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Yaman - The Classical View

Much of the material marshalled in this section remains unpublished and is worth its weight in gold. Since we have encountered most of artistes in the earlier features, familiarity with their background will be assumed. Now then, let's hitch our wagon to a star as we soak ourselves in the Ananda of Yaman.

< -- Pandit Ramashreya Jha "Ramrang" at the author's place in Goa (2001)

Pandit Ramashreya Jha "Ramrang" 's meditations in music have spanned over six decades. Raga Kalyan is extremely dear to him, his milch-cow that keeps his creative urn churning. Jha-sahab has fashioned over two score and more compositions of varied architecture in Yaman, some of them decidedly among the finest of all time. My personal favourite is the magnificent dheemA Teentala-based composition in honour of Lord Shiva: devana deva Mahadeva hara with its sam located on the mandra nishAd. As the composition unfolds so does the Raga. The development is organic and systematically moves from one strata to another. This manner of elaboration is known in the trade as "asthAi bharnA" (lit. to fill the asthAi) and is characteristic of the stylistic tradition of Jha-sahab's guru, Bholanath Bhatt. Although popular a few decades back, this style of gAyaki is rarely heard nowadays. Jha-sahab is in high spirits in what is surely one of the great expositions of Raga Yaman -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/kalyan/jha_yaman_devana.ram

Bholanath Bhatt -- >

Ramrang's attractively designed cheez is a joy to sing and listen to. In the latter part of the clip, he explains some of the motivation and ends with a dramatic flourish. The alert listener will notice the GmPDND tAna (i.e. without the pancham skipped) on "more": ranga de ranga de -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/kalyan/jha_yaman_rangade.ram

The mind of a great vAggeyakArA is seldom at rest. This bandish came to be during the course of an evening stroll: tumari Aasa lAgi Aaja -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/kalyan/jha_yaman_tumari.ram

A short sketch of a Khayalnuma -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/kalyan/jha_yaman_tarana.ram

< -- Ramashreya Jha "Ramrang" in concert; the author is on the harmonium (2001)

The insertion of shuddha madhyam in Yaman Kalyan gives Jha-sahab another degree of freedom to work with. His manner of approach to M is delectable, a couple of his tonal constructs unique, not heard very often if at all. Which ones, we shall let the perceptive reader figure out.

The first bandish is set in dheemA Teentala, the text drawing on an episode from The Ramayana: nirakha nirakha gagana-

http://www.sawf.org/audio/kalyan/jha_yamankalyan_nirakha.ram

The location of the shuddha madhyam in this druta cheez is striking: sangata keenhe guniyana ki -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/kalyan/jha_yamankalyan_sanga.ram

The long drawn out vilambit Khayal, typically set in Ektala, has become the standard vehicle for Raga expression today. Jha-sahab's composition pits him against the celebrated 'Sadarang' with their identical opening bols, merA mana bANdha leeno re. The similarity stops there, however, as the compositions differ significantly in all other respects. Jha-sahab's canvas is melodically and textually richer as seen in his sketch -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/kalyan/jha_yaman_meramana.ram

Shubha Mudgal, Aneesh Pradhan and the author discuss a bandish (2001) -- >

Shubha Mudgal parlays her guru's composition in a detailed elaboration:

http://www.sawf.org/audio/kalyan/shubhamudgal.ram

The mere mention of Omkarnath Thakur's name is enough to send the fat into the fire. The shuddha madhyam is liberally courted in this play on Sadarang's canoncial Khayal, merA mana, mentioned earlier. Omkarnath (who was sometimes tongue-in-cheek referred to as "Ahamkarnath" for his not inconsiderable ego) steals the thunder from the Gods in this erumpent, high-voltage drama. It concludes with the traditional cheez mandara mana lAye -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/kalyan/ot.ram

<-- Omkarnath Thakur accompanied on the violins by Parur Sundaram and M.S. Goplalakrishnan, and on the tabla by Chaturlal

Vasantrao Deshpande's treatment is staid by comparison. The shuddha madhyam here is sparing. The same Sadarang bandish: merA mana -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/kalyan/vasantrao_yamankalyan.ram

