A music appreciation workshop on “Women in Indian Music Tradition” was organised by the Hyderabad-based ladies’ group FLO on Wednesday.
The speaker was Vikram Lall, founder of SAAR (Society for Art Appreciation and Research), featured expert in the BBC’s documentary Seven Wonders of the Buddhist World and critically acclaimed for designing the Akshardham Temple (New Delhi), Buddha Smriti Park (Patna) and Indian School of Business (Hyderabad).
“The last time I was in Hyderabad, it was 12 years ago, and I was hired to design the ISB building in Gachibowli,” says Vikram, who was invited to speak at the session by Flo chairperson, Rekha Lahoti. “I heard him at a seminar two years ago, and I knew I had to get him to Hyderabad,” says Rekha. “There are many Flo members who not only love music, but are also hidden singers. So when I pitched in the idea about this session, the members were more than happy to get him on board,” says Rekha, known for her love of arts, is a trained classical singer and started singing when she was eight.
Vikram, on the other hand, was more than happy to come back to Hyderabad. “Last time, I was in the city for a year and a half, but barely got to see anything. We used to work from morning to evening, and the only Hyderabadi experience to my credit were the Karachi biscuits that I loved,” says Vikram.
The sessions brought to light the role of women in music through the ages and showcased how music played a role in their empowerment.
Vikram explored the development of different musical forms such as bhakti sangeet, khayal, thumri, ghazal and film music and quoted Meera, M.S. Subbulakshmi, Gauhar Jaan, Begum Akthar, Hirabai Barodekar, Saraswati Devi and Lata Mangeshkar as some of the women pioneers of their era.
“Women and Bhakti tradition originated in South India. Religious poetry was the domain of men. But, Meera broke that convention. After Meera, M.S. Subbulakshmi was the next singer who recrafted the way music and women were perceived,” says Vikram. He explained about thumri music, the song of courtesans and interpretative dance song and spoke about Gauhar Jaan, one of the most prominent names of that time.
He spoke about Gharana style of music and Hirabai Badodekar from Maharashtra, who was the top artiste of her time and an expert in Khyal, Thumri and Bhajans. “When it comes to film music, in those days those who looked good and sang well could only become film stars. They used to practice songs for months together. They used to sing and dance together,” says Vikram. Rather than just giving information, he also played the audio of their music that was well-received by the audience.
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