Source: This tribute to Bade Ghulam Ali Khan saheb
appeared in the Illustrated Weekly of India, shortly after his passing away
________________________________________
Smt Susheela Mishra's Article on Ustaad Bade Ghulam
Ali Khan
"Hari Om Tatsat..."
Susheela Misra
The man who lived, moved and had his being in music
has merged into Nadabrahma! Whether it was a khayal with a courtly theme, a
thumri with wistfully romantic word content or a bhajan with highly devotional
words, Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan could always put his heart and soul into the
song. Among his many contributions to Hindustani Music, the outstanding one is
that he opened the eyes of contemporary musicians and music lovers to the prime
importance of voice culture and voice modulation, and the supreme value of
emotion in music.
We have quite a large number of musicians who can sing
perfectly correctly and perhaps impress the listener's intellect; but few could
touch the listener's heart as Bade Ghulam Ali Khan could. And no other
classical vocalist has earned such countrywide adulation from musicians, music
lovers and critics. The remarkable pliability of his voice, the unpredictable
swara combinations, the incredible speed of his taans and the ease with which
he could sway his audiences by his emotional renderings -- these are qualities
which have been envied by many a rival.
By his varied and richly expressive style, he has
silenced the detractors of classical music who argue that it cannot appeal
because it is "dry and flat". For the rare perfection and popularity
that he brought to the Punjab ang he has been rightly called "The King of
Light Classical Music".
As I sit and recall the numerous Bade Ghulam Ali
recitals that I attended, I find that there was not a single rasa he could not
bring to life through his music. What passion cannot music raise and quell!
When he would sing "Kali ghata ghir ayee sajani", the audience could
almost hear the rumbling of thunder, see the flashes of lightning and share the
agony of the separated one. He would put his heart and soul into the rendering
of a highly devotional khayal like "Mahadev Maheshwar" or his
favourite bhajan "Hari Om Tatsat". In his thumri, "Naina more
taras rahe", Bade Ghulam Ali would portray the entire longing of the eyes
to behold the beloved, while he could bring out all the playfuly romantic,
half-exquisite complaint of the Gopi whom Krishna was teasing.
Among classical musicians, Bade Ghulam Ali was truly
the king of emotions and thumris. He often used to say: "Many people have
the idea that classical music has no powers of expression. This is because
generally our musicians are more interested in technical virtuosity. But
emotion is the very soul of our music. In fact our music has the power to
express the subtlest nuances of feeling." Bade Ghulam Ali has proved this
point by his own style, which is an excellent blend of impressive tehchnical
mastery and appealing emotional expression. "From the heart of the singer
to the hearts of listeners!" is true in the case of his music.
Born in Lahore in 1901 as the son of Khan Saheb Ali
Bux, Ghulam Ali's musical gifts were evident at an incredibly early age.
Reminiscing over his childhood, he said: "I do not know at what age I
began to master the twelve notes. This much I can say: that, at the age of
three or four when I started talking, I had some ideas of the twelve notes! I
learnt sargams as a child learns his mother tongue."
Recognising the musical potentialities of the child,
Ali Bux put him, at the age of seven, under the tutelage of Khan Saheb Kale
Khan of Patiala for the next ten years. After the Khan Saheb's death, Ghulam
Ali continued his training under his own father.
What fired him with a feeling of challenge was a small
incident. When Kale Khan died, a certain musician made a caustic remark that
music was dead with Kale Khan. This put young Ghulam Ali on his mettle. In his
own words: "For the next five years, music became my sole passion. I
practised hard, day and night, even at the cost of sleep. All my joys and
sorrows were centred on music."
Ghulam Ali was gifted with all the attributes of a
great musician: musical lineage, intelligence, sound training and high artistic
sensibility. "To me the purity of the note is the supreme thing," he
used to say. Ghulam Ali also had the privilege of receiving talim from Ashiq
Ali (who belonged to the gharana of Tanras Khan), and from the late Baba Sindhi
Khan. Some people detected shades of Ustad Wahid Khan's charming style in his
khayal alap.
It is true that Bade Ghulam Ali belonged to a long and
illustrious musical lineage. But it was his genius that chiselled off all the
harsh crudities and angularites of the once dry Patiala Gharana and lent it
such a rare polish and glow that today it has achieved countrywide popularity.
Bade Ghulam Ali Khan has left behind not only hundreds of singers trying to
emulate him but also thousands and thousands of music lovers who cherish his
music. No other North Indian vocalist ever attracted such large audiences in
the South as did Bade Ghulam Ali Khan.
Bade Ghulam Ali never tried to win the approbation of
those classical purists who judge the excellence of a performance by the length
of delineation of each raga. His aim was to appeal to the hearts of the
millions who heard him. He would say: "What is the use of stretching each
raga for hours ? There are bound to be repetitions."
A true artist, Bade Ghulam Ali was not interested in
political and religious differences. He knew of only two categories of
humanity: music lovers and the uninterested ones. "I know only one thing:
Music! I am little interested in other things. I am just a humble devotee of
God and Music."
At his abode, wherever he used to stay -- Bombay,
Delhi, Calcutta or Hyderabad -- he was surrounded by his admirers all the time
and the swarmandal was always with him. Every few minutes, he would break into
song -- to illustrate a point he was making. A firm believer in the debt that
classical music owes to folk airs, he could, with amazing dexterity,
demonstrate the simple folk lilts like a real villager, and then suddenly sing
out its fully polished classical counterpart in a scintillating manner. No
wonder his admirers were always crowding around him throughout his waking
hours.
During his last stay in Bombay (prior to his departure
to Hyderabad and his last fatal attack), a young admirer from the South had a
few hours' halt in Bombay, before taking a plane to Calcutta. It was 11 p.m.
when he reached Bade Ghulam Ali Khan's place. Yet, with joy, the Ustad showed
his hospitality, not by serving tea and sweets but by something more precious.
"Bring my swarmandal!" he said to his son Munnawar. "Let me sing
awhile for my guest." As the young admirer said: "Can you beat this
great artiste's humility and his utter absorption in music ?"
Bade Ghulam Ali Khan was not only everyone's favourite
but a musicians' musician. Leading artistes of the country have paid homage to
this great musician. Begum Akhtar says in her tribute: "I have never seen
such a rare combination of greatness and simplicity. When I first heard him, I
felt that I was hearing real music for the first time. He was my honoured guest
for several months in Calcutta. He used to sing all day long: in fact, music
was his sole interest in life. In sorrow he would draw solace from music; in
joy also he would burst into song. What a rare musician!"
Under his pen name, "Sabrang", he has left
numerous lilting compositions -- khayals and thumris. "Sabrang" had
only one passion in life : Music. Today the great singer has merged into
Nadabrahma -- eternal bliss through music. His favourite bhajan ever was and
will be: "Hari Om Tatsat".
[Posted by Ajay
on
http://www.indianmelody.com/badearticle2.htm]
