Generation Next
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Shafaquat Ali and Sharafat Hussain gave a scintillating vocal recital in Varanasi, writes GAUTAM CHATTERJEE.
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THEY CAME, left the audience spellbound for almost two hours and said, "Benaras ka sama hi hamari khushi hai" (the artscape of Benaras is our pleasure). Shafaquat Ali and Sharafat Hussain, sons of Salamat Ali (of the famous duo Salamat-Nazakat from Pakistan) recently charmed with their magic, winning over new admirers with their sweet voices and impeccable sur.
Of course, the image of the famous senior duo smiles through them, but the personality of this duo, along with their conduct - the start and the finish of the raga, the location of the pause and accent investing on the instrumental utterance, the conviction of a vocally rendered pada of Amir Khusro - plays a vital role in the creation of impact.
Raga Rageshwari
They enunciated raga Rageshwari as they enunciated the sur of the concert. While playing with the two versions of Nishad (the seventh note of the scale) of this raga in one psalm, they were inspired, blending Sufi elements and a few swift and fluent tanas. Swara and laya, being the only constituents of their gayaki and the Shamchurasi gharana, follow them as maya follows the truth.
In their musical presentation, pure music alone is quite capable of sustaining the interest of a music connoisseur. They prefaced their light classical ventures with this elaborate khayal in Rageshwari, and it turned out to be a recital to remember. Their thrilling exposition creates a mesmerising musical landscape. Smart musical ornamentation does not seduce the audience. It is slick, spontaneous and effortless. As they explained, "The term Khayal comes from a Persian word meaning `thought', `idea', `conception', `imagination'. The form is often conjectured to have arisen as a result of the mixing of the Quawwali and the Dhrupad styles of singing. The form is freer and more flowery, in contrast to the sombre dhrupad. Some writers trace its origin as far back as the 13th Century, and also attribute the Khayal to Amir Khusro, the poet-musician of that period. Khusro used the term in the normal Persian sense of a figure of speech, not for a song form."
Therefore, all were there. Amir Khusro, quawwali and sufi Khayal, in the Sri mandapam of this death-celebrating old city, with tabla accompaniment by Kashish Ali Khan. The concert was organised by Kala Prakash. This duo had come here for the first time in 1998.
"It is a great miracle to be in Benaras where the scenario consists of Ustad Bismillah Khan, Pandit Kishan Maharaj and Girija Devi. The blessings of our gurujanas are singing here. We are not the ones singing," they remarked.
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