The observation made by the celebrated author E M Forster comes to mind in this context. To him, music was of two types: One, that reminded him of something, and the other, 'music itself.' Bhimsenji symbolises the latter type -- he is music itself. In this sense, I place him in the brilliant galaxy of some of the all-time greats whom I have heard for the last five decades and more, and who evoked an identical reaction in me.
Most of them, alas, have passed into oblivion and I regard Bhimsenji as one of the last --if not the last, perhaps -- surviving titans of the present generation of Hindustani vocalists.
In the mid-'80s, Bhimsenji seemed to succumb to glamour and money. True, he made history in the world of Hindustani vocal music when he won the Platinum Disc from HMV for his outstanding contributions. This was truly a triumph for the artiste and the recording company.
In contrast, it was more anguish than anger with which I viewed the maestro's teaming up with a variety of 'partnerships' -- like those with Lata Mangeshkar, Balamurali Krishna, the eminent Carnatic vocalist, not to speak of his 'teamship' with painter M F Husain. These were all State-sponsored extravaganzas, ostensibly presented to promote the much-vaunted theme of national integration. It was doubly ironical that Bhimsenji 'betrayed' himself by frankly revealing what he really felt.
But his appearance in Doordarshan feature Mile Sur Mera Tumhara, devised to promote national integration, rightly earned him incredible acclaim. His impassioned utterance, the complete identification of the man with his music is what has made Pandit Bhimsen Joshi the unrivalled Hindustani vocalist of our time.
True enough, here is a man who has loved and lived his life with all his romance and intensity and one who has sought to reflect it so eloquently to his music -- be it classical, light classical, devotional or the popular variety, like the Doordarshan number -- who has ever fused so subtly in his 'personality-bound' vocalism in all its anguish and ecstasy.
Image: Pandit Bhimsen Joshi presents a music programme on the occasion of Jawaharlal Nehru's birth centenary in New Delhi, 1988. Photograph: India Abroad archives
Also see: In memory of Thyagaraja
Advertisement
