Letters to the Editor: With folk and flute

With folk and flute

Years of rigorous training, hard work, and dedication have made a village boy an accomplished and renowned folk and classical musician today. He is none other than Sashindra Sarma of Guwahati, who started his music career in a tiny village called Batabari near Pothorughat in the Darrang district. A radio and Doordarshan artiste, Sashindra Sarma has completed four decades of musical journey this year since his approval as regular artiste in 1984 by AIR Guwahati for which the villagers and admirers feel proud of him. He is the only B High Grade artiste in classical music (flute) and a folk artiste so far the village has produced. A group of energetic youths like Sashindra Sarma once kept the village vibrant and melodious. Sashindra Sarma left the village for livelihood and for pursuing cultural endeavour in Guwahati. By dint of his labour and perseverance he has reached such a height in his chosen fields in due course of time. He can be an ideal person for the new generation.

Born to Gopeswar Sarma and Nana Devi, a cultured couple from the village of Batabari in Darrang district in 1960, Sashindra Sarma began singing as a child artiste on the floor of Batabari Milan Moina Parijat. He was attracted to flute playing from his very childhood. Singing songs and playing the flute became his hobbies, and he gradually developed a special interest in Kamrupi Lokgeet. In school and college functions, he used to sing Lokgeets and other songs and received appreciation from his teachers and friends. Sashindra Sarma came into contact with legendary Kamrupi Lokgeet singer Rameswar Pathak in 1974 and was greatly influenced by the master artiste. Rameswar Pathak, while teaching the folk genre to him, saw something in Sashindra Sarma as a flute player and sent him to renowned flautist Prabhat Sarma. Prabhat Sarma imparted training on flute playing for some time. During that period, he was blessed to have close contact with Dr. Bhupen Hazarika.

A commerce graduate, Sashindra Sarma received recognition as a regular artiste of AIR, Guwahati, in 1984 and became a Kamrupi Lokgeet singer. He sang a number of Lokgeets, and those were broadcast by AIR, Guwahati. The listeners got to hear those songs on the radio and appreciated him for his sweet voice and style of singing. It was Sashindra Sarma who was given the first programme on Kamrupi Lokgeet by Doordarshan Kendra, Guwahati, in 1987. That programme was done under the care of music director Sankar Das at the Panbazar temporary centre of Doordarshan Kendra, Guwahati. Later, Sashindra Sarma performed many programmes there and became well known for singing to the lovers of Kamrupi folk songs.

When the era of audio cassettes began, Sashindra Sarma released his lone audio cassette of Kamrupi lokgeet, titled “Jugal Kanu” in 1990 which hit the market. The music direction of the audio cassette was done by Prabhat Sarma and Joyhari Das. The title song was popular and was appreciated by one and all.

Sashindra Sarma started to devote himself to flute playing. For classical flute, he took higher training under the internationally renowned classical flautist of Kolkata, Pranab Kumar Mukharjee, for ten years, starting in 1987. He was approved as a temporary light classical (flute) artiste at the AIR station in Guwahati in 1998. Sashindra Sarma carried out his studies under the supervision of the famous classical flute teacher of Assam, Bhaben Roy Patgiri, and earned the degree of Nipun with distinction in 2009. In 2017, Sarma took higher training again on classical (flute) music in Delhi under Rajendra Prasannadeb, an internationally famous classical flautist. He had been an active member of Panchajanya Sangkhadhwani Xur Xamaloy, which used to travel and have shows from 1986 to 1992 across the state.

Another major work accomplished by Sashindra Sarma for the promotion of classical music in the state was his arrangement of a national-level event in Guwahati. On his own initiative, a national-level classical music festival was held at Rabindra Bhawan, Guwahati, on March 26, 1994, for the whole night. Under the banner of his organisation "Swargam,” Sashindra Sarma arranged the aesthetic programme for the audience of the North-East. The event was successful, and the lovers of classical music appreciated Sarma for his planning and hard work in promoting classical music in this region. A galaxy of classical artistes of national and international reputation joined the event and made it ever more memorable. Following were the artistes from Kolkata in the event: Pranab Kumar Mukharjee (flute), Srikant Bakre (vocal), Surranjan Mukharjee (sarod), and Soumitra Paul (tabla). The classical artistes who joined it from Assam were Paban Bordoloi (tabla), Bidyut Mishra (behala), Prabhat Sarma (flute), Debajit Roy (vocal), and Manjulika Hazarika (vocal).

Sashindra Sarma has already performed classical (flute) programmes for the promotion of the same in and outside the state. These include Haridwar (UP), Kalabhavan (Manipur), Hooghly (WB), etc. Presently, he is keeping himself busy with research work and with some city-based music colleges. Many students are learning classical (flute) lessons under Sashindra Sarma. A book on Hindustani and Carnatic classical (flute) music is being compiled by him, and another research project on the blending of folk, Xatriya, and western music is in progress. The people of Darrang and the state as a whole would expect more from the senior artiste in the fields of folk and flute.

Kulendra Nath Deka,

Batabari, Darrang

Reward for loyalty

Minister of State for Jal Shakti and Railways, V Somanna's loyalty towards the BJP high command has paid him rich dividends. The party leader from Karnataka has been a member of three major political parties in the state: the undivided Janata Dal, the Congress, and now the BJP, and he has been a minister in the governments of all three parties. In the 2023 Karnataka Assembly elections, the 73-year-old leader followed the orders of Amit Shah to contest in two inimical constituencies, one being the stranglehold of the present Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. Though Somanna lost in both the top party leadership always nurtured a soft corner towards the man that resulted in a party ticket for him from Tumakuru in the general elections.

Somanna didn't disappoint the high command this time around; he won by a handsome margin. During the assembly election campaign, Amit Shah was openly heard praising Somanna's simplicity and hard work, and promising him to become a minister. And he has kept his word. Also the party bigwigs seem to have snubbed state stalwart BS Yediyurappa who was reportedly pitching for his son or loyalists as ministers. Somanna had nothing kind to say against BSY's son BY Vijayendra when the latter was appointed the state BJP chief.  Low-profile leaders like V Somanna are, therefore, in with a chance to prove themselves at the Centre.

Dr. Ganapathi Bhat

(gbhat13@gmail.com)