Eminent singer Santidev Ghosh called some voices ‘uncultured!’ Why?

Mohan Singh always believed Rabindrasangeet should have the inner soul expressed in its rendition. For him the tune and the feeling with which the words are sung was of prime importance. In his lifetime, the singer had primarily chosen the lesser known songs of Tagore. He gave a lot of emphasis to Riwaz and while doing so he always held that singing cannot be learnt like a parrot’s talk. It has to be felt. Songs like Bhalobashi Bhalobashi and Jaagey Nath Jochna Raate cannot be sung with the same nuances, they need to be delivered understanding the meaning of their words that would bring out the imagery before the listener’s eyes.

Mohan Singh feels these days many songs are sung as if one would fall asleep. This kind of rendition is what Santidev Ghosh used to call as ‘uncultured’ delivery of songs/tune. Ghosh used to say tune and rhythm are the fundamental pillars of music. Without them, the audience can never be attracted towards a song. Rabindranath Tagore himself believed in this and hence always emphasized the need to learn classical music first. That is also a reason why many classical musicians and ustads were brought to Santiniketan to take classes in Sangeet Bhavan. 

Transcribed from an original interview of Mohan Singh Khangura taken by Arpita Chatterjee