Women who dared to be different - Page 2

REVIEWS

Excerpts from "Old Melody, New Order"

The Hindu - Friday, August 31, 2001

Prakash Wadhera

"Delhi's music lovers were very happy to listen to a polished sitar recital by Manju [Bhatt] Mehta of Ahmedabad. The sister of the late Shashi Mohan Bhatt, Manju had her training under her brother and then from the famous sarod player, the late D. L. Kabra of Jodhpur. Manju perfected her art under the family guru, Pandit Ravi Shankar. Today, one can say, she is an accomplished player.

Besides an inborn sense of the right note and intonation, Manju betrays a canny feeling for laya and tala that may be due to her family blood as much as to her teachers who excelled in both the ingredients of melody. However, there is another reason for her proficiency in the latter - her marriage to eminent percussionists Nandan Mehta of Ahmedabad.

Comparatively less known in this region, Manju seemed keen to make an impression on the Delhi listeners with whom she was naturally not as familiar as with her home listeners. This I sensed from her going in for an easy option in the choice of her raga Shyam Kalyan for the evening. It is a relatively work-a-day raga consisting of all sharp notes, capable of stirring one's imagination only up to a limit."

"The sense which had tuned the instrumented ever so sensitively succeeded in constructing a pervasive atmosphere of sur[note]. Shyam Kalyan lends itself to a lively moment and hence it is the favorite choice of musicians wishing to impress with their playing."

"Manju produced some swift sequences with arrested resonance of the strings. It sounded quite pleasant. A madhya laya composition in Jhap tala was followed by a fast one in Teen tala. Both these hilighted her impeccable understanding of the rhythm even as they displayed the competence of the tabla player versed in the Farukhabad style. The recital came to a conclusion with a lyrical dhun in Mishra Pilu."

First Lady of the Sitar

Miami New Times by Bob Tarte - Volume 14 Number 29 October 28-November 3rd, 1999

In Northern India instrumental music has traditionally been considered a male domain. Fathers pass on both their technical prowess and their acquired lore to their sons or closest male relatives. Until recently, women have been left out of the loop. "The one instrument where females have made some inroads is the sitar," says Manju Mehta, who speaks from personal experience. Mehta is one of Indian classical music's most renowned female sitaryas. "In amateur venues it is no longer uncommon for females to study and play the instrument. Even so, there are only a handful of female sitaryas who perform professionally."

Mehta initially attracts attention wherever she plays simply because she's a woman. But her amazing rhythmic control, coupled with the sheer beauty of her melodic inventions, quickly sweeps aside all other considerations. The essential artistry of Indian music is the ability to breathe life into the raga form, and Mehta most definitely has what it takes, earning the praise of many of India's classical leading lights. "She is a creative performer of exceptional caliber," warmly notes sarod player Usta Ali Akbar Khan.

Born into a musical family, Mehta took up the sitar at age thirteen, thanks in part to the influence of her "first guru," her eldest brother, Shashi Mohan Bhatt, then a student of Pandit Ravi Shankar. "Having a sitarist brother in the family, it was easy to pick the sitar as my main instrument," she says. Mehta's parents, Manhohan and Chandrakalav Bhatt, both accomplished musicians in their own right, enthusiastically encouraged Mehta and her siblings. "No matter what time of the day it was, there was always someone in the family practicing their music," she says of her childhood, recalling her younger brother Vishva Mohan Bhatt plucking away at his Hawaiian guitar and her nephew, Krishna Mohan Bhatt, trying his own hand at the sitar.

This familial devotion to music continues in Mehta's own clan. Her husband, Shri Nandan Mehta, is a top-notch tabla player and a disciple of Pandit Kishan Maharaj. Her older daughter, Purvi, plays sitar. Younger daughter Hetal plays tabla and will accompany Mehta (alongside tabla player Ustad Kadar Khan) during her Fort Lauderdale performance this Saturday.

With the help of artists such as Mehta, a new generation of female Indian musicians seems poised to break the chains of tradition, which for centuries saw women as lacking the proper qualities to master a musical instrument. "In Moghul times, the somber dhrupad style, essentially a vocal style with some instrumental accompaniment, was the leading genre in classical music," Mehta explains. "Dhrupad, which was mainly heard in royal venues, was entirely dominated by male musicians, both instrumentally and vocally." The rudra veena, a large fretted zither prominently featured in dhrupad, was played by and taught solely to the males in musical families. The lighter khyal style, which evolved in the Eighteenth Century, began to admit female vocalists, but not female instrumentalists.

