Paying homage in classical ethos

Classical music programmes are so few that it is unfortunate when they clash because of the date and timing, and the listeners are forced to make this agonising decision as to where to go. Such a situation arose when the Barsi of Ustad Sadiq Ali Mando was held at the Alhamra last week while the All Pakistan Music Conference was going on at the same time. The only saving grace was that both the programmes were held in the same premises and one could run from one hall to the next. Still much was missed in the process.

One wonders if the changing tastes rocking the world of music will alter the complexion of barsis dramatically, making them irrelevant or no longer considered fit occasions to arrange a congregation of musicians. Since these occasions are a meeting point of the traditional musician, the new fangled varieties and those in the middle desperately wanting to maintain a balance, it is a good barometer of the change sweeping the musical landscape.

Till now the barsis have usually been of ustads of kheyal and dhrupad who made great contribution to music, mostly on its practical side. The occasions are a mixture of solemnity, veneration and studied rejuvenation as the memory of the ustad is seen as a source of inspiration by the succeeding generations of practicing musicians. Of late, some barsis have been held of film music composers and film vocalists but their numbers has not been commensurate with the number of good vocalists and composers that have adorned the musical firmament of our cine world.

The seventeenth barsi of Ustad Sadiq Ali Mando, one of the leading players of the clarinet, with a full session of music was a traditional affair paying homage and respect in a tone steeped in the ethos of classical music. He was a very good clarinet player who approached music within the framework of a definite method. He was educated in music by Mubarak Ali Khan and Fateh Ali Khan.

The programme was a mixture of classical music forms and those that fall under the label of more popular ones like ghazal. Abdul Latif Khan gave a good account of himself on the sitar. From the family of Ustad Sharif Khan, Abdul Latif Khan, like other classical instrumentalists, has had a difficult run as a sitar player. Often he has been requested to play film and folk tunes on his sitar while he takes great pride in being a proper player expected to play the raag through all its parts like alaap, gat, jhor and jhala.

With only an occasional concert, he has had to rely on imparting music instructions to his pupils. It provides some financial security but, in the end, the ustad knows that these shagirds being amateur or part-time musicians will not take it up as a profession and further the playing of the instrument with their own flair into the next generation. Most of the shagirds are women and their lives take a totally different turn once they get married. There was a good solo tabla performance by Shahid Ali Khan.

Among the ghazal exponents, the best performances were by the well-known Ghulam Abbas and not that well-known Ejaz Qaiser. A very good ghazal vocalist, Ejaz Qaiser has not gained popular recognition but he is admired in the inner circle of connoisseurs. He has all the virtues that a ghazal singer should have, because he has been properly educated in the music in its most formal sense.

Ghulam Abbas obviously has to confront the awkward situation when he is requested to sing the ghazals of his ustad Mehdi Hasan. He ends up by presenting a bouquet of his own and his ustad’s ghazals.

Ali Raza is another good ghazal singer who gave a controlled rendition. The others who performed were Kaleem Akhter, Fayyaz Ali Khan, Saleem Bazmi, Jimmy Khan, Ismail Khan, Zafar Ali Qadri. Faqir Hussain Khan on the sarangi and Ghulam Sabir on the tanpura also gave their music input.

In the Punjab, Ustads Shahjahan, Jahangir and Aurangzeb were also great clarinet players. They had formed a band and since clarinet was an essential instrument of a band they started to play raags on them instead of western compositions. Master Sohni was also a leading exponent of the instrument and leader of a band.

This barsi in particular is more than a routine affair because the son of Ustad Sadiq Ali, Mando Ghulam Haider, a scholar of music besides being a practicing musician is fully cognisant of the need to keep such institutions going. Many decades ago, he had established the Pakistan Classical Music Guild meant to offer a platform both for the established ustads and the aspiring young musicians. All through, since its inception, it has been holding programmes, though it may be conceded without consistency.