The Ganesh bhakt from Bijapur: Ibrahim Adil Shah II

It's only 6am. Unlike most of his neighbourhood that seems deep in slumber, Ustad Karim Sayyed's home in Bijapur, on the Maharashtra-Karnataka border, is alive with the strains of the tanpura as he leads two disciples in a Lord Ganesh invocation. Isn't this unusual for a practising five-time namazi, particularly in today's times? The classical vocalist laughs in reply, "Who'd think that this would ever be a question in the land of Ibrahim Adil Shah II, who called himself the son of Lord Ganesh and the goddess of learning, Saraswati?"

Moving back and forth from Dakhani, the local Urdu dialect, to Kannada, he explains that the Ganesh invocation he is teaching is a composition from Ibrahim Adil Shah II, who ruled the sultanate of Bijapur from 1579 to 1626.

"This is from the Badshah's treatise Kitab-e-Navras (Book of Nine Rasas) in Dakhani, which has nearly 59 compositions and 17 couplets, many of which are dedicated to Hindu gods and goddesses."

His only lament is that Ibrahim, also a dhrupad singer, simply left behind suggestions on the ragas suited to the dhrupad compositions without notations or suggestions for the rhythmic beat or tala, a system created only later by Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande (1860-1936). "While this must be because he was himself such an accomplished singer and cognoscenti of classical arts, it's difficult for contemporary artistes to pick and sing these compositions."

Ibrahim, who was an expert in Persian, Kannada and Marathi, was much taken with the music which had its roots in the region, says Sayyed. "All his compositions are in ragas like Abhogi, Adana, Asavari, Bageshree Kaanada, Darbari, Devsakh, Husseini Kaanada, Kafi Kaanada, Kausi Kaanada, Nayaki Kaanada, Shahana, Sughrai or Suha from the Kaanada group, which originated in this region."

As he talks, a loudspeaker at a nearby Ganesh pandal crackles to life blaring quite another kind invocation. It's a Kannada knock-off of a popular Marathi song from the runaway hit Sairat. "Is this the only way to start the morning?" asks Sayyed, interrupted mid-thought.

He is suddenly aware of his religious identity. "Even if I go and request them with folded hands to tone it down, all they'll see is a Muslim opposing their religious music," says Sayyed, ending the class and asking his students to leave. Asked about the next session, he retorts, "When all this noise ends!"

Syncretic times

Historian Dr Krishna Kolar Kulkarni, who is visiting Sayyed, shakes his head when asked about Ibrahim Adil Shah II. "Today when we're ready to kill, plunder and wipe out each other in the name of religion over the slightest provocation, it almost seems surreal that a man with such wonderfully syncretic outlook of life lived seven centuries ago," he says.

"Born to Tahmaspa, Ali Adil Shah I's younger brother, the space that brings music and religion together held a unique fascination for Ibrahim from a very young age. Such was his hold and wisdom on Hindu scriptures that a visiting seer anointed him with the title of Jagadguru Badshah," Kulkarni says.

"The Mughal emperor Jahangir who had eyes on this kingdom too couldn't hold back on praising Ibrahim for his pious pursuit of dhrupad in his memoirs. A student of Ustad Bakhtar Khan, Ibrahim's collection of dhrupads can be accessed from the nine manuscripts of his Kitab-e-Navras, which have been traced. Imagine what it'll be like to have all of it."

Admitting that most of Ibrahim's dhrupads dealt with themes such as Goddess Saraswati and Lord Ganesh, Sayyed says, "He also celebrated the local pirs and saints and personified images of ragas. There are dhrupads extolling virtues of his begum, Chaand Sultan, his favourite elephant from the royal stables, Atasa Khan, and his favourite veena, which he had named Moti Khan."

The chronicle of the life and times of the Adilshahi kingdom Basatin-us-Salatin tells us that over 4000 musicians enjoyed royal patronage under Ibrahim Adil Shah II's reign. While 1400 of these were well known ustads and musicology scholars, the others were gifted shagirds. It was to such an erudite musically trained audience that Ibrahim would sing his compositions asking for suggestions. "Top notch musicians formed the huzuris who interacted with the emperor directly. The darbaris though lower in rank, would sit in the royal court learning from the huzuris. Saharis who lived in the city Navraspur (built only for artistes) were musicians who showed promise but nowhere as adept. The darbaris were asked to teach them."

Explaining that Ibrahim called ragas muqams and used the word navras for dhrupad, Sayyed demonstrates how these compositions have three melodic components unlike the four seen in dhrupads which have been composed since.

But Himesh Reshammiya offers him tough competition on the loudspeakers with Ay meri meri meri zohrazabeen and Sayyed gives up.

Wonder if Lord Ganesh would approve?