Seasons of Melody

From the sound of silence to the sounds of music…to the sounds of reverberating applause…it has been a long journey for Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan Saheb

“Music begins with silence. When the turbulence inside us recedes, it is filled by God. That is music.” He should know. Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan Saheb, a dazzling luminary on the musical firmament, has contributed enough to his chosen field to elicit the defining phrase ‘a seer in a spiritual trance.’

In the nascent new millennium, Khan Saheb has every right to look back with pride on the rich harvest of 70 autumns laden with musical joy and discovery. An impressive 60 of those years have been as a performer, a torch bearer of the famed Rampur-Sahaswan Gharana (house style) of north Indian music.

He was only eight years old when he was pushed onto the stage to stand in for a musician who failed to arrive in time during a music festival in his native Badayun, in Uttar Pradesh.

His father hoped he will hold fort for about twenty minutes but the youngster sang Raga Bhairavi for over an hour. Little wonder that the grandson of the legendary Inayat Hussain Khan and son of Waris Hussain Khan could pull off such a feat. Born into a family which inhaled music as much as the native air, Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan Saheb has many singular achievements to his credit.

The Rampur –Sahaswan Gharana is the fountainhead from which numerous talents have sprung in the last century. Baba Allaudin Khan of Maihar was a student who then gave us Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, Annapurna Devi and Pt. Ravi Shankar. Mohammed Hussain Khan was the brother of Inayat Hussain Khan. Hussain Khan’s disciple V.N.Bhatkhande pioneered the institutionalization of musical education. Other students, Chajju Khan and Nazir Khan, established the Bhendi Bazaar Gharana. Yet another shishya (student), Bhaiya Ganapat Rao, introduce the harmonium as an accompaniment.

This phenomenally successful growth of talent through a single family is reflected in Khan Saheb’s career. India’s most famous voices have honed their skills under the strict tutelage of Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan. Internationally renowned playback artistes Manna Dey, Asha Bhonsle, the late Geeta Dutt, Kamal Barot, Harihran, Sonu Nigam, and Anaida are some of those who have benefited from Khansaheb’s tutelage. Among classical singers who have learnt under him are Lakshmi Nayampalli, brother Aftab Ahmed Khan, Geeta Prem, and his own sons, Ghulam Murtuza and Ghulam Qadir.

“As a teacher I demand total commitment from my students. Special attention has to be given to the training and flowering of a voice. I have been very lucky as I have had, and still do, wonderfully responsive students who respect me and come up to my expectations. I’m lucky to have received support, love and loyalty from them.” A cherished dream is to gather his students around him and have a month long workshop on the pattern of a gurukul where everyone lives together and music will be the only agenda. Through his institution Sarang, he hopes he will be able to create a fund to help youngsters and give financial aid to deserving musicians. Time and experience have given his golden voice a rich timbre which can still traverse the octaves mellifluously. “I was trained to adapt my voice and attitude to cover the entire range of musical forms. My passion for musical knowledge led me to explore ancient Indian music treaties like Natya Shastra, Brihat-Deshi and Sarangdev’s Sangeet Ratnakara. I recreated compositions based on Jati Gayan. Their structure is intricate and no one had attempted them for over 700 years. Over three hours of my rendition has been recorded for our national archives.” His pride is fully justified. Khan Saheb’s skill as a composer has been immortalised in several award winning documentaries and films, besides in the bandishes for classical music. His compositions are pithy, succinct and lyrical. For instance, a ‘chota khayal’ in Raga Marwa goes:

Un bin maika chain nahin avey,

Jiya bechain din rain sajni 

Rovatu rovatu beetatu rasrang

Tum bin chin din rajni…

  My heart is restless without him, Oh friend! Night and day my tears flow, every moment of the day and night is worthless without you, O Rasrang (Rasrang is his signature).

In a bada khyal in Raga Asaveri hesays;

Ley jaa sandes, ley ja kaaga un son jaye kahiyo

Tumre Milan ki aas,

Baant takat akhiyan pathrayi,

Rasrang jaaye base ho kavan des

Take this message to my beloved, Oh raven! Tell him I yearn for our meeting. Dry-eyed, I wait for him. Who knows where he is?

He is unassuming and modest, even after phenomenal success. “I believe that when Allah sends a message, I receive it. The composition creates itself. I look at life’s vicissitudes like the sun. It does not differentiate between flowers and garbage but shines equally on both,” he says. His compositions and music direction for films like Umrao Jaan, Bhuvan Shome, Badnam Basti, Noor Jahan, Anarkali (Telugu), Chand Pretticha (Marathi) Drut (Bengali) and others have won awards. He was selected to act and sing as the legendary singer Baiju Bawra in a German documentary film.

