REPORTS

Making Music - Celebrating classical music

Asheesh Mamgain

Hindustan Times
June 2011

A workshop on Hindustani classical morning raagas was held at India Habitat Centre. The joys and intricacies of classical music unfolded recently at the India Habitat Centre, when an eminent Hindustani classical vocalist came together with small but enthusiastic bunch of listeners. It was a work shop on Hindustani classical music where vocalist Shubra Guhs delved on the enchanting aspect of morning ragas in Hindustani classical music. The workshop turned out to be a celebration of classical music with bandish in Khayal being rendered by Guha based on raags such as Lalit.

Jaunpuri, Ahir Bhairav, Bhairav,Deshkarand Miyan ki todi amongl others.

Besides khayal, other forms of rendering classical music, such as dhamar, thumri, kajri (inspired by rains), tappa and tarana were also introduced.

Going by the mood set by the onset of the monsoon, the workshop broke its boundaries of morning raags as Guha introduced the participants to monsoon raags such as Miyan ki Todi. The participants at this workshop were a variegated mix of individuals. That the desire to learn the intricacies of classical music goes beyond generations was exemplified by the mother-daughter duo of Madhu and Labonie Roy from Gurgaon. “It was a very illuminating workshop. I never knew there was so much to know about classical music, “said Labonie. Her mother also found it good. “Attending a workshop with my teenaged daughter was a new experience. It was nice to see that we have a common meeting ground in classical music despite the generation gap,” she said.

Also there were young musicians who wanted to broaden their horizons in music such as Vivek Arora from Rajendra Nagar, Says he, “This was a great opportunity to hear and learn from very close quarters, a wonderful artist such as Shubhraji who has dedicated her entire life to mastering classical music.”

Some participants just wanted to be more informed listeners of classical music. Says Madhula Bhargav from Saket, “I think it is too late for me to learn to sing classical music but this workshop gives me an opportunity to appreciate such music better. I think I learnt a lot in two days, more than I could have learnt from reading about it”.

“This workshop aims to demystify the Indian classical music to enable the participants to appreciate the relevance of raga, tala, musical terms and terminology and more in this day and age. It caters primarily to those who have an ear for music and who want expand their horizons in listening to Indian classical music and its appreciation,” says Chandrima Majumdar, coordinator for the workshop.