LOHA (Bihar)

More than 200 years ago ‘Loha’ a forest was given by the Maharaja of Darbhanga residing at Bhowara, just south of Madhubani to Late Shri Nandan Choudhary, a land-lord of the area to build his ‘haveli’. He built his ‘haveli’ here and gradually other people came and settled here and thus came up the village Loha.

The area of this village is less than 200 acres. At present the population of the village is approximately 2000. This village falls under the police station ‘Kaluahi’. On the north of this village is Subhankerpur, on the west is Bijalpura,on the south is Kapasia and on the East a small river named “Jeewachh”. It is believed by the people of the area that a couple is blessed with a child if they bathe in this river. The village is mainly divided in to three ‘tolas’ named ‘Bengal’, ‘Madras’ and ‘Godda’.

There is a very old Primary School which was upgraded to Middle School. High School Loha was established in 1939. Though this school is located in the adjoining village Bijalpura it is called Loha High School named after Shrimati Shashimani Choudhary of Loha. There is a biweekly ‘haat’ (village bazaar) near this high School and is called ‘Loha Haat’.

Temples in Loha – A True Picture

‘Durga Asthan’ is almost 125 years old. This temple is shown in the cadastral Survey map of 1900.The original temple was constructed by the descendents of Late Nandan Choudhary and the puja ceremony in Ashwin Navaratra was celebrated by them. But since last thirty years, the temple is looked after by a village committee and the new temple has been constructed with the cooperation/donation of all the villagers. The main source of the income for the temple (for puja,etc.) is the pond near the temple.

The puja in this temple is celebrated from 1st Aswin ( New Moon) to Purnima ( Full Moon) and the immersion of the deities takes place after Purnima.

On the Dussehra day (10th Aswin) a Vijaya Yatra starts from ‘Shri Sita Ram Mandir’ with deities Ram, Sita, Laxman and Hanuman. The procession moves around the adjoining villages with recitation of specific stanzas from ‘Ram Charit Mansa’ at different identified places and also at Durga Asthan and finally returns to ‘Shree Sita Ram Mandir’. This Vijaya Yatra is unique and worth observing.

‘Shri Sita Ram Mandir’ is located in the campus of Late Shri Gangadhar Choudhary. Shri Gangadhar Choudhary was a saintly and renowned person. He wrote 92, 08,718 ‘Sri Ram in artistic and colourful style from 5 November 1948 till he breathed his last in January 1972. This ‘Unique Treasure’ is preserved by his son Shri Prem Chandra Choudhary and is worth seeing.

‘Batahu Mahadeo Mandir’ is a very old Shiva temple located on the north eastern corner of the village near ‘Jeewachh river. This temple has been reconstructed with the help of the people of Loha, Subhankarpur, Keota, Bijalpura and Kapsia. The temple in the middle of the fields is very quiet and peaceful.

Kumar Shyamand Singh on creation of new ragas

Kumar Shyamanand Singh was against the modern trend of creation of new ragas and new styles and felt that this was harmful for the evolution of classical music. This is not to say that he was against creativity and innovation without which no art form can exist. He, himself, advocated them as essential ingredients of his own pursuit. However, he felt that our ancestors had created innumerable ragas and styles and we had received them as inheritance from them. We first needed to master them all before thinking of doing anything new in terms of creation of new ragas and styles. According to him, most "new" ragas were a changed form of the old ragas and as such could not be called "new" in real sense. An artist can create new ragas only if he is certain that he had learnt all the ragas created in the past. Otherwise, he would create "new" ragas that would not be "new" in reality. He felt bewildered about the need or urge in this regard as he felt that even mastering one of the many existing ragas in one's lifetime is extremely difficult and complex. He used to say: "Ek Saadhe to sab sadhe, sab saadhe to sab jaye".

He spoke of the rigorous training he was subjected to by his gurus where he was made to sing the same raga for days to perfect it. There were several ancient and archaic ragas that could be performed or sung by an artist. The need was to learn and try to perfect them instead of launching half-baked in pursuit of new ragas. He used to say that our ancient ragas are so complete and beautiful in themselves and on this basis questioned the need to create new ragas.

Kumar Shyamanad Singh on Time and Ragas

Kumar Shyamanad Singh had following to say on this aspect:

"It is my firm view that ragas must be sung or played in accordance with time indicated in the classical texts. This has been given to us by our ancestors. Why should we contradict this? Since ancient times, all artists have followed this time rule and played their music or sang according to this. Were they fools? I have never contradicted these rules and nor do I think I will do so in future. Those ancestors who have given us this rule were much more knowledgable and capable than us."

Gharana Gayaki

Gharana Gayaki has become diluted in recent times. Most famous singers have learnt from scions of different gharanas and the outcome has been a mixed one. Bhimsen Joshi who was rooted in Kirana Gharana but went on to assimilate other styles is a leading example of this new trend. In current times, Ustad Rashid Hussain Khan, who is from Rampur Sahaswan but who also has brought in influences from outside into his singing to the extent that Kumar Prasad Mukherjee does not consider him as belonging to his parent gharana is another example. That is not to say that there singing is not pleasing. Such an insinuation would be made at one's own peril such is the staure of these vocalists. However, the gharana purists of the time like Mashkoor Ali Khan of Kirana or Raza Ali Khan of Patiala are pleasing in a way that is difficult to surpass. In my humble view, tinkering with singing style one has inherited from the Guru beyond a point can prove self-defeating and can endanger the very creation. This is again not to imply that improvisation is prohibited. Quite the contrary, improvisation is essential and each artist must bring in his own contribution and stamp to what has been learnt otherwise he could look a bad copy of the original. However, this has to be done within boundaries and those need to be well defined. For me Gharanedar gayaki takes the cake.

