The great sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar passed away on Dec.11th at the age of 92. His name is synonymous with the Indian classical instrument sitar. It was Ravi Shankar who put Indian classical music in the world map. He was the first Indian musician to regularly perform at the world stage. His collaborations with other great musicians are legendary - esp. association with The Beatles and his friendship with George Harrison. He also have won three Grammy awards.
Apart from being a great sitar solo performer, Ravi Shankar was also a reputed composer. His famous works include Satyajit Ray's debut film Pather Panchali(1955) and Richard Attenborough'sGandhi(1982). His daughter Anoushka Shankar also achieved fame as a sitar player. Another daughter (by American wife) is none other than the renowned jazz singer Nora Jones (of Come away with me fame.)Like many famous artists and musicians of India, Pandit Ravi Shankar also belongs to the land rich in arts & culture - Bengal.
ga ga re pakhi ga..[2006 Bengali]
(sing sing o' bird sing...) singer : Shreya Ghoshal music : Salil Chowdhury lyrics : Salil Chowdhury
This is the kind of song only a classicaly trained singer can sing correctly. The prodigy-turned-diva Shreya Ghoshal sings it with ease and perfection - even better than the original! If only Salilda was alive to hear this brilliant tribute !
I am a big fan the cute & talented Shreya but I've not been a big fan of cover-versions. Yet after listening to Shreya's cover of various old-hits, I've changed my mind. Indeed, if the singers and musicians can do full justice to the original, then cover-versions are delight to hear.
Just imagine Shreya Ghoshal covering all those Golden-hits of yesteryears - mostly sung by Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Geeta Dutt and others - I'm sure they will sell like hot-cakes ! Alas, nothing much can be expected from the current crop of music-makers to fully utilize the talent of Shreya. So she often had to content with songs like Oh la la...You are my fantasy !
In this time of 'mass production' of singers & musicians (due to the onslaught of Realty music-shows) there are still a few precious gems in the vast sea of mediocrity. Certainly, Shreya Ghoshal is currently one of the best female singers in the world ! While listening to her divine, God-gifted talent, you feel as if ever since she's born, she did nothing else but sing, sing and sing !
