Wednesday, June 3, 2020
music on voyager for 39 years.
Voyager 1 is special for one other reason. On board the spacecraft is a 12-inch gold-plated copper disc with music that aims to encapsulate 5,000 years of human culture. Compiled by American astronomer Carl Sagan, the songs of Sounds Of Earth (as the album is named) echo through outer space, billions of miles from Earth.
While most Indians have heard about this, few know that the album also includes a Hindustani classical music composition – ‘Jaat Kahan Ho.’ A hauntingly beautiful song by Kesarbai Kerkar, the legendary singer of Jaipur-Atrauli gharana, it is the only song from India that has been immortalised alongside the music of Beethoven, Bach and Mozart on the record.
Born in a remote hilly village in the heart of Goa, she broke out of the devdasi tradition in early 1900s and emerged as the most celebrated artist of her time; revered by many poets, kings and prime ministers.
In 1938, Kesarbai was awarded the title of ‘Surshri’ (Queen of Music) in 1938 by Rabindranath Tagore on behalf of Sangeet Pravin Sangitanuragi Sajjan Saman Samiti of Calcutta (now Kolkata).
During her childhood years, Kesarbai trained under the tutelage of music maestros like Abdul Karim Khan of Kirana gharana, Ramakrishnabuva Vaze of Gwalior gharana, Barkatulla Khan of Senia gharana and Bhaskarbua Bakhle of Jaipur-Atrauli gharana. However, this training periods were short-lived and she thirsted for more.
Kesarbai’s hunt for a teacher who would teach her the deepest depths of Hindustani classical music ended when she was accepted as a disciple by the legendary Alladiya Khan in 1920. Also known as “Gauri-Shankar” (Mount Everest of the Indian Classical Music) and “Gaan Samrat,” Khan founded the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana and is famous for the many rare ragas he created.
Interestingly, as Kesarbai had been initially unable to master his style of gayaki during a trial period of three months, Khan had initially refused to take her on as disciple. It was only when Kesarbai got the ruler of Kolhapur, Shahu Maharaj, to intervene on her behalf that he agreed!
She trained under him for the next 25 years, during which she performed across the country. Her immense success as a khyal singer, along with that of Hirabai Barodekar, Gangubai Hangal and Mogubai Kurdikar (mother of Kishori Amonkar) paved the way for the next generation of female vocalists.
In 1953, Kesarbai was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, the highest Indian recognition given to practicing artists. In 1969, the government of India honoured her with Padma Bhushan while Maharashta government conferred upon her the title of Rajya Gayika.
Over the years, Kesarbai’s magical voice won her countless fans across the world. One of these fans was ethnomusicologist Robert E. Brown, who believed her rendition of raga Bhairavi to be the finest recorded example of Indian classical music. He was the one who recommended it for inclusion on the Voyager record.
In 1977, the year Kesarbai passed away, the Voyager spacecraft carried her recorded voice to celestial heights. As Bhavita B writes for the untold.in, the poignant piece in raga Bhairavi asks the eternal question, Jaat kahan ho akeli gori (Where are you going alone, girl).
In 2012, NASA space probe Voyager 1, travelling at more than 40,000 miles per hour, became the first man-made object to enter interstellar space, leaving the solar system behind and ushering mankind into the interstellar age. Launched on September 5, 1977, as a probe to Saturn and Jupiter, the nuclear-powered spacecraft took advantage of a once-in-176-years planetary alignment to extend its mission and travel beyond the four outer planets of the solar system.
On Wednesday, NASA held a special press conference announcing the discovery of this star system, which is located 39 light years away in the Aquarius constellation of the Milky Way Galaxy. What has space scientist excited is the fact that three of the seven planets fall within the star’s “habitable zone,” a range of distances from the star that would create the right temperatures for liquid water and conditions right for extraterrestrial life.
With this discovery, outer space is shaping up to be a more tantalizing target than ever – and this makes the Voyager 1 probe, which is still sending back data and making discoveries from the edge of interstellar space, probably mankind’s best chance of reaching it.
Tuesday, June 2, 2020
Monday, June 1, 2020
positive T + Trust.
By paying attention to what I am filling my mind with throughout the day, I begin to learn the art of choosing only the best thoughts. I keep the ones that make me feel good, positive and uplifted. And I let go of those that do not serve me, by focusing my mind on something more productive and inspiring. Each thought leads to a corresponding feeling, so I need to be watchful — mindful — of what is capturing my attention and occupying my mind.
If I am thinking about what just happened or what is to come next, I can’t enjoy the present moment. It is only when I ‘live in the now’ that I have the chance to master my thoughts — and it is in the ‘now’ that I am creating my future.
Becoming mindful of my thinking makes me mindful of my actions. Peaceful, uplifting thoughts will lead to positive actions and interactions.
These help my day go smoothly and happily and automatically draw towards me situations and relationships that match my mood. Simply by catching and changing the course of my thoughts, I launch a trajectory of good feelings, well-being and abundance.
Today and every day, let me be mindful of the thoughts I am creating. Let me choose which thoughts, moods and attitudes I wish to have — and develop the strength to gently release those I choose to move away from. In this way, every day, I take a step closer to creating a truly joyful and fulfilling life.
TRUST
Any relationship has to start with some amount of trust. One could develop trust over a period of time as we come to know more and more about the person and his behavior.
The trust may undergo tests of time and these tests, when passed, may help reinforce our trust further. Our expectations have to be clear and need to be repeated from time to time to another person. If trust is broken, we need to understand the context in which trust was broken.
More than the action, what was the intention behind breaking the trust by that person? It helps to understand the other side so that we do not take unilateral decisions without knowing the situation. Breach of trust may attract some sanction or punishment for the person who has broken it.
It could just be in token form, a verbal expression of our unhappiness or it could be based on our evaluation, just to make the other person understand that trust has to be maintained and breach of trust would have reciprocal consequences.
We see in the Ramayana, Sugriva appeared to falter from his promise to help Rama in his mission to search for Sita. Months passed. Finally, Lakshmana took it upon himself to teach him a lesson. The problem was solved.
Trust is a great force. If we trust the people beyond their own trust in themselves, they feel empowered and dedicated to the relationship. So, it is important that we keep scope for people to improve and we re-trust them in case they commit mistakes.
It will increase their gratitude and dedication. But, naturally, we will be extra careful the next time.
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