Saptak Day 2: Banaras Gharana titan elevates everyday emotion to level of peerless art

Ahmedabad: Rajan Mishra's absence is not a void on the Saptak stage. His aakars bunching into garlands of lightning, his shawl catching light with silk, and his smile dawning like friendship together form a living memorial on a spot to the left of his brother Sajan Mishra. The brothers were long-term collaborators until Rajan Mishra passed away in 2021.On Friday, Day 2 of Saptak, the Banaras Gharana grandee Sajan Mishra headlined the programme with his son Swaransh.Being the bridge between the Banaras Gharana's history and its future is an onerous responsibility. But Sajan Mishra demonstrated almost beatific composure as he proceeded to construct the gharana's customary masterwork.The opening composition, set to Raga Jog Kauns, was "Kahe karat ghuman bavre?" Loosely translated, the words mean "Why are you showing pride, you unenlightened one?"Sajan Mishra began his rumination with low, sombre notes. It seemed he was excavating through all thoughts that impede enlightenment: the pressure of art; the unpredictability of the mundane, such as commercial flights; and indeed, the cruelties of life.The maestro set a demanding aural path for his son. To follow his father, Swaransh often had to make his notes bow deeply, like devotees seeking atonement.As Jog Kauns approached its climax, Sajan Mishra's singing swelled into one of the hallmarks of the gharana: breath management. Enlightenment had come into view, pride had dissipated, and divine grace beckoned.Sajan Mishra made the notes glide towards spiritual assurance, every trill reaching for a new high, but in dignified movements that befitted a prayer. Swaransh proved himself to be an earnest learner.Raga Darbari followed, with the first bandish setting off the torrent of excitement of a beloved coming home. The second bandish described lovers' meeting being thwarted by families that don't care about the pain of pining.Sajan Mishra's success lay not in ranging between love's promise and longing's despair, but in turning those commonplace emotions into peerless art.The concert ended, a minute before 1am on Saturday, with "Bhavani, Dayani". The Goddess was invoked and the Banaras Gharana titan answered the rasikas' prayer for a Saptak tour de force.