In an interesting variation, Vasantrao now drops the pancham altogether in a Raga designated as Raj Kalyan. The relief-inducing nyAsa on the pancham is missing, giving this Raga a restive persona: araja suno -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/kalyan/vasantrao_rajkalyan.ram

Ulhas Kashalkar, solid as always in AlApi. The bandish, favoured by the Gwalior school, is set in Tilwada: jiya mAnata -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/kalyan/kashalkar.ram

Faiyyaz Khan brings his imperial gAyaki to bear on Yaman Kalyan as graceful meeNDs and a judicious shuddha madhyam decorate this classic unpublished recording -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/kalyan/faiyyazkhan.ram

Dinkar Kaikini sings his own compositions. The vilambit Khayal, he manA kaise gAooN, is followed by the lithe cheez, matwAri Aaja hooN -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/kalyan/kaikini.ram

We have now a rare item of the Agrawali, Zohrabai, singing the well-known cheez, piharvA tihAri. Notice the straight, sampoorNa (i.e. SRGmPDN ) format of the tAns -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/kalyan/zohrabai.ram

The Rampur-Sahaswan statement from its distinguished representative, the late Nissar Hussain Khan. The traditional Khayal, kaise ki, is topped off with the druta cheez, piharvA tihAri. Notice the explicit SRGm sargam beginning at around 8:02 into the clip -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/kalyan/nhk.ram

Nissar Hussain Khan -- >

A supreme master of the 'big' Ragas, Bhimsen Joshi's is a powerful Yaman presence. He is not one to put much store by the textual content but he has an unerring sense of and respect for bandish structure. The shuddha madhyam-laden piyAbina ratiyA in Jhaptala precedes the scintillating eri Aali piyAbina -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/kalyan/bhimsen.ram

We turn our attention to Gwalior. Rahimat Khan (1852-1922), the second son of the Gwalior pioneer Haddu Khan, was among the most renowned musicians of India in his time. Some of the influential names impacted by his artistry include Abdul Karim Khan, Bhaskarbuwa Bakhale, Omkarnath Thakur and (much to the chagrin of his Alladiya Khan) Manji Khan. Rahimat Khan's explosive tAns are preserved in this invaluable archival recording published recently by HMV -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/kalyan/rahmatkhan.ram

< -- Rahimat Khan (1852-1922)

The Khayalnuma, a form where Tarana bols are used in a Khayal-like setting, is a Gwalior specialty. Sharatchandra Arolkar's rendition in vilambit Jhoomra is followed by the now-familiar cheez piharvA tihAri -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/kalyan/arolkar.ram

The traditional cheez, langarvA turaka jina chhuvo, comes alive in the facile hands of D.V. Paluskar -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/kalyan/paluskar.ram

Interestingly, Jha-sahab sketches the same cheez with a small twist: he transposes the second word "turaka" to "tu kara." The change renders it semantically sensible: langara tu kara jina chhuvo. It is possible that the error in Paluskar propagated out of the misprint in Bhatkhande's Kramika Pustaka Malika where the bandish is documented. At any rate, the discrepancy has no adverse impact on the musical design and content of the cheez -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/kalyan/jha_yaman_langaratukara.ram

Jha-sahab has composed a joD of the foregoing composition, co-opting its key phrases. Nachiketa Sharma gives an account: banwAri nA karo nA karo -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/kalyan/ns_yaman.ram

Kashinath Bodas puts to good effect a beautiful composition of his guru Balwantrai Bhatt "Bhavrang": sukha dAtA sabana ke Shankara -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/kalyan/bodas.ram

Kumar Gandharva always has an ace or two up his sleeve. Notice the soupçon of the shuddha madhyam served via a khaTkA. The affective composition is his own: mukha tero kAro -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/kalyan/kumargandharva.ram

Master Krishnarao's composition places the sam on the tAra shaDaj and uses the Punjabi addhA for its tAla. Shaila Datar lends her voice: preethama saiyyAN lAgi re -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/kalyan/shailadatar.ram

