Chapter I Introduction Chapter I
Introduction
Indian classical music today, is the outcome of musical evolution over many centuries. Two
major music systems co-exist in India, namely the Hindustani classical music in the north
and Carnatic music in south India. The fact that two distinct music traditions have flourished
within the realm of Indian art music is in itself, a testimony to the inherent vitality and
diversity of the music of the region. Khayal is a popular form in Hindustani music today
and has been so since the eighteenth century. The presence and establishment of varied
musical ideologies, well defined by the gharana tradition within the broader framework of the khayal genre, has reinforced the importance of stylistic diversity for the vitality of
our music system. Every gharana in Hindustani art music is differentiated by certain well-
defined stylistic features. Thus within the larger framework of khayal vocalism, artistes
formed affiliations to specific ideologies represented by differentgharana -s in accordance to
their personal preferences. Once this affiliation is established, every artiste seeks to explore
his/her own creative individuality, while adhering to the basic tenets of their respective
gharana. The continuity and perpetuation of khayal vocalism is built up on this edifice.
Performing arts and all traditional learning in India have largely been orally transmitted
through what is better known as the guru-shishya parampara or the teacher-disciple mode
of instruction. Even today, the one to one interaction between the guru and the disciple is
considered the most effective way of learning all performing arts, more so in music and
dance. It is commonly observed that the disciples of the same guru do not sound identical.
This is because each practitioner essentially interprets the broader features of teaching in the
1 contemporary context. Hence the style as conceptualized by, say the founder of a gharana, has indeed undergone sufficient degree of change amongst each generation of practitioners and this has subsequently ensured continuity and greater aesthetic coherence. Within a gharana itself there are numerous possibilities of self-expression explored by the artists.
There are many examples to illustrate this point. Mallikarjun Mansur1 and Kesarbai Kerkar are widely acknowledged as exponents of the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana. Both emphasized the core features of the gharana that they belonged to, evident in the complex badhat and phirat in tana-s and the penchant for singing rare raga-s. But each of the above vocalists achieved iconic status on account of having a distinctive gayaki. Kesarbai Kerkar had a low pitched and broad voice which lends a majestic quality to her music. She presented her musical ideas with great precision and clarity. Mallikarjun Mansur had a very tuneful, pin- pointed voice which was especially highlighted in his unique treatment of the taara shadja and which in many ways uplifted the overall emotional quotient of his performances. These are some examples illustrating the impact of voice quality on the gayaki. Other factors like temperament, training and tutelage from different musicians and individual aesthetic sense are instrumental in shaping up a gayaki. Gajananbua Joshi, although trained initially by his father Anant Manohar Joshi of the Gwalior gharana, sought additional tutelage with
Vilayat Hussain Khan of the Agra gharana and Bhurji Khan of the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana.
Apart from widening his raga repertoire, he gained proficiency in singing specific raga-s within the framework of a particular gharana for instance when he sang Bihagda, the
1 It may be noted that in this entire thesis, the names of all the artistes contemporary and otherwise have not been pre-fixed with any title like Pandit, Ustad, Mr. or Ms. This is the norm adopted for writing a dissertation and in no way means dis-respect to the artistes mentioned in this work.
2 distinct stamp of the Jaipur gharana was never lost ; similarly in his rendition of raga-s like Barwa , the accentuation on layakari as done in the Agra gharana gayaki , was duly inculcated. Yet while viewing his gayaki in totality, what comes forth most decisively is his ability to seamlessly integrate the different stylistic influences. My own experience as a student of Hindustani vocal music has provided me with ample occasions to understand this phenomenon from close quarters. Kashinath Shankar Bodas from whom I started my training, belonged to the lineage of Vishnu Digambar Paluskar, his father Shankar
Shreepad Bodas being a direct disciple of Paluskar. But due to the influence and impact of
Kumar Gandharva’s gayaki on him, evident in both his khayal-s and bhajan-s, Kashinath
Bodas brought in newer dimensions to his rich vocalism. The gayaki while being steeped in the Gwalior idiom is also characterized by the simplicity in approach enhanced through a blemish-less voice. Veena Sahasrabuddhe, my second guru, brought in more refinement in terms of presentation with a well-defined architecture in her music. Ulhas Kashalkar from whom I learnt as a resident scholar of the Sangeet Research Academy in Kolkata, is regarded as one of the finest vocalists of the twenty-first century. His gayaki exudes an intellectualism brought forth through the serious study of khayal vocalism and combines this with extreme sophistication in presentation. The presence of such distinctive styles within a single idiom aroused my curiosity to understand the reasons for such diversity both as a researcher and performer.
With this background, I was keen to explore the occurrence of stylistic diversity within a gharana especially through an objective process in order that the differences can be
3 understood more clearly. While the notion of diversity is widespread in every gharana, the stylistic variations within the Gwalior gharana, is the primary focus of this work. The choice has been essentially governed by my own proximity to the gharana stylistics.
