Riding the Punjabi wave
MANJARI SINHA
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A festival on Punjabi bandishes highlights the state’s lineage.
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Vidyadhar carries the old world charm of his father’s gayaki.
Pandit Vidyadhar Vyas
Punjab takes pridein the classical compositions in Punjabi that have enriched the repertoire of Hindustani music. Shah Sadarang and Shah Adarang, the creators of theKhayal style of singing, have also composed some of these bandishes. Right from thei
r times khayal bandishes have been composed in Punjabi and sung till date, in various gharanas of Hindustani classical music.
Most of the tappas are also composed in Punjabi by Shori Mian, the creator of this intricate style of singing. The Punjabi Academy organised a festival of Punjabi bandishes at the India Habitat Centre, recently.
Vidyadhar Vyas gave a befitting finale to the two-day festival with a host of Punjabi bandishes prevalent in the Gwaliar gharana. Vyas not only belongs to the prestigious Gwaliar gharana but also has the direct lineage of the illustrious Pandit Vishnu Digambar Paluskar, being the son and disciple of Pandit Narayan Rao Vyas, himself an outstanding disciple of Pandit Paluskar. Groomed by his mentor, Vidyadhar carries the old world charm of his renowned father’s gaayaki.
Distinct flavour
The discerning listeners could savour the distinct flavour of Pandit Narayan Rao Vyas in Vidyadhar’s mellow musical voice.
The festival focused only on Punjabi compositions. Vidyadhar did not confine himself to the evening ragas, but presented a bouquet of traditional Punjabi bandishes, comprising a series of ragas sung from early morning to midnight, instead.
He opened with a bandish “Maandi yaar ve miyan…” set to slow Jhoomra tala, in a rare mid-morning raga Sarparda Bilawal. The medium tempo chhota khayal, “Ho miyan sun jaave…” was set to Teen tala.
Then came the afternoon raga Bhimpalasi with the famous bandish “Dolan mundane ghar aavi…” in Teen tala, before he proceeded to the Gaud Sarang composition “Khabar na leeti..” set to Drut Ek tala.
Then came the evening raga Hameer, with “Tandane kaaran…” again set to Drut Ek tala, followed by the bandish in the night raga Bageshri-Kanhara, “Dil nee lagada…”.
Completing the time cycle with the early morning raga Lalit, he concluded with a romantic composition, “Bhaanvada yaar da jovana, duje nazar nee andaa”. He took good care to sustain the raga-rasa, enhancing the bhava of the corresponding composition. Prasoon Chatterjee on the tabla and Vinay Mishra on the harmonium gave him inspiring support.
Baldev Singh Bali from Jammu was the other vocalist of the evening. Retired as Principal, Institute of Music and Fine Arts, Bali received training in classical music under stalwarts like Pandit Dilip Chandra Vedi and Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, but his vocal forte failed to justify his credentials. Opening his vocal recital with the afternoon raga Bhimpalasi, he sang a bara khayal “Dolan maa…” set to vilambit (slow tempo) Ek tala, and a medium tempo chhota khayal “Aavi ve….” set to Teen tala. He also sang a thumri in Mishra-Kafi, “Maahive raavio paar…”, which was followed by a shabad Gurubani based on raga Tilang, laced with a kind of ragamala.
Indicating fatigue, his voice could not do much, even after being supported by artistes like Mehmood Dhaulpuri on the harmonium, Bharat Bhushan Goswami on the sarangi and Prasoon Chatterjee on the tabla
Guest artistes
The festival was flagged off a day earlier, with the guest artistes Ustad Badar-uz-Zaman and Qamar-uz-Zaman from Lahore, Pakistan. Notwithstanding all their jugglery, they were easily overshadowed by the impressive performance of Nivedita Singh, who sang next.
A Reader in Vocal Music at Punjabi University, Patiala, Nivedita has done her M.Phil and Ph.D. under the guidance of Ajit Singh Paintel at the University of Delhi. She has also received taalim (training) from Professor Tara Singh and Pandit Ganesh Prasad Sharma of the Saheswan gharana. Presenting a number of traditional compositions with aplomb, Nivedita impressed not only with her authentic treatment of the ragas but also with the lucid enunciation of each and every Punjabi bandish that she chose to sing.
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