The Gurtu magic

Over the past few weeks, Mumbai has had a series of concerts paying tribute to thumri doyenne Shobha Gurtu. Featuring disciples like Dhanashree Pandit-Rai, Aditi Banerjee and Sraboni Chaudhuri, the shows had gems like ‘Rangi Saari Gulabi Chunariya’, ‘Aaj Biraj Mein Holi Re Rasiya’ and her interpretation of the Begum Akhtar-popularised ‘Hamari Atariya’. The legendary singer’s birth centenary was celebrated on February 8, prompting the music label Music Today to re-release her kajri, ‘Sajna Baat Nirakhta Haari’.

Over 20 years after her death on September 27, 2004, Gurtu’s gems are sung by various artistes, much to the delight of semi-classical music lovers. Her legacy continues. From popular fare like ‘Saiyyaan Nikas Gaye’, ‘Mhaaro Pranaam’, ‘Saawan Ki Ritu’ and ‘Main To Kheloongi Un Sang Hori’ to rarer songs like ‘Ja Bairi Ja Badra’ and ‘Naiyya Padi Majhdhaar’, there are regular requests from fans. Besides the thumri and its allied forms dadra, kajri, hori, jhoola and chaiti, she was adept at Urdu ghazals and even Marathi songs, many of which were recorded in the 1991 Saregama India compilation ‘Adheer Yaad Tujhi’.

What’s significant is that Gurtu was born Bhanumati Shirodkar in Belagavi, in present-day Karnataka, in a family with Goan antecedents. Yet, she later took elements of the North Indian Purab form of singing, though she developed her own style. Her mother, Menekabai Shirodkar, was a professional dancer, who initiated her into music. Her formal training began under Ustad Bhurji Khan, son of Jaipur-Atrauli gharana founder Ustad Alladiya Khan. Later, she learnt from Ustad Nathan Khan and Ustad Ghamman Khan, with the latter honing her skills in semi-classical forms. She was also influenced by Begum Akhtar, 10 years older than her.

Sraboni Chaudhuri, Gurtu’s disciple, says that whether it was her own singing or in teaching, she would lay emphasis on thought and improvisation. She says, “There were times she would sing the same thumri in two different rhythmic cycles, thus changing their pattern. She would encourage us to come into our own element, rather than think too much about technicalities. She would tell us that this genre required spontaneity, and an ability to interpret songs differently each time one performed them.”

Chaudhuri started learning from Gurtu when she was in college. She had earlier learnt from Shashikala Kaikini and briefly from Pt Dinkar Kaikini, but when she heard Gurtu, she veered towards thumri and other light forms. She recalls, “She was not a typical guru in that it wasn’t necessary that if she taught something yesterday, she would continue the same thing today. The first composition she taught me was a ghazal in Raag Puriya Dhanashri, ‘Garmiye Hasratein Naaqaam Se Jal Jaate Hain’. It went on for one-and-a-half months, and though I asked her when I would learn something else, I realised that she had actually taught me various aspects of singing with this one bandish.”

Gurtu’s other disciples included Sarala Bhide, Shubha Joshi, Rajashree Pathak, Aditi Kaikini, Smita Bhagwat, Madhura Sohoni, Neha Majumdar-Chimmalgi and the late Kathak dancer Bireshwar Gautam. Music director Tushar Bhatia has worked a lot on her recordings, and taken guidance from her.

Besides her students, Gurtu has also been an influence on other singers. Avanti Patel, who curates and performs in the ‘O Gaanewali’ series of concerts, sang Gurtu’s Marathi song ‘Pahuni Pyar Bhari Muskaan’ when she was 13. A student of renowned vocalist Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande, Avanti later learnt the nuances of thumri from Gurtu’s disciple Rajashree Pathak. “Because of her training, Shobhaji’s singing had elements of the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana, while focusing on the Purab ki thumri. The ornamentation she used took her songs to another level,” she says. For her concerts, Patel has learnt various songs popularised by Gurtu. These include ‘Saiyyaan Nikas Gaye’, ‘Najariya Laage Nahin Kahin Aur’ and the ghazals ‘Mitkar Bhi Mohabbat Mein’ and ‘Sham-e-Mehfil’.

In 2022, there was a sudden craze for the song ‘Rangi Saari Gulaabi Chunariya’, earlier popularised by Gurtu but released in a new avatar and sung by Kavita Seth in the film ‘Jugjugg Jeeyo’. Not many newer listeners knew it was once performed regularly by Gurtu, and even the creators of the remake didn’t mention that.

Gurtu sang a few songs in films, examples being ‘Bedardi Ban Gaye Koi’ in ‘Phagun’ (1973) and ‘Saiyyaan Rooth Gaye’ in ‘Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki’ (1978). Her son, noted jazz and fusion drummer Trilok Gurtu, recorded her voice in his albums ‘Usfret’ and ‘Crazy Saints’.

According to Chaudhuri, Gurtu had a lot of love and respect for all her students. She says, “Most of us called her ‘Mummy’, because she was like our mother. She would tell us to look after our family first, and before we sat down for the music, she asked what food we had prepared at home. There was something very childlike and compassionate about her.”

Patel says the response to Shobha Gurtu’s songs at shows is encouraging even today. “We are fortunate that her disciples and other singers are presenting them, and that the audience is well-versed,” she adds. Gurtu’s magical voice, the sheer melody of the compositions and the way she expressed their emotions give many of these tunes an aura of timelessness.

— The writer is a Mumbai-based music journalist