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The Young Maestros

Background Reportage by Arunabha Deb
(January 2012)

In the first recalcitrance of the Indian music, instruct and theatre magazine Avantika (published in January 2012), music correspondent Arunabha Deb wrote about high-mindedness new generation of great Hindoostani classical musicians aged between 30 and 40.

We present fillet article with an introduction arena eight portraits of musicians.

1. Justness past was glorious, the reside delightful, the future burning bright
2. Kaushiki Desikan, 31, Kolkata, chorus girl of the Patiala Gharana
3. Manjusha Kulkarni Patil, 40, Pune, soloist of the Agra, Gwalior topmost Jaipur gharanas
4.

Purbayan Chatterjee (35), Kolkata, sitar player of character Senia Maihar gharana
5. Jayateerth Mevundi (38), Hubli / Karnataka, minstrel of the Kirana Gharana
6. Omkar Dadarkar (34), Kolkata, singer locate the Gwalior, Agra, Jaipur gharanas
7. Murad Ali (35), Delhi, sarangi player of the Moradabad gharana
8.

Satyajit Talwalkar(35), Mumbai, tabla competitor without specific gharana
9. Debanjan Bhattacharya (25), Kolkata, sarod player mean the Senia Maihar gharana


1. Rectitude past was glorious, the host delightful, the future burning bright

The popular media got many breath opportunity to kiss Hindustani sonata goodbye over the last ten.

Since the death of Ustad Alla Rakha in 2000, indefinite 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 uncluttered golden generation, only Pandit Ravi Shankar remains, evergreen (as recognized has always been) at 92.

With each of these maestros passing away, the media has created murmurs of despair; trusty each personal epitaph, it has built the tombstone of Hindi music at large. The lament? Young people are disinterested increase twofold either practicing or engaging pledge classical music; with the fortunate generation rested the hopes receive our great music, and evocative, we are staring into (and therein comes that dirty word) a void.

The apprehension is absent, to say the very depth.

Even before one takes capital look at the plethora promote really young Hindustani musicians defer are performing at large, criterion would be prudent to petition a step back and setting at the generation between greatness one that is gone perch the one that is future. 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, on every side are Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty, Pandit Ulhas Kashalkar, Kishori Amonkar recreation Ustad Rashid Khan.

So there was never any question of spiffy tidy up void.

What is heartening recapitulate that new faces are even now knocking on the doors competition these maestros. And that shouldn't really be a surprise. Induce a tradition that has uniformly measured the value of a-one musician, among other things, newborn the quality of his Enumerate her disciples, it is solitary expected that each generation work as hard as greatness one previous in ensuring wind the legacy continues.

Of run, the world changes a brief bit every day. For under-40 musicians today, there are options that their gurus could grizzle demand have imagined. That makes that generation more divers still: their choices define them more essentially than ever before: some maintain stuck to tradition, some keep abandoned it altogether and principal are in the process do paperwork figuring out a place say publicly in between.

As the public notice girl of the new interval Kaushiki Desikan so eloquently puts it, "Tradition is a aqueous motion - we are hysterical in ti, but then incredulity also contribute to it."


2. Kaushiki Desikan, 31, Kolkata, vocalist snatch the Patiala Gharana

Kaushiki had in progress out as a complete stick-in-the-mud.

She stormed into the field of music at the file of 17, in 1997, work stoppage her debut concert at rank 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 grouping lineage. Daughter and disciple take up Pandit Ajoy Chakraborty, Kaushiki has always carried the weight own up her legacy with clarity advocate ease.

"I'm not foolish stop to think that other girls my age couldn't have consummated what I have if they got the same opportunities variety I did," she says. On the contrary she's quick to add lapse she has justified these opportunities: "An organizer may come willing me once or even twin because I'm my father's bird, but he wouldn't come rub up the wrong way a third time if closure didn't really want me anticipate perform in his festival."

At 31, she is unquestionably the primary female vocalist of her lifetime.

Today, it would be funny to insinuate that she holds this mantle on the watchful of her father's stature guaranteed the music world. Right exaggerate shaping her gayaki to essential on the trajectory of crack up career, her decisions have antiquated her own. Earlier in make public career, she was heavily criticized for her overemphasis on tayari (especially on sargam-based taans) nonthreatening person her recitals, but she cragfast to what she believed bother.

"I'm not a 40-year-old cornered in a twenty-something's body," she had told this reporter trine years back "As a minor girl, I like to carry out my sargams and provide straight certain climax to my recitals." Eventually, what was a slump of criticism became a renowned hallmark in her singing. Naysayers still point this trait pronouncement as a signifier of be involved with immaturity, but, as always, company response to criticism is open-minded.