Amir Khan -- >

Whenever you run a 'big' Raga by Amir Khan he cannot help but erect a monument. In this unpublished recording the great man sings a Khayal in vilambit Jhoomra, kajrA kaise DARuN, with its sam located on the mandra nishAd, and follows it up with the breezy cheez, aiso sughara sundaravA bAlamavA -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/kalyan/amirkhan.ram

Basavraj Rajguru's old mehfil recording is another substantial effort. Attention is drawn to the elongation of the teevra madhyam in the earlier half of the clip, its solidity furnishing a contrast to the weak and circumspect shuddha madhyam -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/kalyan/rajguru.ram

A prized recording of the Sarangi-nawAz Bundu Khan -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/kalyan/bundukhan.ram

< -- Bundu Khan

In this 1966 recording of a mehfil in Hyderabad, Bade Ghulam Ali Khan begins gingerly before warming up to the occasion -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/kalyan/bgak.ram

Salamat Ali Khan -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/kalyan/salamatali.ram

A couple of offerings from the Dagar clan. First, Rahimuddin Khan Dagar's AlAp -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/kalyan/rdagar.ram

The resounding tones of Z.M. Dagar's Rudra Veena in this unpublished recording -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/kalyan/zmdagar.ram

We pick up on a jhAlA in an old jugalbandi of Vilayat Khan and Mr. Alubhai Khan, the (naked) Emperor of San Rafael who has been resting on his oars for a few decades now -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/kalyan/vil_aak.ram

Vilayat Khan and Bismillah Khan -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/kalyan/bis_vil.ram

Nivruttibuwa Sarnaik -- >

Nivruttibuwa Sarnaik, compelling as always -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/kalyan/sarnaik.ram

Kishori Amonkar's extended rendition of eri Aali piyA bina is severely enchanting. There is perhaps no better elaboration of the chestnut -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/kalyan/kishori.ram

< -- Kishori Amonkar

When asked about the shuddha madhyam in Kalyan's midst, Kishori is known to unload a great deal of hocus-pocus on the unsuspecting. In this Tarana rendition the first instance of M is around 1:41. Then, at 2:02, comes the ungainly m-M slide -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/kalyan/kishori_tarana.ram

Mogubai's Tarana is set in Gatala (15.5 beats) built by "Layabhaskar" Khaprumama Parvatkar. The story is told that Mogubai went through numerous takes without success and had to finally request Khaprumama's presence in the studio before completing the take to her satisfaction -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/kalyan/mogubai.ram

Mogubai's felicitation at the hands of Kesarbai as Dhondutai Kulkarni looks on -- >

Another Atrauli-Jaipur lady, Laxmibai Jadhav: eri eka najara -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/kalyan/laxmibai.ram

< -- Laxmibai Jadhav

The crowning Atrauli-Jaipur take comes from Mallikarjun Mansur and, like a hen on a hot girdle, he gets down to business in less than no time: beeta gaye -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/kalyan/mm_yaman.ram

Mallikarjun Mansur -- >

A rare romp by Mallikarjun as he takes charge of an old cheez, mukuTa para vAra jAooN -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/kalyan/mm_yaman_druta.ram

Mallikarjun never mixed his Yaman and Yaman Kalyan. The latter now, through the traditional bandish, paTa tore kavana -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/kalyan/mm_yamankalyan.ram

Any account of Yaman would remain incomplete if we didn't acknowledge Vilayat Hussain Khan's hugely popular and busy cheez, maiN vAri vAri jAooNgi. His colophon, 'Pranpiya,' appears in the antarA in this rendition by K.G. Ginde -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/kalyan/ginde.ram

< -- Pannalal Ghosh

We conclude the clipfest with the empyrean artistry of Pannalal Ghosh, the greatest Hindustani flautist of our times -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/kalyan/pannalal.ram

Acknowledgements

I cannot adequately discharge my debt to Romesh Aeri whose kindness in sharing his vast treasure of unpublished recordings has enriched this series immeasurably. My good friend, Sir Vish Krishnan, compiled much of the 'light' material. Ajay Nerurkar and Ashok Ambardar have always been at hand, ready to help. But the driving force behind this enterprise is Anita Thakur of SAWF without whom none of this would have come to pass.

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