ARA, THE BIRTH PLACE OF GREAT PAKHAWAZ PLAYER BABU LALAN JI, IS A PILGRIMAGE FOR MUSICIANS LIKE US: DAGAR BROTHERS

ARA, THE BIRTH PLACE OF GREAT PAKHAWAZ PLAYER BABU LALAN JI, IS A PILGRIMAGE FOR MUSICIANS LIKE US: DAGAR BROTHERS

29-JULY-ENG 1

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

ARA----------------------------Shatrunjay Prasad Singh, a disciple of the famous Dhrupad singer Tasadduq Hussain and the worthy son of late Hitnarayan Singh, the landlord of Jamira, Bhojpur, popularly known as Babu Lalan ji, was born on 27 July 1901 in Jamira village of Bhojpur. He received training in Pakhawaj instrument from the famous Guru Late Devkinandan Pathak of Raipur, Ballia. At the age of 19, he gave his first independent performance of Pakhawaj playing in the Sangeet Sammelan of Calcutta. He started being discussed in small and big gatherings and gradually his fame spread all over India. Along with Pakhawaj, he received high level training in Tabla from the famous Guru Pandit Vikku Maharaj of Banaras Gharana. He completed his training in Tabla in 1910. Around 1933, he learnt tabla from Ustad Hasan Baksh Khan of Karachi (present day Pakistan). Along with pakhawaj and tabla, he learnt Kathak dance from late Achchan Maharaj, father of Kathak emperor Padma Vibhushan Pandit Birju Maharaj. Apart from Bihar, his pakhawaj resonated in entire India including Calcutta, Jaipur, Udaipur, Lucknow, Delhi, Banaras. Adorned with Presidential Award, Fellowship of Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, Mardangik Chakra Chudamani, Sangeet Shiromani, Sangeet Martand, Laya Bhaskar, Governor Award, Dance and Drama Award etc., Babu Lallan ji proved his extraordinary personality due to his tireless practice and artistic imagination. Pandit Siyaram Tiwari, Pandit Ramchatur Mallik, Ustad Habibuddin Khan, Pandit Anokha Lal Mishra, Ustad Ahmed Jaan Thirakwa, Pandit Samta Prasad alias Godai Maharaj, Damyanti Joshi and other musicians were his patrons. He himself organized many big national level music conferences in Ara, Bhojpur and also presided over many big music conferences of the country. In that era, there would hardly be any famous artist of India who had not visited Ara. In the 1950s, under the supervision of Babu Lalan ji, the first performance of the famous singer Padma Vibhushan Vidushi Girija Devi ji's life took place in Rupam Cinema of Ara. Which she accepts with great joy. He made his residence Jamira Kothi in Ara a centre for teaching and training, where there was free arrangement of food and lodging along with learning and teaching. He spent a lot of money along with valuable contribution in the promotion of music. He expanded the art in Bhojpur, as a result of which many great artists were born on the soil of Bhojpur and the environment was so pure that Pandit Omkar Nath Thakur named Ara "Chhotki Banaras". In the 1950s, Babu Lalan ji's name was so famous that the famous Dhrupad singers Dagar brothers, who came to Ara to participate in a music conference, said that "Ara, which is the birthplace and creation of Babu Lalan ji, is a pilgrimage for artists like us. Babu Lalan ji was the representative artist of the Kodau Singh Gharana. His playing style was serious and he played long parans in the Pakhavaj. Apart from this, he used to clearly pronounce the letters of the literature. Those who have heard Babu Lalan ji's Pakhavaj playing, tell that he played the Saraswati Stuti "Ya Kundendu Tushar Haar Dhavala..........." clearly as if the Pakhavaj was humming like a human being. He played Tadan, Dhumkitak, Dhettagin, Kridhetta, Dhanannan etc. in most of the parans in a strong and open style and also used to sing the verses of literature. He used to play with sweetness. There was a heroic element in his tabla playing. As a result, when he had to accompany Dhrupad singing, the lack of pakhavaj was never felt. The harmony of the strength of the tabla and the sweetness of his playing was amazing and there was beauty in the hammer. Babu Lallan ji, who marked Ara on the national map, died in a car accident on 09 June 1961.