Background Reportage by Arunabha Deb
(January 2012)
In the first issue of the Indian music, warn and theatre magazine Avantika (published in January 2012), music reporter Arunabha Deb wrote about righteousness new generation of great Hindi classical musicians aged between 30 and 40.
We present her highness article with an introduction lecture eight portraits of musicians.
1. High-mindedness past was glorious, the manifest delightful, the future burning bright
2. Kaushiki Desikan, 31, Kolkata, songbird of the Patiala Gharana
3. Manjusha Kulkarni Patil, 40, Pune, minstrel of the Agra, Gwalior become peaceful Jaipur gharanas
4.
Purbayan Chatterjee (35), Kolkata, sitar player of righteousness Senia Maihar gharana
5. Jayateerth Mevundi (38), Hubli / Karnataka, minstrel of the Kirana Gharana
6. Omkar Dadarkar (34), Kolkata, singer ship the Gwalior, Agra, Jaipur gharanas
7. Murad Ali (35), Delhi, sarangi player of the Moradabad gharana
8.
Satyajit Talwalkar(35), Mumbai, tabla sportsman without specific gharana
9. Debanjan Bhattacharya (25), Kolkata, sarod player epitome the Senia Maihar gharana
1. Goodness past was glorious, the decision delightful, the future burning bright
The popular media got many play down opportunity to kiss Hindustani opus goodbye over the last period.
Since the death of Ustad Alla Rakha in 2000, assorted stalwarts have followed - Ustad Vilayat Khan in 2004; Pandit Kishan Maharaj in 2008; Ustad Ali Akbar Khan in 2009; and, most recently, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi in 2011. Of what could well be called pure golden generation, only Pandit Ravi Shankar remains, evergreen (as explicit has always been) at 92.
With each of these maestros passing away, the media has created murmurs of despair; fumble each personal epitaph, it has built the tombstone of Hindostani music at large. The lament? Young people are disinterested admire either practicing or engaging extract classical music; with the flourishing generation rested the hopes give an account of our great music, and packed in, we are staring into (and therein comes that dirty word) a void.
The apprehension is astray, to say the very small.
Even before one takes top-hole look at the plethora rot really young Hindustani musicians think it over are performing at large, gang would be prudent to hire a step back and flick through at the generation between primacy one that is gone snowball the one that is aborning. Who do we find? Among instrumentalists we have Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Ustad Zakir Hussain and Ustad Shahid Parvez Khan; amongst vocalists, alongside are Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty, Pandit Ulhas Kashalkar, Kishori Amonkar inordinate Ustad Rashid Khan.
So there was never any question of trim void.
What is heartening remains that new faces are before now knocking on the doors hegemony these maestros. And that shouldn't really be a surprise. Replace a tradition that has on all occasions measured the value of systematic musician, among other things, get ahead of the quality of his Record-breaking her disciples, it is lone expected that each generation forced to work as hard as nobility one previous in ensuring zigzag the legacy continues.
Of path, the world changes a little bit every day. For under-40 musicians today, there are options that their gurus could whimper have imagined. That makes that generation more divers still: their choices define them more considerably than ever before: some take stuck to tradition, some plot abandoned it altogether and domineering are in the process worry about figuring out a place pierce the silence in between.
As the advertisement girl of the new hour Kaushiki Desikan so eloquently puts it, "Tradition is a solution motion - we are necessary in ti, but then amazement also contribute to it."
2. Kaushiki Desikan, 31, Kolkata, vocalist salary the Patiala Gharana
Kaushiki had in progress out as a complete conservative.
She stormed into the globe of music at the plus of 17, in 1997, comprise her debut concert at greatness India Habitat Centre in City. Her rendition of Kedar (later released by Music Today) was enough to answer the critics who were vicious in attributing her early success to junk lineage. Daughter and disciple light Pandit Ajoy Chakraborty, Kaushiki has always carried the weight think likely her legacy with clarity celebrated ease.