Mehta continues: "Instrumental music was first derived from dhrupad, therefore men remained the primary exponents of such music. In addition to considerations of tradition, the technique and strength required for successful performance on traditional instruments is quite significant." Accordingly the same prejudiced rationalizations used to exclude women from certain male-dominated sports were also used against aspiring female musicians in India. "The ability to endure many hours of daily arduous practice necessary to attain proficiency was also considered the province of men," Mehta adds dryly.

Miron Leshem, a member of the board of directors of the Pembroke Pines-based Association of Performing Arts of India (which is sponsoring Mehta's local performance), has only the highest praise for the sitarya. He says the association has wanted Mehta to appear in South Florida for some time. Leshem describes Mehta's distinct style as one that "combines the tantrakari ang [instrumental-based style] with the gayaki ang [vocal-based style]. In the latter approach, the sitarist tries to imitate and capture the ornaments, grace notes, and microtonal inflections that give Indian music its character and beauty. Both her fixed compositions -- the gats -- and her improvisations are truly memorable."

Although Mehta bucked tradition to become a critically acclaimed professional sitarya, her playing, while innovative, never strays from the traditionalist path. "Unlike other instrumentalists, she does not introduce radical elements into her music, but nevertheless her instrumental 'voice' remains fresh and distinctive," says Leshem. "Manju never degenerates into mere pyrotechnics. The quality of her tone, the ability to be different within traditional confines, and her inherent musicality all combine to make her unique."

While being a female sitar player does set Mehta apart from the pack, "my contribution is not one associated with gender," she says. "Rather it's the ability to bring out the rasa, the emotional qualities of a particular raga, whether they be devotion, love, pathos, or joy."

The Ambience of the Afternoon

Times of India, Bombay, Thursday, Feb. 10, 1994

Manju Mehta, a serious sitarist from Ahmedabad, is an example of how many talented artistes like herself do not get the opportunities to be heard enough. By the time due recognition comes in the form of invitations, the artiste crosses his or her prime, or may be unable to refrain from playing to the gallery or to present truly mature and aesthetically appealing music.

Having received initial training from her brother, Shashi Mohan Bhatt and Damodarlal Kabra, Manju is now under the tutelage of Pt. Ravi Shankar.

Usually Afternoon melodies like Shuddha Sarang are not favorites of artists. Yet Manju's authoritative exposition of this melody deserves special mention.

The tantalizing touch of komal and teevra madhyam, with an anticipatory stay on rishabha and nishad, created a special afternoon ambience, with the theme developing in all its brightness. Her fondness for elaborate alaap, and imaginative jod is understandable, but what makes her stand apart is her quick manoeuvering through the limited jhala to two gats, thus avoiding repetition. Either way, the sequences were devoid of bombastic phrases.

Her short piece in Basant too was a breath of fresh air, devoid of gimmickry. The cascading and linear development, executed with grace, provided a perfect close to the concert: it was without din or fury and touched the heart. . . . .

Cultural Scene Warms Up

by Kishore Upadhyay - Times of India News Service

WOMEN TO THE FORE

The second day's programme all an all-women affair, with Mrs. Rupande Shah (vocal) and Mrs. Manju Mehta (sitar) both of Ahmedabad and Dr. Suhasini Koratkar (vocal) of Delhi regaling the audience with classical fare. Mrs. Manju Mehta makes rare public appearances, devoted to the pure music, for music school that she adheres. So it was a pleasant delight to connoisseurs and others alike to listen to the melodious notes of sitar. . . . .

Melodious End to Saptak Festival

by Sudhir Khandekar

On Saturday evening at Lion's Hall, Mithakhali, Saptaks's eight-day-long music festival came to a dignified conclusion with a melodious jugalbandhi between Manju Mehta (sitar) and Sultan Khan (Sarangi). . . . .

Manju Mehta and Sultan Khan displayed a keen sense of harmony when they played alaps in Chandranandan raga in a rising movement. . . .

Varied Fare at Vishnu Digambar Jayanti

Indian Express, New Delhi Monday Aug. 18, 1986

. . . . Manju Mehta, a sitarist new to Delhi audiences, gave a competent account of Jaunpuri. The raag was well chosen and thoroughly explored. The undercurrent of technical competence and clarity were evident as one would expect of a student of the maestro, Pt Ravi Shankar. . . . .

