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The Sacred Scriptures of Monikut Release in NCPA Mumbai. |
She might have lived in Assam only
while pursuing Bachelor of Arts from Cotton Collage but Kalpana Patowary still
remains rooted to the core.
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The Sacred Scriptures of Monikut. |
The GANDI BAAT fame singer released her
Magnum Opus musical documented album “The Sacred Scriptures of Monikut” –
Brajavali Hymns (Times Music) in the 3rd edition of the Sankaradeva Movement in NCPA Mumbai on 18th
May 2014 organized by Trend MMS amidst the presence of music maestros Ashwini Bhide Deshpande, Pritam, Lalit Pandit, Anup Jalota, Hariharan, Gulzar Saab, Imtiaz Ali, Hariharan,
Pritam, Shantanu Moitra, Resul Pookutty Zubeen Garg, Kalpana
Lazmi,Victor Banerjee, Adil Hussain.
Hari Haran |
The album “The Sacred Scriptures of Monikut” is about the reformer,
wandering philosopher, saint and poet Mahapurush Srimanta Shankardeva and his
disciple Mahapurush Srimanta Madhavdeva from Assam in collaboration for the
first time with Trilok Gurtu(Germany) - master of Indian percussion and Western
drumming who plays a unique hybrid East-West drum set up @Guru Rewben Mashangva
- Father of Naga folk blues @PAPON Angarag Mahanta and Zubeen Garg.
The idea behind “The Sacred Scriptures of Monikut” is as Kalpana refers…from where do I belong geographically, my mother tongue,
my motherland….ASSAM owes me and as an artiste I have to pay back HER labor pain
dues. SHE brought me up, infused traditional values, matures me up to face the
outside world with dignity….the journey from Sorbhog, Barpeta to mayanagri
Mumbai and then as the BHOJPURI QUEEN to rule the hearts of the heartland of
India-Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.“The Sacred Scriptures of Monikut” is an Anjali(offering) from Kalpana to Assam.Now I had to choose from where to start…there were so much of elements.Various
dimensions in my singing genre, from rural folk to raunchy commercial category,
from Indian classical to western jazzy blues, I explored every kind in 26
different languages. My father Bipin Patowary as my Guru, taught me our folk
traditions and my mother Joymati Patowary infused into me our rich spiritual singing
legacies. I opted my mother as the origin of everything I believe is the mother.
My mother used and still sings THE SACRED HYMNS-THE KIRTANA GHOSHA AND THE NAAM
GHOSHA…in Brajavali language-the scriptural language of Assam.In fifteenth century India,when the entire country was in
a midst of a great social quandary, when Tantricism in its naked form
accompanied by animal sacrifices and other vices got the upper hand,when
casteism was dominant and a bulk of the population was treated as outcast and untouchables,
when the all-pervading God was locked inside the temple,at that critical moment of religious crisis,
many Saints arose in different parts of the country.Ramananda,Ravidas,Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu, Vallabhacharya, Surdas, Meera Bai, Kabir, Tulsidas, Namdev,
Dnyaneshwar, Tukaram, Annamacharya,Bhadrachala Ramadas, Tyagaraja were some of them who started a reforming
movement. The Bhakti movement, a Hindu religious movement of the medieval
period that promoted the belief that salvation was attainable by everyone.
In the
easternmost part of the country this reforming movement was initiated by an
Assamese polymath: a saint-scholar, poet, playwright, social-religious reformer
and a colossal figure in the cultural and religious history of Assam, Srimanta
Sankardeva . His Bhakti derived inspiration from Bhagavata-purana and the
practice of its teaching blossomed in the north eastern region of India through
his literary works.The media of both music and drama were powerfully employed
to win over the people to the teachings of the Bhagavata and, through its
numerous narratives, love and devotion for the One Supreme God were instilled
in the hearts of the people. His magnum opus is The Kirtana-Ghosha, a bhakti
kavya per excellence, a work so popular that even today it is found in nearly
every household in Assam. It contains narrative verses glorifying Krishna , not
considered to be an incarnation of God but as the primary cause of all
incarnations. If Sri Sankardeva’s the Kirtana-Ghosa is held in high esteem and respect as the
main scripture by the Vaisnavites of Assam then The Naam Ghosa, composed by his
principal disciple Srimanta Madhavdeva also
holds a very unique place in the devotional literature of Assam.
Madhavdeva , a genius poet, an erudite scholar, a musician of excellence, a
litterateur of highly creative faculty and one of the initiators of Bhakti
movement was asked by Sankaradeva to write a work that would be sweet as the
plum but hard as the seed within it. This is the most perfect description of
the Nām Ghosā which is such excellent poetry and at the same time such nice
exposition of the philosophy of Vaisnavism as preached by Sankaradeva. It is
the magnanimous achievement of Mahapurush Madhavdeva’s life where he dealt with
the most prudential philosophy of Vedas and Vedantas.
Anup Jalota |
The Sacred Scriptures of
Monikut is an
album that everyone with a love for gentle Assam should listen to. More
importantly, though, this marks the emergence of a singer with a unique style
for whom big things should be expected. There’s an appealing timelessness to
these songs that demonstrates Kalpana’s willingness to stay true to her musical
approach regardless of current musical fads.
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Aadil Hussain,Amrit Pritam,DJ Phukhan,Jatin Sharma, Pritam,Kalpana Patowary,Zubeen Garg,Lalit Sen,Anup Jalota, Kalpana Lazmi,Reputed Vaishnavite scholar Dr Sunil Kothari, Debojit Chanmai. |
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