Two Biographies of two famous Sitarists

To consider Namita Devidayal's "The Sixth String of Vilayat Khan", first, on her own admission, she wanted "to find that sensational angle to...produce a page turner ..the rivalry between the (subject of her book) & Ravi Shankar....like the film "Amadeus" did between Salieri & Mozart. Given that, as some one close to Vilayat Khan said "He speaks the truth only by mistake" & much of the narrative is from the subject's perspective, the reader may be left in no doubt as to who Mozart is.

Apart from this, the writing leaves the reader in doubt as to the musical knowledge of the author, as she shies off from any remarks of depth. Add to this the lack of an index & a discography, & one has a quite shallow work on hand.

In stark contrast to the above, is Swapan Bandyopadhyay's "Nikhil Banerjee - Down the Heart of Sitar". The author, being a Professor of English & a Sitar player himself, brings knowledge & authority into his writing. Avoiding Ms. Devidayal's sensationalism, he quietly presents the salient facts of Pandit Banerjee's life & music, even though the book is shorter. There is a discography & details of Ragas created by Nikhil Banerjee, but no index again. Opinions of seniors & peers are included to give a rounded perspective on the man. Here also, given the mendacity of the subject of the earlier book, his comments about the subject of this book, may be taken with a pinch of salt!