Unexpectedly, the musician’s hero is a stalwart in astronomy and physics. “I admire Galileo. When he was jailed for speaking what he felt was the truth, somebody told him to ask for forgiveness. His friend advised him to admit that he was wrong and told him that he would be freed. Galileo did just that.” Truth will always remain truth. Why should I be locked inside? Let me continue to work in freedom.” is what he is supposed to have said. Vivekananda is also one of my favourites. I have read his complete works. He brought the whole world to his feet when he addressed the audience as brothers and sisters, a concept hitherto unknown to the western psyche.”

Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan was one of the earliest classical musicians to be selected to represent the country abroad in 1964. Since then he has been invited to perform at major festivals in Europe, the USA and UK. He was invited to sing at the unique “Twenty – Four Hour Raga Festival” in Paris in 1985. His classical albums have been trendsetters in the fields as he recorded rare and complicated ragas like Saraswati and Nayaki Kanada. The orthodox Jeeyar, the present head of the Ahobila Mutt, is a fan of Khan Saheb and has often requested him to sing bhajans during the Dol utsav (the cradle ceremony of Lord Krishna). Khan Saheb ventured to give an album of ghazals of Ebrahim Ashiq, which has received recommendation for its inimitable presentation. He was awarded the Padmashri in 1991.

“I have disciplined myself to follow the dictum of the Gita,” says the Ustad simply. “Our objective should be to put our best and not to worry about the outcome. I believe that there are only two religions in this world: those who believe and those who don’t…Life is like an escalator. We pass by as the world remains still. So many great men are born in this world whose contribution to the world has made them immortal. Kings like Swati Tirunal and Mansingh Tomar had everything yet gave so much to others. Tyagaraja, Tukaram, or Mirabai had no wealth but their contribution is priceless too.

I feel that I must prepare myself to face my Creator, I must have a clean record. My cup of Joy is overflowing as I have been blessed with a wonderful family. I do not hanker after what I do not have, but only count my blessings,” he concludes.

The world of music counts its blessings too, in being blessed with a musician who has infused it with richness and vibrancy.

DOWN MEMORY LANE

           Ghulam Mustafa recalls a few memorable moments…

• I am very proud of the fact that I have been singing on Al India Radio from 1949. Today, people are unable to comprehend the tremendous contribution that ‘radio’ made to music. We are eternally grateful that AIR has recorded the voices of the great musicians of those days.
• I was always fond of doing my ‘riyaz’ (musical practice). I would let nothing come between me and my daily riyaz.  In 1951, on one hot summer afternoon, my guruji was having his afternoon siesta. It was time for my time for my riyaz and I could not strum the Tanpura for fear of waking him. Desperate, I crept away to a kabrastan (graveyard) nearby. I tied a string to a bamboo pole and tuned it to give me a basic pitch and finished my practice undisturbed.
• My obsession with music made me actually run away from home in 1952. I went to Lucknow for an AIR programme. I did not return home and proceeded to Sitapur. There is a holy place in Atwah called Neemasarmisrikh. My parents were able to trace me only after a year.
• I began to live in Lucknow with one Babban Sahib who had great respect for my family. I created a makeshift shack on the landing of a staircase in his house and observed 40 days of prayers during the day and riyaz at night.
• I had tremendous stamina and will-power at that age which belied my slender frame. I would sing for several hours without resting. In 1955, I had shifted to Kanpur to stay with my uncle Ustad Rashid Ahmed Khan. The Rashtriya Sangeet Vidyalaya organized a Sangeet Dhara, which is a 24-hour non stop music performance. My turn came at midnight and I was totally involved in my music. I just went on and on … someone gave me a hot cup of milk only to make me stop. It was 8 a.m. and I had sung alone for eight hours!
• In 1957, I came to Mumbai. I was to perform at the house of Babubhai Banker, renowned industrialist. It was a great honour for me that Pandit Taranath, who had accompanied my guru extensively, accompanied me that evening. As I climbed up the stairs I was overwhelmed to see Bade Ghulam Ali Khan Sahib, Amir Khan, Pt. B.R.Deodhar, Anjalibhai Malpekar and other artistes among the guests. I was inspired enough to sing Raga Behag for over an hour followed by Jog Kauns and a thumri in Pilu. They showered their heartfelt appreciation and generously wished me a successful career.
• Acharya Brihaspati, who lived in Kanpur, encouraged me to do research in ancient Indian music. These compositions called Jati Gayan were found only in 700 –year-old manuscripts. I breathed life into them.

This feature was first published in the airline magazine ‘Jetwings’, September 2001.

Author’s Note:

Our family’s association with Khan Saheb goes back to 1957 when my father was posted at Kanpur. My mother was introduced to him and started learning music from him. A young, handsome 26- year old Ghulam Mustafa  Khan became her guru. After two years, when we returned to Mumbai, he also settled here and continued to be in touch with us. There is a story told in our family that I was forced to start classes under him when I was ten years old. On the very first day, my first ‘SA’ exploded into tears and I ran away, hiding myself till he left home! My son Ranjan and daughter Ruupa are now his ‘gandabandh’ disciples.