In Mallick's heart, a Musical Experience

(Left to right:Nishant Mallick, Guruma, Priyanka Mallick, Prem Kumar Mallick, Rani, Peter
Phannke, Lisa, Joel, boy in the boat; going for a bath on the Ganga riber, Allahabad.)

Just let my things in this room and asked
to hostel manager what things would be interesting for me to see here.
I was having 1 day or more by my own before meeting Prem Kumar Mallick,
so I let my own on adventure to Sangam, and the Ford. Sangam is where a
Mag Mela is taking place during one month every year: So a huge
splanade of more than 20.000 people camping there (being the bigest
camping in the world) next to the meeting point of the Yamuna and Ganga
rivers. This holy place goes on with pooja (praings to god), all day;
is a completly devotional place, full of swamis, an spiritual hinduist
seekers. There I got blessed by a Baba for a turist price, and got my
first lesson on repeating this holy words he was saying. I also got a
more extended meaning of the word Nadi (Naadi) that is a channel, but
also can be a riber, as well as the meridians (in acupunture).So
after a couple of calls Prem Kumar arrived to Allahabad, coming from a
program from Calcutta। Those days were so foggi, as usual in this
period of the year, that trains were taking big delays; so the 19th in
late afternoon. After meeting Pryanka (Prem's daughter), and Guruma
(Guruji's -Prem- wife), and Rani (studient), I let my few things in a
nice room, in Mallick's house, and took the first vocal class in
Dhrupad singing, straight away.

SA RE GA MA PA DA NI, would be
my main words in the next three week's, that I already knew. So I was
begining with this old and beautiful (and not easy) raag (indian
composition), where all the notes are sudha (natural) but MA (the
fouth) is tivra (FA#): this is an evening raag, called Yaman (belonging
to the group of Kalian thaat). In one hour I got the Alaap (that is the
part that introduces all the pitches that will appear, very slowly -it
can take 30 minutes or more). And then the composition (in Chautaal, 12
beats rithm) where, in some phrases, the devotional song is sung. Just
poetry to the ears and spirit, in a close relation of the roots of our
culture. So the learning must go, as far as I realized, in 3 diferent
directions: the music (melody and rithm), lenguage (understanding, and
pronounciating), and culture.Life became easy in this house,
very fast. Mallick's family come from a very old garana tradition (13
generation) and they love teching, and they know how to do it. Apart
from their musical knowlege from Dharganga Garana (their own family
tradition), they give us this great traditional indian food, wich
guruma is all they preparing with the help of Pryanka and some students
in the kitchen, also (like Lisa, the wife of Peter Phannke). Like in an
ashram, we share house, food, cultures and art, that is going on all
time. Just some days in the house, and I went to a recording session to
play tampura (drone string instrument for acompaniament indian
classical music) in the local radio of Allahabad, with both Mallick's
sons Nishant and Prashant.This house is more like an ashram than a
common house. Seven days a week, students of all ages are coming to
recive their lessons, from morning to late afternoon. As Guruji is
teaching in the University of Allahabad he needs to take care of the
well musical developement of them all. And also we (the students living
with them), and some family visitors, and friends that may stay for
some days. Is a 3 bed room house, one living room, one kitchen, and one
room for the music, and I might have seen 100 diferent persons here in
10 days, couning students, family, long distance visitors from all over
the world, some old students from Guruji's Father, and press.