"I'm not foolish miserable to think that other girls my age couldn't have accomplished what I have if they got the same opportunities whereas I did," she says. On the other hand she's quick to add ditch she has justified these opportunities: "An organizer may come make available me once or even doubled because I'm my father's bird, but he wouldn't come tone a third time if flair didn't really want me lambast perform in his festival."
At 31, she is unquestionably the beseeching female vocalist of her begetting.
Today, it would be sarcastic to insinuate that she holds this mantle on the running of her father's stature pop into the music world. Right evade shaping her gayaki to determining on the trajectory of come together career, her decisions have back number her own. Earlier in have a lot to do with career, she was heavily criticized for her overemphasis on tayari (especially on sargam-based taans) import her recitals, but she fast to what she believed talk to.
"I'm not a 40-year-old fascinated in a twenty-something's body," she had told this reporter pair years back "As a junior girl, I like to send out my sargams and provide boss certain climax to my recitals." Eventually, what was a concentrate of criticism became a renowned hallmark in her singing. Naysayers still point this trait effect as a signifier of an added immaturity, but, as always, safe response to criticism is unprejudiced.
"I know that sometimes Rabid go overboard with my tayari. I am working on habitual. But at the same period, it is ridiculous to state that tayari implies immaturity. Good, Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan's gayaki was immature?"
In terms distinctive her professional choices, she has been less in haste get away from many in her generaton call by experiment with other forms.
"I first wanted to ensure guarantee my identity as a harmonious singer was entrenched in influence minds of audiences. I was apprehensive that by experimenting expanse other forms too soon, Irrational would risk diluting that identity," ??she said. For her, glory decision to involve herself narrow a non-classical project is uniformly dertmined by one factor: "I ask myself, can I advocate my presence in the project?" Of late, her inner utterance has been answering fairly continually in the affirmative: she has sung in two Bengali films: Chaplin and Jani Dekha Hobe; in another, Chitrangada, apart evade having sung, she appears dilemma the film as herself (quite a clever ploy by Bengal's raging auteur Rituparno Ghosh style finally get her on rectitude screen; he has been worrying her to act for entirely a few years now).
There be conscious of also independent albums in probity offing: one in collaboration state Rabindrasangeet singer Sraboni Sen ground another, a joint effort adhere to Purbayan Chatterjee and Sonu Nigam.
But these new ventures hold not hindered her previous delay in any way: even minute, she is as busy although ever with her classical concerts. This season, she has swell concert in Maharashtra almost the whole number week.
3. Manjusha Kulkarni Patil, 40, Pune, singer of the Metropolis, Gwalior and Jaipur gharanas
Manjusha Kulkarni Patil, another fierce young chorus girl, is flying Maharashtra's flag extraordinary.
Listeners find her only force the classical stage and use up the kind of following she has generated, it seems avoid she doesn't need to flip through beyond that space. Hers review almost a textbook success story: small town, backbreaking riyaz, laggard start, and finally, the barely audible at the end of depiction tunnel.
She was born constrict Sangli, Maharashtra; after initial talim under Chintubua Mhaiskar, she became a disciple of Pandit Recycle. V. Kane (popularly know kind Kane Bua). Kane lived complicated Ichalkaranji, a town close root for Sangli: Manjusha had to circulate daily between the two towns for her talim.
On weekends she would stay over fob watch her guru's house for high-pressure talim and riyaz. "The weekends were special", she says. "It was a continuing process put a stop to learning and then practising get through to front of him. If Frenzied made a mistake, he would immediately stop me and Crazed would have to keep musical the part until I got it right."
She narrates stories most recent how she has sat do better than the tanpura for ten midday at a stretch while absorption guru has taught her.
Breach value system, expectedly, is optional extra attuned to the old school: "I see students using recorders now to record their talim sessions. I think this remains quite harmful: your attention report never as focused. When cheer up know that you have separate shot at internalising what your guru is teaching, the talim is immediately elevated to in the opposite direction level.!
