Memorabilia of music maestros

Music expresses all emotions and acts the mediator between the spiritual and the sensual life. 

In order to present a collection of candid shots of musicians in the form a literary piece, Padma Shri Shobha Deepak Singh has compiled a rare anthology of 250 photographs of the great Indian music maestros, emoting the multiple emotions of Indian music through her coffee table book titled Musicscapes. 

Musicscapes, which follows close on the heels of Shobha Deepak Singh’s Theatrescapes (2014) and Dancescapes (2013), becomes a homage to her deepest and most long engaging love-music.

Musicscapes published by Roli Books, was launched by Sheila Dixit and Shekhar Sen, Chairman, Sangeet Natak Akademi, at Visual Arts Gallery, India Habitat Centre on April 8. 

An exhibition of 60 photographs of the country’s music luminaries, which has been put up by the curatorial expertise of Dr Alka Pande, will be on till April 14 in the national Capital.

Shobha Deepak Singh said, “Classical music liberates me and it leads me to a state where I feel I am truly elevated. What classical music does best and continues to do is to show a kind of transformation of moods, to show a very wide psychological voyage. 

“When I did my first two books, I thought I covered the canvas of emotion and motion. But as I looked through many of these photos, I realised that there was so much unsung emotion that needs to be felt by others too. The book helps to accomplish that.” Dr Alka Pande, the illustrious curator of the exhibition said, “The book is a compilation of all those great artists who have contributed magnificently to the vocal and instrumental musicscape of India. This is a survey of Shobha’s work as she captures moments, iconic and unusual, rubbing shoulders with the greats.”