‘She sought beauty and clarity in expression’

Remembering noted Hindustani classical musician Veena Sahasrabuddhe

July 01, 2016 12:00 am | Updated October 18, 2016 02:39 pm IST

Veena Sahasrabuddhe (left) had a unique command over khayal and bhajans.— File Photo

Veena Sahasrabuddhe (left) had a unique command over khayal and bhajans.— File Photo

The news spread over WhatsApp groups between Wednesday night and Thursday morning. Hindustani classical music lovers were in shock. Legendary vocalist Veena Sahasrabuddhe was no more. By Thursday afternoon, only one website broke the story. Wikipedia said she had Parkinson’s disease, without any details. An era was over.

Flashback to 1972, when the 24-year-old singer won a prize in the All India Radio classical category.

Those days, Hirabai Badodekar, Gangubai Hangal, Kishori Amonkar, Girija Devi and Prabha Atre ruled the Hindustani female vocal world. Malini Rajurkar was coming up, Parveen Sultana was considered a prodigy and Padma Talwalkar, six months older than Sahasrabuddhe, had been gaining recognition.

It’s been a long journey. And over the years, Sahasrabuddhe gained respect not only as one of India’s leading vocalists, but also as a teacher and a wonderful human being. Her roots lay in the Gwalior gharana, but later, she also incorporated elements of the Jaipur-Atrauli and Kirana schools. Besides her mastery over khayal, she developed a unique command over bhajans.

Her musical education started at a young age. Her father, Shankar Shripad Bodas, was a disciple of the legendary Pandit Vishnu Digambar Paluskar. Later, she studied under her brother Kashinath Bodas.

She also learnt kathak and tabla, and loved hearing the symphonies of Mozart and Beethoven, and the film songs of Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle.

As a teacher, she was the head of the SNDT (Pune) department of music for a few years. Her disciples include the talented Sawani Shende, Rachna Bodas, Jayanto Sahasrabuddhe, Ranjani Ramachandran, the U.K.-based Deepa Nair Rasiya and ethnomusicologist Professor Martin Clayton.

Musicians have many memories of her.

Says disciple Rasiya: “She was so meticulous in her teaching. In class, she would play the tabla while teaching. She was disciplined, and she sought beauty and clarity in expression. Technical wizardry was never her focus.”

Tabla exponent Aneesh Pradhan recalls his memories of accompanying Sahasrabuddhe. He says: “The first time I heard her in Bhopal in 1986, I became an instant fan. Later, I was privileged to accompany her at concerts. Besides her intonation and variety, what amazed me was her sense of rhythm. After all, she played the tabla while doing her riyaz, just like many old-timers did.”

While Sahasrabuddhe held audiences spellbound at live concerts, she also released albums that were hugely admired. On the classical side, her recordings of raags Bhoopal Todi, Madhmad Sarang, Sawani, Hamsadhwani, Kalawati and Shree became popular. For the album Tarana — Flights Of Melody , she rendered taranas in Ramdasi Malhar, Miyan Malhar, Tilak Kamod, Chandrakauns and Bhairavi.

Her devotional albums have been dedicated to Rama, Krishna, Shiva, Ganesha, Saraswati and Lakshmi. She has also presented albums for yoga and meditation.

Rasiya recalls: “She was passionate about Sanskrit. She was also committed to the Nirguni bhajan style, and sought to bring larger understanding for some compositions she sang, especially those of Kabir.”

With her sheer generosity and approach to music, Sahasrabuddhe came to be hugely respected. Those close to her knew of her illness. Kolkata-based tabla player Abhijit Banerjee says: “I last saw her in March. I was saddened to see her condition. She was a pious lady and great musician. One wonders why she had to suffer so much.”

Durga Jasraj of Art And Artistes adds: “She had so much music trapped in her mind and soul, and for a while, she was unable to perform and teach because of her weak body. May she return to earth soon and make this a better place with her music.”

Indeed, Sahasrabuddhe’s demise has been a huge loss for the music world. While her voice will stay alive through her recordings, those close to her will remember her warmth.

This writer has only one regret: having interviewed almost all the legends of the Hindustani classical world over the past 20 years, he never got a chance to meet Veena-tai even once. And that’s a personal loss.

The author is a freelance music writer

While her voice will stay alive through her recordings, those close to her will remember her warmth

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