We consider each raga as a living being’
In a conversation with Meena Banerjee, erudite vocalist Ajoy Chakraborty brings out the finer nuances of ragas, lyrics and voice throw.
Indian classical music is “Swara-laya-taala-padaatmakam” (tune-tempo-rhythm-lyrics based). These four components of the art demand “chaumukha” (four-dimensional) practitioners. This is a tall order because a lot of analytical power works behind such expertise. That Pandit Ajoy Chakraborty is one such erudite practising musicians of his generation was once again proved when he mesmerised a packed Uttam Mancha with a refreshing delineation of raga Yaman and a Kabir bhajan during the annual soiree organised by Pracheen Kala Kendra (Chandigarh) on the occasion of their 44th convocation ceremony at Kolkata.
Blessed with an analytical mind and delightful elucidatory skill, Chakraborty is going to be the star attraction of the seminar “Indian Music: Then and Now” to be held at NCPA (Mumbai) on 21-22 January 2017. Organised by ITC Sangeet Research Academy (West) in collaboration with Sangeet Natak Akademi, National Centre for Performing Arts and Music Forum, this seminar proposes to cover thousands of years of journey of Indian classical music – beginning with the Vedic period. (Other attractions of the seminar are: Kalamandalam Piyal and group (lec-dem on ‘Vedic Music upto Bharatamuni’s Natyashastra’); Pappu Venugopal (Natyashastra up to Dhrupad); Ritwik Sanyal (Dhrupad upto Khayal))
On the final day Chakraborty will give a marathon four-hour lecture-demonstration on “Khayal up to Thumri” moderated by Pandit Arvind Parikh; and then again on “Thumri and Other Forms of Light Classical Music”, moderated by Shekhar Sen. Both the sessions promise to be extremely captivating as Chakraborty is one performer who is capable of keeping all the forms in water-tight compartments with amazing mastery over all. Most of his disciples are also groomed in a way which ensures that they treat khayal according to its character and thumri or lighter forms as per their demands. During this conversation, it was evident that Chakraborty loves the subject and ceaselessly ponders on the magic of touch notes.
Edited excerpts:
Why touch notes are so important?
Because Indian music is all about how we address and apply microtones between the two notes. This science has developed over the ages. We consider each raga as a living being. It awakens with the mood as perceived by the singer and fashioned by the touch notes. For example we treat our mother, sister, girlfriend or daughter with different kinds of mindset or bodily touch, don’t we? Similarly a raga demands different treatment in different forms. Dhrupad is like a freshly bathed, simply dressed woman in prayer; pure, beautiful and in the mood of total surrender. Khayal is like a decked-up lady heading for Rashtrapati Bhavan; and thumri-dadra represents the loving temperament of a person ready to welcome and accommodate people from all walks of life.
I must also clarify that each raga prefers a particular set of microtones, replete with emphatic, weak presence and pause in a particular way. In case of any change, the face and essence of the raga changes. Masters can easily incorporate the changes for the sake of aesthetic satisfaction; just the way one experiments with one’s looks. But can one afford to change one’s character?
How do we ensure the stability of a raga’s character?
A good composition gives the salient features of the raga. One bandish may give us an idea of the living room of the raga. But unless we do not get an entry to its bedroom and start living with it, we cannot claim to know the raga. So, the more the compositions, the more one gets to know the raga intimately. Raga elaboration, then, becomes easy.
Your voice-throw differs while singing dhrupad, khayal and thumri compositions. Please tell us about that.
Why only my voice-throw; listen to an educated cultured man’s voice and then compare it with a totally rustic’s speech. Voice-throw emerges out of our inner being. That inner self gets influenced by different moods. For example a king ceases to be the king when with his grandchild. His total attitude goes through a sea-change within a second!
The mood, in case of vocal music, is created by the lyrics. My sanskars react to the subject matter. My voice may wear a regal character while singing “Shambho Dev Mahadev”, but “Ka Karun Sajani” or “Shyama Mayer Laglo Aagun” (Shyama Sangeet) or “Naina Lage Piya Se” or “Maharaj e ki Saaje” (Rabindra Sangeet) – all are steeped in varied emotions which demand absolutely different treatment. I must confess here that I feel like singing “Ka Karun Sajani” at a much slower pace than its immortal version; because, it’s pathos-ridden lyrics need that space to bare the soul.
How important are lyrics to you?
Unless one gets under the skin of the lyrics, it is impossible to bare the soul of the raga or a blend of ragas (in case of light classical forms). Agreed, the infinite Naad gets limited within the words; but it is the words which introduce and lead us to the infinite. That is why Ustad Vilayat Khan would stop playing his sitar to sing and invoke His blessings!
Tell us about your online classes
To reach out to keen learners across the globe, online classes are the best way. One can go to Google and look for Guru Shishya Parampara Live Online on Saturdays twice a month. This ‘guru-shishya parampara’ stands for a special purpose wherein a registered student can refer back to the archived version of the class and also seek clarifications in case of any doubt.
My focus remains on voice training and raga. For the scientific technique of voice training irrespective of the gharana characteristics I dwell on general health, voice-care, and recognition of correct frequency of swaras; understanding of laya and tala cycles; importance of correct enunciation with focus on vowels, consonants, pause, etc. In raga classes, I take ragas along with the entire group; i.e. Kafi group comes with Bageshri, Bhimpalasi like common ragas. Kalyan group entails Shuddh Kalyan, Kedar, Kamod, etc. All are welcome in the world of raga music that embraces every genre.
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