Post by Ed on Jul 20, 2019 15:44:37 GMT -6
Some time ago I downloaded an album of two tracks by a Pt. Gaur Goswami and Steve Gorn, I guess in part because the name attracted me, but I had forgotten until a few days ago when I was trying to get rid of an annoying tune that was stuck in my head during japa, I put it on to see if it’d help and it did. I didn’t know anything about the musicians so I tried to found out a little more. Here’s what the description in this video says at the beginning about Pt. Gaur Goswami:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Kt0G_POsMM
Steve Gorn became his student, here’s how he recounts their first meeting:
The Guru of Pt. Gaur Goswami was Pt. Pannalal Ghosh, as his wikipage says: He is credited with popularizing the flute as a concert instrument in Hindustani classical music and also the "Pioneer of Indian Classical Flute”. I found out that he took diksa from a disciple of Vivekananda Swami (Swami Birajananda) and was a devout follower of Sri Ramakrsna Paramahamsa, he eventually became a resident with his family in their quarters and practically became a monk.
According to one bio:
His wikipage also mentions:
Here’s a video of Pt. Pannalal Ghosh in action:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBiaryx9k5A
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Kt0G_POsMM
“He was born on 4th july in 1922 at his maternal house at Kalighat. He was the 4th child of his mother late Saraju Devi and his father late Pandit Bireswar Goswami. His family is known as famous 'Simuliya Goswami Parivaar',direct descendent of 'Sri Sri Nityananda Mahaprabhu'.
Pandit Balai Chand Goswami, Grand father, was renowned Sanskrit pandit and Writer of so many religious books-and explainer of 'Srimat Bhagbat Geeta', Upnishad. Pandit Bireswar was also involved himself in Sanskrit literature.
Pandit Balai Chand was friend, dearest one and co-operator of 'Kavi guru Rabindranath Thakur'. Born in such an auspicious religious and cultural family-Gour was influenced in Prem and Bhakti of Vaishnaba cult”.
Pandit Balai Chand Goswami, Grand father, was renowned Sanskrit pandit and Writer of so many religious books-and explainer of 'Srimat Bhagbat Geeta', Upnishad. Pandit Bireswar was also involved himself in Sanskrit literature.
Pandit Balai Chand was friend, dearest one and co-operator of 'Kavi guru Rabindranath Thakur'. Born in such an auspicious religious and cultural family-Gour was influenced in Prem and Bhakti of Vaishnaba cult”.
Steve Gorn became his student, here’s how he recounts their first meeting:
“We went to Hedwa in North Calcutta, passing through narrow lanes lined with sweet shops, tea stands and sari merchants. Bells were ringing from small neighborhood temples and the air was thick and pungent with everything from sandalwood incense to cow dung. We were directed to a doorway that led along a corridor into a small courtyard. A servant motioned to a room on the south end of the courtyard and we entered the stone compound.
Seated on the floor, in a circle, were six men all dressed in white. In the center of the circle was a robust middle-aged man, his feet tucked under his dhoti, his lips red from the betel-nut he was chewing. A cup of tea was at his side and a harmonium and flute case lay on the floor before him. This was the teacher I had heard so much about.
I was introduced in Bengali (although I learned later that these men spoke fluent English) and they proceeded to talk about me at length in a language I couldn’t understand. I stood there, grinning awkwardly, being discussed as if I were a specimen from Mars. Finally, the master looked at my flute case and said, “So, let me see your flute.” I took it out and gave it to him. He looked at it, shrugging his shoulders, “It’s not very good,” he said, “it’s not made right.” I started to say something but he continued, “Who did you learn from?” When I told him he let me know that I had learned from an insignificant person.
I was becoming annoyed at being so readily dismissed. I wanted to play for him and show him what I knew, but they continued to sip their tea, conversing endlessly in Bengali. Finally, they asked me to play a raga for them. I was very nervous by then but managed to play. When I finished, Gour Goswami said, “You have a good sense for this music, but you have not been taught properly.” He then took out his flute and played for me. The tone was deep, warm and velvety, utterly weightless. The raga unfolded and time stopped. It was breathtaking as the passages came faster and faster, ending in a flourish of cascading sound that reverberated through the stone room. And then it was over and everyone was once again drinking tea. I just sat there, stunned. I looked at him and stuttered, “May I come back?” He smiled and said, “Yes.”
Seated on the floor, in a circle, were six men all dressed in white. In the center of the circle was a robust middle-aged man, his feet tucked under his dhoti, his lips red from the betel-nut he was chewing. A cup of tea was at his side and a harmonium and flute case lay on the floor before him. This was the teacher I had heard so much about.
I was introduced in Bengali (although I learned later that these men spoke fluent English) and they proceeded to talk about me at length in a language I couldn’t understand. I stood there, grinning awkwardly, being discussed as if I were a specimen from Mars. Finally, the master looked at my flute case and said, “So, let me see your flute.” I took it out and gave it to him. He looked at it, shrugging his shoulders, “It’s not very good,” he said, “it’s not made right.” I started to say something but he continued, “Who did you learn from?” When I told him he let me know that I had learned from an insignificant person.
I was becoming annoyed at being so readily dismissed. I wanted to play for him and show him what I knew, but they continued to sip their tea, conversing endlessly in Bengali. Finally, they asked me to play a raga for them. I was very nervous by then but managed to play. When I finished, Gour Goswami said, “You have a good sense for this music, but you have not been taught properly.” He then took out his flute and played for me. The tone was deep, warm and velvety, utterly weightless. The raga unfolded and time stopped. It was breathtaking as the passages came faster and faster, ending in a flourish of cascading sound that reverberated through the stone room. And then it was over and everyone was once again drinking tea. I just sat there, stunned. I looked at him and stuttered, “May I come back?” He smiled and said, “Yes.”
The Guru of Pt. Gaur Goswami was Pt. Pannalal Ghosh, as his wikipage says: He is credited with popularizing the flute as a concert instrument in Hindustani classical music and also the "Pioneer of Indian Classical Flute”. I found out that he took diksa from a disciple of Vivekananda Swami (Swami Birajananda) and was a devout follower of Sri Ramakrsna Paramahamsa, he eventually became a resident with his family in their quarters and practically became a monk.
According to one bio:
"He was an affectionate person and a man of few words. Despite financial crunches, he adopted and supported several orphaned, poor and needy persons in his home, and treated them like his own family members. Because of his down to earth and helpful nature, he always remained popular amongst the connoisseurs of music and endeared all the senior musicians as well"
His wikipage also mentions:
"Two apocryphal incidents in his childhood are believed to have influenced Ghosh in taking up the flute. As a child he had picked up a small flute that cowherds usually played, and on the basis of the education he was receiving on the sitar from his father, he would try to play musical patterns on the flute. The family’s ancestral house was on the banks of the Kirtankhola river. At the age of nine, while swimming in the river one day, Ghosh found a long bamboo stick that was half-flute and half walking stick. The flute part of the stick was longer than a traditional flute and Ghosh started practising on it. Then at the age of eleven, Ghosh is said to have met a holy man who held a conch and a flute and asked if he could play the flute. When Ghosh obliged, the man blessed him and said that music would be his salvation"
Here’s a video of Pt. Pannalal Ghosh in action:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBiaryx9k5A