Pt. Rajan Mishra’s jugalbandi with life

As the pandemic continues to take away lives, the world of Hindustani classical music suffered another colossal loss with the passing away of Pt. Rajan Mishra. A stalwart of the Benaras gharana, his lifelong jugalbandi with younger brother Pt. Sajan Mishra unveiled several innovative idioms within the traditional khayal gayaki. Enthralling audiences across the globe for over half a century, the maestro is remembered as a charismatic performer, affectionate guru, devoted friend and a true artiste whose generosity embraced all generations.

Pune-based veteran vocalist, Suhas Vyas, who shared over 40 years of friendship with the late musician, says, “The first thought that came to my mind was how his brother must be feeling. They have spent every moment of their musical journey together — they were one soul in two bodies.”

Jokes and generosity

Remembering numerous instances when they visited each other in Delhi, Pune, Benaras and Mumbai, Vyas recalls, “The moment he entered a room, he would light it up with his remarkable sense of humour and joviality. He had this rare quality of putting anybody at ease instantly. If there was a glitch before a performance and people around were fretting, he would say something funny and before you knew it, everyone would be laughing and relaxed.”

Jaipur-based slide guitar artiste Salil Bhatt also talks about this quality of Pt. Rajan Mishra. “The connect between our families spans four generations. My father (Pt. Vishwa Mohan Bhatt) and Pt. Rajan were close friends. I remember the many interesting discussions on music whenever they met and if there was a cricket match being telecast, then nothing else mattered.”

Pt. Rajan Mishra hailed from a musical family in Benaras that defined the khayal gayaki of the gharana across several generations. He had rigorously trained under his father Pt. Hanuman Mishra, uncle Pt. Gopal Mishra, and was also a gandabandh disciple of his grand-uncle Pt. Bade Ramdas. Reflecting on his musicianship, Vyas says, “He was blessed to have received such great taleem, but that was just the foundation. Over the years, he developed a style of raga presentation that was deeply immersive. He could gauge the audience, engage them and take them along, as he and his brother unfolded the raga. His artistry included his expressions and gestures. This made his performances mesmerising.”

Despite being a busy performer and guru, Pt. Mishra made it a point to be present at the performances of his friends and also at important moments in their life. “Most artistes these days tend to be self-absorbed,” says Vyas, “but Rajan always encouraged other artistes. I remember his reassuring presence at all my concerts in Delhi; he would turn up even if he had to alter his concert schedule. That kind of camaraderie and appreciation is something only a true artiste and friend can offer.”

His generosity and compassion had a profound impact on a younger generation of musicians. Ajay Joglekar accompanied the brothers on the harmonium at several concerts. Reminiscing about his first performance with them as a youngster, he says, “It was in 1991. I was nervous and overawed, they were star musicians I had grown up listening to, and to accompany them was overwhelming. Pt. Rajan Mishra immediately sensed my anxiety in the greenroom. He asked me to sit with him and gently reassured me. He also gave me the most important lesson of accompaniment — instead of being worried about how I would perform, he suggested I just listen intently on stage, and the musical movements would automatically follow.” Joglekar points out that his music also carried the same spirit of generosity and togetherness. “He considered music-making as a painting we all make together on stage, and believed that just as we tune our instruments, we need to be tuned to each other.”

Mutual understanding

The perfect rapport between Rajan and Sajan emerged as the striking feature of their musical journey, a jugalbandi that also defined their life off stage. Interviewing them for a radio show in 2004, I was struck by their ability to complete each other’s sentences, just as they rounded off each other’s musical phrases during performances.

Describing this understanding, Pt. Rajan Mishra had said, “This is possible only if there’s respect between two people. We are two individuals. We sing together but we have never made our singing competitive. We love each other; we appreciate each other’s singing. When this (mutual appreciation and love) reaches its zenith, we emerge as one soul.” Nodding gently, Pt. Sajan Mishra had added, “We are two different people with different voice textures, yet we reach out to listeners as one voice.”

From Benaras to Delhi

Brought up in Benaras, the brothers started performing together from their early days, first in temples, and later in music festivals and concerts. Their first major concert was in 1968 in Sankatmochan temple in Benaras. In 1973, their uncle Pt. Gopal Mishra called them to Delhi for a radio audition. Their concert was broadcast on All India Radio and soon they started receiving several invitations and shifted to Delhi.

Pt. L.K. Pandit, Delhi-based senior vocalist of Gwalior gharana, remembers meeting them as young musicians at the radio station. “Their repertoire of khayals was amazing and their jugalbandi remains unparalleled.”

Benaras is mostly known for thumri, dadra and other allied forms. To change this perception, the brothers decided early in their journey to focus on the Benaras gharana khayal and present its many facets. Meeting them again in 2008 just before a concert with Holi around the corner, I requested them to present a hori or thumri. Pt. Rajan Mishra laughed and said, “We often get such requests, but we don’t sing thumri on stage because people think in Benaras only thumri is sung. We want to project our gharana’s many vocal and instrumental styles.”

Prolific composer

Their multi-faceted approach to vocalism also reflects in the Benaras style’s affinity for the literary and emotional content of bandishes. A lesser-known fact about Pt. Rajan Mishra was his love for writing and composing bandishes. Senior disciple and Ahmedabad-based vocalist Viraj Amar has done her doctoral research on the compositions written by her guru. “He loved poetry. All his compositions are a beautiful combination of emotional expression and layakari. In his performance, the kehene ka andaaz and play with words was enthralling.”

Remembering his composition in raga Maru Bihag, ‘Sajan bole re koyalia’, Mumbai-based vocalist and guru-behen Tulika Ghosh says, “He was a voracious reader, that’s why he was so attached to the sahitya of the composition.” Ghosh learnt in the Benaras gurukul system and remembers their daily schedule where his father (their guru) would conduct their classes from 5 a.m. “His music had immense tehraav. He could express the same phrase in so many different ways, giving it a different flavour each time. The elements of unpredictability in his presentation made it absolutely riveting and memorable.”

After a long string of performances, the family would often retreat to the mountains. Love for nature also inspired the brothers to build a gurukul in Dehradun besides the one in Benaras. Remembered as a deeply affectionate and encouraging guru, the legacy of Pt. Rajan Mishra resounds with the possibilities of compassionate music, forever in a jugalbandi with life.

The author is a Delhi-based arts researcher and writer.