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An elaborate alap continues to be enjoyed in Varanasi.
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Recently Girija Devi made a statement in a concert that the alap portion must be shortened in Khayal singing because the listeners of today do not have much time for an elaborate alap. “Hamarezjamane mein log adhe ghante ka ala
p sunna chahte the, aj koi sunna nahi chahta. Sub thumri, dadra, chaiti, kajri hi sunna chahte hain. Fast life mein Khayal gate samay kalakaron ko sirf paanch minute ka alap ab gana chahiye” (In our days, people liked to hear an alap of half-an-hour, but today, nobody is ready to listen. Listeners want to listen only to thumri, dadra, chaiti and kajari. Keeping pace with this fast life, artistes should present just a five-minute alap while singing Khayal).
But her statement was proved wrong recently in Varanasi. Showing that at least listeners of this musically old city are ready to take in an elaborate alap, even today.
First, Ustad Rahim Fahimuddin Dagar sang a raga in a Dhrupad concert, introducing it with an alap of one hour and fifteen minutes.
Two other significant music events happened when the artistes of India got together to celebrate the 85th birthday of the tabla maestro Pandit Kishan Maharaj here. Sitar exponent Shujaat Khan played an hour-long alap of Yaman Kalyan.
Alap is a generic term. It is actually a prayer through which an artiste establishes the image of the raga. The musical ideas are elaborated with the focus on melody and not rhythm. .
After Shujaat, Pandit Rajan and Sajan Mishra sang raga Miyan ki Malhar with an alap of 45 minutes. Listeners of every stream relished the elaborate alap of Shujaat, as also Rajan and Sajan’s performance. Sandip Das was on the tabla with Shujaat, while Kumar Bose from Kolkata accompanied Rajan and Sajan Mishra.
Bose said, “Alap is the only way one can depict the true profundity of a raga. To shorten a raga means to prepare tasteless fast food out of it. His point gained further weight when Purbayan Chatterjee from Kolkata played an alap of almost half an hour on his sitar, and an audience dominated by schoolchildren listened with wrapt attention. In short, to quote noted Banaras Hindu University musicologist Lipika Dasgupta, Khayal music divested of an elaborate alap no longer qualifies as a Khayal composition. It becomes ‘geya gaan’ or geet. To correctly reveal the image of a raga in the Khayal genre, it is essential to perform a reposed and elaborate alap — one that reflects chain, the quality of blissful peace in which the identity of the singer, the instruments and the music merge seamlessly.
GAUTAM CHATTERJEE
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Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
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