The searing heat of Indian summer affect the classical musicians too. They have to change their routines to cope up with the the months of May and June. Nowadays, it is a trend for musicians to travel to the US and Europe for summer concerts.
Before Independence, summers were a difficult time for musicians. They flourished in the Princely states, but their royal patrons themselves left their capital cities for cooler climes. Vidwan Chitravina Narasimhan was a young teenager when his legendary father Gottuvadyam K S Narayana Iyenger was appointed a musician in the Mysore court, but he remembers those days vividly. “Maharaja Mysore Shri Krishnaraj Wodeyar (called “Raj Rishi”) used to leave Mysore in the summer for Srinagar or Ooty. He was a very fine musician himself and loved the “gotuvadyam”, so he used to take my father with him, and have music sessions even at these summer camps.” The end of the music season was signalled by the end of the Ram Navami concerts in April. The months of May and June were always lean musically. But teaching and practice continued unabated even when the ruler left the court. “Early morning practice of music is always regarded as better. It is said that one hour of practice in pre-dawn is equal to four hours of practice in the afternoon or evening. In summer perhaps one woke up even earlier,” recalls the vidwan.
Not all musicians in those days were connected to a court, though. Bombay Jayashri recalls being told how her family which was from Kerala used to go back to their village in the summer for about two weeks to offer prayers and music to the “Kula Devi” (family deity).
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“There. I remember even in the 1980s my Guru Shri Lalgudi ji used to go to the Nandi hills, near Mysore, or Kodaikanal in May for a few days. I remember seeing him off a couple of times at the Chennai railway station. These were not necessarily only musical retreats. He used to say, ‘I go to take in fresh oxygen there which sees me through the whole year.’”
Pt L K Pandit, the proud descendant of the court musicians of Gwalior, recalls hearing that the Scindia rulers used to hear music every day. But in his time, he says, “My ruler Maharaj Jiwajirao Scindia used to have music soirees only when there were visitors. I remember my father Pt Krishnarao Shankar Pandit used to go with the Scindia Royal family to Simla, where they stayed in Bantony Castle for the summer. He used to teach young Prince George Jiwajirao and his sister Kamala. Shivpuri was the summer capital of the Scindias where there was extensive hunting too. I remember at the chhatris (cenotaphs), there used to be a 40-day festival all day which was very well attended by listeners.” He adds that Gwalior heat was more intense than Delhi. “We used to throw a couple of buckets of water on the roof, then sleep. Riyaaz continued all through the day, whether there was a loo or not. There are not really specific ragas for the summer in our classical tradition, but I do remember hearing a lot of Malhars even in May, in the hope that this would bring the monsoon earlier.”
Pt Madhup Mudgal recalls going every May to Dewas to his Guru Pt Kumar Gandharva to train. He remembers discussions of music carrying on throughout the day, even in the hot afternoons music lessons were held. For him, music in summer was intense, what he learnt in one month, when his Guru was free from concerts, lasted two-three years, he remembers.
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Though there are six seasons in the Indian tradition, there is no specific music tradition for the summer season of “grishma” in the classical music tradition. Pt Madhup Mudgal feels raga Marwa to be a raga for the summer with its strong notes. Pt Kumar Gandharva composed a khayal in Marwa with lyrics of parched earth, and intense heat. “Raga Sarang, in all its forms (there are 12 commonly known Sarangs), is another raga associated with the heat, to be sung when the heat of the day is at its peak. The “madhyam” of Vrindavani Sarang is supposed to bring “thandak” to the base of one’s spine, if applied correctly.”
However there are specific ragas to be sung in summer in the music tradition of the temples of North India. The dhrupad style “Haveli Sangeet”, sung in the temples of the Vallabhacharya tradition of more than 500 years ago, strictly maintains what is to be sung when, till today. These include temples in Dwarka, Mathura, Shrinathji near Udaipur, Ranchor rai ji near Baroda, in Mumbai, and Gujarat.
Acharya Pt Gokulotsav Maharaj from the priestly tradition is also a highly accomplished classical singer who has trained in pakhawaj as well as the veena. He laments that “the sacred tradition of offering appropriate musical “haazri” to Lord Krishna is now being forgotten. There are not only specific ragas for the “grishma” season, but also what to sing at what time, accompanied by specified flowers, adornments and attire. The world knows of ragas for spring but summer ragas have been forgotten. Perhaps, the time theory of ragas, still followed in the North Indian tradition, emanated from the temple tradition.”
Be that as it may, one can but await the first drop of monsoon rain.