Artline

Rekha belongs to Lucknow, the old Awadhi capital of culture and tradition. She was in the city recently where she gave a performance of light classical music. “Light classical music is basically a rendition of love songs set to `rangeen gayaki’. Rekha calls herself a revivalist of sorts. She is working towards giving respectability to light classical music which is looked down by the puritans of classical music. Classical music and bhajans have their own followers but the `ghazal’ has declined in the country. “The reason for the decline of the ghazal is because it has been plucked out of the light classical repertoire. Ghazal gayaki is basically sung in the `thumri ang’.

Mehndi Hasan is one ghazal singer I admire tremendously. He has given `ghazal’ a new dimension. I appreciate him as a brilliant singer. But no good `ghazal’ singer can do full justice to `ghazal’ without being a good `thumri ang’ is basically something which pleases the heart, and they use it as a demerit. They do not give `ghazal’ its due respect."

Rekha is very clear about the genre of `ghazal gayaki’. While the `khayal’ is bound by difficult rules and sung within the classical parameters, the `thumri’ gives the artist liberties to excite the crowd. “A good `ghazal’ singer has also to be a good `thumri’ singer. Most of the singers are singing the gazal either in the `khayal’ style, or those following the Bombay filmi style are singing the `ghazal’ in the `geet numa ang’. The ghazal is not getting its due respect. “Rekha was initiated into the genre by Begum Akhtar who told her, “A ghazal is like a painting, you have to make a very beautiful frame around it and the frame should not over power the painting. The musical treatment has to be very judicious. The base of `ghazal’ lies in the `purvi ang’, and the `murki’ and the `khatka are its embellishments."

In the golden age of `ghazal’ gayaki’ the two essential musical accompaniments were the sarangi and the table. But today particularly in the Bombay film world a lot of guitar is being used. “Jagit Singh started it, because of the Pakistani singers who are far superior to the Bombay `ghazal’ singers. In any case most of the Bombay filmi ghazals are based on the `geet numa style’of singing, which is not really traditional style of `ghazals’.

Rekha is deeply committed to light classical music, which she feels needs to establish its own identity. While classical concerts and bhajans have their share of committed audience, it is the light classical which needs to build its own platform. “I have fought against the tide. What I do is not a socially respectable profession, which is probably why I am unmarried as yet. Had I been a bhajan singer the situation would have been different. It is surprising because we were the first liberal society and now we have gone to being strangely puritanical. This scenario coupled with the Victorian morality has affected our art and the dance girl is being looked down upon.

She considers himself to be revivalist of this genre of light classical music. “Delhi is a very trend-conscious city. It is a very pseudo-intellectual city, where it is considered very serious and pure to sing bhajans. The bhajan wave is on its way out. I feel there is a change in trend. Earlier people were blocking light classical out.” The fact that she has been asked to represent India in the Asian Music Festival at Sri Lanka is a pointer to the change in trend.