Bihar me shastriya sangeet ki parampara bahut purani hai. Vidyapati ki banayi geeton me ya bhojpur aur mithila ke warshon purani lok geeton me uski jhalak hi nahi milti par ye geet yah bhi batate hai ki yah parampara atyadhik prabal aur vikasit thi. Uniswi aur bisween shatabdi me bhi yah parampara surakshit aur sanrakshit thi. Bettia aur Darbhanga ke Dhrupadiye hon ya Gaya aur Patna ke thumri or tappa gayak unhe samanton ka sanrakshan prapt tha. Wadan ewam gayan pratha dono yahan pad majboot thi. Pakhawaj, tabla, sitar, sarod, israj ke kayi phankar yahan phal phool rahe the.


Swatantra ke baad bhi Shastriya sangeet me abhiruchi bani rahi. Paluskar sangeet samaroh ho ya dhrupad sangeet samaroh ya Patna ka Dusshera ka warshik samaroh, bharat ke sabhi guni phankar yahan pad aana pasand karte the aur unki yaadkar prastutiyan yahan ke sangetangyon aur rasikon keliye prerna swarup thi. Yahan par Bihar ke sangeetkar bhi apna phan prastut karte the aur is prakar se unka utsahwardhan hota tha. Par aaj ke samay me Bihar ki yah amulya parampara lupt ho rahi hai. Iska karan yahan ka mahaul - bihar ka sanskritik patan ewam kala ke prati samajik upeksha kahi ja sakti hai. Bihar me abhi bhi kayi sangeetkar aise hain jo is pratha ko atyant kathinayon ke bawjoot jiwit rakhe huye hain. Bettia ke Indra Kishore Mishra, Darbhanga ke Vidur Mallick, Gaya ke Goverdhan Mishra inme se hain. Pad Bihar me bhi unka samuchit samman nahi hota hai. Bihar me kuch badlao ke asar dikh rahe hain aur umeed hai ki kala ke prati bhi sarkar aur samaj me jagriti ayegi. Tabhi hum apni is dhani aur bahumulya parampara ko bacha payenge.


Bihar ke purane sangeetkaron me Ustad Altaf Hussain Khan, Pandit Ram Prasad Mishra, Zohrabai of Azamgarh, Dhelabai of Gaya, Pandit Yaduveer Mallick, Pandit Ram Chatur Mallick, Pandit Shyama Mallick, aur Banaili ke Kumar Shyamanand Singh ullekhniyan hain. Iske alawa wadan kala me bhi kayi awwal darze ke phankar huye jaise ki Pandit Balram Pathak, Pandit Pannalal Upadhyaya, Pandit Anokhelal Mishra, Mian Ali Kadar of Azamgarh.


Inki aur Bharat ke anya bhaagon me purani sangeet me ek pawitrata aur shudhta thi jo aaj ki sangeet me kayi baar nahi milti hai. Kalakar apni khushi ke liye gate the aur ras, tabiyat aur masti usme saaf jhalakti thi. Jaisa ki Banaili ke Kumar Shyamanand Singh kaha karte the “agar apne gane me masti nahi laaoge to dusro ko masti kya doge”. Sangeet unke liye ibadat thi aur jeewan pran thi. We sangeet ke jeete the. Dhan aur Khyati inke liye apradhan mahatwahin thi. Raagon ki shudhta, man ki swakchchta aur tabyat ki masti purani sangeet ko daivik uchayi take le jaati thi jahan par sunne walon ko bhi param divya aur awarnaniya antar tripti aur anand ka anubhav hota tha.

Ram Prasad Mishra

Very little is known about this great maestro from Gaya.


Shri Gajendra Narain Singh in his book "Surile Logon Ki Sugandh" has written that when it came to Purbiya Thumri and Tappa, then after Ustad Moujuddin Khan, there has been none like Ram Prasad Mishra or Ramujee. This is not to say that he was not good at Khayal singing. I have a 28 minute piece in Chayanat from his that is exquisite. In fact, I do not have any tappa pieces from this great maestro.

He was from Dewaria in Uttar Pradesh and learnt his music in Benares, but he later shifted to Gaya where he spent the rest of his life. After 1960, he had to give up public singing because of Asthma but he continued to teach. His son Goverdhan Mishra is still one of the finest tappa singers in the country.

Bade Ghulam Ali Khan used to call him the "Gateway to the East". Almost all contemporary Bais considered him their guru and Kesarbai Kerkar wanted to keep him in Bombay and had offered him an impressive payment for that, but Panditji had refused, wanting to stay in Gaya.

Shri Gajendra Narain Singh in his above-mentioned book has written that he had heard a tape, which is now untraceable, where Akhtaribai sang with Ramujee, and Godai Maharaj and Munne Khan were on Tabla in accompaniment. Shri Singh says that even Akhtaribai could not keep up with Ramujee in that tape.

