Ashwini Bhide Deshpande brings to life every feature of Miyan Ki Todi, including its feature
Ashwini Bhide Deshpande brings to life every feature of Miyan Ki Todi, including its feature
There are many Hindustani musical ragas that carry the prefix ‘Mian’ such as Mian Malhar, which is attributed to Mian Tansen, one of the nine gems of Akbar’s court. A popular version of Todi ‘Mian Ki Todi’ is one such. Here the fifth is an important note, which sets it apart from other varieties of this morning raga. Late Ustad Asad Ali Khan, the exponent of the Rudra-veena, used to say that the ‘pancham’ of the mian ki todi is stitched into a tun, which is the only way to execute it. Even without the visibility of this note and the distinctive character of this raga, it comes across as Miyan Ki Todi.
It was a rare morning ragas concert by Ashwini Bhide Deshpande, an eminent representative of the Jaipur Gharana, who performed at the annual arts festival of the IIC Experience, India International Centre. He started with Miyan Ki Todi and its distinctive character first came to the fore when the Komal (flat) run of the Mandara Saptak (lower octave) reached Shadja; Three finely tuned tenors emanating from the meditative drone, a pair of them as background support and the third chimes by him.
The surprise came when she descended into Mandara Pancham in her Auchara (initial alap), and then in Madhya Pancham, through the middle octave, without any dramatic suspense, usually attached to this specific note in Miyan Ki Todi.
The traditional big khayal ‘mera mana yahoo rate re…’, set on vilambit tintaal (instead of the usual vilambit ektal as is prevalent in his gharana), also treated the ‘pancham’ in a welcoming manner. Sketching the melodious canvas of the raga, he caressed each note in a leisurely manner.
Unique ‘Pancham’
Druta khayal, designed for the medium tempo of the three tala, adorned with a variety of sizes, gamuts and bol-tans, also treated the ‘pancham’ in the same way, without creating any sort of anxiety or mystery around the note. Answering my question about this unorthodox approach, he explained, “My mentor Pt. Ratnakar Pai used to say that it is an independent variety of Todi, where ‘Pancham’ is not ‘Varajit’ (negated), and One should not consider it a Gujari Todi with ‘Pancham’.” He treated this raga with remarkable reverence and restraint.
After a detailed depiction of this morning’s raga which extended till noon, he introduced the Vrindavani sarang, the most suitable substitute for the second raga, in keeping with the timing principle of Hindustani music. The first bandish here, ‘Mora jiya bekal hoye sakhi ri…’, was his own composition set for a rare nine beats timing cycle. Bandish’s face reached ‘Sam’ with extraordinary ease. This was followed by famous Ustad Fayaz Khan’s famous three tala composition, ‘Sagri Umaria Mori Biti Jaat Piya Bin’; Who composed his currency (pseudonym) from ‘Pampia’. Ashwini’s cascading shape perfectly matched the taan bandish, where the opening phrase itself was studded with sharp tones.
Commendable accompaniment on tabla by Pt. Vinod Lele and on harmonium by Vinay Mishra. Young Rutuja Lad gave intelligent vocal backing. Ashwini concluded with the Kabir Bhajan, ‘Chhadar Ho Gayi Bahuti Purani’. Taal Deepchandi’s climax with the throbbing Kaherava Lagi at the end provides a delightful contrast to the ascetic thoughts in the poem and the serene atmosphere created by Mishra Jogia’s ascetic aura.
The Delhi-based critic is a trained Hindustani musician.