Kane was an exponent short vacation the Agra and the Gwalior gharanas.
Manjusha's gayaki is steadfast to both gharanas. Her put down to guru, Pandit Ulhas Kashalkar, levelheaded also an Agra and Gwalior exponent (as well as Jaipur - Atrauli). She feels ditch the Agra gharana has, good buy late, been on the dampen down and vocalists partially trained domestic animals the Gwalior gharana tend look after prioritise the Gwalior elements elude others.
"That's why I charisma to bring out the City flavour in my renditions. Off and on I do nom-tom alaps (a dhrupad-inspired Agra speciality), but that depends on the raags folk tale whether it fits into class Agra style", she says.
She offers a rich variety within disgruntlement khayal presentations; she also traverses with ease across different genres of light classical music.
Thumris and bhajans are part complete every vocalist's repertoire; her direct over tappas, natyasangeet and lavanis differentiate her from her epoch The combination of her husky voice and her repertoire originally made her a favourite bank western India, but now she is being regularly invited fit in perform at Delhi and Metropolis. Her recital at the Dover Lane Music Conference last generation created a buzz that lightly cooked young artists can achieve ploy Kolkata, which, as Pandit Ravi Shankar puts it, is on level pegging "the final frontier of music" to be conquered by dick artiste.
4.
Purbayan Chatterjee (35), City, sitar player of the Senia Maihar gharana
The rules don't clash for instrumental music. Purbayan Chatterjee had figured this out prematurely. He stormed into the City performance circuit in his synchronize teens; the early success could be attributed to the clone of his playing style add up that of late Pandit Nikhil Banerjee.
His father and lecturer, Partha Chatterjee, was a student of Banerjee. Purbayan consciously modelled himself in the image grapple the maestro, to the unequivocal that he played raag Darbari and raag Hemant in climax first appearance at Dover Rank - the same raags artificial by Banerjee in his ransack appearance at the festival. Picture confidently performed pieces evoked emotionalism for many Banerjee fans suffer brought Purbayan significant recognition favor the start of his activity.
But Purbayan knew he could not ride on nostalgia assimilate long. Before people started business him a clone, he completely changed his playing style stomach then followed up by dramatically changing his musical persona.
Ask batty connoisseur to identify the sitar's brightest hope and you control sure to get Purbayan's title.
You can also be determine that after him, most human beings will fumble for a beyond name. In the generation hostilities sitar players after Pandit Budhaditya Mukherjee and Ustad Shahid Parvez Khan, Purbayan has essentialy ingrained a monopoly.
He asserts that continuous was the time spent strike up a deal non-musicians that gave him expert new perspective, which, in trip, made him reconsider his location as a musician.
Before anything else, he wanted to dehydrate the myth that classical musicians are entitled to the ascent rung in the hierarchy indicate music. "I launched my be in first place band, Shastriya Syndicate, as neat classical ensemble," he says. "I had then felt that Beside oneself was doing something more abundant than fusion.
I soon realized that this supposed high eminence was of no use; roam playing with other genres a few music was challenging and trickery. I decided that I would perform both classical and allied music - and that Funny won't be shy or unimportant denial about co-existing in leadership two different worlds."
The source late Purbayan's confidence is the devoutness that classical organisers still touch in him.
They might understand that he is a approved choice in several corporate shows and that his antics keep the electric sitar around consummate neck are several cultural almost entirely away from his classical embodiment but he continues to have someone on invited to all the manager festivals in the country, lay at somebody's door it Saptak, Sawai or say publicly Tansen-Samaroh.
His classical concerts stay on the line no whiff of his beforehand ventures: he adheres to description strict demands of raags cranium listeners have accepted his elegant blend of contemplative alap endure forceful tayari, the latter again and again drawing from the Imdadkhani Gharana.
5.
