BY SUKANT DEEPAK
New Delhi
It was a long journey for the six-year-old who, on his way to school
stopped the moment Begum Akhtar’s ghazal ‘Deewana banana hai to deewana bana
de’ wafted from a small shop. They say everything changed for that little boy
in that pause. The one who the world would later know as Pandit Jasraj —
someone who let go of strict geometrical precision by bringing an element of
devotional singing to Khayal.
Not shying away from incorporating elements from other gharanas, he summoned to
spaces a peculiar spiritual content and consciousness — that otherworldly
aspect every musician forever strives for. Remember ‘Shyam Bina’? The love, the
longing, the searching, the wait, the feeling of disappearing into oneself, and
that final ‘escape’… Krishna must have stood still somewhere today, if only
to acknowledge the passing away of Pt. Jasraj who died of cardiac arrest at his
home in the US on Monday.
He was 90, but would still stop to admire a musical note, to say gracious
things that would make a musician’s day. And yes, he seldom missed a game of
international cricket or hockey whenever India played.
During a long illustrious career spanning eight decades, the maestro, who was
initiated into vocal training at the age of 14, later trained as a tabla
accompanist under his elder brother Pandit Pratap Narayan. He trained as a
classical vocalist with Pandit Maniram, and later with Jaiwant Singh Waghela,
Gulam Qadir KhanAand Swami Vallabhas Damulji to give his first solo concert at
the age of 22 in Nepal.
A specialist in Haveli Sangeet, who also created ‘Jasrangi Jugalbandi’, the
maestro, who belonged to the Mewati gharana is remembered by contemporaries and
juniors not just as an artiste who never shied away from reinventing himself,
but also an individual who had reached a stage where it was tough to
differentiate between the man from his art.
Sarod virtuoso, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan is convinced that Pt. Jasraj’s death marks
the end of a golden era of music. “I shared so many festivals with Jasraj
bhai right from the sixties. He effortlessly gave a unique dimension to vocal
music and was someone who surpassed his own time. He was the last of the golden
era of Indian classical vocalists which included Ustad Bade Ghulaam Ali Khan
Saheb, Ustad Amir Khan Saheb Pt. Bhimsen Joshi and Pt. Kumar Gandharva. Mewati
Gharana came to limelight thanks to his genius. It has been a great personal
loss to me.”
Recalling that over the last decade, they must have performed during the same
evening in about 50 concerts, sitar player, Ustad Shujaat Khan, who was
recently part of HCL Digital Concerts, smiles, “I would always tell him it
was awkward for me to play post his performance considering he was much senior,
but he would always brush that off. His passing away is not just a personal but
also a national loss. I have been remembering green room conversations, our
travels and concerts ever since I heard the news. The man was in a place of his
own. I can never forget an early morning concert by him in Delhi a few years
back. You know, people ask if you have experienced God — that day the Bhairav
Raga surely made me realise what music could do to a human being’s
emotions.”
Remembering the time when Pt. Jasraj taught her classical renditions, singer
Asha Bhosle says, “A childlike enthusiasm never left him. Being in his
presence was always a blessing. The moments were so blissful. His demise is an
irreparable loss to the world of music. I have lost my elder brother
today.”
A few years back, tabla player Bickram Ghosh met him at an airport. As always,
Pt. Jasraj was carrying his swarmandal. Ghosh offered to carry it for him.
“But I am quite comfortable. After all, this is a part of my body,”
the maestro said with a straight face.
“Pt. Jasraj represented the time when Indian classical music shone at its
brightest. Post independence, there was a huge struggle to establish an
identity — what was India? Culture always leads the map, and classical music
was the shining star. Single-handedly, he took the vocal genre to unbelievable
heights. His value system of sadhna is unparalleled. Also, remember that our
music is not pedestrian, but lofty. That loftiness needs to be communicated
through the personality too — and he lived up in that department too.”
Speaking to IANS from the US, Ustad Shahid Parvez Khan feels that just like the
loss of Pt. Bhimsen Joshi, and now Pt. Jasraj’s demise is a huge loss not just
for his audience, but the music fraternity too. “I have loads of memories
associated with him. As a kid, he encouraged and pushed me no end. He was
forever there to help and support. You become an ‘ustad’ or ‘pandit’ in the
real sense when a senior addresses you like that — he was the first to give me
that honour.”
Writer Madhur Kapila, who wrote a book on him recalls attending concerts and
staying with him and his family for weeks. “An extremely warm person with
not even a hint of arrogance, I still remember a trip to Benaras when he sang early
morning at one of the ghats. The whole experience stunned me into silence. He
was drowned in his own voice. Everything and everyone seemed to have paused in
that moment. Perhaps that is what real art does to us, make us quiet deep
inside.”