Bismillah Khan - Maestro from BenarasA' is a book that gives the reader an insightful look into the home and heart, muse and music of one of the greatest artists that India has produced. It traces his journey from the small town of Dumraon to Benaras and thence to the world. The book follows Bismillah Khan as he grows from child to man, shagird to ustad, pupil to legend-from his early days when he charged five rupees for a programme to the days when each performance commanded anything between five to ten lakh rupees. Bismillah Khan's life is played out

Even at the age of eighty-seven, Ustad Bismillah Khan continues to woo his listeners with the melodious notes of the shehnai, an instrument that he almost single-handedly brought out from the purdah and family established on the international stage.

Brings Together The Shehnai, Benaras And The Ustaad To Present Them As A Unified Entities - Brings Forth The True Character Of Indian Music And Musicians, Showing That Indian Classical Music Is A Way Of Life And Unparalled Spiritual Experience. 8 Chapters - Appendix - Geneology - Glossary - Index. Without Dustjacket.

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s relationship with his wife, Emilie Schenkl, is one of the least-known aspects of the leader’s life. They met in Vienna in June 1934, secretly married in December 1937 in Badgastein, a spa resort in Austria’s Salzburg province, and saw each other for the last time in Berlin in February 1943, two months after the birth in Vienna of their daughter Anita. From 1934 onwards, Subhas and Emilie corresponded continuously through letters whenever they were physically separated. Born in 1910 into a middle-class Austrian family of Vienna, Emilie Schenkl nurtured her husband’s memory and cultivated a deep attachment from afar to India all her life, until her death in 1996. She brought up their daughter on her own, working to support herself and Anita. Fiercely self-reliant and very private, Emilie lived a life of great dignity and quiet courage. Emilie was especially close to Netaji’s nephew Sisir Kumar Bose, whom she first met in Vienna in the late 1940s, and after his marriage in December 1955 she also formed a close friendship with his wife Krishna. Krishna knew Emilie personally from 1959 until Emilie’s death in 1996. This book, illustrated with forty-eight photographs from archives and family albums, is a unique record of Emilie’s life of fortitude and the love story of Emilie and Subhas.

What were monophonic Gregorian Chants? Who codified them and when were they composed? Why did Western classical music become polyphonic during the Renaissance? What kind of music did Bach, Handel and Vivaldi compose during the Baroque period? This work presents the history of Western classical music through the stories of the lives that shaped it. What were monophonic Gregorian Chants? Who codified them and when were they composed? Why did Western classical music become polyphonic during the Renaissance? What kind of music did Bach, Handel and Vivaldi compose during

Banaras has been home to sages, artists, poets, musicians and seekers from all parts of India. The ancient canon of texts passed down orally by the sages was written and transcribed in the lanes and by-lanes of this city. Over the centuries, the art of grafting and subsuming the religious and cultural ethos became the hallmark of Banaras. In this book, Vertul Singh presents a kaleidoscopic view of Banaras that charts a narrative spanning from the present-day city and its origins as Kashi to the fin de siècle of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, which witnessed the city’s inclusionary development as a cultural and pilgrimage centre, an opulent trading hub and a basilica of political power. Weaving facts, interesting anecdotes and untold stories to make a rich tapestry, this book is an insider’s account and an unparalleled portrait of the city.

Music cannot be captured on paper.What one can attempt to convey through words and pictures,however,is the soul or the essence of music.This book is an imaginatively designed,hugely informative volume on contemporary Indian music,which takes shape through encounters with its livinglegends.Bhimsen Joshi, Gangubai Hangal,Amjad Ali Khan, Shiv Kumar Sharma, Hariprasad Chaurasia these are but a very few of the names which appear in this book.