Chapter 5: Tansen
Indian Classical music consists of many Ragas. Find out from an expert or the internet, the names of at least 10 Ragas, and the time when they are sung to produce a greater effect.
SOLUTION
Archaic words are those that are no longer used in a language, but sometimes their usage adds a historical or old-times flavour to a piece of writing.
Examples:
behold – look
afeared – frightened
forsooth – indeed
hither – this place
Now find out some archaic words from your mother tongue or another language that you are proficient in and write down at least ten of them, and against each, their modern equivalent and meaning in English.
SOLUTION
There are many legends about the ‘nine gems’ in Akbar’s Court. These are popular tales and they may not have a historical basis. Can you name some of the nine gems and the stories associated with them?
SOLUTION
Akbar was an ardent admirer of art and learning. His court was full of many scholars and talented artists. The Nine most learned men in his court were known as Navratnas.
Abul Fazal
Faizi Miyan
Tansen
Raja Birbal
Raja Todar Mal
Raja Man Singh
Abdul Rahim.Khan-I-Khana
Fakir Aziao-Din
Mirza Aziz Koka
Pick out Archaic words from the poem and give their modern equivalents.
SOLUTION
Who said the following, to whom, and when?
“Mighty thy Teacher must be and divine.”
SOLUTION
Akbar said this to Tansen after he heard him sing the Deepak Rag.
“He dwells within a cave of Himalaya.”
SOLUTION
Tansen replied with the above line when Akbar asked him about his teacher.
“As you desire, Huzoor.”
SOLUTION
Tansen said to Akbar when Akbar expressed a desire to visit Tansen's teacher in the Himalayas to hear him sing.
“O Holy Master, bless us with thy song !”
SOLUTION
Tansen and Akbar travelled through the mountains and kneeling before the Ostad said the above lines requesting him to sing a song for them.
"Ah no, to thee I sing: he sings to God.”
SOLUTION
Tansen said to Akbar when Akbar asked him to sing the same raga for him.
Rearrange the following in their proper order as in the poem. Write the serial number against each line:-
(a) The Ostad sang the Malkous Raga enchantingly.
(b) Akbar followed Tansen, dressed miserably.
(c) I request you to sing such a song that will I experience unmatched joy.
(d) Ostad was nowhere to be seen.
(e) O Divine Teacher, please gift us the joy of your song.
(f) One day, the singer sang Deepak Raga in the court.
(g) Akbar expressed his wish to meet the Teacher.
(h) He experienced heavenly delight.
(i) Tansen sings to please the earthly king but Ostad devotes his songs to God.
(j) She sang Raga Malhar, which had a cooling effect.
SOLUTION
(f) One day, the singer sang Deepak raga in the court.
(j) She sang Rag Malhar, which had a cooling effect.
(g) Akbar expressed his wish to meet the Teacher one.
(b) Akbar followed Tansen, dressed miserably.
(e) O Divine Teacher, please gift us the joy of your song.
(a) The Ostad sang the Malkous Raga enchantingly.
(h) He experienced a heavenly delight.
(d) Ostad was nowhere to be seen.
(c) I request you to sing such a song that I will experience unmatched joy.
(i) Tansen sings to please the earthly king but Ostad devotes his songs to God.
Write the reason in your own words.
Akbar strongly desired to hear Ostad sing.
SOLUTION
Akbar was spellbound by Tansen's Deepak Rag. He could only imagine how great his teacher would be and what heavenly joy one would experience through his songs. So Akbar strongly desired to hear Ostad sing.
Akbar had to dress like a slave.
SOLUTION
Spellbound by Tansen's Deepak Raga, Akbar could only imagine how great his teacher would be. So he wished to hear his teacher's song. Tansen explained that Ostad lives in a cave in the Himalayas and rejects earthly wealth and dislikes earthly kings. So Akbar did not mind if he had to dress as a slave to experience heavenly joys of the Ostad' s sound.
After the song, Ostad had vanished.
SOLUTION
Before Akbar could return from his heavenly dream and praise Ostad for his singing, Ostad had vanished as he did not wish to be praised by them. He sang only for the Gods and so found earthly applause and awards unworthy.
Ostad’s song was more elating than Tansen’s songs.
SOLUTION
Tansen sang to please the king whereas Ostad sang to please God. Tansen sang for the king and so his songs could only provide earthly pleasure. Ostad would devote his songs to God which filled his songs with divine joy, making it more elating than Tansen's songs.
What message does the poet wish to convey through this narrative poem, ‘Tansen’?
SOLUTION
The message the poet wishes to convey through this narrative poem "Tansen" is he explains our condition of today. In music, in painting, in poetry man's first thought is, "How will it be? What will people say of it?" When inspiration is sacrificed to the material world how can the soul ever dance? In his attachment to the external world, man has lost touch with his own self.
As a man grows, the more he is successful in worldly affairs, the more he loses contact with his inner being. For a truly harmonious existence, one has to connect to his soul and through it to God. It is then that magic will unfold in one's life.
Summarise this poem in your own words in 8 to 10 lines, highlighting only the main points.
SOLUTION
The poem tells us about an incident that happened in Emperor Akbar's court. Tansen, the famous singer from Akbar's court once sang Deepak Raga (the song of fire) so intensely that he was himself engulfed in this musical fire. It was only when a maiden was summoned to sing the Malhar raga (the song of rain) did Tansen's health recovers. Emperor Akbar was extremely pleased by Tansen's song praised him and desired to listen to his teacher's song. So they travelled to the Himalayan cave where Ostad resided, dressed as poor slaves, and pleaded to the Ostad for a song. The Ostad then enchanted them with the Malkaous raga and bestowed bliss to Akbar's soul. But as Akbar returned from his enchanted dream to praise Ostad, he found him gone. Tansen then explained that he cannot recreate the magic of Ostad because he is used to singing for earthly kings but the Ostad aims to please God and therefore possesses a certain magical prowess that none can attain.
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Balbharati Solutions for English Kumarbharati 9th Standard Maharashtra State Board
• Chapter 1.2: A Synopsis-The Swiss Family Robinson
• Chapter 1.3: Have you ever seen...?
• Chapter 1.4: Have you thought of the verb ‘have’
• Chapter 2.2: A True Story of Sea Turtles
• Chapter 2.3: Somebody’s Mother
• Chapter 2.4: The Fall of Troy
• Chapter 2.6: The Past in the Present
• Chapter 3.2: Reading Works of Art
• Chapter 3.3: The Road Not Taken
• Chapter 3.4: How the First Letter was Written
• Chapter 4.2: The Storyteller
• Chapter 4.3: Intellectual Rubbish
• Chapter 4.4: My Financial Career
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