OF DRUMS, PERCUSSION & BEATS...

OF DRUMS, PERCUSSION & BEATS...

Tabla, Dholak, Mridangam, Dhaak, Pakhwaz, Khol, Maadal, Dhamsa, Kara, Nakara, Bongo, Drums, Pads and Cymbals... the percussion instruments that add rhythm and life to music ! The use of beats -  'talas', 'maatras' & 'loykari' make the world of music complete and satisfying.

Artisans from the East and West Singbhum districts of Jharkhand (Eastern India) are mostly sons of the soil,  who use their skill & expertise to produce indigenous percussion instruments like Tabla, Dholak, Pakhwaz, Mridangam, Dhamsa, Kara and Nakara for the lovers of music. Their trained hands combined with their  musical ears produce instruments that add 'life' to music.

The artisans in the pictures below belong to a small village called Vonta near Bhadurdih (adjacent to Patamda by the lake "Dimna"), about 15 km from Jamshedpur. The pictures were taken at the "Sunday roadside marketplace" at Sakchi, Jamshedpur, India.

WHEN CARTOONS COMPLIMENT NONSENSE RHYMES !

What a way to go ! Satires in everyday life... or humor... or wit - all these elements in our daily life make us happy. And in turn, we smile or laugh ! Fair enough, but why do we burst into laughter when someone steps onto a banana peel lying on the road (well, it happens!), slips and fall flat ? He or she could be hurt or may have even broken his or her bone in that accident! We should help him/her first and not laugh at his/her fall. But, most of us do it - unfortunately! Is there any element of humor in it? Any funny element!? Let's analyse our behavior pattern ourselves and pick humor in the right perspective. After all, laughter is the best medicine !

Here are a few nonsense rhymes (with cartoons) for you to enjoy... and laugh ! Ho ho... ha ha... !

BACK AGAIN WITH DIGHA PICS...

Sorry friends. I was out of touch for 4 days due to personal reasons. Now I am back again with a breath of  fresh air from the seaside. I am posting herewith 4 pics of Digha Seabeach in West Bengal, India. They are  about fishing activities during the early morning hours. Hope, you'll enjoy these. Happy viewing...

A GEM CALLED JHARKHAND !

"One day, the fields will stay green... and the earth black, sweet and wet...our children will grow tall on that earth... our children's children..." ('Jharkhand - Castle over the graves' - by : Victor Das).

Birsa Munda (1875-1901), whose mission was to politically emancipate  the Mundas (and tribals in general) from the clutches of the British rulers through "Ulgulan" (protest) and who waged a war against the British imperialists with his tribal army and fought to realize his vision of Jharkhand (the land of forests).

Another great visionary was Jamshetji Nusserwanji Tata who dreamed of an economic liberation of that forested mineral rich area and thus erected a steel plant in Jamshedpur, where the first stake was driven into the soil of Sakchi (later Tatanagar and subsequently Jamshedpur) on 27 February 1908 . The green city, clean city and steel city of Jamshedpur is a well planned city surrounded by the Dalma hills and criss-crossed by the rivers Subarnarekha and Kharkai and a vast lake called Dimna.

Jamshedpur in Jharkhand has provided me shelter, food and peace for 32 years. It has bestowed its unconditional  love upon me and I had the opportunity to travel the micro-interiors of the state extensively. I was privileged to have interacted with the rural mass, learn their lifestyles and habits and could photograph them during different occasions.

Presenting a few pictures of the picturesque paradise with this issue/posting of my Blog. The pictures of Birsa Munda and Jamshetji Tata were not shot by me and were procured in order to complete the story. Also  some of the pictures shown here are quite old and thus not of a high quality. Happy viewing...

ANIMALS IN DAILY LIFE...

About 22-23 years ago, during the early 1990s, The Asian Cultural Centre for UNESCO (ACCU), Japan invited photographers (amateur or professional) from all over the world to submit photographs for an international competition based on the theme - "Animals in daily life". The theme attracted me much, though I didn't think it wise to participate, because I didn't have good quality pictures in my possession. 

Subsequently, I shot a few animal photographs from our everyday life and quite naturally, none of them belonged to jungles (even the monkey was a pet one). Some of the pics have become 'old', have lost much of their shine, lustre & color and are definitely not of a very high standard. 

However, I am presenting a few of them with today's posting...