The Evolution of Hindustani Classical Music in Pakistan Since ...

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The Evolution of Hindustani Classical Music inPakistan Since 1947KABIR ALTAF

Kabir Altaf ([email protected]) is Pakistani-American. He is a student of Hindustaniclassical music. He holds a M.Mus degree in Ethnomusicology from SOAS, University ofLondon.Vol. 57, Issue No. 30, 23 Jul, 2022

The 1947 partition of British India on religious lines significantly impacted Hindustaniclassical music in the parts of the colony that became modern Pakistan. There is aconsensus that, since the creation of the country, Hindustani classical music has declined inPakistan. Various reasons for this decline have been theorised: the contested status ofmusic in Islam, Pakistan’s search for a national identity distinct from India's, and the loss ofpatronage. In this paper, I trace the evolution of music in Pakistan since 1947, focusingmainly on the adaptive strategies employed by gharana musicians to continue performingwithin the new societal constraints. These adaptations include focusing on the lessproblematic genre of ghazal rather than khayal and fusing elements of Western pop intolocal styles (as exemplified by Coke Studio).

It is widely accepted that the classical aspect of Hindustani music (khayal, dhrupad) hasdeclined in the parts of British India now comprising Pakistan. Before 1947, Lahore wasrenowned as a major cultural metropolis whose centrality in the world of Hindustani musichas been well documented (Saeed 2008) and also narrated in the documentary KhayalDarpan (Saeed 2008b) by surviving musicians of the time. Now the city finds no mentionaside from its historical eminence. This note traces how the core of that tradition has

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evolved.

Establishing the Decline of Hindustani Music in PakistanThere is a need for a more rigorous assessment of the "decline" to be sure that the opinionsin the above-mentioned sources are not just a lament for a ‘golden age,’ a phenomenoncommonly observed when contemporary artists compare the present with the past(Schofield 2010: 497). The decline in a musical tradition can be measured across two keydimensions, quantitative and qualitative, that need not move in tandem. In Western music,for example, while the audience for opera has shrunk, the quality of today’s star performersis compared favourably to those of the past. On the other hand, while the number of thoselearning music has grown, modern composers are rarely rated at par with the greats of the18th and 19th centuries. This note contends that both the quantity and quality of Hindustani classical music havedeclined unambiguously in Pakistan. The quantitative decline can be assessed by referenceto the sheer drop in numbers: of internationally recognised artists, individuals learningHindustani music, performances, institutions where classical music is taught, and theamount of air time allocated to Hindustani music on mass media. The steep decline in eachcan be documented with diligent research but it is rendered unnecessary by the availabilityof two already well-documented or readily observable indicators. The first is the virtual decimation of the craft industry that produced instruments catering toclassical music, for example, tanpura, sitar, sarod, sarangi, etc, which unambiguouslyconfirms the severe contraction in demand for learning Hindustani classical music inindividual homes. Due to this contraction, families that specialised in producing theseinstruments have not passed on the craft to their children (Malik 2018). The Rikhi RamMusical Instrument Manufacturing Company—one of the world’s foremost sitarmakers—was established in 1920 in Lahore but relocated to Delhi in 1948 where itcontinues to thrive.[i] More readily observable evidence is provided by the relative proliferation on YouTube andSkype of individuals offering to teach or explain Hindustani music at various levels ofexpertise. While there are literally hundreds of such channels originating in India, anyonecan confirm the rarity of finding a single one from Pakistan. This reflects starkly theabsence of demand for learning Hindustani music in Pakistan. From the point where India’sfirst music university, the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, was established in Lahore in 1901 andproduced many highly regarded musicians (Saeed 2008: 240), there is now no university,institution, or private academy in Pakistan comparable to the Bhatkhande Music Universityin Lucknow, the Sangeet Research Academy in Kolkata, or Shruti Nandan, where PanditAjoy Chakraborty alone has over 1,000 students. The qualitative dimension of the decline is even easier to establish. Immediately after 1947,Pakistan had world-renowned vocalists (e.g., Ustads Amanat Ali and Fateh Ali Khan, UstadsNazakat and Salamat Ali Khan, Roshan Ara Begum) and instrumentalists (e.g., UstadsBundu Khan, Shaukat Hussain Khan, Sharif Khan Poonchwaley) who performed regularly on

