HYDERABAD: Music is beyond the restrictive elements of our finite perception. From touching our souls to even the mind and body, the art form does more than leave you wanting for more. Indian classical vocalist Pandit Jasraj’s music was above and beyond any of the aforementioned things. The late doyen’s voice touched lives and when death knocked on his doors, the world wasn’t ready to lose him.
The mortal remains of the maestro, who used to call himself a son of Hyderabad, have finally reached the city and unified with his father late Pandit Motiram’s remains at the Hindu Smashana Vatika in Amberpet.
His daughter, Durga Jasraj, who leaves no stoned unturned in carrying her father and grandfather’s legacy forward, opens up to CE about the samadhi, the essence it holds and recalls some priceless memories of the late singer.
“When my father departed, we were bombarded with calls of fans from across the country. They said that they wanted to immerse his ashes in the Ganga. We were humbled to see how people completely owned my father; it only goes to the show the number of lives he has touched with his music. As moving as that was, my family -- mother, brother and I -- sat down to decide on what to do, and it had to be brought to Hyderabad,” says Durga.
She shares the reason behind their decision. “There’s so much history to it. My father was only four when his father passed away in Hyderabad in 1934. My father, the youngest of his siblings, missed his father’s presence throughout his life. He had only one faint memory of him learning under him. He always wished he had learnt from him. He hunt down where my grandfather was laid to rest. Once he found the epitaph, he slowly kept acquiring more space and made a proper structure for the grave. Gradually, it grew big enough for music lovers to assemble and sing all day. Today, it’s a shrine. People would be there at 2 am and sing soulfully. All his life, my father craved for his father’s proximity and he kept that relationship alive. This still lives with me, though I never saw my grandfather. My father’s remains are at peace with his father’s,” Durga says.
In memory of his father, since 1972, every year on November 30 (Pandit Motiram’s death anniversary), Pandit Jasraj would organise the Pandit Motiram Pandit Maniran Sangeet Samaroha. “In 2020, my father was in New Jersey and could not get to Hyderabad to perform. But, we used the best of the technology to make it look like he was playing real time and live on stage. He passed away in 2020. In 2021, too, we played his recordings -- properly synched with the live musicians -- at the venue,” Durga says, adding that because her father never let any lucrative offer, sickness or even death come in his way of organising the annual event, she has vowed to do the same.
Speaking about her father and grandfather’s graves now turning into a musical shrine, she says, “They don’t sing here, it’s their tapasya. The place is overwhelming. Today, students, fans and tourists form across the world spend time here. The place has been decorated with flowers and, trust me, you won’t find a spec of dust. It’s being maintained in such pristine condition. Very few people in the world have such places for themselves. This place is basically puja through music,” she concludes as her voice beams with pride.