When music and poetry mingle
Munna Shaokath Ali in conversation with Jayashri Gupta. — Pic. by N. Balaji
A GHAZAL and classical singer, Member Jury, AIR, Calcutta and Master, Audition Panel, Delhi, Jayashri Gupta meets up with Munna Shaokath Ali, a Sufi Qawwal, an Urdu poet of "Piya Haji Ali" fame and president, Amir Khusro Sangeet Academy, Chennai.
Jayashri Gupta, disciple of Ustad Inayat Hussain Nizami and of Dr. Jamini Ganguly hails from Aligarh, the seat of Muslim culture and classical music in India and has since settled in Calcutta. Munna Shaokath Ali comes from Anantpur and is a disciple of Mohd. Abdul Baki and Shambho Shankar, a noted singer of Ajmer Asthana and had a chance to look at this legacy and all that it implies. Jayashri has been applauded by Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru and Dr. Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, while Munna Shaokath Ali remembers euphoric moments at the palace of Nawab Safdarjung, Mysore Maharaja and in the presence of Indira Gandhi at Nagpur, when each recital greeted him with sighs of rapture. The two speak about ghazal, Sufi Qawwali, melody and rhythm evoking a world of grace, while JYOTI NAIR BELLIAPPA records their conversation.
Munna Shaokath: Let us begin our conversation with a Sher.
Jayashri: "Suron ke phool, tarranum ke haar laaye hain; Ham apne saath ghazal ki bahaar laaye hain" ("I have brought with me garlands of melody and poetry I have brought with me the splendour of ghazal poetry).
M.S.: Wah! "Wahi reh jaate hain zubaanon par, Sher jo intekhab hote hain." ("Only those couplets we hum are The couplets we really like") You are eloquent in Urdu and have a lucid pronunciation.
Jaya: When I was young, to me the sound of Urdu language and ghazal was most thrilling. I studied Urdu at the Aligarh Muslim University. We lived in an environment of classical music and Urdu poetry. Ours was the only Bengali family in Aligarh and our house was the meeting place for many a literary figure like Nurul Hassan Sahib, who later became the Governor of West Bengal and emerging poets like Masood Ali Rahi.
M.S: How did you take to Ghazal singing?
Jaya: It was at the behest of my Ustad Inayat Hussain Nizami of Athrauli Gharana that I enlarged my repertoire. In fact, Ustad ji came to live with us and I imbibed a lot from this Gurukal situation.
M.S.: Wah! This kind of good fortune very few have. The difference is only this, that from the age of eight, I stayed in the house of my Ustad, Mohm. Abdul Baki in Bangalore. He taught me how to read and write Urdu and I got so much affection from him. My Gurubhai, Mohm. Hanif and I got abundant love and guidance from him. He gave us lessons in Sufi Qawwali, ghazal and light classical. Under his guidance, I had my first memorable public performance in Kolar at the age of ten. Hanif is a recognised tabla player today.
Jaya: I used to sing ghazal with classical. It was Suraiya Sultan who exposed me to the nuances of ghazal. One day, she asked me to perform somewhere. I had a mental block. It was then that she taught me the recitation of a ghazal. I had no idea that the couplet had a form and it was necessary to tune into the conventions of the ghazal to truly appreciate it.
I read that you were one of the distinguished few to be invited to sing on the occasion of the opening of Calcutta Doordarshan Kendra. What are the special features of your ghazal gayaki?
Jaya: First and foremost, I advocate an original style. While describing you, it should not be said that you sing like someone.
Personally, I try to make a non-committal statement in the first line, which is not poetic or philosophic in itself. The actual game begins with the second line, which in retrospect illuminates the first line and reveals the inner meaning in a backlash. What has been your experience with ghazal?
M.S.: From childhood, I have been in the company of poets and drawn sustenance from them. The poetry intrigued me more than the rendition of it.
Jaya: How beautiful! Sometimes, even though the meaning of what I recited was a mystery to me, I could conjure up the atmosphere. Do tell me something about Sufi Qawwali.
M.S: Sufi Qawwali is diametrically opposed to the ghazal. Ghazal literally means `addressing the beloved.' In Sufism, the Sufi or the mystic is under the spell of God and addresses God with great frenzy and ecstasy. This ecstasy is built slowly and steadily and is also experienced by those who listen to the "qual" the message of Allah. Jaya: I do not claim to be a Sufi but I carry the strains of Sufism in the sense that I get completely lost in what I am singing.
M.S: In that sense a large or a small audience should be a matter of indifference to you.
Jaya: One thing I have noticed that there is always a ready audience for film music and there is also an element of classicism in film music.
M.S.: Absolutely, the music directors these days are very innovative. Freedom is an inalienable part without which the intended communication in Indian music cannot really happen. We are inheritors of a great musical tradition in which both the music and the musicians are alive.
Clear diction
A TOP grade artiste from Calcutta, Jayashri Gupta gave a morning recital in Hindustani Classical at Hamsadhwani recently. Belonging to the Athrauli Gharana of legendary Alladiya Khan fame, Jayashri began her concert in raag Alahiya Bilawal, taking the shadaj in a characteristic manner.
``E Kanha mere paas aavo,'' though in vilambit, was sung in medium tempo typical to the Gharana style. She took boltaans majestically in a beautifully modulated voice, etched with brilliant alankars and note patterns. The drut in teen taal, "Manharva va re" showed `tayyari' and complete mastery over the genre, embellishing the structure with scintillating patterns of rhythm and melody. Khatka, murki different taan patterns from halak emitting energy and beautiful swaying glides covering three octaves, were some of the high points of her performance. It surely was a feast for the eyes and the ears as very relaxed Jayashri continued to show her virtuosity even in the Thumri, "He sanya mori lal chunari." She played extensively in the taar saptak touching even madhyam and pancham with ease. Her repeated fluency in the utraang was highly commendable. The Tulasi Das bhajan in Roopak was an elevating spiritual experience and Jayashri also scored on account of her clarity of diction. The Meera bhajan was unusual and folkish. The ghazal in Yaman, " Kabhi kaha n kisi se tere fasaane ko; n jaane kaise khabar ho gaiyee zamaane ko" showed many variations. Jayashri's voice is her biggest asset. Vireshwar Madri on the violin had great moments of exchange and repartee. Su. Prakash on the tabla was very good and supportive.
JYOTI NAIR BELLIAPPA
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