Rhythms of harmony
ANJANA RAJAN
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Continuing the series on dance accompanists, here is Fateh Singh Gangani.
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Photo: Anu Pushkarna
KNOWLEDGE, THE REAL TREASURE Fateh Singh Gangani combines humour with humility.
It was a case of dowry for the good of future generations. When Guru Ganesh Lal Gangani married Saraswati Devi, elder sister of the renowned nrityacharya, Pandit Narayan Prasad of the Jaipur gharana of Kathak, the latter told the groom, "We can't give you dowry in kind. What we can give is vidya, the knowledge of our art."
So it was that when a son, Kundan Lal, was born to Saraswati Devi, his maternal uncle brought him from Badabar, Rajasthan, to Jaipur and took charge of his education. Thus Pandit Kundan Lal Gangani became the channel through which the art of Kathak blended with the music tradition of the Ganganis.
Fateh Singh Gangani, son of Guru Kundan Lal, recounts this story and anecdotes from his training with relish.
"My father was a very strict and demanding teacher," says the pakhawaj and tabla exponent. "I learnt Kathak and tabla from him. He never favoured his children over his other students. His scoldings were unforgettable. In class he made sure to translate even choice Rajasthani expletives into Hindi!"
Lessons for life
But Fateh Singh adds, "I can't say that method was bad. The lessons and discipline were drilled into us for life."
Besides accompanying his brother, noted Kathak dancer Rajendra Gangani - "I decided I couldn't dance better than him, so I stuck to percussion!" - he has accompanied leading dancers including Sitara Devi, Pandit Durga Lal, Ram Mohan Maharaj, Prerna Shrimali and others.
Trained in the pakhawaj under Gurus Purushottam Das and Tota Ramji, Fateh Singh says, "This is not a flamboyant instrument. It is soothing. The `dha' of the pakhawaj brings a bliss unlike any other. My gurus used to say it is for sadhana, not show. They meticulously trained us even in how to knead the dough to apply on the pakhawaj."
Some people feel being an accompanist for Kathak ruins a tabla player's hand. "This is absolutely wrong," he says. "All the great tabla players - Allah Rakha, Kishan Maharaj, Zakir Hussain and others - have played for dance."
He has played the pakhawaj with stalwarts like sitar maestro Ravi Shankar and sarod exponent Amjad Ali Khan. "Once someone asked me if I get nervous accompanying such great artistes. I said, if I thought I were performing I might be scared, but I go on stage like a student, and truly at every programme I get to learn something."
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