1.1 Rationale
The main purpose of this work is to study the diversity within the Gwalior gharana especially through the detailed analysis of specific recordings. The Gwalior gharana, like all other gharana-s, is governed by a specific aesthetic viewpoint. This gets reflected through the various features pertaining to voice projection or swar lagaav, introductory aalap, treatment and role of the bandish, aalap or modes of improvisation, laya conception and variety of tana-s. The basic features of the gharana, as mentioned here, are taken as the main parameters for analysis. Comparative study on the gayaki of the chosen vocalists is carried out by examining each feature amongst the seven vocalists. This clearly shows the fact that the vocalists have followed a two pronged approach by adhering to certain facets of the features (of Gwalior gharana) and have also given an individual interpretation to all the features. This, in turn, has enriched the Gwalior gayaki and has also contributed to its perpetuity in succeeding generations.
The lineage of the Gwalior gharana is very vast and extensive owing to the fact that it is acknowledged as the oldest gharana. Haddu Khan, Hassu Khan and Natthu Khan who were patronized by the ruler of Gwalior, are chiefly credited with the propagation of the gayaki. Balkrishnabua Icchalkaranjikar who essentially belonged to the Hassu
Khan tradition, popularized the gayaki in Maharashtra. The lineage of Natthu Khan also
4 flourished in Gwalior through Nissar Hussain Khan and his disciples. A more detailed account of the lineage is given in chapter 3. Out of this large pool of artistes, I have chosen seven vocalists for this study namely Rehmat Khan, Ramkrishnabua Vaze, Anant Manohar
Joshi, Krishnarao Shankar Pandit, Omkarnath Thakur, Sharad Chandra Arolkar and D.V.
Paluskar. A brief overview of the vocalists chosen for this study is given below.
1. Rehmat Khan (d.1922) was Haddu Khan’s son and one of the first Gwalior vocalists
to be recorded. His swar lagaav was unique and influenced future generations of
vocalists and this qualifies his selection for the current study.
2. Ramkrishnabua Vaze (1872-1943)2 was a trailblazing vocalist essentially trained in
the Gwalior idiom. He made certain conscious choices in his music making that set
him apart from the other practitioners of his parent gharana.
3. Anant Manohar Joshi (1881-1967) was a disciple of Balkrishnabua Icchalkaranjikar.
While being well groomed by his first guru, he sought to assimilate nuances from
Rehmat Khan’s gayaki.
4. Krishnarao Shankar Pandit (1893-1989) was a popular representative of the Gwalior
gharana with a performing career spanning more than seventy years. Display of
virtuosity through a brisk paced gayaki was part of the strategy that he adopted in
his music making.
5. Omkarnath Thakur (1897-1967) was an immensely influential performer of the
Gwalior gayaki. His particular attention to the song text of the bandish and to extract
2 See Ranade 2011:43 for the year of birth and death.
5 the evocative meaning of the words, made him stand out from other vocalists of the
Gwalior gharana.
6. Sharad Chandra Arolkar (1912-1994) had a contemplative approach to khayal
singing and his gayaki was known for being expansive while adhering to the slow
medium tempo prescribed for the Gwalior idiom.
7. D.V. Paluskar (1921-1955) carved a niche in the world of Hindustani music at a
very young age. He was one of the most prolific performers of the Gwaliorgharana
with many recordings to his credit. The quality of his voice had immense impact
on his gayaki. His raga delineation was marked by a systematic and methodical
approach.
I have not involved contemporary exponents of the gharana mainly with the view that
vocal styles are liable to undergo change at any stage and hence it would be pre-judgmental
to comment on the gayaki of contemporary artistes. The chosen vocalists primarily belong
to the 20th century. Observation of markedly varied styles and the availability of recordings have also been taken into account for the selection of this sample of vocalists.
1.2 Methodology
Research in the performing arts can be essentially divided into three categories namely
Historical Research, Research involving critical analysis and Research on the fundamental principles of music. As an illustration, Historical research could deal with the evolutionary process of the gharana concept or the study of forms of music in a specific time period.
Research involving critical analysis could directly include the study and analysis of musical
6 styles of an artiste. Research on the fundamental principles of music may include the study and reinterpretation of the aesthetics of music or even a study based on the current musicological theories. All the examples given are illustrative in order to give an idea about the type of research that can be carried out in each of three categories mentioned.
The current work can be classified under the second category of research namely Research involving critical analysis. This is so because the study focuses on the analysis of the music styles from the Gwalior gharana. In order to enhance the objectivity of the study, specific khayal recordings have been selected for analysis. In addition, interview with experts, who belong to the lineage of the chosen artistes, has also been conducted.
During the course of my literature survey, I found that a number of short biographies describing the gayaki of vocalists from various gharana-s is available as published material.
