Music and Immortality(Simplified Summary for the Students)

Music and Immortality(Simplified summary for the students)

Mian Tansen was India’s greatest musician. His tomb was built under the shaded branches of a tamarind tree six hundred years ago. According to the popular belief, anyone can increase his music skills by eating just one leaf of that tree.

Tansen was born to his parents after they had got the blessings from the great sufi saint and musician Hazrat Mohammad Ghaus. Tansen’s father Mukund MIshra was a wealthy poet and musician. He named his son as Tansen, the master of ‘taan’, or musical notes because he hoped that his .

But Tansen showed no interest in music and studies as well as he grew up. Instead, he preferred spending his time in the forest chasing animals and imitating their sounds.

One day, a group of travelers was passing through the forest. He was sitting on a tree chirping like the sparrows.

Suddenly he saw a group of travelers passing through the forest. As they came nearer, he took a long breath and produced a loud roar. The passengers thought that a lion was there at some nearby place, so they ran away by dropping their luggage there. But, when they heard a boy laughing at them, they understood that they had been fooled by him.

An old man in that group of travelers gestured to Tansen to come down from the tree. But the boy feared punishment from them, so refused to do so.

The old man convinced him telling that he was not angry with him and he just wanted to talk to him about his great talent.

Tansen descended (came down) from the tree feeling a little bit cautious about what might happen to him.

That old man was Guru Haridas, a renowned saint and music teacher.

Tansen took him to his house where his parents recognized the great musician and felt honoured at his visit.

Guru Haridas told Mukund Mishra about Tansen’s great talent and that he had a great range of voice, which was a great gift of God to him. He also told Tansen’s father that he wanted to take him to his ashram to make his shishya (disciple).

After that Tansen started learning the traditions of Indian classical music at Guru Haridas’s Ashram in Vrindavan. He started from the basic ‘sargam’ and also learnt the essence of each raga and how to sing it so as to create the right mood at the appropriate time of the day.

Guru Haridas also taught him the technique of how to make his voice emanate (to come from) the pit of his belly. He also taught him how to twist the notes in his throat to produce the right ‘sur’(note) at the right pitch (the depth of voice).

One day, having perfected in difficult raga, Tansen sang in in front of his Guru. He expected appreciation as he finished the raga, but he saw sadness and disappointment in his Guru’s eyes. Feeling hurt, he picked up his ‘taanpura’ and was prepared to go.

Then Tansen said, ‘Forgive me son, I have failed you.’

‘I thought I have been teaching you music but it appears that I have taught you notes.’

Tansen replied that he just sang the raga accurately (correctly) and did no mistake.

Guru Haridas agreed and said that it was true that he had sung the raga correctly, but he had failed to evoke (to bring a feeling or an image in mind) the spirit of the raga.

Then Tansen realized his mistake and hung his head in shame. He also said that he was at fault because he could not understand the difference between the expression and merely singing the notes. He requested his Guru to repeat the lesson again and also promised to him that he would listen to it carefully.

Guru Haridas told him that unless the music came from his soul, it was not music. It was just a combination of notes. The soul is true alchemist that changes simple notes into music. Each note should be allowed to draw its pure expression from the soul.

 From that day, Tansen followed his Guru’s advice and his notes became a living, breathing element.

After that, nature responded to his singing. When he sang ‘Raga Todi’ to evoke the animal spirits, squirrels, deer, and rabbits came running into the ashram. When he sang ‘Megh Malhar’, clouds began to form in the sky.

Tansen got training in music for ten years from his Guru. When he was about twenty, his father died and soon after that, his mother also passed away. Just before his death, his father had told him to go and see ‘Pir Baba’ Mohammad Ghaus in Gwalior.

The old Pir was very happy to meet the boy and to know that he had already got training from great Guru Haridas. He told Tansen that his training in the ashram was over and it was time for him to begin his training in the real world. He also advised him to get his Guru’s permission before doing that.

After taking leave from Guru Haridas, Tansen started living with Mohammad Ghaus. He spent next three years perfecting his skills under Ghaus’ guidance. During this period, he was sent to Gwalior’s court and also to hear other musicians there.

One day, Tansen saw a beautiful woman in the king’s court. His mind was distracted from his practice. He became absentminded while practicing at home also. In the middle of a ‘taan’, his fingers would pause on the strings of the ‘taanpura’ and his voice would falter (waver).