SHARAN RANI

Sharan Rani Backliwal (Mathur), the legendary Sarod Maestro, is one of the greatest musicians of India. Born on 9th April, 1929, Sharan Rani is the first woman instrumentalist of India who has earned tremendous name in India and abroad. Sarod has become synonymous with her name and she is popularly called 'Sarod Rani' (Queen of Sarod) all over the world. She has been regularly performing on the concert stage for over six decades, receiving unprecedented critical acclaim.

Revered as a 'living legend', by three generations of musicians and music lovers, she has become an institution in herself. Called the 'Cultural Ambassador of India', by Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, she has been the first musician to go from Indian to many countries, thus greatly contributing towards introducing and popularizing Indian classical music abroad, from 1959.

Anthropological collection in the National Museum, New Delhi includes nearly ten thousand objects of ethnographic interest.

In 1980, an important private collection of 300 musical instruments was acquired from Smt. Sharan Rani Backliwal, a leading sarod maestro of the country. It is exhibited in the Sharan Rani Backliwal Gallery of musical instruments. This gallery is the only one of its kind in the world, which provides the best view one can get of Indian instruments in terms of historicity, authenticity, antiquity and quality. She collected these items with discernment and attention from different parts of the country and abroad, and gifted them to the National Museum.

Originally posted by: salilu

It was very nice and enlightening to read all the posts in the topic on woman tabla player Anuradha Pal. She, certainly, is a woman in a different league.

When it comes to music, tradionally women have restricted themselves to singing (classical, folk, light, filmi, ghazal). Very few have taken music composition or instrument playing at the professional level.

So I want to devote this topic to professional women musicians (music composers/ instrumentalists -- any form of Indian music). How many of them do we know that have achieved notable national and international fame? Let me list a few --

Film Music composer -- Usha Khanna
Tabla -- Anuradha Pal
Sitar -- Anoushka Shankar, Sharmistha Sen, Kalyani Roy
Flute - Sikkil Sisters, Mala Chandrasekhar
Sarod - Zarin Daruwala

I am not listing any names of the Veena and Viloin players as it is common in South India to have women learn these instruments. To note some well known violin players -- N. Rajam, Sangeetha Shankar, Kala Ramnath.

Please do add more names of the women musicians here who have achieved national/ international level fame.

While there are many women instrumentalist, only one name stands out in film music composition -- that of Usha Khanna. How many of you know that Usha-ji was just 17 (yes, SEVENTEEN) when she gave music to her first film -- Dil Deke Dekho -- a musical blockbuster of 1959 with such superhit songs as bade hain dil ke kale, yaar chulbula hain, dil deke dekho.... Rafi saab and Asha tai were quite established singers then when this 17 year new girl on the block made them sing such superhit songs for her. I must admire her for all the courage ----- and we call Himani and Nihira kids? Can we imagine Himani giving a superhit musical score for a top director and making Alka Yagnik and Sonu Nigam sing for her?. Not even in our wildest dreams......Usha-ji I salute you.....

Nor can we imagine Nihira, Prajakta Shukre, Ujjaini doing that. Because it is not what they want to do... there is a difference between singing and composing... Anyways, being a successful girl at 17 in 1959 is amazing. I salute her too!

cool guys...nice and valueable information

The first woman composer of Hindi film was Jaddan Bai -- mother of Nargis. She who produced, directed and composed music for a 1935 film -- Talash-e-Haq. Later in the same year there was another lady -- Saraswati Devi, who composed music for "Jawani Ki Hawa". Jaddan Bai composed music for two more films--"Madam Fashion" in 1936 and "Moti Ka Haar" in 1937. Jaddan Bai and Saraswati Devi are the earliest know women composers of Hindi films.

Jaddanbai

Jaddanbai (1892 or 1908-????) was an early singer, composer, actress and filmmaker of Bollywood and was one of the many pioneers of Indian cinema. She was the mother of well-known actress Nargis.

