The ‘Yaad-e-Bismillah’ concert presented by the Ministry of Culture with Madhu Murchhana and the Kalaa Collective held at Taj Falaknuma Palace opened a melodious chapter.
The concert was part of the birth centenary celebrations of shehnai maestro Bharat Ratna awardee late Ustad Bismillah Khan. “This is the centenary year of Bismillah Khan. I am part of an implementation committee headed by chairperson Home minister Rajnath Singh and I have been given the responsibility to organise these concerts,” states Soma Ghosh . At the concert in Hyderabad, Soma’s vocals were accompanied by a Kathak performance by Lalita Soni and shehnai recital by Zakir Husain of Benaras simultaneously. A docu-drama on the maestro’s life, directed by Soma’s husband and national award-winning filmmaker Subhankar Ghosh, was also screened on the occasion. “He (Bismillah Khan) proved that with sadhana, one can reach any heights,” she points out.
A day before the concert, Soma speaks about bringing back the forgotten culture of mehfils. “In earlier times, a singer was not considered a singer until she sang different kinds of songs in a mehfil and Khan sahab liked such singers. These mehfils were held late in the evening in palaces. If a singer were to sing a khayal, she would wear a blue dress and when singing a thumri, her dress was in red and with a ruby set in her neck. Similarly, when she sings a ghazal, she would wear something in pink and when it is time for a bhajan, she would be in white wearing a diamond or pearls,” she recalls.
Considered the foster daughter of Bismillah Khan, Soma’s bond with the shehnai maestro began at one of her concerts. “It was a tribute concert for my guruma Bageshwari devi. I was singing a thumri on the stage and I must have sung for only 5 minutes and Khan sahab was in the audience. He didn’t know who I was and asked, “ Yeh kaun gaa rahi hai. Yeh toh purani Rasoolan hai (Who is this singer? She sings like the Hindustani classical musician Rasoolan Bai) . He made me his foster daughter and declared that he will perform along with me. I thought it was impossible. After six months when I met him in Calcutta, he said he remembers that he made me his daughter. He said, “When I am not there, my shehnai will boom through your voice.”
Soma was born and brought up in Benaras. She equates her home town to Lord Shiva and says, “People in Benaras are like Shivji and are in their own world; they become angry in a jiffy but also cool down quickly,” she laughs and adds, “ They live a laid back life and are not competing with anyone. Legends like Ravishankar, Bismillah Khan and Pandit Omkarnath Thakore are from there. People enjoy paan in the morning and sit leisurely on Ganga ghats. Every household reverberates with music or dance. This spiritual place is like a coin with god and music as its two sides.”
She urges youngsters to have a good foundation in classical music. “Youngsters, especially those participating in reality shows can move with the times but not away from their roots. When you do not have a base, you do not have an identity and you only become a machine to earn money and not learn music. Legendary sitar player Ravishankar did a fusion three decades ago but his foundation was strong. Music is a serious and elevated field and one can’t take it lightly. There are no short-cuts in music. Make a mark in the global world but first learn classical music,” she signs off.
