Jasraj

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Pandit Jasraj
Pandit Jasraj
Pandit Jasraj Performing at Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya, Bhopal in Poonam-35 Program (2015)


Occupation
Singer, music teacher, tabla player



Pandit Jasraj (28 January 1930[1]  – 17 August 2020[2]) was an Indian classical vocalist, belonging to the Mewati gharana (musical apprenticeship lineage).[3] His musical career spanned 75 years resulting in national and international fame, respect and numerous major awards and accolades. His legacy includes memorable performances of classical and semi-classical vocal music, classical and devotional music, albums and film soundtracks, innovations in various genres including Haveli Sangeeth and popularizing the Mewati Gharana - a school of thought in Hindustani classical music. Pandit Jasraj taught music to amateur and professional students in India, Europe, Canada and the United States.

Early life

Jasraj was born on 28 January 1930[1] in Pili Mandori, a village in the then Hisar district (now in Fatehabad district) of Haryana,Template:Refn in a middle-class Brahmin family to Pandit Motiram, a classical singer and Krishna Bai.[4][5] He was the youngest of three sons, in a family of classical singers. Motiram died in 1934 when Jasraj was four, on the day he was to be appointed as the state musician in the court of Mir Osman Ali Khan.[6][7][8] His eldest brother was vocalist Pandit Maniram, who instructed Jasraj after the death of their father. Jasraj's elder brother, Pandit Pratap Narayan, was also an accomplished musician and was the father of music composer duo Jatin–Lalit, singer-actress Sulakshana Pandit and actress Vijeta Pandit. Pandit Pratap Narayan taught Jasraj to play tabla starting at age 7, but Jasraj decided that he wanted to only sing by 14.[9][10]

Jasraj spent his youth in Hyderabad, and travelled often to Sanand in Gujarat to study music with musicians of the Mewati gharana.[11][12] Jasraj performed for Maharaj Jaywant Singh Waghela, the Thakur Sahib of Sanand, who was deeply dedicated to classical music,[13] and received training from him.[13][14]

In 1946, Jasraj moved to Calcutta, where he began singing classical music for radio.[12]

Personal life

File:Pandit Jasraj with his wife Madhura.jpg
Jasraj with his wife Madhura on the stage of Satsang Bhawan in Govind Dev Ji Temple, Jaipur (2011).

In 1962, Jasraj married Madhura Shantaram, the daughter of film director V. Shantaram, whom he had first met in 1960 in Bombay.[15] They initially lived in Calcutta, moving to Bombay in 1963.[16] They had two children, a son, Shaarang Dev Pandit, a daughter, Durga Jasraj, and three grandchildren.[10]

Madhura made a film, Sangeet Martand Pandit Jasraj in 2009[17] and directed her first Marathi film, Aai Tuza Ashirwad, in 2010, in which her husband and Lata Mangeshkar sang in Marathi.[18][19]

Career

File:Pandit Jasraj at Bhopal 2015-1.JPG
Jasraj at the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya Poonam-35, Bhopal, in 2015

Training

Jasraj was initiated into vocal music by his father, and later trained as a tabla accompanist under his elder brother, Pandit Pratap Narayan.[20] He would frequently accompany Maniram in his solo vocal performances.[4] He credits the vocalist, Begum Akhtar, as inspiring him to take up classical music.[15]

Jasraj began training as a vocalist at the age of 14, after renouncing tabla in reaction to how accompanists were treated at the time .[21][22] He would practice singing close to 14 hours a day. In 1952 when he was 22 he performed his first stage concert as a vocalist in the court of King Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah of Nepal in Kathmandu.[4][23][24] Before becoming a stage performer, Jasraj worked as a performing artist on radio for several years.[1]

He initially trained as a classical vocalist with Pandit Maniram, and later with Jaiwant Singh Waghela, a vocalist and beenkar,[12].

