The name of Gaan-Saraswati Kishori Amonkar still pulls thousands, who would come from far and wait for her with all their patience to relish her soul-stirring voice. The reason for this magnetic attraction is simple. The octogenarian vocalist still offers her refreshingly aesthetic and blissful music, quickening the raga with the essence of her own being. It was raga Bageshri this time, at the recently held SPIC MACAY’s Music in the Park concert in New Delhi, that was delineated leisurely in the most unconventional and creatively imaginative manner. The raga did have all its grammatically correct, time tested notes, but it sounded as if dressed in a new attire designed in an innovative and insightful way.
She solves the mystery of her singular approach to the delineation of a raga and many more queries that come to the mind of her admirers in a candid conversation next day in her hotel room after returning from her usual and a must visit to the Raghavendra Swamy Mutt, the abode of her spiritual Guru.
Talking about her approach to a raga, she explains, "Music is the most abstract subject on earth and the raga is limitless. The space in between two swaras of a raga comprises a whole universe of emotions and feelings. A raga has limitless potential to express these myriad feelings. One has to study that wholeheartedly with complete dedication. This is why sadhana becomes indispensable. It enables you to make the most of this potential of a raga. You have to not only practice but cultivate a close relationship with the swaras of a raga, like you nurture your friendship with spending time together, talking and taking care of each other’s feelings, sharing the joys and sorrows. A raga is also a living being, make friends with it and express it with care and feeling, in the way it deserves to be elaborated."
Just like there are many shades of love, Amonkar says, there are many shades of a swara too. "Bhoop, Shuddh-Kalyan and Deshkar sound like similar ragas, but the Gandhar of Bhoop is different from the Gandhar of Shuddh Kalyan and Deshkar. It’s challenging to find the accurate place of a particular swara, because it is simply slippery. The universe of swara is without any beginning or end. It is limitless, immeasurable. I try to find feelings and emotions through these swaras and express them."
Then there are lyrics, the bols of the bandish. In case of the Bageshri that she presented the other day, Amonkar reflects that the composition went “Kaun Gat bhai mori….. ek bana dhundhi, sakal bana dhun dhun, daar-daar, paat-paat….” “Radha is pining for her beloved Krishna, searching for him all over the forest, checking each and every branch and leaf of trees. She shares her predicament with her friend, ‘look at my miserable state! Please help me find him.’ She is desperately searching for him but has not lost hope as yet. This ray of hope is echoed in the sensitive touch of ‘Pancham’. I keep exploring the intensity of these feelings with various permutations and combinations of swaras.”
Raga has become a cliché these days. "I don’t believe in vadi-samvadi (supposedly the most important and the second important note of a raga) and the hackneyed pakad (the defining bunch of notes that help recognise a raga). In fact, there are eleven ‘lakshanas’ of a raga stated in our treatise that create the atmosphere of raga. I question, why follow only "ma pa dha, ga re sa…", why can’t I go to Dhaivat straight away from Rishabh, or from Gandhar or Madhyam? I try to explore the different hues of expressions, flavours of feelings with the imaginative use of swaras according to my own intuition."
Alaapi is the most crucial part of singing or playing a raga which should or could be elaborated for hours. "The only point to be taken care of is that it should be done properly and without repetition. The tragedy prevalent these days is that the alaapi is dispensed with in a few minutes and the performance proceeds towards the thrill of the rhythmic aspect catered by the accompaniment of percussion instruments. One should remember that music is not for excitement or clap."
She doesn’t seem to be happy with the present day music education in the universities. Students with degrees like M. Phil and Ph.D. in music don’t even know how to tune the tanpura or how to do riyaaz. “One of the M.Phil students from the Delhi University came to me and asked the proper way to do riyaaz. I believe it is the responsibility of teachers to guide them. ‘Guru bin kaun batave baat’ who will show you to correct path without the Guru (teacher)?” In fact, the present day teaching method itself is questionable. She reiterates, “I believe that Indian subjects like music should be taught in Indian way, and not by Western method. When my mother taught me a raga, it was also about knowing the theory. As a matter of fact theory is not different than what we practice. Music, in fact, should be taught from an early age. If the spark ignites in even one child amongst a thousand, the effort is worth it. Once they start appreciating music or any classical art, they start thinking for themselves. ‘What am I doing and what is expected of me’. This will gradually change the thinking of the society and the nation to a positive direction.”
In reply to why she is known to be temperamental, unpredictable, reclusive, even intimidating, she counters, “How can a person, who is trying to bequeath peace through his or her art, can be bad? My mother used to say do something good for others before you die and I’m trying my best to do just that. In fact, people don’t understand the meaning of generosity, benevolence and compassion. As far as my reclusive nature is concerned, I speak only with ‘his’ (her spiritual Guru’s) desire. If he does not like me to speak, I don’t.”
On whether she likes to listen to film or popular songs also, her prompt response comes as a pleasant surprise. “I not only listen to, but also like the good ones. A recent Punjabi song ‘Main tenu samjhawan ki…’ comes to mind. Whosoever is the singer, he has sung it really well. ‘Ga re sa’ and ‘dha pa ma’ are the most difficult notes of the song, but he has sung them with perfect accuracy. I had nothing to do with the words or language of the song but the raga and the composition attracted me.”
She assesses her own music quite objectively. “I am the cruellest critic of my music but there are also moments when I’m ecstatic on getting the desired result of my efforts.” As we conclude, she humbly admits that she doesn’t have any wish to be fulfilled or aspiration for any award at this point of time after receiving the ‘Gaan-Saraswati’ by none other than the Shankaracharya. “No award can be higher than this and I feel responsible to prove it. Just because of this title, Saraswati, the Goddess of learning, is always with me.”