Vamanrao Deshpande (1987) in his book ‘Indian Musical Traditions : An Aesthetic Study of the Gharanas in Hindustani Music’ articulates clearly the two main parameters of swar and tala and their relative use as the main distinguishing factor in defining the stylistics of a gharana. Ashok Ranade (1984) in his work ‘On Music and Musicians of Hindoostan’ gives brief but very analytical profiles on the stylistics of a few path-breaking vocalists from the Kirana, Gwalior, Jaipur and Agra gharana-s. His recently published book ‘Some
Hindustani Musicians- They lit the way!’ (2011) gives a concise idea about the musical contributions of a few vocalists whom he came in contact with. B.R. Deodhar, a disciple of
Vishnu Digambar Paluskar, gives very insightful accounts of the artistes that he interacted with comprising of a short biographical sketch along with salient features of the gayaki
7 of each. These articles were published in ‘Sangeet Kala Vihar’, the monthly publication
of the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya over many years (since the 1960s) and have now been
compiled in the book ‘Thor Sangeetkaar’(Deodhar 2007). Deepak Raja (2009) in his book
on ‘Khayal Vocalism: Continuity within Change’, provides a very systematic and thorough
discussion of the gayaki of many contemporary as well as non-contemporary vocalists
belonging to different gharana-s. While making use of the above sources as reference
material, the current study attempts to give a different perspective by relying on objective
analysis of the recordings of the chosen artistes.
After having selected the seven artistes, recording samples of each artiste was analyzed
based on the parameters relative to the salient features of the Gwalior gharana. It must be
noted that only the khayal recordings of each artiste has been taken into account and used
as samples for analysis. For each raga analyzed, a detailed description of the raga as given
by Bhatkhande and Patwardhan in their texts ‘Kramik Pustak Malika’ and ‘Raga Vigyan’
respectively, has also been taken into account. The two works are authoritative considering
that Bhatkhande was one of the first theorists to systematize ragasangeet in the 20th century and Patwardhan was a pioneer in this regard among Gwalior gharana practitioners.
Steps involved in the analysis of a recording sample-
1. Analysis of a recording sample based on the parameters give below:
a. Swar lagaav or voice projection (differs according to the voice quality),
prelude aalap or introductory aalap before the commencement of the bandish
(vilambit khayal in most cases), Bandish treatment (the essential mood created
8 through bandish rendition, the number of times the sthayi and antara has been
rendered, the role of song-text), Aalap or improvisation (mode of improvisation,
articulatory devices used, choice of melodic expression), Laya conception and
varieties of tana.
Additionally the following details have been noted for each recording sample of the vocalists.
2. Genre: Despite the focus on khayal recordings, survey of a larger sample of
recordings (not just khayal) establishes the preferred choice of genre of the vocalist.
The various genres sung by Gwalior artists range from khayal ( vilambit and drut),
khyalnuma, ashtapadi, tarana, chaturang, tappa, thumri , hori and devotional
forms such as bhajan. Not all the practitioners of the Gwalior gharana necessarily
perform all the genres stated above. It should be noted that for an artiste, the
preference for a particular genre has implications in the performance of the khayal
renderings. Hence the need to know the repertoire width of a vocalist becomes all
the more essential.
3. Raga: Name of the raga (self-explanatory). An analysis of this feature in all the
music clips available for study, gives an idea about the raga repertoire of the vocalist.
4. Tala: Name of the tala that a specific khayal is set to. Also noted is the avartan
duration range within the entire clip and points of increase or change in the tempo
within the clip. This information is important to understand the tempo or laya
variation. Avartan duration is measured in beats per minute thereby indicating the
tempo of the rendition.
9 5. Lyrics of the bandish have been recorded.
6. Duration of the clip: This factor should be considered while drawing conclusions on
the gayaki of a vocalist as the treatment of the bandish could have been determined
by the duration of the clip. Longer clips have more scope to inculcate all the features
of the gayaki of the vocalist and also explore the same in a more elaborate manner;
while shorter duration clips could have stunted some of the views (musical) that the
vocalist may have wanted to express.
After a comprehensive survey of the recordings collected for each artiste, analysis of representative samples of khayal recordings for each vocalist have been carried out in the manner given above. The general observations on the treatment of the salient features of the Gwalior gharana by each vocalist, is stated at the end of each section on the chosen artistes. In conclusion, I have given a comparative analysis on the gayaki of the chosen vocalists by examining each feature amongst the seven vocalists thereby ascertaining the diversity amongst these vocalists of the Gwalior gharana.
The methodology adopted in this study can be applied as an analysis technique for the study of a wider pool of artistes within the Gwalior gharana. In addition, it can also be extended to understand the diversity and individual styles within other gharana-s as well. This further strengthens a basic premise that change is necessary for the vitality of a gharana.
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