On Kumarprasad Mukherjee

Obeisance on Guru Purnima

The Lost World Of Hindustani Music, by the renowned musicologist, Kumarprasad Mukherjee, is arguably the finest book among those on Hindustani Classical music, where insightful facts & memorable anecdotes are intertwined tightly with each other, for a most compelling read.

This, of course, is a translation of his even more famous book in Bengali, Kudrat Rangibirangi. This book, compiled from the highly popular serialised content for the famous literary magazine, Desh Patrika, was so unique in style & content that it has won a host of literary awards in Bengal.

[The book has been translated in Hindi as well]

As a book, seeking to make Hindustani classical music more palatable for a larger audience, it was hugely successful in its objective. Laced with anecdotes and humourous interjections, it de-mystified the 'gharanedaar reet ki gayaki' to a considerable extent.

He followed it with two smaller-sized books, Mehfil and Majlish. Then came the book on cricket and music - Deeshi Gaan Biliti Khela and finally, a brilliant essay on the deterioration of hindusthani khayal singing, titled, Kheyal O Hindustani Sangeeter Abakkhyoy.

He was best suited for translating Kudrat Rangibirangi, as he had an excellent command over English language… having been a honorary music critic of The Statesman for decades (during the newspaper’s glory days).

[The word ‘honorary’ is significant because his main occupation was as a Director of the Government’s Public Sector undertaking, Coal India, for a very long period of time.]

He was my maternal uncle's school-mate and about 35 years senior to me. After I met him, for the first time (in the early 90-s) he insisted that I call him 'Kumar-mama'.

So ‘Kumar-mama’ it was… and he took it upon himself to hone my musical sensibilities, so that I can become an adequately informed ‘shrota’ (listener)… a stroke of luck for which I will always be grateful.

For a brief period of eighteen months (1992 - 1993), I used to visit him almost every Sunday. He had a host of visitors... students, music research scholars, representatives from music companies & publishing houses... all I did was to sit and observe.

Going through a depressing phase of my personal life, these Sunday visits acted as a healing balm for my mind and soul. Endowed with unusually high IQ & EQ, he had fathomed that I was in torment and yet, wihout exhibiting the slightest curiosity about my personal plight, he just took me under his wing & ensured that I accompany him for all his music-related interacions (at his place & ouside.)

(The Universe helped me tether my life.)

Though he idolized Faiyyaz Khan and the gayaki of the Agra Gharana, he seldom imposed his views on others during discussions. Surely, not with me, though it would have been the easiest thing for him to do. I was an impressionable 'sponge' then, following his train of thoughts & hanging on to every syllable of his.

It was he who cajoled me to buy books with serious musical content by Vamanrao Deshpande, B.R. Deodhar, Mohan Nadkarni, Sumati Mutatkar etc. so that I could think & analyse on my own.

As an avid fan of Kesarbai Kerkar and Mallikarjun Mansur, he never tired of telling me about his experiences of hearing Kesarbai's Lalita Gauri in the 40's (shared below in this article) and a bewitching Basanti Kedar and Nand of Mallikarjun-buwa in Calcutta, in the mid 70-s.

He used to lament about the lack of recorded material of Bhaskarbuwa Bakhle and Alladiya Khan. He was also a  great fan of Mogubai Kurdikar and Sharadchandra Arolkar.

He used to also regret about how 'un-used' the archival audio section of ITC-SRA was, lately, 'till Ulhas came along'. He was very fond of Ulhas Kashalkar's elegant & cerebral gayaki. Ulhas-ji too, used to speak about him, in deferential tones (whenever I used to meet him in Bombay, after his recitals.)

Kumar-mama’s biggest assets were his inquisitive mind and zest for life. His learning never ceased and his enthusiasm never faltered, despite his health problems… a consequence of three bypass surgeries.

When I came to know of his passing away, in May 2006, the thought that crossed my mind was: "Farewell, 'Mama'. May you meet your childhood idols… the Khan-sahabs-s & the Pandit-ji-s, up there."

Here is an extract from The Lost World Of Hindustani Music. It is about a concert of Kesarbai Kerkar in Calcutta (in 1942), when he was barely 10 years old. He was accompanied by a senior family-friend, Rabindralal Roy (the father of vocalist Malabika Kanan), who was his musical mentor as well.