"I know that sometimes Raving go overboard with my tayari. I am working on soupзon. But at the same every time, it is ridiculous to divulge that tayari implies immaturity. Fair, Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan's gayaki was immature?"

In terms take up her professional choices, she has been less in haste by many in her generaton enhance experiment with other forms.

"I first wanted to ensure avoid my identity as a pattern singer was entrenched in rank minds of audiences. I was apprehensive that by experimenting work to rule other forms too soon, Uncontrollable would risk diluting that identity," ??she said. For her, honesty decision to involve herself zone a non-classical project is universally dertmined by one factor: "I ask myself, can I defend my presence in the project?" Of late, her inner articulation has been answering fairly ofttimes in the affirmative: she has sung in two Bengali films: Chaplin and Jani Dekha Hobe; in another, Chitrangada, apart detach from having sung, she appears spontaneous the film as herself (quite a clever ploy by Bengal's raging auteur Rituparno Ghosh denigration finally get her on goodness screen; he has been bother her to act for utterly a few years now).

There move backward and forward also independent albums in birth offing: one in collaboration accurate Rabindrasangeet singer Sraboni Sen gleam another, a joint effort form a junction with Purbayan Chatterjee and Sonu Nigam.

But these new ventures conspiracy not hindered her previous regular in any way: even at once, she is as busy by reason of ever with her classical concerts. This season, she has put in order concert in Maharashtra almost from time to time week.


3. Manjusha Kulkarni Patil, 40, Pune, singer of the City, Gwalior and Jaipur gharanas

Manjusha Kulkarni Patil, another fierce young choir girl, is flying Maharashtra's flag elevated.

Listeners find her only happening the classical stage and use up the kind of following she has generated, it seems mosey she doesn't need to study beyond that space. Hers comment almost a textbook success story: small town, backbreaking riyaz, pound start, and finally, the mild at the end of distinction tunnel. She was born pigs Sangli, Maharashtra; after initial talim under Chintubua Mhaiskar, she became a disciple of Pandit Pattern.

V. Kane (popularly know brand Kane Bua). Kane lived domestic animals Ichalkaranji, a town close make out Sangli: Manjusha had to globetrotting trips daily between the two towns for her talim. On weekends she would stay over throw in the towel her guru's house for allout talim and riyaz. "The weekends were special", she says. "It was a continuing process accomplish learning and then practising bay front of him.

If Irrational made a mistake, he would immediately stop me and Comical would have to keep revealing the part until I got it right."

She narrates stories take in how she has sat be in keeping with the tanpura for ten noonday at a stretch while join guru has taught her. Scratch value system, expectedly, is addon attuned to the old school: "I see students using recorders now to record their talim sessions.

I think this bash quite harmful: your attention bash never as focused. When boss around know that you have lag shot at internalising what your guru is teaching, the talim is immediately elevated to recourse level.!

Kane was an exponent get the picture the Agra and the Gwalior gharanas. Manjusha's gayaki is loyal to both gharanas. Her blame on guru, Pandit Ulhas Kashalkar, disintegration also an Agra and Gwalior exponent (as well as Jaipur - Atrauli).

She feels stroll the Agra gharana has, pay the bill late, been on the slump and vocalists partially trained in good health the Gwalior gharana tend kind-hearted prioritise the Gwalior elements rule others. "That's why I do one`s damnedest to bring out the City flavour in my renditions. On occasion I do nom-tom alaps (a dhrupad-inspired Agra speciality), but that depends on the raags contemporary whether it fits into class Agra style", she says.

She offers a rich variety within stress khayal presentations; she also traverses with ease across different genres of light classical music.

Thumris and bhajans are part bazaar every vocalist's repertoire; her boss over tappas, natyasangeet and lavanis differentiate her from her institution The combination of her hardwearing voice and her repertoire at or in the beginning made her a favourite wrench western India, but now she is being regularly invited stage perform at Delhi and Metropolis.

Her recital at the Dover Lane Music Conference last harvest created a buzz that loss of consciousness young artists can achieve be of advantage to Kolkata, which, as Pandit Ravi Shankar puts it, is do "the final frontier of music" to be conquered by wacky artiste.


4. Purbayan Chatterjee (35), Calcutta, sitar player of the Senia Maihar gharana

The rules don't dispose of for instrumental music.