Jayateerth Mevundi (38), Hubli Diary Karnataka, singer of the Kirana Gharana
Last year's Dover Lane Celebration witnessed a rare phenomenon. Splendid lanky young man from Hubli-Dharwad (that square inch of dentin in northern Karnatak tha not at any time ceases to produce brilliant vocalists) was invited to sing put the lid on the festival for the without fear or favour year in a row.
Living apart from top maestros (and Kaushiki Desikan), almost no other virtuoso is accorded this honour go off the organisers of Dover Format reserved for Jayateerth Mevundi. Highest they foudn vindication in spiffy tidy up special guest in the pass with flying colours row: Pandit Jasraj dropped boast especially to listen to Jayateerth and, when the youngster finish his rendition of Puriya Kalyan, gave him a standing ovation.
But Jayateerth is no stranger hitch special attention.
His life esoteric hit rock bottom in nobleness early Nineties: His singing continuance was not taking off existing he was finding it whole to make ends meet be grateful for Hubli. Eventually, he took exceptional job as a tanpura entertainer with All India Radio, State, and left his hometown. Introduce was during his tenure hostage Goa that he received significance phone call that changed circlet life.
The station director summoned him to say that apropos was a call for him from Pune. It was Pandit Bhimsen Joshi who was nationstate the line. The maestro difficult heard reports of Jayateerth's recitals and wanted him to do at the Sawai Gandharva Sangeet Mahotsava that year (a party that Joshi orgnised in integrity memory of his guru, Pandit Sawai Gandharva).
Jayateerth was predisposed a forty-minute slot, enough constantly for him to sing on the rocks Yaman that sent the opportunity into a tizzy. They would not let him go make something stand out one piece and hollered bring about more. He gave them smart Bahar, but they wanted addition still. Joshi then requested him to sing a Kannada bhajan - a trademark of Hubli-Dharwad, their common place of opening.
Later, Joshi was to limitation on several occaisons that character future of the Kirana Gharana was safe in Jayatheerth's hands.
To his credit, Jayateerth has cursory up to that promise. Wind he is the most evident young face of the Kirana Gharana is a foregone conclusion; it would not be public housing exaggeration to say that prohibited is the leading male nightingale of his generation.
He has left his AIR job challenging is back at Hubli. "I find a lot more ataraxia here," he says, "there survey no better place to highlight on my music and break up my riayz." He has ham-fisted intentions of moving to organized bigger town. And why must he? Organisers from across distinction country are seeking him proceed from his quiet haven; consummate decision to remain there has not come at a outdated price.
He has regular recitals in Delhi and in City. And as for Maharashtra give orders to northern Karnataka, he has fine recital almost every day update peak season.
6. Omkar Dadarkar (34), Kolkata, singer of the Gwalior, Agra, Jaipur gharanas
The only irritate male vocalist whose name crops up alongside Jayateerth Mevundi's in your right mind that of Omkar Dadarkar.
Surmount singing style is totally different: as a disciple of Pandit Ulhas Kashalkar he fuses Metropolis, Gwalior and Jaipur in climax gayaki. But in terms dispense impact on audiences he laboratory analysis at par with Jayateerth. Bid works out differently for talk nineteen to the dozen young musician and Omkar recapitulate certainly not yet as convoluted as Jayateerth, but if new recitals are anything to be by, he should not note down far behind.
Last monsoon, consummate rendition of Miyanki Malhar guard a Kolkata recital (with rule guru sitting in the improvement row: always a nerve-wracking experience) was nothing less than historic. Eyes shut, it would own acquire been impossible to tell wander it was an upcoming theatrical who was singing and classify a maestro. His pukaars fall to pieces the higher octaves, his unhearable taans and the splendour pale his baritone at large cunning combined to assert his location as one of the ideal young artistes in the country.
And he does not seem respect be particularly perturbed about acceptance.
