Gharana tradition : Patiala Kasur

Kasur (also spelt Qasur), a small town near Lahore, Pakistan, is in a region which was famous for the 'melody in its air and soil'. A large number of Sufi saints spread their message of love in the area. Their lives were imbued with music and they often presided over baithaks of rich classical fare. The great poet Bulleh Shah was from these parts and gave to the world his priceless sufiana kalam. The region saw the advent and growth of a great cultural era in which the dhrupad and khayal styles flourished along with the beautiful kafi, tappa and the rich folk music of the region.

It was from this ambience that Ustad Ali Baksh Khan and Ustad Kale Khan, with their abundant talent, brought to Patiala the fragrance, beauty and elegance of their own well established gharana of Kasur. From this fusion, emerged a powerful and melodious gayaki which was emphasized, clear and with meaningful bols, sparkling tans, intricate layakari and gamak. Genres of thumri and ghazal have a special place in this gharana. At the turn of the 20th century, Ali Baksh Khan was blessed with a son who was later to become the legendary Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan. Other sons followed – Ustad Barkat Ali Khan, Ustad Mubarak Ali Khan and Ustad Aman Ali Khan. All these brothers, greatly inspired by the beauty of their inherited style, made their own invaluable Patiala-Kasur gayaki.

Bade Ghulam Ali Khan - Thumri - Ab Tohe Jane Nahi Dun :  



Ajoy Chakrabarty - Thumri - Kaisee Bajayee Re Shyam :  





Jagdish Prasad - Thumri - Chanchal Naar Dodhari Kataria :  



Parween Sultana - Khayal - Det Badhai Sain Ko :  



Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan (1901-1968) was a giant in the world of music who brought the Patiala-Kasur gayaki to the international stage. His singing was chiseled by years of devoted riyaz and infused with his phenomenal creativity in an endless striving towards perfection. His was a full throated, highly cultivated and melodious voice in which he rendered intricate layakari with ease and dignified finesse. Bade Ghulam Ali Khan's contribution to the khayal thumri form was phenomenal and full of creativity. He also created the magnificent Surmandal, an instrument that has today become popular with most leading vocalists of the country.

.. more songs of other Gharanas »

Four random songs 13

Continuing with my Random Songs series, presented here in this post are a few songs that I picked up from here and there while surfing the web, and also while hanging out on various music forums. These are excellent songs, a couple of them from the great maestros and the rest from our younger vocalists.

Mallikarjun Mansur - Sughrai - Piya Banjara :  



Ajoy Chakrabarty - Deshkar - Ayi Ri Badariya Sawan Ki :  





Manjiri Asanare - Adana - Rang Rang Mukh Pe Mat Phenko :  



Meeta Pandit - Bilaskhani Todi - Baje Boondariya :  



.. more Random Songs »

Kya baat hai

The beauty and speciality of Indian classical music is its unplanned improvisation. This aspect of our music comes out at its best in a live concert. Because, the instant reaction of the audience is very inspiring for the musician. It is not unusual if two performing musicians have a brief tete-a-tete with each other and even with the audience during the concert. Wah! Kya Baat Hai (Wow! Great), is a phrase, used very commonly by almost every vocalist and instrumentalist for the accompanying Tabla player and vice versa. It is an expression of admiration and appreciation exclaimed by one musician to the other. Some anecdotes, moments of nostalgia, a bit of humour, brief explanation of the Raga that is being rendered, a few words in praise of the Guru, all these are ingredients that make an informal Indian classical music concert unforgettable and unique in the world.

Ajoy Chakrabarty - Pilu - Kate Na Biraha Ki Raat (56:39) :  



Padma Talwalkar - Thumri - Kaise Kate Din Ratiyan (12:53) :  





Prabhakar Karekar - Desi - Akhiyan Bhar Aayi (47:30) :  



Prabha Atre - Dadra - Balama Ne Churayi Nindiya (15:44) :  

Four Songs : my Choice 11

Most connoisseurs of art feel this strong urge to display their own preferences and taste in that particular art form. Almost everytime, deep inside them, they wish to see nods of approval from others, that their taste is indeed perfect and deserving of a true evaluator. Here are some more gems from my favourite playlist of Hindustani classical music, subject to your nods ..and nudges, of course.

Ajoy Chakrabarty - Raga Abhogi :  



Amir Khan - Raga Kalashri :  





Ghulam Mustafa Khan - Raga Megh :  



Parween Sultana - Raga Amba Manohari :  



.. more Songs of my Choice »

Holi : five drops of Color

No festival of India is such an important constituent of our traditional classical and folk music as Holi. This festival of colors, is one that adorns our lives with the synergy of celebrative air and music. This joyous festival is in tune with the gaiety of the spring season when this festival is held. The windswept, withering, winter scene is truly dabbed away with the vibrant colors of blossoming flowers heralding spring, a time for the earth to rejuvenate. The refreshing southern breeze successfully chases out the chilly northern wind, in the Hindu month of 'Phalgun'. The fervor, fun and frolic of the festival reflect the essence of harvest and hope.

Ajoy Chakrabarty - Aaj Phagua Mein Hori Machi Hai :  



Girija Devi & Shobha Gurtu - Bhijoyi Mori Chunari :  





Ghulam Mustafa Khan - Piya Sang Khelun Hori :  



Channulal Mishra - Barjori Karo Na Mose Hori Mein :  



Anita Sen - Nand Ke Lalan Ke Rang Darungi :  



.. more colors of Holi »

Enjoy!