Technique and style

File:Padma Vibhushan Pt. Jasraj at Bhubaneswar.jpg
Jasraj in a concert at Bhubaneswar

Classical music

Although Jasraj belonged to the Mewati gharana, a school of music known for its traditional performances of Template:Lang, Jasraj had sung khayals with some flexibility, adding elements of lighter styles, including the Template:Lang.[1] During the initial stages of his career, he was criticised for incorporating elements from other schools of music, or Template:Lang, into his singing.[1] Musicologist S. Kalidas has noted, however, that this borrowing of elements across gharanas has now become more commonly accepted.[1]

Jasraj created a novel form of Template:Lang called Jasrangi that is styled on the ancient system of Template:Lang, between a male and a female vocalist, who each sing different ragas at the same time.[4][6] He was also known for presenting a variety of rare ragas including Abiri Todi and Patdeepaki.[25]

In addition to performing classical music, Jasraj had worked to popularise innovations in semi-classical musical styles, such as Haveli Sangeet, which involves semi-classical performances in temples.[26] He had also sung classical and semi-classical compositions for film soundtracks, such as the song, 'Vandana Karo', composed in the raga Ahir Bhairav by the composer Vasant Desai, for the film Ladki Sahyadri Ki (1966),[26] a duet with vocalist Bhimsen Joshi for the soundtrack of the film Birbal My Brother (1975),[27] and a ballad, Vaada Tumse Hai Vaada for a horror film titled 1920 (2008) directed by Vikram Bhatt.[26]

In memory of his father, Jasraj organised an annual musical festival called the Pandit Motiram Pandit Maniram Sangeet Samaroh in Hyderabad.[6][7] The festival has been held annually since 1972.[12]

File:Pandit Jasraj Concert in New Delhi by Navrasa Duende.jpg
Pandit Jasraj Concert in New Delhi by Navrasa Duende

On 28 January 2017, the production house Navrasa Duende celebrated Jasraj's 87th birthday and 80 years of his service to music with a classical music concert titled My Journey, an Intimate Evening with Pandit Jasraj at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi. He received a standing ovation.[28]

Teaching

Template:See also Template:See also Jasraj tutored several students who have gone on to perform as classical musicians, including Saptarshi Chakraborty,[9] Sanjeev Abhyankar,[29][23] violinist Kala Ramnath,[30][23] Sandeep Ranade,[31][32] shehnai player Lokesh Anand,[33] Tripti Mukherjee,[34] Suman Ghosh,[22] flautist Shashank Subramanyam,[35][23] Anuradha Paudwal,[9] Sadhana Sargam,[22] and Ramesh Narayan.[36][34]

He was also the founder of schools for Indian classical music in Atlanta, Tampa, Vancouver, Toronto, New York, New Jersey, Pittsburgh, Mumbai, and Kerala. Jasraj would spend six months of each year in the United States and Canada at either his home in New Jersey, teaching, or touring.[10][37][38] At age 90, he was teaching some of his international students through Skype.[39][11][40]

Death

Pandit Jasraj remained in the US when the country entered its COVID-19 lockdown.[41] He died at his home in New Jersey on 17 August 2020 at 5:15 am EST, due to cardiac arrest.[42][43] His body was later repatriated on an Air India flight to Mumbai[44] where it was cremated with state honours and 21-gun salute at Pawan Hans Crematorium in Vile Parle.[45][46] The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi said that his death "leaves a deep void in the Indian cultural sphere. Not only were his renditions outstanding, he also made a mark as an exceptional mentor to several other vocalists."[47]

Awards and honours

Template:Columns-list

Discography

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Performances in film soundtracks

