That Vidushi Subhra Guha is one of the learned musicians of her generation is accepted by all. In a recent baithak at the ITC Sangeet Research Academy ITC SRA her renditions in ragas Nanda and Gara, followed by a thumri in Pancham-se-Gara and a dadra in Madhyam-se-Gara were a wonderful proof of her immaculate raagdari and her inherent capability to strike a pleasant bond with her audience. Encores led her to sing Chhayanat followed by a Bhairavi bhajan; and yet listeners were asking for more!
Groomed under several erudite Agra gharana stalwarts like Sunil Bose, DT Joshi, KG Ginde, Vijay Kichlu as the scholar of ITC SRA, she imbibed the ‘darbari’ beauty of the style, acquired international fame as a vocalist along with the coveted status of a Guru with the Academy and very soon produced brilliant disciples like Sanjukta Biswas, Sabina Rahaman. Several other disciples are emerging as khayal and thumri singers.
Excerpts from an interview:
What is so distinct about her your gayaki and teaching method?
Agra (gharana) is synonymous with Ustad Faiyaz Khansaheb’s power-packed masculine voice-throw, nom-tom alap, medium-paced vilambit khayal for upaj with bol-banav (innovation with the improvised lyrics), bandish-bharna (filling-up the linear structure of compositions), nibhaana (treating a composition truthfully), and peshkash (stylised presentation of the composition).
I had to change my style, and in this Pandit Vijay Kichlu’s guidance played an important role on several aspects. The voice-throw had to be reinvented to suit a feminine voice. Instead of nom-tom alap, an elaborate bol-vistar was introduced; the use of powerful gamaks was toned down to give feminine touch, but at the same time Faiyaz Khansaheb’s style of delicate bol-banav was used more prominently.
Do you evaluate students before accepting them?
I prefer those who take music seriously as their career. Though I do not take beginners, a very talented child with good grasping ability is welcome. At times, I do guide talented boys but I do not take male students as a rule. I refuse to change my own scale even for teaching purposes. Even if any of my girl students finds it difficult to match my pitch, I do not change my style. I am a very uncompromising teacher. Both guru and shishya need to be sincere.
Can one teach musicianship?
No. It has to be earned through hard work, intelligence, taleem and constant introspection. But nothing works without the blessings from above. There is a famous composition in raga Bageshri which says: ‘Jab lo bhaag na jaage, Bahu gun kaam na aawe (till one’s lady luck refuses to smile, multifarious merits go waste).
What raga is ideal for a beginner?
Apparently, Bilawal sports simple notes but it has a difficult gait. So has Bhairav. As the introductory raga, Yaman is a good choice. Its teevra Madhyam and Nishad complement each other. This is a balancing factor that helps a beginner to innovate without risk. But all this comes later. Initially, one needs to establish the swara correctly by singing straight notes without embellishments. Beginners cannot catch the finer nuances. They pay more attention to beats than the raga; so staccato notes and skeleton of a composition come easy.
The features of raga, therefore, should be introduced much later when a student is ready to emulate the guru by listening only. This includes outline of the raga, the main phrases within two to three notes with all the embellishments that etch the raga’s characteristics, difference of the raga from other identical ragas, techniques of Bandish bharna (padding up the composition with raga elements), raga development and varied taan patterns. All should follow the track shown by the chosen bandish.
Are lyrics important in khayal?
Pandit Sunil Bose had asked me to learn Hindustani before starting my music lessons because lyrics play a very vital role in Agra’s lyrics-based asthayi bharna, bol-banav, bol-baant, etc. One, therefore, must be absolutely in sync with the language used, along with correct punctuation, before picking up a certain phrase for melodic elaboration or rhythm-play. For example: ‘Baalam! chhedo mat, ja’ (Dear one! do not tease me, go away). If we say it as ‘Balam chhedo, mat ja’ then the meaning changes (My dear, do tease me; do not go)!
Understanding lyrics with Ganga-Jamuni culture is even more important in thumri than khayal; because it revolves around these. I strongly believe that thumri singing is much more complex than khayal singing and it should not be tagged as light classical.
