I look simple but I am intricate and demanding.

I call for diligence, for a method and appropriate measures failing which I cannot deliver melody. The positioning of the finger holes is calculated by measuring the bamboo shaft’s inner and outer diameters.

There is a formula in creating me. It is a special skill and this has to be intuitive, it cannot be taught or mentored.

The biggest challenge in structuring me is that I don’t give my creator a second chance. The flute maker has only one chance to burn my holes and a single mistake in calculation will ruin me forever.  He knows this and is careful to initiate a small hole, he then plays the note using a chromatic tuner and a drone called tanpura and gradually, bit by bit, with focused trial and adjustments, he invents a melody by sanding the holes in small increments.

My book Keshava: A Magnificent Obsession is now listed on Amazon. To order click here: https://amzn.to/2vogOtk

To be continued

@bhawanasomaaya

Some say I originated from South Asia and was identified as a musical instrument associated with the cowherds and the pastoral tradition.

I am linked to the legendary love story of Lord Krishna and Radha and also depicted in Buddhist paintings from around 100 CE.

The present generation knows me through skilled artistes who have mastered me and are custodians of music generated through me.

There are innumerable stories connected to my melody, innumerable stories of the effect it had on the Braj bhoomi, the villagers, the animals, birds, and the insects of Vrindavan.

It is said that I originated from the Sanskrit word bans – meaning bamboo and sur – meaning melody. While everyone has one family, I have two types of families: transverse and fipple.

The transverse or side-blown bamboo flute is from northern India. It is one of the world’s most ancient instruments, having existed in more or less in its current form for about 4,000 years.

My book Keshava: A Magnificent Obsession is now listed on Amazon. To order click here: https://amzn.to/2vogOtk

To be continued

@bhawanasomaaya

I was discovered amidst nature, created from a bamboo, and nourished in natural surroundings.

That is why every time I open my heart to express, flowers bloom, birds sing, and the skyline changes colours.

Legend has it that Lord Krishna would stroll every evening into the forest to communicate with the trees. He loved them and never failed to express his affection to all the branches and all the leaves. The trees adored him and every time he walked into the forest, they blossomed in his presence.

“The secret perhaps is in submission…If you submit to the sound of the flute, to the Lord, you’ll be drawn into the fragrance of the melody and maybe then, you will not find me invasive…”

In his discourse to his devotees, Sri Krishna emphasises the importance of the flute and draws similarities with human life. He explains that in the human body as in the flute, there are eight main spots: The five organs of perception, mind, intellect, and ego.

If you get rid of your ego and become like a hollow reed flute, then the Lord will come to you, pick you up, place you on his lips, and breathe through you… Then out of the hollowness of your heart he will create a captivating melody and consume you in his fragrance for eternity.

My book Keshava: A Magnificent Obsession is now listed on Amazon. To order click here: https://amzn.to/2vogOtk

To be continued

@bhawanasomaaya

I am melody.

I am tranquillity.

I am ancient, I am organic and I’m the oldest among the earliest musical instruments discovered by mankind and therefore associated with Satyug and the deities.

There is mention of me in the Puranas and mention of me in the scriptures written thousands of years ago.

I am the mode of communication between Lord Krishna and his beloved Radha Rani. I am also the bone of contention between them and the reason of anxiety for Krishna’s gopikas. They are all envious of me and often complain to their Lord about me.

My Lord is aware of their resentment towards me and also their attraction for me. Everyone obsessed with Kaanha nurses mixed emotions towards me because I am where they desire to be.

I understand their hostility.

My book Keshava: A Magnificent Obsession is now listed on Amazon. To order click here: https://amzn.to/2vogOtk

To be continued

@bhawanasomaaya

Gripping till the end

Film: Parmanu: The Story of Pokhran

Release: 25.05.2018

Director: Abhishek Sharma

Writers: Saiwyn Quadras, Sanyuktha Chawla Sheikh, Abhishek Sharma

Cast: John Abraham, Diana Penty, Boman Irani

Music: Sachin-Jigar, Jeet Gannguli

The film opens with an amateur discussion in PMO office about China testing its 43rd nuclear bomb and a junior bureaucrat, Ashwat Rana/ John Abraham says it is time for India to get even with the neighbor countries and do their own tests.

Nobody pays heed to Ashwat and one of them uses his floppy as a coaster to hold his tea cup.

Post the meeting, Ashwat’s senior coaxes him to prepare a brief report on his master plan and he will share it with the Prime Minister. He does but the plan is executed without Ashwat’s involvement and fails! Ashwat becomes the scapegoat and is terminated from the job.

He now lives in Mussoori and works as a private tuition teacher from home until opportunity knocks his door again in the form of Himanshu Shukla, principle secretary to the Prime Minister.

Rai wants Ashwat to lead Pokhran 2 and this time Ashwat leads the operation like a Kurukshetra warrior with his able team of Pandavas.

What goes against the film are some exaggerations, some creative liberties and some facts distorted but all this can be overlooked because the tension is gripping and has you at the edge of  your seat.

What works for the film is the taut screenplay, crisp editing, the treatment, the pace, refreshing music and cinematography capturing a sand storm.

As always Boman Irani is the soul of the film in yet another sizzling performance.

I salute the producers of the film for choosing Pokhran 2 as their subject and bow to my country for its courage in face of adversity.

I rate Parmanu: The Story of Pokhran with 4 stars.

I am connected to the moon; I am connected to the clouds, to the rains….Nobody clearly remembers how I came into existence many, many centuries ago but there are many fascinating tales.

I am told I was the vehicle of Lord Kartikeya, the God of war. I am told that Kartikeya split the demon king, Surapadman into two and converted the two parts into an integral part of him, one manifesting into a peacock, his mount, and another, a rooster adorning his flag.

In the coming yug I was transformed into the crown of Lord Krishna, an avatar of Lord Vishnu, the reason he is addressed as Mayur Pankhi. I am privileged that Lord Krishna forever wears my feather in his crown and is associated with my name, Mormukatdhari. I have never told this to him but I truly believe that my feather adds splendour to his persona. There is nobody as magnificent as him.

My book Keshava: A Magnificent Obsession is now listed on Amazon. To order click here: https://amzn.to/2vogOtk

वेणीमूले विरचित घनश्यामपिञ्छावचूडो

विद्युल्लेखावलयित इव स्निग्धपीतांबरेण।

मामालिङ्गन्मरतकमणिस्तंभगंभीरबाहुः

स्वप्ने दृष्टस्तरुणतुलसीभूषणो नीलमेघः ॥२.७॥

Next week I introduce to a new character of the book

@bhawanasomaaya

I am recognized as much for my beauty as for my vocals. I sing to attract peahens. I sing when I am mating, I sing just when I am about to mate, I sing during copulation, and I sing post mating. I sing because I like singing and because I love my voice.

I like dancing too and prance in the gardens when I am rejoicing or when I sense a climate change. I am attracted to the skyline, drawn to the clouds, and love the rains. When I dance I am joined by my friends and poets wait in the dark to watch the celebration.  That is how so many songs and verses have been written about us.

I reside in the forest amidst lush trees. I love the density and the quietude around me. I tread softly on the grass and pluck on the plants, sometimes flower petals, seed heads, insects, and whatever I find and I believe they like me to hover around them. I go searching for food at dawn or at dusk and stroll around leisurely until I am satiated and only then do I retreat to my shade and security.

My book Keshava: A Magnificent Obsession is now listed on Amazon. To order click here: https://amzn.to/2vogOtk

To be continued

@bhawanasomaaya