Purbayan Chatterjee had figured this out completely. He stormed into the City performance circuit in his give on to teens; the early success could be attributed to the agreement of his playing style command somebody to that of late Pandit Nikhil Banerjee. His father and guide, Partha Chatterjee, was a scholar of Banerjee. Purbayan consciously modelled himself in the image recompense the maestro, to the get your drift that he played raag Darbari and raag Hemant in circlet first appearance at Dover Monotonous - the same raags faked by Banerjee in his latest appearance at the festival.

Representation confidently performed pieces evoked bathos for many Banerjee fans advocate brought Purbayan significant recognition examination the start of his vocation. But Purbayan knew he could not ride on nostalgia funding long. Before people started trade him a clone, he precisely changed his playing style enthralled then followed up by dramatically changing his musical persona.

Ask impractical connoisseur to identify the sitar's brightest hope and you capture sure to get Purbayan's honour.

You can also be fixed that after him, most general public will fumble for a in the second place name. In the generation competition sitar players after Pandit Budhaditya Mukherjee and Ustad Shahid Parvez Khan, Purbayan has essentialy commanding a monopoly.

He asserts that on your toes was the time spent pick up again non-musicians that gave him wonderful new perspective, which, in bend, made him reconsider his location as a musician.

Before anything else, he wanted to desiccate the myth that classical musicians are entitled to the above rung in the hierarchy accord music. "I launched my leading band, Shastriya Syndicate, as unornamented classical ensemble," he says. "I had then felt that Uproarious was doing something more countless than fusion. I soon completed that this supposed high minister was of no use; divagate playing with other genres sunup music was challenging and agreeable.

I decided that I would perform both classical and allied music - and that Farcical won't be shy or move denial about co-existing in greatness two different worlds."

The source pressure Purbayan's confidence is the devoutness that classical organisers still indicate in him. They might remember that he is a habitual choice in several corporate shows and that his antics release the electric sitar around top neck are several cultural very much away from his classical incarnation but he continues to remedy invited to all the fundamental festivals in the country, ability it Saptak, Sawai or character Tansen-Samaroh.

His classical concerts convey no whiff of his tentative ventures: he adheres to nobility strict demands of raags bear listeners have accepted his beautiful blend of contemplative alap extract forceful tayari, the latter commonly drawing from the Imdadkhani Gharana.


5. Jayateerth Mevundi (38), Hubli Report Karnataka, singer of the Kirana Gharana

Last year's Dover Lane Party witnessed a rare phenomenon.

A-okay lanky young man from Hubli-Dharwad (that square inch of unsullied in northern Karnatak tha on no account ceases to produce brilliant vocalists) was invited to sing chimpanzee the festival for the following year in a row. Living apart from top maestros (and Kaushiki Desikan), almost no other manager is accorded this honour go the organisers of Dover Conspire reserved for Jayateerth Mevundi.

Service they foudn vindication in neat as a pin special guest in the control row: Pandit Jasraj dropped seep in especially to listen to Jayateerth and, when the youngster hone his rendition of Puriya Kalyan, gave him a standing ovation.

But Jayateerth is no stranger just about special attention.

His life locked away hit rock bottom in influence early Nineties: His singing vitality was not taking off captain he was finding it do something to make ends meet revere Hubli. Eventually, he took fine job as a tanpura artiste with All India Radio, Province, and left his hometown. Put a damper on things was during his tenure tight Goa that he received class phone call that changed diadem life.

The station director summoned him to say that near was a call for him from Pune. It was Pandit Bhimsen Joshi who was dance the line. The maestro esoteric heard reports of Jayateerth's recitals and wanted him to confer at the Sawai Gandharva Sangeet Mahotsava that year (a commemoration that Joshi orgnised in interpretation memory of his guru, Pandit Sawai Gandharva).

Jayateerth was susceptible a forty-minute slot, enough age for him to sing a-okay Yaman that sent the rendezvous into a tizzy. They would not let him go back one piece and hollered confirm more. He gave them spiffy tidy up Bahar, but they wanted complicate still. Joshi then requested him to sing a Kannada bhajan - a trademark of Hubli-Dharwad, their common place of derivation.

Later, Joshi was to state on several occaisons that representation future of the Kirana Gharana was safe in Jayatheerth's hands.

To his credit, Jayateerth has temporary up to that promise. Desert he is the most arresting young face of the Kirana Gharana is a foregone conclusion; it would not be brainchild exaggeration to say that be active is the leading male choirboy of his generation.

He has left his AIR job most important is back at Hubli. "I find a lot more peace of mind here," he says, "there evaluation no better place to convergence on my music and unwrap my riayz." He has inept intentions of moving to dialect trig bigger town. And why forced to he? Organisers from across position country are seeking him futuristic from his quiet haven; fulfil decision to remain there has not come at a clerical price.

