A panegyric to a preceptor..

Today is Gurupournima… A day when we recall the value of teaching from our teachers throughout life and pay obeisance to that unequalled institution. I have been fortunate enough to receive continuous, unending teaching from a variety of people I’ve met in my transient existence on the speck of cosmic dust that we consider our home planet.

To me learning has always been a continuous and never ending process. The first teacher in my own life was my mother. Spending the first few years with her before my sister came along was a unique experience in my life. She made me literate and taught me the life skill that’s helped me all the seven decades of my earthly existence.

First up today, I briefly thought about my teachers, and found the list is long. I continue to learn various aspects from a wide variety of people of different ages, social backgrounds and even nationalities.

When I told a very dear friend I have learnt a lot from my acquaintance and relationship, I was met with a flabbergasted response tinged with embarrassment, but it is true I’ve gained and grown from every being I’ve met. Even the animals in my life taught me values that I hold dear to this day, and undoubtedly will, to my dying day.

A song I love is from an early 70s movie , Imtihaan. This is one of the early films where Vinod Khanna recast himself as a male lead, from an earlier slew of roles in a negative vein ( “villain”) that Bollywood had blighted him with. Directed by Madan Sinha, Imtihaan had Tanuja and Bindu in great roles. The film is about an idealistic professor who decides to reform a group of rowdy students at a college run by a management concerned about salvaging it’s image but clueless about the way to go about it. Vinod Khanna plays the young, determined teacher in the film. This song is so inspirational that it tugs at our heartstrings whenever it is played even today. https://youtu.be/dO7OKASr8lc

It has soulful lyrics by Majrooh Sultanpuri, and is composed by Laxmikant Pyarelal. It is sung wonderfully by the one and only Kishore Kumar.

Ustad Amir Khan saheb’s immortal bandish in Marwa is what I woke up going around in my mindspace. Khansaheb puts more emotion into the raag and his rendition uplifts the melody to a spiritual plane. Listen to the shorter version of his amazing Marwa. I wonder how I woke up with Marwa resonating in my head, as the timing was all wrong. with.https://youtu.be/J5hJkCuhC8c

Marwa is a wonderful shaadav raag with pancham omitted from both aaroha and avaroha.

In ragamala paintings Malav/Marwa is often shown as lovers walking towards the bed-chamber.

Marwa is also characterised as quiet, contemplative, representing gentle love. It is the overall mood defined by the sunset (which is the time for the raag), which approaches fast and this onrushing darkness awakes in many observers a feeling of anxiety and solemn expectation.

For those like me who have the time and are not satisfied with a short rendition of a Hindustani Classical raag, here is a longer version which does greater justice. https://youtu.be/vlUvz333vUc

My heartfelt gratitude to all the teachers I’ve met in my evanescent existence who’ve given me so much and continue to do so. Stay blessed and healthy, all of you. I will spend the day immersed in music and gratitude for all of you.