A MUSICAL MUSING

 

ELSA ONLINE MEET: A MUSICAL MUSING

July 25, 2021

A meet with a difference, just as was the reason behind it; the topic was ‘My favourite song’. Song-lyrics for a literature meet? It was a similar reaction world-wide when the Nobel Prize for literature went to a song-writer, and so was this ‘international reaction’ the inspiration for our ‘English Literary Society of Agra’s meet on July 25, 2021.

Prof. Ghosh, our leading light enlightened us how the Nobel Prize (2016) awarded to Bob Dylan was a turning point in the literary and musical history of the world as it was the first time a lyricist won a prize meant for the domain of literature. Dylan’s ‘Blowing in the Wind’ inaugurated the event and set the ball rolling; sharing the lyrics here…

How many roads must a man walk down
Before you call him a man?
How many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?
Yes, and how many times must the cannonballs fly
Before they're forever banned?

 

The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind

The answer is blowin' in the wind

 

Yes, and how many years must a mountain exist
Before it is washed to the sea?
And how many years can some people exist
Before they're allowed to be free?
Yes, and how many times can a man turn his head
And pretend that he just doesn't see?

 

The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind

 

Yes, and how many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
And how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, and how many deaths will it take 'til he knows
That too many people have died?

 

The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind

This song was released in 1962; it was the ‘decade of change’- Civil Rights, Beatles, Cultural ambassadors, Vietnam War. For especially the students of music and literature, it is significant how a poet captures the mood of times and captures its temporality; the now favourite song of our dear Prof. Ghosh. He further added how the essence of the song lies in the ‘selected invisibility reflected in the visible’; hardly anything in the world is missing in the poet’s poem – the roads, mountains, the seas, the sand, the water, the people, the freedom, the canons; all these are put forth with a question – How many times does a man pretend that he just doesn’t see? The answer is there but it’s ‘Blowing in the wind’.

With the inauguration and the warm welcome to all, the meet’s first presenter was its youngest member, 9 year old Mrigakshi Bhadauria whose favourite song ‘Hotel California’ was, for her, a cautionary tale on addiction; her ‘cute’ being equating it with the ‘PUB-G’ addiction that her generation couldn’t shake off. Dr. Manju’s ‘Zindagi ka safar’, highlighted how the ‘mysteries of life’ echo the melancholy question. The song transported one to the time when ‘Cancer’ was more of an exception than its fatal spread in epidemic proportions in contemporary times. Dr. Paromita Chakraborty (from Vishakhapatnam) gave a soulful rendition of her favourite song: ‘Boro Asha, Kare Eshechhi’, sharing that in her marital bond of 35 years, the couple often sang this song as a duet. She added that when one crossed Youth, the meaning of this song unfolded in layers and fragments. Totally raw, unpretentious, it was a beautiful sound that appealed to the auditory senses. Dr. Paromita Chakraborty sang delightfully (both the Bengali and the English versions). We thank her, a pathologist by profession for her contribution as a Corona warrior. Mr. Debashish Chakraborty sang a song that he picked up during college time and that remained his favourite till date for its ‘uplifting spirit’. Joined by his wife, their adorable bond reflected amply in this duet they loved. Mr. Anil Sharma’s ‘Bhanware ki Gunjan’ took us to the ‘Dev Anand’ times. He praised the ELSA platform for helping him ‘come out’. Dr. Seema Sinha’s ‘Shokhi, Bhabona Kahare Bole’ by Rabindranath Tagore; the Bengali song questioned: of all the different shades of ‘love’, why is ‘romantic love’ most eulogized? 

Jessica Joel’s ‘Amazing Grace’, a hymn by John Newton lighted us up as the much needed light in our contemporary times too! It has been the song that connects pain of countless lost souls. Saurabh Agarwal’s ‘We didn’t Start the fire’ by Billy Joel, is the cult song; its beat had us tapping our feet to it too. Dr. Richa shared her thoughts on how she had wished to present her favourite song but had missed out ‘on the way she wanted to!’; encouraged to go on, she shared her favourite song ‘Abhi na jao’ as a song that echoed the burden of patriarchy. The company of Prof. Santosh Gupta, Dr. Navleen Multani, Prof Archana Prasad and Dr. Pramila Chawla added to the beauty of the event.

