The magical appearance of the clouds and the rains from nowhere reminded everyone present there of the legendary Tansen.

It started drizzling, which cooled the atmosphere greatly. He decided to sing a raga Dhulia Malhar, which he explained at length was a precursor of the rains and where the rain particles are often mixed with dust particles to produce intense dust storms preceding the rainfall.Īs he continued his singing on that hot afternoon, clouds appeared from nowhere. On a special occasion, on May 8, 1998, it was a hot and humid afternoon. In imbibing the classical tradition, he constantly sought to improvise and improve on it. After all, the Om Namo Bhagwate Vasudevaya Namaha, which he sang on many occasions, comes with a supreme sense of spirituality unique to Jasraj and which invoked instant community participation. He also innovated the well-known Jasrangi, which involved both the female artist and himself performing collectively for wider community acceptance. That is why, while learning from the Mewati Gharana, he improvised on his musical styles, particularly kirtan. He recognised that the classical tradition, without losing its purity of form and content, must evolve. In this sense, he had a futuristic vision. I have heard some recitals of him being taught by his elder brother, Pandit Maniram, and it is amazing to hear the re-orchestration of the best guru-shishya tradition.Īs an exponent of the Mewati Gharana, he sought to blend various musical styles, not confined to ghayal alone. On one occasion, when I remarked about his viral fever, he jocularly answered that the presence of such distinguished music lovers and our enthusiasm had made his discomfort vanish.īorn in Hisar, Panditji traversed a long distance in his life from various traditions, imbibing the essentials of different styles of singing. On no occasion did I find him irritated, complaining of either an inattentive audience or any transient illness.

His magnanimity, indulgence and equanimity were unique to him. However, there are some characteristics which were exclusive to him. Given my passion for Indian music, I was privileged to share a personal bond with all of them. He was the last of the great quartet in our classical vocal tradition comprising Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, an exponent of the Kirana Gharana Kishori Amonkar, an exponent of the Jaipur Gharana Girija Devi, an exponent of the Seniya and Banaras gharanas and Pandit Jasraj, an exponent of the Mewati Gharana. I do not recall of any auspicious occasion, from my house-warming to the marriage of my son, which were not blessed by his magical voice. Pandit Martand Jasraj was deeply embedded in India’s national psyche and was an inimitable part of its cultural ethos.

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