Anecdotes

Anecdotes by:

• N. Jayvanth Rao

• Pandit Batuk Dewanji

• Madhusudan B. Patel

 

Anecdotes by N. Jayavanth Rao

1. Faiyaz Khan never criticised any of his accompanists even if they spoilt his recital by bad accompaniment. After a programme where a tabaliya had not played very well, the troupe was returning home in a horse-drawn carriage. The only topic of conversation was how bad the tabaliya was but Faiyaz Khan was quiet all through that conversation. Suddenly one of them said that the tabaliya was good only for accompanying dancers, and that is when Faiyaz Khan opened his mouth for the first time and said "There you are right. He was indeed a dance accompanist. If he is asked to play with a vocalist and he does not come up to our expectation, is that his fault? At least he did his best so why go on criticising the poor fellow?" That shut everyone's mouth immediately.
   
   

2. Once Faiyaz Khan was invited to perform in Indore by the Maharaja (who was known as the Holkar). This particular Holkar generally kept to himself and the public of Indore had not seen him too often. This time however the Raja invited the public to attend the concert and there were thousands of people gathered to listen to a classical concert. Before the programme started the Holkar first walked in and sat on the dais. The gathered crowd stood up silently in respect. Then Faiyaz Khan walked in, decked in his grand Sherwani with all his medallions, and suddenly the whole audience got up and shouted in full-throated unison: " Maharaj ki jai!" much to the embarrassment of both Khansaheb and Holkar! However they hugged each other and it was only when the concert started that the public realised the mistake!

-N. Jayavanth Rao

Anecdotes by Pandit Batuk Dewanji

Ustad Faiyaz Khan

Ustad Faiyaz Khan was considered the greatest vocalist of our times. He was an adept in all the genres of music like alaap, dhrupad, dhamar, khayal, thumri, tarana and ghazal. I had asked several listeners and savants like Thakur Jaydevsing and Pandit Srikrishna Ratanjankar whether they had heard any vocalist who could surpass Ustad Faiyaz Khan and the answer was always in the negative.

After Ustad Faiyaz Khan's rendition of Raga Ramkali in a music festival the great Ustad Alladiya Khan, the doyen and founder of Jaipur-Atrauli Gharana, embraced him and said “Faiyaz, you are Tansen of our generation”.

I was fortunate to attend about 20 concerts of Ustad Faiyaz Khan and every time it was an unforgettable aesthetic experience.  Once in a suburban music circle at Santa Cruz, Bombay. I met him during the interval and eulogized his masterly exposition. He told me, “I am nothing. Khuda  gevata hai (it is God’s mercy). When one forgets one’s self then only one can give out his best. It is your love for me that you like my music”. What humility!  Than he added, “you people study for 4 or 5 years and get the degree of B.A. or M.A. permanently, but I have to pass an examination every time I sing in a concert”.

During the closing years of Ustad's life, I made it at point to visit him daily whenever he was in Bombay, eager to relish every word that issued from his lips. He was generally surrounded by admirers and Ustad Ghulam Rasul Khan, his close relative who gave him impeccable accompaniment on the harmonium in concerts. Once, Ustad's disciple Pandit Dilipchandra Bedi came there with several bottles of beer. In those days, following medical advice, the Ustad had  given up drinking which was his favorite  habit. Dilipchandra tried to persuade the Ustad to have some beer. The Ustad refused but Dilipchandra was insistent. The Ustad then flared up and said, “you fool. you are offering water to a person who has consumed liquor all his life? Begone.” Then Ghulam Rasul Khan took Dilipchandra to another room and they both gave full justice to the watery drink.

There are many anecdotes showing the Ustad's greatness and magnanimity. I relate only three of them which are as follows:

1. A station master of a small railway station was very keen to have Ustad’s  concert on the occasion of his daughter’s wedding and agreed to pay rupees five hundred for the concert. After the concert was over he paid the money. The Ustad had observed that the life style of the station master was no better than a middle class family. Hence he asked someone to find out what salary the station master received. On being told that his salary was one hundred and fifty rupees per month, the Ustad returned the amount to the bride along with some of his own money as a wedding present to the bride.

