Who Deserves Bharat Ratna?

Mohammad Shehzad

Some Indian friends are down in dumps. What in the dickens? They are the true music
lovers and want the distinction between ‘awards’ and ‘alms’ to stay visible.

Freedom of speech is now ‘treason’ in Modi-regime. Whisper something innocuous

against it in Mumbai, the CBI will be your ‘guest’ within hours and the Delhi police will
be your ‘host’ for a criminal case that was registered against you – years ago in Delhi!
But Pakistan is a paradise of freedom. You are free to say anything as long as it is
against the ‘neighbours’ of the deep state.

A group is lobbying for Bharat Ratna (the top civil honour in India) for the deceased
vocalist Pandit Jasraj. The group is widely known as ‘minions’ of his daughter – Durga
Jasraj. As long as Jasraj lived, he knocked every politician’s door for a Padma Shree for
Durga who ironically failed to prosper as classical vocalist, actress or TV hostess despite
talent.

Awards ought to be merit-based. When they are distributed as ‘goodies’ among loyalists
or cronies, the worst victim is the art itself which the artists are supposed to keep alive
through a lifelong hard work. Injustice demoralizes the genuine artists. They give up
and the art dies and ignorance flourishes simultaneously – to no limits.

This is precisely the reason Pandit Anindoo Chatterjee refused Padma Shree. And in the
past, Ustad Vilayat Khan refused Padma Shree, Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan.
His brother Ustad Imrat Khan refused Padma Shree and in 2011 Pandit Buddhadev Das
Gupta (sarod maestro) refused the same honour. Offering any artist an award at the
wrong time is a far greater sin than ignoring him. For the injustice is coupled with insult.

The music lovers were disappointed when Anindoo Chatterjee was ignored and a novice
like Vijay Ghattay was favoured with Padma Shree. The disappointment became a shock
when the Modi-regime threw Padma Shree in the sycophantic bowl of Adnan Sami Khan
whose contribution to the Indian music has yet to take birth.

The legendary sitar maestro Ustad Rais Khan became a Pakistani citizen in 1986. He was
not a fake asylum seeker like Adnan. He married Bilquis Khanam in 1979 and moved to
Karachi seven years later. Nobody would have raised eyebrows if the Pakistani
government would have given him the Pride of Performance the same year. He got it two
decades later. The day Adnan was given Padma Shree, Imrat Khan and Anindoo
Chatterjee had given more than 60 years of their lives to the Indian music without being
even considered for such an honour. But Modi like our Imran Khan can do any clownery
and feel proud of it.

I conducted a long interview with Jasraj in the late 90’s when he was in Islamabad as a
guest of the Indian High Commission. He began his career as a tabla player but left it for
the social status of a vocalist in the world of classical music was superior to that of a
tablist. ‘Jasraj tum chamra peet-tay ho (you beat a piece of leather)’ was the taunt he
would face while accompanying his brother Pandit Maniram on tabla.

Jasraj had a sweet voice, but his overall music had a number of limitations which a
serious listener won’t tolerate. He would lose control in the drut (fast tempo). His voice
range was not wide and deep like Bade Ghulam Ali Khan. His badhat (improvisation)
was not as rich, intricate and sophisticated as Ustad Amir Khan’s. He would render ragas
in bhajan style which made him a refined version of Anoop Jalota. In a nutshell, Jasraj
was simply an average vocalist!

We felt a great deal of dismay when Jasraj was given Padma Vibhushan. We thought his
music did not justify even the Padma Shree. We had the same feeling when Budhayditya
Mukerjee was awarded Padma Bhushan. His is a copycat! He mimics Ustad Vilayat
Khan. On the other hand, if there is a sitar-player who has surpassed everyone including
Ravi Shankar and Ustad Vilayat Khan, that’s nobody except Shahid Parvez (Vilayat’s
nephew). Ravi Shaknar was known for his alaap and laikaari and Vilayat Khan – for his
spontaneous and endless taans. Shahid is gifted with both the virtues and he has a lot of
other things of his own. He has a Padma Shree to his credit besides Sangeet Natak
Academy Award. Awarding Mukerjee a Padma Bhushan while ignoring Shahid Parvez
was certainly a great injustice to the music and the musician.

Only two artists deserve a Bharat Ratna posthumously in the world of classical vocal
music – Ustad Amir Khan and Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan. Only one playback singer
deserves a Bharat Ratna posthumously in the world of playback singing i.e. the great
Mohammad Rafi.

If wisdom could prevail on the Modi-junta (which is unlikely) – one Bharat Ratna should
go to Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, the father of Santoor. Another to the living sarod
legend Ustad Amjad Ali Khan (who is also cajoling every politician these days for a
Padma Shree for his two sons – Amaan and Ayaan). A Padma Vibhushan for Zakir Bhai
(tabla wizard Ustad Zakir Hussain) and Ustad Shahid Parvez. And the last Padma
Vibhushan to Pandit Anindoo Chatterjee. If it does not happen, then Pakistan and India
are just like each other in bringing insult to music and the great artists!