Mero Man Mohiyo - Pandit Jasraj in Concert | Nazar

Mero Man Mohiyo - Pandit Jasraj in Concert

By Vaibhav Jain 5 November 2008 2,947 views 24 Comments

The Indian Classical Music Circle of Austin (ICMCA) hosted Pandit Jasraj, a legend of Hindustani Shastriya Sangeet (North Indian Classical Music) on Saturday, November 1^st, in a scintillating and memorable concert. Accompanied by Pandit Samir Chatterjee and Shantilal Shah (Tabla), Pandit Suman Ghosh (Harmonium & vocals), Pandita Tripti Mukherjee (Tanpura & vocals) and Ambika Venkatsubra (Tanpura), Panditji held the stage from 6:30 pm for almost 4 hours at the Texas School for the Deaf with only a small 40 minute break in between.

The show began with a brief introduction after which every artist was welcomed onto the stage. Adorned in olive green and with his hands held high above in a namaskar, Panditji greeted everyone with his hallmark “Jai Ho, Jai Maharaj”¹. This simple gesture was met with huge applause. He asked Pandit Chatterjee to convey to the audience that the concert is an offering to the almighty who resides in us all. After a few initial sound adjustments, he was ready to amaze.

A short jaap of the Mangala Aarti was followed by a ‘Bada Khayaal’³ in Vilambit Teental^5,9– Jag Baavre, Karam Karein So Allah – a lesson to an otherwise disillusioned world that work is worship. He unraveled Raga Marwa slowly with exquisite clarity. The way he took the “Re” and “Dha” was simply beautiful. A particular moment that was memorable was where Panditji held the word “Tu” in the line Allah Bina Tu, for what seemed like an eternity—one that was full of deep meaning and understanding. Panditji followed up this song with a “Chhota Khayal”⁴ in Teental – Madhuka Vanaraj – in the same raga. Throughout the concert, he held the whole composition together while the supporting vocalists added mellow improvisations. After a long exploration of the lower octave, he would lead them on to higher reaches—at times indicating them to follow and at other times allowing them to, instinctively. However, every new improvisation was met with a smile on his face. There seemed to be the common feeling of appreciation allowing artists to smile freely at one another’s endeavors. Panditji ended the piece with a simple ‘Phirak taan’¹².

Panditji next chose to explore Raga Shankara with a Bada Khayal in Ektaal⁶ – Shiva Shankara Mahadeva. In both these ragas, Panditji did a marvelous job at wielding the lower octave. The song sang praises of Lord Shiva, the supreme deity. This was then followed by a Drut¹⁰ Khayal – Vibhushita Nanda. By now Panditji’s graceful hand movements had cast a spell on all present. While his right hand was busy strumming the Swarmandal, the left hand would be busy plucking the purest of notes out of thin air. The same hand would form a clasp as he held a steady note or accentuated a musical phrase with ‘thehraav’¹³. Towards the end he sang a quick gat and almost immediately transitioned into Des. Personally, the transition seemed a bit too quick for me, and I did not find it up to his standard.

Raga Des was the first of the Haveli songs that he sang. Apart from being an alliteration, Mai Mero Man Mohiyo is a lover’s helplessness at being drawn to her (or his) ‘Saanware’¹⁴. I was initially confused and thought that he was perhaps singing Raga Hori Saran or Raga Malhar. But as Panditji tenderly flexed around with the composition, I realized my folly. The highlight was when Pandita Mukherjee harmonized at a lower scale while Panditji explored the upper octave – something that Pandit Ghosh did to great effect later. The gat in the end was sung with a smooth Keherwa Taal⁸.

At this point, Panditji announced an interval. People were able to get take a break and refresh themselves. Indian food had been catered by Taj Palace and was well received by the crowd.

Here this reviewer would like to admit that he found the second half of the concert much better than the first (Who knows …. Maybe Panditji gave a pep-talk, backstage).

