Remembering Ustad Abdul Rashid Khan, the torch bearer Of 'Ganga-Jamuni Tehzeeb’

A legend, a composer, a performer, a musician and the torch bearer of ‘Ganga Jamuni Tehzeeb’ has left us. Yesterday was the death anniversary of the legend Ustaad Abdul Rashid Khan, who left us two years back. Its once in centuries when one sees a 108 year old musician performing. But even at that age Ustaad Abdul Rashid Khan didn’t miss a note though before he started his performance he used to say “Main 107 saal ka hoon (I am 107 years old),” and then pausing for a minute and then adding, “Nahi, nahi, main 108 saal ka hoon... bhul gaya (no, no, I’m 108 years. I forgot).”  After that he used to give a disclaimer that “Forgive me if I go wrong... I’m such an old man.”Though he used to never miss a note. Ustaad Jee, a descendant of Tansen was awarded by Padma Bhushan in 2013 and thus making him the oldest musician to receive this prestigious award. He was such a legend that he has composed around 2000 compositions in his life-time. In addition to khyaal he was also known for dhrupad, dhamar and thumri. These forms of Hindustani classical music are so old that they take us back to the time of Rg-Veda.

   An incident shows his skills as a composer. He was in the famous town of Vrindavan, playground of Lord Krishna, and en route to the concert venue. The vehicle was caught in traffic and the driver said, "Radhe radhe". Ustaad Jee was then taken aback by the fact that he did not have an appropriate composition for Vrindavan. And thus in the car itself he composed the following verse, "Gaur varan chanchal nain sakhiyan sang mil, dhol karan nainan band Radhe" and performed it for the audience.

        In 1991, he was specially invited by the ITC Sangeet Research Academy (ITC SRA)  in Kolkata to take over as the senior guru. He has been giving talim there for almost last 25 years. His traditional compositions have been recorded by the BBC and Iraq Radio.

       The UP Sangeet Natak Academi and the ITC Sangeet Research Academy have more than 1500 compositions of the ustad in their collection.

He saw no difference between worshipping Allah and worshipping Lord Ram. After his passing away last year India has perhaps lost the last living embodiment of its Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb.

His musical journey was not without obstacles. Some even claimed that professional rivalry had once led to an attempt on his life. A jealous singer was reportedly so insecure after a jugalbandi with Khan that he bribed a waiter to mix mercury in Khan's food. The mercury ended affecting Khan's fingers. But it couldn't impact his voice.

I would like to conclude with my humble regards to the legendary Ustaad on his death anniversary!!

Odissi...

India has a very rich tradition of classical dances. Almost all the Indian States have a particular dance form which has the roots from the culture and tradition of that particular state. Today, I will be talking about the Odissi dance form.

Odissi dance is the dance established in the Indian state of Orissa. The cadence, the bhangis and mudras utilised as a part of Odissi dance has its very own unique nature. Odissi bargains to a great extent with the affection subject of Radha and Krishna. 

This dance was kept alive by the devadasis. The devadasis are one, who dedicate their life to the service of Lord Jagannath. Prior to the presentation of the Gita-govinda in temples, the devadasi used to dance to the recitation of songs and bols of talas. In any case, after Gita-govinda turned out to be an integral part of the customs, the devadasis performed abhinaya with various bhavas and rasas. 

The Gotipua arrangement of dance was performed by young men dressed as young ladies. In this convention one can identify yanking developments set up of smooth interpretations starting with one stance then onto the next. Beam Ramananda the Governor of Rajamahcndri as a performer artist and screenwriter who instructed moving to a gathering of young men chose to order his move show, jagannath Vallabha Nataka. It was performed in the Gotipua style. 

