The Endangered Assortment

“Music doesn't lie. If there is something to be changed in this world, then it can only happen through music”. – Jimmy Hendrix

Continuing my crusade of “Gems of India", I take you all from Maharashtra to West Bengal.  A state with rich cultural, literary & folk heritage, West Bengal surely has a lot to make every Indian feel proud of this shining pearl from the entire necklace called India. 

Talking about West Bengal, it would be unfair if I don’t mention Guru Sri Rabindranath Tagoreji, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Bankim Chandra Chaterjee, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Batukeshwar Dutt, Satyajit Ray, Pandit Ravishankar, SD Burman, Pancham daa, P.C Sorcar and many such highly regarded people.

This musically rich state also has multiple indigenous musical genres such as Baul, Rabindra Sangeet, Nazrul Geeti, Atulprasadi, Kantageeti, Adhunik Gaan, Bangla Rock etc.

During the week of Durga Puja, in the entire state of West Bengal as well as in large enclaves of Bengalis everywhere, life comes to a complete standstill. Elaborate structures called Pandaals are set up.

A staple allure in Durga pooja festival is a magnificent drum that men hang around their necks and play with two thin sticks to infuse the frenzied rhythm into listeners. It’s called the Dhaak. The traditional drummers who play this instrument are called the "Dhaakis". 

Dhaakis - Image courtesy - Mandar Sengupta

The tradition of Dhaak playing is passed on from generation to generation. Like most of the Indian music genres, dhaak playing doesn't have any documented notation or language. Its purely a listen and learn art form.

Making a Dhaak itself takes four months. A mango tree trunk is immersed in water for a month. Then it is hollowed from the inside and the shell is dipped in a vat of mustard oil mixed with garlic pods that’s placed on a fire for an hour.The log is left dipped in the oil until it’s black. After all this is done, the leather is stretched across and tied up. A fully made Dhaak weighs about 14 Kgs. 

Durga pooja is the prime time for Dhaakis to earn some money. They are otherwise landless farmers who play the Dhaak in their villages when they have time to spare. Unfortunately, this tradition is on the verge of extinction primarily due to preference of pre-recorded CDs. While music shops do brisk business in selling pre-recorded CDs and cassettes for anything between Rs. 23 and 40, Dhaakis find it hard to earn Rs. 150 to Rs. 200 per day

Gokul Chandra Das
Image courtesy - Tehekla.com

Gokul Chandra Das, a Dhaaki who played at the Hollywood Bowl says that “I realised that people treated me very differently when I sang Baul gaana. I’d get paid better, be fed well and have a nice place to stay in. But when I played the Dhaak, they didn’t treat me with the respect due to a skilled musician. That’s because people think Dhaakis are lowly. Nobody thinks of requesting us to play as they would any other musician. Instead, they demand that we play and think nothing of insulting us. As a result, I became so heartsick that I stopped playing the dhak for four years and concentrated on singing instead,” says Das. It was also difficult to support a family on a dhaki’s earnings, which range between Rs 2,000 to 7,000 during the puja season.

The Dhaakis when travelling outstation are routinely harassed by the police primarily due to their large Dhaaks.The return journey is even more hazardous because they have money in their pockets.

All I can do sitting here is write about this wonderful art form and the skilled musicians who execute it impeccably. I wish and pray to the almighty to give this art form its due recognition and respect both in India and around the world. 

The first video is of a Durga Pooja festival where Dhaakis showcase their skills. 

Here are 2 videos of Dhaaki Gokul Chandra Das. The first one is a footage of his performance at the Hollywood Bowl.

The second one is a jam session with drummer Ryan Shah.

My Salute to the Dhaakis and their talent, may their race grow and progress by leaps and bounds. 

Sound Recording - The art of making music sound even better....

We all listen to songs almost everyday, there is a definite presence of music in our daily lives. We tune into our favorite Radio Stations or listen to CDs while driving. A soothing song is enough to freshen up the mind, any party, social gathering, discotheque, pub are incomplete and perhaps un-imaginable without music.

