Once the domain of the courtesan, Hindustani Light Classical Music is rarely heard now: Classical Singer Rekha Surya
Mentored by two great musicians– Begum Akhtar and Girija Devi—Rekha Surya has taken Ghazal, Dadra, Thumri and Sufiana kalaam across the globe. She has received acclaim for keeping traditional Ghazal gayaki alive, and for singing Sufi poetry in a light classical style.
In conversation with Vandana Bansal for Loudest.in she talked about her musical journey.
Q1. What inspired you to make music your profession?
I don’t come from a family of musicians and moreover, I studied in an Irish Convent school in Lucknow. So it was a surprise for everyone around me when I asked my mother for a music teacher, after I accidentally attended a music concert by the renowned Salamat and Nazakat brothers from Pakistanat the age of 11. I went on to give music exams alongside school for Allahabad Prayag Samiti and fared well.
Q2. How was your experience of learning music from Malika-e-Ghazal Begum Akhtar and how did you meet her?
Accompanied by a common family friend I went to meet Begum Akhtar for the first time. At first She initially turned down my request to learn from her, saying that “I don’t teach anymore.” But as we rose to leave after she offered us tea, she asked me in an offhand way to sing something. I sang her famous ‘Deewana Banana Hai toh…’. Then, without any change in her expression, she asked me to return next morning at 10am.” I don’t want this voice to go to waste”, she said. I received such motherly affection from her and used to ask such childish questions. Once I asked her if she was very beautiful when young to which she replied “No, I wasn’t very beautiful but I loved beautiful things.” She was a very generous teacher. She gave me a lot in those two years, even the details of how one must sit while performing andhow one’s head should not be too high or too low while singing. She was very patient as a teacher and a wonderful person so I was completely in love with her. It was a huge loss to me when she died and my life came to a standstill.
Q3. How did you manage to continue with your music career after Begum Akhtar’s demise?
She died within 2years of my being with her and it was tragic for me. In fact, she used to ask “Why didn’t you come to me earlier?” I was actually not interested in taking up music as a career. I just enjoyed singing and I was told I sang well. But she told me that I had to take it seriously as a profession.
A year and a half after she died, Girija Devi came from Banaras to perform. Next evening she gave a house concert where I was invited. The hosts introduced me to her and told her that my tutelage under Begum Akhtar had tragically been cut short. She then asked me to visit her next morning. After listening to me she told me to return with her to Benares after a week. Si took the train her to Benares and a new chapter began. Later, she was designated as a Guru by Sangeet Academy in Calcutta run by ITC. The academy has a ‘Guru Shishya parampara’ system and is one of the most prestigious music academies in India. I was given a scholarship for a year and then I moved to Delhi.
Q4. Do male singers have an edge over female singers in the music industry?
I think more than being gender oriented, preferences are based on nepotism. Renowned singer Anoop Jalota pointed this out to me. He said that I would have been far more famous if I came from a musical background. As far as the male and female ratio goes I don’t think it’s easier for women. A lot of organizers mislead women. That obviously doesn’t happen with men!
Q5. Do you think due to the increasing western influence Classical music is fading away?
I don’t think classical music will ever fade away because it’s been around for so many centuries. There are music companies who unfortunately only promote popular music. The real problem is that there is a divide between pure classical and light classical .Begum Akhtar propagated it all her life, saying that Hindustani Light classical music is a part of classical music.
Ghazal singing is usually sung in 3ways- Geetnuma style, Khayalnuma style and Thumriang style of Begum Akhtar. Few people today are singing Ghazal in Thumri style today and I am making a very conscious effort of making that style alive.
Q6. Internet has offered a huge space and scope for talent and artists via social media and gave a wider platform and made unknown faces known. According to you, how has the internet influenced the music business?
Youtube is a wonderful platform. One doesn’t have to wait for music companies to acknowledge one’s work. You can publish your own musicInternet can take you to a wider audience. For instance I will be doing a concert for Toronto organisation in October and it’ll be on internet. Lockdown situation has not left no option other than online concerts. Definitely the charm of the live concerts is being missed.
