The decision to quit a lucrative corporate job to pursue his passion for dhrupad was a natural and intuitive leap for Sumeet Anand. It was also the beginning of a long and challenging haul to re-establish a musical tradition that is far from ‘popular’ and has remarkably few avenues for economic sustenance. As a classical vocalist, Anand remains true to his lineage of the Darbhanga gharana of dhrupad while being rooted in the contemporary conundrum of making the form accessible, entertaining and relevant.
Sumeet Anand
“As an artist one often needs to ask oneself – why am I doing this?” shares Anand. “For me, the answer was my inner voice, Dhrupad is the special gift I wanted to explore, express and establish.” Hailing from the family of dhrupad exponents like Pandit Siyaram Tiwari and Pandit Ram Prasad Pandey, Anand received extensive training in the Darbhanga style from both sides of his family in his formative years in Patna. This year being the centenary celebrations of his maternal grandfather, Pandit Siyaram Tiwari, Anand feels it is more important now than ever to revisit the musical genius of these dhrupad masters. The focus is on presenting the lost world of Darbhanga tradition to newer audience and connecting it with the mainstream of Indian classical music.
Decoding a style
One of the flourishing classical music traditions at the turn of the 20th century, the Darbhanga gharana struggled in the post-independence era and almost vanished in the decades that followed. “The shift from Raj gharanas and royal patronage to a new kind of art market brought up a tough time of uncertainty for Darbhanga dhrupad artists,” Anand points out. He believes that the socio-political situation in Bihar and the financial insecurity during that time were major factors behind the eclipse of the tradition. “Centred predominantly in areas of Bihar, an entire generation of musicians vanished from the public arena, leaving the form languishing without any performers to take it forward.”
His present guru, Pandit Abhay Narayan Mallick, was among the few practising artists in the later part of the last century. Anand recalls meeting him in Delhi-NCR in 2008, when he was driven by the passion to delve deeper into the depth of the Darbhanga Dhrupad gayaki, “He (Pandit Abhay Narayan Mallick) just asked me one question – do you have patience, a lot of it? I nodded, uncertain of what he meant but sure that I wanted to learn from him. I realised later that the kind of rigorous training and riyaaz he was talking about takes immense patience, and can’t be done half-heartedly or in a state of restlessness. I had just been taxiing along, but to take-off requires full focus and a leap of faith. It is important to start early in classical music if you set out to be a performer, but there are also a lot of late bloomers in the field!”
Striking a balance
The Darbhanga gharana of Bihar is based on the Gauhar Vani tradition of Dhrupad. A number of unique features differentiate the style from other schools of Dhrupad. The emphasis on layakari, with improvisational balance between rhythm as well as melody splits the Darbhanga presentation into equal proportions between the alaap and bandish whereas most other styles emphasise the alaap portions more. Unique aspects of the Been-ang within the Alaapchari with the Alaap, Jod (slow and fast) and Jhala are also unique characteristics of the gharana.
As a young performer, Anand is often questioned about the relevance of the age-old musical tradition in contemporary times. It is completely connected to our daily lives, believes the artist. “By nature, dhrupad is meditative, spiritual, almost Yogic in the way it uses breath and voice. In today’s context, when we are leading highly stressful lives, it is calming and engaging. While the alaap is about exploration, the jod and jhala are about virtuosity and technique. The bandish presents rich poetry and the pakhawaj as the percussion instrument of accompaniment plays a major role.”
Centenary celebrations
It is believed by many musicians of the Darbhanga tradition that Pandit Siyaram Tiwari’s music embodied the soul of the gharana. The genius of Pandit Siyaram Tiwari lay in his mastery over the four different genres or ‘Choumukhi’ gayaki –Dhrupad, khayal-tarana, thumri-dadra and bhajans. He also sang tappa with ease. He initiated a unique concept of presenting dhammar with tabla accompaniment along with Pandit Kishan Maharaj of Banaras Gharana. The tabla maestro’s understanding of the intricacies of rhythm and the ‘khula baaj’ of Banaras made his playing suited to dhammar singing and layakari of Pandit Siyaram Tiwari. Their performances were akin to jugalbandis and became immensely popular among music lovers of that era.
For Anand, his grandfather’s music plays a crucial role in revitalising the missing historical link within the Darbhanga tradition. In his memory, he founded the Pandit Siyaram Tiwari Memorial Sangeet Trust in 2015 that has been consistently organising concerts in Patna and Delhi apart from research and documentation. “As a dhrupad performer and arts organiser I believe it is critical for artists to have a dialogue, engage in exchanges across gharanas, widen the opportunities for audience and musicians and build a strong sense of community for Dhrupad.”
(Pandit Siyaram Tiwari Memorial Music Festival- 11thDhrupad Sabha, would be held at Stein Auditorium, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi on August 12, 2019, 6.30 pm, featuring Dhrupad vocal by Pandits Naval Kishore Mallick and Uday Kumar Mallick and pakhawaj solo by Sukhad Munde)
