Ustad
Sabri Khan: The epithet of "saurangi" is
perfect for the sarangi. It has a hundred colours
and probably many more. It is capable of playing any
style of music - from dhrupad, khayal, tarana, thumri,
dadra, tappa, kajri, chaiti to folk song, ghazal,
geet, bhajan etc.
It
is an ancient instrument dating back to the 13th century.
It finds mention in all the major historical and musical
texts such as the Sangeet Ratnakar, Sangeet Parijat,
Ain-i-Akbari etc. According to Indian musicological
tradition, the sarangi comes under the generic
name veena indicating the entire complex of stringed
instruments. There exist many kinds of sarangi - for
example, sindhi sarangi and jogiya sarangi
which are different in structure and in terms of the
number of strings they have.
There
is an interesting story about the development of the
sarangi. It is said that once Hakim Jali Noos
was passing through a jungle and he saw the decaying
corpse of a monkey with all its intestines dried out.
He plucked them and a sound was emanated and he thought
of using these intestines as strings. So, even today,
the strings of the sarangi are made out of the
intestines of goat.
The
present-day sarangi is constituted in reflection
of the human body with a head, face, chest and stomach.
This also suits its status of being hailed as the one
instrument which is closest to the human voice!
It
has a total of anywhere around 35-40 strings with 3
main playing strings and the others being sympathetic
strings. It can be said that the sarangi is a
complete instrument.
IZ:
Please enlighten us as far as the solo and accompaniment
status of the sarangi is concerned.
Ust.
SK: The sarangi has always had a dual status
of being both a solo instrument as well as an accompanying
one. It used to be played solo in the earlier times
as well contrary to what some people might say. It is
only because of its proximity to the human voice that
it started being primarily used as an accompanying instrument
with all styles of singing.
Sabri Khan and Krishnarao Shankar Pandit
Let
me tell you something about the art of accompaniment.
It is much more difficult than solo sarangi playing.
It is an art which comes slowly and with experience.
If you choose to be only a soloist, mastery over even
20 raags will be enough for your entire career but if
you are an accompanist, even 1000 raags will fall short
of expectations. The interpretations of raags,
the employment of different taals etc. become
decisive factors over which the accompanist has no control.
Thus, good accompaniment is a difficult skill to master
and only a very few people can play with a wide diversity
of styles of singing.
IZ:
The sarangi is a fast dying instrument. What is the
reason for its decline?
Ust.
SK: The sarangi is a difficult instrument. That
is one reason why not many youngsters are taking it
up. The other major reason is related to remuneration
given to accompanying artists. It is really sad that
the accompanying artists are paid 1/3rd or even 1/4th
of what the main artist gets whereas he puts in the
same amount of hard work and has to concentrate hard
to follow the particular style of the main artist. This
is the reason why many famous sarangiyas trained
their sons to be either vocalists or advised them to
play other mainstream instruments such as the sitar
or the sarod.
Another
reason is the fact that good teachers of sarangi
are dwindling. Some of the best sarangiyas died
unnoticed and no one realized the treasure-house of
musical knowledge they possessed. Others chose not to
spread their knowledge too far and wide and kept it
with themselves. I am against this attitude. I feel
that music is to be shared and given to as many people
as possible so that it lives on and continues to spread
regardless of any boundaries. It is because of the few
people who did give generously that it has come to us
and it is our duty to give to others so that it continues
to grow from one generation to the next and so on.
IZ:
Tell us about the Moradabad Gharana of which you are
an exponent.
Ust. SK: You should keep in mind that after three generations,
a family of musicians is fit to be called a Gharana.
For example, if your grandfather and father have been
musicians and you are also one, you can stake a claim
to be a Gharana.
 |
Moradabad
has been the place of great musicians for many
generations. The four brothers and Ustads Chhajju
Khan, Nazeer Khan, Shuja Ali Khan and Mubarak
Ali Khan were born there. They later shifted to
Mumbai and their disciples named their Gharana
the Bhendi Bazaar Gharana after the place the
4 brothers used to live. In tabla, Moradabad
has been especially blessed. Legendary tabla players
such as Ustad Masit Khan and his son Ustad Keramatullah
Khan and the great Ustad Ahmedjan Thirakwa were
born in Moradabad. Had these greats taken the
name of Moradabad, the city would have a place
in the cultural map of the country. But, sadly,
they did not do so.
Sabri
Khan |
I
wanted to make sure that Moradabad comes to the forefront
as far as the world of Indian classical music is concerned
and so I always took its name.