I have some pieces of this great maestro. As a sample here is one for download:

http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=8663 … fe0b5a8db2

Ustad Vishmadev Chatterjee and Kumr Shyamanand Singh, his disciple

Ustad Vishmadev Chatterjee of Bengal was a great genius who unfortunately was lost for many years to his spiritual pursuits in Pondicherry. But many of his recordings in 78 RPM are left behind. People who took taalim from him were Rajkumar Shyamanand Singh of Banaili Raj, Sachin Mukherjee, S.D Burman (Music Director), Suresh Chakraborty and Film personalities like Kanon Devi, Chhaya Devi, Lily Chakraborty. Besides, Begum Akhtar, Uma Bose, Juthika Roy, Prakash Kali Ghoshal, Protima Bandyopadhyay, Bhabani Das, Himansu Roy, Saila Devi, Chinmoy Chattopadhyay and Jayanta Chattopadhya also took talim from him. His Gurus were Ustad Badal Khan and later Ustad Faiyaz Khan. He also gave music for 12 films and S D Burman was his assistant in 4 of them.
To listen to his music, please visit http://www.vishmadev.org/M_GALARY.htm

There were four main centres of classical music in Bihar – (a) Bettiah Gharana, mainly known for Dhrupad but has been in obscurity for a long time which has helped to keep them away from modernistic influences and maintain age-old purity; (b) Gaya Gharana, famous for thumris and tappas. In fact it is living exponent, Govardhan Mishra, is considered by some as the finest tappa singer in the country; (c) Darbhanga Gharana made famous by Mallicks who are mainly dhrupad exponents; and (d) Champanagar Banaili, where Kumar Shyamanand Singh (not any more with us), arguably the most able disciple of Ustad Vishmadev Chattopadhyaya, was the finest exponent.


I do not think that either Ustad Vishmadev Chatterjee or Kumar Saheb had any direct Paluskar influence. Ustadji had his initial talim from Shri Nagendranath Datta. Later, Ustad Badal Khan of Sonipat adopted him as a disciple and took him away from his father to teach him music. He learnt from Ustad Badal Khan for 14 years. Many years later, Ustadji was enticed by Ustad Faiyaz Khan on a Barwa composition and was asked to come to Baroda to become his gandbandh disciple. However, when he reached Baroda, not much happened by way of learning.

As for Kumar Shyamanand Singh, his only gandabandh guru was Ustad Vishmadev Chattopadhyaya. He also learnt for more than 20 years from Ustad Bachu Khan, son of Ustad Badal Khan. He also obtained a few cheez from the Pandit Bholanath Bhatt of Allahabad, Kedarjee from Pratapgarh, Ustad Altaf Hussain Khan of Khurja (who used to live with Kumar Saheb in Champanagar for many years), Ustad Muzaffar Khan sahib, Mubarak Ali Khan, Mahaveer and Jaduveer Mullick of Darbhanga, and some others. His singing style was very much on the lines of Agra Gharana beginning with a nomtom alap, rendition of a vilambit bandish as learnt from the guru followed by innovations, layakari, and taankari and then a drut composition.

A common factor with Paluskar (and I can only compare with D V Paluskar whose recordings are available) is the quality of bhajans. Both Ustad Vishmadev Chatterjee and Kumar Saheb’s bhajans were exquisite and perhaps incomparable with any that we have in public domain. In fact, the story goes that Kesarbai Kerkar was so enthused by Kumar Saheb’s rendition of “Bin Kaj Aaj Maharaj Laaj Gayi meri, dukh haro dwarikanath sharan me teri” that she offered to make him a gandabandh guru to learn this song from him. This song was an adaptation of an old composition by Ustad Vishmadev Chatterjee who had later passed it on to Kumar Saheb. I am yet to hear a more beautiful bhajan than this.

In case you are interested in reading about music traditions of Bihar you can read Gajendra Narayan Singh’s books : Swar Gandh and Surile Logon Ki Sangat. Both are in Hindi and deals with broader subjects but have a lot of stuff on music traditions in Bihar.

The Book Ban debate has been raging in the media last month. Arguments range from an outright freedom to write whatever one likes in the name of creative freedom to an unabashed right for the government to effect bans as and when felt necessary in the name of maintaining public order. Both arguments seem faulty. There cannot be an absolute freedom to write, to express oneself, and there have to be reasonable restrictions as in case of other fundamental rights. At the same time, nobody can argu that there be a right to ban especially as this right is usually exercised for political reasons.

In my opinion, the right to ban must exist but it is important that this right be exercised with restraint and on rational grounds. Government of the day may not be the right agency for the purpose as all its actions would either be or will be perceived as politically motivated. A better option would be to have a Group of publishers and writers that self-regulate themselves. The Government of the day may refer the matter of a book ban to this Group or the latter suo motto may take action.

What is wrong with Bihar .... contd

Let us see now where Bihar was at the time of independence and in the first three decades after independence. People have the spectre of Bihar as a state in perpetual disorder – not just economically backward but plain and simple unruly, not ready to give in to Administration. But in 1952, Paul Appleby, a noted American academician and researcher of public administration, who was visiting India to advise Pandit Nehru on Administrative systems in the country, had felt that Bihar was the best governed state in India. Surprising to many who see Bihar at the bottom of the pit today, Bihar, then, even after two centuries of most intensive exploitation, had a per capita income 5% higher than the national average. I, myself, recall during my early school days in early 1970s, that while going to school early in the morning, I saw streets being swept and washed. The traffic lights on the road intersections seemed to work all the time and traffic seemed to be obedient and observed the traffic rules. Roads were not the widest in the world, perhaps, but were in good condition - it was possible to travel 300 Kms in less than 5 hours. Though I did not have exposure to other parts of India, then, I doubt that this was the case in many other parts of India then. Though Bihar had already slipped on most social and economic indicators by 1970s, it still had a decent education system in place. Patna University was highly respected and had an excellent faculty. So was the case with Ranchi University, then a part of Bihar. There were schools in Patna and Ranchi that produced students that were among the best in country. Of course, there was the ultimate model school located at Netarhat near Ranchi.

What went wrong then? Where did it yake the wrong turn? There were many turning points, all of which were in the reverse direction.

