Pandit upadhi

Sitting for his evening session, he begins, speaking in his old smooth Bengali, his long fingers holding a gold-embossed cup of fortified milk.  “You know, in the olden days we could not simply decide one day to put the title pandit or ustad in front of our names at our own whim, simply as a marketing technique.  There was a strict and solemn code on who could be call themselves, or be referred to as, Pandit or Ustad.

“I remember it was only two years since I had left Maihar and eventually returned to Varanasi after touring the south of India. I was performing actively at the request of Baba.  In 1958, the principal of Adra University invited me to Adra, in Bihar. Several elders also attended the music conference. After my performance, they began to discuss.  They called me and said, ‘You are now Pandit.’

“And, so it became. And so it was. That day, Kishen Maharaj, who was also invited to the music conference, was given the title Sangat Samrāt, indicating his competence to accompany classical Indian musicians.  At that time, the blessing of the title was purely performance-based. Once could not inherit it, though one’s family would predispose one to learning music. But a person had to earn the title, through his or her own merit.”  Jotin Mesho pauses.   “Now.... every tom, dick and harry finds, or hires, someone to listen to him and entitle him as Pandit.  How can a world audience know who is real…? They do not know, in fact. And that is why they cannot appreciate the depth and delight of true Indian classical music…”

in conversation,  Friday, Sept 26, 2014, Durgakund.