Mohammad Ghaus made enquiries for that and found that Tansen had fallen in love with a woman, named Hussaini, the king’s lady-in-waiting. Mohammad met the king and with his permission, arranged Tansen’s marriage with him.

From that day, a new element entered Tansen’s music, the element of love, mortal love soaring to the height of heavenly love.

Soon the world also came to know about Tansen. The King of Rewa, Raja Ramchandra, a partron of music also came to know about him. On his invitation, Tansen, along with his family, went to the court of the King of Rewa. As his talent flourished more, he became the king’s chief musician.

One day, Akbar also happened to listen to Tansen at Rewa and he was mesmerized (enthralled, captivated) by Tansen’s voice. After the music was over, he kept sitting with his closed eyes revelling (enjoying) the perfection of his music.

After that Ramachandra had to send Tansen to Akbar’s court as a gift. At his court in Agra, Emperor Akbar gave him warm welcome. The following morning, he received a message from the Emperor, requesting him to perform at a celebration that evening. Tansen knew that it would be a test of all his years of training. He decided to sing his newly composed ‘Raga Durbari Kanada’.

The royal durbar was crowded that evening. As Tansen arrived, the Emperor Akbar led him to the ‘asan’ (seat), the doors of the courtroom were closed lights were made dim and the voices of the people were silenced. Soon the ‘taan’ began to pour out of Tansen’s mouth. It was like a divine waterfall. The listeners felt that they were not on the earth, rather they had entered some heavenly place. There was a long silence as he finished singing. Then the applause (appreciation by clapping) began. It grew and grew. People stood up and cheered, some with tears into their eyes. Tansen showed humility by bowing his head. The emperor was also standing and cheering in appreciation. From then, he was made one of the ‘navratnas’ of his court.

In this way, with the spread of his fame and being the favourite of the Mughal Emperor, the other musicians started feeling jealous of him. They would challenge him to sing more difficult ragas and he defeated them in every contest. One day they proposed to the Emperor that Tansen should be told to sing Deepak Raga. This raga if sung by a true master invokes fire. It can not only invoke fire but also can burn the singer.

Tansen accepted the challenge although the Emperor told him to reconsider his decision because he did not want to lose him. He told the Emperor Akbar that he could be saved if anyone could sing ‘Raag Megh’ when he was singing Rag Deepak.

With the permission of the Emperor, a girl named Rupa was brought to Agra and she was trained by Tansen to sing the ‘Rag Megha’.

On the sixteenth day, the court was prepared for the big event. Large unlit lamps were placed around Tansen’s ‘aasan’. A big bowl of cold water was put on the table and a pile of dry wood was stacked in the courtyard.

Hussaini sat worried in the women’s enclosure. Rupa also kept praying to Goddess Sarswati to grant her power to sing the ‘raag Megh’.

Finally with Akbar’s signal, Tansen began his ‘alaap’.  Gradually the people sitting there began to feel unnatural warmth. When Tansen changed into the ‘jod’ (the body of the song), the heat became almost unbearable and everyone began to sweat. As he reached the climax of the first ‘taan’, the dry wood in the court got flames. One by one, the unlit lamps became lit with flames. The water in the bowl also started boiling. Although the men in the court were face unbearable heat, yet they were hypnotized by the great singing. Now the heat started consuming Tansen from inside. Rupa was ordered to sing Megha, but her lips were made paralysed by the power of Tansen’s music.

But, when she heard Hussaini wailing bitterly, her trance was broken and she was able to sing Raag Megha. Her singing had no effect on Tansen’s body which had begun to sag, and finally he collapsed on the floor.

A cry of despair broke out from everyone’s throat.

Finally Rupa’s voice picked up power and she was successful in invoking elements in the sky. The clouds gathered and rain poured down from the sky. The courtier took Tansen outside under th cooling rain. As Rupa stopped, Tansen opened his eyes. Really, Mian Tansen immortalized his music.

An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum Poet: Stephen Spender

An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum (Prescribed for class XII in C.B.S.E.)

Poet:  Stephen Spender

Main Points about the Poem:

The poet visits a school located in a slum area. He is shocked to notice the miserable condition of those poor children. Even the condition of the school is pitiable.

