A daughter remembers her father

Neha Kirpal

“His practice, training and hold over music were phenomenal. Moreover, he had a very different viewpoint as a musician. I was very fortunate to have a powerful guru like him.” In his 95th birth anniversary year, classical vocalist Kalapini Komkali remembers her father, the legendary Hindustani classical musician Kumar Gandharva. Fortunate she certainly was. Kalapini’s mother, Vasundhara Komkali, too was one of the leading exponents of the Gwalior gharana. “My parents have been complete gurus for me. If I can inculcate even a bit of what they taught me, it’s a very big thing for me,” she adds.

One of Kumar Gandharva’s biggest examples in classical music was his presentation of the traditional songs of Malwa, the region in Madhya Pradesh’s Dewas where he lived. Gandharva deeply practised these traditional songs that were sung by women in the region. He portrayed several morning, afternoon and evening ragas through them. He postulated that the root of all classical ragas is in folk music.

“People believe that he rendered these folk tunes in his own way. But that is not true. He presented the tunes that were available around and sung them just the way people traditionally sung them. He didn’t alter or change them by inserting new words or making new compositions. He sang these the way a classical musician would have,” explains Kalapini.

She is taking this rich legacy of her parents forward. After his death in 1992, the Kumar Gandharva Sangeet Academy was instituted in Dewas. The idea behind the academy, she says, was not to make a statue or monument, but create a more meaningful memorial. “We wanted to preserve his music. Many students and artists come to the academy to hear his compositions,” she adds.

Kalapini has also continued to organise music festivals at Dewas to bring together major scholars, performers, senior and young artists for the past 27 years. “It’s a small attempt on my part, but a matter of great pride for me. As part of the classical music community, I feel it is my responsibility to inform people about music,” she says.

From time to time, Kalapini also gives lecture demonstrations to the youth on Indian classical music. She feels that at a time when we are bombarded by all kinds of music through various platforms, it is important that the young generation feels connected to Hindustani music. “If we are able to draw them towards classical music even twice or thrice, the fourth or fifth time around, they may choose to listen to it themselves,” she believes.