By S.R. Krishna Murthy
Most of us do not live a century. Even those who live a hundred years will have so many age-related physical problems and will be dependent on others for every activity of daily chores. Audio and video faculties will be weak. The voice will be failing to convey distinctly, what our minds want to convey to others. Mobility will be restricted. Not that everyone who lives that long paint such a dire picture. Some live happily without any such impediments.
Coming to the Grand Old Man of Gwalior Gharana, Ustad Abdul Rashid Khan. He is 105 years old (born 19th August, 1908). He is a descendent of Miya Tansen (1506-2589) and is twenty-sixth in the lineage. Of course, he too suffers from age related problems.
He is confined to a wheel chair as has lost the ability to walk. His hands have become gnarled with age. He has to be physically lifted on to the platform. When he talks, one has to listen carefully as some of the words will be incomprehensible. Someone has to repeat in his ears what others say to him.
With all this, when he takes his place on the platform and hits his first note, perfectly aligned to the Adhara Shadja, it is difficult to connect his voice with the image he had presented when he was being carried on to the stage.
The range he can reach and the volume of his voice are amazing. It is just unbelievable that this fragile person can produce such wonderful music and manages to regale and mesmerise the audience with such powerful singing.
Khan Saab, recognised as one of the greatest exponents of the Gwalior Gayaki, was born in a family of musicians tracing back to Behram Khan, who was a singer of Gwalior Gharana Gayaki. His father’s elder brother Bade Yusuf Khan and his father Chote Yusuf Khan initiated him to music. Other elders in the family like Chand Khan, Barkhurdar Khan, Mahtab Khan gave him extensive guidance in Gwalior style of singing. He developed this technique suiting his own artistic ability. He is equally versatile with Dhrupad, Dhamar, Dadra, Thumri, Bhajans and Sufiyana music.
Khan Saab has composed more than 2,000 compositions and is also a prolific writer (consider his age and eye sight !). His poems carry the pen name ‘Rasan Piya.’ He has trained innumerable students as a Guru at the ITC Sangeeth Research Academy, Kolkata. He is a part of Spicmacay (Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music And Culture Amongst Youth) in its campaign ‘Virasat’ and travels all over the country, singing for young students. He has received many awards including the Sangeet Natak Academy Award, the ITC award and the Kashi Swar Ganga Award. He has been bestowed with titles like ‘Ras Sagar,’ ‘Sangeet Maharishi,’ ‘Sangeet Sartaz’ and ‘Bandish Samrat.’
It was an honour that he was in Mysore and Spicmacay gave Mysore audience a lifetime chance to listen to such a great personality. In fact, it was once again an amazing fact that he gave two concerts on a single day at Mysore, July 11, apart from attending a lengthy press meet before the first concert, where he was honoured by the scribes at Patrakartara Bhavana, along with Pt. Rajiv Taranath, the Sarod maestro and a proud citizen of Mysore.
The first concert of Khan Saab was at Vivekananda Hall of SBRR Mahajana College at Jayalakshmipuram. The programme was organised by Spicmacay and co-sponsored by Mahajana College. It was a noon programme. The singer was accompanied by Hafeez Ahmed Khan (younger brother of the singer) on harmonium, Sarwar Hussain of Bhopal on Sarangi, Bilas Khan (great-grandson of the singer) on tabla. Two disciples of the singer, Ahmed Ali and Asad Ali, gave vocal and tanpura support.
Khan Saab began his concert with a Bada Khyal in a rare Raag Megh. After a short Alap, he took up a Vilambit Khyal in Ek Taal with the Bandish ‘Garajat Aayi Baadalwa,’ in which there was a beautiful description of monsoon. The slow moving air, developing into a forceful gale, the formation of clouds and the thunder and lightning they produce, raindrops slowly trickling and gradually developing into a deluge, were all expressed both in the lyrics and in the singing of Khan Saab. He developed the Raag slowly but steadily, just like the monsoon.
Reaching the higher octaves, he gave a surprise element. He just leapt from the very low octave (Anumandra) to higher octave (Tara Sthayi), just like an unexpected thunderbolt, landing exactly on a required note. Such was his spirit of singing. The unwavering voice at this age, alignment to Shruthi at all levels and clear diction were the highlights.
The second Raag was Khamaj (Hari Kamboji), in which he took up a Meera Bhajan, ‘Maayiri Maine Neeno Govinda Bolo.’ The repetition of the line Govinda Bolo was excellent, earning the encomium of the overflowing gathering, which consisted of musicians, music lovers, litterateurs, elite of Mysore and students.
At SJCE: The second programme had been organised by Spicmacay, in collaboration with Sri Jayachamarajendra College of Engineering (SJCE), at its auditorium in Manasagangothri. This was an evening concert. The accompaniments consisted of the same team. Once again, the auditorium was brimming with listeners.
The performance of Khan Saab was as good as that of the morning session. Only change was that the Raag was different, which was full of grace and pure classical nuances, as if he were a vocalist in his 40s. Starting a Bada Khyal in a more familiar Raag Puria Kalyan, he took up a short Alap and continued with Vilambit in Ek Taal.
The lyrics of the composition ‘Janam ki Emabhayo Leela’ was sung in two speeds. The second speed contained a bit of Taan. He just quipped that the Sargam is not usually sung in his Gharana. But these days, people have started singing Sargam. He had no option but to go along the tide. Therefore, he too would sing some Sargam. Saying so, he took up some extraordinary Sanchara in Sargam. He showed a fine balance of Swaras and Sahitya. The Gamaka in Vilambit and Laykari in the subsequent Dhruth set to Teen Taal, with Bandish — ‘Aaj Rekhiraava Maayo’ — were superb. His Tarana at the end in Jap Taal was definitely not a simple one. He could leap from one octave to another at will, picking up a note from deep below the depth of an unknown territory, right to the heights over the clouds. He could hold his breath on a note steadily for well over a minute and come back to where he started. His energy level was so great, although he looks physically very fragile. Who could say he is past hundred years, when his voice was as young as a man, one third his age?
The second composition he sung was a Raga Malike type. He began with Bhupali (Teen Taal). ‘Jhanana Jhanana Baaje Muraliya’ was the Dhruth in Jai Jaivanti and Mia Ki Malhar, continuing it with another Tarana. Apart from Khyal, he is equally adept at singing Thumri. His third number was a Thumri, which was his own composition, in Mishra Keeravani.
The last one was a Kabeera Sub Karo Ram Bhajan, which he continued with a lengthy Sufiyana ‘Bolo Ram Ram Ram.’ He involved himself so much with lyrics that the mystic element and bhakti engulfed everyone present there. When he repeated the first line after every stanza, the audience too joined him. The atmosphere was so charged, I could see tears in some of the listeners. One must thank Spicmacay for giving the music fraternity of Mysore such a rare opportunity to listen to this Grand Old Man of Gwalier Gharana.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / August 07th, 2013