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Radio Pakistan and later on Pakistan Television (PTV). Succeeding generations of thesegharanas have not achieved anywhere near the same national or international recognition.It is not possible to identify a single female vocalist or male sarangi player of recognition inthe country, let alone of the stature of Roshan Ara Begum or Ustad Bundu Khan.In a country the size of Pakistan, the occasional artist of significance has no doubt emergedbut most have settled abroad for a lack of performance opportunities and students to teach.The sitarist Ashraf Sharif Khan, son of the renowned Ustad Sharif Khan Poonchwaley, andthe outstanding tabla player Ustad Tari Khan are the most prominent in this list. Thus, there is little doubt that Hindustani classical music's domain has shrunk significantlyin Pakistan in both quantitative and qualitative terms, and the assertion does not reflectnostalgia for an imagined past. Incidentally, such nostalgia is noted more in India, whereartists of the caliber of Begum Parween Sultana complain that students today are nowherenear as dedicated to classical music as they were in the past (Soubiri 2019). Ironically, suchnostalgia might be a luxury to be indulged when great artists are still around to recall thepast.[ii] Three major explanations have been offered for this decline: the contested status of music inIslam, the self-imposed need for Pakistan to craft a distinctive national identity, and shifts inthe patronage of classical music. I have critiqued these explanations in detail elsewhere(Altaf 2020), and this paper will focus exclusively on tracing the evolution of Hindustanimusic in Pakistan since the creation of the country.

Hindustani Music in Pakistan Since 1947In Altaf (2019), I argued that given the decline of Hindustani music in Pakistan, the reducedopportunities for performance, the inadequate fee paid by state institutions, and thereduced pool of learners, the economic condition of artists became increasingly precariousover time. There was no alternative for them but to adapt to the changed circumstances.While some migrated abroad, most channelled their knowledge and talents to cater to thenew tastes and genres that were in popular demand. These adaptive strategies includedembellishment of the ghazal with classical elements as well as the creation of a fusion styleincorporating Western pop. The remainder of this paper will illustrate this evolutionconcerning one hereditary lineage, the Patiala gharana, which continues to have a very highstanding in the world of classical music and maintains it in India through the legacy ofUstad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan.

The Patiala GharanaIn his book The Life of Music in North India: The Organization of an Artistic Tradition,Daniel Neuman (1990: 146) defines a gharana as “a lineage of hereditary musicians, theirdisciples, and the particular musical style they represent.” In present-day Pakistan, thePatiala gharana is one of the most prominent whose history goes back to the 19th centurywhen its founders, Ali Baksh Khan and Fateh Ali Khan, were trained by Tan Rus Khan, thecourt musician to Bahadur Shah Zafar (r 1837-1857). Subsequently, they found employment

