The Benaras gharana that they belong to was traditionally a gharana of sarangi players. Keeping with the family tradition, Pandit Rajan had started taking training in sarangi at the tender age of five. However, he did not go beyond the initial lessons because he could not endure the excruciating pain by the strings that one has to undergo while learning it.

“Since I refused to learn sarangi, it was decided that I should learn vocal and that is how I became the first vocalist in my family. Then Chhote Panditji (Pandit Sajan) also learned it. Eventually, it was decided by our elders that we should always perform together and that is the way it has been,” said Pandit Rajan, who is on a visit to the city for their performance in the ongoing Saptak Musical Festival.

In reply to a question about the salient and distinct features of his gharana, Pandit Rajan, who was also speaking on behalf of his brother, said: “Although what we recite is called a khayal, in our gayaki, elements of all the genres of the classical music, such as Dhrupad, Khayal, Thumri, Hori, Tappa and Kajri are included. A discerning listener can easily identify them in our recital.”

When asked whether they take into account different parameters while performing in India and abroad, Pandit Rajan said that a great deal of misunderstandings and wrong notions about performing abroad prevails among the Indian classical music artists.

“They think the foreign audiences will not be able to understand and appreciate the contemplative nature of our music and its method of gradual development of the raag. Therefore, they try to dilute these elements and to replace them with what they think will be easier for the listeners to digest. But I can tell you from my very first experience of singing abroad that they are more attentive and patient to understand our music than our own audiences,” said Pandit Rajan.

He further said that before their first performance abroad in 1984, they had decided to make some changes in their gayaki on the suggestion of some “experienced well-wishers”.

“But a few hours before the performance, my heart said that we must present to them what we had learned all these years. So, we sang in our original style. The response was so encouraging that we decided never to change our gayaki. This approach, I think, is the key to our success,” Pandit Rajan added.

TODAY IN SAPTAK
The second week of the Saptak Music Festival will start with a vocal recital by Ms Devki Pandit. She will be accompanied by Kedar Pandit on tabla and Suyog Kundalkar on harmonium
Aneesh Pradhan, a disciple of the late Pandit Nikhil Ghosh, will give a solo tabla performance in the company of Sudhir Nayak on harmonium and Ramesh Mishra on sarangi
The last artist will be the vocalist from the Gwalior gharana Vinayak Torvi.
He will be accompanied by Jajwalya Shukla on tabla and Paromite Mukherji on harmonium