Page 61 - English Tehelka Issue 5 - March 15, 2018

column music

Rita Ganguly: A blue-eyed

student of women gurus

Rita, one of the senior most artistes in the country, broke many glass
Culturati ceilings in her life. Her teachers include Rukmini Devi Arundale,

Siddheshwari Devi, Begum Akhtar and even Martha Graham
ArshiyA sethi
he song “Dhinak Dhinak Here she was to meet many talented
Dha” in Parineeta, the people, one among whom was Ravi
film that really launched Shankar.
Dr. Arshiya Sethi writes Vidya Balan, was sung “Classical music came to me by de-
on cultural issues. and performed by Prof. fault as I stumbled into my sister’s class,
After a rich career of T Rita Ganguly, recipient of looking for her. There I sat quietly wait-
working on tangible the Padma Shri and the Sangeet Natak ing to catch her eye, when the Guru, P.N.
and intangible aspects Akademi award that came her way Chinchore’s eye fell on me. He asked me
of the ecosphere of the in recognition of her talent for music. to repeat what he had taught and I sang
arts, she runs the Kri That was neither her first film nor was it. I remember it was in Raag Behag. He
Foundation that she only known for her achievements insisted I join his class, and that created
promotes arts, either in acting or in music. Few know scheduling problems, resulting in the
activism in the social the fascinating and multi arts journey then Vice Chancellor, Satyen Bose, of the
and development that Rita Ganguly, now in her seventies, Bose and Einstein fame being drawn in. dashed off a letter to the then Prime city that the train stopped, as the
sector, especially via has walked. Bose was my local guardian as well, as Minister, who had mentioned to her “When I was platform was converted into a stage.
‘artivism’, and the Born into a highly educated and he was my father’s friend. He permitted when he was presenting her the At the end of the performance, they
generation of knowl- cultured family of Lucknow, where her me to follow all my interests, in all the seven gold medals at Shantiniketan getting the Padma would play the national anthem
edge on intersecting father Dr. K.L. Ganguly had the distinc- subjects, only and only if my marks were that she could always reach out to award, President of the host country and the Indian
issues. tion of setting up the National Herald good. I topped in all and went on to get him if she ever faced a problem. national anthem, and the whistle
newspaper, which he later, at Mahatma seven gold medals that year”. Most people would have thought Kalam mentioned would blow, with the train chugging
Gandhi’s advise, left to Pt. Jawahar Lal It was Ravi Shankar who asked her that the Prime Minister may not that he was out in a few minutes”, she recalled.
Nehru. The Ganguly household was pointedly one day, whether she wanted even remember such a promise, proud to give the Few realise that she has to her
an ‘<adda>’ for freedom fighters that to sing like her sister, for which she had but not young Rita. And how right credit over two hundred Kathakali
included secret visits from the likes of also trained to some extent with the she was, for soon the reply came, award to a female performances and that too with the
Subhash Chandra Bose. master of Dhrupad of the Vishnupur inviting her to join the PM for lunch musician, that too full ensemble!
In Lucknow, their neighbours were Gharana — Gopeshwar Bandopadhyay, at Teen Murti House! He not only The next milestone was winning
the family of Majaz Luckowvee, “the or dance, towards which she seemed remembered her and agreed with the disciple of two the scholarship a second time, this
nannihaal of Javed Akhtar. My mother more inclined, compelling her to face her that it was a mistake on the part time for Bharatanatyam, for which
and his mother Sofiya were inseperable this issue that was pulling her in two of the government for which she women Gurus.” she was trained by none other than
friends,” she told this correspondent. directions. Dance was what she decided should not suffer, but as a solution he Rukmini Devi herself. Then Ganguly
Here she spent many hours develop- on and began her Kathakali training offered to personally pay the schol- performed a hat trick, winning the
ing, probably, her affinity with the Urdu with Haridas Nair leading on to her arship amount to her. But young era singers, it was the performance national scholarship for a third time.
language and an understanding of what winning the first national scholarship Rita was adamant, and insisted that of an unknown and non-white Rita This time it was for music and her
constituted good literature. “My mother for Kathakali. he take his Minister to task. Finally, Ganguly that won the gold medal. teacher was none other than the
was quite worried that in that house I “I hold two people responsible for my she got her way and the scholarship This allowed her to go on a world Queen of Thumri, Siddheshwari
would learn about what she called ‘ishq performing arts career — Satyen Bose came to her. tour performing “Pootana Moksham”, Devi, who took her on to be her first
vishq’,” she laughed recounting this story. and Jawaharlal Nehru,” Ganguly said Her training in Kathakali, an art a piece selected not only because it Gandaband Shagird — an officially
From a young age Ganguly was intriguingly, before going on to explain that had very few women perform- was her Guru’s signature piece but anointed disciple of a Guru, in whom
encouraged by her parents towards the how Pt. Nehru “entered the narrative”. ing it then, caught the attention because “‘Minnuku’ make up”- the the Guru invests heavily.
arts but was never allowed to com- Apparently, when she received this of K.M. Munshi, the founder of the make up for female characters- “was Later, Ganguly was to become a
promise on her academic career. She scholarship in 1957, she was underage, a Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan, who took easier to apply”. She recalled going Gandband Shagird of another woman
insisted on going to Shanti Niketan fact that she found out when the schol- her to the World Dance and Music by the Trans-Siberain Railway from Guru — Begum Akthar, from whom
where elder sister was already studying, arship had been announced. Angry at Festival in Warsaw. That year, amidst Moscow to Peking, as Beijing was she learnt for nine long years the nu-
and making a name for herself in music. the disappointing turn of events, she a bevy of favoured ballerinas and op- then called, “performing in every ances of Ghazal gayaki. “Times were

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