lead: Lament for a lost song

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Strap: Classical musicians in Himachal are battling various odds to pursue their passion

Shailaja Khanna

Every year, flautist Haridutt Bhardwaj, a disciple of Pt Ronu Mazumdar, organises a concert in the memory of his grandfather and guru, Pt Chet Ram Sharma. But for the venue, which the Department of Language, Art and Culture gives free of cost, he says he has to personally raise funds for the concert. “Otherwise holding this annual musical tribute, which includes artists’ fee, travel, stay and posters, etc. would not have been possible.” Sadly, this isn’t a one off example, such is the state of affairs in the realm of classical music all over Himachal Pradesh.

Himachalis are a very musical people, innately “sureela” (tuneful) and very fond of dancing as well. Sadly, the state has not managed to produce many musicians recognisable on a national level. Musicians scattered all over the state rue the fact that are no opportunities for musicians, classical or otherwise, within Himachal. It isn’t interest that is lacking, but opportunities to hear classical music and then be taught by good performers that are rare. Some towns in Himachal do not even have a good auditorium with an adequate sound system. Even the famous Gaiety Theatre in Shimla, despite the wonderful acoustics which till today do not require amplification, remains unused on most days. The nominal rental is unaffordable for most local musicians.

At the grassroots, not much to boast of

Diwakar Sharma, a talented tabla player from Shimla, laments: “Hamare rag-rag mein laya aur sur hai, yet we have no opportunities of employment in music. There are 60 posts for tabla teachers in the state, but no one is being employed. For the last 15 years, no new recruitments have been made.” All’s certainly not well with the teaching in colleges scattered all over Himachal Pradesh, including Shimla, Mandi, Hamirpur, Sundernagar, Jogindernagar and Kangra. Most of these institutes are peopled by academicians, not performers. All India Radio has stopped employing artistes.

Hemraj Chandel, from Mandi, is one of the few rare national level singers in Himachal Pradesh, currently teaching at a college in Jogindernagar, where he has 12 students. He says Sundernagar had a good tradition of music, built up assiduously after the dissolution of the princely states by two classical music lovers — Pt Gangaram Sharma and late Dr Brijlal Bhardwaj. He says there was a reasonably good auditorium in the town and hardly any senior artiste of the time would not have performed there. “Even today concerts get an audience of 300 to 400. A festival held in the memory of Vishnu Digambar, who visited Sundernagar, is still held every year in August, which was attended by Mandar Gadgil from Maharashtra last year,” he says.

Festival circuit

Chandel says that battling all odds, the state has been seeing a slew of music festivities. “Kangra too hosts an annual Navratri festival organised by Dr PC Awasthi at the Chamunda Devi Temple. In Nadaun, Hamirpur, a Basant festival is held annually; Kullu also sees two small festivals in February and on Guru Purnima; in Shimla, a one-day music concert is held at the Kalibari temple every year. For the last five years, the government has also been holding an annual 5-day festival. Listening to masters is vital for the younger generation to be inspired to take music up as a livelihood,” says Chandel who learnt from Ustad Abdul Rashid Khan at the ITC SRA in Kolkata. Ruing the lack of performers in the state, he says, “If you cannot produce students who are concert worthy, what is the use of your training. Music is a performing art, not just theoretical teaching. Your name as a musician remains alive through your disciples.”

What irks him, however, is the haste among youngsters to get a platform. “The tedium of long years of rehearsing is not acceptable to them,” he points. Agrees Dr Lal Chand, currently teaching music in Shimla. He says his students do not feel inspired to do “riyaaz” as the opportunities to perform are really limited.

Royal patronage

Hailing from Hamirpur, Lal Chand learnt how to play the harmonium from a prince of the erstwhile Dhami estate, Kr Lokendra Singh, nephew of the late Raja Dileep Singh. Dhami state had a tradition of classical music, but due to lack of opportunities, few performers come out of there now. “At the time Guruji Bhimsen Sharma (disciple of Ustad Amir Khan and Ustad Vilayat Khan) and Prof Som Dutt Battu (recent winner of the Sangeet Natak Akademi award) were active, there was a better “mahaul” of music.” Their students Manoj Sharma, now Principal at the College of Fine Arts in Simla, and Suresh Sharma, a teacher in Dharamshala, are trying to keep the tradition of music alive.

Deepak Gautam, the only sarod player in the state, says princes of Mandi were patrons of classical arts and even had a family of kathak dancers from Rajasthan in their court. “Mandi has always had a good tradition of classical music, but today lacks even a decent auditorium,” rues Gautam.

Lamenting at the state of affairs, sitar player Gagandeep Hothi from Shimla says it is painful to see that a playback singer is paid lakhs to sing a piece of music composed by someone else, but a classical artist, who is improvising and creating music on the spot, is paid peanuts. Our classical music has no glamour. Another reason is organisers in the past were music connoisseurs; nowadays they are businessmen with no musical discernment.” This is a sad commentary on a musically sensitive people, from a region which even has a raga named after it, Pahari.

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One artist to gain national fame is Sunanda Sharma from Dah, Nurpur. She left home as a teenager to learn from Padma Vibhushan Girija Devi in Varanasi and then went to Kolkata. Today the Delhi-based is a very popular and well-travelled concert performer. But for lack of opportunities, Sunanda says, “I would love to perform in my home state.”