The diverse things of the Odissi move style are Managlacharna, Batunrya or Sthayi Nata, Pallavi, Abhinaya and Moksha. In mangalacharana the artist devotes herself to the Lord and asks absolution of the Mother Earth for stamping her feet upon her; she apologizes to her gathering of people for any weaknesses and offers greetings to the Guru. Batu Nrytya is unadulterated move. It starts with a progression of sculpturesque stances symbolising the playing of the veena, drum, woodwind or cymbals. Pallivi is greatly elegant and expressive. The tune is in some raga and is sung to the backup of Sargam and Bols. Through outward appearances abhinaya portrays rasa and bhava to draw out the importance and disposition of melodies. By and large the melodies composed by writers, Banamali, Upendra Bhanja, Baladeva Rath, Gopala and Jayadeva are sung. Moksha Nrutya is the last thing, performed to the backup of musical syllables. It has a quick rhythm. The spirit of the artist is to converge with the Divine as the artist winds up overjoyed. Odissi dance is a push to draw close to God and experience genuine ecstasy.

What music defines Indian Youth Culture?

(This article written by me was published in UK based online magazine FFM.

Link to which is- https://ffmrecords.com/2017/12/27/2944/)

Ustaad Waseem Ahmed Khan

When we think of the music that defines our current youth culture, genres like hip hop, jazz and indie music comes to our mind. We are living in an era of autotune and lip sync, where anyone or everyone can become a singer. On the other hand, classical music is probably one of the genres which many youth would be least likely to identify. But, the notion of youth towards classical music is changing. The young superstars of any genre of music are the icons for the society, so is the case with classical music, the young maestros are the icons for the youth. The young maestros who not only are great performers but are also imparting the rich culture and tradition of Indian Classical Music to the generation next.

 Ustaad Waseem Ahmed Khan, who comes from the great lineage of traditional musicians of Agra Gharana is one of the finest vocalist of Agra Gharana in the country currently.The musicians of the Agra Gharana play with laya, weaving in words, to make patterns around the beat. Khayal in the hands of the performers from the Agra School is a progression — from the abstract to the concrete and from the divine to the human. All these can be seen in the singing of this maestro. He took his initial taalim from his grandfather Ustaad Ata Hussain Khan and also his father Ustaad Naseem Ahmed Khan. Later, he joined ITC Sangeet Research Academy where he took his taalim under Ustaad Shafi Ahmed Khan. Currently, he is imparting his knowledge of music to the future generation as a faculty at ITC Sangeet Research Academy.

Smt. Kaushiki Chakrabarty

The sweet, melodious and the divine voice Smt. Kaushiki Chakrabarty, one of the most promising classical vocalist of Patiala Gharana of this generation. The famous thumri of Patiala Gharana “Yaad Piya Ki Aaye”, Kaushiki in her unique style has not missed a chance to impress the audience with this thumri, whenever and wherever she sings. She, born into a musical family learnt music under her father Pt. Ajay Chakrabarty who himself is a legendary vocalist. She with her mellifluous and melodious voice, and her mastery over various ragas has made the music lovers her fan across the globe. She is also regarded as the “torch bearer” of the Patiala Gharana.

A very rising Shisya of a very able guru, Pt Omkar Dadarkar shisya of Pt Ulhas Khasalkar are two such great musicians of the country who can sing the gayaki of Agra, Jaipur and Gwalior gharanas with equal ease. Omkar Dadarkar was previously a scholar at ITC SRA and now he is also imparting his unique style of singing to the generation next. He has been awarded by Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar in 2010 for his services to the Indian Classical Music.

The Indian Classical Music is very unique. In order to truly appreciate/learn this style of music, one must have patience and a true love for musical prowess. For current youth, it’s a process to enjoy Hindustani classical music, and it takes some research to find the right songs and proper singers as well. The complexities of the art include the taal (beats), the thaat (notes specific to certain raags), and the coming together of melody, beats, and scales that take years - even decades - to master. But, one must understand that there is no need to understand music as along as it gives you peace and happiness. There are many musicians like- Ankita Joshi, Arshad Ali Khan, Ritesh and Rajnish Mishra, Brajeswar Mukherjee who are not only great performers but are also passing the rich ethos and tradition of Indian Classical Music to the next

Pt Omkar Dadrkar

generation. The time will soon come when people, specially the youth will have Indian Classical Music in their playlists. Because Indian Classical Music is not only a music to ears but also a music for soul. 

To Conclude, Ustaad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan talking about Indian Classical Music said-“If in every home one child was taught Hindustani classical music, this country would never have been partitioned.” 

ITC- Sangeet Research Academy- The glorious 40 years...