As I mentioned earlier, there was the fact that Bihar was subjected to most oppressive forms of exploitation and did not seem to get the benefits which came to some other parts of the country during the British period. However, worse was to come and this was neglect from our own national leaders. A comparison of Bihar and Punjab and government spending through five year plans during the period 1950-2001 would illustrate this:

• In 1955, the total national outlay for irrigation
  was Rs.29,106.30 lakhs. Of this Punjab got Rs.10,952.10 lakhs or
  37.62%. Bihar, on the other hand, got only Rs.1,323.30 lakhs, which is
  only 4.54% of the irrigation outlay. Even if we were to take the expenditure on Bhakra Nangal Dam as a national venture, Punjab's outlay was still about 2.5 times that of Bihar.
• Punjab has 5.036 million hectare of land out of which 4.288 million hectare is arable. Further, about 89.72% or 3.847 million hectare of this arable land is irrigated. Therefore, we can say that 76.38% of all land in Punjab is irrigated. In contrast, only 40.86% or 7.1 million hectare of Bihar’s total area of 17.38 million hectare is under cultivation. Of this, only 3.642 ,illion hectare or 51.30% is irrigated. Despite being almost 3.5 times larger than Punjab, it has less irrigated land than Punjab.
• The per capita outlay of the five year plans administered by the Government of India have been consistently much higher for Punjab as against for Bihar. For example, in the 10th Five Year Plan, Bihar had a per capita outlay of Rs.2,536.23 while Punjab had a per capita outlay of Rs.7,681.10, more than thrice that of Bihar.
• There were other benefits that came to Punjab and not in commensurate amounts to Bihar. With more than 50% of food procurement of GOI coming from Punjab, most of the government expenditure on food subsidy benefitted Punjab. Similarly, with highest consumption of fertiliser in the country the huge subsidies on fertiliser prices also benefitted Punjab more.

More later ............

What is wrong with Bihar - roots

What has gone wrong with Bihar after our independence? Why is it synonymous with backwardness? These questions are painfully present in the minds of all good thinking Biharis.

Let us look at where Bihar was at the time of independence and immediately after. It had undergone two centuries of subjugation under the British rule. In that sense, its exploitation was the longest and perhaps the most ruthless. After 1857, the Bihari elite along with the Bengalis, where shunned by the British as untrustworthy. The focus shifted to Punjab, and the Sikhs there, who had supported the British in 1857. The recruitment to the army and the myth of Sikh valour as opposed to passiveness and cowardly nature of Bengalis was willfully spread. The fact that British Indian army was now drawn from Punjab meant that British welfare measures such as advances in irrigation and agriculture were entirely concentrated in that region. This was to keep the village folks quiet, satisfied and even happy so that there brothers in uniform in the British Indian army did not get disaffected.

Bihar, on the other hand, did not receive any such benefits. Its exploitation over the period 1757-1857 through measures such as Permanent Settlement had helped British East India Company generate finances that was needed to conquer the whole of India through a scheme of outright annexation or subsidiary alliances. After 1857, new methods were introduced, some of which, for example, provided canon fodder for Gandhi’s Satyagraha experiment later in Champaran in 1916. This meant that in 1947 Bihar, along with Bengal and Orissa (that formed the old province of Bengal under the British East India Company) was the most drained (in the sense of “drain of wealth” a term coined and explained by Dadabhai Naoroji) and consequently the most impoverished region of India. Ruthless exploitation for 2 centuries had broken the will of the people. The elite was completely subjugated was either trying to ape the British masters or simply indulged in debauchery. There was no leadership available from this class. The old culture and traditions were allowed to be forgotten and lost patronage of the elite which took on to western pursuits. By 1900, the population in the region was perhaps the most docile and also the most eroded in terms of self respect and self esteem.

More later.......

Other Gharanas in Bihar

Darbhanga Gharana
This Gharana is famous for rendition of Dhrupad. The style of Dhrupad of Darbhanga Gharana is also known as Khandar Vani. Pt. Ram Chatur Mallik was the most famous exponent of this Gharana in recent times. The famous exponents of this Gharana today are Pt. Vidur Narayan Mallik and Pt. Abhay Narayan Mallik. They emphasize the composed song over improvised alap.

Bettiah Gharana
This Gharana is also well known for its rendition of Dhrupad. A section of Dhrupad singers of Dilli Gharana migrated in the time of Shah Jahan to Bettiah and flowered under the patronage of Bettiah Raj. The Dhrupadiyas of Bettiah practice Nauhar and Khandar vani, with some unique techniques for nomtom alap. The most famous exponents of the Bettiah Gharana today are Pt. Indrakishore Mishra and Pt. Falguni Mitra.

Gaya Gharana

The Gaya gharana of Indian classical music has made vital contribution to the evolution of classical music. Till early 1950s, Gaya used to be a hub of cultural activities and Nakphophaji, one of the great patrons of music in Gaya, frequently organised night-long musical sessions in which great maestros like Gangubai Hangal, D V Pulaskar, Omkarnath Thakur, Alla Rakha, Begum Akhtar and Bade Ghulam Ali Khan participated. Jaddan Bai, an exponent of Indian classical music, was patronised by the Nawab of Gaya.

During the olden days, Gaya developed as a centre of thumri. The Awadhia thumri of Benares was improvised and presented in a new and pleasing manner. The greats of the Gaya gharana thumri include Dhela Bai, Soni Maharaj, Balram Singh, Ram Prasad Mishra alias Ramuji, and Jay Ram Tiwari. Fortunately, the tradition is still alive and needs more support and current exponents include Govardhan Mishra and Kameshwar Pathak, the former being son of Ram Prasad Mishra.

The Gaya Gharana singers also specialise in Tappa style of singing. Some were also Khayal singers. But Tappa and Thumri were there forte. In fact, Padmashri Gajendra Narayan Singh of the Sangeet Natak Academy rates Pt Govardhan Mishra as the best Tappa singer in the country today.

