The Pathfinder is here — over 5 kilos of love for Indian art Wednesday, Apr 24, 2013, 7:28 IST | Place: Mumbai | Agency: DNA Yogesh Pawar
The Vikram Sethism warning how Suitable Boy could “strain your purse and sprain your wrists”, could very well apply to Pancham Nishad’s latest — Pathfinders — A journey through art and culture over 60 years of the Indian Republic — considering this 460-pager-Rs6,000 hardback weighs a humongous 5.1 kg! With six segments on music, visual arts, dance, theatre, literature and cinema, the mammoth treatise, which is being brought out on the occasion of World Book Day, features 150 artistes across segments researched and chosen based on their unique contribution that shaped India’s cultural scenario. With percussionist Ustad Zakir Hussain, santoor maestro Satish Vyas and kathak exponent Archana Joglekar on its advisory board, Pancham Nishad has been dedicated to promoting Indian classical music and culture for over 12 years. But why a book? “Why not?” asks the director of Pancham Nishad, Shashi Vyas. “Just think of how much poorer we’d be, culturally and artistically, as a nation without some of these leading legends.” Those left out are not amused and there has been criticism. Actor and filmmaker Amol Palekar, while praising the edifying treatise for being aesthetically enriching, said, “I hope many personalities who shouldn’t have been missed out from each category will be included in later editions.” It is something that Vyas himself admits to heartburn over. “Tempestuous arguments between Devina Dutt, Mukta Rajadhyaksha and I ensued over the year we worked on the book over the list of those featured,” he said. “I feel bad about leaving out leading artistes Vasudev Gaitonde and NS Bendre. As we were working on Bollywood alone, some brilliant maestros, such as Illayaraja and AR Rahman, have been left out too. But we were working with a limitation of 25 per segment.” He added, “We’ll ensure that the sequel makes amends.” Till then Vyas can let appreciation for his labour of love soak in. Leading theatre personality Vijaya Mehta said, “A book of this nature and scope about significance of performing and visual arts in India, as reflected in the work of leading artistes, was long overdue.” Others like leading classical vocalist Pandit Jasraj too have praised it for highlighting pinnacles where Indian culture has reached. “But this is something that I’ve come to expect of any Pancham Nishad venture.” Vocalist duo Rajan and Sajan Mishra too echo this sentiment and have called Pathfinders historic. “To bring together valuable information across segments of Indian arts and culture on a single platform, that too keeping the integrity of the content, deserves a rousing applause,” they said. http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/1826293/report-the-pathfinder-is-here-and-mdash-over-5-kilos-of-love-for-indian-art ~Avelino