In earlier days the facilities were limited but talent and determination ensured that the void was fulfilled.

The earliest recording studios had very basic facilities, being essentially soundproof rooms that isolated the performers from outside noise. During this era it was not uncommon for recordings to be made in any available location, such as a local ballroom, using portable acoustic recording equipment.

In this period, master recordings were made using a direct-to-disc cutting process. Performers were typically grouped around a large acoustic horn, the acoustic energy from the voices and instruments was channeled through the horn's diaphragm to a mechanical cutting lathe located in the next room, which inscribed the signal as a modulated groove directly onto the surface of the master cylinder or disc.

Following the invention and commercial introduction of the microphone, the electronic amplifier, the mixing desk and the loudspeaker, the recording industry gradually converted to electric recording, and by 1925 this technology had replaced mechanical acoustic recording methods.Electrical recording was common by the early 1930s and mastering lathes were now electrically powered. But master recordings still had to be cut direct-to-disc.

In line with the prevailing musical trends, studios in this period were primarily designed for the live recording of symphony orchestras and other large instrumental ensembles. Engineers soon found that large, reverberant spaces like concert halls created a vibrant acoustic signature that greatly enhanced the sound of the recording, and in this period large, acoustically "live" halls were favored, rather than the acoustically "dead" booths and studio rooms that became common after the 1960s.

Because of the limits of the recording technology, studios of the mid-20th century were designed around the concept of grouping musicians and singers, rather than separating them, and placing the performers and the microphones strategically to capture the complex acoustic and harmonic interplay that emerged during the performance. During the 1950s and 1960s the sound of recordings was further defined by the introduction of proprietary sound processing devices such as equalizers and compressors, which were manufactured by specialist electronics companies.

Till the 70's there were single track recorders which could record only ONE track. Multiple rehearsals used to be conducted to ensure that the musicians were in sync before recording the song.

I recall a song from the famous movie "Jewel Thief". It had more than 70 different percussion instruments apart from the regular strings & horns section. The recording of that song itself was a masterpiece, the smallest of instruments like Ghungroo, Cabassa are heard clearly even on a mobile phone speaker.

Fortunately I found its video on youtube. Even when I listen to that song today, it sends shivers through my spine. Hats off to all the musicians and sound engineer who gave us such an outstanding soundtrack.

The 70's saw rise of Multi-track recording, it allowed separate recording of multiple sound sources to create a cohesive whole. During multi tracking, multiple musical instruments could be recorded, either one at a time or simultaneously, onto individual tracks, so that the sounds thus recorded could be accessed, processed and manipulated individually to produce the desired results. The period from 70's to late 80's were largely dependent on the Spool tape.

During the 90's computer replaced the spool device and became a multi track recorder, this change brought a revolution in the music industry. The recording engineer had much more work and flexibility in his hands to manipulate the sounds, the new generation artists apparently went lazy as they had endless number of options for editing and re-takes. How ever, post processing and mixing became much better.

Now a days, live music is on the verge of extinction, more and more soft synths are being developed which can imitate any instrument and the ambiance of a studio. Computer has taken the duties of a sound recorder and a virtual instrument which can play almost anything. The musician has to choose the instrument on the software console, plug in his MIDI keyboard and start playing right away. I hate to admit that I am no exception, its easy, its simple, it sounds better but it can never replace the effect of live music anyday.

Given a choice, I would always love to record live instruments, the feel which they convey can never be imitated by a computer synth.

As a mugshot, I present 2 videos from youtube.

The first one is Mr. Illayairaja's concert which was held in chennai. His troupe had played an instrumental version of a famous Malayalam song known as "Thumbe Vaa". I have never heard the original soundtrack but was bowled over when I heard this instrumental version. After all its played live.

The second one is from A.R Rahman's L.A concert. His flautist Naveen played the beautiful "Bombay Theme" with some North American musicians.