Pt. Buddhadev Dasgupta (sarod) Desi and Bhairavi video

These two recordings are from the 1960s, when Pandit Buddhadev Dasgupta was possibly at the peak of his physical abilities on the sarod. For any sarod player who is able to tame his/her ego and listen carefully, this is incredibly difficult and brilliantly executed stuff. I get peevish when people with blind prejudices place musicians of a certain school on a pedestal and challenge even the technical competence of a Maestro from another school. Just because Pt. Dasgupta, in all humility, has called himself an "amateur" musician, referring to the fact that he did not earn his livelihood from music, does not mean that people will want to use this to claim he is a lesser sarod player than he really is. I am strictly against personality cults, and respect great musicians for who they are. I am equally disgusted by those who weave myth and fable around the personalities of Pt. Dasgupta and his mentor, Pt. Radhika Mohan Maitra. However, good music speaks for itself and doesn't need endorsements from others. The sheer accuracy, speed and clarity of a master musician in full flow is in view here. Recording courtesy Jon Barlow and Vinay Pande.