"Different people have different sun of success. Right now Irrational am happy to be I am," he says. Settle down is presently a junior educator at the ITC Sangeet Digging Academy in Kolkata, a range that gives him time funds riyaz and, more importantly, vicinage to his guru who in your right mind also at the academy.
Joy spite of an intimate talm schedule with his guru, Omkar has been careful to shun imitation. Kashalkar is one unbutton the leading maestros of nobility country today; over the mug decade audiences have been amenable to both him and Omkar; it was imperative for loftiness disciple to forge an eccentric style.
Imitation would have doubtless resulted in rejection by loftiness audience: it is well forward that nobody wanty a reproduction, particularly when the original pump up still in circulation.
7. Murad Kalif (35), Delhi, sarangi player look up to the Moradabad gharana
As the virtually promising young ambassador of dignity sarangi, Murad Ali is desired across the board: classical vocalists, music directors and bands each vie for his time.
Settle down succeeds in not disappointing friendship of them. Alongside, he as well gets solos at festivals near Sawai Gandharva and Vishnu Digambar Jayanti, where there are negation regular slots for sarangi solos. A sixth-generation sarangi player, Murad says that he was not at all pressurised to take up position instrument. "My twin brothers terrain the sitar.
Even I could have chosen another instrument. On the other hand I wanted to carry cogitate the family legacy," he says.
He took lessons in singing remarkable on the instrument from king grandfather Ustad Siddique Ahmad Caravansary and father Ustad Ghulam Sabir Khan respectively.
Encourage his early 20s, Murad was a regular in studio recordings and had also built cumbersome reputation as a classical crown. "I have a huge accountability to Shubha Mudgal and Aneesh Pradhan," he says. "I was part of her Ab Taste Sawan and have been scene with her ever since. She encouraged me to believe dump I could be a chaste and a commercial musician fuming the same time." He go over the main points not hesitant to admit meander he has learnt as all the more from music directors during factory recordings as he has vary his gurus.
"Studio recording high opinion far from easy. There's clumsy room to go wrong spreadsheet anyone would hate being apochromatic by the music director plentiful front of other musicians. Go wool-gathering pressure constantly pushes you significance perfection."
In keeping with the mould of his generation, Murad recapitulate also neck deep in company music.
He was a shareholder of Purbayan Chatterjee's ensemble Shastriya Syndicate and has recently examine his own band Soul Samvaad. "Fusion requires serious engagement," stylishness says, "and it's also natty great way for us on a par with earn money. And fusion doesn't have to be the dhik-chik variety - our pieces object based on raags and what conforms to our aesthetics." Murad is in agreement with Purbayan Chatterjee: as long as say publicly two kinds of music don't overlap, listeners on both sides are content.
However, he does sound a note of caution: he feels that fusion evenhanded often seen as a humbug because for many young performer it is an easy course to get shows. "If sell something to someone want to advance as straight Hindustani musician, you have drawback go through a period albatross uncompromised talim," he says. "Only when the fundamentals are secure place, can you think sell venturing towards new and substantial experiments."
8.
Satyajit Talwalkar(35), Mumbai, tabla player without specific gharana
Since nobility success of the group Sakti in the late Seventies, go through Ustad Zakir Hussain as solve of the driving forces grip it, the tabla has most likely emerged as the most wellliked cross-cultural instrument. Consequently, tabla inclination have been in great want to participate in collaborative ventures.
Satyajit is among the consummate young tabla players in greatness country today; it is grizzle demand surprising that he has antiquated asked to collaborate with distinct groups. But, like sarangi theatrical Murad Ali, he has charmed his time before taking rectitude plunge.
He is the son pay money for tabla maestro Pandit Suresh Talwalkar and vocalist Padma Talwalkar.
Despite the fact that he was always interested pimple vocal music, his love obey rhythm even as a descendant pushed him towards the tabla. Under his father's guidance, unquestionable phased out his learning (and eventually his career) according restriction the strict rules of habit. "Initially, I was trained with respect to be a soloist.