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at the court of the Maharaja of Patiala (Malik 1985: 112). After partition, the clan moved toLahore. The grandsons of Ali Baksh, Ustads Amanat and Fateh Ali Khan, were among theleading classical vocalists in Pakistan, celebrated far and wide for their khayal and semi-classical renditions. In 1969, they were conferred with the Pride of Performance award bythe Government of Pakistan (Malik 1985: 126). The transition away from pure classical music began in the first generation itself. UstadAmanat Ali Khan (1932-1974) became a household name in the country when he venturedinto ghazal singing shortly before his death. Two ghazals in particular became sensationalhits paving the way forward (Lutfullah Khan 1997: 150-151).[iii] Ustad Hamid Ali Khan, theyounger brother of Amanat and Fateh Ali Khan also shifted almost entirely to ghazal andlight classical genres by the 1980s.Amanat Ali Khan’s son, Asad Amanat Ali Khan (1955-2007), also attained fame as a ghazalsinger largely reproducing the compositions made famous by his father. Amongst UstadFateh Ali Khan’s sons, Rustam Fateh Ali Khan is the best known. Both father and son did notmake the same transition because, as some have claimed, their voices, while extremely wellsuited to khayal, were not equally suited to the singing of ghazal.The younger generation of the gharana has ventured into pop music. The most prominentamong these are the sons of Ustad Hamid Ali Khan (Nayab, Inam and Wali) who haveestablished a band called Raga Boyz.The Development of a Distinct Ghazal Style Dwindling opportunities to perform purely classical music forced many artists to shift tosinging the ghazal for which a sizable audience remained. They incorporated many featuresof the classical repertoire into their stylisation, leading to the evolution of a new and uniquestyle of ghazal singing in Pakistan. Mehdi Hassan, Amanat Ali Khan, Farida Khanum, andIqbal Bano among others, all trained in classical music, emerged as the flag-bearers of thisnew style. Mehdi Hassan himself composed the ghazals he sang in popular ragas and madeit a point to enlighten his listeners with the relevant details (Saeed 2008: 243). For example,he composed Parveen Shakir’s famous ghazal “ku baku phail gayee'' in Raga Darbari with aclassical alaap as an introduction. In one mehfil, whose recording became viral, MehdiHassan went so far as to explain the differences between the closely associated ragasDarbari and Jaunpuri.[iv] Such judgements by artists depended entirely on their assessmentof the knowledge of their listeners. According to the musician and scholar Vidya Rao, this reimagining of how the ghazal mightbe stylised was a direct outcome of the constricted space for khayal. The reimagined ghazal“satisfied the need to have an acceptable music tradition which while retaining elements ofthe classical did not cross over into problematic areas” (Rao 2017). However, whileclassically trained artists gave a new direction to the rendering of ghazals, the momentumhas not been sustained since the new generation of artists does not have the same rigoroustraining in classical music that gave their predecessors the ability to be both innovative andcreative. What is common today is new artists copying the masters without being able toreplace or surpass them. The primary feeling is that of stagnation and deterioration. The development of a distinctive Pakistani ghazal style further illustrates the difference in

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the health of the Hindustani music tradition in Pakistan and India. In the former, the mosthighly rated classical performers became the innovators of the new style of ghazal rendition.In the latter, the leading performers never deigned to make the ghazal part of theirrepertoires even as the “light” items with which they concluded their concerts. However, asnoted by ethnomusicologist Peter Manuel (2010: 249) in his article “Thumri, Ghazal, andModernity in Hindustani Music Culture,” the appeal of the new style originating in Pakistanfound a mass audience in India as well, leading a number of less recognized artists there tocopy the Pakistani style).[v]

Gharana Musicians Utilisng Fusion The new avenues opening up involve fusion among indigenous genres and Western forms ofmusic. Once again, the younger generations of gharanedar families have an advantage eventhough their training is nowhere near the quality of their elders. This proves, again, thevalue of formal training or at least of some knowledge of the essentials of music theory.Scions of the Patiala gharana are prominent in this evolution. Among the leading bands wasFuzon in which the vocalist was Ustad Amanat Ali’s son, Shafqat. His 2002 recording ofKhamaj, a reinterpretation of a famous thumri sung by his father and uncle, broke records.Contrary to the pure classical stylisation of the original, Shafqat’s version is rendered in amuch faster tempo accompanied by orchestration provided by Western instruments such asthe guitar.[vi]As mentioned above, Ustad Hamid Ali Khan’s sons formed Raga Boyz, a “Sufi-rock” band,while marketing themselves as the ninth generation of the Patiala gharana. They renderfamous compositions associated with the gharana in the fusion format supported by amelange of indigenous and foreign instruments like the tabla, harmonium, guitar anddrums, much like Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan. A typical example is their 2017 version of “PyarNahi Hai Sur Se Jisko” in Raga Malkauns. Their performances replicate many elements ofthe classical template like an opening alaap, taans and sargams (fast passages usingsolfege) in the middle and a concluding tarana (a fast composition using syllables with nodiscernible meaning). Despite that, both the ambience and the emotional vibe are that of apop concert much more than that of a Hindustani classical performance. One majordifference is that the artists are standing, gyrating, and moving around on the stage, ratherthan being seated, which is the format for a traditional classical performance.[vii] This newgeneration of artists insists that it has not forsaken the traditions of their gharana but onlyadapted them to modern times (Lodhi 2015). Once in a while, they do attempt to performthe classical khayal to placate voices that lament the passing away of a great legacy. Theresults can best be judged by listening to their rendition of Raga Mian ki Todi on Firdaus-e-Gosh (a music programme that aired on Pakistan Television) and comparing it to the sameraga sung by Ustads Amanat Ali and Fateh Ali.[viii] These reinterpretations have enabled members of gharanedar families to ensure theireconomic survival. Even with a decaying legacy, they have an advantage over others whohave no early exposure to music culture. The successful ones among them, like the Raga

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Boyz, tour abroad frequently, something that their much more talented parents could notimagine.

