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Down the raga lane
An exclusive audience was present for Sampurna’s monthly concert in Karachi. Not only were the people gathered at the venue connoisseurs of Indian classical music, they also included those who might have had a fair interest but little understanding of this beautiful art form. The first part of the concert featured Saffia Beyg, who is also the founder of Sampurna, and is a stickler for punctuality; thus all the organization’s concerts begin on time. The second part was reserved for sitar-player Jawwad Noor, a new name in Karachi.
Classical Indian music is mainly divided into two branches: North and South Indian. South Indian music is called Carnatic, referring to the southern state of Karnataka while the northern branch is Hindustani, from the Urdu and Hindi-speaking region where it is prevalent.
Beyg began the concert by performing raga Koshak dhani. She explained that sub-continental music is largely emotion-based and elaborated that she was going to paint a picture on a blank canvas with five colours (the five surs) of this particular raga. Her second rendition was raga Kirvani, which also originates from South India. Kirvani is one of the names for Saraswati — the female deity of knowledge and music, and the consort of Brahma. Beyg sang the beautiful bandish, “toray bina mohay chain nahi brij kay nandlala, bayyan padu, binti karoon, dali galay mala.”
Although Noor has had numerous performances in North America and Pakistan, it was for the first time that he was playing in Karachi. Hailing from Lahore, the sitar-player aspires to become a professor and is currently researching for a Ph.D. from an American university
The essence of all music is cohesion and the ability to organize melody and rhythm. Saffia Beyg has been studying classical music since 1979. Initially, she was tutored by the renowned sarangi-player, the late Ustad Hamid Husain. After the death of her teacher in 1982, she continued learning on her own by listening to the great ustads like Bade Ghulam Ali Khan and Ustad Amir Khan Sahib.
In 1983, the owners of Hashoo Auditorium, which was previously the famed Rex Cinema, and where presently a shopping centre thrives, gave an entire floor to Beyg to run the Academy for Performing Arts. The Academy had to be closed down in 1988, but four years ago it was reincarnated in the form of Sampurna.
On the audience’s request, the next raga that Beyg presented was Darbari (or courtly) created by India’s greatest musician, Tansen, in the 16th century. This was followed by raga Des. Beyg translated the words in English keeping in mind the several foreigners present: Chinese, Italians, Canadians, British and French nationals. “The woman is asking her lover to go away but she also wants him not to go,” Beyg explained, amusing her audience with the contradiction.
A profound mood and spirit was created with the last item of her performance, a Thumri – Naahuq Laay Gawan, which is a sorrowful complaint of a young village bride who finds herself at a loss in another village, when she discovers that her husband is flirting with another woman. Beyg’s vocals were accompanied by Abid Husain, the tabla stalwart, and Abdul Ghani on the harmonium. Once it was the sarangi that was the primary instrument for accompanying khayal singing — now it is the harmonium. The sarangi, an instrument difficult to control, is dying out because of lack of training. It was therefore a treat to hear Mohammad Husain, a frail, old sarangi-player.
After a break for tea and snacks, the audience reassembled to hear Jawwad Noor, who began studying the sitar and surbahar under (late) Ustad Mohammad Alam Khan in 1991. He has been tutored by Ustad Mubarak Ali Khan and has also spent some time with Ustad Shujaat Khan, son of Ustad Vilayat Khan — one of the most creative sitarists of this century.
Although Noor has had numerous performances in North America and Pakistan, it was for the first time that he was performing in Karachi. Hailing from Lahore, Noor aspires to become a professor and is currently researching for a Ph.D. from the University of Rochester, USA. Having done a B.Sc. (Hon) from the University of London, his area of research is the intersection of economics, psychology and mathematics. Self-control and procrastination used to be strange concepts to economists, but are now topics of growing interest to theorists of behavioural economics.
Noor dedicated the first bandish to his absent wife. He played raga Gorakh Kalyan, a raga that belongs to the Khammaj thaat. It is rendered during the second quarter of the night. Like Bhopali and Durga, this is also a raga comprising five surs. The total number of ragas in Indian classical music at one time was almost 300, but several of them have been lost over the centuries. Gorakh Kalyan is not a very commonly played raga in Pakistan. Veteran tabla-player Bashir Khan accompanied Noor.
In North Indian music, songs as well as instrumental compositions are usually preceded by an improvised and unmeasured prelude – the alaap, which is sometimes extensive. This is followed by a specific rhythmic cycle. Although it is usually based on a pre-existing composition, there are specific improvised features to this section as well. Noor’s expert rendition prompted a senior journalist to comment aloud after the conclusion of the second bandish that it seemed as if Noor did nothing else but play the sitar. He then requested Noor to play raga Hameer, which originates from thaat Kalyan. Noor obliged him but also assured him that he devotes a significant amount of his time towards completing his doctorate. Classical music and economics research; what a combination!
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