Romancing a beautiful instrument
GOWRI RAMNARAYAN
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Bahawuddin could play the sitar and surbahar but his father's choice was rudraveena. The young ustad has no regrets.
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Shouldn't you hold the rose away from you to smell the fragrance?
Photo: S. Thanthoni.
EXPLORER: Bahawuddin Dagar.
``I was into pop, jazz, metal, acid rock, everything except what 19 generations of my ancestors had done before me," Bahawuddin Dagar laughs. Sitting on the front steps of the Museum theatre in Chennai, after his concert at the Dhrupad festival, organised by the Prakriti Foundation, the young ustad was happy to talk about his heritage music.
At 16, the boy began to realise that Dhrupad, the oldest form of Hindustani music, was his true medium. Maturity came slowly. ``Girls are faster at this sort of thing," he muses.
Bahawuddin could play the sitar and surbahar, but father Zia Mohiuddin Dagar decided on family instrument rudra veena for his son. ``The guru looks at your hand, throat, and says, `Do this!' I can't argue."
But the father insisted on the disciple's questioning everything. ``Prove me wrong and I'll accept it," he said. Parallel training came from vocalist uncle Fariduddin Dagar.
Rebels
``My ancestors were all rebels," he continues. ``My father spoiled nine veenas before arriving at the one you heard me play today." He changed the quality, texture, tone and wood, tuned the strings to G sharp. Bahawuddin believes that it is not enough to know the techniques of music, the artiste must know how his instrument is crafted, the choice and seasoning of wood, its resonance, jowari, jiva... Your instrument must speak your language."
Isn't the rudra veena a difficult companion? ``It's more beautiful than difficult!" the ustad exclaims. The meend-range is great, seven notes can be sounded between two, ``like the spectrum from black to white." Why was the volume so feeble at his concert, you ask. ``It's extremely difficult to amplify the veena's natural sound in the big halls." He has played for thousands at huge European festivals where the acoustics are fabulous. But the rudra veena is really meant for chamber music, ``25 listeners."
Dhrupad is practical, unsentimental, Bahawuddin continues. It requires distance to evoke romance. ``Shouldn't you hold the rose away from you to smell the fragrance?" Misconception attributed rigidity to the system. Once you understood it, the rules set you free. Dhrupad sensitised the mind to note the minute nuances in everything — from reading people in life to relishing abhinaya in the dance.
Once upon a time the dhrupadiyas were the reigning stars, munificently patronised by royals. Now they have far less recognition. ``And money," he laughs. ``But we cherish the music. It's like a nurturing mother."
Bahawuddin Dagar knows that egotism stunts art. In the past, the dhrupadiyas would train only the best talent, the rest was despatched to khayal and thumri. Some dhrupadiyas continue on this elitist track. ``Dhrupad is a complete gayaki. But I can find equivalent greatness in jazz, opera or Japanese music. Every genre is great. The musician takes it a step ahead. If you feel that some music is bad it is the musician who is to blame, not the music."
The ustad has been touched by the appreciation of Dhrupad by Carnatic musicians like Doreswami Iyengar, M. S. Subbulakshmi, D. K. Pattammal and Maharajapuram Santhanam. The ustad enjoys trading phrases with Carnatic musicians. The `ati sukshma' gamakas in Muthuswami Dikshitar's kritis thrill him. A long ago first visit to Chennai to score for a Mani Kaul film left memories of wanderings in Parry's Corner, walks on the Marina, freaking out on rasam sadam. Hearing T. Mukta sing at his request was unforgettable. He acquired Mysore and Thanjavur veenas for the sheer pleasure of strumming on them. Bashfully he admits to having made a ras veena to play both sadharani (dhrupad) and vegaswara (Carnatic) gayaki.
Patience
Has dhrupad changed his perspective? ``It teaches you patience. My ustad believes that you start maturing after age 44, what happens before is all preparation. So I try to receive, don't feel I've my own style yet." He stays with two or three raags — Yaman, Megh, Bhairav. Playing the melakarta Vardhini in Chennai was no concession to local taste. He wants to explore Gangeyabhushani, Vagadishwari, Kanakangi...
Some of the old musicians did kasrat and vyayam to control mind and body. Skipping, jogging and cricket help Bahawuddin Dagar to stabilise himself, burn out the tremendous energy generated by Dhrupad.
Why are there no women to sing Dhrupad? ``Most students are women, but they give up after marriage." He would encourage his daughter to take up dhrupad but only if she showed genuine interest, because ``a bad musician is worse than no musician."
The concept of surrender is stressed in Gurupurnima and Dasara celebrations at home. Saraswati's grace is sought daily, both for vidya (learning) and vinaya (humility). ``To live a good life we don't need religion, we need God. Anyway, music is our creed, it is above creeds."
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