Doyens of classical music perform in Shimla

Shailaja Khanna

The Indian classical music tradition is unique in that it has a written history of around 2,000 years; despite it being appreciated by a niche audience, it needs patronage, as do all the classical arts all over the world. Before Independence, towns in the north like Gwalior, Baroda and Indore, amongst others, were centres of music.

When Shimla was the summer capital of India, it was culturally very alive. There were displays of marching bands, concerts and theatre performances. The ruling Princes had homes in Shimla too and for the entertainment of their guests, they would regularly hold private classical music soirees and dance performances. Shimla remained culturally alive till around the mid 1960s – there were frequent concerts at the famous Gaiety Theatre, on the Ridge, at Barnes Court and at Kalibari Mandir. In addition, Ustad Vilayat Khan, arguably the finest sitar player of the 20th century, made Shimla his summer home for a few years. Padma Shri Naina Devi lived in Shimla till the 1950s.

The annual Shimla Classical Music Festival, currently on at the Gaiety Theatre, is slowly bringing Shimla back on the map musically; in the five years since its inception, it has featured greats like Pt Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Pt Jasraj, Pt Shiv Kumar Sharma, Pt Rajan and Pt Sajan Mishra and Pt Ulhas Kashalkar amongst others. Music lovers also have had the privilege of listening to a vocal Carnatic concert by Bombay Jayashri.

Inaugurating the festival, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jairam Thakur commented on the fact that soothing music was the greatest boon, and commended Dr N Rajam for keeping alive the tradition in her family through two generations. Speaking to Padma Bhushan Dr Rajam, the great violinist, after her concert at the Gaiety theatre proved to be difficult; like all musicians who have achieved great heights, talking about herself was of no consequence to her. On repeated prodding, she revealed that she liked the hills, and had returned to perform in Shimla after years. She had performed for the All India Radio when her daughter, Sangeeta, was around five years old, and then again she had visited Shimla when Sangeeta was about 12; the Mall was much smaller then, she thought. Dr Rajam also recalled her Guru, Pt Omkarnath Thakur, the legendary vocalist who had performed at Barnes Court (now Raj Bhavan) in the 1940s. Indeed, her concert was stupendous; the languorous slow lyricality of her “Singing violin” has to be heard to be believed. The concert also revealed how she pioneered the totally ‘gayaki ang’ on the Hindustani violin, eschewing the use of instrumental techniques and focusing exclusively on reproducing the voice.

Manjusha Patil, the second artiste at the festival, revealed she was visiting Shimla for the first time. Visually, with her svelte figure, Manjusha belies her age and maturity as a classical singer. She has an enviable musical pedigree, having learnt from several stalwarts; she is currently training under Padma Shri Pt Ulhas Kashalkar. Very much a rising star, Manjusha recently won the Pt Kumar Gandharva Puraskar for 2016 given by the Madhya Pradesh government. Her great ‘tayyari’ (immense practice), ‘taalim’ (training) in addition to her ringing bell-like voice has made her one of the top vocalists of her generation. She said, “I think it’s important to take our traditional music abroad too, so do travel to Europe and the US annually for concerts. I am totally inspired by the vision and ambition of my Guru, Pt Ulhas Kashalkar, for me who literally wills me to work very hard at my music.”

The third main artiste of the festival, sarod-player Pt Tejendra Mazumdar is from the Maihar gharana, which has produced such stalwarts as Bharat Ratna Pt Ravi Shankar, Padma Vibhushan Ustad Ali Akbar Khan (Tejendra’s Guru) and Padma Bhushan Pt Nikhil Bannerji. A worthy successor to these greats, Tejendra plays with passion, great knowledge and technique. Happy to be playing his first concert in Shimla, Tejendra said, “I enjoy playing to audiences who have not been exposed much to serious classical music. Their infectious enjoyment is most inspirational; and I am really looking forward to performing at the iconic Gaiety theatre.”

Accompanying him on the tabla, Satyajit Talwalkar intended to enjoy a much-needed break with his family at Mashobra before his first concert on September 28; his second concert at the festival is on September 30, the concluding day, with the main piece being an unusual duet concert of Carnatic flautist Shashank with the sitar-player Purbayan Chatterji.