Coke Studio as an Avenue for Fusion Coke Studio has emerged as a major platform for fusion music. Since its inception in 2008,it has become the most long-lived television music show in Pakistan whose new season iseagerly awaited every year.[ix] Popular artists representing diverse genres like ghazal,qawwali, and khayal perform fusion numbers in orchestral settings, including modernWestern instruments. The show aims to promote all aspects of Pakistan’s cultural heritageby featuring its many regional languages and local styles. In doing so, it sees itscontribution primarily as a medium to promote cohesion in a multi-ethnic country byutilising popular music's universal power and appeal (Saiyid 2012). Coke Studio has provided a lifeline for members of gharanedar families to leverage theirlegacy and cater to larger audiences. Rao (2017) has claimed that: “The creation of the CokeStudio style seems to be a way that artists have responded to obstacles to the performanceof their music in a manner that has led to the creation of a different group of listeners for apopular style, quite unlike any of its parts. It has also tapped into a deeply-felt need to markand reclaim traditions and roots in a fashion appreciated by and acceptable to a newgeneration.”Ustad Hamid Ali Khan’s re-interpretation of “Piya Dekhan Ko”[x] shows how Coke Studiohas recycled older genres of music in new forms. This is a khayal composition in RagaBageshri that has been frequently performed by the doyens of the Patiala gharana. TheCoke Studio arrangement is supported by Western instruments like guitar, drums and pianowhile including tabla and sitar as well. In addition, backup singers are also part of theperformance. While much of this is very different from a traditional performance, theclassical structure with alaap, sargams and tarana is retained. It is claimed that this mix oftradition and modernity successfully conveys a sense of Pakistan’s musical heritage to newaudiences. There is no doubt that Coke Studio has gained global recognition (Kibria 2020),however, the fact remains that its adaptation of classical music, while attractive in its ownright and evoking a glimmer of the legacy, is not the real thing. Opera is alive in the West ina way that Hindustani music in Pakistan is not, and no repackaging can change that fact.

Conclusion There is no doubt that both the quantity and quality of Hindustani music in Pakistan havedeclined since the country's creation in 1947. Evidence for this decline can be found in thequality of performances by younger generations of the gharana lineages, reduced amount ofbroadcasting time for classical music, lack of music education, and the disappearance ofallied industries such as instrument making. In this milieu, it is not surprising that artists used various adaptive strategies to respond tothe changing environment. They leveraged their knowledge of classical music to embellishthose genres like ghazal and fusion with more popular appeal. However, with the

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transmission of knowledge dying out even among the reputed gharanas and the absence ofteachers, it seems inevitable that the tradition of classical music in Pakistan woulddisappear altogether within a few generations.

End Notes:

[i] https://www.rikhiram.com/journey.php

[ii] See this interview with Begum Parween Sultana:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjTRBngYTia

[iii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ph08KGXVn_E and

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1roLYDDUAw

[iv] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAA3n55wSd4

[v] Amit Chauduri also makes this point in Finding the Raga: An

Improvisation on Indian Music (New York Review Books, 2021). See pg. 173.

[vi] Contrast Ustad Amanat Ali and Fateh Ali’s rendition

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rC4Dez7mY0w) with Shafqat’s rendition(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQm7-m0vqNk)

[vii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaD9eoB-KVI Contrast this with

Ustad Amanat Ali’s rendition(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ggf_szKYV_E)

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[viii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSTLa1CHRgY. For Amanat Ali-

Fateh Ali’s rendition see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zE-FzgLBTic

[ix] For its global recognition, see this reference in The Paris Review,

https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2019/11/01/staff-picks-tigers-transliteration-and-truth/

[x] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovoxnLqwaBA. Contrast this with a

more classical rendition of the same composition by Ustad Hamid Ali andAsad Amanat Ali https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0U6HTj3pZHU

References:

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