Kumar Gandharva brought Malwa alive in his music: Kalapini Komkali

Tribune News Service

Aparna Banerji

Jalandhar, December 31

It was among the songs of the people and Malwi folk tunes in the dry lands of Dewas in the heartland of Madhya Pradesh that Pandit Kumar Gandharva’s music found a new direction. As his daughter, vocalist Kalapini Komkali, takes forward that assured legacy, her strains are also rooted in inspiration from the folk traditions her father found solace in. While the inclination towards the divine is unmistakable in her voice, her music is also driven by Saint Kabir’s traits of ‘straightforwardness’ and ‘barrenness’. The Tribune caught up with the vocalist on the sidelines of the 148th Harivallabh Sangeet Sammelan in Jalandhar. Excerpts:

Dewas had a huge impact on Kumar Gandharva ji, how does this legacy impact your music?

When Kumar ji (Gandharva) settled down at Dewas (Madhya Pradesh) in 1948, he picked up local sounds. He was originally from Karnataka, born and brought up at Belgaum. In Bombay, he stayed with his Guru, tutored in Gwalior gharana music tradition for 14 years. When diagnosed with lung TB in 1947, it was suggested he settle down in a dry climate. Dewas was a dry, cool and quiet place. For 5-6 years, he had been advised not to sing and was bed-ridden. During that time, he was enamoured by Malwa’s music and sounds — peasants, labourers coming and going, women working in the fields, travelling in bullock carts. He started a study and collected many lok dhuns (folk tunes), practising them, their aaroh and avroh (ascending and descending notes) and words. He also observed that folk tunes were rife with raga strains. But people didn’t know whether their songs had notes of Raga Bilaskhani Todi or Raga Bhairavi. Kumar ji knew the grammar of ragas. He observed Raga Bhairavi, Raga Sarang Bhim Palasi and countless other similitudes. Malwai dialect is very sweet and impacted him deeply. He had heard classical compositions in Avadhi, Bhojpuri, Khari Boli, Punjabi, Sindhi etc but never in Malwai. He composed a Kafi with Malwai influences and many other compositions took shape. I got all these from my Guru, my father. It’s always my effort to bring these to fore.

Today, folk tunes are often appropriated, originals left uncredited. What is your take on this trend?

“Mujhe ye theek nahi lagta. Mana ke ve seedhe sacche log hain, par unka samman karna chahiye” (I don’t feel it is right, I agree they are simple, true folk, but they should be respected). Due should be given where deserved. Countless folk tunes are picked up at village chaupals, and in the interiors of the country. When Gandharva ji heard them, he eventually presented it by a beautiful retelling — revealing and crediting the original but also adding his own flavour. His musician mind brought the new melody to fruition, but the seed was in the folk tunes.

On taking inspiration from Kabir and his straightforwardness, she says: “Sab jagah saaj shringar hi chahiye kya”. A tree is lovely with leaves and flowers but a skeletal, barren stalk has its own beauty which should also be appreciated. Some things said simply without frills, touch the heart so much, they hit like an arrow. For words to hit you, quality of barrenness is often necessary.

On Covid-19 crisis

Many have no idea what the art world lost during Covid. We need time to understand the devastation that the pandemic wreaked on artists, the gap left can never be filled up. It was a dark, uncertain time, when musicians didn’t know how they would sustain themselves. How many online concerts can one do? The corporate world should have a policy where the industry supports artists and not just by sponsoring programmes, but something to ensure that artists who gave their entire lives serving music should get some solace later in life.

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