Description about the children sitting in the class room:

1. He watches the faces of the children sitting in a class room. These are pale and without blood. The poet compares them with the rootless weeds which become yellow and lifeless. Normally, the children are full of activities and energy as we find in the gusty waves of sea. But these children are passive and lacking in energy.

2. The hair of the children is untidy and hanging over their pale faces. Then the poet gives more examples of such children. There is a tall girl whose head is bent (jhuka hua). The poet calls another boy ‘the paper seeming boy’. It means that he is as light as a paper. His eyes are looking like that of a rat. It means that his face is very weak and small and his eyes seem to be big and bulging out.

3. There is another boy who has not grown properly. He is an ill-fed boy who has inherited a disease from his father. His bones are twisted. He is reciting his lesson. Then the poet notices a little boy sitting at the back bench. He is not properly visible due to dim light in the class room. He is a sweet child who has dreamy eyes. His mind is not in the class room. He seems to think about a squirrel that plays joyfully in its room, that is, a tree. He desires to have that type of class room for himself.

Stanza 2.      Description of the class room

1. A foul smell like that of sour cream is coming from the class room of the school in slum area. On the dirty wall of the class room, there are the names of the donors. These people must have given donation for building the school. In addition to this, there is a picture of Shakespeare’s bust. The poet calls Shakespeare ‘wicked’ as the children might feel tempted to steal it.

2.  There are several other pictures like scenery of a dawn without clouds, a picture of a main church of a district, of the Austrian Tyrol valley with bell shaped flowers.

3. There is also a picture of the map of the world. The map has been called ‘open handed’ because it shows the world with all of its seas and lands. The poet calls this map a bad example. It creates a contrast between the two worlds. The world of the poor children is limited. It has no beautiful valleys, flowing rivers, cape, etc. Their world is limited to a narrow street under a dull sky.

4. But these children have nothing to do with these pictures or the list of the donors. Their world is only that dirty class room. They watch through the windows only dim fog. It signifies that their future is also dim and foggy. The lane of their future seems to be blocked in the dull sky. Their world has no beautiful rivers, valleys and capes (peninsula/isthmus/neck of land). Their world is also without sweet promises usually made by politicians.

Stanza 3.

1. It is not good to show them the outside world. They have no means of livelihood. So they may be tempted to steal in the world of Shakespeare shown to them through the open map.

2. They pass their life like rats in small rooms and the outside world is dim and foggy for them. It is like an endless night. Then the poet describes their weak bodies which have no vitality left in them. He compares their bodies to the heap of slag. Their bones are clearly visible from the skin of their bodies. They wear second hand spectacles. All of their time is spent in that dirty class room and foggy and dark lanes of their slum area. So it would be better to show in the map their slum area which as large as hell is.

Stanza 4. 

1. The poet now addresses some words for the governors and the inspectors of these schools. They always come there only to make a formal visit. The poet says that the map of the world is meaningless to them unless these poor children are taken out of the slum areas. At present the windows of their class rooms enable them to look at the outside world. But the world seen by them is foggy and dark. It is no more beautiful for them. Their life is lost in those dark and foggy lanes which seem to lead them to their graves.

Then the poet makes an appeal to the governors, the inspectors and the visitors to break their windows. They may be allowed to move out of those narrow lanes and come in under the open sky. They would watch green fields and play there in golden sand under the blue sky. Once their life becomes without worries of life, they will focus on their study also. The white leaves of the books and the green leaves of the trees would play an equally important role in the growth of their life. In the end, the poet says that history belongs to the people whose children are free to move anywhere in the open fields as the sun moves freely in the sky.

The Bishop's Candlesticks by Norman Mckinnell (Part 2: for Class IX)

After that, the convict narrated to the Bishop his story. He explained that long time ago he was a man and he had the feeling of suffering then. But after that he became a number. He was not a man. His sensitivity had died. He had been living in hell for the last ten years.

He also told the Bishop that long time ago, he had a cottage. There were vines growing on it. They looked very pretty. There was a woman. She must have been his wife. He tried to remember her. She was ill and they had no food to eat. He was unemployed and his wife Jeanette was dying. Then he stole to buy food for her. He was caught for that crime. He explained his stand but they did not understand him. He was put in the prison hulks (old ships formerly used for prisons). For ten years. He was also informed that his wife had died on the day when he was sent to prison.

