By Kohinoor Dasgupta
July 25, 2023
At the 53rd minute of Muzaffar Ali’s film Gaman (1978), a voice recites a noha written by Lucknow-born Syed Alim Wasti.
Ro ro ke puchhti hai Bano Shah-e-Zaman se
Karial jawan ki mayyat kis tarha laye ran se …
The people who had made their way to cinema halls across India to watch the offbeat film must have wondered who the singer was. Was she, perhaps, a Hindustani classical vocalist like Hira Devi Mishra whose Ras ke bhare tore nain played when the film started? Mishra’s thumri was a powerful narrative device that gave the big picture of impoverishment and loneliness in Kotwara, Uttar Pradesh. On the other hand, the voice reciting the noha brought the lofty elegy in remembrance of the martyrs of Karbala right inside the courtyard of a certain address in Kotwara on the seventh day of Muharram (presumably) in 1978. Ghulam, the breadwinner of this family, departed to Mumbai (then Bombay) during Muharram, a year ago.
Some 45 minutes later, the new voice sings Makhdoom Mohiuddin’s ghazal Aap ki yaad aati rahi raat bhar/Chashm-e-nam muskurati rahi raat bhar. Ghulam’s wife, Khairun, played by Smita Patil, keeps a nightlong vigil next to her ailing mother-in-law. Chhaya Ganguli’s deep, evocative voice bridges the gap between the poet’s polished words and Khairun’s wordless misery.
Aap ki yaad was composed by the inimitable Jaidev. Patil, herself a young National Award winner for her role in Bhumika (1977), was present at the recording and gave Ganguli a hug and praise. In April 1979, Ganguli won the National Award for Best Female Playback Singer (1978) for this song and Jaidev won his third National Award for Gaman.
Halanki unko dekh kar palti hi thi nazar,
Mehsoos yeh hua ke zamane guzar gaye
Recently, I listened again to Ganguli’s solo ghazal album, Taskeen (1989), and Mushir Jhanjhanvi's words (above) got rearranged in my head to convey the opposite meaning:
Halanki zamane guzar gaye,
Mehsoos yeh hua ke
Unko dekh kar palti hi thi nazar.
Where have you been, Chhaya Ganguli? How did you hide from the film playback limelight?
Ganguli was born into an educated, middle-class Bengali family living in Dadar, Mumbai. Her family liked music, but she was the only one to learn formally. She received loving encouragement from her parents, Nilima and Prabodh Ranjan Ganguli, and her siblings, all of whom understood that the child had a passion for music.
Subsequently, she received invaluable practical guidance from Girija Prasad Mukherjee, who was a disciple of Pt. Nikhil Ghosh. Girija Prasad Mukherjee’s elder brother, Rama Prasad, learnt the flute from Pt. Nikhil Ghosh’s elder brother, Pt. Pannalal Ghosh. His sister Arati Mukherjee was a trained singer who sang the popular duet Sara mora kajra churaya tu ne in 1966 (Do Dil) with the top male playback singer in the Hindi film industry, the revered Mohammed Rafi.
Ganguli would occasionally accompany Girija Prasad Mukherjee to the residence of Pt. Pannalal Ghosh in Malad, Mumbai. She met Pt. Pannalal Ghosh's wife, Parul Ghosh, who was a 1940s-era playback singer and the sister of legendary composer Anil Biswas. She had sung such numbers as Umeed unse kya thi (Basant, 1941) and Aaye bhi woh, gaye bhi woh (Namaste, 1943). Ganguli, at an impressionable age, was awed by the discussions among artistes and musicians that invariably went on in the Ghosh household, and she was fortunate enough to hear Parul Ghosh sing.
Girija Prasad Mukherjee, himself a radio artiste (light music) who also organised musical soirées with such stalwarts as Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, was a close friend and associate of sitarist Pt. Nikhil Banerjee. Not only did Ganguli meet Banerjee, but she also listened to his concerts from a vantage point! She would play the tanpura when he performed in Mumbai. Mukherjee also introduced Ganguli to music teacher Moloy Chakrabarty, from whom she learnt for a while.
Her first music teacher was Manas Mukherjee (father of well-known playback singer Shaan). During her school days, Indrani Acharya taught her the essential elements of Rabindra Sangeet. Ganguli performed with gusto at school functions (she went to Bengali Education Society High School in Naigaum). The confidence carried over to college (St. Xavier’s, Mumbai). For three years she sang the same ghazal (Garmi-e-hasrat-e-nakaam, written by Qateel Shifai) that she learnt from Manas Mukherjee, to win the Inter-College Talat Mahmood Ghazal Competition! Those days she listened attentively to Begum Akhtar’s records. Noting her partiality for Purab ang gayeki, Girija Prasad Mukherjee took her to Hira Devi Mishra, who was a prominent exponent of the style. Ganguli learnt from Mishra for a few years, when the latter was already ailing.
