A Tribute to Shafaat Ahmed Khan

Ustad Amir Khan

Ustad Amir Khan (Hindi: अमीर ख़ान, Urdu: امیر اقبال خان, pronounced [əˈmiːr ˈxaːn]; August 15, 1912 – February 13, 1974) was a well-known Indian classical vocalist. He is considered one of the most influential figures in Hindustani classical music, and the founder of the Indore Gharana.

Early life and background

Amir Khan was born in a family of musicians in Indore, India. His father, Shahmir Khan, a sarangi and veena player of the Bhendibazaar gharana, served at the court of the Holkars of Indore. His grandfather, Change Khan, was a singer in the court of Bahadurshah Zafar. Amir Ali's mother died when he was nine years old. He had a younger brother, Bashir, who became a sarangi player at the Indore station of All India Radio.
He was initially trained in the sarangi by his father. However, seeing his interest in vocal music, his father gradually devoted more time to vocal training, focusing on the Merukhand technique. Amir Ali was exposed at an early age to many different styles, since just about every musician who visited Indore would come to their house, and there would be mehfils at their place on a regular basis. Also, he learnt the basics of tabla playing from one of his maternal uncles, who was a tabla player.
Amir Khan moved to Bombay in 1934, and there he gave a few concerts and cut about half a dozen 78-rpm records. Following his father's advice, in 1936 he joined the services of Maharaj Chakradhar Singh of Raigadh Sansthan in Madhya Pradesh, but he stayed only about a year. Amir Ali's father died in 1937. Later, Khansahib lived for some time in Delhi and Calcutta, but after the partition of India he moved back to Bombay.

Singing career

Amir Khan developed his own singing style, incorporating the styles of Abdul Waheed Khan (vilambit tempo), Rajab Ali Khan (taans) and Aman Ali Khan (merukhand). This unique style, known as the Indore Gharana, blends the spiritual flavor and grandeur of dhrupad with the ornate vividness of khyal. He presented an aesthetically detailed badhat (progression) in ati-vilambit laya (very slow tempo), followed by sargams, taans and bol-taans, including Merukhandi patterns, and finally a madhyalaya or drut laya (medium or fast tempo) chhota khyal or a rubaidaar tarana. His performances had an understated elegance, reverence, restrained passion and an utter lack of showmanship that both moved and awed listeners. He believed that poetry was important in khyal compositions, and with his pen name, Sur Rang ("colored in swara"), he has left several compositions.
He helped popularize the tarana, as well as khyalnuma compositions in Persian. He often used the Jhoomra and Ektaal taals, and generally preferred a simple 'theka' from the tabla accompanist. As in the case of Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Amir Khan's initial sarangi training was important in establishing him as a great singer. Even though he had been trained in the sarangi, he generally performed khayals and taranas with only a tanpura and tabla for accompaniment. Sometimes he had a subdued harmonium accompaniment, but he almost never used the sarangi.

Characteristics of his style include:

* slow-tempo raga development
* improvisation mostly in lower and middle octaves
* tendency towards serious and expansive ragas
* emphasis on melody
* judicious use of pause between improvisations
* bol alap and sargam using merukhand patterns
* sparing application of murki
* use of kan swaras in all parts of performance
* controlled use of embellishments to preserve introspective quality
* rare use of tihai
* careful enunciation of text of bandish
* actual bandish as sung may or may not include antara
* use of multiple laya jatis in a single taan
* mixture of taan types in a single taan
* use of ruba'idar tarana (considered similar to chhota khyal)

Besides singing in concerts, Amir Khan also sang film songs in ragas, most notably for the films Baiju Bawra, Kshudhita Pashan, Shabaab, and Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje. He also sang a ghazal Rahiye Ab Aisi Jagah for a documentary on Ghalib.
His disciples include Pandit Amarnath, A. Kanan, Srikant Bakre, Singh Brothers, Mukund Goswami, Gajendra Bakshi, Kankana Banerjee, Pradyumna Kumud Mukherjee and Poorabi Mukherjee, Hridaynath Mangeshkar, Akhtar Sadmani, Amarjeet Kaur, Ajit Singh Paintal, Bhimsen Sharma, Munir Khan, and Kamal Bose. His style has also influenced many other singers and instrumentalists, including Prabha Atre, Rashid Khan, Mahendra Toke, Shanti Sharma, Gokulotsavji Maharaj, Nikhil Banerjee and the Imdadkhani gharana. Although he referred to his style as the Indore Gharana, he was a firm believer of absorbing elements from various gharanas.
Amir Khan was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1967 and the Padma Bhushan in 1971.

