Nese Balasyeti Chareda Dharmam - perhaps the core of the epic Mahabharata is this observation on power. In simple terms, this is just a guideline for the utilisation power. If one is strong, one does not get a license by default to do whatever. Conversely, if a person is weak, his/her actions do not get a blanket ratification. Power should always be judiciously used and it should show. In fact, power manifests itself in every action. Resistance to accumulation of power itself is the best example. You stand up and get counted. It should be a display of courage propelled by wisdom (viveka) and not by anger or hate. The act of showing courage backed up by viveka is a continuous process spanning one’s entire life. Guts used under discrimination should be held aloft. Even in fine arts and literature, the power element, more than anything else, strikes a chord with the audience. Take for example, Pt.Bhimsen Joshi.
His singing has got fire in it and if you are lucky enough to sit in front, you can feel it, nay, touch it. Watch his facial expressions, the upward slant of the head, the throwing up of hands…….you guessed it right. The singer is protesting against his captivity to his creator. It is not a meek submission. He is making a point, boldly. He has had enough.
I have listened to the most romantic stuff of his creations (according to critics, of course), Raga Kalashree and Raga Lalit Bhatiar and I must admit that I was spellbound by the sheer power. I was not transported to a different world, not engulfed by subtle emotions and no nostalgias sprang up to invoke a feeling of loss in me. On the contrary, I felt like singing
“Do not ask, my love for the love we had before:
The world knows sorrows other than those of love…..”*
Your experience may be different after listening to the same ragas. Perhaps if you could write to me, I might get some insights.
Pradeep
* two lines from the famous poem “Do Not Ask, My Love”
by the renowned Urdu poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz