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Business News/ Leisure / A life in music
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A life in music

A life in music

On a good note: Anil Biswas. Courtesy Saaransh PublicationsPremium

On a good note: Anil Biswas. Courtesy Saaransh Publications

Going by the number of invitations to book launches that one receives these days, it would seem that every other Indian has taken to authoring books, publishing and launching them in style. Despite all this prolific literary activity, it does seem a pity that the stylish launches, the invitation cards, the newsletters and the publicity are largely reserved only for books written in English, and not for writing in Hindi and other Indian languages. What a pity then that some wonderful writing never gets due attention or, at best, is noticed only in some circles. Add to this the problem of sourcing and buying books in Hindi. It requires a fair amount of dedicated investigation to discover where one can buy books written in languages other than English, or even if they can be ordered online. Books on music are even more difficult to come by and perhaps that is why I missed out on acquiring a copy of Sharad Dutt’s extensively researched and brilliant biographical work on the life and music of veteran music director Anil Biswas, titled Ritu Aaye Ritu Jaaye.

On a good note: Anil Biswas. Courtesy Saaransh Publications

Also Read Shubha Mudgal’s previous Lounge columns

What draws me to the book is that despite the author’s obvious and abundant admiration and deep respect for Biswas, he does not turn him into a mythical figure with wings, or a demi-god, as often happens in books on Indian musicians. We meet Anil Biswas, the human, albeit an extraordinary one whose enormous contribution to the world of Hindi film music commands reverence and immense admiration. An added bonus that Dutt gifts to his readers is comprehensive and easy-to-refer-to lists of his work as a music director and composer, the singers he worked with, Biswas’ Bengali adaptations of his favourite Urdu poetry from the works of Hazrat Amir Khusrau, Mir Taqi Mir and others, and even translations of articles written by Biswas originally in Bengali, on themes such as the ghazal, orchestral music and music for ballets. Thank you, Mr Dutt, for sharing with us the world of Anil Biswas.

Write to Shubha at musicmatters@livemint.com

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Published: 26 May 2011, 09:07 PM IST
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