PATNA: Thousands of
kilometres away from the Indian shores and despite being a teacher by
profession, she passionately continues her pursuit of classical vocal
Indian music. Decades of her 'sadhna' resulted in the release of her
first album, 'Ardaas', in New Delhi earlier this month. The album is a
collection of eight devotional songs, including bhajans in praise of
Shirdi's Sai Baba, penned and composed by her.
Music has to be part of my life. Music and
spirituality go hand in hand for me and Sainath helps me in balancing
every other thing in my life," she said in reply to an online
questionnaire from Muscat, the capital of Oman.
Releasing
'Ardaas' on November 2, India's eminent esraj player Ustad Alauddin Khan
said, "It was a pleasant surprise for me to hear such a soulful voice
from a person who is not a full-time singer. This shows her dedication
for music." Vandana sang bhajans, Sufi songs and ghazals at the concert
that followed at India Habitat Centre in New Delhi.
She was
initiated into music at the tender age of three. Speaking of her music
legacy, she says, "I got it from my maternal side. My mother who was
trained in Bharatnatyam and Kathak dance forms during the 1960s, also
sings very well. My interest in ghazals and qawwalis was developed
because of my uncle's very fine taste of music."
She was
introduced to the formal training of Indian classical music by famous
thumri singer Kameshwar Pathak from Gaya gharana. "After I moved to my
father's place, I became the disciple of Pandit Shambhu Upadhyaya from
Kirana gharana."
Her grandfather was a professor of Hindi in
Magadh University and their house is located in Professor's Colony on
West Church Road of Gaya. "I owe a lot to Gaya as all the memories of my
childhood are simply golden. I was brought up in a completely musical
and poetical atmosphere. Poets like Janaki Vallabh Shastri and Mahadevi
Verma would come and stay with us."
After studying at Nazareth
Academy, Gaya, Vandana studied music as a subject till BA from MDDM
College, Muzaffarpur. She got her Master's degree in English literature
and media management and later completed MPhil in mass communication.
She has also done television programme production course and was
sponsored by Unicef to do a six-month trainers' training course on
community development. She shifted from Patna to Muscat in 1984.
Asked about her role models, she says, "I grew up with the ghazals of
Begum Akhtar, Jagjit Singh and Ghulam Ali. Farida Khanum and Asha Bhosle
are my favourites in terms of ghazal and I adore Abida Parween and
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan when it comes to Sufi music. Bhajans of Kumar
Gandharva and Kishori Amonkar are very close to my heart. In Indian
classical music, Parveen Sultana and Girija Devi are my favourite."
Vandana would now prefer to "give more time to music and carry on with
performances and concerts as and when time would permit because nothing
can be more fulfilling and enriching than music". But, then, she says,
"My plans are all designed by the Almighty." It is this unflinching
faith in Him that makes her write and sing in one of her bhajans:
... Mann bhawara hai
Sai naam ras
Peekar bhoola hai jag saara
Rain basera in charanon mein
Ab toh karega ye banjaara.
source :TOI
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