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`The aim of music is moksha'
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Veteran vocalists Ustad Fahimuddin Dagar and Laxmanrao Krishan Pandit muse over classical music and its status today
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PLAYBACK Pandit Laxmanrao Krishan Pandit and Ustad Fahimuddin Dagar bemoan the affectation that has crept into music PHOTO: SANDEPP SAXENA
He is a veritable mine of anecdotes of musicians from yesteryear: their quirks, outrageous behaviour, recounted in the most charming manner — replete with the mellifluous purity and softness of his swaras. One sees the old-world tehzeeb and adab firmly in place as he chews paan and sings a few compositions to illustrate a point. He traces his uninterrupted musical lineage to Swami Haridas and Tansen, with 20 generations having been involved in the profession.
ALKA RAGHUVANSHI brings together Fahimuddin Dagar, the doyen of the Dagarbaani, and Laxmanrao Krishna Pandit, the veteran vocalist considered the authentic representative of the Gwalior gharana who traces his musical lineage to Haddu-Hassu Khan.
With a combined lineage that can best be described as eclectic, their conversation is bound to traverse diverse time zones and sacred spaces of the mind's canvas.
Dagar: Earlier, All India Radio played a massive role in preserving, protecting and nurturing music. There was a large presence of musicians, live programmes where we performed according to a certain mood and ragas according to the actual time of the day. Now it has all been eroded.
Pandit: I was part of AIR those days and I remember how meticulously we used to handle it. Our gradation used to be like the seal of quality. Even today the old-timers reveal their gradation with pride.
Dagar: But now showmanship is the name of the game. The audience also understands little and the performers playto the gallery. How do people like us, who have been into this for nearly 20 generations as a matter of imaan, explain our commitment?
Pandit: It is impossible for people to even understand the amount of effort it takes before a one is in a position to perform on stage. Zindagi galani padti hai.
Dagar: Of course. It is a full-time occupation. My father used to say, `Blessings are not alms that you get in charity. You have to earn them with your karma. Just like ruhaniyat or spirituality'. There is that beautiful doha — Har-har kare to kuch na hoi, har ko bhaje to hari ka hoi — meaning that by just beating your chest you will get nowhere, remember Hari and he will overwhelm you with His blessings.
Pandit: Exactly. Music is a subject of education. We tried to create erudite audiences even when I was in AIR. After all we are the vanguards of the Indian musical heritage.
Dagar: No tradition or heritage can remain alive without sacrifice. And when I see a lot of present-day musicians making fools of the audiences using the jargon to misrepresent facts; it pains me no end. Aadhar hai naad ka, aawaaz ka aayina hai — the basis is the sound and voice its mere reflection.
Pandit: There is not enough focus on voice training now. The result is that the refinement is lacking along with the purity of the ragas. Aaroh-avroh or mere technicality is not how a raga is recognised, but by its emotional content. Just as when you sing, one can take it for granted that the purity of the raga is just as it is meant to be.
Dagar: Dhrupad is an educational subject. It is complete music — ragatmaak, suratmaak, shabdatmaak, talatmaak, rasatmaak, kalatmaak — meaning the combination of raga, melody, word, rhythm, rasa, and art. And not merely a combination of maatras or technicalities. It is naad yoga.
Pandit: Khayal is after all the progeny of Dhrupad. It is the next generation.
Dagar: But these days they are willing to play the alap on practically any instrument!
Pandit: Even on the santoor!
Dagar: When they say, `We have been singing the same way for generations,' I laugh. For it depends totally on the performer — karne wala chahiye, roz nayapan hai! This earth is old, this sky is old, the water is old, the air is old too! Do we call these dated and old? The purpose and ultimate aim of music is moksha when the soul merges into the formless ultimate. It is the same relationship as the kundalini has with the navel.
Pandit: Certainly. There are khayal compositions, which can create imagery as if there is a procession of a king marching down! Even if we are able to embellish this ashtanga or eight-faceted tradition, we would have done our duty.
Dagar: When we were learning, we used to remember 30-35 compositions of a raga, or else it was considered incomplete training! But you can be taught only up to a point, the real learning begins after that. And I am still learning.
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