There are questions which keeps on ringing in my mind over and over again…what will happen to pakhawaj after say fifty years? Will it be able to survive? If yes, then will it remain in its the pure form? Certainly no one knows the future for sure.
I was recently reading an interview of Vidushi Kishori Amonkar Ji, she mentioned that ‘she has no expectations from any of her disciples if they would be able to carry her legacy forward, she does not see that passion and patience required to master the delicate art of Indian classical music in the present generation’ I’m sure, like her, many other artists and gurus are also worried. There are hardly any takers of this knowledge, if there are any, they either lack time or patience or both.
I was also surprised to see the number of videos available on youtube and other similar websites post by “pakahwaj players”…only few of them carry any quality or knowledge. There are people who are struggling to produce a clear “thaap” or “dha” or are either playing tabla compositions or bols on pakhawaj. There is a lot of work to be done to bring forward the real talented artists, popularize this instrument and above all…keep it alive and resonating for years to come….Jai ho!
Nishant Sharma
I agree with your concern, yet I believe pakhawaj will survive. One reason for my believe is reincarnation. Masters of any instrument or of anything for that matter are not created in one life time. Great masters take birth when the time is ripe, they have been here in the past and will come again at the right time. Meanwhile the commercial aspect of music will dominate for the foreseeable future. You are also playing a role in keeping pakhawaj alive!
During this present time period of globalization, pakhawaj is being spread beyond the borders of India into other cultures…that also is not a bad thing.
Thanks for the comments Roland Ji and the nice encouraging words…I agree with your last point that Pakhawaj has spread beyond the borders of India but its equally important that we try to revive the old and may be forgotten compositions, retain and remember them for future generations…thank you once again.
Well, one way to get the pakhawaj the respect it deserves, is to get some books on it and its techniques published. It’s easier to learn tabla because there is a lot of information about playing tabla so the prospective tabalia has only himself to blame if he doesn’t make the grade. Even if he doesn’t find a teacher.
But if you love the pakhawaj and want to learn and you don’t have a teacher, you’ve got no option but to transfer tabla bols across and hope for the best.
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