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Pandit Jasraj looks back at a long, musical life on his 85th birthday. The Indian Express(25 January 2015). Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  2. ↑ Pandit Jasraj, 90, passes away in New Jersey; Modi mourns 'exceptional mentor'. The Economic Times(17 August 2020). Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  3. ↑ Pandit Jasraj casts magic spell. The Indian Express(15 December 2008). Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Pandit Jasraj on his life-long love for music. Hindustan Times(31 March 2017). Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  5. ↑ Template:Cite interview
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 A custom of culture. The Hindu(1 December 2004).
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 The Nocturnal Court: The Life of a Prince of Hyderabad{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Oxford University Press(2004). ISBN 978-0195666052
  8. ↑ Template:Cite interview
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Pt Jasraj's 90-year musical journey, Pawar, Yogesh. DNA India(15 March 2019). Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Pandit Jasraj, Master Indian Vocalist, Is Dead at 90. The New York Times(2020-08-25). Retrieved 2020-08-27.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Template:Cite interview
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 Pandit Jasraj takes a trip down the memory lane to relive his idyllic childhood spent in Hyderabad. The Times of India(28 January 2015). Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Template:Cite interview
  14. ↑ Pandit Jasraj: 'Music is what can take you to heaven'. gulfnews.com(10 September 2015). Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Template:Cite interview
  16. ↑ Template:Cite interview
  17. ↑ Madhura Jasraj recounts life with the Maestro. Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India)(26 November 2009).
  18. ↑ Age no bar. The Indian Express(10 September 2010).
  19. ↑ V Shantaram's daughter turns director. Hindustan Times(26 October 2010). Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  20. ↑ Template:Cite interview
  21. ↑ Template:Cite interview
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 Indian Music Masters of Our Times- Part 1{{#if:Thakur|, Thakur}. Pradeem Thakur & Sons(12 September 2010). ISBN 9788190870566
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 23.3 Template:Cite interview
  24. ↑ Template:Cite interview
  25. ↑ Unforgettable. The Indian Express(10 February 2012). Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 26.3 26.4 26.5 Cinema classical: Singing for the gods, Pandit Jasraj took time out to enthral mortals, Gaekwad, Manish. Scroll.in(31 March 2017). Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 Looking back… musically. The Hindu(24 February 2011). Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  28. ↑ Template:Cite press release
  29. ↑ Sanjeev Abhyankar. Ragamala. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  30. ↑ Bio | Kala Ramnath | The Singing Violin of Indian Classical Music. kalaramnath.com. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  31. ↑ NaadSadhana: A Tabla-Swarmandal AI/ML jugalbandi app for classical singers, trainees(16 May 2019).
  32. ↑ Coronavirus | Na Corona Karo song goes viral on social media. The Hindu(2 April 2020).
  33. ↑ Lokesh Anand. Dainik Bhaskar. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 His music knows no age. The Hindu(17 January 2016). Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  35. ↑ Template:Cite interview
  36. ↑ Ramesh Narayan: My biggest achievement is not any award or accolade, but Pandit Jasraj's discipleship – Times of India. The Times of India. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  37. ↑ Sangeetayan Promotes Indian Classical Music In Atlanta. WABE 90.1(27 July 2017).
  38. ↑ Pandit Jasraj Looks to Enlighten Americans on Indian Music. Khaas Baat({Template:Date).
  39. ↑ Template:Cite interview
  40. ↑ Template:Cite interview
  41. ↑ Legendary classical vocalist Pandij Jasraj dies at 90. Press Trust of India(17 August 2020).
  42. ↑ Pandit Jasraj passes away at 90. The Indian Express(2020-08-17). Retrieved 2020-08-17.
  43. ↑ Music legend Pandit Jasraj, recipient of Padma Vibhushan award, passes away at the age of 90. www.timesnownews.com(17 August 2020). Retrieved 2020-08-17.
  44. ↑ Pt Jasraj's mortal remains reach Mumbai, state funeral on Thursday. www.daijiworld.com. Retrieved 2020-08-21.
  45. ↑ Legendary Vocalist Pandit Jasraj Cremated With State Honours. Anup Jalota, Kailash Kher And Others Attend Funeral. NDTV(August 20, 2020). Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  46. ↑ Pandit Jasraj funeral: Legendary vocalist gets state funeral in Mumbai, Sanjay Leela Bhansali pays tribute. Hindustan Times(August 20, 2020). Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  47. ↑ Template:Cite tweet

References

Discography references

Further reading

Template:Padma Shri Award Recipients in Art Template:Padma Vibhushan Awards Template:PadmaBhushanAwardRecipients 1990–99 Template:SangeetNatakAkademiFellowship Template:Authority control
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