘feminine’ activities like stitching, cooking etc, to escape the ridicule he involuntarily turns towards the vibrant, colourful world of puppets. Empowered by the interaction, the experience, which began as an initiation into finger puppetry, soon transforms into an all-consuming passion. So today as a grown-up adult, Varun Narain, a well-known puppeteer, uses the masterly art rather adroitly to defy pigeon-holed gender stereotypes.

Questioning the bizarre gender divide which calls for gender specific behavioural patterns, the beings — both human and animals — in his puppet shows are always, always out of the ordinary. The protagonist is always a nonconformist. Besides, he twists tales to give it a new slant. So the famous ballet “Copellia”, story of a young girl whose lover is besotted by her doll, becomes Dr Copellius who specialises in making clockwork dolls. In the famous “Swanlake” staged at Shri Ram Centre, New Delhi, as “A Bowlful of Pearls”, he takes the artistic liberty to change the storyline. In “Operata of Animals Tails”, the harmonious world of animals includes, amongst other oddities, a vegetarian grass-eating lion.

But then delving into alternate spaces, especially in the realm of sexuality, is almost an obsession with Varun who often works with NGOs to drive home his deep-seated convictions. Acutely conscious of the taboos related with the three-letter word sex in modern India, he is out to cleanse the cobwebs associated with the most natural instinct of mankind.

He reasons, “About sex our attitude is synonymous to that of the proverbial pigeon who refuses to see the cat. There is an urgent need to discuss these hitherto forbidden issues. While cinema and television are bogged down by several constraints, puppetry enjoys tremendous freedom of expression.”

He goes on to argue that since puppet is an anonymous egoless persona non grata, the inhibitions of audiences melt down immediately and they are only too willing to communicate without any qualms. At the same time puppetry remains a potent instrument especially in furthering many a worthy cause. For instance, Varun himself has counselled victims of sexual abuse through marionettes.

Though advocating its use in counselling he admits that the methodology is fraught with risks for it involves bringing back the victim from fantasyland to the real world sans past hangovers which by no means is a cakewalk. As is widely belived puppetry is not a child’s play. Neither is it a frivolous medium meant for the fun and frolic of children, nor an art easy to acquire.

As of now, Varun is on the faculty of Jamia Milia University, New Delhi, but as a student he had no other option but to imbibe the skill from traditional puppeteers. Talking about the great Indian tradition of puppetry he rues that the puppeteers who have inherited the tradition down the family line have failed to evolve with changing times. So Varun acquired the technique and aesthetics from them, but learnt to orient puppetry as a serious art form from contemporary masters like Dadi, D. Padamjee and Ranjana Pandey.

For most of us marionette might be synonymous with a few laughs here and there, strangely enough its roots go down in spiritualism. The word marionette itself originated from a fable of how an Italian priest created magic by moving the statue of Virgin Mary. In effect he was indulging in puppetry. Enthusing life into lifeless objects was bound to fuel irrational speculations and thus marionette acquired a touch of mystique.

Varun, however, has no intention of adding to the mystery shroud. Of course he too breathes life into inanimate material especially waste — the favourite medium is plastic bags for it can take amazing shapes — but is egged on by a desire to train amateurs. So that they can not only create puppets, but, more significantly,can use it to enhance their own small little worlds.

In Chandigarh recently to conduct a workshop, he worked with teachers so they could incorporate puppets into school activities as a teaching tool.

Interestingly, his dream mission is to reach out to each and every school in the country. His message to the target audience of children is quite simple — it’s alright to be different. Holding aloft his hand pointing at the five fingers he muses, “Instead of harping on differences we must learn to celebrate diversity”. Sheer hyperbole! well not for someone who thrives on his uniqueness, who through constant tete a tete with marionette has discovered a facet of his personality which most of us wouldn’t dare own up. Well Varun, it’s beautiful to be different.

Bansuri to take Hollywood by storm

HOLLYWOOD’s fascination with the “Indian touch” seems to have just begun. After Om Puri and Shekhar Kapoor, it is now the turn of the Indian bansuri to take over.

With Hollywood’s “Primary Colors” based on the life of an American President waves abroad, the bansuri strains emanating from the background score of the movie too are going global.

And for the man behind the music track, flutist Ronu Majumdar this is not the first time to get a Western applause.

