Vidushi Lalith J. Rao on gayaki, gharanas, and her legacy

Pt. Nityanand Haldipur, the disciple of Annapoorna Devi, a reclusive musician, and the head of The Annapoorna Devi Foundation, Mumbai, was in Bengaluru recently (November 29, 2024) to confer the Gurumaa Annapoorna Devi Award to Vidushi Lalith J. Rao, senior exponent of the Agra gharana. In its earlier editions, the award was conferred upon musicians such as Manik Bhide, Prabha Atre, N. Rajam and Asha Bhosle.

Vidushi Lalith J. Rao, honoured with the prestigious Gurumaa Annapurna Devi Award 2024, by Nityanand Haldipur, a senior disciple of the legendary Annapurna Devi, at her residence in Bengaluru on November 29, 2024.   
| Photo Credit:
MURALI KUMAR K

Owing to Lalithji’s inability to travel, the award ceremony was held at her home, to an audience of renowned musicians of Bengaluru, including Pt. Vinayak Torvi, Pt. Nagaraj Rao Havaldar, Pt. Ravindra Yavagal, Pt. Ravindra Katoti and Vidwan R.K. Padmanabha. It was a warm gathering of friends, disciples, well-wishers and family members, most of whom had immense regard for Lalithji’s music, her role as a Guru, her grace and warmth.

Schooled in the Agra-Atrauli Gharana, among the richest and prominent gharanas, Lalithji’s music is marked by a methodical exposition of the raga and meticulous presentation of the bandish, with the layakari aesthetic being intricate, complex and captivating. Even in her adherence to tradition, Lalithji’s music resonates with emotion, refraining from a dry display of virtuosity.

Trained as an engineer, Lalithji’s scientific temperament is evident in the research projects she has undertaken and her scholarly presentations on the Agra-Atrauli gharana — prominent among them is the archival project for the Ethnomusicology Department of the University of Washington in Seattle in 1993.

In a gharana that wears “mardani” on its sleeve, Lalithji had her training under the orthodox Pt. Rama Rao Naik. Her gurubandhus were M.R. Gautam, Lalitha Ubhaykar and Meera Savoor — making it a rather admired set of disciples. In her journey of nearly six decades with music, Lalithji learnt under Pt. Dinakar Kaikini and Ustad Khadim Hussain Khan. As she received the award with poise and prayer, she remembered her journey with gratitude and the people who had made it memorable.

Excerpts from an interview with Lalithji, who reflects on her music and musical persona:

You have had your training in Agra-Atrauli gayaki from three gurus, highly individualistic and original in their style and thinking. How was it to learn and unlearn from these three masters? How did you eventually shape your music?

All three gurus were from the Agra-Atrauli Gharana, which I think was a blessing because the basic rules of singing were the same despite their being individualistic in their own way. Pt. Ramarao Naik had the uncanny knack of teaching youngsters and making them confident of performing. He laid the foundation of my gayaki and singing style. I learnt instinctively, but he groomed me so well that I came first in the music competition for under 30s held by Sur Singar Sansad Bombay in 1957, when I was just 14. That gave me the opportunity to perform at the prestigious Swami Haridas Sangeet Sammelan, the same year, which featured stalwarts such as Kesarbai Kerkar and Rajabali Khan.

After a few years, when I was pursuing academics, Pt Dinkar Kaikini helped brush away the musical ‘cobwebs’ that had gathered. His approach was more structured and he introduced me to the Bhatkhande notation system and the need to analyse one’s music. Although his taleem (training) lasted only a year, I benefited greatly.

Ustad Khadim Hussain Khan’s teaching methods were more or less similar to that of Pt. Ramarao Naik. He told me that nobody could take away what I had learnt from my earlier gurus. He said there may be small differences in his teaching but that I should learn from him with an open mind. He said I should later reflect on it and decide how I wish to shape my music. Khansaheb’s knowledge was truly vast which he gave so freely and unhesitatingly, that I benefited tremendously from my 14-year taleem with this great Ustad.

The Agra Gharana is known to have a ‘masculine style’ and the voice of the men overshadows that of the women. Even though Ustad Faiyaz Khan saab publicly acknowledged the genius of Zohrabai. What was it to be a concert artiste amidst such expectations? In fact, the acclaimed musician Purnima Sen’s introduction, of the Agra gharana, hails her for her ‘masculine singing’.