Panditji began with Mata Kalika in Raga Adana - a combination of Darbari and Kanada. Every time Panditji would begin an improvisation from the upper “Sa” there would be a fresh suspense about whether he would decide to ascend or descend the notes. Something hilarious happened in the middle of the song. Panditji bent forward, and the microphone suddenly screeched out. Almost instantly he looked up and said, “Yeh kya … arrey mere baal the!” (What was that …. Oh just my hair); and effortlessly he picked up his next taan¹¹ while the audience laughed on. The sundry ways in which he played with the line Asura Harani were sparkling. The song – a gentle call to Mata Kali - ended with a pleaful “Ae Ma” that felt like light brush strokes on a fresh canvas.

It was time for Haveli Sangeet once again as Panditji sang Govind Damodar Ma Daveti in Raga Nat Bhairav based in Keherwa taal. In this song, Panditji absolutely broke bounds in the upper octave. At times, he would simply refuse to come back down and in that ecstatic mood his hand would automatically rise. With both hands swaying in the air it seemed as if he was ready to make the ultimate offering to the powers that govern. The search for Krishna had never sounded so sincere. It wasn’t a surprise then that this piece was met with a standing ovation at the end. Another highlight for me was the volley of improvisations between Pandit Jasraj and Pandit Ghosh on the lines Shree Krishna Gokulesh Govardhana Gopal and Govinda Gopal.

The final piece of the night was a bhajan in Raga Bhimpalasi. Panditji soulfully sang the peaceful Om Namo Bhagwate Vasudevaya. Pandit Suman harmonized while Panditji paid homage to Vishnu, the Preserver and Restorer. His taans were spatial without being too ambitious, more focused on bringing out the rasa of the raga while impressing upon the audience Panditji’s range and excellence. The piece ended with a chant to Lord Vitthala.

The applause that followed was amazing. No one wanted to stop applauding what they had just had the privilege of witnessing. Panditji thanked the audience for their support and wished that the almighty support each and every one present. The event came to a conclusion with flowers being presented to the performers. People thronged the stage in attempt of meeting Panditji or getting a picture with him, including this reviewer. The 16 years ICMCA took to get him to Austin were absolutely worth it.

However, there were a few things that could have been improved upon and are worth mentioning if only to count as constructive criticism. As far as the event coordination was concerned, the acoustics of the hall weren’t good at all and an echo could be heard by those attentive to it (or those responsible for writing reviews). Also, the lights should definitely have been dimmed once everyone was seated. As far as the performance itself was concerned, a lot of times the two tablas were unsynchronized and sometimes out of tune. The stops in the middle where Panditji wanted the tablas tuned seemed unnecessary where you would expect the artists to understand professionalism in music and the difference between a practice session and a performance. Lastly, the contribution of Pandita Mukherjee seemed very minimal. Being the first woman to have ever performed in the White House, it would have been great to hear a little more from her.

In the end, this writer hopes that ICMCA continues to host such prestigious artists year after year, and thus do great service to the cause of Indian Classical Music as they always have.

Note: We would like to offer our sincere thanks to the ICMCA for choosing Nazar as their media partner and for making it possible for us to cover this event. Be sure to check out our November 19th release for an exclusive interview with the incredible Panditji himself!

Click here to read a poem inspired by Pt. Jasraj’s concert.

Glossary

Jai Ho, Jai Maharaj – Salutations to the almighty
Khayal - modern genre of classical singing in North
Bada Khayal – A slower variety of the above
Chotta Khayal – A faster variety of the above
Teentaal – A 16 beat rhythmic pattern
Ektaal - A 12 beat rhythmic pattern
Deepchandi - A 14 beat rhythmic pattern
Keherwa Taal - An 8 beat rhythmic pattern
Vilambit – slow
Drut – fast
Taan – rapid melodic phrase
Phirak Taan - a rapid melodic phrase that makes gradual returns a fixed note between successive progressions
Thehraav – pause; here, on a particular note
Saanware – one’s beloved