Personal life

Amir Khan's first marriage was to Zeenat, sister of the sitar player, Ustad Vilayat Khan. From this marriage, which eventually failed and ended in separation, he had a daughter, Farida. His second marriage was to Munni Bai, who gave birth to a son, Ekram Ahmed. Around 1965, Khansaheb married Raisa Begum, daughter of the thumri singer, Mushtari Begum of Agra. He had expected that Munni Begum would accept the third wife; however, Munni disappeared and it is rumored that she committed suicide. With Raisa he had a son, Haider Amir, later called Shahbaz Khan.
Khansahib died a premature death in a car accident in Calcutta.

Discography
Movies

* Baiju Bawra (Music director: Naushad)
o 'Tori Jai Jai Kartar' (raga Puriya Dhanashree; alternate version here)
o 'Sargam' (raga Darbari)
o 'Langar Kankariya Ji Na Maro' (raga Todi, with D. V. Paluskar)
o 'Aaj Gaawat Man Mero Jhoomke' (raga Desi, with D. V. Paluskar)
o 'Ghanana Ghanana Ghana Garjo Re' (raga Megh)
* Kshudhita Pashan (Music director: Ali Akbar Khan)
o 'Kaise Kate Rajni' (raga Bageshree, with Protima Banerjee)
o 'Piya Ke Aavan Ki' (thumri in raga Khamaj)
o 'Dheemta Dheemta Derena' (tarana in raga Megh)
* Shabaab (Music director: Naushad)
o 'Daya Kar He Giridhar Gopal' (raga Multani)
* Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baje (Music director: Vasant Desai)
o Title song 'Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baje' (raga Adana)
* Goonj Uthi Shehnai (ragamala with Bismillah Khan)
o Bhatiyar
o Ramkali
o Desi
o Shuddh Sarang
o Multani
o Yaman
o Bageshree
o Chandrakauns
* Ragini
o 'Jogiya Mere Ghar Aaye' (raga Lalit)

Public and private recordings

* Abhogi - two versions
* Adana - longer performance of 'Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baje' title song, two other versions
* Ahir Bhairav - three versions
* Amirkhani
* Bageshree
* Bageshree Kanada
* Bahar
* Bairagi - two versions
* Barwa
* Basant Bahar
* Bhatiyar - three versions
* Bhimpalasi
* Bihag
* Bilaskhani Todi - two versions
* Chandni Kedar
* Chandrakauns
* Chandramadhu
* Charukeshi
* Darbari - nine versions
* Deshkar
* Gaud Malhar
* Gujari Todi - three versions
* Hansadhwani - two versions
* Harikauns
* Hem Kalyan
* Hijaz Bhairav (a.k.a. Basant Mukhari)
* Hindol Basant
* Hindol Kalyan
* Jaijaiwanti
* Janasanmohini - three versions
* Jog - three versions
* Kafi Kanada
* Kalavati
* Kausi Kanada
* Kedar
* Komal Rishabh Asavari - two versions
* Lalit - seven versions
* Madhukauns
* Malkauns - three versions
* 'Maru Kalyan'
* Marwa - two versions
* Megh - three versions
* Miya Malhar
* Multani
* Nand
* Nat Bhairav
* Poorvi
* Puriya - three versions
* Puriya Kalyan
* Rageshree
* Ramdasi Malhar - two versions
* Ramkali - two versions
* Ram Kalyan (a.k.a. Priya Kalyan or Anarkali)
* Shahana - three versions
* Shree
* Shuddh Kalyan - two versions
* Shuddh Sarang (with drut section in Suha)
* Todi - three versions
* Yaman
* Yaman Kalyan - three versions

Awards and recognitions

* Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1967
* Presidential Award in 1971
* Padma Bhushan in 1971
* Swar Vilas from Sur Singar Sansad in 1971

Megh Malhar

Megh Malhar A Three Days Thematic Festival of Classical Music on monsoon Ragas

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Spiritual Davos - Medley of Global Musical Traditions

Spirit of oneness and compassion a big draw among visitors; the Fes festival and its charm are added attractions