Finally, reminiscing his favourite poem (throughout his childhood and beyond), Prof. Ghosh brought attention to ‘The Solitary reaper’, aptly connecting the singer-lyricist immortalized in literature.

Will no one tell me what she sings?—

Perhaps the plaintive numbers flow

For old, unhappy, far-off things,

And battles long ago:

Or is it some more humble lay,

Some familiar matter of to-day?

Some natural sorrow, loss, or pain,

That has been, and may be again?

 

Whate'er the theme, the Maiden sang

As if her song could have no ending;

……………………………………..

The music in my heart I bore,

Long after it was heard no more.

 

The meeting was concluded with a song by ABBA’s ‘Thank you for the music, for the songs I am singing’. Truly, as Dr. Ghosh predicted, this meeting, the musical evening has since been reverberating in our memories.

‘Hotel California’ by Eagles: My Favourite Song 

Mrigakshi Bhadauria

My favourite song is ‘Hotel California’. It has two types of meanings: Literal and symbolic

The literal meaning is about a man who goes in a hotel in the middle of a desert. The hotel is full of life’s comforts, and is fulfilling all his wants. But when he wants to go, he cannot find a way out. The symbolic meaning of the song, according to me, talks about addiction of anything. At my age, I can think of only one example: Video Games; And for my generation: Pub-G

Addiction of Pub-G can be compared to that of the narrator in ‘Hotel California’. In both situations, the addiction ultimately makes a beast out of the person. So we should run away from any addiction. Apart from this, I also liked the lyrics, the music, and the way the song has been sung.

Amazing Grace: Raging Ocean to Abolitionism

Jessica Joel

Amazing Grace is a renowned hymn which was written in 1772 and published in 1779, it has been on the lips of not only old churchgoers but has been sung publically and nationally, together in times of despair and rejoice for more than 200 years, translated into more than 50 languages it has been sung more than 10 million times since. What intrigued me the most, was the story behind Amazing Grace.

John Newton the famous writer of this song had a troubled childhood, his mother had passed away when he was 7, and his father was a shipping merchant under whose apprentice he had joined the ship when he was just 11 years old. His career in the Royal Navy was marked with headstrong disobedience and rebellion that he had to desert his career and was traded as a crew to a slave ship. As a youth, Newton’s pattern of coming close to death was evident; he would mock and debauch the Captain of the ship and would sing his obscenely composed poems about him. In the culture where seamen habitually swore, John Newton gained disrepute for exceeding the limits of verbal debauchery as the most profane man on the ship. His disagreements with other sailors resulted in his being imprisoned while at sea and chained like the slaves they carried and being starved almost to death. He was thus forcefully made to labour in the plantations in Sierra Leone near the Sherbro River till his father Captain John Newton Sr. intervened for his release from the plantations. Newton was then sent abroad to another slave ship ‘Greyhound’ to return back home.

On the night of 21^st March 1748, Greyhound was attacked by the raging waves of the Atlantic Ocean and a fierce storm, a sailor who was standing on the deck just minutes before Newton stepped down from it was swept away and engulfed by the ocean. After hours of emptying water from the deck, throwing belongings away with the constant fear of being capsized, Newton and another mate had to tie themselves to the pump of the ship to keep themselves from being washed away. As the waves grew larger and death seemed just another wave away, Newton was exhausted and overwhelmed as the sheer panicking and traumatic encounter seemed endless, tightening his cords to the pump, Newton cried out in deep desperation, “if this will not do, then Lord have mercy upon us”. As the fear of death gripped him, a profound sense of realization hit him hard, he could see his sins flash in front of him and yet he did not die. He felt as if he was not worthy of life and yet there was a force that was keeping him alive after all his inhumane atrocities towards people and especially the slaves. After 11 hours of fighting with the ocean, Newton and his few seamen could sail their ship to Ireland in two weeks’ time, the memory of his “Lord have mercy upon us” uttered in moments of vulnerable distress did not leave him, he kept pondering if he was in any way redeemable. Newton was not only a hater of faith and would deride God as a myth but would openly ridicule anyone who believed in God; Newton was now convinced that God had a divine message for him. 

