Musical flight to mysticism
GAUTAM CHATERJEE
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Pandit Jasraj seems to be shifting towards a mystical journey.
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THE VERSATILE: Pandit Jasraj. Photo: M. Moorhty. .
Pandit Jasraj is in Varanasi and staying in his own musical Vanaprastha. Only two ragas capture his musically evolved soul - Gunji Kanhada and Anand Bhairav. For the last three decades he has been coming to Varanasi to enchant with these two ragas in the month of Chaitra.
"Naiya Laga De Mori Paar" is now his favourite bandish (a composition that is defined as bound) in raga Gunji Kanhada. It is a well-noticed raga of Asawari thaat (constitutes the same raga from which all others are derived) where both Gandhar and Komal Dhaivat and Komal Nishad (notes) are used. But the maestro, these days, doesn't usually singthis raga as pure classical with layakari (the play of multiples of the basic laya or tempo) but enacts the bandish as bhajan. In quantum, he has shifted himself to bhajan from pure classical music, because his "musical mind has been shifted to true self".He simply feels that his singing with pure nuances now reaches its height and there seems to be a shift towards mystic journey. "That I can't define but feel, and it is not the dead end in my musical journey. On the contrary, it reinforces and strengthens my Vanprastha of music. Ye to Hanumanji Ki Kripa Hai" , he says.
Honoured too
Recently he was honoured with P.C. Chandra Puraskar 2005 in Kolkata, by renowned actor Soumitra Chatterjee. "I prefer Varanasi and Kolkatamost. I love people of these two cities as they love me a lot. He chants all his bandish set in these ragas, mainly Anand Bhairav.
This morning raga of Bhairav thaat with Komal Rishabh (the second note of the octave, rest notes are shuddha) pleases him more nowadays.
The listeners of Varanasi are now attuned to listening this raga with Pandit Jasraj of Mewati Gharana.The bhajan in Anand Bhairav, which he presents here, is different from his other bhajan forms. Here he combines Allah with Ishwar as the same truth in different vessels. This is his new move.
"I can't move only in tradition. I have my own social commitments that I have to deal with musically. This is the only reason whyI have established numerous music schools in India and abroad. I agree that the constant flow of the tradition must occupy the space of the present system but new experiments are also necessary", he says.
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