With the passing away of Vidushi Shanti Hiranand on April 10, the world of Hindustani music has lost a true inheritor of Begum Akhtar’s gayaki (singing style). She was known for the thumris, dadras, chaitis, horis and all those heart-rending ghazals that brought back memories of her Guru and the bhajans she sang with earnest appeal.
The music that Vidushi Shanti Hiranand inherited, became her own. Her style was simple in configuration. What she sang came straight from her heart, without frills or vocal gymnastics.
Born in 1933 in Lucknow, Shanti had a penchant for music from early childhood, that became an all-consuming passion in her life after she became the first-ever Ganda-Bandh disciple, with the ritual of tying the sacred thread by her guru Begum Akhtar. Shanti had learnt Hindustani classical music at the Morris Music College, Lucknow, before coming under the tutelage of Ustad Aijaz Hussain Khan of Rampur Sahaswan Gharana in Lahore, where her father shifted in connection with his business. She started giving vocal recitals for AIR, Lahore. When they came back to Lucknow after Partition, she continued to sing from the Lucknow station of AIR. It was here that a well-wisher suggested her to train under Begum Akhtar and as ordained, Begum became her guru, guide and mentor.
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Ustad.Aijaz Khan had introduced her to the structured world of Khayal Gayaki, imparting lessons in barhat — the art of improvisation. This helped a great deal when she started learning from Begum. She once told this writer in an interview: “I feel privileged to have trained earlier under Aijaz Khan Saheb. It felt as if his training had just been in preparation for meeting her. I was blessed that Ammi (as she addressed Begum) accepted me as a Shagird (disciple) and gave me the sheen, but that would not have been achieved without my previous training.”
‘Bol-Banaav’ (elaboration of the words of the lyrics with a variety of musical phrases) is an essential part of the development of thumri, where the artiste deploys musical phrases even from other ragas with natural fluidity. It is then embellished with ornamentations such as ‘Khatka-Murki,’ keeping the aesthetics in mind. Begum Akhtar rendered ghazals also in this conventional way, exploring the subtleties of the lyrics. Here, her training in the Patiala style under Ustad Ata Mohammad Khan and in Kirana gayaki under Ustad Wahid Khan came to her aid. The 'ragadari' (treatment of the raga) would go like an undercurrent in whatever she performed — whether it was thumri, dadra, chaiti, kajri or ghazal. Even the added folk quality of her renderings had the combination of sophistication and spontaneity.
Shanti picked up these unique characteristic features of her guru’s style and improvised in a disciplined manner. Imitation had no role here. This is all about individuality, imagination and the emotion to bring out something fresh. Also it depends on the sensibility of the artiste and the kind of person he/she is. Shanti’s music vouched for all this.
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Dedicated teacher
Shanti was also a dedicated teacher, who wanted to pass on this precious legacy to deserving students. Till the end, she taught students at New Delhi’s Triveni Kala Sangam. She would watch the painting exhibitions, read books and listen to other artistes as well. One met her last at the VSK Baithak of Vidushi Aruna Sairam, whose singing she appreciated with open-mindedness.
One still remembers the last concert of her esteemed guru in Ahmedabad. Shanti could sense that all was not well with Begum that evening and took it upon herself to make it a memorable concert. It was difficult to decipher when it was Begum and when it was her disciple singing. Each word of the ghazal would be rendered with perfect talaffuz (pronunciation/diction) and saliqa (elegance). Shanti ji will be long remembered as much for her Guru-Bhakti as for her soul-stirring singing.