The Musical Ecstasy of Swami Vivekananda
Swami Vivekananda was a spiritual leader who had a deep love for music. He believed that music had the power to the soul and bring one closer to the divine. In his teachings, he often spoke about the importance of music in spiritual practice and how it could be used to achieve a state of ecstasy. This article by Prof. Nishaant Singh explores the musical side of Swami Vivekananda and how it influenced his teachings and philosophy.
SUR O CHHANDA VIVEKANANDA
This project is to showcase the utmost musical ecstasy of Swami Vivekananda
Our dream project সুর ও ছন্দ: বিবেকানন্দ (Tune & Tempo: Vivekananda) I A documentary of Swamiji's Musical Ecstasy "Sur o Chhanda: Vivekananda has been released on 12th January 2022 from the official facebook page and YouTube channel of Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre, Ministry of Culture, Government of India in collaboration with 'Ramakrishna Mission Swami Vivekananda's Ancestral House & Cultural Centre' and 'Nikhil Bharat Banga Sahitya Sammelan, Dakshin Kolkata'
It gives us immense pleasure to share an exciting work on Swami Vivekananda and his link with Kathak dance which is based on the rhythms and compositions of Sangeet Kalpataru. Swami ji was not only a great scholar but also a maestro in Dhrupad Gayan and Pakhawaj Vadan. He was also an excellent demonstrator of dance. The musical documentary contains the rare compositions which belongs to the Lala Keval Kishan Gharana - Bengal Parampara. Swami ji had taken the guidance of Pakhawaj from Guru Mridangacharya Murari Mohan Gupta. The compositions presented in the documentary have been written down in his book Sangeet Kalpataru. The compositions have been extracted from the book Sangeet Kalpataru and have been recorded in an audio format earlier which was produced by the Institute of Culture, Ramakrishna Mission, Golpark. Dr. Sarbananda Chowdhury, who has re-edited Sangeet Kalpataru, always had a concept in his mind to release the unrevealed compositions in a visual format along with a string instrument Sarod and merge the compositions with the Kathak form as well. This is how the process had begun and the team was successful in recording this unique project named SUR O CHHANDA VIVEKANANDA. The documentary has already been screened at most of the Ramakrishna Mission centers earlier (Swamiji’s ancestral house, Belurmath and Institute of Culture) and has gained a lot of appreciation. Some of the greatest achievements regarding this particular project have also been published in these eminent newspapers links- http://toi.in/eSQm4Z and https://www.anandabazar.com/.../kolkatar-korcha-1.570662...
In this documentary, the most prominent Pakhawaj compositions from Sangeet Kalpataru have been played in Pakhawaj by Shri Nishaant Singh and the same compositions have been played flawlessly on Sarod in Raag Baageshri by Shri Dipankar Chaudhuri. The concept is known as TAAR PARAN. This format was a common presentation in String instruments during earlier days in Indian Classical Music but not so popular these days. Hence, this project has tried to revive the forgotten style and is promoting the extinct Indian Classical Music. Shri Tapash Debnath has given complete justice to the compositions by composing the sober movements through his Kathak dance and has tried to present the genuine gestures of Swami Vivekananda’s personality. The compositions are actually Sangat Pradhan, which means compositions especially made for accompanying Dhrupad Gayan and Tantra Vadan, also Kathak Nritya. The documentary thus shows that the compositions written by Sawamiji can also be danced with utmost dedication. The Kathak has added more importance and enhanced the compositions of Sangeet Kalpataru.
This kind of project needs hard work and complete dedication. This project will help us continue enriching the cultural life of our community and is definitely going to benefit and motivate our upcoming generation. It will also give us the perfect message about the musical background of the National Youth Icon of India, Swami Vivekananda.
Concept and Direction - Dr. Sarbananda Chaudhuri, Pakhawaj - Nishaant Singh, Sarod - Shri Dipankar Chaudhuri, Kathak - Shri Tapash Debnath, Video Editing - Animatrix Multimedia & Shri Rohan Bhattacharya.