BWSL only half complete...

We presented a report on the Rs. 1600 crore Bandra-Worli Sea Link in our previous issue. With elections due for the state assembly in the next few months, understandably, there was great interest on the part of the ruling Congress-NCP combine to derive maximum mileage out of this unique project. Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar and chief minister Ashok Chavan, besides dozens of other ministers and MPs, participated in this event.

I travelled through this bridge recently and found the ride quick and smooth. But only four out of the eight lanes have been fully constructed and opened to traffic. Work is still in progress on the other four lanes and it may take quite sometime to complete that involving more costs. The toll of Rs. 50 per trip seems acceptable. The shifting of a portion of traffic through the BWSL has also contributed to less congestion through the crowded Mahim - Shivaji Park - Worli route. I was able to transit through this in roughly half the time it used to take earlier.

But this is just part of the solution to a big problem, that of easing traffic flow to Nariman Point at the southern end. Travel from the Worli end of BWSL for the south needs equal attention. This is beset with more serious challenges of design, engineering and construction. Costs have also shot up in the interim. The series of mishaps at the Delhi Metro would also demand more thorough and more serious attention to design and construction.

When the maestros shifted to the US

Mumbai paid rich tributes to a great music maestro, Ali Akbar Khan, who died in the ripe age of 87 at California. Son of the legendry Allauddin Khan, Ali Akbar evolved as the greatest sarod player and set up music schools in India and the US. Teaming with sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar and tabla giant Allah Rakha, the trio took the west by storm. The great interest in Indian music, especially in the US, developed largely the result of these and others stalwarts like Bismillah Khan.

Yehudi Menuhin, who had played with several of the Indian greats, including Ali Akbar, Ravi Shankar and Lalgudi Jayaraman, described Ali Akbar as the greatest musician of our times. Do we need a greater tribute?

Those days were far simpler: this trio would visit Chennai at least occasionally and render performances that turned out memorable. Travel and stay costs were modest and demands were minimal but the opening up of the west resulted in such concerts in Chennai becoming rare. While large corporates like ITC continue to present programmes by maestros and offer these to the public free or at affordable prices, disappointingly, the opportunity to listen to such maestros in Chennai has declined drastically.

Several leading musicians paid their musical tribute to Ali Akbar at the Shanmukananda Hall in Mumbai on 11 July. I had the opportunity to listen to violin maestro L Subramanian and his teenage son Ambi. What a treat it was to listen this maestro LS paying tribute to another giant!

DKP - she nurtured patriotism

D K Pattammal, the last of the trinity of great female singers of Carnatic music (M L Vasanthakumari and M S Subbalakshmi are the other two) to die, had a distinct baani (style) of her own. Perfect diction and a leisurely pace rendered her music distinct. The several evocative pieces she sang for films in the aftermath of Independence, especially those of Subramania Bharati became immortal. She was closely involved with the freedom movement through such songs that nurtured a spirit of nationalism and patriotism. Like MLV, DKP also reared a rich school of disciples.

In the current fervour for speed and high octave music, traditionalists will miss much DKP's serene music.

When Dharwar invaded North

Gangubai Hangal, a legend in Hindustani music, also passed away in July. Like DKP she also strode the music scene like colossus for over seven decades. It was quite interesting that hailing from Dharwar in North Karnataka, Gangubai evolved as a giant in Hindustani vocal music and nurtured thousands of fans who spread from Kolkata to Mumbai.

Dharwar became a great centre for Hindustani music through Gangubai Hangal, Bhimsen Joshi, Mallikarjun Mansur and Kumar Gandharva. I wonder whether the famous Kalinadhi and the salubrious mountain surroundings of Dharwar had anything to do with throwing up such a rich crop of music maestros from this region.