Bihar has produced musicians like Bharat Ratna Ustad Bismillah Khan and dhrupad singers like the Malliks (Darbhanga Gharana), the Mishras (Bettiah Gharana) and those in Gaya. There were also other centres excellence of classical music in Bihar such as in Champanagar Banaili where Kumar Shyamanand Singh was himself an accomplished singer. Other great patrons were Bettiha Maharaj, Maharaja of Darbhanga, Rai Bahadur of Pachhgachhia, and Zamindars in Gaya, Arrah and Muzaffarpur. A great place to get more information is http://www.patnadaily.com/features/classicalmusic.html

Rajkumar Shyamanand Sinha, a Classical Vocalist from Bihar

Rajkumar Shyamanand Sinha (aka Kumar Shyamanand Singh) was the eldest son of Raja Bahadur Kirtyanand Sinha of the Banaili estate. As the eldest child of a Raja, Shyamanad Sinha had many pursuits that was the hallmark of the aristocracy then but one that made him extraordinary was his talent and ability in hindustani classical music. He was born on 27 July 1916.

Though Rajkumar Shyamanand Sinha learned music from many eminent names, his acknowledged Guru was the legendary Ustad Vishmadev Chattopadyay of Kolkata, who in turn had learnt music from Ustad Badal Khan of Delhi(Sonipat)gharana and Ustad Faiyaz Khan of agra Gharana.

The musical journey of Shyamanand Sinha began early in his life when he started playing harmonium and clarionet with an elder relation in his family. The turnaround happened when in 1935, he happened to come across a 78 RPM record of Ustad Vishmadev Chattopadyay. The record had "Rut Basant" in Raga Rageshri Bahar and "Piya Pardes" in Patdeep, famous renditions by the Ustad. This moved him so much that he was now determined to learn music from him. When Ustad Vishmadev Chattopadyay visited his home for a performance in Champanagar, he created an even deeper impression on him. Kumar Girijanand Sinha in his book, "Banaili - Roots to Raj", notes that he was so moved by his performance that he began weeping like a baby. He earnestly requested and was able to convince the Ustad of his sincerity, and so the Ustad agreed to become his Guru. Shyamanand Sinha learnt from Ustad Vishmadev Chattopadyay from 1936 to 1939.

After Vishmadev Chattopadyay left for Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry, Rajkumar Shyamanand Sinha continued his music lessons, at the advice of his guru, from Ustad Bachu Khan Sahib of Agra (from 1940-1962-63). Ustad Bachu Khan was the son of Ustad Badal Khan.Other eminent singers from whom he obtained music lessons were Ustad Muzzaffar Khan, Ustad Mubarak Ali Khan, Pandit Bholanath Bhatt, Kedarjee, Ustad Altaf Hussain Khan of Khurja, Mahaveer Mullick, and Jaduveer Mullick.

Though not a professional vocalist, Shyamanand Sinha's singing was a literal feast for the listeners. He was not only blessed with a gifted voice but had tremendous natural ability to bring "pran" in ragas and make them come alive in a most pleasing manner. He belonged to the old school of Hindustani classical music and believed in maintaining purity and spontaneity in performance. His rendition of bandishes, and he possessed a veritable treasure trove obtained from his gurus, was an absolute delight and mesmerised the listeners transferring the singer's sense of ecstasy to the audience in a way that very few have managed to this day. His choice of bandishes for performances were carefully selected for their sahityic (literary) value. He laid particular emphasis on the mood of words and with extraordinary felicity married them to the mood of the ragas. For this reason, he stood apart from the current day performers as well as many of his contemporaries. A taan was to be used to beautify the rendition, where apt, and in the raganga, not just for its sake. Lamenting about modern classical music, in an interview with AIR, he stated "Ab to Bilaskhani me bhi wahi taan hote hain aur malhar me bhi wahi, ang mere kehne ka matlab hai." (Free translation: Nowadays, same taans are sung in Bilaskhani as well as Malhar and the raganga is ignored). At another place, he mentions "jo bhi gao sur me gao". As a further indication of his humility, when it came to singing, he states "one cannot sing if he said he can sing", adding that only the blessings of the god and guru can enable one to sing.

Shyamanand Sinha believed that singing was the highest form of devotion and this reflected in his performances. President Zakir Hussain, once when he was Governor of Bihar, was so moved by his performance that he embraced him stating that the Rajkumar's singing was like praying to the almighty.

The Agra influence on his singing was most unmistakable. But, as indciated above, he learnt from many others and developed his own unique style of singing.

Padmashri Gajendra Narayan Singh, former Chairperson of the Bihar Sangeet Natak Academy in his book "Swar Gandh" has written that "Kumar Shyamanand Singh of Banaili estate had such expertise in singing that many great singers including Kesarbai were convinced about his prowess in singing.In case you cannot believe this please ask Pandit Jasraj. After listening to Bandishes from Kumar Saheb, Jasraj was moved to tears and lamented that alas! he could have such ability himself"(free translation of Hindi text).

Along with his singing prowess, his legendary voice made a tremendous mark on one and all who came in touch with him. This included some great contemporary singers like Surashri Kesarbai Kerkar. Kesarbai was visiting Champanagar for a performance and was so enthused by Rajkumar's rendition of "Dwarikanath Sharan Me Teri" that she insisted politely that he teach the song to her. She even expressed her readiness to make him her Guru for this song. After some hesitation, as Kesarbai then was an acknowledged maestro and he still young and yet in his early days, he agreed to teach her the song. Kesarbai sang this composition on a few occasions later and never forgot to acknowledge her "Guru" for the song.

