Book review: Ustad Ameer Khan jeevan aur rachnaen by Singh Tejpal and Arora Prerna

2005·1.3 MB·English

by  Saxena, S.K.

BOOKREVIEW
Ameer
Ustad Khan:
and isfollowed by apartly similarpresentation
JivanaurRachanaen
of sevenTarartas in the chapter XUIwhkh has
added substantially to my knowledge of this
TejPalSingh,PrernaArora
particulargenreofHindustanivocalmusic.
KanishkaPublishers,Delhi, 2005 Tej Pal Singh is fervently devoted and
ceremoniallyenrolled pupil(see the pictureon
226pages,16plates,As600
p.2J)ofUstadAmeerKhan.So,on[he"ho1elhe
The lastfewyearshave seen the riseofa very work is very sympathetic to the maestro in
welcome trend in the capital's musical scene. question.Yet'hereareatleastthreeplaceswhere
Longtime pupilsofsome masterlyvocalistshave TejPalshowssomeindependenceofspirit.First,
begunwritingwithbothdevotionandacuityonthe on p. 191, he ventures to offer his own
lifeandanoftheirmentors;andhave.incidemally. interpretationofChe(CX(ofitD3fb<Jricompo.o,;irUm_
recorded for posterity quitea few Khayalsand Nextherefutestheview,airedbysomeoverfond
Tamnasofrareexcellence,takingduecaretoprovide fansofAmeerKhan,thatevenduringhissleephe
the full notations too ofthe compositions cited. wouldkeepmarkingtherhythmwithatoe(p.87)_
This can easily be an ideal way to preserve our Andfinally,onp.112, we see himobjectingto
heritage of music unimpaired, provided the themaestro'suseafkomalgandttarinragaMegh,
informationin priminreplenished with watchful and his (Ameer Khan's) acceptance of the
listeningtothemaestros'recordedmusicwhichis protest-s-quietly, to be Sure; but so
availableinplentytoday.atleastinthecaseofthe wholeheartedlythaithedevianceinquestionwas
twovocalists[havepresentlyinmind:UstadsBade neverrepeatedbyhiminsubsequentrecitals.
GhulamAliandAmeerKhan.OnGhuJamAliwe Asavocalisthimself.Imayadd.TejPalisby
hadaverygoodbookin2003(editedbyM.Gilani no meansa non-entity.Along with his younger
andQ.HJxJer);andnow.in2005.wehaveaneven brother(SurinderSinghj-c-thetwomakethewell
betterbookonAmeerKhan,inHindi,towhichthe knownduo.SinghBandhu----hehaswonthe(1(X)..l)
present review relates. SangeetNarakAkademiAwardforexcellence in
ThisArneerKhanbookisjointlyauthoredby classical vocal music, The Brothers h:H'C~ been
Tej Pal Singh and his leading pupil Dr,Prema singing together for years, and have won
Arora:and Ihavenoreasontodoubttheveracity recognitionallalongasaduo.Soitisonlyproper
ofthe two claimsmade (bytheseniorauthor.Tej that though he has not played any part in
Pal)inthe veryprefaceofthebook:first,thatthe producingthebookunderreview,SurinderSingh
bookissingularbecausethereisnootherbook(in hasreceivedduementioninif\4·here,-ermeror.texl
thefieldofHindustanimusic)whichcouldfairly offactsdemandedit.
claim to have been written with such an Fidelitytofactsisindeedthecrowningfeature
unremitting concern for truth of facts and ofthiswork.Inthiscontextoneparticularinstance
happenings.andbysomeonewhohashadsuch a of sheer academic integrity has impressed me
long and close communion with an Ustad of specially,Nobody"oold(orcould)havecomplained
ackncwledgedexcellence(asTejPalSinghhimself); hadthe(following)informationnotbeenpro..-ided;
and second,thata major impulse in writing this buttheauthorshavedulytakenpainstodistinguish
book has been the desire to make the maestro's (onp.xvi)thosecompositionsthetextandmelodic
rich repertoire of traditional (and his own) planof"hichhaveboIhbeenprovidedbythemcesro
compositions accessible to lovers of Khayal himselffromthe onesinrespect of \4hichheIus
singing_Here Imayaddatoncethat chapterXII dooeonlytheswam-racnna.Tbereisacarefulmmtion
oftheworkprovidesthetextandmelodicnotation e..'enofsuchminuscule,buttruthfuldetailsasthe
of as many as fortythree Khayal compositions, following:Ameer Khan'svaryingchoices ofhis
Sangeet ,"alo1 Vol.XXXIX, No.4. 2005
64 S.K.SAXENA
adharaswararatdifferentstagesofhiscareerasa and,whatismore.with aneffective employment
performer(59--60);arareindulgenceonthepartof ofthe de.."ice known as Kanbhama,- adevice
A.I.R.(NewDelhi)authoritiesinallowingtheUstad which Saves the singer from thepossiblecharge
toslightlyoverrun,becauseofhissheerengrossment that.astheveryanchorofawholerecital.asthayi
insinging.theallottedtimelength.invirtueofwhich shouldnotlookbrokenontheinside.(Ihastento
the immediately following news broadcast was add that the authors themselves ascribe the
delayedbytwominutes(117):hiscommissioning renewalofthe use ofjhoomratala in singing to
of aTanpura withsit strings (61);the occasions Ustad AbdulWaheed Khan p.45).
