Kaushiki Chakravorty was the star attraction at the recently concluded week-long Patiala Heritage Festival, in Patiala. Her undeniable stage presence, and totally spell binding interpretation of raga Madhuwanti, showing singing techniques of all types, very comprehensively, had the Patiala audience demanding more. She concluded with “Yaad piya ki aayi”, a thumri immortalised by Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan who has dominated the Patiala gharana.
In an analytical mood, Kaushiki was happy to dissect her Patiala gharana’s gayaki. “I think Patiala gharana’s reference point was never Patiala the city. In fact, I feel any gharana ka reference insaan se hai, jagah se nahi . If you hear Kale Khan sahib or Ali Baksh sahib or Salamat-Nazakat Ali sahib, Bade Ghulam Ali sahib, Munawwar Ali Khan sahib, my own father (Pt Ajoy Chakravorty) - each one was different, each one brought in their own individuality to their gayaki. Koi Pakistan mein the, koi Calcutta mein the. So it’s not the region, it is the individual that shapes a gharana.”
When one stated that today she is the face of the Patiala gharana, Kaushiki demurred. “It sounds too huge a responsibility to hear I am the face of the Patiala gharana. It’s the music that I have trained in, but no, I’m no way even close to representing the kind of magnitude that this gharana has had. I’m more a devotee of this form, this style, this thought process.”
She said that she was not at all being disrespectful to any other form but she thought the Patiala style was the smartest and most contemporary style there was. “It is a precise style. Technically, we have aspects like taan. gamak, behlava, meend, sur ki lagav, aakar, tappa – these are all words that are connected to our history, our musical thought process, but if you forget all that, peel it away what remains are the actual notes, the music. A first time naïve listener can tune into it as there is something so inherently appealing, so vibrant. If you like music, no way will it not captivate you. There is a robustness and vigour in the style that instantly grips you. Aapko raga ya taal na bhi samajh aaye, tab bhi if you take the time to listen, it will grab you.”
Continuing her analysis, she said, “It requires a different temperament to sing in this style. Not everybody can become this. Music is a powerful process of becoming what you are singing. You have to be strong, secure, open to being unpredictable, adventurous; not everyone can bring in the spontaneity that Patiala gharana demands. For me, it’s the most attractive form; and it’s not that I haven’t heard so much of everything else. Thanks to Baba, I have trained in everything. Baba is one of those very rare singers who can sing a full length Agra gharana or Gwalior gharana concert. That is because he has paid that much attention to other styles. But I connect to Patiala, I want to do what this gharana wants me to do, I am in total sync with it. It’s only when you have this connection that you can open up to this style so totally. I feel Patiala gayaki is very unpredictable, it’s meant to be so. You can’t ever say what phrase will come next, what notes will follow. To not follow a sequence, yet to be in a place where the raga takes a natural shape; that is Patiala gayaki.”
One asked about the ragas associated with Patiala, Kaushiki contradicted this perception. “It is said that certain gharanas sing certain ragas, I don’t feel that is really true. Anyone can sing anything, if they choose to. Raga Nand has not been sung much by Patiala singers, but I have sung Nand even though I don’t have a Patiala reference of it, and have the context of Nand sung only by Gwalior and Jaipur. I am happy to be on record saying I am still not satisfied with my interpretation of Nand, even though I have sung it quite a few times.”