The 17th World Sacred Music Festival kicked off on Friday in this charming Moroccan city of majestic hills and ancient walls, with a dazzling opera based on that eternal love story, Layla and Majnun. Under the artistic direction of the Morocco-reared and Paris-based composer Armand Amar, at the historical Bab al Makina, the show was a veritable medley of global musical traditions that included vocalists and percussionists from Europe, Africa, South Asia, Iran and Mongolia. It featured percussion of Shanghai, drums of Japan, Armenian wind instrument duduk and Maghrib’s own stringed instrument oud. Besides local artistes, performers from several nations, including Afghanistan, Brazil, Ethiopia, France, India, Italy, Pakistan, Senegal, Spain and the United States, are taking part in the 10-day festival, which ends on June 12. For the first time, the Fes festival has a strong Indian presence with three groups taking stage on successive days starting Monday. However, the first of these, the cine concert “Prem Sanyas (the Light of Asia),” a 1925 silent masterpiece that is accompanied by live music, was rained out. Brothers Umakant Gundecha and Ramakant Gundecha are scheduled to perform “Sacred Art of Dhrupad.” Lastly, musicians from Manganiar and Langa traditions will present “Sufi chants of the Thar Desert” on Wednesday.
Giving star power to Fes this year are Senegal’s Youssou N’dour, one of the most popular musicians the African continent has produced, and two female singers who had the world at their feet while they were still in their teens, Brazilian Maria Bethania and Lebanese Julia Boutros. The ever youthful Bethania — a product of the swinging’60s — and Boutros, who is known for supporting Middle Eastern political causes, put on awe-inspiring performances on back-to-back nights.
“This year, we have tried to mix the traditional musicians with great and popular artists whose music have a spiritual [dimension], such as Bethania, Boutros and Youssou N’dour,” Faouzi Skali, the director general of the festival, said.
Explaining the festival’s theme, “Wisdoms of the World,” Skali said it expresses “something that needs articulation. It is not just spiritual wisdom, but wisdom related to what is happening in our world, what is the meaning of wisdom in economics.” This year the political turmoil in the region, which has so far consumed two regimes, and is threatening to topple more is among the topics discussed at the colloquium, titled “Giving Soul to Globalization,” which has become part of the festival since 2000.
Skali, the brain behind the festival, terms Fes as “Spiritual Davos,” referring to the Swiss city that hosts the World Economic Forum, an annual gathering of the world’s business and political elites. “In Davos, they are thinking that economics is the justification for everything. Our approach is more profound and is different from that of politicians and business people, he added.” It is that difference that has attracted visitors like Tony Singh, a banker and independent board member from India, for whom a tour to this imperial city has become an annual “pilgrimage.”
The Delhiite said he was pulled by the spirituality and the message of oneness that it spreads. “It is the spirit in which performances are held here, the spirit of oneness and compassion, of understanding, of peace, of inclusion of different religions, using music as a method of harmonizing.”
Of course, the welcoming nature of Fes and its charm are added attractions. “Fes is a city which is magical for many people for the energy it brings,” said Singh, who, along with his daughter Priyanka, is making his fourth trip in four years.
Part of the magic of the festival is the backdrop of its dozen odd venues, all of them steeped in history. Bab al Makina, venue for evening concerts, was built 125 years ago. Musee Batha, a palace-turned-museum where morning events and afternoon concerts are held, was also built around the same time. Then there is the granddaddy of all venues, Bab Boujloud, which hosts free concerts. Built in the 11th century, it is a gateway to the Fes medina, or a walled section of the city unique to this region.
Started in 1994, the Festival of World Sacred Music has become an important feature of the Moroccan summer, bringing thousands of visitors to the city every year. Organizers estimate that between 5,000 and 6,000 people attend the festival daily. On the opening night, among the several thousands who showed up to watch the tragic story of unrequited love of the “Madman” and Laila was Princess Lalla Salma, the commoner from Fes, who would go on to marry the King of Morocco.