Jaddanbai was born in Benares, Uttar Pradesh in 1892 or 1908. Jaddanbai was rumoured to be the illegitimate daughter of Motilal Nehru and famous courtesan Daleepabai. Her mother (before becoming a courtesan) hailed from a Brahmin family but was abducted by a group of trained "tawaifs". Jaddanbai was born a Hindu, picked from a mela of "kothawalas" and "kothewalis" when she was a child and groomed a "tawaif". Though Jaddan was born in Benares, she was brought up in Allahabad. Jaddanbai, became a disciple of noted thumri singer Ustad Moijuddin Khan and the equally noted Ustad Barkat Ali Khan, younger brother of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan. Jaddanbai became a very famous singer/composer/actress/filmmaker and was a good friend of Mehboob Khan who later became Nargis's mentor. Jaddanbai had three children from three different men. Fatima A. Rashid was named by her father (and Jaddanbai's husband Uttamchand Mohanchand, known as Mohanbabu) and adopted the name Nargis for her movies. The story of the union of she and Mohanbabu is high-flown Uttamchand Mohanchand belonged to an orthodox Mohyal Brahmin family of Rawalpindi. He was to go to England to study medicine but heard the voice of Jaddanbai and fell for her. His family refused to accept Jaddanbai as their daughter-in-law but that did not deter him from marrying her and dedicating his entire life to her. Anyhow, her second child Akthar became a director and actor, however chose not to be as involved as Anwar and Nargis, while Anwar Hussain kept his name and made movies in Bollywood. She cast her daughter in Talashe Haq (1935) becoming the first woman composer of Indian cinema.


Director - Filmography
Talashe Haq (1935) (composer)
Madam Fashion (1936)
Hriday Manthan (1936)
Moti Ka Haar (1937)
Jeevan Swapna (1937)

source: Wikipedia

Saraswati Devi

"Mein banki chirhiya banke bun bun boloun re"

By "Kamalakar Pasupuleti"

The person who entertained thousands of music lovers with such enchanting composition of film songs and private ghazals was none other than Saraswati Devi the most distinguished lady music director of Hindi cinema and the first to introduce playback system for Hindi movies at Mumbai.

Khursheed Manchersher Minocher - Homji in real life was born in 1912 in a well to do Parsi family. Her father was a businessman and a prominent figure of Parsi community of Mumbai.

She had a natural talent and love for music, realizing this her father made her study classical music under Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande who was specialized in Dhrupad and Dhamar style of singing. Later she joined Lord Morris College at Lucknow and studied music as her subject.

With the setting up of a radio station at Mumbai in late 20s she along with her sister Manek gave musical performances regularly once every month, the programme known as the Homji Sisters was very popular with the listeners. The songs were accompanied with few musical instruments sitar, dilruba and organ.

The founder of Bombay Talkies, Himansu Rai who was looking for a good classicalist for his movies, heard them on radio and got in touch with her and invited her to visit the studio where she was shown the music room. He wanted her to take care of the music department and score music for his movies and Saraswati Devi accepted the offer and took it as a challenge . Her sister Manek had taken to acting for the films.

A question often asked whether she was the first female music director of Hindi cinema? Scanning through the history of film music some names as; Mukhtar Begum, Gohar Karnataki who were classicalists and rendered songs for movies during 1932 -33 are to be found, but unfortunately the credits for music of those films are unknown. However, they went on to score music at a later period. Ishrat Sultana is another who scored music for Adal - E - Jehangir - 1934 but no songs were ever recorded for gramophone. The names of Munni Bai and Jaddan Bai are also to be found but again the songs never appeared on gramophone records and so she is considered the first among the female music directors.

Her first assignment was for the movie, "Jawani Ki Hawa" - 1935 starring Himansu Rai's actress wife Devika Rani and Najmul Husain . She had a tough time making them sing and had to simplify the tunes and cover some areas with music instead of song as they were no singers and play back was still not introduced .Her sister Manek took up a character role. Only one gramophone record consisting of instrumental music from the film was recorded from this movie.

There was a big uproar and a series of protests in the Parsi community. The Bombay Talkies was a public company and had 4 of its board of directors from the Parsi community who wanted the Parsi girls out of the Talkies. It was the brave effort of Himansu Rai who defended them and to conceal their identity, Khursheed was given the name Saraswati Devi and Manek appeared in titles as Chandraprabha.

"Jawani Ki Hawa" was followed by her first hit movie "Achut Kanya" - 1936. Ashok Kumar who was a lab technician at the BT was replaced as hero against his wishes to act and sing under pressure of Himansu Rai . He along with Devika Rani had to spend several hours a day for many days rehearsing for a song before it was picturised. It was something like teaching a nursery rhyme.

