As a student of Sanskrit, one was besotted by the pictorial similes of Kalidas, especially the one which won him the epitaph ‘Deepshikha’. Describing princess Indumati, it said, ‘Like an itinerant lamp, when she breezed through the aisle to single out and garland one of the mighty princes as her husband, the anticipant, glowing faces submerged in darkness the moment she walked past them.’ Despite my exposure to Avadhi and Bhojpuri, I was not aware that this had an echoing effect in “Ramcharitmanas”.
Keeping a tradition alive: Pandit Vidyadhar Vyas giving a scintillating performance
Decades later, it was the music of Dr Vidyadhar Vyas that unravelled the meaning petal by petal when he sang “Jabahi sab hi narapati niraas bhaye” (When all kings lost heart) in raga Bhupali set to slow Ektal. The excellent melodic handling of this gem from Saint-poet Tulsidas’ magnum opus, tuned by the legendary Pandit Vishnu Digambar Paluskar as bada-khayal, opened the floodgates of emotions. There was mounting hope on one side and desolation of futility on the other. “Guru-pada vande Raghunath tab chaap sameep gaye” (Rama paid obeisance to his guru and went near the bow) completed the picture as its antara.
This left an indelible mark on all those members of a dying clan who also relish the lyrics; because, usually, a khayal bandish is treated like a peg to hang the raga on; firstly because, as compared to Tagorean oeuvres, many believe that there is no literary value of these bandishes, and more importantly because no one, even Hindi speaking musicians or their listeners make an effort to understand the intrinsic philosophical connotations of these lyrics in olden Hindi dialects. One vividly remembers this concert even after several years now simply because it, very naturally and smoothly, wove an interesting story around Ram-Sita’s wedding through the marriage of melody and lyrics.
Vyasji let “Mora jhanjh mandalara” in Madhyalaya Teental to breeze in without any jerk in chaugun (four-time faster tempo) of the vilambit. After fleetingly touching Pancham of the upper octave, fast linear taans had sprinkled happiness in descending order before a dancing teental-tarana replete with ecstatic rhythmic patterns etched the jubilant mood of the auspicious occasion. It was something unique!
“But this is the typicality of our Paluskar Parampara!” Vyasji had said with a boyish smile soon after the concert while entertaining his admirers. On a later date, the erudite musicologist with his deep interest in sociology caught the questions zestfully while we discussed his music at length.
Excerpts:
What is the root of your blissfully different approach of presenting raga music?
This has an interesting history. The present khayal form of Hindustani raag sangeet was eventually formatted in the royal court of Gwalior towards the end of 18th Century. The identity it acquired was its “Ashtang” gayaki which assimilated elements from different prevalent vocal forms, such as dhrupad, qawwali, thumri, etc. The major development of khayal form, with its variety of compositions and talas, crystallised gradually. Different gharanas branched out from Gwalior but Gwalior remained the ‘Pitri-gharana’ or the fountainhead of khayal. Several specialised genres of khayal compositions such as tappa, tarana, chaturang, trivat, raagmala (raag sagar), ashtapadi, sargam geet, etc. came to the fore.
Gwalior gharana produced generations of outstanding performers and teachers, beginning from Ustads Haddu and Hassu Khan, the founders of the gharana. Gwalior Gayaki reached out to wherever Hindustani raag sangeet spread, but unlike other gharanas, it never left its place of origin. A stream of Gwalior gharana came down to Maharashtra with its doyen Pandit Balkrishnabua Ichalkaranjikar, who taught this gayaki to Pandit Vishnu Digambar Paluskar, among many others. Paluskar Parampara, in the line of Gwalior Gayaki, named after Sangeet Maharshi Vishnu Digambar Paluskar, is an imaginative way of using ragas for popular devotional songs or bhajans and converting some of them into khayal bandishes – like the one mentioned by you!
What caused Paluskarji to introduce change in tradition so fiercely guarded by gharanedar musicians?
The social scene of India was changing. Paluskarji himself introduced several revolutionary changes in the music world of his generation. Legends have it that after completing his taleem in Gwalior, Ichalkaranjikarji settled down in Meeraj as the court musician of the Maharaja and trained several vocalists including Paluskarji, an intelligent young boy then, who belonged to a venerated local kirtankar’s family and was a close friend of the Maharaja’s son. The royal connection gave him certain privileges which even his much acclaimed guru could not enjoy.
This disturbed Paluskarji and motivated him to fight for learned musicians’ respectability in society which was plagued with prejudices. He also strived for the spread of raga sangeet among the masses and instilling spirituality in the process as this music has emerged from Samveda. He established the first Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, a music school, in Lahore (then a part of India) on 5th May 1901. The rest is history!
Albeit a non-Hindi speaking Marathi, he was aware that most of the khayal bandishes were Stree-vaachi, based on a woman’s agony and ecstasy, which inhibited educated musicians to a great extent during public performances. Besides, while teaching young girls and boys in institutions, the use of devotional literature proved an innovative and successful way to foster raga sangeet among the masses and keen learners. Paluskarji’s prominent performing disciples Omkarnath Thakur, Vinayakrao Patwardhan, Narayanrao Vyas and son DV Paluskar and several others, took this mission to greater heights as performers and teachers. Many of them tuned devotional songs belonging to every region of India. Perhaps, the best example of this can be seen in the melodic composition of the immortal bhajan “Vaishnav jana’ in raga Khamaj by my uncle Pandit Shankarrao Vyas, another learned disciple of Paluskarji who is hailed as the ‘modern Sadarang’.
