Jul 18, 2021 01:00 AM
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I have been learning Hindustani classical vocals from Sangeet Sadhana for the past 3 years. Classical music was very new to me and initially, I was not sure about how far I can go, as I did not have any prior experience and so I was not very confident at the time of joining this school.
My classes started from a very basic level, from giving a brief introduction to the history of classical music, its various forms and how it has grown through the years, to where it is now. This definitely helped in setting up the context for me. We went through various levels of training initially to get a good grip on the basic notes and to get ready for the next level.
When the training of Raagdhari music started, it had a very detailed and unique approach. Whenever a Raag is taught here, before starting any bandish, Guru will start by spending enough time on the basics of the Raag, its chalan, its phrases so that we get the feel of it. Also, there are discussions on how the same notes could be used in different raags, but the manner in which it is used/approached and the amount of time spent on notes make the difference in emotion. This really helps us to visualize how a Raag looks and how it moves. Enough time is given for us to go back, practice, and think through what has been done in the class.
When my journey progressed to the next levels in sangeet sadhana, I realised this is not just about singing some song, this is more than that. This is about how different human emotions can be expressed through a specific set of notes. This is just a reflection of the creation and we are just imitating a very small part of it. Maybe one lifetime is not enough to pay attention to it.
The lineage that we train in is also a very crucial part of our training. Apart from our lineage, the school has also taken influences from other artists.
Students in Sangeet Sadhana are also exposed to various semi-classical forms apart from classical forms that are thought, which makes classes even more interesting. During my tenure, we learned Thumri, Tappa, Dadra, Ghazals. Also apart from Chota khayals and taranas, we are taught vilambit compositions. I really appreciate the amount of effort Anindita Mam had put to teach us vilambit, considering it takes so much more time to learn compared to other forms. Sometimes I felt a little difficult to keep up with the vilambit, but Mam never gave up on us and continued to help us and we keep getting better by performing again and again. This is probably the most efficient way to go about it because art requires time. I found that learning vilambit makes it very easy for us to understand and sing other forms in that Raag.
Enough opportunity is given to perform in the class with instant feedback. Concerts are also arranged by the school to give the opportunity for the students to perform. There is constant discussion in the class on how to improve on various aspects of singing, Taal, etc and the focus and intention is always to do justice to the Raag. Being a full-time working professional, it becomes little challenging sometimes but I am very grateful to the school and all the guru's in Sangeet Sadhana for accepting me and giving me the best opportunity to learn.