Swaranjali : pandit Vinayakrao nanalal Vora

Free Entry on 9 th June Evening 6 P.M

Night of song & dance with a Goan troupe

Mumbai: ‘‘Our Konkani is not brilliant but we’ve done it,” says Virginia Bras Gomes triumphantly. Gomes is part of Ekvat, a group of Goan musicians from Portugal which is in the city to perform. Their Konkani isn’t perfect as all of them are Portuguese speaking immigrants from India as well as countries in East Africa, which had large Goan populations.
The 22-year-old Ekvat, which is a wing of Casa de Goa— an organization of migrants from Goa and Daman and Diu— will perform traditional Goan songs such as mandos and dances like dekni. Gomes says that they have tried to be as authentic as possible. It’s not easy as only a small number of immigrants actually grew up in Goa. Gomes is one of them. Goans born before 1961, when the state became a part of India, and their children and grandchildren are entitled to Portuguese citizenship. Gomes left home for Portugal in 1970.
“My only possibility to see the world was to go where I had family,” says the 60-year old. While she spoke Portuguese at home, Gomes can speak Konkani as she grew up and studied in Goa. “We buy books. But basically, it’s the memories. We have shared memories of traditions and grandmothers with huge houses.”
The mando is a plaintive dance song that usually tells sad love stories. But there are also wedding mandos and political mandos that were sung when Goans resisted the Portuguese. Some like Maticha bangar are original compositions. The song, which means ‘gold of our soil’, is about memories of summer vacations.
The group also writes mandos for couples who meet through the group and get married. “This was the tradition in Goa long ago,” Gomes says. “We look for something specific in the couple to write about.”
Keeping Goan traditions alive is hard, Gomes admits, especially since the younger generations don’t speak Konkani, the language in which songs are sung. At the same time, she says, the younger ones are excited to renew their Indian ties as they are impressed by the country’s economic growth. “In these days of globalization, it’s important to have something of your own,” Gomes says.

The Ekvat group will perform traditional Goan songs such as mandos and dances like dekni

Ekvat will perform at Tata Theatre in NCPA on June 9 at 7 pm . For further in-f ormation you can call 22824567 . Entry is free.

Dhrupad is Becoming a Cultural Enigma

Even as the genre loses its sheen in the country, it is gaining popularity outside India
Deepak S. Raja

If the history of the Dhrupad genre is written in 2050, it will have to reckon with the credible musicianship and scholarly contributions of several Europeans and Americans, along with a few Indians. It is fast becoming a Western genre of Indian origin, performed predominantly for Western audiences by Indians and, increasingly, also by Western musicians.
The term Dhrupad (Dhruva = immutable/ fixed + Pada = Hymn/ verse) refers to a genre of raga-based music which dominated Hindustani music between the 15th and the 18th centuries. Due to the poetic bias of the genre, Dhrupad has its moorings in vocal music. However, instrumental music, mainly the Rudra Veena (popularly known as the Been), has also been an integral part of the genre.

The genre has its roots in the devotional music traditionally performed in the Vaishnava temples of Northern India. The Golden Age of Dhrupad commenced when Emperor Akbar (Reign:1542-1605), invited the legendary Miya Tansen to the Imperial Court. From Delhi, its influence spread far and wide. At its zenith, Dhrupad held sway over the whole of non-peninsular India. While Dhrupad was still at its peak, a variety of pre-Dhrupad and Middle-Eastern musical influences were coalescing to shape the rival Khayal genre.

In the sunset years of the Mughal Empire, leading musicians — so far concentrated in Delhi and its neighbourhood — began migrating to smaller principalities in search of patronage. This created new centres of Dhrupad music, but also exposed Dhrupad musicians to a diverse environment. In their new environs, many lineages of Dhrupad musicians diverted their energies to the Khayal genre, and spearheaded its ascendancy over the receding Dhrupad genre.
By the time of India’s independence, Dhrupad was often described as “a museum piece”. This was more true of the art of the Rudra Veena, than of the vocal art. Dhrupad vocalism could then still boast of a sizeable resource of quality musicianship. Even among Khayal singers, Dhrupad had remained, till then, relevant as an essential part of training — the repository of the sciences of breath control and intonation. It was this resource which enabled a revival.

The revival, such as is evident, was fuelled by the following Dhrupad acquired in Europe, starting from the mid-1960s. It began when the Indologist, Alain Danielou, with UNESCO support, introduced pre-eminent vocalists, Nasir Aminuddin and Nasir Moinuddin Dagar, to Europe. Dhrupad’s burgeoning international constituency stimulated a substantial inflow of fresh talent to the genre.

STYLES IN DHRUPAD MUSIC
Authoritative mediaeval texts mention the four “Bani-s” or styles of Dhrupad music. These classifications were evidently based on the language/ dialect in which the verses were written: “Gaurhar” from Gwalior, “Dagur” from the Dangar region near Delhi, “Khandar” from the Khandar region, and “Nauhar” from the dialect spoken by the Nauhar community. In later years, the four Bani-s came to signify stylistic distinctions.
But, the stylistic distinctions between them are no longer discernible. This is easily explained. With the steady shrinkage in the number of Dhrupad practitioners, aspirants have obviously had to draw musical ideas, perhaps unselectively, from a multiplicity of sources. As a result, the only viable classification in contemporary Dhrupad vocalism is, broadly, between aggressive styles revolving around the poetic-rhythmic axis, and relatively softer styles anchored to the poeticmelodic axis.