Nominated for the Grammy Award in 1996, Majumdar has been working long not only to popularise the Indian instrument, but has also invented a modified version of the flute.

“I have always been a bit envious of the popularity of the sitar — that it is not known as an Indian guitar but as an Indian instrument with a standing on its own — compared to the bamboo bansuri, which is unheard of in the West save for its version face as a steel-made flute, says Mazumdar.

“The steel flute has made a lot of inroads in Western classical music especially when it comes to playing Mozart’s and Beethoven’s symphonies, but it lacks the tenor of the bamboo flute.

Bamboo imparts a special judge to the tone and glide of the music and many Western players are gradually realising the merits of the Indian flute.

It is one of the few natural instruments in the world made up of not only natural substances but also one which needs only the human breath to exercise control over the myriad notes emanating from it. Its use has been inhibited as extended notes cannot be played on the full range, says the flutist.

The indigenous bansuri can play up to seven notes. And though in the case of some ragas the flute can play all the ups and downs, it does not bring in the full maturity of the raga involved.

Majumdar’s Shankh Bansuri is mainly meant to fill the void left by the centuries-old version of the bamboo bansuri.

“My experiment into the new version of the bansuri is not to undermine the old one. Bansuri is one of the most beautiful and fascinating instruments I have come across, but it needed an extension in range, which I have given it, says Mazumdar.

The Shankh Bansuri has been given extra holes and is two-and-half-feet long and made up of two bamboo sticks. Holding the extended bansuri did give Mazumdar a pain in the neck initially, but it has also given him the freedom to play ragas Bhairavi, Darbari and Maarkan, which he could not do before.

However, making the new bansuri was not easy and it took a scientist and musician to make it.

“I was helped by a scientist friend M.M. Pai and together we worked on the new bansuri for one and half years. While he tested the effect of the inch increase and decrease on the sound, I tested the sound effects and gradually the flute was perfected to its full form,” says the flutist who is thrilled by the inclusion of his flute composition in the Hollywood blockbuster “Primary Colors”.

Recounting the composition for the movie, Mazumdar says, “On one of my major trips to the USA, I got a chance to make some compositions in the company of legendary American guitar singer Ry Cooder and trumpet virtuoso Jon Hassell which turned out a brilliant fusion of the East and the West.

One of the compositions of Mazumdar was selected by Mike Nicholos, the producer of “Primary Colors” for which he was paid a handsome advance royalty.

“The whole composition was a soothing, melodious piece and had a haunting romantic strain to it, which is why it may have been selected for the movie, says the naturally proud artiste thrilled that his flute is well on its way to make a mark in the international arena.

While this could be his first impression abroad, Mazumdar has well provided the background score for several Hindi movies and albums which boast of the pastoral tone in their music.

“During my years of struggle, I got a break with R.D. Burman and besides getting to play for his movies, including “1942 — A Love Story”, I also learnt that music involves movement and it is necessary to play all forms of music which gives one a deeper understanding, says Mazumdar, who has been playing on the flute from the age of four.

Thanks to the vocal exercises the breath control expertise one acquires while playing the bansuri, I had no difficulty in playing their pieces.

And enthralled he has since. — PTI

Embroidery of Punjab
By Parvesh Handa

PUNJABI entrepreneurship has found expression not only in modern industry, but also in traditional crafts. Phulkari, the embroidery of Punjab providing livelihood to a large number of craftsmen of Patiala district, has become a business worth several crores of rupees.

Phulkari was brought to Patiala district by a few craftsmen when they migrated after Partition to India from Bahawalpur, near Multan in West Pakistan. They initially embroidered phulkari for self-use and for the rich Rajwara families of Patiala.

Phulkari embroidery is very popular among rural women in the district where the girls start learning the craft from a very young age. It is the only source of income for more than 5,000 persons. Regarded as an old master of the craft, Prabhu Dayal who belongs to the Bahawalpur community started his unit in 1965 and at present he has 150 craftsmen working for him. Dayal sells goods to departments of state handicrafts. “We face problems in getting a good thread from Ludhiana which is very essential to maintain quality and build a good image for the business,” says Dayal who is worried about small-timers slashing their prices compromising quality in the process.

