Songs after sundown
MANJARI SINHA
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Satyasheel Deshpande and Jagdip Singh gave listeners a vocal and an instrumental treat the other day in New Delhi.
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GOLDEN VOICE Satyasheel Deshpande.
"Garandaaz Gaayaki" of Vamanrao Deshpande was the first book of its kind that attempted to analyse and compare the aesthetic ideologies of various gharanas of Hindustani classical music, and hinted at the idea that students of music could comparatively study the aesthetics of different gharanas and then construct their own style based on their own understanding of the art. His gifted son Pandit Satyasheel Deshpande has exactly proved this point by his rigorously intellectual and assiduous eclecticism adding to his versatility as a performer. During his father's research for the book "Indian Musical Traditions" he also had the rare privilege of growing up surrounded by maestros like Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, the late Mogubai Kurdikar, Vasantrao Deshpande and Pandit Kumar Gandharva, who eventually became his mentor and guru.
The taalim Satyasheel received from Kumar Gandharva did not involve the conventional pedagogies associated with the learning and teaching of music but exposed him, instead, to a range of musical approaches, emphasising the underlying principles at work in each case, and encouraging him to look directly at various possibilities contained with in each approach. This has groomed him into an imaginative artiste, composer and thinker.
All this and more was evident when he performed recently for Yogdaan's `Sur Sandhya' at the Triveni auditorium. He opened his vocal recital with the grandeur of raga Darbari presenting a slow and a medium tempo khayal in slow and drut Ek tala respectively, followed by a tarana in Teen tala. The authentic treatment of the majestic raga created by Mian Tansen had all the serenity of this late night melody.
Beautiful contrast
Raga Sawani that came next was a beautiful contrast, with shades of Mand and the enchanting Komal Nishad of Bihagara used in both the compositions that he sang in Jhap tala and drut Ek tala respectively. The varied taan patterns starting with different matras had mesmerising designs. The Sohani with Shuddha Madhyam gave a sense of wonder to the discerning audience who were used to the conventional Sohani with Teevra Madhyam. The concluding composition "Rang Hori re... " proved his repute as a sensitive composer as well. Vivek Basod on the harmonium and Masurkar on the tabla gave him commendable support.
The Sur Sandhya started with the instrumental concert of Jagdip Singh, who excels in playing both the surbahar and the sitar. He opened his concert with a detailed alap-jod in raga Bihag on the surbahar, followed by the Masitkhani and Razakhani gat (compositions) set to Teen tala on the sitar. His command over the technique of surbahar was evident in the deep, sonorous meends that encompassed four-five notes on a single fret. His association with the surbahar has given his sitar also a sober and serene touch, evident throughout, from his leisurely elaborations to his intricate taan patterns and the crescendo of crystal clear jhala. He also played a `bandish ki thumri' — the famous "Na maanungi... ." in raga Khamaj followed by a gat set to madhya laya (medium tempo) Teen tala.
Young Nawab, the grandson of Ustad Faiyaz Khan, was quite up to the mark in his tabla accompaniment. It was heartening to hear the surbahar, which is marginalized to the category of an endangered species of musical instrument in the present scenario of fast moving MTV culture.
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