In 1975, Ganguli’s close friend Kavita Krishnamurti (renowned playback singer Kavita Krishnamurti Subramaniam) told her about the Master Class initiative of the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), and they enrolled to learn from sarangi maestro Pt. Ram Narayan. This proved to be a propitious call for Ganguli because Pt. Ram Narayan introduced her to Jaidev. However, Ganguli was in the far reaches of Jaidev’s orbit. He had not heard her sing. Besides, she stopped attending Master Class when, after completing M.Sc. from St. Xavier’s College, she accepted a job with the Central Sales Unit of Akashvani (All India Radio) in January 1976.
As such, she was taken aback when, in 1978, Jaidev’s assistant came to her office with a message: Would she stop by Jaidev’s residence (which was at Lily Court at Churchgate, close to Akashvani) during lunchtime to rehearse two bhajans for a Janmashtami-special programme to be aired on national television?
Ganguli arrived at Lily Court chaperoned by a senior colleague, Sarla Mirchandani. Jaidev’s serene personality put her at ease. Asit Desai was to sing one bhajan for the programme and Kavita Krishnamurti, already known in Bombay’s music circles, would sing two. Jaidev wanted a bass female voice to present a contrast of timbres. He asked Ganguli whom she was learning from. All she was asked to sing that afternoon was sa pa sa in G-Sharp, A and B-Flat.
The Doordarshan programme, compered by eminent Hindi poet and lyricist Pt. Narendra Sharma, was watched far and wide, and one of Ganguli’s bhajans was played again in the high-visibility year-ender, Best of Aarohi. In a matter of months, both Mishra and Ganguli were tapped by Jaidev for Gaman. Ganguli would rehearse at Lily Court before being dropped off at the gate of Akashvani by Muzaffar and Subhasini Ali, the makers of the film, before 10 AM. She recorded the two numbers mentioned at the start of this post. Gaman was released in 1978. At this time, Ganguli learnt for a while from Hindustani Classical vocalist Dr. Prabha Atre.
What happened next may be described in this way: the young singer opened a letter that the universe sent her in 1975, when she was mesmerised by "artiste’s artiste” Madhurani rendering a thumri at Jaidev’s residence. There was a buzz about Ganguli after Gaman. People expected her to quit Akashvani and pursue music full time. They enquired about her musical aspirations. She was not prepared to give up her job, but she was ready to embark on a dedicated pursuit of music alongside. She was seeking the perfect guru. At Ganguli’s entreaty, Jaidev’s friend Om Segan introduced her to Madhurani. Ganguli considers it her "supreme good fortune” that Madhurani accepted her as a disciple and began teaching her in late 1979. It was a turning point in her life.
In the early 1980s, Ganguli was one of the artistes who sang on an Aarohi (television) programme dedicated to Jaidev’s music. Soon after, she was offered a three-LP contract with HMV.
Seven tedious years after she joined Akashvani’s Central Sales Unit, Ganguli’s job turned into her dream job. She was appointed Programme Executive at Vividh Bharati in April 1983. It was a big year for her, as she also released her first solo album in August. Bhakti Sudha/Chhaya Ganguli presented by Jaidev comprises eight bhajans, including Sawaliya man bhaye re, which she sang on that Janmashtami-special in 1978. Jaidev used Ganguli’s unusual, simpatico voice to explore eight different musical ideas, from kirtan for the Surdas bhajan Nath mohe abki ber ubaro, to folk styles of Marwar for Meerabai’s Needadli nahin aave sari raat and Then to palak ughado Dinanath. The Meera bhajans are among the best I have heard.
Jaidev was, by all accounts, a saintly, nonmaterialistic man untouched by the glamour of Bombay showbiz. The music of Bhakti Sudha (composed when he was in his sixties) cues us into his understanding of prayer and the many moods of devotion. The devotee is mellow in Tum hi mere rasna, written by Dadu Dayal. We are drawn into a deep silence in which Ganguli’s voice resonates like four notes of a perfectly tuned tanpura. In contrast, in Bedardi tohe darad na aave (written by Narayan Swami), the rhythm and lively music showcase the young singer’s versatility as she turns into a childlike devotee who is hurt and bewildered by God’s aloofness. Surely, only Jaidev could have instantly woven a divine aura around the word "bedardi”, used repeatedly in mundane love songs! Bhakti Sudha is the product of three-four rehearsals, and the album was wrapped up by Jaidev in ten days.