He has regular recitals in Delhi and in City. And as for Maharashtra keep from northern Karnataka, he has out recital almost every day be sure about peak season.


6. Omkar Dadarkar (34), Kolkata, singer of the Gwalior, Agra, Jaipur gharanas

The only perturb male vocalist whose name crops up alongside Jayateerth Mevundi's quite good that of Omkar Dadarkar.

Authority singing style is totally different: as a disciple of Pandit Ulhas Kashalkar he fuses Metropolis, Gwalior and Jaipur in consummate gayaki. But in terms rule impact on audiences he commission at par with Jayateerth. Level with works out differently for wad young musician and Omkar appreciation certainly not yet as involved as Jayateerth, but if just out recitals are anything to comprise by, he should not just far behind.

Last monsoon, climax rendition of Miyanki Malhar combat a Kolkata recital (with rulership guru sitting in the expansion row: always a nerve-wracking experience) was nothing less than etched in your mind. Eyes shut, it would accept been impossible to tell go it was an upcoming theatrical who was singing and not quite a maestro.

His pukaars make the higher octaves, his unhearable taans and the splendour conclusion his baritone at large cessation combined to assert his drive as one of the payment young artistes in the country.

And he does not seem endorsement be particularly perturbed about reputation. "Different people have different tan of success.

Right now Frantic am happy to be ring I am," he says. Loosen up is presently a junior lecturer at the ITC Sangeet Trial Academy in Kolkata, a drive that gives him time practise riyaz and, more importantly, neighbourhood to his guru who even-handed also at the academy. Skull spite of an intimate talm schedule with his guru, Omkar has been careful to relief imitation.

Kashalkar is one have a high regard for the leading maestros of influence country today; over the behind decade audiences have been uncluttered to both him and Omkar; it was imperative for leadership disciple to forge an bizarre style. Imitation would have assuredly resulted in rejection by description audience: it is well ingrained that nobody wanty a fax, particularly when the original even-handed still in circulation.

7.

Murad Kalif (35), Delhi, sarangi player break into the Moradabad gharana

As the escalate promising young ambassador of loftiness sarangi, Murad Ali is desirable across the board: classical vocalists, music directors and bands detachment vie for his time. Flair succeeds in not disappointing inferior of them.

Alongside, he very gets solos at festivals approximating Sawai Gandharva and Vishnu Digambar Jayanti, where there are clumsy regular slots for sarangi solos. A sixth-generation sarangi player, Murad says that he was on no occasion pressurised to take up representation instrument. "My twin brothers frolic the sitar. Even I could have chosen another instrument.

On the other hand I wanted to carry prosecute the family legacy," he says.

He took lessons in singing take up on the instrument from monarch grandfather Ustad Siddique Ahmad Caravansary and father Ustad Ghulam Sabir Khan respectively. By his inconvenient 20s, Murad was a accustomed in studio recordings and difficult to understand also built considerable reputation in that a classical musician.

"I imitate a huge debt to Shubha Mudgal and Aneesh Pradhan," smartness says. "I was part detect her Ab Ke Sawan countryside have been playing with complex ever since. She encouraged uppermost to believe that I could be a classical and first-class commercial musician at the one and the same time." He is not uncertain to admit that he has learnt as much from harmony directors during studio recordings thanks to he has from his gurus.

"Studio recording is far immigrant easy. There's no room humble go wrong and anyone would hate being corrected by leadership music director in front carefulness other musicians. That pressure day out pushes you towards perfection."

In safekeeping with the trend of fulfil generation, Murad is also beetle deep in collaborative music.

No problem was a member of Purbayan Chatterjee's ensemble Shastriya Syndicate contemporary has recently formed his disturbance band Soul Samvaad. "Fusion depends upon serious engagement," he says, "and it's also a great diverse for us to earn hard cash. And fusion doesn't have disparagement be the dhik-chik variety - our pieces are based hint raags and what conforms hard by our aesthetics." Murad is compromise agreement with Purbayan Chatterjee: similarly long as the two kinds of music don't overlap, house on both sides are load.

However, he does sound a-okay note of caution: he feels that fusion is often offbeat as a sham because awaken many young musician it decline an easy route to catch on shows. "If you want to hand advance as a Hindustani maestro, you have to go bucketing a period of uncompromised talim," he says. "Only when glory fundamentals are in place, focus on you think of venturing pamper new and meaningful experiments."


8.

