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In a league of its own
SHYAMHARI CHAKRA
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An attempt to revive the third style of Indian classical music, the Udra or Odissi music.
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Photo: Linagraj Panda
Musical journey Padmashree Pandit Surinder Singh
Carnatic and Hindustani apart, was there a third style of Indian classical music? ‘Yes’, claim Orissa’s people in general and Odissi musicians in particular. And there has been an attempt to prove it too. The day-long Tridhara Natio
nal Music Conference, hosted by Swar Rang music institution founded by renowned musician Pandit Damodar Hota, was an initiative in that direction.
Talking about the festival held in Bhubaneswar on Sunday, Pandit Hota, a revivalist of Odissi music, said, “Like the Saraswati river that formed the ‘triveni’ along with the Ganga and the Yamuna, Odissi (which was earlier known as Udra music since Orissa was called Udradesh in ancient times) was a distinct stream of music like the Carnatic and Hindustani. It evolved from the ritualistic music of the Jagannath temple of Puri and the 12th century saint-poet Jayadev was a prominent practitioner of it. However, during the time of Mughal and British rules, it was marginalised like the Saraswati river that vanished later.”.
The conference was the first attempt to bring the three distinct music styles on a platform to prove Odissi’s unique features - its similarities and differences – with the two other styles. And it was aptly named ‘tridhara’. While New Delhi-based Padma Shri Surinder Singh, popularly known as the younger of the Singh-bandhu brothers duo and disciple of Ustad Amir Khan, represented Hindustani style, Hyderabad-based former, music professor and presently the secretary of Andhra Music Academy P.V.S. Seshaiah represented Carnatic style. Septuagenarian Hota himself represented the Udra style.
The morning session witnessed presentation of three identical ragas by the three stalwarts – Sankarabharanam (Carnatic), Sankarabharan (Odissi) and Ahliayaa Bilabal (Hindustani) – while the evening session has presentation of ragas Suddha Saberi, Malhar and Durga in the same order respectively. The conference that also deliberated the raga system in details revealed that there are five categories of ragas in the Udra style, which have similar tonal arrangements as in the other two styles, similar names but no similarities in characteristics, having similarity with Carnatic but not with Hindustani and vice versa and ragas that are exclusive to the Udra style.
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Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
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