Having been born in the early sixties and fed on a rich diet of, on the one
hand, Hindi film music of the fifties, sixties and mid-seventies and
on the other hand Marathi natya sangeet & bhavageet, it has
bothered me no end to see the gradual decline of these glorious forms
of music.
In
the last more than twenty five years, there would, in my view,
probably not be more than 20 hindi film songs which would stand
shoulder to shoulder with their glorious predecessors. Selected songs
from the films 1942 A Love Story, Lekin, Roja, Deewana and Lagaan are
those that I can readily recall. The advent of MTV into India has
been one of the
reasons for the change in the taste of the audiences, more
particularly the younger generation. The scene was even more
disturbing on the natyasangeet front. As a child, I vividly remember
having watched Matsyagandha and Suvarntula in the theatre – my late
father was a natyasangeet and bhavageet buff. I still recall, as a
five year old, watching Ashalatatai Wabgaonkar singing Artha
Shoonya Bhaasay; and to date
that is one of my all time favourites. Besides, listening to Marathi
songs on Bombay ‘A’ station on radio, Aapli
Aavad in particular, before
going to sleep was almost a daily ritual, which nurtured the liking
for this genre of music in me. Thankfully, I am seeing a revival of
natyasangeet; my joy knew no bounds while watching Katyaar
Kaaljaat Ghusli on TV a few
days back, with Rahul Deshpande reprising the role made immortal by
his late grandfather Pt. Vasantrao Deshpande, and doing full justice
to it.
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I also happened to listen to CDs containing natyasangeet
composed and sung by the late Pt. Dinanath Mangeshkar, brought alive
by Swaradheesh Bharat Balvalli and was completely swept away by the
genius of this young man. The joy was all the more greater, as I have
known Bharat as a kid, even before his initiation into the world of
music. What stood out even then, was his high pitched singsong voice
and surging restless energy, that was waiting to be harnessed; and
with God’s grace it has happened so. This has given me great hope
that the future of natyasangeeet is secure in the safe hands of the
likes of Bharat Balvalli and Rahul Deshpande. However, as I write
this note, I am not as optimistic about our Hindi film music; I
guess, as things stand, I’ll have to make do with the good old
memories.
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| Swaradheesh Bharat Balvalli |
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