When the Maihar Band performed at the Sangeet Natak Akademi’s Meghdoot theatre the other day, one was put in mind of the original band, put together nearly 100 years ago by Ustad Allauddin Khan, the Hindustani maestro whose influence and mentorship has touched generations of classical musicians. As the twelve gentlemen played their instruments with a kind of self-effacing devotion to the founder, one could almost have believed they were the very same children he had once trained, now grown to grey-haired sobriety.
We know of the popular vadya vrinda arrangements of the late sitar maestro Ravi Shankar (one of Allauddin Khan’s illustrious disciples) that set a stylistic stamp on orchestral compositions of All India Radio. And numerous classical musicians after him over the years have got together to form bands that produce raga-based set pieces of music. But much earlier, in 1918, Ustad Allauddin Khan — ‘Baba’ to his devoted followers — organised the first Maihar Band, comprising some 17 musicians trained by him in Indian and Western instruments.
The story goes that he had begun giving musical training to some children orphaned in an epidemic. Later with the encouragement of his patron, Raja Brijnath Singh Judeo, the revered patriarch of the Maihar gharana of music brought them together in a unique orchestra, effectively providing them with a means of both livelihood and companionship.
Surely there are lessons to be learned here. In Indian society, where the trend is to look backwards and deify our heroes rather than build on their achievements, the majority still perceive the pursuit of music as a hobby best suited to the well-heeled, a dicey career option.
Besides, genius that he was, ‘Baba’ also invented the nal tarang, among the other instruments created by him. In these warmongering times, the nal tarang, an instrument made of gun barrels set in a resonant xylophone-like frame, acquires unmissable symbolism.
Happily, decades back, the Madhya Pradesh government took over the upkeep of the Maihar Band, whose members are now government employees, with the attendant security that status brings.
In a conversation after the short performance, which was part of SNA’s festival “Rang Swadheenta: Celebrating India’s Independence through the Performing Arts”, the Maihar Band’s current head, esraj exponent Suresh Kumar Chaturvedi, noted that the state government’s patronage was extended primarily to keep alive the compositions of the ustad of Maihar.
At their performance, the band played a medium-paced and a drut composition based on raga Yaman Kalyan, and then an orchestrated version of “Vaishnava jan”. The selected compositions, while tuneful, were characterised by plain notes, all melodists playing identical scores, in the manner of western music but without the harmonies.
“Yes, Baba set (the notes of these compositions) in a plain manner ( seedhe seedhe ). But some ragas are suitably set in gayaki ang, in which you find the gamaks and meends that were absent in the ones we played today,” remarks Chaturvedi. He adds, “Baba also had compositions based on the Western approach. For example, when he went to Russia, he was inspired by Russian tunes. Also, he composed pieces with a martial theme.”
2018 will see the 100th anniversary of the band’s founding. Getting the ensemble leader to talk of what has changed and what has been strengthened over the decades in terms of repertoire, approach or even group members is not easy. The ensemble originally is said to have had some 17 members. Asked if the 12 instrumentalists who performed in New Delhi comprise the complete group, Chaturvedi only says, “In the course of time, artists retire, and it takes a while to fill their positions.”
Musically qualified applicants are appointed by a selection committee, he explains. On what special qualities would be required, he is not forthcoming but agrees discipline must be one of them. The ensemble members are employees of the Government Music College, Maihar.
Their rehearsal regimen, along with performance engagements, does not leave much time for other duties, although some members do pursue solo careers, says Chaturvedi, himself the Principal of the college.
“We practise five hours daily so that Baba’s compositions remain alive,” he says. “It’s like a live museum, whose exhibits carry on.”
The repertoire, though dominated by Baba’s compositions, has not remained static, he says. “We have composed some ten bhajans that were dear to Bapu (Mahatma Gandhi), like ‘Mane chaakar raakho’, ‘Paayoji maine’, ‘Nar Hari’ and others.”
He does not take credit for the compositions but explains, “I may set up the theme, but then all the members add their bits.”
Besides classical and devotional tunes, there are folk melodies as well. The original repertoire was quite vast. “My seniors told me there were about 100 to 150 compositions,” he states. Due to retire in four years, Chaturvedi says he joined the band 36 years ago. “When new people join, the seniors teach them. Right now it’s my job to pass on the compositions to the younger musicians. By the time I retire, they will be ready to teach newcomers.”
For a group with such an extensive playlist, half-an-hour to showcase their stuff was not much, but Chaturvedi says, “We are happy to perform, even for ten minutes. Baba created bandishes for all occasions, from three to fifty minutes long!”
The band has performed across its native state, besides being featured at festivals in Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Bihar, Karnataka, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Goa and Assam among others. On performances abroad, he smiles, “That’s something yet to happen.”
Chaturvedi, who joined Maihar Band when he was in his second year of graduation, says the ensemble is happily placed in its home state. “There is a lot of music in Madhya Pradesh,” says the esraj player, who hails from a village near Maihar. “I loved music from my childhood, though I started off with folk music.”
All praise for the support provided by the Madhya Pradesh government’s Department of Culture, Chaturvedi adds proudly, “There are eight government colleges of music in the state.”
No doubt this is an example of state patronage providing a lifeline to an endeavour that might have otherwise died out, but as the world turns one wonders if more could be done to offer inspiration without tampering with the wonderful spirit of this group.
Today placement, presentation and contextualising are important in reaching out to audiences, even when a product has the solidity of skill, legacy and dedication. Perhaps as the centenary of the Maihar Band approaches, the agencies responsible for promoting and propagating India’s cultural riches could consider what more they can do — possibly in terms of fresh inputs or exchanges with senior musicians — so that this gem shines with its own lustre, genuinely representing the forward-looking spirit of its founder. Time to move from living museum to a more vibrant entity?
