Saturday, August 24, 2013
PANDIT JASRAJ ( born
28 January 1930) is an Indian classical vocalist. He belongs to
the Mewati gharana ofHindustani classical music.
Jasraj was born in Hisar, Mewat region, Haryana in
an orthodox Brahmin family to Motiram, a classical singer. His
family performed the Mewati gharana style. Motiram died when Jasraj
was four, on the day he was to be appointed as the state musician in the court
of Osman Ali Khan.
Jasraj was initiated into vocal music by his father. He received
training from his elder brother, Maniram, and later from Maharaja Jaywant Singh
Waghela and Ustad Gulam Kadar Khan of Mewat Gharana. In addition, he trained
under Swami Vallabhdas of the Agra Gharana. In 1960, when Jasraj went to visit Bade
Ghulam Ali Khan in hospital, Khan asked him to become his disciple, but
Jasraj declined saying that he could not accept Khan's tutelage since he was
already Maniram's disciple.
As a means of livelihood, Maniram took Jasraj as an
accompanying tabla player. However, at the time, like sarangi players,
tabla players were considered minor artists. At the age of 14, unhappy with his
treatment as an accompanying artist, Jasraj left and vowed not to cut his hair
until he learned to sing. He finally cut his hair after garnering his first AIR
Radio performance, where he sang Raga Kaunsi Kanada (a combination
of Malkauns and Darbari Kanada).
Jasraj's vocal range extends three-and-a-half octaves and
uses precise diction, a trademark of the Mewati gharana's style
of khayal. He has also done extensive research in Haveli Sangeet under
Baba Shyam Manohar Goswami Maharaj to create numerous innovativebandish (composition).
Jasraj created a novel form of jugalbandi, styled on the
ancient system of Moorchana, between a male and a female vocalist,
who each sing different ragas at the same time. In his honor, this
legendary jugalbandi is known as The Jasrangi. This
name was coined by music connoisseurs in Pune.
Jasraj has many students, including Rattan Mohan Sharma, Sanjeev
Abhyankar, Ramesh Narayan, Suman Ghosh, Tripti Mukherjee,
Radharaman Kirtane, Girish Wazalwar, Chandrashekhar Swamy, Hemang Mehta, Pritam
Bhattacharjee, Gargi Siddhant and Kala Ramnath. Sadhana Sargam,
a Bollywood singer, Ankita Joshi, Prasad Dusane is one of his
disciples.
In memory of his father, Jasraj organises a musical festival every
year called the Pandit Motiram Pandit Maniram Sangeet Samaroh inHyderabad, India. It
ran for 36 years as of 2008. Jasraj participated at the Sawai Gandharva
Music Festival. He is also recognized as a master of the Bhairav family of
Raags, along with the legendary Raags Darbari Kanada, Miya ki Malhar,
and Jog. He is also known for presenting a wide variety of Rare Raags
including Gyankali, Abiri Todi, Dhanashree, Patdeepki, Purba, Bhavsakh,
Devsakh, Gunji Kanada and Charju Ki Malhar.
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