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,

That saved a wretch like me,

I once was lost, but now am found,

Was blind but now I see.

 

Was Grace that taught my heart to fear,

And Grace, my fears relieved,

How precious did that Grace appear,

The hour I first believed.

John Newton, now a reverend, wrote Amazing Grace out of a reflective sense of realization that his participation in the slave trade and his life full of profanity as a sailor was his wretchedness. Newton met and inspired a young Member of the British Parliament William Wilberforce who led the Parliamentarian campaign to abolish the slave trade in the Empire. Newton towards the end of his life had become an ardent and outspoken abolitionist to renounce slavery, working hard actively to take stringent measures to abolish it. 

To unfold the harrowing account of the reality of the slave trade as an eyewitness, Newton also published his thoughts on the African Slave Trade, the appalling conditions on the slave ships, the inhumanly brutal abomination practiced on slaves which provided the abolitionists like William Wilberforce and William Pitt with powerful evidence they needed, to educate a mislead Parliament and public leading to anti-slave trade bills. William Wilberforce along with the then Prime Minister William Pitt led the questioning and debates in the parliament through the revelation of John Newton which later culminated in the Slave Trade Act 1807.

Amazing Grace has been sung in numerous historic events, like:

·    It was sung by freedom marchers in the American south during the Civil Rights movement before Martin Luther King Junior gave his ‘I have a dream speech’.

·       It was sung in South Africa after Nelson Mandela was released from Prison.

·       It was sung in Germany when people gathered after the Berlin Wall fell.

·       It was sung to bring solace in America after the attacks of 9/11.

The story of Amazing Grace is a story of hope and deliverance.

My Favourite Song: ‘Aarambh hai Prachand’

Anjali Singh

On the battlefield, Arjun laid down his arms because he had a moment of doubt – should he fight the opponent army that included his dear ‘Bheeshm pitamaah’ and his guru ‘Dronacharya’? Krishna understood the dilemma and gave a ‘talk’ to Arjun; the intention was to fire up the warrior in the latter by reminding him of the ‘Cause’ that had caused this battle line-up of Krukshetra. It is this very same thought that this song resonates –

‘Aarambh hai prachand’ from the movie Gulaal. Piyush Goyal, a poet is the lyricist, singer and composer of this poetic song. Gulaal was a movie about youth politics and the caste discrimination that dominates it. The song is placed just before the University elections; filmed in the backdrop of the campaign by rival student factions, the results declaration and the subsequent celebrations by the victors.

Sharing the general meaning of the song, it is an address to all the warriors of the world.

In a fight, one must move forward and fight with all the might. A brave and great warrior is one who is not obsessed with ‘only winning’, one who chooses to fight only when absolutely necessary, one who has the power to punish and pardon, however does so wisely. It further extols the warrior to be fearless as death is not the ultimate end! Finally, it adds that life is worth living only when there is dignity involved.

Sharing my interpretations of the song, I would like to begin with a quote: “If there is no struggle, there is no progress” – Fredrick Douglass.

‘Peace’ is desirable; however, through the ages it has been rare, and in contempory times, rarer – public platform or private sphere. A wise person never begins a battle, but if drawn in one, then one must fight and set an example that remains embedded in the opponent’s psyche forever.

This song has a universal theme – to fight or to take flight/flee. It applies to any conflict – internal or external. It teaches that if cornered to fight then one must fight unhesitatingly well.

I love the ‘pure hindi’ touch to it. The lyrics are meaningful as well as powerful. There is a musical feel when reciting it – the rhythm is delightful! That is why this is my favourite song.