the accompanist Flashcards
impression of bhaiyya (idolises the ustad)
“his fingers were the fingers of a god”.
bhaiyya worshipped the ustad
what kind of relationship does bhaiyya share with his father?
strained, tense
-mishraji is an authoritarian father who expects the best from his son and demands him to devote his life to the pursuit of music, just like him
- did not always work, son had other passions such as marbles and the cinema
- mishraji physically abuses his son: “grab my ear and pull till i yelped” , showing his merciless demands from him to pursue excellence.
- son yearned for a life of freedom, to escape from his father and mother’s control but ultimately had no choice but to follow the path set for him
describe the relationship between the Ustad and Bhaiyya
A master-disciple relationship
he suppresses his own potential/possibilities of greatness to follow the Ustad.
- even when his friends put doubt into his head, provoked him to pursue his own ambitions, bhaiyya remains steadfast.
- “i wish my Ustad had heard me”
- he accepts his invisibility as long as he can serve his great Master.
Bhaiyya idolises him, like diety
- “kneeling before him” with the tanpura
- thinks that the ustad is a god he needs to serve
- “Does a mortal refuse God?”
- he is fully devoted to the Ustad, committing his life to his services
Bhaiyya considers it his destiny in life to play for the Ustad
“i was nothing: a dirty, hungry street urchin”
- because of the ustad, he could travel the world to perform with the ustad.
-the ustad rescued him from poverty
how does desai show Bhaiyya obsession towards the Ustad?
inner conflict
- “only once… ashamed to reveal it to you”
- shows that he is so obsessed that he confesses his shame over his doubts at one point in time and he is in self denial that the ustad loves him and shows that he wants to be with the ustad forever
religious imagery and diction
- “he created me, created my life” , “Does a mortal refuse God?”
- shows his worship towards the Ustad.
- without the Ustad, he feels that he would not be reborn.
irony
“relationship of love”
- extreme, delusional as the ustad ignores and exploits bhaiyya just for ustad’s own glory
-evident because the ustad hardly acknowledges him, “never smile and nod in approval” and keeps him “like a shadow”
- compared to Ram Nath, another accompanist who the ustad smiles and acknowledges
“i wish my ustad had heard me” implies his utter devotion to the ustad is still unheard and unacknowledged. shows that the close relationship shows bhaiyya’s singular obsession towards ustad.