 Then he started crying with sobs. After that the Bishop asked him about the prison-ship (Hell).

The convict told the Bishop that once he had been a man. At present he was a beast. They were responsible for making him so. They chained him like a wild animal, beat him hard and he was fed on filth. He was covered with vermin (insects),. He was slept on board. He made complaint about that but they lashed him again. They took away his name. They took away his soul and put a devil in him in place of his soul. One day, they were careless and forgot to chain him. That was six weeks ago. Then he ran away to starve.

They were hunting after him everywhere. He had no passport, and no name. He had to steal daily to satisfy his hunger. He had to remain in woods. He was unable to ask for work or go to cities. He was a thief then due to circumstances.

The Bishop took pity on him and tried to console him by saying that there was still some hope. He laughed at the word ‘hope’ in scorn (contempt).

Then the Bishop made him lie down on the couch and went inside to bring some coverings for him.

As the Bishop left the place, the convict noticed candlesticks which were there on the mantelpiece. Those were of silver and very heavy indeed. The convict picked them from there. He looked here and there to ensure if he was alone there. In haste he dropped one at the table as he had heard the Bishop coming in. The Bishop noticed all what was going on. He told the convict that those candlesticks were a gift from his mother and he was proud of them. Then he told the convict that his bed was ready and he could go to sleep. The convict was also surprised at the kindness shown him by the Bishop and asked what he wanted from him. The Bishop told him that he only wanted that he might have a good sleep. The convict responded at this by saying that he wanted to convert him.

The convict himself locked the door from inside for security. Then he the Bishop wished him good night and went to his room.

The convict was alone and he started thinking of the silver candlesticks. He thought to sell them in market and get money. He also condemns the Bishop’s preaching to him because he did not want to be soft. Then he took the candlesticks and exited. The door was slammed from behind and the noise made Persome alert. She asked loudly who it was. She entered and found no one there. Then she knocked at door of the Bishop’s room.

She also noticed that the candlesticks were not there. She started shouting, “The candlesticks, and the candlesticks. They are gone. Brother, brother, come out. Fire, murder, thieves!”

The Bishop came and she told him that the man with hunger in his eyes had gone with the candlesticks.

The Bishop was not disturbed at the theft. He peacefully said that those candlesticks did not belong to him. But he also felt something bad also because he had emotional attachment with those candlesticks. She also tried to force her brother to lodge a complaint with the police about the theft.

The Bishop told her that it was his fault as he showed them to him. The Bishop rejected his sister’s idea to send him to prison again.

The arguments went on between the two for some time. Then there was a big knocking at the door.

Then a sergeant with three policemen entered. The Convict was also bought in. He told the Bishop that he was running with his candlesticks. Persome was very satisfied to see that. The sergeant said that he was arrested on suspicion and while handling him, those candlesticks fell out of his pockets.

He also added that he remembered that the candlesticks belonged to the Bishop, so they bought him there for recognition and so that the convict could be put in the lock up. Persome seizes them and brushes them lovingly with her apron.

But the Bishop told the police that the convict was his friend and he had given those candlesticks to him as a gift. Thus he let the prisoner go free. The sergeant further said that he did not show his papers to him. But the Bishop gave him his surety by saying that he was his friend.

After that, the police went away. The convict was amazed at the unexpected behaviour of the Bishop. Persome was furious at the convict. So the Bishop advised her to leave them and go to her room. First, she was not ready to leave, and then she picked up the candlesticks. She had to leave them on the table when the Bishop ordered her to do so.

The Bishop told him to sleep, but he wanted to reach Paris by travelling at night.

The convict also said that he did not believe that there was goodness left in the world. He requested for the Convict’s blessing before leaving the place. The Bishop utters some words of blessings on him. The convict is unable to speak because he was so much charged with emotions. His throat was choked. The Bishop gave the candlesticks to him and also showed him the way at the back of his cottage that went through the forest.

The convict thanked him and cried like a child and said, “I...I....[He sobs] Ah! I’m a fool, a child to cry, but somehow you have made me feel that.....that it is just as if something had come into me ...as if I were a man again and not a wild beast.”

Bishop:[putting his hand on his shoulder] Always remember, my son, that this body in the Temple of the Living God.

Convict:[with great awe] The temple of the Living God. I’ll remember.

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