Aesthetically & Spiritually Uplifting Swami Brahmarupananda ji summed up beautifully in his vote of thanks to Subhadra ji of her visit to the Vedanta Center of Greater Washington. Vote of Thanks: Mixed feelings: Very happy & grateful for an aesthetically & spiritually uplifting two weeks with Dr. Subhadraji Desai. There is also some sadness because her stay was very short, and she will be going back to her home town, Delhi, tomorrow. We some times hear that intellectuals cannot have aesthetic experience. Subhadra ji has proved this false. In Subhadra ji we see a fine combination of scholarship & musical virtuosity of the highest level, that we had not seen before. Her book Music in Valmikis Ramayana, in which she has presented her interdisciplinary doctoral research is a testimony to this rare combination of aesthetics and intellect. On our Durga Puja day she gave a soul-enthralling performance of classical and devotional music. She was accompanied by Debu Nayak on the tabla and by our own Namita Kundu on the harmonium. Her renditioning of the Devi Suktam in the Rigvedic chanting style was outstanding. In her presentations on Thursday last week and this week, she gave demonstrations of an incredibly wide variety of musical styles and traditions, beginning from the Vedas and ending in modern day schools and traditions. Yesterday we had a very informative introduction to the basics of the science and art of classical music. She explained that music or Sangita includes three aspects: Singing, playing on instruments and dance. Music is also known as Gandharva Veda, an independent branch of knowledge in its own right. She explained the basics of the seven musical notes or swaras and how their various configurations generate different ragas or melodies. Subhadra ji also described the important place of rhythm (or tala) and raga (or melody) in music with examples from various traditions and schools. She explained and sang compositions from an astonishingly wide range of musical styles and traditions. I was personally very moved when she sang a composition of the famous South Indian musician and saint Sri Tyagaraga Bhagavatar in the Carnatic style. She sang devotional songs in Tamil, Kannada , Marathi, Kashmiri, Gujarati, Telugu, Hindi & Rajasthani with astounding versatility & virtuosity. When she sang a song from Andals Tiruppavai and another song of a woman saint from Tamil Nadu, one of the 63 Saivaite saints known as Nayanamars, I thought Subhadra jis mother tongue was Tamil. When she sang a couple of vachanas of Akka Mahadevi, I thought her mother tongue was Kannada .... I do not know how and in what terms to express our heart-felt appreciation and gratitude to Dr. Subhadra Desai for finding time to visit us in this great country which is hospitable to all cultures. She is very busy with Her performance schedule research and teaching. She conducted tutorials to many of our devotees here during her stay. She will be leaving tomorrow, and will reach Delhi Wednesday. The very next day, before she has any time to recover from the long journey and jet lag, she has an all day recording program. This shows her commitment to the art. In her short stay with us, she endeared herself to all of us with her simplicity, devotion, friendliness & humility. We pray to Sri Ramakrishna, the Holy Mother, & Swamiji to grant her a long life, good health, and many more decades of professional life. We wish her and all her family members good health, peace, and joy. We hope she can visit us again & again for longer periods of time. With all our hearts, we thank Dr. Subhadra Desai.
Posted on: Tue, 14 Oct 2014 01:48:27 +0000
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