Anecdotal memoirs by Pt Jasraj himself - Page 4

Chennai, Aug 20:

Musicians Pandit Jasraj, T N Krishnan and K S Mahadevan at the felicitation programme organised for them in Chennai on Friday.

Three doyens of classical music were honoured in Chennai on Friday during 'A Salute to Great Legends', a programme jointly organised by Sri Jaya Ganesh Tala Vidyalaya, Narada Gana Sabha and Sri Krishna Sweets. The trio was Pandit Jasraj, T N Krishnan and K S Mahadevan. The programme began with a musical concert Prad-osham by Selvaganesh wherein he provided the audio effects of Lord Shiva's thandavam by using his adeptness on the ganjeera. Pandit Jasraj, T N Krishnan and K S Mahadevan, while thanking everyone for the honour bestowed on them, blessed young musicians who garlanded them.

The function ended with a bhajan by O S Arun and troupe.

Music bytes

Album: Malhar

Artiste: Pandit Jasraj

Available on: Times Music

The album is a part of a series and comprises rare live recordings of Pandit Jasraj to commemorate the 75th birthday. Malhar is the raga of the monsoon. The album presents a whole range of variations of raga Malhar each with its own distinct personality and character.

In 'Ramdasi Malhar' he renders 'Kar jor rahat Shri Radhe'- a traditional composition in vilambit teental and 'Sawan ke badara aaye' in drut teental.

He sings another traditional composition 'Barkha na bhaye' in madhya laya jhaptaal in Nanak ki Malhar. 'Chaturbhuj jhulat Shyam hidore' a traditional Vaishnav kirtan is rendered in Charju ki Malhar and in Gaudgiri Malhar he vocalises 'Murla bulai re' in drut teental.

The four malhars were performed at the Malhar ke Prakar festival at St Xavier's College in 1983. You can hear the Pandit Jasraj speaking to the audience, explaining and demonstrating the raga prakars. It is like attending a live concert.

Michael Patrao

p a n d i t j a s r a j Human speech is like a cracked kettle on which we tap crude rhythms for bears to dance to, while we long to make music that will melt the stars
Gustave Flaubert, Madame Bovary, 1857 If you were impressed with James Horner's Apollo 13 soundtrack, here's good news for you: His music in the highly acclaimed Braveheart is probably the nearest thing to symphonic perfection ever produced in the twentieth century. It is simply exquisite. And that's putting it mildly. The score includes such earthy Scottish ingredients as the uillean pipe, bodhran drum, whistle and kena. You might not have heard of them, but you'll definitely love them.

Beautiful and powerful, the soundtrack ranges from the soft and slow to the thunderous. It varies in mood and will, over eighty minutes, soothe you, excite you, break you.

Originally posted by: Qwest

Human speech is like a cracked kettle on which we tap crude rhythms for bears to dance to, while we long to make music that will melt the stars

How true 😊.

and that picture it has almost etched in my mind. a very common pose yu get to see when he is singing. its like he simply forget whatever is happening around him and go on and on.. i hve been really fortunate to hve listened to him many times live. he is really fabulous.

The contemporary doyen of North Indian vocals, Sangeet Martand PANDIT JASRAJ needs little Introduction. In honor of the glory of this unparalleled living legend, awards and titles have not only been created and bestowed upon him but have also been instituted in his name, thus these awards gaining more in prestige and value on account of being associated with his name. So much so that even a foreign university like the University of Toronto has instituted a scholarship in his name for young canadians wishing to train in music. Also the first DISTINGUISHED VISIOR AWARD was created specially in honor of Panditji by the same university in 1999 for the first time since its inception 200 years ago. A ROLLING TROPHY instituted by the Rotary club of Bombay (Shivaji Park), an AWARD by the public of Pune, an AUDITORIUM in Newyork, all in his name stand testimony to his greatness. These are unprecedented events in the history of classical music, there being no other living musician in this genre whose name has been immortalised in his lifetime.

Born in a family that has given to Indian classical music four generations of outstanding musicians, the Mewati maestro had his initial grooming in music under his father, late PANDIT MOTIRAMJI. He then underwent intensive tutelage under his elder brother and guru, the late SANGEET MAHAMAHOPADHYAYA PANDIT MANIRAMJI.

Endowed with a rich, soulful and sonorous voice which traverses effortlessly over all three and a half octaves, Panditji's vocalising is characterised by a harmonius blend of classic and opulent elements, projecting traditional music as an intense spiritual expression, at once chaste and densely coloured. This gives his music a very sublime emotional quality, touching the soul of the listener. He has been guided in this by his spiritual guru, late MAHARANA JAIWANT SINGHJI of ANAND, another doyen of the Mewati gharana.

Perfect diction, clarity in sur and extreme tunefulness, command in all aspects of laya, choice of composition and interplay of the notes with the words to evoke the desired mood and feeling are other highlights of this RASRAJ PANDIT JASRAJ's music. This sensitivity together with the pure classical approach has given his singing a lyrical quality, which is the quintessence of the Mewati style of singing.

on the sets of Utsav - TV serial

"Three Brothers" at Calcutta 1957.
(left to right) Pandit Pratapnarayan,
Pandit Maniram, Pandit Jasraj

Panditji(center) with his brothers-in-law

Panditji's Wedding

Originally posted by: Barnali

"On 4th December I was to perform at Rishi Valley on the invitation of the great philosopher and teacher Shri J. Krishnamoorti. At the very outset I was warned not to take offence if my host does not remain at the concert after an hour. I was also told in no uncertain terms that he does not like anyone to touch his feet.

I sang for forty-five minutes and was mentally prepared that Shri Krishnamoorti would soon rise to leave. Instead he sat on and listened. Another forty-five minutes later he took leave. After interval and I continued as before, singing for the rest of the audience. Appa Jalgaonkar, who was accompanying me on the harmonium, seemed uncomfortable as he kept shuffling. Being a big built man I thought he needed more space and so I moved more to my right trying to make room for him. I soon realised he was really trying to draw my attention towards a pillar where he had seen Shri Krishnamoorti standing and listening. Then I noticed that Shri Krishnamoorti had almost sat down by the pillar. I kept on singing while he slowly returned to his original seat. When I was about to wrap up the concert he requested me to sing more. "Sing something in Sanskrit" he said. And so I did. Thus, what was supposed to have lasted for an odd hour turned out to be a marathon four-hour concert for the great man himself. At the end of it, when I went to touch his feet he hugged me and said, "Your place is here" indicating his heart and said, " I wish we had met earlier."

Loved this incident....

Thanks Barnalidi, Bobda and Kantaji... Great articles must say.....