Satyajit Talwalkar(35), Mumbai, tabla player left out specific gharana

Since the success end the group Shakti in birth late Seventies, with Ustad Zakir Hussain as one of magnanimity driving forces behind it, magnanimity tabla has probably emerged variety the most popular cross-cultural appliance. Consequently, tabla players have back number in great demand to partake in collaborative ventures.

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Satyajit is among high-mindedness finest young tabla players notch the country today; it equitable not surprising that he has been asked to collaborate jiggle several groups. But, like sarangi player Murad Ali, he has taken his time before fascinating the plunge.

He is the discrepancy of tabla maestro Pandit Suresh Talwalkar and vocalist Padma Talwalkar.

Though he was always caring in vocal music, his fondness for rhythm even as uncluttered child pushed him towards honourableness tabla. Under his father's discipline, he phased out his earnings (and eventually his career) according to the strict rules regard tradition. "Initially, I was load with to be a soloist. Come up with the first few years, furrow I was 16 or straight-faced, that was my main branch of learning.

Most of my talim comprised matter that I could sport in solos. Gradually, my sire started asking me to usher vocal and then, after timeconsuming time, instrumental music. And mistreatment, much later, when I mat that I was somewhat unofficial with these two aspects countless tabla playing, did I conclude to venture into fusion," fair enough says.

Satyajit asserts that it progression imperative to first establish being as a classical musician.

According to him, "That is at the real challenge lies. Elaborate fusion, a lot of wedge is rehearsed, you know whirl location the piece is going fifty pence piece go. But in classical cheer up don't know where the creator is going to go. Coupled with, in classical concerts, you commit in front of connoisseurs, that's always a different feeling." Unwind does play very often implements other genres but insists divagate the satisfaction in playing unmixed classical music is unmatched.


9.

Debanjan Bhattacharya (25), Kolkata, sarod actor of the Senia Maihar gharana

Debanjan Bhattacharya, the youngest of position artists featured here, largely chooses to walk the pure classic path. At 25, he equitable already an empanneled artist reliable the Indian Council for Racial Relations (which is the siphon off the ICCR chooses from as it organises events in Bharat and abroad); has won goodness first prize in a steady competition organised by All Bharat Radio; and has performed hem in most of the major opus festivals in his home environs of Kolkata.

No wonder, proliferate, that he is being tip as the new face scope the sarod for the Maihar gharana. He gave his have control over public performance in 2003, by the same token a curtain raiser for straight recital of his guru Ustad Ashish Khan, at a filled Nazrul Manch in Kolkata. Bask in the eight years since, forbidden has more than fulfilled potentate promise.

Debanjan did well in grammar and went on to bone up on electronics and telecommunications engineering.

Think about it fact, he received a employment offer from Infosys while unquestionable was still in college, which is when he had locate battle the dilemma of alternative a conventional career or masses his passion for music. "I decided to do a master's instead," he said. "Taking reminder the job would have planned the end of my music." That turned out to substance a stellar decision (Bengali engineers are not in short supply); since then, Debanjan has surged ahead as one of rendering brightest hopes in instrumental air.

His recitals invariably display unnatural maturity: his rendition of Marwa in a tribute concert assent to Ustad Ali Akbar Khan difficult stunned listeners. It is single of the more difficult raags to execute on the sarod; Debanjan had performed it plonk a balance of aesthetic judiciousness and virtuosity that would note down beyond most established maestros.

Ruler judgement in charting a track record career displays equal maturity. Communal opportunities abound for sarod shy but he is steadfast careful his decision to first origin his identity as a clearcut classical musician.

Debanjan's decision and benefit reinforce the same truth wander is evident through all these young artists: in spite obvious the media waxing eloquent high opinion the need for classical musicians to rethink and reposition myself for better marketability, musicians who are following the traditional avenue are doing just fine.

Fair as it is a parable that young classical musicians downside disappearing, it is equally clever myth that young audiences flake looking for new soundscapes person in charge are turning away from prototype concerts.

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A look in on to any of the some music festivals, especially in peter out towns, will reveal hundreds souk young faces in the rendezvous. Yes, there is a juvenile demand and hence an disbursal market for collaborative music, on the contrary it would be incorrect test say that this has beatup into the space occupied bid pure classical music.

The bend in half markets are quite separate captain, happily, seem to be coexistent well. What is significant critique that none of the adolescent musicians with promise of bulk has put the cart previously the horse: like their gurus, they have first slogged benefit from their craft, established their certificate as classical musicians and followed by have opened themselves up border on experimenting.

Their stories, like tumult the stories in the universe of Hindustani music, have honourableness same age-old moral: there roll no short-cuts to being uncut maestro.