His regular disciples included Shri Sitaram Jha, Kumar Jayanand Sinha, Saktinath Jha, Shankaranand Singh, Suryananranyan Jha, Girijanand Sinha, Udyanand Singh, Jayanta Chattopadhyay, Vandana Jha, Amar Nath Jha, Kaushal Kishore Dubey, Shyam Chaitanya Jha, Vijay Kumar Jha and Ram Sharan Sinha.

Unfortunately, the excellence of his singing style and tradition did not survive his death though his influence stayed with some of his disciples who are striving hard to keep the flame burning in Purnia.

Not a professional musician, he sang for his own pleasure and which reflected in his singing. He was prone to stop singing in the middle of a performances, whenever he felt mood was deserting him, saying "ab tabyat nahi lagti bhai". This made it difficult to plan a concert around him. However, many of his admirers still managed to get him out for public performances in many places. However, in general, he shunned music as a profession and never sought public recognition. As mentioned earlier, he rarely gave public performances, most of his performances being during impromptu baithaks at his residence in Chamapanagar in the presence of his admirers and disciples. Go and ask some of these who were fortunate to listen and they would narrate the experience in a daze as if re-visiting the emotion he generated when he sang.

Despite his strong reluctance for public acknowledgement, his followers conferred him with the title of Sangeet Bhaskar and Sangeet Sudhakar for his mastery in classical singing.

Shyamanand Sinha was also a great patron of classical music. Ustad Vilayat Hussain Khan in his book "Sangeetangyon ke Sansmaran" has written: "There is no better connoisseur and cognoscente of music in Bihar than Kumar Shyamanand Singh"(free translation of Hindi text). He was one of the chief patrons of the All India Music Conference and presented the convocation address at the 11th All India Music Conference of the The Prayag Sangit Samiti at Allahabadh on 19 December 1948. He used his great wealth to open the purse strings of patronage to many maestros of Hindustani Classical Music of his time at his residence in Champanagar, turning it into a place of learning and development of classical music. Ustad Salamat Ali Khan, Ustad Altaf Hussain Khan of Khurja and Ustad Bachu Khan Sahib and many others were provided residence and patronage in Champanagar. He also invited many great maestros for performances, among them were "Aftab -e- Maushiqi" Ustad Faiyaz Khan, Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Ustad Mubarak Ali Khan, Ustad Nisaar Hussain Khan, Pandit D.V. Paluskar, Surshri Kesarbai Kerkar, Sawai Gandharva, Ustad Vilayat Hussain Khan, Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan, Ustad Altaf Hussain Khan of Khurja, Pandit Jasraj, Dilip Chand Vedi, Ustad Mushtaq Hussain Khan, Pandit Narayanrao Vyas, Pandit Basavaraj Rajguru, and Ustad Salamat Ali Khan and Nazakat Ali Khan, Malang Khan (Pakhawaj), Allauddin Khan (Sarod), Mushtaq Ali (Sitar), Pandit Bholanath Bhatt, Pandit Chinmay Lahiri, Mahaveer Mullick, Jaduveer Mullick and Ramchatur Mallick. Ustad Yunus Hussian Khan refers to "Raja Shyamanand Singh of Chamapanagar" as having invited him to sing on the occassion of his son's marriage.

Unfortunately, the few professional recordings done by All India Radio in the latter part of his life are untraceable. Only a few amateur recordings of his singing are available with his family members and friends. These are rare treasures and absolute delight for the senses. They have somehow survived his idiosyncratic hatred for recording largely due to the efforts of his disciples and followers.

Banaili Raj in Bihar


Banaili estate in Bihar was one of the largest estates in India. It stretched into four of India's current states - Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Orissa. It was like the Raj Darbhanga headed by a Maithil Brahmin family.

The name of the estate derives from a village Banaili in the then Purnia district of Bengal.

The main centres of residences of Rajas of Banaili are Banaili, Ramnagar, Champanagar, Garh Banaili, and Sultanganj. Bhagalpur was the centre from where administration of the estate was carried out.

One of the centres of Banaili Raj located in Sultanganj is believed to have ancient historical or mythical association. The Krishnagarh palace built by Kumar Krishnanand Singh on Sultanganj is in the Karnagarh area, which is believed to be place where the Castle of King Karna of Mahabharata was located.

Raja Bahadur Dular Singh Chowdhry

Though the roots of the family can be traced to 11th - 12 th century as done ably by Kumar Girijanand Sinha in his book, Banaili - Roots to Raj, the family achieved its famed eminence only in the 19th century during the reign of Raja Bahadur Dular Singh Chowdhry. It was Raja Dular Singh who fixed the family residence at Banaili and gave the family its current name. He was an enterprising Raja and added to the family's wealth using the opportunities afforded by the Permanent Settlement implemented by Lord Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis in the then state of Bengal. He received the title of Raja Bahadur from the British Government for his services during the Anglo-Nepalese War. Raja Dular Singh died in 1821.

Raja Bahadur Bedanand Sinha


The expansion of the estate continued under his able son, Raja Bahadur Bedanand Sinha. He was born in 1778 and succeeded his father at a rather advanced age of 43. He died in 1851. He in fact is credited for the creation of much of the family's wealth which he did in a period of 30 years at the helm. He received his title of Raja Bahadur with his succession in continuation of the title given to his father. He continued his residence in the village of Banaili and expanded the palace there during his tenure. He extended the Banaili Raj through acquisitions of estates that were located in the then districts of Munger, Bhagalpur, Santhal Paraganas and Purnea. With these acquisitions, the size of the Banaili estate expanded 4-5 times in his reign. He was interested in wrestling and sponsored many wrestling competitions in which he too took part. He also wrote a book on Ayurveda "Bedanand Vinod".