As the curtain went up, we beheld a middle-aged lady of imposing appearance in white silk, accompanied by a single ‘taanpura’ and Majid Khan on the Sarangi. The pitch was lower than usual… possibly G sharp and her first enunciation of the ‘Sa’, the tonic revealed a quality of voice somewhat heavier than most female musicians.

As she progressed with her raag, Lalita Gauri, the luminous quality of every note she struck with open-chested ‘shuddh aakaar’,  was such a departure from anything we had heard before that we clasped each other’s hands in sheer joy. Neither my friend nor I was acquainted with Lalita Gauri and thought it was Poorvi, but that did not interfere with the enthusiastic appreciation.

What struck us immediately was the quality of her execution. It seemed every phrase, every ‘meend’ in the ‘bahlawa’, every ‘taan’ had been rehearsed over a hundred times.

Her approach was almost European, with meticulous attention to detail and flawless well-rehearsed execution.

Then came the intricate taan-s of Alladiya Khan’s gayaki, which would not allow for a single pause for breath till the ‘sam’ was reached. The Teentaal was slow, almost as low as the table-accompaniment for a Masitkhaani Gat on the sitar… which is indeed very slow as far as teentaal goes for vocal music. Kesarbai would start as soon as a quarter of the 16 beats was over, often even earlier, and finish certain in one breath, exactly at the point where the ‘mukhda’ began. Very often, one would get the impression that she would not be able to finish the ‘taan’ as it started ascending when there was hardly any time left for the arrival of the ‘mukhda’.  With surprising speed, she would swoop down on the ‘mukhda’ in a manner which was perfectly in keeping with the intricate original pattern of ‘taan’.

Never did the listener feel that the last movement was contrived or done in n haste.

I marvelled at the Catherine wheel effect of her ‘taan’-s, the perfect blend of ‘sur’ & ‘laya’ and the occasional syncopated emphasis on a note, which momentarily destroyed the jewel-encrusted ornamental pattern of the ‘taan’, to build yet another new one... and, more than anything else, the effect of continuity in her music… largely because of her amazing breath control.

Upon hearing this Jaipur gayaki, I realised that there must be a bigger brain, a system-builder behind this unique style. Kesarbai’s credit lay in its faultless execution.

Ustad Alladiya Khan

Founder - Jaipur Atrauli Gharana

(Kesarbai's ustaad)

It was impossible not to admire her as long as she sang. Her imposing personality, ‘swar-lagaav’ (application of ‘swara’), the purity of her notes, fantastic ‘riyaaz’ that had gone into her music, the overall impeccable taste… all combined to produce the impact that her recital had on the cognoscenti as well as the lay listeners.

Her well-rehearsed ‘taan’-s were like ladders to the sky, from which, her swooping dive to the ‘mukhda’ and her arrival at the ‘sam’, was always an event. In the words of sarangi-exponent, Rahmat Qureshi (brother in law of Majid Khan, Kesarbai’s lifelong accompanist): “jab bhi lambi taan le-kar woh waapas aati thi… mukhda bhi dulhan ban-kar aa jaata tha…”

When readers like us, read accounts like these, it enriches the mind.

It compels us to imagine the nuances of the performance & also teaches us the skills of chronicling events with literary skill & imagination.

My Guru, who shaped my musical sensibilities.

A short studio-recording of Kesarbai’s Lalita Gauri (1947)

Kumar-mama's erudition, as a musicologist, was magnificent.

Here is a 90-odd minute analysis of the gayaki of Ustad Faiyyaz Khan, the scion of the Agra Gharana & Kumar-mama's favourite artist.

He was very adept at 'Lecture-Demonstarations', given his sharp musical mind & fine communication skills.

Here is a audio recording where he explains the various genres of raag Malhar in general & Gaud Malhar in particular.

(The discussion is in Bengali but I believe that even non Bengali-s will get a genral drift of the discussion.)

The interview  is conducted by the noted sarod exponent, Buddhadev Dasgupta. His respect for Kumar-mama-s subject matter expertise can be discerned here.

An interview of the prodigously talented vocalist, Rashid Khan, in which the host's subject-matter-expertise with his erudite & unobutrsive communication skills are on display.

A highly graded vocalist of All India Radio, his vocal prowess was impressive.

Here he is singing a jugalbandi with Pt. Dinkar Kaikini (Agra Gharana). Both are rendering the celebrated chhoTa khayal in Raag Nat Bihag - 'jhan jhan paayal baaje'.

Kumar-mama's huge admiration for Aftab-e-Mausiqi Faiyyaz Khan, is completely evident here. :)

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