Q7. You have won prestigious awards like Karamveer Puruskar and performed internationally.
What has been your mantra of success and what advice would you give to budding musicians?
I don’t lay too much stress on success. What one should strive for is being true to your music. I don’t try to replicate Begum Akhtar’s compositions. I sing my own compositions and believe in individuality.You can perpetuate a legacy or a certain tradition or gharana but eventually what matters is your own individuality. You should just be in love with what you are doing, everything else follows. Don’t ever chase fame, it’ll come to you.
The Sensual Voice of Rekha Surya
THE CITIZEN is happy to reproduce an interview by students of Miranda House with our very own singing star Rekha Surya whose commitment and dedication to the art pours out in this conversation
You attended a convent school in Lucknow. Were you encouraged to perform there? How did people respond to your zeal for singing?
As India was under British rule for almost two centuries, some prejudices trickled down post-colonial generations, affecting our attitudes towards our own culture. Although our fight for independence gave rise to nationalistic fervour, a sense of inferiority was ingrained by the British who prided themselves on being better educated and more sophisticated. So while Indian classical music was not looked down upon, it was not considered at par with Western music. Ustad Zakir Hussain recounts the times when he was asked to eat with domestic servants after house-concerts. So in school I never discussed my home music-classes. In school I sang for Gilbert and Sullivan productions like HMS Pinafore, an opera.
You had the fortune to train under two of the most famous gurus of Indian semi-classical music. How important is it to seek the tutelage of the ‘right’ guru in one’s career?
So much depends on tutelage. The teacher’s temperament and musical style are both important in shaping one’s vision of music. Only after imbibing the teacher’s vision and approach to music can one use it as a springboard for creating your own style, which is not a conscious effort but emerges slowly from one’s own temperament.
In your book, ‘Sung in a Sensual Style,’ you write about the concept of ‘Tauheed,’ or oneness and the importance of self-effacement in art. As an artist, is it a challenge to reconcile the difference between attempting to transcend the self, and identifying yourself as a unique singer with her own sensibilities?
This is a brilliant question because self-effacement and self-identity are not mutually exclusive. Demolishing the ego leads to spiritual awareness which is reflected in one’s art even while an artist has a distinct musical identity, as in the case of Pandit Bhimsen Joshi.
Could you elaborate upon some trying periods of your musical career, maybe some opposition you had to face?
I pride myself on the fact that although I have no musical antecedents I carved out my own musical path. Of course it is a huge disadvantage to not belong to a musical family– which has often made me feel like a mongrel in the world of music–but I respect myself and other self-made people for following their inner urges. While my family did not oppose my musical endeavour they could not enter my world and cheer me on. Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia comes from a wrestler’s family ! I have heard from a student of his that he still practices in a highly disciplined way.
In your interview to the Lucknow Tribune, you mentioned that Begum Akhtar weaned you away from Kathak since she believed that a person should only pursue one art-form whole-heartedly. How relevant is this notion today, for our generation of millenials who fetishize “multitasking”?
I think it is fine to have several interests so long as your main focus remains on what you love doing most. Today’s world has so many distractions to offer so while one surrenders to some enriching activities one has to push aside less rewarding temptations.
What is your favourite memory from your days at Miranda House?
Sitting on the lawns during winter afternoons to soak in the sun, while chatting with friends after classes.
Do you perceive these times as an age of mediocrity and short-cuts in which various forms of art are easily available to people yet very few have the patience or passion to achieve expertise in them?
Actually, yes! It is mostly entertainment which is sought rather than art which challenges the intellect.
Do you have a particularly favourite place( a city for instance) or a venue where you love to perform and why?
I have no particular preference for a concert-venue but definitely feel inspired by an attentive and responsive audience. A music-setting can be formal or informal such as in a baithak but I hate singing in places where the stress is on social interaction. For a Hindustani light classical singer, an ideal audience is appreciative of both poetry and music.
What would be your advice to aspiring young artists especially women artists?
Don’t seek approval from anyone other than yourself.