His divine notes took us to another realm
(28 January 1930 – 17 August 2020)[
Nonika Singh
A life lived to the full, one which enriched saat suron ki duniya as few have or can. The very mention of the name Pandit Jasraj ushers in melody. The very embodiment of saat swar, alas the divine notes that took us to another world have fallen silent.
To even utter the words, ‘the indomitable vocalist is no more’, sounds like a disservice to his immense contribution, for vocalists like him remain as eternal as their ethereal notes which never failed to cast a magical spell.
A Padma Vibushan recipient, he epitomised Bhartiya sanskar not merely because he represented its great classical tradition, but more precisely since he lived it in his very being and propagated the same. Those who have known him would always remember his ebullient greeting, Jai Ho. Those who have heard him would always swear by his vocal range, the mastery over ragas and his unique Jasrangi style with which he vowed listeners in India and abroad, young and old alike. Call it experimentation or inspiration, the purist was not hemmed by tradition yet drew from its deep wells. Representing Mewati gharana, the Jasrangi style too he insisted came from the ancient tradition of “moorchana”, where a male and female vocalist would render the same raga.
Born in Hisar in 1930, he would hail his home state as ‘janani janambhoomi’ and would often perform there. His musical journey began with grasping the rudiments first from his father and later his elder brother, Pandit Maniram. He also trained with Jaiwant Singh Waghela, a vocalist and “beenkar”, and Gulam Qadir Khan of Mewati gharana. The world would not just know him as a doyen of an illustrious gharana, but as a creator and an innovator who would add new chapters to musical history. Swar was the key to all he created. As he added one after another bandish to the musical lexicon, he would bridge many divides, including religious with his Allah Om compositions. If he would popularise old Haveli Sangeet style, equally easily he could reach out to young listeners, many of whom worshipped him like God.
Though married to filmmaker V Shantaram’s daughter, film music did not beckon him strongly enough. But for occasional and equally impressive forays, a jugalbandi with Bhimsen Joshi in “Birbal My Brother” and a song in “Life of Pi”, he believed, “sab ki apni raah.” Many, however, would walk his musical path and today his disciples too have earned a place for themselves. However, it’s his voice that would go down in history as a rare repository of sublime beauty. In direct communion with gods, he would often say how God makes him sing and He alone listens. The ordinary mortals who saw divinity in him would sorely miss the divine connection.