“Wholesale buyers from all over the country usually visit Patiala, select designs and place orders,” says Gurpreet Singh of Gurpreet Phulkari Emporium. He started business in 1992 at the age of 23 and is a computer pattern designer. “Quality of fabric and workmanship has become a casualty due to under-cutting by small-timers. This is a threat to the phulkari business which saw its boom period from 1990 to 1997. Though the phulkari business has always been a monopoly business of Patiala having a growth rate 5 to 10 per cent every year, we have been forced to work on less margins for surviving in the market,” says Gurpreet. Bag embroidery on khadi cloth was very popular earlier, but now silk thread embroidery on georgette and chiffon in fancy designs is in demand, he adds.

“There are 20 to 25 units which dominate the business due to their good marketing infrastructure,” says Gurcharan Singh Gulati, who launched Patiala Phulkari Centre in 1978 after quitting an electronics business. “The profit margins have suffered though the demand has increased,” he says but adds that there are still enough quality-conscious customers who do not mind paying more for good craftsmanship. According to Gulati, Patiala does not have a dyeing house despite a flourishing phulkari business. He suggests that the quantum of business can increase manifold if the market in other countries, especially those with a sizable Punjabi population, is tapped. “At present, this business is by and large restricted to Punjab and even here there are people who are unaware of phulkari embroidery,” Gulati laments.

He says this may become a booming business of Punjab if the state government helps entrepreneurs in getting subsidised loans and provide assistance in marketing the product. “Most of the craftsmen or women involved in this business are uneducated and it is not possible for them to handle cumbersome paper work for getting loans,” he explains and suggests a simplified procedure for getting financial assistance.

The state government should provide assistance to craftsmen to enhance their domestic and export business by providing additional facilities, export knowhow, concessions and financial incentives. They should be allowed participation in exhibitions in other states which will have a tremendous potential of earning, including a lot of foreign exchange, and bringing prosperity to the craftsmen of the area.

Audioscan by ASC
Qateel recites his best

QATEELNAAMA (Plus Music): Plus Music has pioneered audio books in India with Javed Akhtar’s “Tarkash”, R.K.Laxman’s “The Messenger” and Kaifi Azmi’s “Kaifiyat”. Its latest offering is “Qateelnaama” which features Qateel Shifai reciting his ghazals, nazms and shairi in his own voice with a melodious background music.

Qateel Shifai is considered one of Urdu’s greatest living poets. Selecting from the prolific literary giants’ over 20 volumes of shairi must have been a difficult task and opinions about what should have been included and what excluded may differ but overall this is an interesting anthology. Some of the “qatas”, “dohas” and “rubais” that he recites are absolute gems, marked as they are by flow of language.

Born on December 24, 1919, at Haripur Hazara in Pakistan, Qateel Shifai is one of those poets who have transcended boundaries of time and countries. This digitally mastered cassette and CD is a befitting honour to the legend in his 80th year.

MAST (Venus): Urmila is a constant in Ram Gopal Verma films. The rest are usually newcomers. The trend is maintained here. He has given a chance to music director Sandeep Chota and lyricist Nitin Raikwar. And they have not let him down. At least the title song (sung by Sunidhi Chauhan) has the trappings of a popular number.

It is just that the other songs do not boast of an easy flow. Sonu Nigam sings all songs featuring a male singer. He is too syrupy in Aasman ne…. But the real disgrace is Pucho na yaar kya hua…, which is a true copy of a Rafi hit. If it is any consolation, the jacket does mention that the song is courtesy R.D. Burman.

Asha Bhonsle is as young as ever in Hey Rama Krishna …, Na Govinda … and Main tere dil ki malika … (with Sonu Nigam).

DARD-E-DIL (Venus): The remix business has started moving in a new direction. Neither the music nor the singers of the various songs are changed. Instead, a few shairs are injected in between. Here Altaf Raja and Neelam recite poetry of Jameel Mujahid. To ensure that there are no copyright problems, all songs that are re-touched are from the Venus released cassettes like “Dilwale”, “Saajan”, “Deewana”, “Dil Hai Betaab”, “Aadmi Khilona Hai”, “Mitti Aur Sona” etc. Neither the poetry nor the songs are outstanding.

To confuse buyers, the photos of film stars are used, as if this is a film cassette. Here Anil Kapoor and Urmila have been featured.