Five hundred years ago, in the 16th century, two legendary singers Tansen and Baiju Bawra sang at a recital in Agra. When Tansen began to sing raga todi, a herd of deer came rushing into the audience only to create visual imagery for every raga. Since then, it is said that the raga is performed right if that connects to these creatures. A similar moment was created in Varanasi in 1996 when musical maestro Pandit Jasraj witnessed a deer run past the audience and stopped next to the stage where he was performing the same raga todi. Although centuries apart, these similar incidents signalled a belief in Hindustani classical music.
Sangeet Martand Pandit Jasraj, as he is known in his illustrious career stretched over seven decades, is one such vocalist whose performance transports you to a world of divinity - one where God exists. The fifth generation classical vocalist of the Mewati gharana, Pandit Jasraj is known for the heightened level of devotion and melodious voice with magnificent range. The maestro has lived musically inclined 90 years of his healthy life. “We are talking today, which means my life has been great and if it wouldn’t have been such a beautiful voyage, I would not have been pertinent today,” says Pandit Jasraj, who feels that he is enormously blessed to be gifted with the skill to appreciate, croon and create music.
A recipient of Padma Bhushan (1990) and Padma Vibhushan (2000), Panditji still believes that the real award is when the audience is pleased. “An artist who is born with a skill lives with the talent and perishes with it. One cannot add a tenure thing in an artist’s life. As an artist, you are always self-employed,” says the music maestro and adds that the sole aim of the artist is to bond with the audience. “For a performer, the audience is their god. If the god is pleased, the purpose is served,” he says. However, the vocalist does agree that the hardest part of an artist’s life is the primary phase as there is no acknowledgement. “The hardest part is that you have no acknowledgement at the primary phase but with time, the best thing happens,” agrees the musician and adds that with all the enhancing and nurturing, the artist becomes distinct.
Surprisingly, even after the decades of experience, the vocalist believes that he can’t teach anything to anyone. He also dismisses the idea of educating the audience to appreciate music. “When it comes to teaching, I can’t teach anyone as I don’t know anything and there is no need to educate the audience to appreciate the music because that comes from within,” explains the musician.
Apart from singing, the maestro is a cricket fanatic and shares that he would have been a cricketer if not a vocalist. With the millennial inclining towards Bollywood and Hollywood music, one might observe less number of youngsters attending classical music events. However, this is not the case with Pandit Jasraj. For him, the younger generation responds beautifully. “They, in fact, want to know more about it. They want to understand the real kernel of classical composition. I know people who have travelled places just to attend a classical music concert,” he informs.
For the veteran vocalist who has enthralled many generations with his magnificent voice and has never failed to draw his audiences emotionally, it is difficult to pick a few specific passages which he can call his personal favourites. “There are so many passages and compositions that help me reach the divinity,” confesses the singer.
In addition to his performing schedule, frequent talks, master classes and seminars, the maestro does take out some time to spend with students at his music school. “In my leisure, I like to spend time with my students, learn from them and understand their thought behind classical music,” smiles the singer. Ask about his future plans and the humble artist would say that he hasn’t done anything yet and is still learning with every moment. “I leave things onto the god for future but as of now I know that I have a lot to learn,” he concludes.