Yes, the Agra Gharana has a reputation of being a ‘mardani’ gayaki and this is primarily because of the robust singing style of Ustad Faiyaz Khan who strode like a colossus in the musical firmament. However, the Agra-Atrauli Gharana is probably the most complete gayaki with 18 angs (aspects). It is up to the artistes to choose those angs that appeal to them and suit their personality and singing style. I may add that Pt. Ramarao Naik and the legendary Bombay triumvirate of Ustads Vilayat Hussain, Khadim Hussain and Anwar Hussain had many more women shagirds than men. To quote an outstanding instance, Ustad Khadim Hussian Khan’s early disciple Krishna Udyavarkar was performing in the AIR National programmes in the 1940s alongside stalwarts such as Ustad Faiyaz Khan while she was still a student pursuing her M.A. in English Literature. Maybe because of my open-throated style I may have been less popular, but I was fortunate enough to perform and be well appreciated in almost all the major Sangeet Sammelans all over India many times. Many music connoisseurs have congratulated me for what they call my unique singing style.

You have engaged yourself in archival work, unearthing gems of the Agra-Atrauli Gharana. Can you please explain what led you to it, and why you felt it was important? You even set up the Sajan Milap Foundation.

I was asked by the ITC Sangeet Research Academy to archive the compositions of the reigning masters of different Gharanas under a Ford Foundation project. I did it for three years starting in 1987/88. That gave me the opportunity to be exposed to musicians of different gharanas and their singing styles.

Ustad Yunus Hussain Khan (son of Ustad Vilayat Hussain Khan) had done a lot of work cataloguing my gharana’s compositions, which interested me greatly. I felt the need to trace their origins and preserve them because each of them added to the gharana’s treasury of compositions. My gharana is musically very rich and the Ustads have meticulously preserved and handed down the earlier musicians’ wide repertoire of delightful compositions. Many of them are so colourful and appealing that they have to be preserved for posterity.

The trigger to archive my gharana’s ragas and compositions was a request I received in 1993 from Ramesh Gangolli, the Adjunct Professor of Music (and Professor Emeritus of Mathematics) of the University of Washington, Seattle USA. He wanted me to record several hundred ragas and compositions of the Agra-Atrauli Gharana for the archives of their Ethnomusicology Department, which I did with much pleasure. Later, I got a request from the Rukvipa Trust of Ahmedabad to record the several ‘prakars’ of various families of ragas such as Malhars, Todis, Kalyans, Bilavals, Sarangs and Kanhadas, taught to me by my Ustad. This gave me the opportunity to think and analyse the various prakars and give explanations of each prakar while recording them. I have shared them with all my students who learn and preserve them for posterity.

Sajan Milap was created in 1978 by the students of Ustad Khadim Hussain Khan (whose nom de plume is Sajan Piya) and it was Sajan Milap which, among many other projects, first introduced the concept of Gharana Sammelans in 1979 in Bombay.

You have been recognised as a Guru of eminence. How do you see this role? Has it helped you become a better musician? It is only apt that you have been conferred the Gurumaa Annapurna Devi award, a musician who dedicated her life to teaching music.

I developed a major problem with my singing voice in 1994 when I was at the peak of my musical career. I decided to not perform in public, as I was not happy with what I could sing. This problem was partly solved by a British Opera voice teacher. However, my spiritual Guru Sadyojat Shankarashram Swamiji advised me to think about other avenues I could follow that would keep me active in the music field. That is when my husband Jayavanth suggested that I take to teaching seriously, so that I could impart the precious legacy handed down to me by my three gurus to talented disciples. I have been very fortunate to be blessed with very dedicated and talented shagirds who have become excellent performers in their own right.

I listened to different artistes singing the same raga, so that I could get their perspectives of it. I also listened to lecdems of various senior artistes and read books on musicology, so that I could analyse and understand the intricacies of different ragas. This would help me not only while teaching but also while answering various questions asked by my students during their taleem.

While teaching I had to think deeply and realise the importance of musicology, as I had to answer and explain the various questions asked by my students in the course of their taleem. Not that I knew all the answers to every question; but I encouraged them to think and we worked out their doubts and answers to their questions, together.

So despite my voice problem I feel very grateful for having had the opportunity of actively continue in the musical field, which is closest to my heart.