when.intimeswhichhadyettobeginlooking on Anyway,alongwitha fairlyanalytic-butall
musicasarespectablepursuit.AmeerKhanhadto along sympathetic-account of the major
stay in houses of ill repute (71); and the quite excellence ofAmeer Khan's gayaki,the authors
spontaneous changing.ofthe text of a Darbari (ofthebookunderreview)havealsotakencareto
compositionbyhimashisdevotionalfervourswelled highlighthisl'iewsonmusic.themoreacceptable
duringthewrycourseofsinging(71).Yetanother ofwhich maybepUI as follows:
index.oftheauthors'penchantfortruthandaccuracy Our music belongs to a tradition which is
isprovidedbythefactthattheyhavetakenduecare distinguishedbycontributionsfrom such saintly
todeterminetheexactpronunciationand esoteric/ figures as Surdas andAmir Khusro. So what is
mysticalsignificanceofthe Persiancouplets used here paramount is bhakti bhava; and merely
byAmeerKhaninhisTaranasbytakingthehelpof frolicsome turns and twists (or words of vulgar
a DelhiUniversity professorofPersian(200).At import) are quiteout oforder(90).Ameer Khan
the: same time.more thanonce, they have rightly would in fact insist thar the paramount aim of
emphasizedtheinabilityofnotation tocaptureall music is not justto entertain but to tranquillize
thatisthereinactualmusic, andelevateourminus(Ibid).Tadatmyaorintense
However, from the viewpoint of sheer attunernent with the melodic run is quire as
technique the (ollowing details deserve to be necessery for the musician I'll work as for his
mentionedspecially:avery educativeaccountof audience (Ibid);and the relish ofgood music is
mrrkhandandpaltas employingdifferenrjensof equally open tomen ofdifferent faiths (90--91).
laya(8-1~);aquicklistingofsuchcompositions Musicisindeedagreatunifyingforce.Aboveall,
inAmeerKhan's repertoireasplacethe samaat the essentials of mean ofmusic make such an
the 3D sound,andsomake the focalbeatacquire intensesinglenessthat thepartitionofIndiacould
the requisite distinctness (51); lhe information donothingtoruffle it.Onecannoteven visualize
thatAmeer Khanwould revelinusingsegments thepossibilitythatfourofthesevenswarascould
ofdifferentjatis in the run ofthe selfsame lana stay barkinIndiaandtheremainthreecrossover
(p,39) and that he is (he first to popularizethe toand settlein Pakistan(90-91)
unusually reposeful use ofjhoomra tala (45) in ThereishoweveroneparticularviewofAmeer
dealingwith whichthevocalisthastobespecially Khanwhichhasbeencited(quiteunquestioningly)
waryinbearinginmind thedifferentplacements by the authors as follows and which I find it
ofthetwotitkits(~6). Ihavethought itnecessary difficult to swallow:
to italicize the word popularizebecause Ameer Look!agood voice has to modelitselfafter
Khan is surely not the first to use thisrhythm. the shape ofapyramid;that is,it should be
AsJsa)'so,JhaveinmindaVilambitKhayal, broad at the base (or lower notes) and
set in raga todi and jhoomra tala, which was increasingly thin and pointeda..il traverses
recorded by Sangeet Natak Akademi about the the higher notes, (48).