At Vividh Bharati, Ganguli had the interesting and demanding job of reshaping the popular radio programme, Sangeet Sarita. She earned the reputation of "deft handling” by combining a scientist’s clarity of purpose with deep respect for music and a sensitivity that veteran artistes expected. A soft-spoken team player, she received cooperation and guidance from colleagues, among them, Kabban Mirza, who (for two years, before he joined Doordarshan) generously shared his knowledge of music editing with Ganguli. (For the public, Kabban Mirza was a magical Voice who sometimes deejayed the late-night radio programme Chhaya Geet.)
Sangeet Sarita aimed to educate the average radio listener on different facets of India’s musical heritage. Ganguli and team curated an archive of audio materials, including precious performance recordings (some from private collections), interviews, and personal insights of artistes. To mention just two subjects, Pt. Ashish Khan presented a 21-part series on the Maihar gharana of his grandfather, Ustad (Baba) Allauddin Khan, and a 26-part series on Hindi film music was presented by Anil Biswas in conversation with Tushar Bhatia.
During this time, Ganguli learnt for a while from light Classical vocalist Shobha Gurtu.
Early in 1986, eight years after Gaman, Ganguli’s voice was heard again in cinema halls. (Several other songs that she recorded for Jaidev, unfortunately, were for a film that was not released.) Trikon Ka Chautha Kon was another offbeat and low-budget film with a musical score by Jaidev. Madhusudan’s film has a certain freshness and urbanity. Ganguli made two contributions to the soundtrack. Kiya Piya pe kya jadoo, written by Maya Govind and filmed on Priyadarshini, starts in the singsong way of a Bangla Atul Prasadi song (Jabona jabona jabona ghare) which I, loving the Bangla song, find underwhelming. However, the phrase that begins the next stanza takes my breath away:
Soona
Soona tha nagar
Sooni sooni si dagar
Soona soona tha yeh ghar
Sooni thi yeh sheher
Golden Jaidev! Amid the musical ambience which he creates with instrumentation (we might be looking at a landscape through a curtain of silvery rain), Ganguli’s voice blends in to sound elemental, the music of nature.
But wait, what about Mahadevi Varma’s Kaise unko paoon Aalee, reused by Jaidev with special permission from the famous Hindi writer? Golden Jaidev and thank you, Chhaya Ganguli, for nailing his quintessential style in your soulful voice.
Speaking at Patrakar Bhavan, Pune on July 6, 2023, Ganguli said:
"Jaidevji atyant komal aur saral swbhav ke sajjan byakti the jinhe sangeet aur sahitya ki bahut achchhi parakh thi. Meri awaaz ke anurup unhone dhun banayi thi. ‘Gaman’ ki ghazal ki recording karne se pehle unhone mujhe bahut hi sneh aur dhyarya ke saath khoob rehearsal karayi thi.”
("Jaidevji was a gentle, down-to-earth, and gracious human being who was knowledgeable about literature as well as music. He composed with my voice and ability in mind. Before I recorded the ghazal for Gaman, he kindly and patiently steered me through the rehearsals.”) [My translation]
Later that year (1986), HMV released Ganguli’s second solo album, Iltija. It comprises eight ghazals, composed by Madhurani, K. Mahavir, and Manas Mukherjee. Hue mujh se jis ghadi tum juda, a ghazal written by Nazeer Banarsi, gives the album its title. It has a lovely, strikingly original tune by Madhurani, and the ghazal is sung delicately by Ganguli. Here is a couplet from the ghazal:
Meri bebasi ne zubaan tak jise laake tumko rula diya
Mere toote saaz ki woh sadaa tumhe yaad ho ke na yaad ho.
Ganguli presented a couple of memorable numbers from Iltija on the television show Mehfil.
Taskeen, Ganguli’s third solo album, was released in 1989, almost a decade after she started learning from Madhurani. The guru composed four of the eight ghazals of the album. Ganguli inhabits every number with ease, emotion, and complete unselfconsciousness.
Madhurani is that rare artiste who effortlessly holds her own as a composer. She interprets poetry philosophically or with irony, or with a luminous wisdom won through grit and faith. The accompanying music creates a mood. Clearly enjoying her disciple’s voice and fluency, Madhurani presents us with four gems in this album alone, Pad gaye jhoole, written by Payam Saeedi, Yeh roz roz isharon mein, written by Shabih Abbas, Jo na hona tha wohi pyar by Anwar Farrukhabadi and Faasle aise bhi honge, written by Adeem Hashmi.