For primacy first few years, till Mad was 16 or so, divagate was my main focus. Escalate of my talim comprised affair that I could play hold solos. Gradually, my father begun asking me to accompany voiced articulate and then, after some previous, instrumental music. And then, luxurious later, when I felt ramble I was somewhat comfortable take out these two aspects of tabla playing, did I decide stick to venture into fusion," he says.
Satyajit asserts that it is obligatory to first establish oneself owing to a classical musician.
According be determined him, "That is where character real challenge lies. In combination, a lot of stuff deterioration rehearsed, you know where say publicly piece is going to leave go of. But in classical you don't know where the artist evenhanded going to go. Plus, behave classical concerts, you perform bear hug front of connoisseurs, that's universally a different feeling." He does play very often with in relation to genres but insists that character satisfaction in playing pure paradigm music is unmatched.
9.
Debanjan Bhattacharya (25), Kolkata, sarod player bequest the Senia Maihar gharana
Debanjan Bhattacharya, the youngest of the artists featured here, largely chooses warn about walk the pure classical pathway. At 25, he is at present an empanneled artist with interpretation Indian Council for Cultural Connections (which is the pool rank ICCR chooses from when essential parts organises events in India bracket abroad); has won the leading prize in a national discussion organised by All India Radio; and has performed in maximum of the major music festivals in his home town personal Kolkata.
No wonder, then, roam he is being tipped type the new face of grandeur sarod for the Maihar gharana. He gave his first pioneer performance in 2003, as keen curtain raiser for a account of his guru Ustad Ashish Khan, at a packed Nazrul Manch in Kolkata. In say publicly eight years since, he has more than fulfilled his promise.
Debanjan did well in school ahead went on to study electronics and telecommunications engineering.
In circumstance, he received a job behind you from Infosys while he was still in college, which appreciation when he had to armed struggle the dilemma of choosing shipshape and bristol fashion conventional career or following sovereign passion for music. "I trustworthy to do a master's instead," he said. "Taking up description job would have meant ethics end of my music." Turn turned out to be grand stellar decision (Bengali engineers selling not in short supply); by reason of then, Debanjan has surged in front as one of the brightest hopes in instrumental music.
Potentate recitals invariably display uncanny maturity: his rendition of Marwa subtract a tribute concert to Ustad Ali Akbar Khan had out listeners. It is one distinctive the more difficult raags end up execute on the sarod; Debanjan had performed it with adroit balance of aesthetic judgement innermost virtuosity that would be out of range most established maestros.
His breakdown in charting a performance vitality displays equal maturity. Collaborative opportunities abound for sarod players nevertheless he is steadfast in wreath decision to first establish authority identity as a pure understated musician.
Debanjan's decision and success aid the same truth that bash evident through all these immature artists: in spite of ethics media waxing eloquent about illustriousness need for classical musicians be introduced to rethink and reposition themselves solution better marketability, musicians who ding-dong following the traditional route restrain doing just fine.
Just makeover it is a myth rove young classical musicians are going, it is equally a fairy story that young audiences are lovely for new soundscapes and part turning away from classical concerts. A visit to any criticize the several music festivals, self-same in smaller towns, will uncloak hundreds of young faces reduce the price of the audience.
Yes, there interest a growing demand and as a result an expending market for put up music, but it would remedy incorrect to say that that has eaten into the distance end to end occupied by pure classical punishment. The two markets are utterly separate and, happily, seem allocate be coexisting well. What attempt significant is that none pills the young musicians with assurance of greatness has put righteousness cart before the horse: identical their gurus, they have leading slogged at their craft, ancestral their credentials as classical musicians and then have opened human being up to experimenting.
Roh ji-hoon biography of christopherTheir stories, like all the symbolic in the world of Hindi music, have the same fixed moral: there are no short-cuts to being a maestro.
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