50 Maestros, 50 Recordings

By Ayaan Ali Khan

From Begum Akhtar to Bhimsen Joshi, Enayat Khan to Ravi Shankar, Bismillah Khan to Shiv Kumar Sharma, Indian classical music is as varied as it can be, from the pure traditional gharanas to more recent blends and fusions. Young sarod players Amaan and Ayaan Ali Khan have grown up surrounded by music and musicians. In this tribute to the masters of Indian classical music, both instrumental and vocal, they take us through their encounters with fifty musicians from the twentieth century, exploring the world of both Hindustani and Carnatic music. Filled with personal anecdotes and musical appraisals, this book takes you through the best of Indian classical music. Interspersed with some rare photographs from the authors personal collection as well as descriptions and details of every recording they have discussed, this book is a keepsake for the connoisseur and a comprehensive introduction to the beginner.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Collins India
• Release date: Dec 16, 2009
• ISBN: 9789350293096

Book preview

Know Your Classical Music

It can often get very confusing and overwhelming for people to get used to certain terms used in Indian classical music. But it is easy to explain them in simple ways, as music has always been taught in the oral tradition and the art and discipline passed verbally from guru to shishya. The first and most important element of Indian classical music is the raga.

A Raga is made of a set of ascending and descending notes within a certain discipline. But it is much more than a scale which also refers to the set of notes. A raga has distinctive features with prominent notes, combinations of notes and timings of the day and season. The north Indian system has ragas for every time of day. Although there is no logical explanation as to why a particular raga must be performed at a particular time, it is traditionally believed that the cycle of sound in every raga affects human behaviour. Each hour of the day represents a different stage of development in human life and is associated with a certain kind of emotion. The correlation is important, as the aim of a raga is to evoke human sentiment. However, this theory does not exist in the south Indian system where there is no specific timing for any raga. In fact, when performing in the south, many north Indian artistes also take the liberty of presenting ragas from any time of the day at any given time. Another interesting difference between north and south is that many ragas are known by different names in either tradition. For instance, Malkauns is called Hindolam in the south, Bhopali is Mohanam and Yaman is Kalyani. Of course, there are many common names too, like Sindhu Bhairavi, Abhogi, Vachaspati and Kirwani.

Music all over the world is based on seven basic, primary notes which are called the Shuddha (literally, pure) notes in Indian classical music, and five Komal notes, which are flat. The seven notes are Saraj, Rishabh, Gandhar, Madhyam, Pancham, Dhaiwat and Nishad, or, more simply, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni. In this book we have indicated the flat notes in small letters. Altogether there are twelve notes. A raga may have either the shuddha or komal version of a particular note, or it may use both komal and shuddha. For example, Malkauns and Bilaskhani Todi use only komal notes whereas ragas like Tilak Kamod and Durga have shuddha notes and ragas like Ahir Bhairav and Kirwani use both komal and Shuddh. Some ragas have all seven notes, be it shuddha or komal, while others have five and some even three. The most prominent note in a raga is called Vaadi and the second most important note of the raga is called Samvaadi.

The traditional style of music which today has become somewhat rare is called Dhrupad, where the use of embellishments does not exist. The usage was more of long glides both for vocalists and instrumentalists. On the other hand, Khayal is the more prominent and popular style of classical vocal today and has developed greatly over time. Khayal literally means imagination, a thought. The khayal style has largely dominated the vocal music scene for the past several decades. This style gave performers the opportunity and the challenge to display the depth and breadth of their musical knowledge and skill. Khayal is the genre of improvisational music, and hence it is the study of an artistes’ imaginative individuality and ability to render a unique khayal at each presentation. Dhrupad, on the other hand, was very rigid. Both these styles of vocal music have had instrumental interpretation over time.

A raga is set to a particular rhythm cycle, called Taal. There are different types of taal, the most common being the Teentaal, set to 16 beats (4 + 4 + 4 + 4). Ustad Ahmed Jaan Thirakhwa (see Chapter 3) describes the different forms and styles of rhythm with interesting detail and demonstration.

A raga traditionally opens with a slow elaboration of its notes and movements. This unaccompanied prelude is called the Alaap and it serves as an introduction to the raga. It is made up of very slow movements and can be a heavy dose for the newcomer to classical music. In instrumental music, the alaap may end with a Jor, whereby a rhythm is created without an accompaniment, through the drone strings. The alaap is usually followed by the Gat which is a composition in instrumental and vocal music, though in the rhythmic world it also refers to a style common in the purab style of tabla playing. The gat may be played or sung in a very slow tempo or Vilambit, or it may have a very fast composition, which is called Drut. The use of different rhythmic patterns is called Layakari.