Here is a couplet from Jo na hona tha wohi pyar:
Zindagi is liye kam ho gayi parwane ki
Hadsa shamma ke jalne ka sar-e-shaam hua.
Speaking about Madhurani at Patrakar Bhavan, Pune on July 6, 2023, Ganguli said:
"Madhurani Didi se seekhne ki shuruwat meri sangeet yatra ka ek ahm mor tha. Meri sangeet ki samajh ka dayra bada karne ke liye Didi mujhe apni bandishon ke saath-saath bade ustadon ki bandish bhi sunaya karti thi. Unke ghar bade-bade ustad aate the. Un sabki baten sun-sunkar bhi bahut kuchh seekha.
"Ek shishyaa ke nate yeh mera param sawbhagya hai ki Madhuraniji ne apna amoolya samay dekar meri sangeet sadhna ko disha dee aur sangeet ke adhyatmic paksh se avgat karaya. Mai jeevan paryant unki rni rahoongi.”
("It was a turning point in my musical journey when Madhurani Didi accepted me as a disciple. To broaden my understanding of music, Didi not only shared her own compositions with me, but also played those of other eminent artistes. Many prominent musicians would stop by her home. I learnt a lot by listening to their conversations.
"As a disciple, I consider it my supreme good fortune that Madhurani Didi spent her invaluable time to guide my pursuit of music. She made me profoundly conscious of the divine aspect of music. I will remain indebted to her as long as I live.”) [My translation]
Among the other ghazals in Taskeen is Jab woh mere qareeb se, written by Mushir Jhanjhanvi, composed by K. Mahavir, and wonderfully performed by Ganguli. This is the ghazal I quoted from at the beginning of this post. There is an enjoyable Ghulam Ali-style composition by Sharif Ahmed Khan, Teri kasam ka hamen, written by Parsa Jaipuri.
Taskeen also has the Bhupinder Singh composition Naaz tha khud par magar, written by Ibrahim Ashk. I like its simple sophistication. It reminds me of Lata Mangeshkar’s Aapki batein karein, ya, written by Naqsh Lyallpuri and composed by Madan Mohan, but while that song is airborne, a bird on a sunny day, Chhaya Ganguli’s song, about the same emotion, is a swan gliding on a cool, deep lake.
Ganguli’s fourth solo album, Ishq, was released in 1991. It boasts another number composed by Bhupinder Singh and his wife, Mitalee Singh, the atmospheric Samundaron pe baras ke, written by Zameer Kazmi.
Meri ankhon mein dhoondta kya hai, written by Ahmed Wasi, is rendered with verve by Ganguli. Madhurani’s pensive music complements the poet’s forgiving meditation on love and faith.
Also in 1991 came Thodasa Roomani Ho Jaye, an enjoyable Hindi film made by Amol and Chitra Palekar. The Palekars and composer Bhaskar Chandavarkar listened to many voices and opted for Ganguli to sing for their unconventional protagonist, Binni, to be played by Anita Kanwar. The film is a musical, with "impromptu” sung lines as well as songs. It contemporises (in 1990) the Hollywood classic The Rainmaker (1956) and additionally gives it a feminist (for 1990) shake-up. Chandavarkar’s score remains vibrant and modern. Ganguli’s work in this film won her a legion of new fans. Truly, she was Binni’s voice, suiting the unassuming, independent, beautiful, and witty woman. My favourite is Chandni raat bhar jagayegi (written by Kamleshwar), filmed on Kanwar. The usually unsinkable Binni is caught here at a bleak moment.
Her work at All India Radio brought Ganguli in contact with the Who’s Who of India’s classical music scene. She learnt from musicologist Dr. Ashok Ranade who also guided her research project on 'Traditional thumris’. In 1995, Ganguli joined several Hindustani Classical vocalists to perform at NCPA, presenting two rangs at a prestigious programme called 'Rang’ which was conceptualised by Dr. Ranade. Ganguli’s numbers were poems of Amir Khusro which were specially composed by Madhurani. In 1997, Dr. Ranade asked Ganguli to sing a Nidhubabu’s tappa (Boroshe ghono ghono, ghono keno goroje) for his album Sawan (1997). He altered the Bangla tappa to suit Ganguli’s voice and style, and the theme of his anthology. She also sang a kajri-style number for Sawan.
Also in 1997, Ganguli sang several numbers for Muzaffar Ali’s album Husn-e-Jaana, including an excellent interpretation of Amir Khusro’s Zehaal-e-miskin makun taghaful. Thus, Chhaya Ganguli and Ali collaborated on two songs of separation from the beloved. While harsh circumstances separated Ghulam and Khairun in Gaman, the Khusro verses describe the experience of being wilfully shunned.
