Mangalesh Dabral's Accompanist Poem

In India, the art of the tabla accompanist is every bit as intricate and satisfying as that of the piano collaborator/accompanist in the European tradition. I can also imagine that tabla accompanists (collaborators!) have to deal with the same sidekick/flunky stereotypes that many of us in the European tradition are fighting to make a thing of the past. Accompanist by Hindi poet Mangalesh Dabral looks at the years of apprenticeship and traveling recollected in the act of performance. Here's an excerpt from the English translation:

Accompanying the main singer’s monolith-weighed voice
His own is beautiful delicate and quavering
He is the singer’s younger brother
Or his apprentice
Or a distant relative who travels on foot to learn
Under the main singer’s baritone
He matches his own echo since old times

You can read the whole poem here.

More accompanist poetry from previous posts on the Collaborative Piano Blog:

Dick Allen's The Accompanist
Ken Weisner's The Accompanist
Arni Ibsen's The Accompanist
Pauline Arnold's Dear Soloists
William Matthew's The Accompanist
Darren Morris' Accompanist for Florence Foster Jenkins