For Pratibha Singh Baghel, a life that revolved around music was all she dreamt of, but becoming a singer, who would one day get a chance to work with legends like Ustad Zakir Hussain, lyricist Gulzar and sitarist Purbayan Chatterjee never crossed her mind. It was only when she travelled to Mumbai for a reality TV music competition that she realised the potential the city holds for a musician like herself. Awards followed suit, as did opportunities. Bollywood playback singing beckoned as did performing in theatrical musicals like Feroze Abbas’ Mughal-e-Azam and Salim -Sulaiman’s adaptation Umrao Jaan Ada. But her first love has always been classical music. And her recently launched collaborative album, Inheritance, with violinist Deepak Pandit, reflects the singer’s musical vision and her soaring, exquisite voice.
“It took two years for us to go through every possible rendition of these classics and then we both came up with the idea of keeping its authenticity and merging it with a Western musical approach,” begins the 31-year-old singer.
Framed by Indian traditional instruments as well as piano, synthesiser colours, crisp electronics, and the broad canvas of the Budapest Symphony Orchestra, the album is compilation of 19th-century romantic thumris. And Pratibha’s voice makes these thumris an exquisite experience to listen to. She tries to marry these widely-known themes with Western elements before a global audience.
When asked if composing classical music in a time of growing inclination towards Western music came with a challenge, she says, “It’s very challenging but the hunger of keeping the traditional music alive between us kept us going.” But is fusion the only way to keep classical music alive? “I think it is very important to connect to every generation, so the only way we can keep Indian classical music alive is through fusion with a modern approach so that every kind of audience listens to it. It gets recognition on a larger scale and makes Indian music reach a global audience,” she responds.
Growing up in Rewa, Madhya Pradesh in a home where the notes of thumri and ghazal lingered in the air, her childhood was all about music. It is no surprise then that her debut album Bole Naina showcased her ease and versatility with the two genres. “Ghazal and thumri afford a phenomenal freedom to a singer,” she says. “There is newness in the same thumri or ghazal every time you sing them and (they) are a great canvas for a singer like me,” she adds.
Although all the renditions from the album are her favourites, the closest of all is Babul Mora by Nawab Wajid Ali Shah — the last nawab of Awadh. “I always wanted to sing Babul Mora because it’s an expression for me. It helped me express my exact emotions which I could never express to my father. The song is an exact definition of what a father means to a daughter and how he loves her unconditionally,” she expresses in conclusion.
Inheritance is streaming on Sufiscore.
Priyanka.chandani@newindianexpress.com