On April 8, 2017, thespian, and multi-dimensional artiste Shekhar Sen (then Chairman of the Sangeet Natak Akademi) filmed the only on-camera interview of the reclusive surbahar genius, Annapurna Devi, daughter of Ustad Allauddin Khan. Ganguli was associated with the production of the priceless DVD, Ma Annapurna Devi /Maun Sadhika Ke Swar, by SNA. It was a humbling experience for all concerned and for Ganguli a most prized memory, no less than a benediction.
Down the years, from the time she recorded a short, beautiful piece for Shekhar Sen’s Sampoorna Sundarkand in 1987, Ganguli, by her own admission, has learnt a great deal from Sen.
The phenomenal and unworldly Annapurna Devi passed away on October 13, 2018, aged ninety-one. On July 6, 2023, Sen was the Chief Guest at a function organised at Patrakar Bhavan, Pune, to release Suropanishad, the Bangla translation by Chhaya Ganguli and Monica Banerjee of Dr. Sunil Shastri’s book on Annapurna Devi, titled Sur Yogino Suropanishad.
So yes, I know now. Ganguli has been busy soaking up the sun of music. She has been learning, performing, recording, all the while working at All India Radio, a career spanning more than thirty-six years. Her last posting was at the Delhi Directorate, where she was Head, Transcription & Programme Exchange Service. Even during her brief tenure in Delhi, on the advice of Madhurani, Ganguli learnt from Ustad Iqbal Ahmed Khan.
Post-retirement, she learns languages, attends classes at the Ramakrishna Mission, studying the Gita and such other texts. She was also fortunate enough to learn from Vidushi Manju Sundaram.
At various points in her life Ganguli was inspired by artistes who regarded music as a calling rather than a profession. As a girl, thanks to her visits to the residence of Pannalal and Parul Ghosh, she internalised the idea that music is a sacred gift. She met Pt. Nikhil Banerjee, a disciple of Ustad Allauddin Khan and Annapurna Devi who, like them, was committed to "awakening” every musical note. Ganguli’s first mentor for playback work was Jaidev, who was uncompromising when it came to principles. Madhurani, the guru of her dreams, believes that music is a way of offering worship to God. As mentioned, Ganguly recently co-translated Sur Yogino Suropanishad. Annapurna Devi was, as the title says, a sur yogini.
Chhaya Ganguli’s journey so far has been a stranger-than-fiction true story of mile sur mera tumhara. She remains grateful for the opportunities, nurturing affection, and the glorious music education she has received. She pursued music with tenacity and calm detachment and continues to do so.
Author's Note:
On April 16, 2024, I got a message from Chhaya Ganguliji regarding a video uploaded on YouTube. The video contained shocking errors. I watched this video, uploaded by "Behind the Camera". They had ransacked my article, without my permission, taken photos without my permission. While they had helped themselves to biographical facts which were first published in my blog post (even Wikipedia at that time had sketchy details and claimed she was born in Calcutta), the YouTube video wove weird stories around them, distorted facts and drew conclusions that my article did not suggest. The Behind the Camera video had incorrect details about even well-known facts such as: Pyarelalji, Jaidevji's assistant, was NOT the Pyarelalji of the Laxmikant-Pyarelal duo. Also, they referred to Dr. Prabha Atre as Prabha "Anne". I wish there were some laws for fact-checking & plagiarism on the internet. There is no protection for writers and artists to create original material. I wrote to Behind the Camera in the Comments section, pointing out some of the errors and urged them to correct them.
छाया गांगुली हमारे समय की ऐसी कलाकार हैं जिनके लिए संगीत इबादत है।उनकी कोमल.नम और दिव्य आवाज़ में एक लंबी पुकार है जो ईश्वृर को पाने का एक सुंदर उदाहरण है। यह लेख संगीत समीक्षा की उत्कृष्ट प्रस्तुति है जिसमें छाया के संगीतात्मक वजूद की गहरी छाया है। ऐसा लिखना कभी-कभी पढ़ने में आता है। दिली मुबारकबाद। छाया के साथ काम करने के संगीतमय दिनों को बारहा याद करता हूं। - Shri Leeladhar Mandloi
You have captured the essence of Chhaya's ( Babli to me) devotion for the correct sur, her deep understanding about who is a true seeker of inner bliss rather than outer applause, awards et al through music, her total lack of desire to be in the limelight and her acknowledgement of every blessing with the deepest gratitude. Bravo Kohinoor, for an exceptional article. - Smt. Shailaja Ganguly