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The Mewati tradition of vocalists, known for its distinctive “kan gayaki” was founded by Ustad Ghagge nazir Khan, who was once a court-musician in the erstwhile princely states of Jodhpur and Bhopal. The tradition was passed on to Pandit Nathulal who handed it further to his nephews, Pandit Motiram and Pandit Jyotiram.

Pandit Jasraj, who presents the ragas Darbari and Kedara and a “bhajan’ in this Long Play disc, is a scion of the Mewati gharana.

Pandit Jasraj, who ranks among the most eminent vocalists from the younger set today, was born at Hissar in 1930. He naturally inherited his musical propensities from his father, Pandit Motiram. Bit it was Pandit Jasraj’s eldest brother, Pandit Maniram, who groomed him in the true “guru-shishya Parampara” and it was through Pandit Maniramji’s guidance that young Jasraj flowered into a perceptive performer of great promise at a very young age.

To this guru’s guidance, Pandit Jasraj has added prodigious “Riyaz”, wealth of talent and abundance of imagination. The result is such mastery of technique, such naturalness of manner and such suavity of presentation – indeed a combination so hard to come by!

Endowed with a sweet and mellow voice, Pandit Jasraj lavishes loving care on his unfoldment of melodies. His singing is marked by communicative “alap”, imaginative “bol-taan”, playful “sargam” and variety of sprightly, casoading “taan patterns. He is equally at east in the rendition of devotional music. The highlights of his ‘gayaki’ are the characteristic manner in which the ‘meend’ is taken from a lower to a higher note, setting the “bandish” with embellishments like “kan”, “meend”, and above all, a thoroughly engrossing presentation.

A regular broadcaster from various stations of All India Radio, Pandit Jasraj has also earned tremendous acclaim by his recitals at all important soirees held in the country from time to time.

The disc, the fourth in the series, provides the listeners, once again, the brilliant facets of Pandit Jasraj’s rare musicianship.

THE MUSIC

SIDE ONE:

RAGA DARBARI: This is one of the most celebrated midnight melodies in Hindustani music. Credited to the great Miyan Tansen, the raga is profound in its emotive content and has a unique dignity and grandeur of its own, it takes “Rishabh” and pancham” as the “vadi” and “samvadi” notes, respectively and uses “Gandhar”, “madhyam”, “dhaivat” and “nishad” in their “komal” variations.

The artiste startshis recital with a “vilambit” composition set to “ektaal”, (12 matra) followed by a self-composed “drut bandish”, also set to “ektaal”.

SIDE TWO:

RAGA KEDARA: Rendered in the first quarter of the night, this raga takes “madhyam” as its “vadi” and “shadaj”, “samvadi”. It omits “Rishabh” and “Gandhar” in “aroha”, while “Gandhar” is employed in a peculiar manner (“vakra”) in “avaroha”. The use of both “tivra” and “Shuddha” “madhyam” consecutively in “avaroha” is a special feature of this raga. Another charectiristic of the melody is the ascending “slur” from “shadaj” to “madhram”. The use of “komal nishad” in “avaroha” is also in vogure. Like Darbari, Kedara, too, depicts a mood of sublime dignity.

As on Side one, the artiste presents his melody first in “vilambit” set to “ektaal”, after which comes a beautiful “drut bandish” “tritaal” (16 “matras”), which is composed by his distinguished father, Pandit Motiram.

The bhajan that follows provides a fitting “finale” to the rich and varied fare heard earlier.