Pandit Sajan Mishra says the death of his brother and music partner Rajan Mishra in 2021 due to Covid-19 complications left him in a state of shock and he even thought about quitting public performances.
The vocalist eventually resumed singing with son Swaransh and believes his late brother, who was also his guru, guided him through these difficult moments. "It was a huge loss for me. We sang together for 58 years. We began in the 1960s and gave our last performance together in Pune in February 2021," Mishra told PTI on the sidelines of the two-day cultural extravaganza 'Sahtyotsav Cultural Karvan' by Jashne-e-Adab.
"For nearly 8-9 months, I was in a state of shock. His death was so sudden. I did not know how to deal with it. I did not speak for months. I had even decided to stop giving public performances forever. But in the silence that gripped my life after his passing, I could hear Bhaiyya, who was also my guru, commanding me to sing again," he added.
Rajan Mishra, 70, died of Covid-19 complications at a hospital in Delhi in April 2021 at the peak of the pandemic as friends and well-wishers tried to arrange a ventilator for the classical vocalist but without much success. Mishra has fond memories of the time he spent with his elder brother and recalled how they achieved many milestones together, including the Padma Bhushan award.
"I had to overcome the pain for the sake of music - the sole objective of my life. I am happy that I finally resumed singing after a hiatus of about a year. Bhaiyya may have left but he is forever lodged in my heart. We sang together, we travelled the whole world together, We achieved many of our successes together," he recalled.
Rajan Mishra's sons sing together and have made a niche for themselves in the world of Hindustani classical music. "Ritesh and Rajnish (sons of Rajan Misha) are doing very well. Swaransh is also thoroughly into classical music and accompanies me to most of my public performances.
“Many who have learnt from us in the Guru-Shishya tradition have also made their mark such as Diwakar Kashyap-Prabhakar Kashyap, Dr Shalini Sinha, Ritu Bhargava, Viraj Amar and Pranav Viswas," Mishra said.
The music maestro sees a bright future for classical music in India as a talented young generation comes forward.
"Classical music has survived for thousands of years despite the challenges posed to it by new trends in music. It will always be there and remain unharmed," he said. Commenting on the importance of words in a performance, Mishra said notes are supreme but a ‘bandish’ (a fixed melodic composition) also plays a significant role in creating the overall effect on the listener.
"After all, a singer is trying to communicate something to the audience. It could be the mood or a picture evoked by the ‘raga’ which is a combination of notes in a particular sequence. Words do help in the improvisation of the ‘raga’ and building a bridge of communication between the singer and the audience," Mishra said.
When asked what he aims to achieve while singing, the maestro said striking the perfect note, which happens rarely even in the course of a virtuoso performance.
"Singing tunefully is something every singer worth their name is capable of doing but striking the perfect note when the voice becomes one with it with no gap in between takes the experience of singing to a different level," he said.