2.  In a similar instance a middle class man had arrange the Ustad’s concert at the time of his son’s “yagnopavit.”  The Ustad’s saw that many relatives of the “batuk” i.e. the boy whose “yagnopavit” was begin celebrated gave him presents. The Ustad felt it was not proper for him to keep the money given to him for the concert and returned it to the “batuk” along with Rs. 25 as a present.

3. After the assassination of MAHATMA GANDHI, a programme of bhajans was organized by All India Radio for which some famous artistes were invited to sing. Each artiste was sent a contract specifying the amount that would be paid to him. When the Ustad received the contract he said, “How can I accept the money for mourning his death?” and refused to accept the payment whereas some renowned singers quietly pocketed the money given to them for the programme.

This is the 50^th death anniversary your of Ustad Faiyaz Khan. He died in 1950 at the age of about 70 years and a golden of Indian classical music almost cane to an end. During his time many great singers like Ustad Alladiya Khan, Kesarbai Kerkar, Pandit Omkarnath, Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Ustad Ameer Khan and many others were living but Ustad Faiyaz Khan reigned supreme and moved about in the musical arena like a colossus.  After his memorable performance of Raga Ramkali in 1944 Ustad Alladiya Khan had invited him and some other musicians of Agra Gharana for all “Davat” (feast) and Ustad Alladiyakan said “Fiayaz, you are Tansen of our times”. Ustad Faiyaz Khan had created such pathos by his music that tears welled up in the eyes of many a listener. On many other occasions also he had moved the listeners to tears. It is extremely doubtful whether a musician of such caliber will be born in future.

Ustad Faiyazkhan was appointed court musician of Baroda by Maharaja Sayajirao Gayakwad. He was in great demand by Maharajas and Nawabs of many Indian states. Once the Maharaja of Mysore was so mush pleased with his music that he presented the Ustad with diamond – studded bracelets and conferred on him the title of “Aftab-Emausiki” which means “The sun of music”. On another occasion Sir Tukojirao Holkar, Maharaja of Indore, removed an invaluable pearl necklace and put it around the neck of the Ustad. 

Ustad Faiyazkhan was a porthumous child and was taken care of and taught music by his maternal grant father Ustad Ghulam Abbas Khan at Agra. He was a great singer and teacher, and died at the age of about 120 years On his father’s side Faiyaz Khan was a descendant of Ustad Ramian Khan Rangile who was a great musician and a composer, and Ustad Faiyaz Khan at times sang these Bandishes in his own inimitable manner. The great musical savant Pandit Bhatkhande was so much impressed by his music that he sent his own pupil Pandit Srikirshna Ratanjankar to Ustad Faiyaz khan for further study and to learn the secrets of his “Gayaki”(style)

Ustad Faiyaz Khan had achieved mastery in all the genres of music like dhamar, khayal thumri, hori, dadra and gazal. Even great exponents of light-classical music like Siddheswari Devi and others used to marvel at his proficiency in this genre. His Kafi Hori “Khelat Nandkumar”, Bhairavi Thumri” Babul Mora” and Bhairavi Dadra “Banavo Batiyan” are still singing in the ears of people who had heard them. He had a vast repertoire of Ragas but preferred to sing common Ragas like Kedar, Jaijawanti, Puriya etc. in his concerts. His mastery over Jaijaiwanti was such that the listeners used to clamour for it.

There are very few people living who were fortunate to have heard his music. But any one can still enjoy his music which is recorded in cassettes and C.D.s. I had the good fortune to have heard about 20 of his concerts and every time it was a great aesthetic experience.

During his last years I used to visit him daily whenever he visited Bombay. I had nothing to ask him. I am too small a person to have engaged him in any questions about music, but I used to enjoy every minute hearing his bass voice, his conversation with others, the kind look in his eyes and watching his movements and gestures. His presence was elevation.

Ustad Faiyaz Khan had a very rich voice and a very keen aesthetic sense. Besides being a great singer he was a composer per excellence and composed about 25 Bandishes under the norm de plume of “prem Piya”, which have enriched our music. Some of them like “Sajan More Ghar Aye” in Raga jog, “Baje Mori Payaliyan” in Raga Barwa, : Nainanso Dekhi” in Raga Suha Sugrai and “Nandan” Akhiyan Lagi” in Raga Jaijaiwanti have achieved immortality.

Although the “Sun of Music” has now set, its bright rays stills illumine the firmament of music.

-Pandit Batuk Diwanji