Considered the “Macca” of Indian Classical Music, Kolkata was all geared up for the ITC SRA’s Annual Music Conference. I was very excited to attend this year’s music conference. I called my guru jee Ustaad Waseem Ahmed Khan and asked him if I could come. He agreed and I could finally be the part of the music conference. 

 This year the music lovers had lost Girija Devi jee, who was a guru at ITC SRA since its inception. So, this year’s ITC Sangeet Sammelan was dedicated to the “Thumri Queen”, as she was called by her fans.

This was a special occasion for SRA as it had completed 40 years of imparting the Indian Classical Music training to several of its scholar. Pt. Ajoy Chakrabarty, Vidushi Subhra Guha, Pt. Arun Bhaduri, Ustaad Waseem Ahmed Khan, Pt Omkar Dadrkar are few names who were its scholar previously and now they are gurus here and are training scholars under them. Ustaad Rashid Khan and Vidushi Kaushiki Chakrabarty are also the product of ITC Sangeet Research Academy. 

Talking about SRA, its one of its kind in the whole country. Its the only one institution who has so many superstars of Indian Classical Music at one place and all of them imparting knowledge under the guru-shishya parampara. I would like to appreciate the efforts of ITC who is trying to save the Indian Classical Music. The rich history of Indian Classical music which is centuries old, needs to be saved and passed on to the future generation and ITC is doing this job beautifully. The rich and glorious history of SRA where a veteran like Pt Ajay Chakrobarty was its first scholar still has its repute of international level.

Talking about Vidushi Girija Devi or Appaji what she was called lovingly by her fan, I would like to quote Javed Akhtar here who said-“Girija Devi was not only a great classical singer but a national treasurer. We are poorer with out her."  Indeed! the indian classical music has become poorer without her. For whole of my life I would regret not listening to her live even once. If she would have been with her today, maybe I could have got the golden opportunity to listen to her live at this year’s ITC SRA’s annual conference.

Consumers of Indian Classical Music...

Wahhh!! Someone from audience exclaimed. That is when the artist performing comes to know that he/she is connecting with the audience and people are enjoying his/her performance. Today I am going to talk about the role audience plays during a classical music performance.

      I was in Varanasi to attend the Sankatmochan Music Festival. I was a four year old boy and I was or I am perhaps the biggest fan of Pt Jasraj. So, attending the Sankatmochan Music Festival would fulfil my dream of hearing Panditji live.

   At around 2 in night Pandit Jasraj started singing. I could see a lot of foreigners sitting in the audience and  listening to him. I didn’t understand why they were listening to him. What did they understand of the hindustani classical music?  But, perhaps now I know what

made them listen to him. Music is not about understanding, its about how an artist connects to the heart of each individual sitting in the audience. According to me a good artist is one who can connect to the maximum number of people sitting in the audience. And hindustani classical music is solely based on ragas, Ragas are the heart and soul of hindustani classical music. Each and every ragas has its own time for singing and each and every raga has different impact on the listener.

    In Indian Music concerts, I will regard the audience as the “consumers.” The quality of performance is dependent on the quality of the audience participation in this manner. It is definitely a two-way communication, where the performer and the audience share a symbiotic and mutually benefitting relationship. That is why, I regarded audience as the consumers. In Indian Music Concerts a person cannot just go and listen to the artist in any way he likes. There are certain etiquettes one is expected to show during the course of performance. For instance, clapping by audiences in the middle of the performance may be taken as disregard by the artist. 

  I would like to narrate one more instance where I was amazed to see how the Indian

Classical Music can involve school children with itself. I was in class 9th, when my school had organised a performance of Pt Rajendra Prassana, a well known flutist of our country under the SPIC MACAY banner. I had expected that the session would not be so interesting to the students but to my surprise, by the end of the performance each one of the student were singing along the tune of the flute. Everyone in the audience was fully engrossed in the performance. Seeing the audience involve the artists are also motivated to play or perform.

 So, to conclude audience or the quality of audience is an important aspect for a concert to be successful specially in Indian Classical Music.

