Facing The Music

What8217;s in a name when it comes to Hindustani music? Everything, it seems

Academicians who try to separate theory and practice in Indian classical music are nothing less than culprits. They have a knack for regurgitating defunct ideas and stretching them at irrelevant seminars. The Capital seems to attract an abundance of such people and issues. Take the idea relating to scrapping or renaming the gharanas the schools and sub-styles in Hindustani music. It8217;s one that top-notch vocalists and instrumentalists had discarded a long time ago.

Discerning artistes believe that the gharana system is the key to variety in Hindustani music. It helps artistes to follow a particular school of thought and technique. The gharanas were named either after the towns that patronised them or the stalwart that made them popular. Why ignore their real qualities? Why rename or scrap them?

Grandads of their tradition 8212; people like Ustad Bismillah Khan and Pandit Kishan Maharaj 8212; always make it a point to explain to their audience at concerts the speciality of the Benaras gharana in shehnai and tabla-playing. Kishori Amonkar, the flag bearer of the Jaipur Atrauli style, recently shared her liking for the folksy element in the Gwalior gharana and the romantic colours in the music from Benaras. Likewise, Meeta Pandit 8212; the Delhi-based maestro from the Gwalior gharana 8212; cares to attend performances of the experts from the Patiala gharana.

But the artistes8217; interest in other gharanas doesn8217;t go beyond appreciation. They like to stick to the rule book when it comes to following their own style. And that8217;s precisely what academicians are beginning to question. They maintain that gharanas make it difficult for a person to adopt techniques, or even a guru, from another tradition. This would mean, for instance, that a student learning the sitar under the Maihar tradition, to which Pandit Ravi Shankar belongs, can never hold the sitar in the way that Ustad Vilayat Khan8217;s Etawah Gharana had popularised. In any case, people who shift styles are looked upon as escapists.

But why encourage students to switch styles when all that is needed is to become professionals after the prescribed bout of rigorous training? People are free to choose the style that suits them. Also, remember, it is the age of world music 8212; where French jazz musicians match Indian ragas on the bass guitar and the saxophone with surprising ease. Globe trotting maestros and academicians should ensure that Hindustani music8217;s GenNext get the best of both worlds.