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Music review

Shubh Vivah – Shaadi Ki Shehnaiyan. Vol 3

Tracks –Raaga Todi, Ahir Bhairav, Jaunpuri,Bilawal,Yaman, Basant,Malkauns, Mishra Kamaj, and a light dhun in the end.

There is nothing like getting up early in the morning and listening to the sounds of the Shenai filling up in your home. It transports you to nostalgic times and the festivity associated with an auspicious occasion like a wedding especially in North India. And then if you are listening to the maestro Bismillah Khan himself, be willing to be cast into a spell. As a master of the shehnai, a two-foot long woodwind, his music has an amazing piercing soulfulness.

Titled Shubh Vivah, this CD which has a series of three volumes takes pride of place in a collector’s album. The CD features eight ragas all expressed through their own unique compositions. The first 4 ragas are short pieces and are marked by the expressive, meditative power of Khan's playing, which is welcoming, unhurried and graceful. Khan then moves to play long and soulful stirrings which invoke some of the wedding celebrations, the bride and groom taking the traditional seven steps, the festivities and the Biddai or the farewell. The Ragas evoke and reflects the love of two souls united in marriage. My personal favorites were Raag Yaman and Malkauns which had Khan’s exquisite music stirring your heart with its versatility of depth and range.

Khan’s legendary music is timeless and steeped in classicism. Music was a divine Unity. Although he was a devout Shia , he is known to have been a staunch devotee of Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of music. Namaaz, to him were the seven shuddh and five komal surs .

As the market for classical music gets savvier, instrumental music is also being slickly produced and well packaged. Take for instance this present collection. The sleeve note explains the significance of the shenai and gives a short biography of the musician.

Tidbit : Hearing Bismillah Khan play at a festival, Film director Vijay Bhatt was so bowled over that he named a film on the instrument called "Gunj Uthi Shehnai". The film was a hit, one of Bismillah's composition, "Dil ka khilona hai toot gaya…." turned out to be a nation wide chartbuster!

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