Raja Bahadur Lilanand Sinha

His son, Raja Bahadur Lilanand Sinha, maintained the family's eminence and was famous in the entire region for his piety and benevolence. Many stories of his charity and kindness still abound in the Mithila region. He was also responsible for shifting the family's residence from Banaili which had then become a hotbed for malaria to Ramnagar in Purnia district. He again shifted his residence from Ramnagar to Champanagar, 22 km from Purnia town in Bihar leaving his eldest son, Raja Bahadur Padmanand Singh to continue to stay in Ramnagar. The deorhi in Ramnagar still survives but is no longer in the state it once was.

Raja Bahadur Kalanand Sinha

Raja Lilanand Singh had two sons from his third wife - Raja Kalanand Sinha and Raja Bahadur Kirtyanand Sinha (Raja Padmanand Singh being the eldest born of his second wife). The former shifted after the death of his father to a new Deorhi he built in Garh Banaili, which was famous for its beauty and perhaps the most exquisite of the residences built by the Banaili family. The deorhi has not survived with his successors bringing the edifice down after India's independence.

Raja Kalanand Singh is listed in the official directory of the Coronation Durbar of 1911 as one of those attending the ceremonies.

Raja Bahadur Kirtyanand Sinha


The more prominent and better educated son of Raja Lilanand Singh was Raja Bahadur Kirtyanand Singh. He was a Bachelor of Arts from Allahabad University and was famous for his many pursuits - shikaar (hunting), Polo - as well for the role he played in the contemporary public life. He wrote three books - Purnea, a Shikarland; Shikar in Hills and Jungles; and Homeopathic Practice.

He made a contribution to the establishment of T.N.B College in Bhagalpur which was in need of funds having been established in 1880s. The Raja made a contribution of "60 acres of land and 6 lakhs of rupees in Cash for the construction of building and other developmental work". For this contribution and other acts of charity, he was awarded the title of "Raja" in June 1914. On 9 July, 1917, he was appointed as a government nominee to the Champaran Agrarian Committee which had been set up to resolve the issue of indigo planters in Champaran following the famous Champaran Satyagraha by Mahatma Gandhi. In this committee, he worked with Mahatma Gandhi, and for his work in the Committee he was awarded the title of "Raja Bahadur" in 1919.

On the request and appeal made by Sri Braj Mohan Thakur, Raja Bahadur Krityanand Singh along with Raja Tank Nath Choudhary created separately a chair of Maithili in Calcutta University. This went a long way in advancing maithili as a language.

He was one of the founders of the Bank of Bihar, which survives even now as the Bihar State Cooperative Bank Limited. He also started a Banaili Iron and Steel Works in Sitarampur in Asansol, referred to in the book on Indian Economy written by eminent historian Amiya Kumar Bagchi and also in a book "Bihar" published by the National Book Trust. This venture, unfortunately, as the noted historian Amiya Kumar Bagchi observes, did not survive the "Great Depression".

The Raja, along with Maharaja of Darbhanga, hosted the first flight expedition over the Mount Everest in 1933. "The Raja of Banaili, a cheery personality, who had shot over hundred tigers, offered us his fleet of motor-cars, remarking that, if possible, he would like to retain one or two of his own. He had seventeen. He seemed astonished, as if at an unusual display of moderation, when only three cars and a lorry were required." (Quoted in Everest - The Mountaineering History by Walt Unsworth from First Over Everest, The Houston-Mount Everest Expedition 1993 by Air Commodore PFM Fellowes et al).

The Raja is credited for issuing the first official state invitation to the great maestro duo of Ustad Salamat and Nazakat Ali Khan of the Sham Chaurasia gharana in 1934. Ustad Salamat Ali Khan was then 11 years old and Nazakat Ali Khan 13 years. They were invited to perform at the Dussehra festival in Champanagar Deorhi (Palace) and the royal host liked their rendition of Malkauns so much that he would not let them leave Champanagr. The duo stayed under the patronage of the Raja for a few months, and some believe that their Basant Bahar composition "Des des ki thi jung dushman sab har gaye" is in the praise of the Raja.

Another great musician, Ustad Altaf Hussain Khan of Khurja, served as a court musician in the darbar of the Raja. Ustad Altaf Hussain Khan also gave music lessons to Raja's eldest son, Rajkumar Shyamanand Sinha.

Raja Bahadur Kirtyanand Sinha stayed in public life until his untimely death in 1938. His place of residence remained the Champanagar Deorhi in Purnia inherited from his father. This Deorhi has remained the most enduring of the deorhis of Banaili Raj and to this day is inhabited by the descendants of the Raja.

Rajkumar Shyamanand Sinha

Raja Bahadur Kirtyanand Sinha had six sons and three daughters. But, the most prominent of his six sons was Rajkumar Shyamanand Sinha. He had many pursuits such as Shikar and in particular Billiards, where he won Bihar Championship in Billiards many times.

However, he is remembered mainly for his extraordinary talent in hindustani classical music. He was not only blessed with a gifted voice but had tremendous natural ability to bring "pran" in ragas that made them come alive in a most pleasing manner. He belonged to the old school of Hindustani classical music and believed in maintaining purity and spontaneity in performance. His rendition of ragas was an absolute delight and mesmerised the listeners transferring the singer's sense of ecstasy to the audience in a way that very few have managed to this day.