year 1966.The singer was Ustad Altaf Hussain Now,Isubmit,ifthis viewisaccepted wewill
Khan (of Khurja gharana): and I distinctly have to withdraw the very wide acclaim which
rememberthathesangitwiththerequisitemeasure hassofarbeenaccordedtothelegendary Rehmat
ofpoise,quitewithoutdnatonal turnsand twists; Khan whose tanas were admired essentially
BOOK REVIEW 65
becausetheyappearedtoboomandsparkleatthe tanas whichareallalikecollocationsofdifferent
taarswaras, like ananarthat isconunonlyused swaras-andwherethesingingisamanlikeAmcer
in a display offireworks; and to UstadPaiyaz Khanwhohas(ontheauthors'ownview)devoted
Khanwhosesingingoftaarnotes inraga Jogiya, a fair part of his early life to the practice of
as energized with the formal devices known as sargam-singing-verygreat care hasstobetaken
laag-daant, used to thunder, so to say. with to keep the swarus mutually and identifiably
poignantfeeling. Surprisingly, the authordo not distinct (see, here, theauthors' own remark on
look askance at the view in question, and I can p.54, that the discreteness or ~ ofswaras in
only wonderhowthis indifference squares with Arneer Khan's tanas would have the clarity of
the claimmade(byTejPal Singh) inthe preface pearls);andthattheactofdistinguishing,however
that 'we, (the co-authors) will analyze, quite subdued it be,is necessarily some reflectionor
impartially, every aspect of (Ameer Khan's) thinking which is precisely what nirvikatpa
personallifeandgayaki'(xi).True,thewordvim's samadhijustcannotbrook.
doesnotfigureinthisclaim;buteveryaspectofa At this point, I may also refer (0 what is a
musician'sindividuallifesurelydoes notexclude plainandpersistent,ifinadvertentdiscrepancyin
theviewsthatheexpressesonanartwhichisina the authors' way of writing. On p.xTej Pal
wayhisvery life,And,totumtoactualsinging,if blazons out his resolve to avoid mere verbiage
the maestro abstained from singing the taar studiously.Yetthisavowal isatoncefollowedby
notes-a-say.ITor If-in open akara (p.51) is it aSanskritquotationfromvivekadhudamaniwhich
not to be regarded as a limitation ofhis voice doesnotmakeanynewpoint.Whalismore,quite
ratherthan as apassable accordance ofpractice afewsuchanalogiesaboundinthebookasarenot
with an acceptable view about the variation of only needless and merely ornate, but too
akarainits passagefrommadyatoraarsaptak? exaggeratedtocarryconviction.Thus, on p.47,
Above all, Ijustfeel bewilderedby the remark, AmcerKhan'sgayakihasbeenlikedtotheupsurge
made with implicit approval, that Ameer Khan ofjivatma to become one with its verysource,
lookedon sargamsas the mostsuitablemedium thatis,Paramatma.Ontheverynextpage,aparallel
ofexpressing bhava (52) if the word bhava is hasbeendrawnbetweenthe maestro'ssingingin
taken to mean emotion? Sargams can surely the mandra and (a diver's?) attempt to collect
appear to frisk or weave intricatedesigns; but precious stones from the very bed of an ocean;
theircapacitytoexpressdesignableemotionshas and afew pageslater---onep.53tobeprecisec
got tobearguedfor, ratherthanquietlyaccepted. AmeerKhan's toying with swaras (inthe act of
However, these are not the only occasions singingsargams) has been said to be similarto
where the book looks deficient in restraint and MotherParwati's tasyadance. Here, inplace of
objectivity.Somesuchanalogiesdisfigureitasare mere rhetoric,what aseriousreaderwouldhave
a bit too indulgent to carry conviction. Thus, preferred from the authors, who are both well
Ameer Khan's musical utterance in generaland versedintheartofmusic,isafewactual(notated)
the unusually long pauses that appear to divide instancesofsuchcollocationsofswarasandformal
his singing of sthayi have been likened. devices.includingthevaryingmodulationofvoice,
respectively,toattunementwithGodandthestate asmaylooklikecleartonalanaloguesofelevated
ofquiet worship. Further, ifonly in passing, a longing,explorationofdepths,and tatlgentiality,
parallelhasalsobeenhintedbetweenthevarying as against robustness and directness ofdealing
tenorofAmeerKhan's singingand apassagein withswaras.Wheretheauthorsdolooklikemoving
samadhifromthesavikalpatothenirvikalpastate a littleinthis needfuldirection, theyfall short of
(58). phenomenologicalexactness.Thus,insuggesting
Such glib writing shows scant awareness of thatifthesarna-letterischosentobe&I,thesthavi
thefactthatwhere,asinKhayal-singinggenerally, will dearly look like opening up (~ p.51).
amajorsegmentofthetotalrecitalisprovidedby theyforgetthat the suggestedsemblance(ofthe
66 S.K. SAXENA
sthayi'sopening up. not merely the sama-point's answerwas:'"A 'defeat' inafilm isnorealindex
looking open) will not come about unless the ofactualinferiority;and,afterall.he(D.V.)isthe
immediately preceding TIm-up 10 Ihe 'sama' son of(no less a person than) the lion-hearted
pmc'eetlsinaslightly subduedakara. Vishnudigambarji"(128).
