Just one ingredient
ANJANA RAJAN
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Anup Jalota on the sole requirement of devotional music.
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I tell people glamour is not in any field but in success.
Photo: V.V. Krishnan
Spiritual strains Popular singer Anup Jalota in New Delhi
“Only two types of music sells these days — the ‘Kaanta laga’ type and the devotional,” remarks Anup Jalota jovially. The bhajan king can afford to smile, having been at the commanding heights of his category for decades. Jalota, who flew into New Delhi for the finals of the Sona Devotional Music Awards that were declared this past weekend, is trying to encourage young people to take up devotional music singing.
Fame is always relative. The names of those considered immortal in the classical music hall of fame may not be familiar to those who swear by pop tunes. But in India there is a simple gauge. If your voice can be heard in homes and temples and paan shops and parties alike, there is no doubt you are famous. And Anup Jalota, the singer who could be credited with the transformation of the simple bhajan into a glamorous performance routine, can be proud of his achievement. In constantly changing India, where the aural and visual choices of the masses have changed faster than the taste buds, where city life has all but erased family rituals like the evening aarti, his brand of singing filled a need for electronically aided devotion.
Part of classical
“Bhakti sangeet (devotional music) is a part of classical music,” points out Jalota. “Renowned classical singers tend to conclude their recital with a bhajan — not a ghazal!”
The competition instituted by the Sona Group, is dedicated to finding new talent solely in the field of devotional music. Now in its second year, it is unique for another reason. “We allow participants to sing songs from any source or singer, but not film songs,” explains Jalota.
“We got over 400 entries and shortlisted 10,” he continues. These 10 singers performed live at a glitzy event in the city’s Kamani auditorium. Vidhi Sharma of Delhi is the winner, while the first and second runners-up respectively are Pravin Singh from Lucknow and Abhishruti Bezbaruah from Mumbai.
The competition allows devotional songs from any religion, he notes, but adds that the majority of entries are of bhajans. What the judges look for, says Jalota, is whether the singer has kept up the garima (gravitas) of devotional singing. The man who made city slickers sway to Meera’s lyrics — “Aisi Laagi Lagan” springs instantly to mind — feels aspiring singers opt out of the devotional genre because they feel it lacks glamour.
“I tell people glamour is not in any field but in success,” he says. “Sanjeev Kapoor is a cook, but he is glamorous because of his success.” Similar is the case of Dara Singh, who would have been just a wrestler not a star if not for his success. “These days, who could be more glamorous than Zakir Husain or Pandit Ravi Shankar?”
Young people are slowly being enticed to concentrate on devotional singing, he feels. He teaches youngsters from different parts of the country. They stay with him at his Mumbai residence. “Teaching is very important in music. I prefer they stay with me for 10 to 15 days at a time and learn the other aspects of the profession too — how to meet organisers, how to meet fans, how to conduct oneself on stage….”
He counts some lifelong disciples among his protégés. “There is Sumeet Tappoo from the Fiji Islands. He sings very well. He has been hearing my music since he was three. There is a photo of him sitting on my lap. Now he is married. There is also Shekhar Gupta from Hyderabad. He is from a big business family and also performs. He has been with me for more than 15 years.”
Jalota, who does not charge for lessons, says teaching is “like adopting a child — you don’t just teach, you have to guide them lifelong.”
Stage manners and grooming may be part of the game, but essentially to be a good devotional singer you need only one thing, he avers: devotion. “They say a successful film requires three ingredients: script, script and script. Similarly, in devotional music, there is devotion, devotion, devotion!”
One doesn’t need a large number of instruments to add to the attraction, he insists. “My most successful album is ‘Sandhya’ which has only tabla and guitar!” Incidentally, two of his albums, “Krishna Teri Bansuri and Ram Bhajan, have just hit the market.
Jalota relates an experience he had about 15 years ago. “I was singing in Birla Matushri Hall in Mumbai. There was a man, a sadhu type, sitting in the audience. He raised his hand and said he wanted to sing a song too. I called him on stage and asked what is your sur. He said, I don’t know anything about all that. So he sang and I accompanied him on the harmonium. The way he sang! The audience shouted ‘once more!’ He sang again, and then he said he didn’t know any more songs. He had more devotion than me. Because he was a sadhu.”
This incident illustrates for Jalota the power of music. In this day and age if an ascetic can carry an audience like that, he asks, what is the doubt that Tansen could light lamps by singing raga Deepak or that someone singing Malhar could bring on the rains?
Fruits of faith - 2009
Chosen from 10 finalists shortlisted from 400, the winner and first and second runners-up of the sona Devotional Music Awards - 2009 receive Rs.1 lakh, Rs.50,000 and Rs.25,000 respectively.
They will also be given an opportunity to cut an album
Winner: Vidhi Sharma (Delhi)
First runner-up: Pravin Singh (Lucknow)
Second runner-up: Abhishruti Bezbaruah (Mumbai)
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