Along with his singing prowess, his legendary voice made a tremendous mark on one and all who came in touch with him. This included some great contemporary singers like Surashri Kesarbai Kerkar. Kesarbai, who was visiting Champanagar for a performance was so enthused by his rendition of "Dwarikanath Sharan Me Teri" that she insisted politely that he teach the song to her. She even expressed her readiness to make him her Guru for this song.

Rajkumar Shyamanand Sinha believed that singing was the highest form of devotion and this reflected in his performances. President Zakir Hussain, once when he was Governor of Bihar, was so moved by his performance that he embraced him stating that the Rajkumar's singing was like praying to the almighty. Gajendra narayan Singh in his book has written that "Kumar Shyamanand Singh of Banaili estate had such expertise in singing that many great singers including Kesarbai were convinced about his prowess in singing.In case you cannot believe this please ask Pandit Jasraj. After listening to Bandishes from Kumar Saheb, Jasraj was moved to tears and lamented that alas! if he could have such ability himself"(free translation of hindi text). Ustad Vilayat Hussain Khan in his book "Sangeetangyon ke Sansmaran" has written: "There is no better connoisseur and cognoscente of music in Bihar than Kumar Shyamanand Singh"(free translation of hindi text).

Though Rajkumar Shyamanand Sinha learned from many eminent names, his acknowledged Guru was the legendary Ustad Vishmadev Chattopadyay of Kolkata, who had learnt music from Ustad Badal Khan and Ustad Faiyaz Khan of Agra Gharana. Shyamanand Sinha learnt from Ustad Vishmadev Chattopadyay from 1936-39. After Vishmadev Chattopadyay left for Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry, Rajkumar Shyamanand Sinha continued his music lessons, at the advice of his guru, from Ustad Bachu Khan Sahib of Agra (from 1940-1962-63). Other eminent singers from whom he obtained music lessons were Ustad Muzzaffar Khan, Ustad Mubarak Ali Khan, Pandit Bholanath Bhatt, Kedarjee, Ustad Altaf Hussain Khan of Khurja, Mahaveer Mullick, and Jaduveer Mullick.

He shunned music as a profession and never sought public recognition. He gave very few public performances, most of his performances being during impromptu baithaks at his residence in Chamapanagar in the presence of his admirers and disciples. Despite his reluctance for public acknowledgement, his followers conferred him with the title of Sangeet Bhaskar and Sangeet Sudhakar for his mastery in classical singing.

He was also a great patron of classical music. He was one of the chief patrons of the All India Music Conference and presented the convocation address at the 11th All India Music Conference of the The Prayag Sangit Samiti at Allahabadh on 19 December 1948. He used his great wealth to open the purse strings of patronage to many maestros of Hindustani Classical Music of his time at his residence in Champanagar, turning it into a place of learning and development of classical music. Ustad Salamat Ali Khan, Ustad Altaf Hussain Khan of Khurja and Ustad Bachu Khan Sahib and many others were provided residence and patronage in Champanagar. He also invited many great maestros for performances, among them were "Aftab -e- Maushiqi" Ustad Faiyaz Khan, Pandit D.V. Paluskar, Surshri Kesarbai Kerkar, Sawai Gandharva, Ustad Vilayat Hussain Khan, Ustad Altaf Hussain Khan of Khurja, Pandit Jasraj, Pandit Narayanrao Vyas, Pandit Basavaraj Rajguru, and Ustad Salamat Ali Khan and Nazakat Ali Khan.

Unfortunately, the few professional recordings done by All India Radio in the latter part of his life are untraceable. Only a few amateur recordings of his singing are available with his family members and friends. These are rare treasures and absolute delight for the senses. They have somehow survived his idiosyncratic hatred for recording largely due to the efforts of his disciple nephew Kumar Girijanand Singh. Unfortunately, the excellence of his singing tradition did not survive his death though his influence stayed with some of his disciples who are striving hard to keep the flame burning in Purnia.

I saw the "Big Fight" yesterday on NDTV. I was glad at what I saw the audience in show articulating. The thirst for development was refreshing. It has been ignited in the last three years since change of regime in Bihar. The preceding 10-15 years were indeed depressing and even avid lovers of Bihar had begun to despair. The state seemed to be going into a bottomless pit. The changes we have seen recently augur well.

DD Kosambi had stated that 2/3rd of the history of India was the history of Bihar. It had two of the finest educational institution in ancient India - at Nalanda and Vikramshila (in modern day Bhagalpur). India's greatest emperor who gave India's national emblem was the ruler from Pataliputra. It is the land where in 6th century there was such intellectual ferment that the it gave rise to philosophers like Buddha and Mahavira. Since then up to the 12th century it was an area that either sprang up empires that ruled the rest of the country or had kings that were invincible. Even after the advent of Sultans and Mughals later, Bihar remained a tough land to conquer for the keeps. It was perpetually in revolt and difficult to retin after conquest. The legend has it that Mughal emperors after the experience of Humayun (who lost to Bihar's Shre Shah Suri in 1539 at Chausa) had instituted an informal rule that that stipulated that they do not personally set their foot ever gain on the soil of Bihar. Ironically, the next Mughal Emperor to enter Bihar was Shah Alam only to lose the Battle of Buxar in 1764 to the East India Company and to lead rest of his life in confinement at Allahabad. Even Akbar, who carried out land revenue reforms in Northern India, left Bihar untouched.

In the 1950s, Sir Paul Appleby visited India. He was an expert in public administration and came to India on an invitation by Pandit Nehru. He went on record to say, "Bihar is the best administered state in India and in the time to come it will become an example for other states". (Extracted from http://www.mail-archive.com/bihar-network@yahoogroups.com/msg00283.html)

All this in the past. Now it is synonymous to a slur. I hope the change I saw articulated yesterday leads to the turnaround in Bihar fortunes.