The day the song " Kit gaye ho khewan haar " was to be shot on Chandraprabha she landed with a sore throat, unable to sing Himansu Rai suggested Saraswati Devi sing from behind the curtain and let Chandraprabha just move her lips. The first playback was thus recorded successfully at Bombay but not before R.C. Boral of New Theaters, Kolkutta succeeded earlier with songs in Dhoop Chaun. The most successful song of the movie " Mai banki chidiya banke ban ban bolun re" was rendered / picturised on Ashok Kumar and Devika Rani.

Her catchy tunes became popular not only in India but even in London and the BBC chose the tune from the chorus of film Janmabhoomi - JAI JAI PYARI JANMBHOOMI MAATA rendered by her with chorus as a signature tune for its Indian News Service.

"Dekho hamrey raja ki aaj sagai hey", "Mein tou dilli sey dulhan laya rey" – Film Jhoola

Himansu Rai passed away in 1940 and Devika Rani took the reins but was unable to manage resulting in large exodus of artists and technicians. She continued with BT until Naya Sansar - 1941 scoring music for 20 movies by then. SN Tripathi was a brilliant student of Saraswati Devi, an excellent player of violin. He assisted her in composing and arranging orchestra and he too left BT to become an independent composer. Arun Kumar a cousin of Ashok Kumar who had a voice resembling Ashok Kumar rendered many songs for her compositions including " Chana jor garam " and " Mai to dilli se dulhan " . He worked as an associate composer for some of her movies and later went on to score music independently, the notable being Parinita - 1953. She was also closely associated with Kavi Pradeep , Lyricist who penned a large number of her songs and also rendered few songs , prominent being 'Piyu Piyu Bol " and "Mere Bichde Hue Saathi". Her association with Mumtaz Ali , Actor / Dance Director (Father of Mehmood ) for her songs related to dance is note worthy. Later she scored music for 6 movies of Minerva Movietone - some alone and a couple with other composers .She had the opportunity to score some real classical songs for Miss Jahan Ara Kajjan the famous classicalist in film Prarthana - 1943, another notable film with Minerva was Prithvi Vallabh - 1943 along with Rafiq Ghaznavi .

She later took over independent assignments and the most notable was Aamrapali - 1945 which had some good songs by Amir Bai Karnataki . With the changing trend in music and public taste her popularity diminished although she continued for some more time, Usha Haran -1949 her last popular film with 12 songs and 2 rendered by Lata Mangeshkar.

This was followed by Bachelor Husband - 1950 with Muhammed Ibrahim . After a lull of nearly 5 years she scored another movie with his old time student SN Tripathi for Inaam - 1955 but her contribution was only one song for the movie. Her last movie was Babasa Ri Laadi - 1961 a children movie. She later started teaching music, her sister Manek took up a job as a librarian.

In early fifties Habib Wali Muhammed while a college student participated in a music competition conducted by HMV and won the first prize. The judges for the competition were Saraswati Devi and Naushad Sahib. HMV engaged her to score two ghazals for him and were recorded in his voice. They became very popular and Habib Wali Muhammed earned a big name as a ghazal singer.

"Lagta nahein hey jee mera ujrhey diyar mein" - Bahadur Shah Zafar "Yeh na thi hamari qismet ke visal-e-yar hota"- Mirza Ghalib

Saraswati Devi and her sister never married, having lost the family members in quick succession they adopted a maharashtrian family of 6 children, educating them and even finding jobs for couple of them. She along with her sister were seen walking on the beach and talking to children.

"Na Janey Kidhar Aaj Meri Nao Chali Rey", "Aaj mousam Salona Salona Rey"

"Chana jor gram baboo mein laya mazedar chana jor gram"

In later life she was living all alone in an apartment and one day she fell down from a bus and fractured her hip bone. The only help she got was from her neighbours and none of the film personalities ever came for her help. She passed away in 1980 at the age of 68.

"

Saraswati Devi's Filmography -

1935 - Jawani Ki Hawa

1936 - Achut Kanya , Janma Bhoomi, Jeewan Nayya , Mamta & Miya Biwi ( 2 movies clubbed together )

1937 - Izzat , Jeewan Prabhat , Prem Kahani , Saavitri ,

1938 - Bhaabhi , Nirmala , Vachan ,

1939 - Durga , Kangan w/ RC Pal , Navjeewan .

1940 - Aazad , Bandhan both with RC Pal .

1941 - Jhoola , Naya Sansar. w / RC Pal .

