Remembering the `Ustad'
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Ustad Yunus Hussain Khan Memorial Society presented an evening of Hindustani music.
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EXTENDED MOMENTS Vocalist Yashpal
The late Aftab-e-Mausiqui, Ustad Fyaz Khan of Baroda, and his cousin the late Ustad Vilayat Hussain Khan were the two doyens of the Agra gharana. Whereas the former excelled as one of the legendary vocalists of his time (the late S.N. Ratanjhankar mentioned him as the man of the 20th Century), the latter, besides being a performer of eminence, was also a learned scholar and a dedicated teacher to a large number of top-grade vocalists. He would also be remembered for his numerous articles and books, particularly the one in Hindi entitled "Sangeetagyon ke Sansmaran" (Memoirs of Musicians) published by the Sangeet Natak Akademi.
On the occasion of his 44th death anniversary, Ustad Yunus Hussain Khan Memorial Society presented an evening of Hindustani music at the India Habitat Centre featuring a vocal recital by Yashpal from Chandigarh and a sitar recital by Delhi's Sharmistha Sen. The performances by the duo would have appealed better if the contents of their renderings had been restricted to fewer ragas and rendered at desirable lengths.
Professor Yashpal was a very close and a favourite disciple of the late Ustad Vilayat Hussain Khan.
Sitar exponent Sharmistha Sen
After the demise of the Ustad he came under the tutelage of his son, Ustad Yunus Hussain Khan. Yashpal is by far the most authentic exponent of the Agra gayaki, particularly among those not belonging to the family's clan. He commenced his recital of the evening with a brief `nom-tom' alap that was typical of the Agra vocalists and followed it up with two compositions of Ustad Yunus Hussain Khan in raga Jog Kauns — "More jiyaa" set to slow Ek tala and a fast tempo Teen tala piece "Pir paraayee". The vocalist delighted with his reposeful meanderings and his insertion of the notes Komal Gandhar, Komal Dhaivat and the interplay between the two Gandhars and the Madhyam. One also relished his deployment of the well-permuted notes in the colourful sargams and the forceful taan sequences. The subsequent renderings comprised three items in raga Shyam Kalyan, two in the allied melody of Kedar, two in raga Adana, one in raga Sohni and yet another in the morning raga Bhairavi. The final tally of his renderings being six ragas and 11 compositions that seemed a bit too many for a recital of about an hour and a quarter's duration. He had commendable accompaniment on the harmonium by Mehmood Dholpuri and on the tabla by Nawab Ali.
Prolonged fare
Like Yashpal's prolonged fare, the sitarist Sharmistha Sen too did not lag behind with her fare of four ragas and five compositions for a recital of about three quarters of an hour. There were some pleasing sequences in the opening raga Hamir, particularly in the Masitkhani gat-todas and in the Razakhani piece that followed. The next was a pleasingly rendered Masitkhani gat-toda in the romantic melody of raga Tilak Kamod played with reposefulness. It was a colourful madhya Teen tala composition in the unique melody of raga Nav Bihag, a creation of Ustad Yunus Hussain Khan, which Sharmistha played with much aplomb. A brief rendering of a madhya Teen tala piece in raga Desh did not seem quite necessary though. Subhash Nirvan on the tabla provided excellent support to Sharmistha.
JITENDRA PRATAP
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