A crescendo or Jhala is commonly used to conclude the raga. It is a fast rhythmic style of instrumental music characterized by a constant plucking of the drone strings or Chikari. In vocal music, of course, there is no crescendo but usually the musician ends with a taan.

The common structure in Carnatic music is the Ragam, Tanam and Pallavi which are common to both vocal and instrumental music. The performance is mainly divided into three sections which are the pallavi (a single line composition), anupallavi (second section of any composition) and charanam (usually the last section of a composition which is sung or played after the anupallavi). Although Carnatic instrumental music is a unique tradition in itself with the use of instruments like the veena, violin, nadarswaram, etc., the musical tradition revolves around instrumental interpretations of vocal forms. The nuances of the raga are unfolded with the Varnam or description, and Kritis, which are fixed musical compositions by great composers, are also played or sung. Niruval and Kalpana Swara provide the opportunity to improvise.

Within its basic structure a raga has many embellishments. Gamak is a variation in the pitch of a note, using vigorous oscillations between bordering and distant notes. A fast run of musical notes is called a Taan. There are many schools of taan in both vocal and instrumental music. Every school has its own unique technique and pattern. Similar to taans are the Boltaans in vocal music, which are embellishments based on the lyrics. Another feature special to vocal music is the Thumri, a semi-classical style of singing that deals mainly with lyricism and romantic text. Thumris have lyrics like ‘Kya karoo sajni’, ‘Aye na baalam’, ‘Kaun gali gayo shyam’, etc. A style of poetic recitation that speaks of human emotion, mainly romance or pain, in its lyrics is called Ghazal. Another semi-classical style of singing is Dadra, which was traditionally accompanied by the Dadra Taal, a common six-beat taal used in light and semi-classical vocal and instrumental music.

A raga may be performed from start to finish along these lines, but there is enough space for variety. A Sawal Jawab is a question-and-answer session between two instrumentalists, two vocalists or between an instrumentalist/vocalist and a percussionist. A duet between two instrumentalists or vocalists, or a vocalist and an instrumentalist is called a Jugalbandi. One must bear in mind that a duet should be a duet and not a duel! When an artiste presents numerous ragas one after the other, like a ‘mala’ or garland, it is called a Ragamala or Ragamallika. This term is also closely associated with the famous Mughal miniature style of painting based on the characterization of various ragas. Usually, there are no rules in a ragamala but ideally they should be ragas which are close to each other in their musical notes. The ragamallika is especially common in Carnatic music for both vocalists and instrumentalists. Though north Indian instrumentalists have also adapted this trend, it is less commonly presented by north Indian vocalists.

In vocal music, a style of singing originally of Persian origin, is often presented, characterized by rhythmic syllables which have no meaning, called Tarana. It is said that the tarana was pioneered by the great thirteenth-century Sufi, Amir Khusro. A vocal, rhythmic and melodic composition using phrases without meaning in Carnatic music is called Tillana.

At the end of the day, these are terms which it helps to be aware of and to keep at the back of your mind. What matters eventually is the music, the effect of music and the realization of the twelve notes of music.

Ustad Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan

1929 -

Sitar maestro Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan is recognized as one of the leading representatives of the Indore Beenkar gharana, which also fi nds its roots in the musical legacies of the ustads Bande Ali Khan, Murad Khan and Babu Khan.

We had always heard the name of this great master from our father, but never got to meet him until he was presented with the Haafiz Ali Khan Award in 1993 in New Delhi, by the then President of India, Dr K.R. Narayanan. The other awardee that year was Dr Balamurali Krishna. Subsequently, we met Khan sahib on numerous occasions in Mumbai, and he has always received us with great love and warmth. He is extremely fond of our father and also told us stories of our grandfather with whom he had exchanged many letters. His presence at a concert hall is inspiring for any performer because he is always very encouraging with his words.

Ustad Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan with Pandit Samta Prasad

In spite of the presence of so many great sitarists, Khan sahib managed to carve a niche for himself and created a style that was never before heard. He has taken festivals by storm wherever he has performed. He received the Sangeet Natak Academy award in 1987, and the Padmashri in 1970. His work speaks volumes for his skill and he is known for a distinctive style of playing that has been named the Jaffer Khani Baaj after