Pandit Jasraj, the contemporary
doyen of North Indian Classical Vocal Music,
is an unparalleled living legend confirmed by
a scholarship instituted by the University of
Toronto in his name.
Born into a family that has given
to Indian music four generations of outstanding
musicians, the Mewati Gharana maestro, Pandit
Jasraj had his initial grooming in music under
his father, the Late Pandit Moti Ram. He then
underwent intensive training under his elder
brother and guru, the late Pandit Mani Ram.
Endowed with a rich, soulful and
sonorous voice which traverses effortlessly
over all three and a half octaves, Panditji’s
vocalising is characterised by a harmonius blend
of classic and opulent elements, projecting
traditional music as an intense spiritual expression,
at once chaste and densely coloured. This gives
his music a very sublime emotional quality,
touching the soul of the listener. He has been
guided in this by his spiritual guru, late MAHARANA
JAIWANT SINGHJI of ANAND, another doyen of the
Mewati gharana.
He has received several titles
and awards such as Padma Bhushan, Surer Guru,
Sangeet Martand, Sangeet Kala Ratna, Sangeet
Natak Academy Award, Doctorate in Music by Vishwa
Unnayan Sansad (West Bengal), Maharashtra Gaurav
Puraskar, and the Dinanath Mangeshkar Award.
He has also been honored by the
Harvard University art museum in the U.S.
His greatest and most original
contribution in the field of Indian music is
his conception of a unique and novel jugalbandi
based on the ancient system of moorchanas, between
a male and a female vocalist, each singing in
their respective scales and different ragas
at the same time. This has been well acclaimed
all over India and the connoisseurs of music
in Pune named it "Jasrangi Jugalbandi".
He has conducted research in Haveli
Sangeet, his mentor in this genre being Baba
Shyam Manohar Goswami Maharaj. Not content to
remain merely a performer, he has composed beautiful
bandishes and popularized them. As a Guru, he
is unequalled, successfully imparting his knowledge
and love of music to a number of disciples with
the care and solicitude of a true teacher in
the Indian tradition. |