Four Songs : my Choice 8

Yet one more time, presented here are a few songs that I like. All the four artists are renowned vocalists and need no introduction.

Bhimsen Joshi - Pilu Thumri - Nadiya Kinare Mora Gaon :  



Ajoy Chakrabarty - Gori Dhirey Chalo :  





Rashid Khan - Pilu Dadra - Ab Maan Jao Saiyan :  



Lakshmi Shankar - Sajanwa Jaagi Sari Rain :  



.. more Songs of my Choice »

Four Songs : my Choice 6

After the partition of India in 1947, the new born Pakistan was so beset with insurmountable problems that fine arts virtually remained neglected. History’s largest migration of people had totally upset the equilibrium of the population not only physically but also emotionally and psychologically. During such times, the fine arts could not get the attention of the people. Classical music was neglected more than anything else. The musicians were totally frustrated as there were no takers. Many took refuge in Ghazal singing to make ends meet. The height of despair was reflected in the decision of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan to leave the country and settle back down in India, where connoisseurs of classical music were abound.

In remembrance of those days, here are a few songs of my choice, each one hand picked and posted here for your listening pleasure.

Bade Ghulam Ali Khan - Raga Darbari Kanada :  



Ajoy Chakrabarty - Raga Malkauns :  





Nirmalya Dey - Raga Bageshri :  



Jitendra Abhisheki - Raga Kafi :  



.. more Songs of my Choice »

Four Songs : my Choice 5

Once again, here are a few songs of my choice, each one a priceless gem, and in my view, one of the best from the respective artists :

Ajoy Chakrabarty - Kajri - Nimbua Tale Dola Rakhde :  (Download)



Girija Devi - Hindola :  (Download)





Nazakat & Salamat Ali Khan - Thumri Pahadi :  (Download)



Rashid Khan - Charukeshi - Palaka Na Lagi Mori Guiyan :  (Download)



.. more Songs of my Choice »

P.S : As I have always believed in giving my visitors, the play and download option for all songs, no wonder I am faced with a serious bandwidth issue. As a result some files in my older posts may not play or download. However, irrespective of this problem I will try to continue posting more songs. Thanks for your patience.

Four Random Songs 3

One more installment of songs, that I found from here and there, while surfing the web :

Girija Devi - Ganga Reti Pe Bangla :  (Download)



Shobha Gurtu - Kadar Na Jani :  (Download)





Malini Rajurkar - Chaal Pehchani :  (Download)



Ajoy Chakrabarty - Ka Sang Kheloon Mein Phag :  (Download)



.. more Random Songs »

Comments are welcome.

Ajoy Chakrabarty : Revisited

When I started writing this blog, my aim was to give my readers the 'play-or-download' option for every song that I post. I didn't want this blog to become an academic one, mere lengthy posts about the lives of artists and detailed descriptions of various ragas. So I set out to give you people some real 'juice' : actual music, painstakingly searched all around the web and posted here for your listening pleasure, and at will. Unfortunately and to my dismay, these links do not stay for long. Many of the music links in my older posts have gone dead, files removed from the servers for reasons unknown.



These songs by Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty (not published commercially) were posted by me earlier too, but some readers have complained that they exist no more. Hence I am posting them again, hoping this time the links will stay. Ajoy Chakrabarty is very dear to us all, and I don't want you folks to miss out on these songs. This is classic material and deserves to be served to all. Included here is also a brief excerpt of an interview with the BBC host Mark Tully.

Ajoy Chakrabarty talks to Mark Tully :  (Download)



This concert was held in 1997 by the BBC to commemorate the 50th anniversary of India's independence from Britain. Ajoy Chakrabarty was joined in this performance by Samar Saha on tablas and Sanjoy Chakrabarty on harmonium. The recital consisted of two pieces. The first was a Thumri Kajri, and the second a full Khyal in Raga Hamsadhwani.

Thumri Kajri - Damini Damke :  (Download)



Raga Hamsadhwani :  (Download)



Comments are welcome.

Enjoy !!

Ajoy Chakrabarty : Encore !!

Many of my visitors have requested me to post more songs of Ajoy Chakrabarty. Here are a few more from the maestro in live concert :

Banee Bana Shyam Ki (Bilaskhani Todi) :  (Download)



Anganwa Prabhu Mohe Bharosa Tiharo (Jaunpuri) :  (Download)



Daalat Kaisan Pichakari (Bhairavi Dhamar) :  (Download)



Aaj Radha Brij Ko Chali (Bhairavi) :  (Download)



Baat Chalat Nahi (Bhairavi) :  (Download)



These links are alive and kicking (unlike eSnips links which I had posted in the 'Girija Devi & Shobha Gurtu' and earlier posts). eSnips is more or less dead now as far as posting widgets is concerned. So enjoy !!

Ajoy Chakrabarty : In Concert

Here are a few songs by Ajoy Chakrabarty in Live Concert.

Barajori Nahi Re (Bhairavi Thumri) :  (Download)



Paayal Mori Baaje Ri (Bhairavi) :  (Download)



Yaad Piya Ki Aaye (Bhairavi) :  (Download)



Hari Om Tatsat (Pahadi) :  (Download)