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The heart of an Indian

ANJANA RAJAN

The so-called rivalry between the sarangi and the harmonium is resolved in Mehmood Dhaulpuri. In the ongoing series on accompanists, meet the harmonium exponent who has been conferred the Padma Shri.

IN HARMONY Mehmood Dhaulpuri

The classical arts can be forces of unity as well as factionalism. If nada, the cosmic sound, is the soul of existence, its practitioners have divided themselves up into a multitude of bodies to house it. Thus under the umbrella of Hindustani music, we have exponents owing allegiance to various gharanas or schools of music. Mehmood Dhaulpuri, though, begs to differ. "I belong to the Hindustani gharana," he says proudly, adding, "I am an Indian."

Not that he doesn't know the nuances of all the different styles. It is his familiarity with them all that makes him feel at home, and he is equally happy to recount, "I have accompanied three generations of artistes from every gharana, whether it is the Banaras gharana - Hanuman Prasad Mishra, his sons Rajan and Sajan Mishra, and his grandsons Ritesh and Rajnish - or the Gwalior gharana, where I have played with Krishnarao Shankar Pandit, his son L.K. Pandit, and his daughter Meeta, or the Mewati gharana or any other."

The veteran musician whose name is synonymous with the harmonium started off playing the sarangi. "My grandfather taught me to play the sarangi. Then when I was around 11 or 12, the harmonium began to gain popularity. I switched over to playing the harmonium. I got so much love from the artistes' community that I remained with this instrument."

The list of stalwarts he has accompanied is long and star-studded. Bhimsen Joshi, the Mishra bandhu, Vasantrao Deshpande... "I have played with artistes from across India."

Praise from all

For all the divided opinion that accompanies the announcement of awards like the Republic Day honours, the news that Mahmood Dhaulpuri has been chosen for the Padma Shri this year elicits only delight. Among the most candid is well-known artist Naresh Kapuria.

"Main is award ko choomta hoon," he declares with enthusiasm. "I would like to congratulate the person whose idea this was. This is a great recognition for an accompanying artiste."

Eminent vocalist Rita Ganguly is particularly pleased. "I took him as an accompanist when I performed at the Sangeet Sammelan in Guwahati, back in the 1970s. It was the first time he was recognised as an artiste of calibre worthy of the national programme of All India Radio. I am very glad he has received the award."

Dhaulpuri has memories of his own to revel in. "There was a time when the harmonium was banned from All India Radio. We fought to have it accepted as a classical instrument. I feel blessed that by the grace of God, not only did we win, but today I am the only harmonium player to receive the Padma award."

There are those who feel Hindustani music is better off accompanied by the sarangi than the harmonium. For this veteran though, having switched from the sarangi to the harmonium never became a matter of regret. "I would never regret the choice of an instrument that brought me so much success. Also, I have never truly come across a better instrument. Ask me why," he pauses with characteristic zest.

"It is so versatile. Everyone uses it. The music director to compose tunes. The vocalists for practice and accompaniment. The tanpura and sarangi tend to be affected by the weather. There pitch goes up and down. But the harmonium can be relied on."

Yet Dhaulpuri, who teaches music besides continuing an active performing career and whose children play both the sarangi and the harmonium, takes a balanced view. "If the sarangi can produce meends and gamaks, which we cannot, the harmonium can produce chords, which they cannot, so there is no point in comparing the two."

Dhaulpuri, whose grandfather Ustad Buddha Khan Dhaulpuri taught him the tenets of the Gwalior gharana, later learnt under Naseer Ahmed Khan of the Dilli gharana.

"I still continue to learn, mind you," he points out. "There is no end to learning."

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