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Chords & Notes

Jaipur Gharana by Various Artistes

Sa Re Ga Ma,CD, Rs. 295

Talk of Jaipur gharana and you can't not think of Ustad Alladiya Khan. But this album by Sa Re Ga Ma, on Jaipur gharana music doesn't include the legendary vocalist, but the two prized possessions of the gharana — the Ustad's students Mogubai Kurdikar and Kesarbai Kerkar. Also, there is Lakshmibai Jadhav, Padmavathi Gokhale and Padmavati Shaligram. This album, which has only women artistes of the gharana, almost seems like a celebration of the feminine spirit, which lived up to a rigour in the most trying circumstances.

This particular album is surely from the older LP versions, for, most of the pieces are short. So short that they end abruptly.

When you prepare yourself for a journey into the good old past, what you get is just a sneak preview, and that is disappointing.

Mogubai, one of the finest exponents of the Jaipur gharana, sings a pleasing Alaiyya Bilawal. But it surely is not a representative piece, considering that she had such a fine mastery over laya.

The story goes that her initial training in dance made her an expert in taal, like her guru Ustad Alladiya Khan.

Laxmibai Jadhav's Deshkar piece is outstanding. It is slightly longer than most other pieces. It is nuanced and the gamaks are torrential. Her voice is extremely flexible and the firats are amazing.

Padmavati Shaligram's Poorvi and Tilak Kamod in her mellifluous voice are engaging. For someone like Kesarbai Kerkar who had a performing career that lasted over four decades, the sole piece in Multani hardly suffices. In fact, it is said that in every aspect of her singing, she bore the stamp of her guru. Also, one wonders why the compiler overlooked the fact that Ustad Khan Saheb was fondly known as "ajab gawaiyya", because he mostly sang unheard of ragas.

This is also one of the most important features of the Jaipur gharana. The album has no traces of any such rendition and takes you through the usual Bhairavi, Pilu, Kafi and the rest.

As usual, the sleeve notes, which could have thrown light on the time and ethos in which these were singing, are conspicuous by their absence.

Despite its shortcomings, the album serves the purpose of introducing you to the music of the popular, the not-so-popular and the forgotten voices of the Jaipur gharana.

D. G.

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