Music Magic:
The life of the great singer and composer, Tansen, often called the founder of Hindustani classical music, has been the subject of books, films and numerous folk legends.
Delhi-based theatre group The Trialogue Company has produced an outstanding stage production, Tansen, blending dastangoi, music, dance and social commentary. The story is brought to life by three performers, Sudheer Rikhari, Mohammad Faheem and Riddhima Bagga, playing multiple parts. It begins even before the birth of Tansen, when Raja Man Singh Tomar, at the behest of Rani Roopmati, establishes a Sangeet Vidyalay in Gwalior, which later impacts the life of the musician.
A child is born in village Behat, to a Brahmin couple, with the blessings of a Muslim mystic, Mohammad Ghaus. Named Ramtanu, he is left to be raised by Ghaus and gets his music grounding there. Later, he is sent to learn music under Swami Haridas in Vrindavan.
On a visit to his village, he falls in love with Tani, but later abandons her to marry Husseni. After a long stint at the place of Raja Ramchander of Rewa, Tansen, ends up in Emperor Akbar’s court in Agra as one of the Navratnas. As the legend goes, he was able to light up diyas with his rendition of Raag Deepak, but the heat it generated in his body could only be extinguished by Raag Malhar; who sang it varies depending on who is the narrator of the story
Rikhari and Faheem, who wrote the play, which the former directed, have an interesting interpretation of this incident—the inner fire being that of Tansen’s ego, which needed to be doused. At the height of his power, the royal musician now called Miyan Tansen, decreed that nobody could sing in the kingdom without his permission. He ordered the incarceration of a group of sadhus who were singing bhajans; the son of one of them grew up to be Baiju Bawra, who, according to legend, defeated Tansen in a competition.
The mention of ego takes Rikhari and Faheem into a discussion of how destructive it can be, leading to a humorous, though entirely unnecessary faux quarrel on stage. During the story-telling, the two often add amusing asides, but the focus remains ishq (love) and ibadat (devotion) the cornerstones of music, and of all art. There is also woven into Tansen’s life the secularism of the true artiste, who rises above petty differences in his pursuit of the divine. The audience can only wait for the beautifully sung classical and semi-classical songs that stud the play.
The three founders of Trialogue, all with impressive credentials, work in conjunction on the production, each contributing their strengths to the writing, design, music, dance, costumes, supported by Ramesh Chauhan’s lights and Varun Gupta’s sound. Tansen deserves to be performed at larger venues, so a wider audience can enjoy it.
(This piece first appeared in mumbaitheatreguide.com)