1943 - Bhakt Raidas , Prarthana , Prithvi Vallabh w/ Rafiq Ghaznavi .

1944 - Dr Kumar , Parakh w/ Khursheed Anwar

1945 - Aamrapali ,

1946 - Maharani Mrinal Devi ,

1947 - Khandani ,

1948 - Naqli Heera

1949 - Usha Haran ,

1950 - Bachelor Husband w/ Muhammed Ibrahim ,

1955 - Inaam w/ SN Tripathi and

1961 - Babasa Ri Laadi (Rajastani)

Women find their pitch

Sakunatala Narasimhan, well-known columnist and musician, put up a novel presentation featuring eight Indian women composers. She tells S.R. RAMAKRISHNA that very few women figure among the composers whose contributions have been acknowledged as part of our cultural heritage.

Photo: Sampath Kumar G.P.

'Women have been singing and making music for just as long as men have' "WHEN IT comes to taking note of artistic work, women make up only a small fraction of those who receive due recognition," thus began Sakuntala Narasimhan's presentation last week. Her focus was Indian music, and women who had contributed to its richness. The idea for such a presentation came to Sakuntala when she was in Europe in 1995. She saw a TV series on the women composers of the West, many of whom were unearthed and performed for the first time. "It was deeply researched. They had found manuscripts of symphonies and sonatas which were as good as those composed by men," she said. Ananya in Malleswaram was the venue of her presentation. Organised by Network of Women in Media, Sakuntala's commentary was meticulously researched, and gave a brief profile of each composer. With a group of students, she sang one representative song from each of the eight composers she had chosen. The lecture-demonstration was meant for March 8, to mark World Women's Day, but that date was ruled out because far too many events were happening and the audience would find it difficult to be present. The 1995 journalistic effort on European television, to coincide with the UN conference on women in Beijing, was a turning point, and made available biographical details of women composers who had either been forgotten or neglected. Their work was revived and recorded, and is now part of major collections in the West. That set Sakuntala thinking, and she started researching women composers our own country. "What I saw was a weekly series. Some of the women composers turned out to be related to famous men composers such as Schumann and Mozart, but there were others who had never been heard of," she said. Sakuntala came back to India and started looking around for material on women in Indian music. It was a good time for research in this direction because, she says, "there was a lot of focus on women and women's creativity". Sakuntala knew some compositions of Mira Bai and Andal, and had heard vaguely of Akka Mahadevi. One thing struck her instantly: "Women have been singing and making music for just as long as men have, and yet very few women figure among the composers whose contributions have been acknowledged as part of our cultural heritage." Sakuntala's first presentation on Indian women composers took place in 1996, at the India International Centre in Delhi. She had by then started reading up on Akka Mahadevi. "I found her songs, asked around for the authentic versions, and then started learning the tunes," she says. She soon found more women poets in the languages of the north. Her second presentation was for All India Radio, where she sang with a tabla and a mridangam. Her third presentation, at Ananya, had her students singing along. Sakuntala says she got some folk tunes for Akka's compositions from elderly women. The tune for "Akka kelavva", which she sang at Ananya, is Mallikarjuna Mansur's. In the case of Andal, the tunes were based on traditional Carnatic ragas, composed by great musicians such as Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar and M. L. Vasanthakumari. For a Tallapaka Thimmakka song Sakuntala made her own melody. Lal Ded, the Kashmiri composer, prompted her to make trips to Kashmiri Pandit homes in Delhi. That is where she got samples of Kashmiri music and worked on her pronunciation. Thus almost all tunes Sakuntala presented were created by people other than the poets. The original tunes, as sung by the composers, have been lost in the passage of time. In Marathi, Sakuntala found the poetry of Janabai, Muktabai, and Bahina Bai, after rummaging through the Asiatic Society library. She first found books on them published in the 19th Century, and then located their songs. The 45-minute presentation covered a huge span, from Vedic times to the 20th Century, and put the poets and their work in a feminist perspective. Bahina Bai was beaten by her husband for writing poetry and singing the verses of a "low caste" Tukaram, Lal Ded's mother-in-law put a stone on her plate and then covered it with rice to give the impression that she ate a lot. And in Telugu country, women were whipped and tonsured for writing erotic poetry.

In Mira's Gujarati poem, Sakuntala came across the same ecological concerns as in Salumarada Thimmakka, who planted and watered hundreds of trees along a highway near Bangalore.