Classical Album

From the exuberant exchange between tabla maestro Alla Rakha and his son Zakir Hussain to the touching,intimate moment when Mallikarjun Mansur took his last drag on a cigarette held by his son,Raghu Rai’s solo exhibition on Indian classical musicians resonates with passion and even humour. The show,hosted by the Vadhera Art Gallery,opens at the Lalit Kala Akademi on February 24 and a companion book,India’s Great Masters (HarperCollins India,Rs 3,500),will be released shortly.

The images have been captured over three decades. “I love classical music and have attended concerts since the early 1980s,my camera always ready beside me,” says Rai,45,whose iconic images have often defined India to the world. Sitting behind his huge wooden desk at his Mehrauli office,he adds,“Some images have been taken from the orchestra pit during a performance; others in the homely environs with their families after many teas and chats. However,two things unite this vast body of work — one is that these maestros have all risen above the dictates of their gharanas to create a style of their own; and two is the spiritual level their music has achieved. It’s easy to make pleasing,even good music. But very few great artists can stir the soul.”

Rai reminisces about travelling to Mumbai for a special shoot with the brilliant but temperamental Kishori Amonkar. “After shooting for an hour,she looked at me and said,‘Okay that is enough.’ I too puffed out my chest and said,‘Kishoriji you can throw me out physically but I will not stop till I am satisfied’,” says Rai with an impish grin. It was only then that he managed to capture Amonkar struggling to find that deeper note inside her.

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This image is contrasted well with the joyousness of Kumar Gandharva as he reaches the crescendo of his aalap . While Ravi Shankar’s cut and bleeding fingers shot in close-up speak of years of dedication,moments captured with his daughter Anoushka speak of his softer side. The section on Bismillah Khan captures his deep faith as a Muslim but with images of Lord Krishna proliferating his studio.

As a photojournalist,Rai has had his tongue planted firmly in his cheek and it shows up in the humorous and ironic moments he has captured despite his love for classical music. As he switches on a jugalbandi between Bismillah and Vilayat Khan,he says,“Tragically people do not make music like this anymore.”

At the Lalit Kala Akademi till March 3