Monthly Archives: May 2017

Book chronicles journey of unsung heroes of freedom struggle

About Bangalore(Bengaluru) / Karnataka, Amazing Feats, Records, All, World Opinion

Bengaluru:

Looking at the accused, the judge thundered: These five men are guilty of being ‘enemy agents’ and have to be hanged by the neck till they are dead. The five subsequently vanished off the face of the earth; there were no records to show where they were killed and buried. This was in 1943.

Cut to 2017: The five men have been resurrected as unsung heroes of the Indian Independence movement in the book titled Unsung Freedom Struggle, brought out by the Karnataka State Archives in Bengaluru on Tuesday. The book is based on the judgment delivered by special judge E E Mack (the then district judge in Ballari) on April 1, 1943 under the Enemy Agents Ordinance (Madras) against the five: V Mohammed Abdul Khadir, S A Anand alias Thanu Pillay, S C Bardhan, Boniface B Pereira and Fouja Singh.

These five men, along with 14 others, had been charged on two counts — for conspiring against the British empire by colluding with the Japanese government and for entering India as enemy agents of the Japanese government.

Historian Ko Chennabasappa, who has written the foreword, stated: “This case has been a well-guarded secret; it is not known to historians or the outside world. It is for the first time that this sacrifice for the country’s freedom is coming to light.”
The 19 accused were working in Malaya and Singapore when they were picked up by the Japanese army (following the fall of Singapore on February 15, 1942) to go to India and spy on the British. They were enrolled into the Malaya’s Swaraj Institute, a front for espionage training, where the Japanese tried to generate patriotic feelings in these men.

However, the British Empire was of the view that the Japanese adopted an insidious policy of preferential treatment towards Indians in order to capitalize and exploit the latter’s nationalist feelings for expansion of their military domination under the cover of a new order in East Asia. The Japanese employed Indians working in Malaya as Fifth Columnists.

The 19 men landed in India in three groups: While one group got off a Japanese submarine and arrived in two rubber boats at Tanur on the Malabar coast on the night of September 27,1942, another group comprising three men arrived in two rubber boats at Okhamadi village on the Kathiawar coast two days later. The rest entered India by land. However, some of the members were picked up the British military following suspicion and, subsequently, the cover was blown away.

While the five were convicted as they maintained they had arrived in India to gain independence, the rest were acquitted as they claimed they came to escape from the Japanese. The five martyrs included a muslim, a christian, two hindus and a sikh.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Bangalore News / TNN / May 03rd, 2017

Get ready for a musical experience

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All, World Opinion

IME’s Instrument Gallery, with collections from renowned musicians and music connoisseurs, will soon open its doors to the public

There are over 300 instruments native to India and more than 120 regional forms of music. Such nuggets of information will soon be available on touchscreen and computer-based interactive installations in the three-storey Centre for Indian Music Experience (IME). Spread over 50,000 sq. ft, the IME is expected to be ready later this year. It is located on a 2-acre property within the Brigade Millennium Enclave in J.P. Nagar.

“The Instrument Gallery will house items donated by renowned musicians and their families, and connoisseurs. Their generosity is touching,” said Manasi Prasad, project director, IME. The gallery will house 250 instruments, of which 108 will be part of the permanent collection.

Music as a shared experience

In September 2014, the family of Ustad Bismillah Khan donated one of his shehnais to the IME. Although giving away the family’s treasure was a heart-breaking moment, the maestro’s son Zamin Hussain is happy that it would become a “national treasure” once it becomes a part of the ‘Bharath Ratna Memorabilia’.

Later, the IME received Pandit Bhimsen Joshi’s silver paan box.

“Vocalist Sudha Raghunathan donated one of her antique tamburas, as she felt IME will help people re-discover Indian genres of music, both traditional and contemporary,” said Suma Sudhindra, director, Outreach, IME.

Chitraveena Ravikiran donated one of his gottuvadhyas so that people can see, feel and understand the instrument. “I have seen my father making this instrument at home. The Instrument Gallery will also be a tribute to the makers. Gottuvadhya’s history goes back a few centuries. It is mentioned in Bharata’s Natya Shastra by the name Maha Nataka Veena with 21 strings,” said Mr. Ravikiran.

Other valuable contributions include Bickram Ghosh’s tabla, B. Rajashekar’s three morsings, B.R. Ravikumar’s ghata and Palanivel’s nagaswara.

Memorabilia from Carnatic vocalist late M.S. Subbulakshmi, sitar maestro Ravi Shankar and singer Lata Mangeshkar are expected to reach IME soon.

“String instruments from Rajasthan, percussion pieces from Kerala and veena varieties such as the Bobbili, Tanjore and Mysore are part of our collection,” said Ms. Sudhindra, who has donated her Mysore veena. Non-Indian instruments, such as the clarinet, saxophone and mandolin, which are now integral to Indian music, will also be showcased.

The rare collection

“We have 28 instruments in the classical section and nearly 80 in the folk section of our permanent exhibits,” said Ms. Sudhindra.

Rare instruments include the Nagphani (wind instrument) from Bengal used in Garhwali folk; Gopi that preceded the Ektara used in Baul music; the deep resonators from Rajasthan Tarpi and Bankia; the stringed tribal folk Jogiya Sarangi; the stringed Surinda from Rajasthan; Timila from Kerala; Hudak from Bengal; Taus and the Mayur veena from Uttar Pradesh.

Bengaluru’s percussionist Anoor Anantha Krishna Sharma has donated four instruments, including a Thavil, Manipur Pung and a mridanga.

Vikram Sampath, who has written books on music, said, “IME will definitely enter the tourism map of Bengaluru. Foreigners will be surprised to see the different existing forms of music outside of Bollywood.”

First interactive music museum

The IME is touted as South Asia’s first interactive music museum. It is a ₹50-crore initiative designed by Gallagher & Associates who also worked on the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles and the Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle, and are familiar with the Indian aural culture.

IME will have 11 thematic spaces, including a sound garden, learning spaces, tribute to classical schools (some of them demonstrated by musicians Ranjani, Gayathri, and Ravikiran), folk traditions and several computer-based installations that allow visitors to experience the process of making music, including recording.

The contemporary section will have an autorickshaw in which people can sit and listen to individual bands. Melting Pot will showcase an amalgam of Indian and foreign melodies on touchscreen, including military bands patronised by the maharajas, which had a great influence on the army; shaadi (marriage) and jazz bands.

“The entire effort transcends the idea of IME being a mere artefact-driven museum,” said Ms. Prasad.

Listening to lore

Visitors are likely to enjoy the fascinating stories that accompany rare instruments. Take the case of the Surbahar whose predecessor is the Rudra Veena. Maestro Omrao Khan Beenkar is believed to have designed the Surbahar after being denied music lessons on the Rudra Veena. Over time, the Rudra Veena started to see a decline, as Dhrupad is said to have been easier on the Surbahar.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / by Ranjani Govind / Bengaluru – April 29th, 2017