It is difficult to pay adequate tribute to the Hindustani music titan, the Padma Vibhushan singer, Pandit Chhannulal Mishra of Varanasi, who died on Dussehra day. A rare genius, possessed of an immaculate, euphonious, strong and lilting voice, with staggering range (strongly reminiscent of Pandit D V Paluskar), Chhannulal ji navigated three octaves with ease, interspersing them with lightning taans — never straining, never in a state of contortion, or raring-to-display virtuosity. The music simply flowed into him — there was no artifice, no hesitation, and no theatrics; and, likewise, it inundated his readily mesmerised listeners: Several million of them, over seven decades.
Chhannulal ji composed music for my Odissi dance pieces for four decades between 1979-2019: About 15 45-minute pieces, including the renowned “Kewat Prasang”, besides numerous shorter pieces. He did not compose music for any other dancers. I recognised how blessed I was from the beginning, but now that he is gone, my sense of that blessing is enhanced.
His range was astounding: He effortlessly rendered alap, the khayal, thumri, bhajan, tappa, the dhrupad ang, and the tarana. But his heart lay in singing verses from his beloved Ramcharitmanas by Goswami Tulsidas. Readers might wish to listen to his numerous soul-filling online offerings.
Chhannulal ji came from humble beginnings, and had to endure major struggle through his early life. Success came to him late, but it was meteoric, and he never looked back. Amongst his consistent and generous supporters were the late Mahant Maharaj ji, of Sankat Mochan Mandir, professor Veer Bhadra Mishra, head of the Hydraulic Engineering Department at IIT-BHU, and one of TIME’s “Eight Heroes for The Planet”. The actor Amitabh Bachchan was amongst Chhannulal ji’s most ardent fans.
Abdul Ghani Khan, of the mellifluous Kirana gharana — my favourite gharana – was Chhannulal ji’s guru. This gharana was founded by Gopal Nayak, and, later, expanded, consolidated, and enriched by Abdul Karim Khan and Abdul Wahid Khan. Famous practitioners of this gharana include Bharat Ratna Bhimsen Joshi, Hirabai Barodekar, Saraswati Rane, Sawai Gandharva, Basavaraj Rajguru, Sureshbabu Mane, Gangubai Hangal, Prabha Atre, and others. In “Tradition and the Individual Talent”, T S Eliot said that when a genuine genius comes along, she fortuitously alters the existing tradition by infusing fresh and vibrant elements into it with certitude; and that, in turn, becomes an ineluctable and significant part of the new tradition. Ditto with Chhannulal ji, whose oeuvre later formed the bedrock of the Banaras gharana.
While Chhannulal ji’s base was classical, he was a renowned practitioner of semi-classical forms: It was his ability to practise diverse genres that earned him a gargantuan fan following. His natural gift in evoking sahrdayatvam in all sections of his audience was a miracle.
Chhannulal ji was unassuming — he always smiled, from the heart; he was uncomplicated, uncomplaining and abjured arrogance and political flimflammery, as all true geniuses do. En fin: I now visualise the rooftop of the Sankat Mochan Mandir – Chhannulal ji singing there, each night, between 9 and 11 pm; the late, affectionate Mahant Maharaj ji (chachaji to me) with us; the chime of the bells during the arti; the rajnigandha-and-rose garlands, gifted by Mahant ji to us each night, after a sumptuous dinner, served with tenderness; the stars above us, rising to address all creation, and all of this illuminated by sublime music. There was that, and the presence of the eternal river, Ganga. I recall Schopenhauer, and the dynamic power of music as “will”, which pervades body, mind, and the universe itself.
Om Shanti. Let there be peace, beauty, and more peace; and let the music lull us into a heightened state of awareness, fellow feeling, and compassion. That was how Chhannulal Mishra lived, and sang.
The writer was appointed distinguished fellow at Carnegie Mellon University in 1990. She is also a global adviser on public policy, communications, and international relations, and an award-winning Odissi and Bharatanatyam artiste and choreographer. Views are personal
