A Khayal Performance by Amit Chaudhuri

In this concert, Amit Chaudhuri dwells on the style, mood and legacy of the Kunwar Shyam gharana. The compositions of the Kunwar Shyam gharana are mainly the work of the eponymous Kunwar Shyam (1850-1910) and of the extraordinary virtuoso in that lineage, Pandit Laxman Prasad Jaipurwale (1915-1977). Kunwar Shyam engendered a number of Malhars, testifying to an obsession with the rainy season. Laxman Prasad, one of the great khayal composers of the twentieth century, created slow khayals as well as a style in alap that constitute a form of meditative exploration; jod ragas (that is, new ragas that result from combining existing ragas); and fast bandishes and taranas whose jewelled intricacy embody movement, dance, and measure. Together, the compositions and their mood are characterised by a ‘balance of gravity and play’ (the phrase is from Amit Chaudhuri’s poem ‘Sweet Shop’).

Amit Chaudhuri was the principal student in Hindustani classical music of Laxman Prasad’s son, Pandit Govind Prasad Jaipurwale (1944-88), himself an exceptional artist. Chaudhuri will perform some of the compositions handed down to him by his teacher and his family between 1978-88. He will also perform a new jod raga he created himself – again, in the spirit of conceptual play – called ‘Rammohan’, borrowing the ‘Ram’ from raga Ramkali and the ‘Mohan’ from raga Mohankauns.