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Speaking

Question I:

Imagine the famous singer Kishori Amonkar is going to visit your school. You have been asked to introduce her to the audience before her performance. How would you introduce her?

Here is some information about Kishori Amon kar you can find on the Internet. Read the passage and make notes of the main points about:

•        her parentage

•        the school of music she belongs to

•        her achievemen ts

•        her inspiration

•        awards

Padma Bhushan Kishori Amonka r, widely considered the finest female vocalist of her generation, was born in 1931, daughter of another great artist, Smt. Mogubai Kurdikar. In her early years she absorbed the approach and repertoire of her distinguished mother's teacher Ustad Alladiya Khan. As her own style developed, however, she moved away from Alladiya Khan's 'Jaipu r­ Atrauli gharana' style in some respects, and as a mature artist her approach is usually regarded as an individual, if not unique, variant of the Jaipur model.

Kishori Amonka r is a thinker, besotted by what she calls the mysterious world of her raagas.

She dissects them with the precision of a perfectionist, almost like a scientist, until the most subtle of shades and emotions emerge and re-emerge.

She is very much inspired by the teachings of the ancient Vedic sages, written at a time when vocal music was highly devotional in character. This soul searching quality of her music, coupled with a very intellectual approach to raaga performance has gained her quite a following in India and has helped to revive the study of khayal.

Significant awards bestowed on this artist include the Sangeet Nata k Akademi Award (1985), the Padma Bhushan (1987), and the highly coveted Sangeet Samradhini Award (considered one of the most prestigi ous awards in Indian Classical Music) in 1997.

Answer I:

Kishori Amonkar was daughter of another great artist, Smt. Mogubai Kurdikar. In her early years she absorbed the approach and repertoire of her distinguished mother's teacher Ustad Alladiya Khan. As her own style developed, however, she moved away from Alladiya Khan's 'J aipur­ Atrauli gharana' style in some respects, and as a mature artist her approach is usually regarded as an individual, if not uniqu e, variant of the Jaipur m odel.

She is very much inspired by the teachings of the ancient Vedic sages, written at a time when vocal music was highly devotional in character. This soul searching quality of her music has helped to revive the study of khayal. She was honou red by my awards like the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1985), the Padma Bhushan (1987), and the highly coveted Sangeet Samradhini Award (considered one of the most prestigious awards in Indian Classical Music) in 1997.

Question II:

Use your notes on Kishori Amonka r to introduce her to an imaginary audience. You may use one of the following phrases to introduce a guest:

I am honou red to introduce.../!feel privileged to introduce.../We welcome you...

Answer II:

My dear friends,

I am hon oured to introduce to you a great singer Padma Bhushan Kishori Amonkar. As you know, she is the daughter of distinguished classical singer Morgubal Kurdikar. She was born  in 1931 and started learning classical music from her mother's guru Ustad Alladiya Khan at an early age. But as her style matured she moved to Jaipur-Atrauli Gharana and developed her own individual  style. She revived  the 'khayal'.

She is inspired by the teachings of the ancient sages of India and listening to her 'khayal' is a spiritual experience. She was honoured by so many awards. She received the Sangeet Nata k Akad mi Award in 1985, Padma Bhushan in 1987 and the most prestigious Sangeet Samradhini Award in 1997.

Writing

 Question: I

1.     "If you work hard and know where you're going, you'll get there," says Evelyn Glennie.

2.     You have now read about two musicians, Evelyn Glennie and Ustad Bismillah Khan. Do you think that they both worked hard? Where did they want to 'go'?

Answer these questions in two paragraphs, one on each of the two musicians.

Answer: I

The facts about two musicia ns:

1.     Ustad Bismillah Khan : Ustad Bismi llah Khan is a famous player of shehnai. He was taught playing shehnai by his uncle Ali Bux. He sat beside him captiva ted for hours. His favourite haunt for music was temple of Balaji and Mangla Maiya. He invented 'raagas' by inspiring the flowing water of Ganga. He was the first Indian who welcomed the nation on the first Independence Day. He participated in the films also. He was  awarded the highest Indian Civilian Award, The Bharat Ratna. He has become a worldly musician of shehnai playing. Thus, he reached where he wanted to go.

2.     Evelyn Glennie: Evelyn Glennie was a determined as well as strong willed girl. She worked hard to learn the music, she liked most. She took drum for tuning and tried to realise the sounds through some other ways. She accepted the challenge and auditioned for the Royal Academy of Music in London. Scoring the highest marks, she captured top awards. She became a world know percussionist. Thus, she reached where she wanted to go.