Concert review/ Raja Miya

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR

Raja Miya/ Udayswar@Prithvi

Genre: Hindustani classical vocal

Details: Prithvi Theatre, June 21

Rating: *****

(PIc taken by blogger. (l to r) Shashi Vyas of Pancham Nishad, Mukundraj Deo, Raja Miya, his son Naved and Sudhir Nayak)

Around 7.45 a.m., what could be as satisfying for a Hindustani classical aficionado than a nom-tom alaap sung in pure Agra gharana style? The fact that the venue didn't use microphones added to the aura, as senior vocalist Raja Miya began the morning raga Ramkali.

Over the next 90 minutes, the magic was ceaseless. The Prithvi Theatre was packed for the June session of Udayswar, organised by Pancham Nishad. And the moment he concluded with a gem in Bhairavi, everyone rose in spontaneous and rhythmic applause.

Ustad Ghulam Husnain Khan, popularly known as Raja Miya, may be described as an underrated genius. But as he proved on Sunday morning, every minute of his performance exuded perfection. The son of Ustad Anwar Hussain Khan, he honed his skills under Ustad Khadim Hussain Khan and Ustad Yunus Hussain Khan, thereby inheriting the grandeur of Agra gharana gayaki.

Even as the audience was reeling under the impact of the nom-tom, Raja Miya continued with two compositions in Ramkali, accompanied by Mukundraj Deo on tabla and Sudhir Nayak on harmonium. The vilambit 'Aaj Radha Tore Badan Pe' was a traditional bandish, and the drut 'Un Sang Lagi' was composed by the legendary Ustad Faiyyaz Khan.

Next came two compositions in Kukubh Bilawal, which one doesn't hear too often but was once regularly performed by the great Kishori Amonkar. Of course, Raja Miya's style was totally Agra, and he was in full flow on the drut composed by Ustad Vilayat Hussain Khan.

He moved into Gurjuri Todi, another Faiyyaz Khan composition, after narrating an anecdote on how it was created, and followed it with a short piece in Dev Gandhar. The finale came through the dadra 'Banao Batiyan' in Bhairavi, a tune which some were familiar with because of both the original Faiyyaz Khan recording and its film adaptation by S.D. Burman in Manna Dey's voice in Manzil.

The selection of ragas and compositions was wonderful, and both the accompanists gave perfect support. Needless to say, Raja Miya's gayaki was a delight. His gamaks, bol-baant and sense of layakari were all textbook-perfect, and more important, there was a lot of bhava in his delivery. Not once did his voice waver. This mastery can only be attributed to intense taiyyari and focus.




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