MUSIC AS COMMUNICATION – AN INDIAN PERSPECTIVE

(This article written by me was published in UK based online magazine FFM.
Link to which is-http://ffmrecords.com/2017/10/04/music-communication-indian-perspective/)

Music is that medium of communication which provides a way by which people can share emotions, intentions, and meanings. Music can exert powerful physical and behavioural effects which can produce deep emotions within us. It can generate a sense of peace and happiness within a person. Music be it vocal or instrumental has a deep impact on the human body.

Playing an instrument is a way to express and communicate our thoughts and feelings. In Indian music where ragas are the whole and soul of the music, Indian musical instruments conveyed the essence of raga without the use of lyrics. The beauty of Indian music is that it is an unusual combination of technique, structure and improvisation. So, even the person playing some instrument can communicate a lot of things to the audience through its playing of a particular instrument. Every instrumentalist, specially in India has a distinct style of playing the notes.

Some instruments like sarangi and violin are considered to be the closest to the vocals of a singer. Instruments like flute and sehnnai have effectively communicated the sweetness and richness of a particular raaga or the song. If one listens to Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia or Ustaad Bismillah Khan, its sure one won’t miss the vocals. Their instruments are sufficient to take the audience into a journey of melody and peace.

 In Indian Music concerts specially in instrumental music concerts, I will regard the audience as the “consumers.” The quality of performance is dependent on the quality of the audience participation in this manner. It is definitely a two-way communication, where the performer and the audience share a symbiotic and mutually beneficial relationship. That is why, I regarded audience as the consumers.  The instrumentalist attracts more audience then a vocal musician because in vocal music their is a barrier of language. For example- a person who does not understand Hindi may not be interested in Indian Vocal Music but that person may be interested in instrumental music because it does not include any language.  When our Indian instrumentalists tour different countries for the concerts, its not just they go and play a particular raga but its like communicating the Indian culture through their instruments.

To conclude, instrument playing is an effective way of communicating one’s emotions and thoughts to the audience.If one listens to Ustaad Amjad Ali Khan’s Raag Malhar one could feel the pouring of rains beside him/her. Its not just the case with Ustaad Amjad Ali Khan’s sarod but if one listens to anyone of that level one can get the true feel and essence of the raga/song.

Indian Classical Music resonates in space...

Recently one of the veterans of Hindustani Classical Music had her birthday. She was a legend and people often confused her voice with that of a nightingale. I am talking about no one else but about Vidushi Kesarbai Kerkar. Most women singers of that time had a deep, resonant and strident female voice, but Kesarbai Kerkar’s voice was marked by its clarity, projection and open quality, all of which were rewards of a long learning from Alladiya Khan, the creator of Jaipur- Atrauli Gharana.

She was one such singer from Indian whose sweet and beautiful voice still resonates in space.

            NASA’s Voyager-2 mission enters its 40th year this year. The special thing about this spacecraft is that it carries different sounds and international music with it. The spacecraft which was launched on 20 August 1977. Among the international music and sounds the disc which the spacecraft carries, also carries a bandish from the Indian Classical Music.  A Hindustani classical composition called “Jaat Kahan Ho” sung by Surshri Kesarbai Kerkar, who is one of the all time great vocalist of the Hindustani Classical tradition. Kesarbai was born in 1893 in Goa and was awarded by the title of 'Surshri' in 1938 by Rabindranath Tagore on behalf of the residents of Kolkata for her sweet and mellifluous voice. Her song is played in outer space for three minutes and twenty five seconds. Being a student of Indian Classical Music I feel pride in writing that even today in space the Indian Classical Music resonates. The Voyagar-2 carries a 12-inch gold-plated copper disc which stores all the music and sound in it. Carl Sagan, was the one who chaired the NASA appointed committee which chose the Indian Classical Music in the golden disc.

    In the book "Murmurs Of Earth - The Voyager Interstellar Record", published in 1978, Ann Druyan, Sagan's wife, says that Robert Brown, the then Executive Director for the Centre For World Music had placed "Jaat Kahan Ho”, which is a composition of Indian Classical Music, at the top of his list of world music for outer space. Forty years on and 11 billion miles from earth in space there is the sound of India. And how did this happen? And this happens due the sweetness and the rich tradition of Indian Classical Music.

 So, this is all for today. We will continue talking about music in my future posts.