Hindustani singer Subhadra Desai has given a thought dimension to the shlokas and devotional poetry.
Tanpura’s vocals slowly mingle with singer Subhadra Desai’s air of unabashed confidence. As she closes her eyes to enter a meditative state, the audience is invited to witness the innerness that defines her music. A melodious voice matched by rigorous training, each syllable is rendered with clarity and precision. The vocals of Raga Chhayanat come alive, and while listeners can regularly expect traditional bandish, there are surprises. The composition’s lyrics are not in the usual Brajbhasha, Awadhi or Hindustani, but in Sanskrit – with a verse originally woven into the raga framework.
“Sanskrit is not just a language, or is associated only with religion, it includes literature, art, mathematics, science and various philosophical traditions,” says Subhadra, who also has a PhD in Sanskrit. He has delved into ancient Sanskrit texts and medieval devotional poetry to offer new interpretations within Khayal music.
unique confluence
Sharing her childhood memories that fueled this innovation, she says, “There were always discussions about music, literature and spirituality at home. My mother used to teach Bengali literature and as a child I dreamed of becoming a Sanskrit professor,” says Subhadra. She took training in Hindustani music and became a student of Madhup Mudgal at the age of 12 at Gandharva Mahavidyalaya in Delhi. Later, he began to research Vedic hymns, and began to conceive of new ways of musical interpretation of various shlokas. “In Vedic chanting only three basic swaras are used, or a shloka is sung without a rhythm as a persuasive prelude to a Hindustani concert. But I wanted to understand the possibilities of the confluence of Khayal music.”
Explaining the intricacies of singing Sanskrit verses, she says, “The most important thing from a technical point of view is that the pronunciation is correct and there are no grammatical errors. For example, breaking up a long word that appears to adjust to the rhythm can change its meaning. The language has a certain fluency and has to be matched with the music.”
Composing Sanskrit shlokas in Khayal style was a challenging task. While the raga should complement the literary subtext, it was equally difficult to mold it within the tala chakra. “There was a time when I used to sit with a shloka for days, trying different musical structures, understanding the meaning of words. There should be harmony between literature, swara and tala.” Recalling one of her early attempts to give a khyal dimension to an 8th-century devotional composition by Adi Shankara, ‘Nirvana Shatakam’ consisting of six Sanskrit verses, she says, “I composed it in Sri Raga, and it was called Jhaptal. set.”
on women watchers
During her research, Subhadra also found that there are mentions of more than 27 rishikas (female sages), which have remained unheard. After a concert based on her works, she traveled around the country collecting the works of female saints. “We only know about Meera, Lal Ded, Andal, Akka Mahadevi and a few others. But there are more than 75 women saints who have contributed a lot to devotional music.
Subhadra’s research concludes. happened in a book Indian women seers and their songs: autocratic notes In 2017 that changed his devotional music repertoire. “He expresses his feelings in the lyrics so intensely that I was curious about how the compositions would have been sung.”
Combining her research with imaginative music, Subhadra’s artistic pursuits touch upon philosophy, spirituality, literature and ragas. “Like melody and tone make us” introvert (Introvert), Sanskrit texts also inspire us to explore our inner world,” she says.
The author is a Delhi-based art researcher and author.
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