None of these stalwarts mentioned by you are stylistically similar. How did you chisel your identity?
Since boyhood, I was very proud and conscious of my musical lineage. Initially, this mindset encouraged me to copy my father and DV Paluskarji though I was doing my Masters in Sociology and was not sure that I will pursue music. My father never prevailed upon his only son’s decisions; but when I decided in favour of music, suddenly he began treating me as one of his disciples. In 1972, my father’s close friend heard my radio broadcast but missed the announcements. He rang up to tell him, ‘You sang like your younger days!’ My father did not take it as a compliment; instead he said, ‘Stop being a coolie! You are doing nothing but carrying me and DV Paluskar on your shoulders! We should be in the background. Try to find your groove and come in the forefront as a different individual.’
Around this time I got an appointment as the Principal, Jaipur Government Music College. I was hesitant to leave my 71-year old father, but he welcomed this because, ‘Nothing grows in the shadow of a great tree. This separation will help you grow,’ he said. And it did. This was the time when I realised that there are three stages of learning – imitation, inspiration and innovation. Imitation of guru is extremely necessary for a beginner; getting inspired by other musicians opens new vistas and application of all these acquired treasures according to one’s aesthetics and capabilities leads to innovations.
I thought a lot and gradually started avoiding the favourite ragas of my father, instead chose ragas like Gorakh Kalyan, Maru Bihag, Madhu Kauns, Bhairav; selected other gharanas’ preferred bandishes but developed them in bol alaap according to the emotions of the lyrics. For this, I studied the text carefully. To add dramatic effect, I chose to apply bol-baant a la Agra gharana. All these helped me eke out my own identity. I started planning most of my presentations around a theme.
This brings us to do you enjoy singing sister-ragas one after the other?
As I said, I enjoy giving thematic presentations, especially for students and initiated listeners of classical music. Kedar-Kamod-Hameer are the pet ragas of Gwalior; I like to build a theme like ‘Malhar ke Prakar’ to showcase varied ragas of the group or ‘Kalyan-vaibhav’ to differentiate between Shyam Kalyan, Poorva Kalyan, etc. I have started believing in ‘edutainment’ – which will educate plus entertain my listeners. This is greatly appreciated and I too enjoy sharing my realisation of what is heritage and tradition. All ragas cannot get cracking with each other; some refuse to blend – just like humans. I enjoy this humanisation of ragas along with their Ashtaang.
There are different versions of the Ashtaang theory. What is yours?
I did an original research on this subject. Khayal singing has two main components – structure and development. The structure consists of poorvaang (first half of the octave), uttaraang (octave’s latter half), aalap (elaboration) and taan. There are four chief embellishments that help develop all these structural aspects – slow-paced oscillations and glides, medium-paced horizontal oscillation with kan and forceful gamak, fine-grained khatka-murki-zamzama and finally rhythmic variations. Gwalior balances them equally well but I infuse spirituality in all the aspects.
In fact, all the musicians interpret the ragas as per their personality with the help of numerous compositions with different designs. Vilambit khayal gives an expansive field for raga elaboration while slow paced talas offer space for innumerable rhythmic variations. The same happens in medium and fast tempi albeit in shorter space and time. These variations keep our music roaringly new!
Illustrious lineage
Pandit Vidyadhar Vyas with wife sitarist Suneera Kasliwal in front of photographs of Guru Vishnu Digambar Paluskar, Pandit Shankarrao Vyas and Pandit Narayanrao Vyas.
Born to Pandit Narayan Rao Vyas on 8th September 1944, Dr Vidyadhar Vyas is an eminent vocalist. The Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (2007) winner, he is a proud torchbearer belonging to the direct lineage of the Gwalior Gayaki and Paluskar Parampara - bestowed through his Guru and father who was one of the prime disciples of Pandit Vishnu Digambar Paluskar. In his concerts, he attempts to showcase and focus the essence of Gwalior Gayaki through its different specialised compositional varieties which are the shining gems of Hindustani music. Unfortunately, these are fading away into oblivion since these require highly accomplished literary sense and musical skills to perform. Towards established finale of his tradition, Vyasji always concludes his concert with Paluskar Parampara Bhajan.
An erudite musicologist, captivating orator and guru as well, Vyasji held administrative positions as the Principal, Government Music College (Rajasthan Sageet Sansthan) Jaipur; Head of the Department of Music, Mumbai University. In 2004 he was selected as the first Vice Chancellor of Bhatkhande Music Institute Deemed University, Lucknow and in 2007 he became the Executive Director of ITC Sangeet Research Academy, Kolkata.
Totally dedicated to performing and singing now, he has penned several research papers, presented a variety of events on the evolution of Hindustani classical music, conducted workshops and given ‘edutaining’ lecture demonstrations. Albeit blessed with an imposing persona, he is very soft spoken, mild natured, emotional and a very pleasant communicator.
Both his sons are settled abroad with lucrative jobs but are good listeners of classical music. Fortunately, the grandchildren are drawn to his music. Both Vyasji and his sitarist wife Sunira Kasliwal are striving to nurture their interests along with a few dedicated disciples who live and learn with Vyasji in Mumbai.
Their extended family in the form of Vyas Academy of Indian Music (better known as Vyas Sangeet Vidyalaya since 1937) is organising a country-wide celebration of the 75th birth anniversary of Dr Vidyadhar Vyas with its inaugural session on 8th September at Triveni Kala Sangam, New Delhi.