However.theseareallbutminorandoccasional What, however, seem to bemost directly
irritantsin the book and are clearly outweighed relatedtothesingularqualityofhismusicisAmeer
byitsmanypositivefeatures.Ihavepointedthem Khan's personal equanimity in life. In spite of
outsimplybecauseIwouldbehappytoseethem many inhibiting factors-such as the loss of his
remediedinthesecondeditionwhichthebookis motherwhenhe was just achild, a moreor less
"t',)'likely10nulinto.Otherwise.thework'soverall unsettledmarriedlife,andrejectionbytheaudience
valueisimmense.The•verydivisionofitschapters at his very first important concert (Mirzapur
isanindexofitscomprehensiveconcern.Twoof Conference;p.72)--hestruckgamelytothetask
these (nos.4.5) relate10 Ameer Khan'sgayat;; of bending public taste towards his uncommon
no.7isdevoted 10 his life.and another.no.8 to gayaki,Asaresult,theultimaterecognitionofhis
his personality. The maestro as a teacher is the meritwassorich andmanifoldthatitcouldbethe
subject ofthe chapter 9;and chapters 10and 11 envy ofthe bestofourmusicians:So it is only
relate. respectively, 10 some of Ameer Khan's properIhaltheauthorshavetakencaretoprovide
recitals, the many accolades that he deservedly aquicklistofthemanyaccoladeswonbyAmeer
won,andhiscontributionasaplaybacksinger. Khan (p.121-122).culminating in the awardof
Suchamany-sidedandmeticulousapproachhas PadmaBhushan in 1971.
naturallyenabledthe authorsto revealsomevery For those,however, who wish to enrich and
interestingandnotwidelyknownfactsaboutAmccr improvetheirownsingingthemostrelevantpartof
Khan'slife.personality.andwork;andltakepleasure thebookisprovidedbypp.130---214.Here.Indeed,
incitingsomeoflheseasgiveninthebook: wehaveavirtualtreae..uryofcompositions-inboth
Onthececa..ionofBaqr-IdAmeerKhanwould Khayal andTaranasgenres-alldulynotated;and
amidresortingtothecustomaryanimalsacrifice so it is not without reason that a superstar like
and preferinsteaddistributingthemoneyneeded PanditBhimscnJoshihascondescendedtoprovide
for buying agoat as alms among the poor(90). the first meaningful page of the book with some
BasicaJly,AmeerKhanwasnotonlyhumane,but kindly words by way of blessing the venture.As
simpleinhislifeand tastes,andalsodulyaliveto foritsfinalchapter,quite intunewith iLS running
the meritsofothervocalists.Thisisborneoulby care for details. it provides a graphic account of
thefollowingevidenceorfacts.Whileparticipating Ameer Khan's death by accident and the post
inthe5-dayEast-WeslMusicEncounteratAzad mortemencomiashoweredonhimbyluminariesin
Bhawan (196t) be had 10 stay at Asoka Hotel the music world.
withtheotherparticipants;butinsteadofexulting Infine.thebookisnotonlyasuperbpresentation
in the regality of the place, where he had to ofAmeerKhan'slife,art,andcreativity.butaclear.
conform toits formal living style throughoutthe ifincidentalindexoftheauthors'owncommitment.
day,he wouldprefer10 spend a relaxedevening It abounds in authentic photographs. the more
(inalungi}atthe homelyresidence ofhispupil. strikingofwhicharethetwothatappearsonp.21,
TejPalSingh(86).Further.ItwasatAmeerKhan's showing the maestro's baitbak and mukhmudra
expressinsistencethatD.V.Pafuskarwaschosen whilesinging(thoughonlythelatterisclearlyseen
(by Naushad Sahib) to provide Baiju Bawara's here);and isacceptablealsoinrespectofprinting
voiceinthefilm namedafterTansen'svanquisher. andcoverdesign.Iam thereforeconfidentthatthe
What ismore,when (after seeing the film)some bookwillgetaplaceineverymusiclibraryandthe
ofthe Ustad'sclose pupilsasked him as to why attention of all thosewho are wedded to serious
hehadcondescended toappear 'defeated' in the Khayal-gayaki.
filmbyayoungerartist.AmeerKhan'sforthright S.K.SAXL"A