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the-south-asian.com September 2004 |
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September
2004 Heritage
Salman
Ahmed - yet Indo-Pak TV Culture
Lifestyle
Lehngas - a limited collection Books Between
Heaven and Hell
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ANURADHA PAL - BEATING THE GENDER BIAS by Isidore Domnick Mendis
She has not just shattered the stereotypical image of women musicians but has established herself as the country's only woman tabla player who is pushing the dimensions with her experimentations. Today Anuradha Pal's name commands as much respect as that of Ustad Zakir Hussain… In a country where men pull the strings as far as classical musical instruments are concerned, the entry of women is frowned upon and discouraged even if they are known to possess talent in abundance. Anuradha Pal is no stranger to the phenomenon. For her it has been a hard-won battle in a field traditionally dominated by men. But she has persevered, honing her skills till it was no longer possible for the purists to stop her. Even as a girl of seven when she began learning tabla under the tutelage of Manikrao Popatkar there was shock and dismay though most of the family friends dismissed it as a fleeting fancy of a kid. Over two decades later, today, the Mumbai girl is being hailed as a prodigy. She performs with maestros like Pandit Jasraj, Hariparsad Chaurasia and Vishwamohan Bhatt; she has featured in the Limca Book of World Records as India’s first woman tabla player and given background score for M.F.Hussain's Gaja Gamini. This is just a small part of Anuradha Pal's introduction. Her two gurus, the late Ustad Allah Rakha Khan and his son, Ustad Zakir Hussain never get tired of showering encomiums upon her. She has featured on BBC, ITV (USA) and Australian TV. She has performed in the Greenwich International and Bath International festivals in England that invite the world’s outstanding music celebrities. BBC Radio has called her one of the 'Five Top Women Musicians of India', she also finds mention in the Encyclopedia Britannica and has been included in The Asian American Who's Who'. In 2002 she undertook a tour of UK where she preformed in the World Premier of the 'Commonwealth Games festival, City of London festival at the Barbican Centre (London), Cardiff Jazz Festival and held concerts in Reading and Manchester. But the going was not a bed of roses. Initially she wasn't taken seriously as she did not have a music family background. Some critics said that the strikes of a tabla needed forceful manipulation of wrists and forearms that cannot be achieved by the delicate wrists of a woman. She dismisses the handicap of not coming from a musical family. She also demolishes the myth that the soft feminine hands are not meant for tabla. " In today's electronic age even whispers can be magnified suitably. The clarity of bass has nothing to do with gender though it distinguishes a professional from an amateur--male or female." Gender Bias The truth is, says Anuradha, there has been a marked gender bias against women musicians especially in male-dominated fields. "Women have been consciously kept away from the tabla on the pretext that they don't have the kind of stamina required for it." "Often, famous musicians would not allow me to accompany them on the fast tracks. Being a woman I was not supposed to have the energy to sustain the tempo. At times I became so frustrated that I just wanted to give it all up," she says. But she never gave up. And today she has not just shattered the stereotypical image of women musicians but has established herself as a gifted tabla player who is pushing the dimensions with her experimentations. A postgraduate in English Literature from Mumbai University, she started out by learning from her brother who is an accomplished tabla player. She gives credits to her mother, Ila Pal, a celebrated writer and painter. "Had it not been for the encouraging attitude of my family I couldn't have achieved such success." But more than her family it is her guru, the legendary Ustad Alla Rakha she reveres the most. "I touched his feet and told him to accept me as his fourth son and groom me as he had groomed them," she reminisces. Anuradha's ever-increasing repertoire has been enthralling audiences both in India and abroad. She performs regularly in the ITC Sangeet Samelan, the Gunidas Sangeet Samelan and overseas she has given solo performances and jugalbandis in the US, England, Japan, Australia and the Far East. Eventful Decade It has been an eventful decade for Anuradha. In 1996 she formed Stree Shakti - the first all-women north-south percussion fusion ensemble. It is a unique synthesis of percussion with melody combining some of the best talents in Hindustani and Carnatic Music. Besides cutting an album, the group undertook a concert tour of UK where it performed at the Royal Festival Hall in London. Anuradha has a number of solo albums to her credit. Her first, Shanti is a composition of ragas, the second, Anokha is a fascinating rendering of different taal of Hindustani music and Sensation comprises live concert recordings in Australia. For her achievements she has been honoured with the Bhatkhande Lalit Shiksha Samiti Award, Pandit Jasraj Award for Excellence in Music, Mahakal Samman Award and more. However, the turning point in her career came when she was asked to compose the background score for M.F. Husain's Gaja Gamini. "He had attended many of my concerts and that's why he gave me the offer," says Anuradha whose mother has authored a biography of M.F.Husain titled Beyond The Canvas. "It is the only film where tabla forms the background score. It took me 20 days to work it out," says Anuradha about Gaja Gamini, which was previewed in the Cannes Film Festival and her background score came in for special mention. Since then, offers have been coming thick and fast but Anuradha seems more interested in live stage concerts. "Live performances have energy of their own. Nothing can match the spontaneous applause of a real audience." In the last two decades and more she has been getting this spontaneous applause from a worldwide audience. She modestly acknowledges that the tabla is still a parashin or subjective instrument but with her determination and will to succeed, she dreams of becoming an artist who needs no introduction. Though it was girlish idealism which set her upon the unconventional path, Anuradha is today proud of having successfully challenged a male myth and has demonstrated that the barriers of prejudice in many musical disciplines are waiting to be knocked down. ***** |
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