Her scientific temper comes through in her creative explorations. An alumnus of the Indian Institute of Science and a post-graduate in Bio-Medical Electronics from the University of New Brunswick, Canada, Lalith J Rao’s musical analysis is evidently methodical and precise. Though no longer an active vocalist, the 76-year-old Agra gharana exponent is sought-after to be part of archival projects, conduct lec-dems and at seminars and music forums.
On December 14, she will make a presentation at the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), Mumbai, along with her disciples Bharathi Pratap, Manohar Patwardhan and Nishant Panicker on the compositions of Agra gharana’s three maestros — Ustad Faiyaz Khan (Prem Piya), Ustad Vilayat Hussain (Pran Piya) and Ustad Khadim Hussain Khan (Sajan Piya).
“With our constant exposure to music of all types and styles, talking about gharanas today may sound irrelevant. But the truth is, you need to be rooted and focused in one genre to give your art direction,” says Lalith, who was born in Madras and raised in Bangalore.
“My initiation into Agra gharana just happened. I think the gharana cast its spell on me, when as a kid I accompanied my parents to Ustad Faiyaz Khan’s concert in Bangalore. Faiyaz Khan was the asthana gavaiya of Baroda.”
Lalith’s foray into the classical arts began with her training in Kathak under the legendary Maya Rao. But she had to discontinue since her parents moved house to a faraway place from the dance school. She then began learning Hindustani music under Pt. Ramrao Naik, who was well-versed in the Agra gharana. “And without my realising my long association with the gharana began. I pursued music for the love of it; never viewing it as a profession. So there was no pressure, I learnt at my pace,” says Lalith, who later went under the tutelage of Pt. Dinkar Kaikani, another Agra gharana exponent based in Delhi.
After her marriage to Jayavanth Rao, who was instrumental in bringing her back to music despite her being academically accomplished, she moved to Bombay. “And my dream of learning from Ustad Khadim Hussain Khan finally came true. He had heard me sing at my aunt’s house in Bombay, where I had gone during a school vacation. My aunt was his disciple. I remember him advising me to keep in mind the gharana’s nuances when singing. He said, ‘Because you belong to my gharana, you are like my disciple. Go back to your guru and learn to render this raga the right way’.”
Though Khadim saab was sensitive to upholding the purity of the style, he gave her the freedom to choose the features that suited her voice and singing style, when she became his ganda-bandh shagird.
During the 14 years she spent training under him, he helped her unravel the gharana’s beauty layer by layer. “I felt like he had handed over a treasure to me. I have been sharing the same with my listeners and students.”
The ustads appeared rigid in their appraoch, but they had an open mind and heart when it came to their art, says Lalith, pointing to the fact that there are many works on Krishna by Muslim composers, while their Hindu counterparts wrote soul-stirring verses on peers.
Listing the specialities of the gharana, the veteran stresses on open-throated singing, rupak alap , the strong word-beat-raga connect in its bandhish and playing around with layakari.
Elaborating on rupak alap , she says, in Agra gharana we do not indulge in note-by-note elaboration. “We believe that a raga is formed not just by the notes but by certain phrases that characterise or give you a clear picture of the raga. Also, there are a lot of ragas that are common to Agra and Jaipur-Atrauli gharanas. A fine line separates one raga from another. So one should maintain the contours of the ragas to keep its authentic swaroop intact.”
Training apart, Lalith insists on listening to master the technique and develop one’s imagination. “Khadim Hussain saab would say, ‘Go and listen to all musicians. It is important to imbibe and absorb’.”
The veteran musician recalls how as disciples they were expected to internalise everything and not allowed to notate. “Khadim saab would say, ‘If you get into the habit of writing, it will never get stored in your brain.’ Most of the compositions remain etched in memory, but some I have forgotten. I don’t regret it. Even if I pass on 50 per cent of what I learnt to the next generation that will be a tribute to my guru, who has shaped my journey,” says Lalith.
