Shubha Mudgal – “Kumar Gandharvji illustrates that tradition is open to change”
On the impact of the musical legend whose birth centenary it is this year, singing nirgun and sagun poetry, her relationship with the poetry of Meerabai and the role of music in healing divides
At the Sacred Spirit Festival, presented by the Mehrangarh Museum Trust in Jodhpur earlier this year, the Hindustani classical singer spoke about everything from how venues influenced her choice of songs to being described as “the diva of soul”
This is the birth centenary year of Pandit Kumar Gandharva. Could you please shed some light on his role in your musical education and who you are today?
I was fortunate to have been taught for a short span of time by the legendary Pt Kumar Gandharva. And while my taaleem (training) with him was brief, the impact of his unique perspective and aesthetic has inspired me all along. Those with an orthodox view may believe that tradition is unchanging and cannot be bent in any direction. But the art of path breaking musicians like Kumarji amply illustrates to every student of music like me, the fact that tradition is dynamic, always open to change and interpretation, giving ample opportunity and space to every seeker to find his or her own voice.
You are known for singing nirgun as well as sagun poetry. When and how did you realize that they can complement each other instead of being at loggerheads?
They have actually never really been at loggerheads, as such. These are two distinct streams of bhakti poetry/devotional poetry in India, that have, for centuries, had a close association with music. As students of music, we are all introduced to both streams, but my own keen interest in literature has led me to explore both streams perhaps in greater detail.
You collaborated with the late Kiran Nagarkar to bring the story of Meerabai and Bhojraj to life with a project called Unorthodoxies in 2005. Please tell us more about your relationship with the poetry of Meerabai?
Like many students of music, I had been taught to sing the verses of Meerabai in the bhajan format. However, I was drawn to Kiran Nagarkar’s fictional work Cuckold and approached him to consider collaborating with me and Aneesh Pradhan to create an album and performance project titled Unothodoxies: Reimagining Meera. What we attempted to do was intertwine the story of the life of Meerabai as told through her verses composed and sung by me, and the life of Bhojraj, her husband, as told by Kiran Nagarkar in his work of fiction in English. Aneesh Pradhan created the sound design for this project where the two strands either cross-cross or run parallel.
Your performance at the Sacred Spirit Festival in Jodhpur was titled “The Diva of Soul”. How do you respond to this description?
This is a very generous description and I am both grateful and humbled by the honour. It is actually the wisdom and brilliance and creativity of generations of musicians that equips a system of music with the quality that makes it soulful. Therefore, it is the power of music that transcends many man-made barriers and makes it expressive and communicative. I really cannot take credit for it and can only try and perform with sincerity and integrity.
At the festival, you performed at the Zenana Deodi courtyard at Mehrangarh Fort. To what extent does the setting and the history of a place influence your choice of songs?
The Mehrangarh Fort with its magnificent architecture and historical significance is truly a special space that possibly every musician would want to perform in. I was really excited to have been given this opportunity.
The fort would have been witness to countless performances of music over many centuries, and as a contemporary practitioner of a traditional system of music — namely Hindustani classical music — I feel a sense of exhilaration to think that my voice too joined the diverse sounds of music that have reverberated in its precincts. The fort has stood the test of time, and so has the raagdari music that I was proud to be presenting.
As a Hindustani classical vocalist, why is it important to continue with the time-honoured tradition of singing particular raags at particular times of the day?
The tradition of singing raags at the appropriate time of day is one that links Hindustani classical music to the diurnal and nocturnal cycles as well as seasonal cycles. This link with Nature is one that I find very significant and therefore would like to adhere to.
What role can sacred music play in healing divides and conflicts in society? What lessons can we learn from mystics, poets and saints for today’s times?
The great mystics and saint poets have always given a message of universal peace, love and equality. As the world gets more fragmented and polarised by humans, who wield power and are blinded by it, the words of the saints and mystics become even more relevant in times of violence and war.
Chintan Girish Modi is a freelance writer, journalist and book reviewer.