Begum Akhtar | Des | छा रही काली घटा | chhaa rahii kaalii ghaTaa | 1957
छा रही काली घटा जिया मोरा लहराए है सुन री कोयल बावरी तूँ क्यूँ मल्हार गाये है? ऐ पपीहा आ इधर मैं भी सरापा दर्द हूँ आम पर क्यूँ जम रहा है मैं भी तो ऐसी जर्द हूँ फर्क इतना है कि उस में रस है मुझ में हाए है ऐ पपीहा चुप खुदा के वास्ते तू हो ज़रा रात आधी हो चुकी है अब तुझे क्या हो गया? तेरी पीहू-पीहू से पपीहा पिय मुझे याद आये है मुद्दतों ढूढ़ा पिया को कर जोगन का भेस ना तो मैंने उनको पाया ना और ना पाया उन का देस लोग कहते हैं के ढूंढे से खुदा मिल जाए है Akhtari Bai Faizabadi (October 7, 1914 – October 30, 1974), also known as Begum Akhtar. This recording, made available by the National Center for the Performing Arts in the public domain, is one of the 18 compositions recorded during a private concert hosted by businessman and patron Khatau Vallabhdas at his residence in Walkeshwar, Mumbai, in the year 1957. No copyright infringement is intended and this is not meant for any commercial purpose whatsoever. It is shared only for the purpose of widening the availability of this amazing document so that the magic of this art form can be experienced and studied widely. The composition is best heard with the context provided by Shubha Mudgal in the writeup for the NCPA: // In 1957, when this recording was captured on tape during a live concert, Begum Akhtar (1914-1974) would have been thirty-eight years [43, actually] old, highly acclaimed and sought after as the reigning queen of ghazal, and also considered a leading exponent of thumri and dadra. Performing for an adoring audience, as is evident from the abundantly audible appreciation, the great singer offers a rich repertoire of bol-banao thumri, dadra, hori, chaiti and several ghazals by master poets in the course of the evening. The recording of this mehfil which continued for more than three hours, is replete with many invaluable gems from Begum Akhtar’s repertoire, her girlish giggle, her waah for her accompanying musicians, the smile in her voice as she receives fulsome praise, and of course, the rousing appreciation she receives from her fascinated listeners throughout the concert. Although Begum Akhtar was an outstanding exponent of the thumri-dadra and ghazal forms, she is best remembered for her unique rendering of ghazals in a musical style that relied heavily on her training in Hindustani classical music from ustads including Abdul Wahid Khan of the Kirana gharana, and Ata Mohammad Khan of the Patiala gharana... Ghazal, thumri, dadra and allied forms are often described as being shabda-pradhaan forms which accord primacy to song text. To adorn song text with music and more specifically, the art of complex elaboration typical of raagdari music must then pose a challenge for singers of these lyric-driven forms... Begum Akhtar presented some of her signature pieces at this concert, and among them is her popular dadra “Chha rahi kali ghata”. There is a delicious languor in the pace she sets for the dadra, and the lilting gait established by the tabla complements the song text “Jiya mora lehraye hai”, reminding one of the swaying movement of the jhoola traditionally installed during the monsoon in North India. Since this is a dadra inextricably associated with Begum Akhtar, there are several renditions of it that have been recorded in her voice. In many of these renditions the antara is sung in the upper octave and usually in the classic ma pa ni Sa movement towards taar shadja typical of raag Des. However, in this rendition, she situates much of the elaboration in the lower and middle parts of the octave, possibly because she chose a key that was higher than the one she usually selected for this composition. This by no means takes away from the rendition, which is as expressive and poignant as any of the other versions. // Check out two other outstanding versions of this dadra: Kishori Amonkar: • Kishori Amonkar: Des | Thumri | chhaa rahi... Nayyara Noor: • Nayyara Noor | chhaa rahii kaalii ghaTaa |... And a later version by the Begum herself: • Begum Akhtar | Des | छा रही काली घटा | ch... • Begum Akhtar • Desh / Des / Sorath • Chhaa rahii kaalii ghaTaa / jiyaa moraa la... • Begum Akhtar| 1957 Bombay Home Concert