THE STRUCTURE
Raga presentation in the Dhrupad genre has a simple and transparent structure, especially when compared to the modern Khayal. A typical Dhrupad presentation has two components:
(1) An alap (Prelude) which is rendered solo, without any poetic content, and without percussion accompaniment. The alap goes through three stages – slow tempo, medium tempo, and brisk tempo.
(2) A Pada (Verse) rendered to percussion accompaniment, along with melodic and rhythmic improvisations. The tempo of percussion accompaniment is generally stable throughout the rendition. The verse could be composed in any of the tala-s accepted in the Dhrupad genre.
THE TALA-S OF DHRUPAD
According to authorities on the genre, orthodox Dhrupad compositions are set basically to six tala-s: Chautala (12 beats), Dhamar (14 beats), Rupaka (7 beats), Tivra (7 beats), Jhaptala (10 beats), and Sulatala (10 beats). Despite a much larger traditional canvas of rhythm, contemporary Dhrupad restricts itself almost entirely to Chautala, Dhamar, and Sulatala.

GHARANAS OF DHRUPAD

Though scholars recognise five gharana-s or stylistic lineages of Dhrupad as being in existence, only the first three listed here are represented on the concert platform.
(a) The Dagar gharana: This is the oldest gharana having been founded by Nayak Haridas Dagar in the 16th century. Its descendents converted to Islam in the 18th century. In recent times, its most eminent representatives have been vocalists, Nasir Moinuddin Dagar (1919-1966) and Nasir Aminuddin Dagar (1923-2002) and the Been maestro, Zia Moiddin Dagar (1929-1990).
(b) The Darbhanga gharana was founded in the 18th century by two brothers, whose descendents have carried the “Mallik” surname. In post-independence era, the most distinguished musicians of this lineage have been Ramchatur Mallik (1906-1990) and Vidur Mallik (1936-2002).
(c) The Bettiya gharana was founded in the 17th century, and wielded tremendous influence in the entire Eastern region. Bettiya is represented, on the contemporary concert platform, by Indrakishore Mishra (born: 1957).
(d) The Talwandi gharana originated in North-west India, now in Pakistan, and is currently based in Lahore. Very little is known about its contemporary musicianship.
(e) The Mathura gharana is the oldest gharana of Haveli Sangeet, the Dhrupad tradition of the Vaishnava temples. Though its members have stepped out of the temples, their art has not made a complete transition to the elaborate format of contemporary classical Dhrupad.

DHRUPAD TODAY

Dhrupad probably declined in popularity because of its resistance to change, restrictions on individual creativity, and its failure to accommodate changing audience tastes. Comprehensive raga presentation in Hindustani music needed to avert extinction. It did so by loosening the rigid Dhrupad format, and found a ready solution in the already mature rival, the Khayal genre.
Some Dhrupad gharanas, however, resisted the Khayal wave. Thanks to their tenacity, the genre now stands partially restored to the mainstream. Their exertions appear to be winning back mature Hindustani audiences who had not heard quality Dhrupad for a long time. For the younger audiences, Dhrupad is a novel experience, but structurally more accessible than Khayal. In creating an audience for their music, today’s Dhrupad vocalists have successfully targeted audiences nurtured in the Carnatic tradition. In South India, Dhrupad is making a headway because of two factors: a general receptivity of Carnatic-oriented audiences to Hindustani music, and the similarity of the Dhrupad format to the Ragam-Thanam-Pallavi format in Carnatic music. In the domestic music market, audience preferences or loyalties are shaped by individual musicianship and not as much by the genre. In Europe and the US, on the other hand, there appears to be a genrebased, almost cult-like, following for Dhrupad. Never before has a genre of art-music been pronounced dead in India, experienced so shaky a revival with home audiences, and become popular enough with audiences abroad to become so largely dependent on them. This makes Dhrupad one of the cultural enigmas of our times.

(The author has written two books on music: Hindustani music: a tradition in transition and Khayal vocalism: continuity within change”. DK Printworld, New Delhi.) (This is the first in the series that will appear every week on Hindustani classical music)