Resounding memories
MANJARI SINHA
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The birth centenary year of Pandit Purushottam Das was off to a scintillating start with a festival in East Delhi.
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Pandit Dal Chand Sharma
The late Pandit Purushottam Das, the pioneer of the Nathdwara school of pakhawaj, was born on July 7, 1907. To launch the yearlong celebration of his birth centenary year, the Nathdwara Pakhavaj Parampara and Poorva Sanskritik Kendra (P.S.K.) jointly organised a musical evening at the PSK auditorium, presenting a vocal recital by Harish Tiwari and a pakhawaj solo by Pandit Dal Chand Sharma, an eminent pakhawaj player of the Nathdwara gharana, who also had the privilege of learning from Padma Shri Purushottam Das ji for a little while, after being groomed by Pandit Totaram Sharma in the authentic guru-shishya parampara.
The musical evening opened with the vocal recital. Harish, an A-grade artiste of AIR and Doordarshan and a Sur Mani recipient, has graduated from Benaras Hindu University. Listening to his vocal recital in the typical Kirana mould of Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, it is difficult to believe that he was earlier trained at the BHU under Acharya Nandan ji, a disciple of Pandit Onkar Nath Thakur and Acharya Kundan Lal Sharma who belonged to the Shyam Chaurasi gharana. It only confirms his deep longing to become a vocalist of the Kirana gharana that took him to Pandit Bhimsen Joshi ultimately, whose unmistakable signature is more than evident in his gayaki from the very first sur lagaav (intonation).
Harish commenced his recital with raga Miyan ki Malhar, the popular monsoon melody that is supposed to have been created by Miyan Tansen. The opening composition in slow Ek tala, the famous bandish "Karim naam tero" was given a befitting handling with detailed alap badhat and behelawa, followed by forceful taans. The chhota khayal set to drut (fast) Ek tala that went "Aayee badariya ata dhoom" was etched with colourful variations. He rounded off with a short but lively bandish (composition), "Sakhi Shyam nahin aaye", in raga Chhaya Malhar, again immortalised by Bhimsen Joshi.
Harish seemed a perfect copy of his guru, Bhimsen Joshi. It is high time, he took care not to sound like `His Master's Voice'.
Versatile pakhawaj
Pandit Dal Chand Sharma is known for his versatility as a pakhawaj accompanist and for clarity in executing the intricate and vigorous rhythmic patterns in various talas as a soloist. This evening he chose to play Chau tala of 12 beats, and commenced his recital with an impressive Ganesh vandana, first reciting and then playing it with perfect diction. In fact even before this, his initial thaap itself, with a long lasting aas of Taar Shadja spoke volumes for his tunefulness on a percussion instrument. No wonder he has delved deep into the rasa sidhhant, the rasa theory, and has worked with dedication on the aesthetics of this musical instrument.
Harish Tiwari
In the typical Nathdwara baaj, he illustrated how the veer rasa was depicted through the bol (syllable) Dhet, and the shringar rasa through Ghin-nak. The gopuchha aakriti (tapering pattern) would show the gradual decline of matras before he rounded it off on the sam. The way he handled the special kaat-taraash ka chhand of Purushottam Das ji could be compared with a sculptor rejecting the unwanted piece of stone while carving a beautiful statue.
The other remarkable pieces were the baaj-baheri (hawk and the bird) ladant ki paran, Pandit Totaram's Ta Dhin Thun Na variations, as if a tete-tete between four women, the gaja (elephant) paran of Kudau Singh ji, the rail dhwani paran, a specialty of his gharana, the jhala of the Ta Ghe Ghe Ghe syllables rolling down like an avalanche. There was also the complicated chakkardar composition where every first Dha ends on the sam in the first round, every second Dha in the second round and every third Dha in the third round, creating a dramatic effect. There was no end to his creative virtuosity.
His crisp padhant and his ability to communicate also established an instant rapport with his audience. The melodious lehra played on the sarangi by Ghanshyam Sisodia added to the musicality of the pakhawaj recital. His disciple Manmohan Nayak's commendable support on the pakhawaj proved Dal Chand an efficient guru as well.
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